My Local Game Store May Soon Start Charging a Membership Fee
General forum
Posted on Jan. 20, 2019, 4:01 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
There is a game store in my hometown, and I have been a customer of that store for many years (I cannot recall the exact duration, but it has been at least a decade); that store is also a favorite place where my friends and I can hang out to play MtG and other games.
However, I have heard that the owner of that store may soon make a number of changes to it. First, he may be moving the store to a different location, which would be a good change, since the current space where the store is located is small, crowded, and somewhat dingy, but the other change is that he may start charging customers a membership fee merely for the privilege of playing there.
Obviously, I am not pleased about that, and I doubt that most of the store's other regular customers will be, either. Hopefully, the owner will not actually implement that policy, but, if he does, my friends and I shall seek out a new game store for when we spend time together.
Has anyone else here ever had a similar experience? Has your local game store ever made a decision that was very unpopular with their customers?
Where is this at? There may be other people close to you who you can tell on here so they can voice their opinion to the store owner as well.
January 20, 2019 5:03 p.m.
I own an extremely successful business in a service industry. The idea for a membership fee is ridiculous unless the store is jam-packed. The whole point of having a good play-space is that it lures people in. At that point, they might as well pick up some singles, a few packs of sleeves, and maybe register for the next pre-release. After all, the community is great and you're already spending so much time at the store anyway. I could see this being a thing for like $50 per month at an extremely popular store where some back room tables are reserved for members only and you're eligible to reserve cool perks, like sets of sleeves, food and drinks, deck boxes, etc.
January 20, 2019 8:54 p.m.
coltron518 says... #5
TypicalTimmy: $5 is still too much. its the principle of the matter. it shouldn't cost $5 just to pull up a chair and have a table to sit at when players can do that at home for free. also, the store owner wouldn't be considering changing locations if they didn't already have the funds to do so. funds that would be needed before moving. putting yourself in a financial hole and then expecting the customer base to get you out of it via paying for something that is free everywhere else is a poor plan.
January 20, 2019 9:29 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #6
tpmains, if I told you the name of the store, that would reveal in what town I live, and I value my anonymity online.
Also, I heard that the owner is considering charging a membership fee because his store has not been receiving as much business recently as it normally does, so he needs to find an additional source of funding, although I feel that a membership fee will not be a good way to attract potential new customers.
January 20, 2019 10:51 p.m.
coltron518 says... #7
revealing the name of the store wouldn't necessarily reveal what town you live in. lots of players (like myself) frequently go to stores that are located in a city separate from the one they live in. also, even if someone knew what city you lived in, it'd still be pretty darn hard to match your tappedout username to your real life identity. anyone capable of doing so probably wouldn't need the name of your town in the first place. im not saying don't be careful with your info online, but i think refusing to even say which store this is, is overkill
January 20, 2019 11:16 p.m.
Considering how Wizards has squeezed LGSs in the last year, making magic available to people has become more costly in the last year. This cost, in addition to the cost of a new place, has to go somewhere - the owner, the customers who play mtg or other non-mtg customers.
My LGS has had a fee since it has existed - it is the local equivalent of about 1,5 USD entry fee for the day. However, if you load the local equivalent of 20 USD in store credit at once, your entry fee for the next month is lifted.
I feel that is a very good way to generate revenue in a fair way - regulars can get no entry fee if they load some $ in store credit, while once-a-month guys appreciate that they can get entry cheaply for a night of fun.
The key to a good entry fee policy is flexibility and a smart LGS owner will make it appealing to regulars as well as non-regular customers.
coltron518 says... #2
if i were you i'd make it a point to inform the store owner that they'll be losing more business than they bring in if they charge any sort of "membership fee".
January 20, 2019 4:07 p.m.