Why Are Game Stores Charging Money Simply to Use their Tables?

The Blind Eternities forum

Posted on May 10, 2023, 8:31 p.m. by DemonDragonJ

There are several game stores near where I live, and all of them charge customers a fee to use their tables for playing games, even if those players do not enter any events that the store is holding, which I severely dislike, since I feel that supporting the store should be a voluntary decision, and not a requirement, and it severely bothers me that some customers are willingly supporting stores who employ this practice.

What does everyone else say about this? Why are game stores charging customers money to simply use their tables, and how can they get away with that?

Caerwyn says... #2

Those tables cost the store money; they want to make that money back.

Tables take up a lot of floor space--you need the space for the table itself and enough surrounding room for folks to easily get in and out of chairs. The square footage adds up pretty quickly.

So, how does that cost the store money? Two ways. First, commercial real estate is often measured and valued in square footage--if you are leasing a store with enough room for tables, that means you are paying for that square footage.

Additionally, that is square footage where you are not putting merchandise. You are sacrificing your ability to stock products by sacrificing shelf space to gain table space.

All told, it is pretty easy to see why a store would charge--since it is expensive for them to have tables, they are going to want to pass those costs along to customers.

May 10, 2023 10:20 p.m.

TypicalTimmy says... #3

May I ask, as of the time of this post (I think it can be edited), I do not see a listing for the prices charged for using a table.

Do you have any specific amounts you are willing to discuss?

That aside, the economy is hard on everyone. We as the consumer are struggling sure, but businesses have far more expenses then we could ever hope to consider. If a few bucks helps keep their doors open, personally I am okay with it.

Although, I do understand limited budgets may not have the income to play as frequently as they'd like to. Maybe someone plays every night, and now the table asks for $3 a night. That's $90 a month. On a limited, fixed, low income budget that can be quite a lot.

So I get it. It's a pickle, really. But at the end of the day, the business deserves to stay afloat just as much as we deserve to play.

May 10, 2023 11:10 p.m.

Gleeock says... #4

I don't have an answer. Never seen it yet. Going to a shop this weekend with a friend, who is dead-set on going to a shop, they better not charge, or that is the last time you see me playing at the shop :)

I'll let you know the results if they do charge for such a thing. I personally cannot figure paying for that when 2/3 of the people I play with own property... Property without limitations on public behavior.

May 11, 2023 12:23 a.m.

Epidilius says... #5

My LGS does not charge to simply sit down and play. Hell, Thursday night the whole store is taken over by a free EDH event. No prizes, no buy in, just 80 people swapping pods until they find an appropriately powered pod to play with. It lasts about four hours.

As far as I know, the conditions for using a table are:

  • If there is an active event, it does not need the space. FNM, for example, is packed, but Sunday Pioneer only uses 4 of the 20 tables.
  • You follow the other store "rules". Rules in quotes because this is stuff like "Don't be disruptive", "No swearing if there are kids", etc etc

I don't think there are any other conditions. Sometimes I show up a few hours early just to read, and the staff doesn't care. Charging for seating seems incredibly shortsighted tbh. A lot of the people that play Thursday (the free event) buy singles, collector packs, and drinks throughout the evening. I think this works out a lot better for the shop than charging a couple of bucks to sit down and play.

May 11, 2023 10:30 a.m.

Tsukimi says... #6

I actually use to work at a game store, and I can see both sides tbh. In my city space is very limited, so the game shop was small by necessity. We had a lot of people who wanted to come in, take up 1 or 2 tables, and essentially hang out all day playing games. They said they "would buy a lot of product" but it really depended on the group. Some people would come in with organized games, be respectful of the space, buy stuff, and were generally great people who would manage their groups thoughtfully.

Other groups were loud, messy (Spilling entire drinks on the table and just leaving it there, not even telling us) and sometimes downright rude, and would act like them buying a 1.00$ soda and a 1.00$ bag of chips entitled them to take up multiple tables and try to refuse to give them up even on busy game and tournament days. I had several people who I almost had to outright ban because they were so rude to our employees about it, and acted entitled to taking up 2-3 of our like 8 tables to just hang out. One guy would "leave his stuff" to try and claim a table and then disappear for hours and be upset and verbally nasty when people "took his table."

So, yea, I get it. We had like 8 tables total, which made tournaments really hard at times, but we still never charged. We would only let people have/use them if they were respectful of us and the space. We did our best to support the community, but ultimately we had to close because (in part) we just weren't making enough money. So I'd ask yourself a few questions.

  1. How big is the place? Would giving up a table two actually potentially cost them money?

  2. How populated of an area do you live in? If it's not a heavily populated area, they probably don't get much regular business and are looking for a steady daily income.

  3. How much are the tables? Are they by the day? The hour? This will probably make clear the difference between necessity and potentially sleazy business practices.

Greed definitely plays a factor here, and I get that it might put you off. But I'd also say consider how difficult it is to run a small business like this nowadays, gaming is mostly online now, even magic, and things have changed in a way that Does Not favor the local gaming store.

May 11, 2023 10:32 a.m.

I think it’s reasonable for the shop to expect some sort of value coming back to them (measured any number of different ways) for each person who comes in. “Buying cards” is an easy example, while “helping in the maintenance of a positive and safe environment” is an example of a less tangible value that customers can provide. If that shop has had a bad run with people who play games that they don’t buy at the store, don’t buy snacks or any other types of things, and actively prevent the people who DO do those things (and more) from using the shop’s facilities... I can see why the shop would want to charge something. If I and a group of my fellow yoga enthusiasts expect to do yoga at my card shop we’d better at least OFFER to pay.

May 11, 2023 6:24 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #8

TypicalTimmy, the price is only $5, which actually gets each player a booster pack, but I never purchase booster packs, if I can avoid doing so, since I prefer to purchase singles.

May 11, 2023 8:44 p.m.

Gidgetimer says... #9

I have never seen this happen in any of the 3 stores I go to. I'm not sure it is a very common thing. But if they are offering packs it appears that they are simply wanting people to buy something if they are using the tables. You might consider seeing if they would be willing to put it toward singles instead of sealed product.

May 11, 2023 8:57 p.m.

legendofa says... #10

A story:

Some time ago, my group frequented a local place (not a game shop, a different establishment) to hold weekly casual unofficial tournaments. We were respectful, bought well, and made sure the room we used was clean. People started inviting their friends. The tournaments grew larger, and space became crowded, but everyone was still respectful and clean. Then friends started inviting friends. These second-hand friends were less respectful and didn't spend money. Then those people invited their friends. Vandalism and theft were reported. There was no room in the place for customers who weren't in "our group." The day that this place banned card games, they reported almost 100 people coming through the doors, but made less than $150 on the night. (I know I could have stepped in and stopped this before it started, but 1. I didn't realize the fourth-hand people were claiming to be "with us" because they so obviously weren't (ha), and 2. I didn't know how much money they weren't spending.)

I doubt it's about extortion, or nickel-and-diming. It's about making sure that the people who show up are willing to put in an investment for the time and space they're using. It's about keeping people safe from opportunists and loiterers. It's about ensuring the business can provide good quality service.

If the game store has done shady things in the past, or the $5 isn't worth the table space, then I'll take back what I just said. If the game store is honest and responsible, though, there's nothing wrong with a modest charge ensuring that people can enjoy the space they're given.

May 12, 2023 12:20 a.m.

Tsukimi says... #11

DemonDragonJ I avoid booster packs as well, but 5$ for a table for an unlimited amount of time and a booster pack sound reasonable to me. They're trying to offer something as well which is nice, and probably need the revenue/tables.

May 12, 2023 8:51 a.m.

MollyMab says... #12

So you aren't buying boosters, food or drink or other stuff to support them, and complaining they are charging for it because thry now aren't making money?

Hmmmm. Hmmmmmmm.

May 13, 2023 3:19 p.m.

Gleeock says... #13

There are a couple of different ways to look at it though. I also could just play magic at a park table, a flat surface, somewhere in my house, folded cardboard... etc. I learned there is a table fee at the place I'm going to in an hour, you can tell it doesn't agree with me :)

My friend is paying it for me, so he must know how I feel about that, but I'm bringing my dad & you just know that will burn me up to pay for him to use a table.

May 13, 2023 4:02 p.m.

Gleeock says... #14

It's essentially a cover-charge, but with less perks. There is no shame in disliking cover charges.

May 13, 2023 4:06 p.m.

Last_Laugh says... #15

I have never seen this and if I did, that'd be the last they saw of me. An LGS should be a nerd haven and be promoted as such by the owners of shops. More bodies = more sales (not from everyone, but overall).

May 16, 2023 11:39 a.m.

Gleeock says... #16

Yeah, I won't go back to that place now that I know. Not that it wasn't fun or anything... but cover-charging a table is a strange thing to me. I'm sure people are in different situations: community involvement, events, etc... but this guy isn't

May 16, 2023 3:37 p.m.

DreadKhan says... #17

Technically you have to pay the cover charge just to come in and scout the place, so it's a bit different then having to pay to actually use a table, you probably can get a feel from watching part of a game whether you really want to pony up.

I think it's fair to pay to use a table, but I could see the store giving you vouchers when you spend money there that you could cash in, to avoid the double dip feel for people who are less wealthy. The only time I played regularly at a store we had to pay a nominal fee, but it was pretty low and one time, the thing was though almost nobody that played was spending any money on the hobby, half the people just used the same decks they built a few years back, if that store didn't charge us they'd have made no money from those people, obviously that's not really fair. I can imagine lots of younger people who play TCGs/CCGs don't really spend much on the hobby, most people had a 'pack a week' period, I spent even less than that until I got a real summer job and could buy stuff, surely there are still kids that aren't flush with cash? Obviously those kids will struggle to pay to play, hence the voucher idea. As for adults, I feel like by then you should expect to pay nominal fees to use other people's property, ymmv.

I dislike boosters as a rule, but being forced to buy one to use a table doesn't seem obscene. Different strokes and all that.

May 16, 2023 3:51 p.m.

legendofa says... #18

One possible solution that I've seen in other companies that provide not just a product, but a reasonably public place to enjoy the product (restaurants, public gardens, etc.) is to have a cover charge, but apply it as a discount to any purchases. So if you pay $5 to rent a table (which is how I interpret this situation), and then buy more than $5 worth of merchandise, you get a $5 discount. If you don't buy anything, then the store isn't subsidizing your free time.

I get that it's good to have a place to just hang out for free, but there are a lot more of those than there are LGSs. The tragedy of the commons is real, and the store isn't obligated to host you on its own dime.

May 16, 2023 3:54 p.m.

Gleeock says... #19

I guess its equivalent to bars that cover charge vs ones who don't. Though I'd argue that financially stable adults are less likely to pay a cover since they have options, usually (a table and a room). I know the one I went to seemed pretty dead compared to pre-cover charge operation. Just like bars that do this, they run those same risks.. Charging a premium for something that many people have easy access to seems like a bad idea

May 16, 2023 9:41 p.m.

plakjekaas says... #20

At my LGS you don't pay per table, you pay a daily fee that will allow you to play as long as the store is open that day. This way you keep out disruptive people who aren't part of your community. You can be sure that anyone inside who paid the entrance fee is serious enough about playing magic to share a good time with. It also keeps the lights on. Part of your admission fee is returned as bar credit, which you can spend on food or drinks inside the store.

Providing tables to play on is a service, that a local MtG community needs to keep going. You can go and play at home, but you'll need to gather the people yourself. At a LGS you can play all the magic you want with strangers without the hassle of inviting people into your home and cleaning after. You even have a singles vendor present if you're in need of upgrades.

My LGS has ~100 seats, at a prime location in the centre of my city. That's very much worth 5€ per 4-6 hours I spend there per day, out of which 1,50€ is returned in bar credit. But even if you feel that's too much; Volunteering for events (I'm the local FNM judge) will get me free entrance and a good standing with the owner, which brings its own perks.

I don't know many other game stores, and I do still play at people's houses too. For the services and facilities provided, I don't think it's greedy to ask for a contribution to be able to keep providing a place to build a community.

May 17, 2023 12:57 a.m.

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