Trying to save RPG space at my FLGS. Opinions if you have any.

[TheTSKoala]

Hard to do.  His current store is great for foot traffic, all the patrons know where he is.  All the parents essentially know, if their kids are late from school, they're at the store.. etc.  Plus, anything within a 15-20 mile halo of the area is about the same pricing.

[Desertpuma]

The best game shop in the area has two fridges filled with soda (from Costco) at 50 cents a piece and candy bars at 75 cents a piece. They do not charge to use one of their 10 tables and every Saturday they have a league of Warhammer 40K show up for a round of action occupying half the tables with a card tournament periodically occupying the other half. The first and Sunday of every month, providing there is no convention, the local RPGA chapter meets.

There is another game store that has 4 tables but an enormous selection of not only candy at 75 cents, soda at 50 cents, but also a small ice cream freezer with stuff ranging from 75 cents to $1.50. They also have a lan area where it is a two bucks an hour and can be bought ahead of time in blocks with a "buy 10 hours, get 2 hours free" scenario. They are also open 24 hours. The largest problem is the claustrophobia of the place.

[Toccata]

One thing that occurred to me that I've never seen in an FLGS that might help a bit is a big, attractive, easily visible sign saying something along the lines of "Can't find what you're looking for? Ask us if we can order it." or something like that placed near the register.

I know one of my FLGS's has gotten hundreds of dollars from me on products they didn't have in stock already because they were happily willing and able to get things ordered promptly and their competitor was not. And I'm a pretty small-time spender, by comparison.

[TheTSKoala]

See, I knew I loved this community for a reason.

Okay.  Here's what we came up with so far.

1.)  Food / Drink / Snack is a great idea.  We're going to implement that but nix the "No Outside food or drink."
2.)  We're going to have a RPG night once a month.  A bunch of Demo games at the front tables with full blown campaigns available at the back.
3.)  Working on a "Membership / Discount" card right now.  We're focusing less on books and more on things like Dice & Mini's.  I've even struck up a business contact with a local copy shop who is willing to print character sheets / Maps / Grids / etc. for us at almost 50% off.  (Color will be 30% off if we go that route).
4.)  We're turning the weekday nights over to TCG & Minis for tournaments.  We're working on opening the "warehouse area" up a little so we can open a 2nd game room.  Enough for 2 fold out tables. 
5.)  The Special Ordering Available sign is going up once we get a POS for real-time ordering up and running.  (Should take a week.)  Owner currently just puts orders in once a week in back of house.  This way, someone wants something we can look it up in real time and order it right when they pay.

Now.. these are all the ideas we've come to terms with so far.  Still need to be implemented, but hey... it kept the RPGs in place.

[agent oni]

Vending machines for food and snacks are a great idea.  The one thing your store may implement is no open drink containers (such as those drinks you get from a meal plan at a fast food restaurant).  Why? If there are many kids, they have a tendency to knock things over.

Another is having a consistent weekly events scheduled.  League play and tournaments help bring in a steady infusion of capital.

Give something back to the community and/or customers.  In the past my FLGS has done such things as barbeques and raffle tickets (door prizes, etc).

[MilitiaJim]

Another is having a consistent weekly events scheduled.  League play and tournaments help bring in a steady infusion of capital.

You mean revenue, not capital.  Buying fridges would be a capital investment.  Selling the sodas brings in revenue.  </edjamacation>

But yeah, I like not having to leave to get a soda.  And if the sodas are "the good stuff" I'm willing to pay a premium.

[Bill Whitmore]

Agreed on stocking the good stuff.  Stock the most popular drinks and people will buy them, stock store-brand knock-offs no one has ever heard of and people will go next door where they can buy what they want.

Yes, stocking generic Cola may be cheaper, but largest profit margin per item doesn't mean anything when the amount sold equals 0.

[Gentry]

The one thing your store may implement is no open drink containers (such as those drinks you get from a meal plan at a fast food restaurant).  Why? If there are many kids, they have a tendency to knock things over.

This is very common, in nearly every decent game shop I've ever entered.  I once had a game store owner explain his drink policy thusly:

"I sell cans here at the store.  I'm ok with cans because you buy it, open it, and suck it down.  It's not big, so even if you knock some of it over it's not that big a deal.  I don't mind people bringing in bottles.  They've got screw caps, and people keep the lids on, so if gets knocked over there's no mess at all.  But super big gulps?  Somebody's knocking that over, there's gonna be an ocean of mountain dew on my carpet before the day's over, and that kind of stain never comes out.  And can start to stink.  So none of those." 

It seemed a sensible policy to me then, and continues to do so.

[TheAuldGrump]

Occasional 'big games' that do have an entry charge - be it a LARP, a game where the entry fee includes a miniature specific to your character, etc. Once upon a time I used to build cardstock scenery (mostly by World Works) that would be given as door prizes after the event.

Miniature painting/terrain building workshops.

Clearance auctions - not just of material from the shop, but also stuff that customers want to rid themselves of. (The last time I went to such an auction I managed to buy some very old stuff by the Companions - I had lost all of mine, even the ones I helped write.)

Commissions on painted miniatures. (Set aside some case space, and charge 15%-25% when an item sells.

Movie night - show a DVD of a 'classic' fantasy movie or two, charging not for the film, but for the popcorn, pizza, and drinks that are available while it shows. Best if there is a large screen TV available.

The Auld Grump - nappy time.

[Crafty_Pat]

Clearance auctions - not just of material from the shop, but also stuff that customers want to rid themselves of. (The last time I went to such an auction I managed to buy some very old stuff by the Companions - I had lost all of mine, even the ones I helped write.)

I went to one in Chicago that rocked the house. It went on for four days with each day devoted to a category (RPGs, board games, etc.). People brought stuff in for weeks or months prior and instead of taking a big cut of the proceeds the store would offer all the money gained (I believe - they might have kept a tiny percentage) as store credit. Apparently it stimulated the store's economy like nothing else.

[glimmerrat]

Get an old school arcade machine or two for people to drop loose change into while they wait for peoples to show/games to finish.

Yearly membeship cards with some sort of discount on store prices (say 5%) is good. Only card holders can book/use table space?

QFT on both of these. The 5% membership discount is very popular at our FLGS, and it has a pinball machine too. They tried a vending machine and it bombed badly.

[TheAuldGrump]

Get an old school arcade machine or two for people to drop loose change into while they wait for peoples to show/games to finish.

Yearly membership cards with some sort of discount on store prices (say 5%) is good. Only card holders can book/use table space?

Heh - Spyhunter maybe?

The Auld Grump

[Valentina]

Get an old school arcade machine or two for people to drop loose change into while they wait for peoples to show/games to finish.

Yearly membership cards with some sort of discount on store prices (say 5%) is good. Only card holders can book/use table space?

Heh - Spyhunter maybe?

The Auld Grump

Go with late 80's titles for nostalgia and playtime. Most modern arcade games are rapaciously short in content and long on difficulty as to be quarter suckers. Go with older titles, they'll be cheaper to rent, cheaper to play, and generally more satisfying.
They're also quieter and use less floorspace, unlike dance games or most fairly recent shooters.

Original Mario Bros, and Super Mario Bros. Original R-Type, 1942 or 1943. SNK MVS (Metal Slug anything, Samurai Shodown 2, etc) cabinets are also completely bomb for this sort of thing. Rastan is great too, but make sure it's one with volume control -the core cabinet was stupidly loud and not adjustable. Pass on Pac Man, Galaga, Centipede -really doesn't need to be _that_ old unless you're really after some serious dust. The trackball's dead end tech, let it lie.
Outrun's still good, as is Black Tiger, Ghouls And Ghosts and the Golden Axe series.
Spy Hunter's a good nostalgia game, but imho not actually much fun as it has a merciless learning curve and a ton of ruthlessly gimmicky combat...unless you can get one of the actual sit-down units with the molded steering wheel. Then you're f-t-w.
In general I advise passing on driving games, really.

V,
who cut his teeth on the pixels and savored the midi blood.

[Mister Andersen]

The game should allow competetive and/or coopertive play.

[glimmerrat]

SNK Titles are a good idea. Art of Fighting, King of Fighters, Fatal Fury and such. All are two player.

You'd be a mug not to pick up Street Fighter 2 if you got the chance. SF2 Turbo is a better option as it gives 16 potential characters (sorry i'm a fighting game geek as all the good stuff came out while i was a teenager).

Also old school goodness like Pacman is a thought. It should appeal to the emo scum *cough* i mean those who love old-school video games.