Being a Game Store Employee

Many gamers will never get the opportunity to work in the game industry. The sheer number of gamers out there compared to jobs is astronomically small. But there are a few who get the chance. My brother for instance. He and his wife just got hired at Fantasy Flight Games, her as an editor, him as an employee at their retail store in Minessota. They start within the next few weeks.

I also had the opportunity a few years back. Someday, I’d like to have the opportunity again, though perhaps not in retail. I’ll give you the history, then break down what it was like working at a game store.

I was 18, looking for a job. I had applied all over town. There were few stores I hadn’t applied at. One day, my dad pointed out Uncle’s Games was hiring in downtown Spokane. I caught a bus and went in, asking for an application. An employee told me that there were already two people being interviewed the following day, but I was welcome to fill out the application and turn it back in, in case the other two didn’t work out.

Within hours, I got a call. I was asked to go in for an interview the following day. When I arrived at the interview, not only was the store owner there, but the whole company’s owner decided to sit in on the interview. Why? Because my dad was one of his first customers in the early 80′s, and he recognized my name. Instead of a regular interview, it was mainly him asking me about what my dad had been up to in the past decade or so.

I got the job.

Uncle's Games, Puzzles and More

Now, Uncle’s isn’t a “gamer’s” game store. Uncle’s is more focused on board games, puzzles, non-collectible card games, and unusual toys. They didn’t ever delve into RPGs or wargames, since there was an RPG store down the street, and they had a friendly relationship with them.

I really enjoyed my time there, learning the industry. There was a local game store near my house that opened up about six months into me working at Uncle’s called Getaway Games. They were a five minute walk from my place, and were run by three awesome guys, Dave, Mike and Steve. I went there nearly every day, spending a lot of time gaming there and buying Warhammer and RPGs. I told them to let me know when they were going to start hiring new employees, and they promised they would.

After working at Uncle’s for about a year, I was called up by Dave. I remember it well. I was at my girlfriend’s house, when she got a call (I didn’t have a cell phone at the time). She handed me the phone, and Dave said he had called my house, and my parents gave him the number. I was confused as to why Dave would be calling. He told me that I was the first person they had called, and were wondering if I’d like to have an interview with him and his wife about being hired on as their resident RPG and Warhammer 40k expert.

I felt like I was hit with a sledgehammer of awesome. Here was the game store I had attended, set up events with and helped promote, and I was being offered a job there?

At the interview, I was basically told it was just a formality, and they wanted my ideas for the store. I had plenty, and they listened with great interest. They offered me one less day of work than the store I was currently working at, but more hours overall each week.

Before I knew it, I was working my dream job. Two others got hired on soon after.

Since there were only three employees besides the owners, we had a lot of pull. Some nights I’d shift around shelves on a whim, play CCGs at the counter with customers, play in RPG sessions at the table located right at the counter, and basically do what I was doing before I worked there. It was phenomenal.

When the store ran out of room, we moved to a new location. I helped paint the new place, move everything, and set it all up. It was more like hanging out with friends than actual work, and I was getting paid to do it.

I eventually was put in charge of ordering anything that wasn’t CCGs and Warhammer. One other guy managed the CCGs, and another the Warhammer stuff. Everything else was mine to purchase.

Now, the thing about game stores you need to realize, is most are barely making a profit. I was only able to purchase around $500 in product in any given week. That’s not much. I would scour the magazines for new releases, then order online anything I thought would sell. I would talk to customers, figuring out what we should buy. It all worked out pretty well.

Alas, it wasn’t to last. The new location just cost too much in rent. We lost customers because we weren’t as close by anymore. Kids weren’t stopping by on their way home from school, since it wasn’t on the way. The store collapsed under itself. The employees were let go, and within weeks, the company sold its inventory to its competitor in town.

So I went back to Uncle’s. I worked there for another year, before joining the Navy.

It was a fantastic time, and something I really miss.

Now: Enough reminiscing. Here’s what you should know that you may not know about gaming retail.

1. Most game stores are barely pulling a profit. I know I mentioned it before, but it’s true. If you can afford to buy at the FLGS, do so. They need your support. It’s a cuthroat market out there, and the internet is making it harder and harder on the brick-and-mortar market.

2. New game store owners aren’t seeing a dime. The three guys who started Getaway knew they wouldn’t be seeing any money from their investment in at least 3 years. At 1 year, they were feeling positive and felt they could start seeing a profit within 2 years. If they hadn’t moved locations, it’s probably true.

3. It’s not all fun and games. There are days when working at a game store is work. Some days, you just don’t want to deal with another customer getting upset because you don’t stock the exact version of Monopoly he’s looking for, or listen to another person talk about their character or their Magic deck.

4. If you’re hanging out at the counter, keep an eye out for actual customers. It’s aggravating to have a fat-beard trying to explain the new RPG he designed while a flustered mother of 2 is trying to purchase a game for her husband as the kids scream at her. Move out of the way and let people make their purchases so they can get on with their lives. I know it’s hard to believe (trust me, I can’t believe it myself) but some people don’t want to spend hours in a game store.

5. Get off the floor and out of the isle. Grabbing an RPG book off the shelf and sitting down and reading it for an hour is not helping the game store at all. People have to move around you while your head is buried in the book. If you have to read a book cover-to-cover before purchasing it, stand off to the side, out of the way.

That’s about all I can think of at the moment. I’ll let you know if I can think of anything later though.

Thanks for reading this (suprisingly) long post, and keep rolling 20′s.