Behind the Counter
We retail store owners, each of us, are lucky to work in this industry. Not once in the past 10 years have I got up in the morning dreading going to work. How lucky is that? The day my Mother died at 4:30 AM I was at work at 8AM. I didn't know where else to go. I was glad I had a job that was not suddenly a burden to me, but a place of solace.
Jim Crocker wrote this column for a long time. I have been writing this column myself on RPGnet for years now, and--like Jim before me--I have decided to step down, and hope that another retailer will step forward and write about their experiences in the game industry. This will be my last column, and as such, thought I might recap a bit...
I remember my first GTS (Gama Trade Show), which I attended in 1998 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was my first trip to Vegas as an adult and my first foray into learning the craft of retail as a professional. Even though I had been a retailer for 10+ years at the time, I learned more in that one 3-day event than ever before, and maybe since. That trade show took me from retail nitwit, and put me on the path of professional retailer. There were two defining moments that weekend; One was a seminar by the owner of Glass City Games, who did a seminar on professional store appearance; The other was a seminar by Dave Wallace called The Bottom Line.
Honestly, Dave Wallace has changed the industry as we know it over the years by training retailers that you cannot discount your way to profits--and that by discounting your merchandise by 10%, you need to sell 25% more stuff just to break even in profits.
I recall the drive home from Vegas, some 2100 miles, and my (now ex) wife and I collaborating on how to change our store, and optimize it. We were excited about what we'd learned at the show. We had maybe 20 pages of notes from meetings and seminars, dozens of catalogs, some free stuff, and BIG dreams.
Over the years I have tried to emulate Dave Wallace. I felt compelled to do so, mostly from a sense of wanting to help others the way Dave helped me. I began giving seminars at GTS a couple years after my first GTS. I created an online forum for retail store owners, designers, publishers, and distributors call the GIN: Game Industry Network. I've written columns and articles for publication on the topic of the Game Industry, on retailing, on games in general, on the art of buying and selling. I served several terms on the GAMA Retail Division Board, and on the GAMA Main Board as Vice President, for 3 terms. I was the guy who ran the Origins Auction for two years running. And, I've done a few other things, here and there.
Along the way, I drew a lot of criticism from people who I guess felt I was too big for my britches. The kind of people who were born on third base, and thought they had hit a triple, if you know the kind of person I mean. And, recently the GAMA Trade Show was characterized to me as the "Dave and Marcus Show", a reference to Dave Wallace, who has tirelessly given his time to help educate retailers, and myself, because I have to a much lesser degree, done the same. Never mind that the people doing the criticizing are not willing to step up and give seminars - never mind that they are asked every year, and every year are just too busy to contribute, can't be bothered, or otherwise cannot find the time to help out--but always seem to find the time to gripe and snipe from the sidelines.
Others, the people whose opinions I valued--Dave and Kelli Wallace, Jim Crocker, Scott Thorne, Gary Ray, Jon Huston (and many, MANY others) were always supportive, helpful, encouraging. I've a lot of really good friends in this industry!
Now, I am retiring from the spotlight, returning to anonymity, and busying myself with the running of my store, my business. No longer shall I be toiling on behalf of GAMA, the GRD, the GIN or anyone else. It is long past the point at which I should have passed the torch for someone else to carry.
Best of luck to all my fellow, and aspiring, retail shop owners.
Marcus King Titan's Entertainment Cafe
669 Capital Ave SW
Battle Creek, MI 49015
Phone: 269-963-3773
URL: http://www.facebook.com/#!/TitansEntertainmentCafe
Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 9AM till 7PM
Friday & Saturday: 9AM till 10PM
Sunday: 11AM till 5PM
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