I had a guy at my local place tell me that "Oh, we don't pay as much for foils because nobody buys them" and tried to offer me 30 percent on a foil Sword of W&P.
He doesn't work there anymore. (unrelated, I'm sure.)
Wait, is this 30% of the price for a nonfoil or 30% markup for being foil versus 50% or double as is sometimes the case?
I guess OP wants it to be 'keyworded' like "dies" was. What word would you replace ETB with though?
When Aegis Angel is born?
When Huntmaster of the Fells arrives?
When Kitchen Sphinx lands?
When Faerie Imposter busts in?
When Dread Cacodemon pops in?
When Malfegor shows up?
So I was reading the other thread similar to this and I couldn't find that many things I hated about my opponents. But there are several things I hate about the local game store I go to. So lets see how this goes... and yes, I am bored.
Number 1
Keep the prices competitive! I know you need some mark-up for rent and food, but common... I'm not going to pay $75 for a Plateau or FOW. I always feel bad leaving after playinig a tournament and not buying anything.
Number 2
Don't take away prize support at sealed events. Going 5-1 should get more than 5 packs for prize support (personal experience) in a 60 person event.
Number 3
Start the events on time. Why is the event starting at 4pm when it was supposed to start a hour ago...
Number 4
Have prices on your cards. I don't want to ask you 50 questions just to find out what I want to buy.
Number 5
Crap, I can't think of another one. Maybe I'm just cheap, but these things bother me.
1. Recent "No outside food or drink in the store" policy. Yeah, some of the more dbag players don't clean up after themselves, but these are the same inconsiderate players who'll leave pack wrappers around, will throw out or leave on the tables their commons (including the store's lands) after a draft/sealed, and who should probably just be not allowed there in the first place. And I'd rather eat my Wendy's or whatever while letting someone flip through my trade binder than just sitting in the Wendy's.
2. Starcity-level prices on the higher-end items, but inflated prices on the lower end. There's no reason that every bulk rare should be $2, and every junky uncommon should be $1, when I could get them online for under a quarter. If you're going to use Starcity prices, at least be consistent.
3. Low prize support. FNM is an $8 buy-in ($14 for Draft, $23 for Sealed if I recall correctly), and it's 4 packs for 3-0 and 2 packs for 2-1. That means unless I 3-0, I'm losing money, and even 3-0ing is barely worth my time. Pre-re's and Release sealed are even worse. 4-0 gets you 5 packs, 3-1 gets you 3, and 2-2 gets you 1.
4. Frequently sold out of things. For example, I once needed an Oblivion Ring and felt that throwing them 50 cents was a better use of my time than searching through my entire collection for one. They had 0 in stock. Similar situations have arose for other basic things, like Mnemonic Wall, random EDH legends like Niv Mizzet and Momir Vig, etc.
5. Inconsistent on banning people. Multiple incredibly obnoxious or suspected-cheating/stealing players have been "banned", only to show up a few weeks later as if nothing has changed.
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Currently Playing:
Legacy: Something U/W Controlish EDH Cube
Hypercube! A New EDH Deck Every Week(ish)!
I love this store in general, so it will remain un-named, but the guy who owns it is terrible at magic.
He plays terrible decks, like decks so bad it is painful to watch. The deck packs stuff like mortorpod and phyrexian crusader with 0 other poison creatures and only like 12 creatures in the entire deck. Well needless to say he loses almost every game. Instead of admitting that he is bad at the game and improving he whines and acts like people who aren't "piloting their own decks" are ruining magic. This dude has only been playing for like two years.
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Modern (I collect the format):
WURDelver
[/MANA]MANA]R[/MANA]GTron WDeath and Taxes WSoul Sisters RWG Pod Combo URSplinter Twin URStorm RBurn
1. Uncleanliness
I know that customers should clean up after themselves, but many people don't. As a store owner you should be vigilant about cleaning up your store every day. I don't like seeing a half-eaten pizza on a table counter for several days.
2. Rudeness
Please do not think you are better than everyone else and can ignore common courtesy because you have been playing for a long time. Dismissing my questions as stupid and making fun of my card choices does not make me want to spend more time and money at your store. If you really think I need help, answer my questions and advise me.
3. Late start to events
I know that my being married and having other responsibilities is not your problem, but not starting on time because "we're waiting on Bryan" and "he said he's leaving home and will be here in 30 minutes" bothers me (Bryan got there 1:15 later, btw). <and then not letting me have a pre-release card because I have to leave early to get back home . . .>
4. Not opening on time
It is your business and I will not tell you how to run it, but I would advise you to treat it as more of a business and less of a hobby. When I arrive at your store for its opening at 12pm or 2pm (as written on your door / website), please do not make me wait 30 minutes to an hour because you weren't feeling well or your lunch meeting ran long. And, especially do not tell me that your business hours are more of a "guideline" when I ask about it.
5 yugioh players, they are loud, obnoxious, and annoying. 1/4 of the people in the store making 3/4 of the noise. I know they are kids but still.
4 rpgers playing with minatures, you take up too much damn room....you taking up two tables when you could play at home. I dont like having to stand to play because you have the entire death star mapped out
3 change in the change machine. It's been out for months, take ten dollars and go to the bank.
2 not updating card prices. That lilana has been sitting in the case at 70 bucks since it came out
1 lack of interest in magic, we are a significant portin of your sales, show us some respect and stay open for us on new years like you promised.
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Current Decks
Standard BEtched Champion/InfectB WSoilders/knightsW WUVenser SplicerWU RRDWR GFeed the Pack comboG WUPool of ExhaustionWU
EDH GEzuri, Elf OverrunG BGeth, GraverobberB UThada Adel, ThiefU RUrabrask, Big RedR WElesh Norn, CrusadeW WUGAngus Makenzie, Bant ControlWUG
4 rpgers playing with minatures, you take up too much damn room....you taking up two tables when you could play at home. I dont like having to stand to play because you have the entire death star mapped out
On this topic... I respect the miniatures hobby, but I am increasingly coming to realize that it is death for a store. It has just about the worst revenue return per square foot allocated for product and support, and that's setting aside aesthetic and health/ventilation issues with having a "paint station." The reality is that a store is better off doing just about anything else with the space that would be used to support miniatures gaming.
Carrying miniatures for sale, sure, absolutely, if the audience is there you cater to that. But even the literature within the hobby itself is oriented toward people crafting ornate, elaborate playfields IN THEIR OWN HOMES, and store owners should parry with that when the inevitable cheap-or-lives-in-a-matchbox-apartment-or-his-mother's-tiny-basement beardie dicechucker complains "Why won't you put miniatures tables in here?"
I mean, unless the store owner is getting square footage for next-to-nothing, in which case by all means set up the tables and break out the drybrushes.
I'm not opposed to the stores running heroclix and warhammer. They need their leagues and competitive play like the rest of us. It's the star wars and dnd rpgers who insist on using large minatures layouts in stores (yes I'm aware they have organized play too but that doesn't overlap with mtg at my lgs) I'm kind of prejudiced though, I play RPGs but I hate playing them with minatures.
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Current Decks
Standard BEtched Champion/InfectB WSoilders/knightsW WUVenser SplicerWU RRDWR GFeed the Pack comboG WUPool of ExhaustionWU
EDH GEzuri, Elf OverrunG BGeth, GraverobberB UThada Adel, ThiefU RUrabrask, Big RedR WElesh Norn, CrusadeW WUGAngus Makenzie, Bant ControlWUG
OMFG, guys I play casual. I meant Ancestral Visions not Recall. (The one with suspend it was) who cares if plated slagwurm was not in standard, I had a scaled wurm in my deck, we played casual at school.
But I learned Plated Slagwurm is not worth Ancestral Visions.
Oh boy, there has been a lot of stuff that has annoyed me about game stores over the years.
10. The yugioh players tend to be very loud and obnoxious. I'm glad I play at a store now where there is no yugioh.
9. Some places can get really cold in the winter time. Turn up the damn heat.
8. I can't stand small spaces. It gets incredibly cramped.
7. When stores don't have enough seating for everyone, and some players are forced to stand.
6. When stores pay out prizes in packs rather than store credit or cash. I prefer not to grind out 5 rounds and open a bunch of useless bulk rares in my prizes. I'd even take sleeves or deck boxes over packs... at least give me something I can actually use.
5. Sometimes the prize payouts are terrible (in the case where they give out packs). $5 pack/player is unacceptable.
4. I hate when stores overcharge for food/drink. $0.75 for a can of pop is way too high of a markup, I would rather just bring my own from home.
3. There is no night for EDH, or the attempt to organize an EDH night is terrible.
2. The lack of quality singles. I hate trying to put together a deck and being unable to find any of the cards I need.
1. Overall, the lack of catering to the customer's needs. This is a consumer's game, and if the customer is not happy, you will go out of business. If the customers want something, either give it to them or find a way to compromise.
I believe that I have enough social competence to slip into a party or two, potentially wooing some attractive females that would not mind spending the evening performing the booty dance on me.
I guess OP wants it to be 'keyworded' like "dies" was. What word would you replace ETB with though?
When Aegis Angel is born?
When Huntmaster of the Fells arrives?
When Kitchen Sphinx lands?
When Faerie Imposter busts in?
When Dread Cacodemon pops in?
When Malfegor shows up?
I would be willing to bet somebody among the group of magic players that frequented your store did something like steal from the store or caused some form of property damage. The owner might then decide that, if one magic player would do such a thing, than any of them would. He might then decide to weed out all the magic players.
Sadly for me, I live in a very rural community, the closest LGS being 55 minutes away from me. We used to have a shop, but the local government decided that it was a 'den for riff-raff' and had the building condemned despite the fact that the owner had just spent a few thousand dollars making sure it was up to code. They have also gone out of their way to make sure he can't rent or buy any other business space not just in the city where I live, but also the surrounding county.
Being a community that is largely close-minded religious types, they seem to have it in their minds that anything like Magic or D&D are 'tools of the devil' and 'won't allow them anywhere near their children'. It's really sad too, because there is actually a sizable community of Magic players in this area. we have actually resorted to meeting when we can at local bars (the mar owners sympathize for us). We even tried to organize tournaments and give out prizes at one time. Guess what? The powers that be brought the gambling commission down on us. Apparently, MTG can be considered a game of chance, and it is illegal to play games of chance for prizes in a building that serves alcohol without the proper lisense.
Long story short, if I want to play anything but casually with friend, I have to travel an hour to other stores in other counties.
If I were that LGS owner that got shut down, I'd be calling anyone and everyone to slap lawsuits on that city/count government, b/c I am pretty sure its not legal to shut a business down for a supposedly "den for riff-raff." I would do whatever you can to fight it.
One way would be to sell "flyers" that cost the entry fee, and then give people "coupons" for prizes.
1. Not starting on time. Honestly this happens so much at my LGS that I've become numb to it.
2. Not paying out what they promised or not telling people the payouts ahead of time if they have changed.
3. Overcharging on singles/packs. The LGS I frequent looks up their prices directly from SCG and has on occasion rounded up to the nearest dollar ($1.75->$2.00) saying that I would be saving on shipping by buying in store. Haven't bought a single from them since.
4. The biggest problem: Playing favorites with patrons. I can understand cutting someone a deal if they regularly order 6 boxes from you, but that deal should be for anyone in that situation. Also, I've seen the TO allow people to use his own personal known tournament-winning decks and not extend the offer to others. Also, the TO (who also manages the store) has allowed these regulars to use cards directly from the case for an upcoming tournament, again not allowing others to do the same. It's very disheartening to see this kind of blatant favoritism take place.
BIG NUMBER ONE: I think the biggest issues of the stores I most frequent is their serious lack of decent sleeves (the really awful ultra pro sleeves & dragon shields just aren't cutting it). I really don't want to give money to people on ebay and pay shipping for sleeves, but they really leave me no other choice. Like, I'm about to go spend 10$ buying 100 sleeves on ebay because the two stores I regularly frequent don't have them. I asked if they could get them and they said they can't. Their loss.
#2: Would be nice if the TOs or whomever actually became judges.
My biggest grippe is that my "lgs" is a comic shop. No singles at all, the amount of business this place is missing out on is crazy. We get 2 tourneys a month one standard one legacy, no draft or options. Packs are priced fine and theres alot of room and tables, but from the number of booster boxes he sells you think he would maybe give more than 5 feet of wall to cards.
1 and 2) Going "Rick Harrison" on people with singles. Overcharges for everything, and every card you show him has some flaw that makes it "damaged" and he's doing you a favor because "I don't even know if I can sell it because it's damaged. But I'm doing you a favor and taking a chance on it because I don't know if I can sell it." For him, there's Mint and Damaged, with none of those other silly ratings like "Near Mint" or "Slightly Played."
3) Terrible prizes. Usually going 2-2 in a sealed format isn't enough to win you even a pack. I haven't deciphered his "formula," but I think he only gives to top 8, and going 2-2 seems to land me, conveniently, at #9. My friend usually goes 3-1 and gets 2-4 packs, so I believe 1-4 gets 4 packs, and 5-8 gets 2 packs. I'd love 5 bucks in trade in place of 2 packs.
4) Running an event, and not clearing out the people who aren't a part of the event. Went to an event on Sunday the other week, and my matches had an Evanescence soundtrack to them from the guy sitting next to me playing Gauntlet on his laptop.
5) The owner has his father and wife also helping out. Well, "helping" is too strong of a word. They're there, and they do stuff. Not sure if I'd call it helping though. They obviously don't want to be there. His wife especially has this pissed off look to her when she's there. I get it, money's tight. But hiring a kid who likes Magic and wants to be there is totally worth the 7 bucks an hour.
My favourite thing about this thread is the people who think that their game store should actually be just a store for Magic: The Gathering. The world could use a little more business sense.
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I'll hold myself to this. I'll get fancy dishes and everything.
My favourite thing about this thread is the people who think that their game store should actually be just a store for Magic: The Gathering. The world could use a little more business sense.
While I agree with you it's silly to think that a hobby store could get by on only selling one thing [outside of very corner-case corner cases] rather than having one thing be their 'main seller', it sucks when there's a healthy Magic population that gets completely ignored or shunted into second place in favor of something the shop owner knows better. Or as a previous poster put it, people who might not even be PAYING.
If you're gonna have an 8 man draft on a Tuesday, just sequester them in one section of tables and leave the rest freed up, no big deal. If you're having a prerelease or a PTQ or something, clearly number/label the tables you're gonna use for the event, and ask any people playing wargames/tabletops/other card games/Magic that isn't the event/Gauntlet on their Laptop to please move to one of the 'available' tables. If there's not enough tables, say that you're sorry, but this event NEEDS those tables, and that they're free to come back in a few hours when there's fewer people in the event.
Yes, it's stupid to assume that your one hobby should take precedence over other things in all aspects, or that your store should only cater to you, or that your store could get by just selling YOUR game. It's also incredibly irritating when you can't seem to get anything done because the store owner is doing all of that exact stuff for another hobby.
My favourite thing about this thread is the people who think that their game store should actually be just a store for Magic: The Gathering. The world could use a little more business sense.
Which I can guarantee isnt a viable option for a brick and mortar store (magic only that is). The variety of options available brings in more customers, and enough sales to make sure that the rent and bills are paid, and hopefully some actual profit is being produced after all the expenses. The best shops have different areas of the store available for play areas for different games to be able to be played at the same time without interfering with eachother.
My complaints about shops prior to being offered the ability to run/own the magic singles sales for our shop, with the shop getting a percentage of my sales were ones that Ive tried to deal with, with our shop, but isnt always as easy as all that:
1. Reasonable prices for singles. Far too often, shops will charge significantly more for singles than the real going rate for those cards. I will state however, that since scrye magazine stopped being produced, that many shops have gotten on the bangwagon and have begun pricing more closely to online prices.
2. Keeping a solid stock of singles available. Most shops simply dont do this. They will open a case, maybe two of boxes, stock the singles, and then call it a day for that set. When the stock runs out, then its out. This can make it difficult for people who are looking to build decks, or grab those last few cards they need from being able to support their local shop, when the shop doesnt have what they need.
3. Offering reasonable trade and buy rates. Far too often shops will offer abysmal trade/buy rates for cards, or will simply only take a very few cards they would most easily be able to move. While this may make sense as far as profit margins, and flow of product sales, it also can stifle the general health of the magic singles market for a local area. By offering reasonable buy/trade rates, it allows customers to have a greater confidence in buying singles and other product, which can greatly enhance sales, especially from those that might not otherwise risk spending the money due to a general lack of funds.
4. Reasonable prices and selection on packs/boxes. While its seemingly rare these days, some shops will try to overcharge for packs. Retail is $3.99/pack. Charging more than that (outside of sales tax) is just a bit rediculous (standard sets only of course, OOP product is another thing entirely). That said, while many enjoy a shop that gives steep discounts on packs/boxes, I understand fully why many shops tend to price theirs very close to full retail, simply due to the need to maximize sales/margins to be able to pay the bills (especially when one considers that for most shops, the profit margins on singles often arent enough to put a dent in such costs.) Shops that offer a discount for buying multiple packs is also a good thing in my eyes as it encourages the buying of more product, which benefits both customer and shop.
5. Plenty of play space. Far too many shops Ive seen fail hugely with this. Eithor they dont have much play space in the first place and miss out on the additional revenue that is often needed by being able to run reasonably sized events, or they have the space but dont make the best use of it they could. While product space is a large concern for most shops, having proper play space is also very important. That few hundred extra in rent every month to add a decent amount of extra play space, can often more than pay for itself each month.
6. Having judges available who actually KNOW the rules. This is true for any game but especially so for magic and related tournaments. Ill be the first to admit that I dont know EVERYTHING when it comes to all card interactions with the game, but Ill darned sure look stuff up if Im not certain of how something interacts or works. I would rather take a minute to double check something so that I am 100% sure, than to give an incorrect ruling. Far too often do I hear of shops with judges who arent sure and get stuff wrong. There is nothing more irritating for a customer than to enter a tournament, and get screwed over by an incorrect ruling. Mistakes do happen, but the effort should be made to avoid such mistakes if at all possible.
7 (and most important). CUSTOMER SERVICE. A shop could be perfect in every way otherwise, could have the nicest, best looking, most fully stocked, and reasonably priced shop one has ever seen, but if the owners and workers there are jerks, and dont understand how important good customer service is, they will fail. Over the years Ive seen many shops come and go, and while some of those involved with each shop may have understood that concept, many have not, and this is something that is a part of any sort of customer service related businesses or job. If you dont treat your customers well, they arent likely to come back. Be appreciative of the business they are bringing you. Be polite and courteous to them, offer that extra help to get them what they need or find out what they need even if they arent sure what it is. If you can garner a reputation as a great store to come to, then the people will hear about it and youll find more and more people coming to check the place out. Be knowledgeable about what you are selling. A shop with owners and workers that can answer nearly any question about the items they are selling, even if its spread out among several people, is very important. The more informative you can be, and the more products you can reccomend and relatedly hype up to your customers, the more easily your customers will be able to find something they may want, and the more likely it is that they will come back when they are looking for the next items to purchase.
Sorry for going over 5, Im sure I could think of many more, but those were the ones that came to my head first due to my personal experiences first and ones which Ive tried to avoid having issues with at the shop I help run.
My favourite thing about this thread is the people who think that their game store should actually be just a store for Magic: The Gathering. The world could use a little more business sense.
I just wish my area had a game store for magic games instead of a comic shop that doesn't have magic as more than a side thought. Every time he does run games he easily sells a box or two, so much wasted potential.
Oh boy, there has been a lot of stuff that has annoyed me about game stores over the years.
10. The yugioh players tend to be very loud and obnoxious. I'm glad I play at a store now where there is no yugioh.
9. Some places can get really cold in the winter time. Turn up the damn heat.
8. I can't stand small spaces. It gets incredibly cramped.
7. When stores don't have enough seating for everyone, and some players are forced to stand.
6. When stores pay out prizes in packs rather than store credit or cash. I prefer not to grind out 5 rounds and open a bunch of useless bulk rares in my prizes. I'd even take sleeves or deck boxes over packs... at least give me something I can actually use.
5. Sometimes the prize payouts are terrible (in the case where they give out packs). $5 pack/player is unacceptable.
4. I hate when stores overcharge for food/drink. $0.75 for a can of pop is way too high of a markup, I would rather just bring my own from home.
3. There is no night for EDH, or the attempt to organize an EDH night is terrible.
2. The lack of quality singles. I hate trying to put together a deck and being unable to find any of the cards I need.
1. Overall, the lack of catering to the customer's needs. This is a consumer's game, and if the customer is not happy, you will go out of business. If the customers want something, either give it to them or find a way to compromise.
Wow, seems like magical Christmas land. Around me is 8 of those 10 things you names. Only 8 cause there's no tables so no Yugioh and it's usually too warm, not too cold.
1.) Miserable prize support. Sorry, but I'd rather not pay $15 for an 8 person draft, and have the prizes be 3-1, when for the same $15 we could just all draft out of a box. They also have Zero prize support, aside from promos, for FNM or Game Day events, and the only event of the week they do have prize support is a whopping $2 buy in.
2.) The place is absolutely freezing in the winter. As in, the heat in the store hasn't worked for over a year, and AFAIK they have no plans of fixing it. They're located inside a mall so this isn't ungodly awful, but the average temperature in the store in the winter is no higher than 50 Fahrenheit.
3.) Ridiculously low inventory. They break about 1 box for singles every set, and nothing else. They also buy at 1/3rd the price they sell at, so they have very few people selling anything to the store. They also run out of packs with depressing regularity, and rarely have packs of anything but the most recent block on sale.
4.) The few singles they have are inconsistently priced, and the prices are never updated. Should there ever be more than one copy of a card in the sales case, it's a fairly safe bet that they will different prices, to reflect the price the card was when it got put in the case. Whenever this gets pointed out to an employee, the inevitable response is "If somebody buys it, they'll get it for the right price."(The store uses SCG for their prices). They are usually pretty good about changing the price down to SCG price, as long as the person buying from them knows to ask. Otherwise, they'll gladly sell you that Sorin for $60, or Tooth and Nail at $18. Needless to say, if I ever want to try to trade for something that's at an old and hideously high price in the case, it's an uphill battle to say the least.
5.) The layout is horrible. The play area is cramped, the employees don't have easy access to the singles, so trying to get anything involves them having to walk halfway across the store to get the cards, then back to the register, and for larger events we frequently have people having to stand and play at a counter, or sit and play on the floor.
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sig by DarkNightCavalier
Avatar by perv90210.
Currently Running
Cryffyl
Mirrodin-TSP...
They in fact were.
Wait, is this 30% of the price for a nonfoil or 30% markup for being foil versus 50% or double as is sometimes the case?
1. Recent "No outside food or drink in the store" policy. Yeah, some of the more dbag players don't clean up after themselves, but these are the same inconsiderate players who'll leave pack wrappers around, will throw out or leave on the tables their commons (including the store's lands) after a draft/sealed, and who should probably just be not allowed there in the first place. And I'd rather eat my Wendy's or whatever while letting someone flip through my trade binder than just sitting in the Wendy's.
2. Starcity-level prices on the higher-end items, but inflated prices on the lower end. There's no reason that every bulk rare should be $2, and every junky uncommon should be $1, when I could get them online for under a quarter. If you're going to use Starcity prices, at least be consistent.
3. Low prize support. FNM is an $8 buy-in ($14 for Draft, $23 for Sealed if I recall correctly), and it's 4 packs for 3-0 and 2 packs for 2-1. That means unless I 3-0, I'm losing money, and even 3-0ing is barely worth my time. Pre-re's and Release sealed are even worse. 4-0 gets you 5 packs, 3-1 gets you 3, and 2-2 gets you 1.
4. Frequently sold out of things. For example, I once needed an Oblivion Ring and felt that throwing them 50 cents was a better use of my time than searching through my entire collection for one. They had 0 in stock. Similar situations have arose for other basic things, like Mnemonic Wall, random EDH legends like Niv Mizzet and Momir Vig, etc.
5. Inconsistent on banning people. Multiple incredibly obnoxious or suspected-cheating/stealing players have been "banned", only to show up a few weeks later as if nothing has changed.
Currently Playing:
Legacy: Something U/W Controlish
EDH Cube
Hypercube! A New EDH Deck Every Week(ish)!
He plays terrible decks, like decks so bad it is painful to watch. The deck packs stuff like mortorpod and phyrexian crusader with 0 other poison creatures and only like 12 creatures in the entire deck. Well needless to say he loses almost every game. Instead of admitting that he is bad at the game and improving he whines and acts like people who aren't "piloting their own decks" are ruining magic. This dude has only been playing for like two years.
WURDelver
[/MANA]MANA]R[/MANA]GTron
WDeath and Taxes
WSoul Sisters
RWG Pod Combo
URSplinter Twin
URStorm
RBurn
Blocks in between Mirrodin and TSP: Kamigawa, Ravnica.
Definitely never standard-legal at the same time.
I know that customers should clean up after themselves, but many people don't. As a store owner you should be vigilant about cleaning up your store every day. I don't like seeing a half-eaten pizza on a table counter for several days.
2. Rudeness
Please do not think you are better than everyone else and can ignore common courtesy because you have been playing for a long time. Dismissing my questions as stupid and making fun of my card choices does not make me want to spend more time and money at your store. If you really think I need help, answer my questions and advise me.
3. Late start to events
I know that my being married and having other responsibilities is not your problem, but not starting on time because "we're waiting on Bryan" and "he said he's leaving home and will be here in 30 minutes" bothers me (Bryan got there 1:15 later, btw). <and then not letting me have a pre-release card because I have to leave early to get back home . . .>
4. Not opening on time
It is your business and I will not tell you how to run it, but I would advise you to treat it as more of a business and less of a hobby. When I arrive at your store for its opening at 12pm or 2pm (as written on your door / website), please do not make me wait 30 minutes to an hour because you weren't feeling well or your lunch meeting ran long. And, especially do not tell me that your business hours are more of a "guideline" when I ask about it.
4 rpgers playing with minatures, you take up too much damn room....you taking up two tables when you could play at home. I dont like having to stand to play because you have the entire death star mapped out
3 change in the change machine. It's been out for months, take ten dollars and go to the bank.
2 not updating card prices. That lilana has been sitting in the case at 70 bucks since it came out
1 lack of interest in magic, we are a significant portin of your sales, show us some respect and stay open for us on new years like you promised.
BEtched Champion/InfectB
WSoilders/knightsW
WUVenser SplicerWU
RRDWR
GFeed the Pack comboG
WUPool of ExhaustionWU
EDH
GEzuri, Elf OverrunG
BGeth, GraverobberB
UThada Adel, ThiefU
RUrabrask, Big RedR
WElesh Norn, CrusadeW
WUGAngus Makenzie, Bant ControlWUG
Extended
WGElvesWG
Legacy
RGoblinsR
UBGFariesUBG
UBGRaffinityUBG
The guy never said that they were both in Standard at the same time, he only said that the Ancestral was.
Juju Alters - Altered MTG Cards
On this topic... I respect the miniatures hobby, but I am increasingly coming to realize that it is death for a store. It has just about the worst revenue return per square foot allocated for product and support, and that's setting aside aesthetic and health/ventilation issues with having a "paint station." The reality is that a store is better off doing just about anything else with the space that would be used to support miniatures gaming.
Carrying miniatures for sale, sure, absolutely, if the audience is there you cater to that. But even the literature within the hobby itself is oriented toward people crafting ornate, elaborate playfields IN THEIR OWN HOMES, and store owners should parry with that when the inevitable cheap-or-lives-in-a-matchbox-apartment-or-his-mother's-tiny-basement beardie dicechucker complains "Why won't you put miniatures tables in here?"
I mean, unless the store owner is getting square footage for next-to-nothing, in which case by all means set up the tables and break out the drybrushes.
BEtched Champion/InfectB
WSoilders/knightsW
WUVenser SplicerWU
RRDWR
GFeed the Pack comboG
WUPool of ExhaustionWU
EDH
GEzuri, Elf OverrunG
BGeth, GraverobberB
UThada Adel, ThiefU
RUrabrask, Big RedR
WElesh Norn, CrusadeW
WUGAngus Makenzie, Bant ControlWUG
Extended
WGElvesWG
Legacy
RGoblinsR
UBGFariesUBG
UBGRaffinityUBG
But I learned Plated Slagwurm is not worth Ancestral Visions.
10. The yugioh players tend to be very loud and obnoxious. I'm glad I play at a store now where there is no yugioh.
9. Some places can get really cold in the winter time. Turn up the damn heat.
8. I can't stand small spaces. It gets incredibly cramped.
7. When stores don't have enough seating for everyone, and some players are forced to stand.
6. When stores pay out prizes in packs rather than store credit or cash. I prefer not to grind out 5 rounds and open a bunch of useless bulk rares in my prizes. I'd even take sleeves or deck boxes over packs... at least give me something I can actually use.
5. Sometimes the prize payouts are terrible (in the case where they give out packs). $5 pack/player is unacceptable.
4. I hate when stores overcharge for food/drink. $0.75 for a can of pop is way too high of a markup, I would rather just bring my own from home.
3. There is no night for EDH, or the attempt to organize an EDH night is terrible.
2. The lack of quality singles. I hate trying to put together a deck and being unable to find any of the cards I need.
1. Overall, the lack of catering to the customer's needs. This is a consumer's game, and if the customer is not happy, you will go out of business. If the customers want something, either give it to them or find a way to compromise.
RUG Riku, Two is Better Than One
UB [PRIMER] Wrexial, Classic Control
RG Radha, Ramp's Theme Goes With Everything
Oh wow, how did I make that mistake
That is just...bad
If I were that LGS owner that got shut down, I'd be calling anyone and everyone to slap lawsuits on that city/count government, b/c I am pretty sure its not legal to shut a business down for a supposedly "den for riff-raff." I would do whatever you can to fight it.
One way would be to sell "flyers" that cost the entry fee, and then give people "coupons" for prizes.
WBG Karador GBW
R Daretti R
RG Omnath GR
WRG Modern Burn GRW
WB Modern Tokens BW
DCI Rules Advisor as of 5/18/2015
2. Not paying out what they promised or not telling people the payouts ahead of time if they have changed.
3. Overcharging on singles/packs. The LGS I frequent looks up their prices directly from SCG and has on occasion rounded up to the nearest dollar ($1.75->$2.00) saying that I would be saving on shipping by buying in store. Haven't bought a single from them since.
4. The biggest problem: Playing favorites with patrons. I can understand cutting someone a deal if they regularly order 6 boxes from you, but that deal should be for anyone in that situation. Also, I've seen the TO allow people to use his own personal known tournament-winning decks and not extend the offer to others. Also, the TO (who also manages the store) has allowed these regulars to use cards directly from the case for an upcoming tournament, again not allowing others to do the same. It's very disheartening to see this kind of blatant favoritism take place.
#2: Would be nice if the TOs or whomever actually became judges.
1 and 2) Going "Rick Harrison" on people with singles. Overcharges for everything, and every card you show him has some flaw that makes it "damaged" and he's doing you a favor because "I don't even know if I can sell it because it's damaged. But I'm doing you a favor and taking a chance on it because I don't know if I can sell it." For him, there's Mint and Damaged, with none of those other silly ratings like "Near Mint" or "Slightly Played."
3) Terrible prizes. Usually going 2-2 in a sealed format isn't enough to win you even a pack. I haven't deciphered his "formula," but I think he only gives to top 8, and going 2-2 seems to land me, conveniently, at #9. My friend usually goes 3-1 and gets 2-4 packs, so I believe 1-4 gets 4 packs, and 5-8 gets 2 packs. I'd love 5 bucks in trade in place of 2 packs.
4) Running an event, and not clearing out the people who aren't a part of the event. Went to an event on Sunday the other week, and my matches had an Evanescence soundtrack to them from the guy sitting next to me playing Gauntlet on his laptop.
5) The owner has his father and wife also helping out. Well, "helping" is too strong of a word. They're there, and they do stuff. Not sure if I'd call it helping though. They obviously don't want to be there. His wife especially has this pissed off look to her when she's there. I get it, money's tight. But hiring a kid who likes Magic and wants to be there is totally worth the 7 bucks an hour.
While I agree with you it's silly to think that a hobby store could get by on only selling one thing [outside of very corner-case corner cases] rather than having one thing be their 'main seller', it sucks when there's a healthy Magic population that gets completely ignored or shunted into second place in favor of something the shop owner knows better. Or as a previous poster put it, people who might not even be PAYING.
If you're gonna have an 8 man draft on a Tuesday, just sequester them in one section of tables and leave the rest freed up, no big deal. If you're having a prerelease or a PTQ or something, clearly number/label the tables you're gonna use for the event, and ask any people playing wargames/tabletops/other card games/Magic that isn't the event/Gauntlet on their Laptop to please move to one of the 'available' tables. If there's not enough tables, say that you're sorry, but this event NEEDS those tables, and that they're free to come back in a few hours when there's fewer people in the event.
Yes, it's stupid to assume that your one hobby should take precedence over other things in all aspects, or that your store should only cater to you, or that your store could get by just selling YOUR game. It's also incredibly irritating when you can't seem to get anything done because the store owner is doing all of that exact stuff for another hobby.
The latest Comprehensive Rules are also good, and can be found here.
Which I can guarantee isnt a viable option for a brick and mortar store (magic only that is). The variety of options available brings in more customers, and enough sales to make sure that the rent and bills are paid, and hopefully some actual profit is being produced after all the expenses. The best shops have different areas of the store available for play areas for different games to be able to be played at the same time without interfering with eachother.
My complaints about shops prior to being offered the ability to run/own the magic singles sales for our shop, with the shop getting a percentage of my sales were ones that Ive tried to deal with, with our shop, but isnt always as easy as all that:
1. Reasonable prices for singles. Far too often, shops will charge significantly more for singles than the real going rate for those cards. I will state however, that since scrye magazine stopped being produced, that many shops have gotten on the bangwagon and have begun pricing more closely to online prices.
2. Keeping a solid stock of singles available. Most shops simply dont do this. They will open a case, maybe two of boxes, stock the singles, and then call it a day for that set. When the stock runs out, then its out. This can make it difficult for people who are looking to build decks, or grab those last few cards they need from being able to support their local shop, when the shop doesnt have what they need.
3. Offering reasonable trade and buy rates. Far too often shops will offer abysmal trade/buy rates for cards, or will simply only take a very few cards they would most easily be able to move. While this may make sense as far as profit margins, and flow of product sales, it also can stifle the general health of the magic singles market for a local area. By offering reasonable buy/trade rates, it allows customers to have a greater confidence in buying singles and other product, which can greatly enhance sales, especially from those that might not otherwise risk spending the money due to a general lack of funds.
4. Reasonable prices and selection on packs/boxes. While its seemingly rare these days, some shops will try to overcharge for packs. Retail is $3.99/pack. Charging more than that (outside of sales tax) is just a bit rediculous (standard sets only of course, OOP product is another thing entirely). That said, while many enjoy a shop that gives steep discounts on packs/boxes, I understand fully why many shops tend to price theirs very close to full retail, simply due to the need to maximize sales/margins to be able to pay the bills (especially when one considers that for most shops, the profit margins on singles often arent enough to put a dent in such costs.) Shops that offer a discount for buying multiple packs is also a good thing in my eyes as it encourages the buying of more product, which benefits both customer and shop.
5. Plenty of play space. Far too many shops Ive seen fail hugely with this. Eithor they dont have much play space in the first place and miss out on the additional revenue that is often needed by being able to run reasonably sized events, or they have the space but dont make the best use of it they could. While product space is a large concern for most shops, having proper play space is also very important. That few hundred extra in rent every month to add a decent amount of extra play space, can often more than pay for itself each month.
6. Having judges available who actually KNOW the rules. This is true for any game but especially so for magic and related tournaments. Ill be the first to admit that I dont know EVERYTHING when it comes to all card interactions with the game, but Ill darned sure look stuff up if Im not certain of how something interacts or works. I would rather take a minute to double check something so that I am 100% sure, than to give an incorrect ruling. Far too often do I hear of shops with judges who arent sure and get stuff wrong. There is nothing more irritating for a customer than to enter a tournament, and get screwed over by an incorrect ruling. Mistakes do happen, but the effort should be made to avoid such mistakes if at all possible.
7 (and most important). CUSTOMER SERVICE. A shop could be perfect in every way otherwise, could have the nicest, best looking, most fully stocked, and reasonably priced shop one has ever seen, but if the owners and workers there are jerks, and dont understand how important good customer service is, they will fail. Over the years Ive seen many shops come and go, and while some of those involved with each shop may have understood that concept, many have not, and this is something that is a part of any sort of customer service related businesses or job. If you dont treat your customers well, they arent likely to come back. Be appreciative of the business they are bringing you. Be polite and courteous to them, offer that extra help to get them what they need or find out what they need even if they arent sure what it is. If you can garner a reputation as a great store to come to, then the people will hear about it and youll find more and more people coming to check the place out. Be knowledgeable about what you are selling. A shop with owners and workers that can answer nearly any question about the items they are selling, even if its spread out among several people, is very important. The more informative you can be, and the more products you can reccomend and relatedly hype up to your customers, the more easily your customers will be able to find something they may want, and the more likely it is that they will come back when they are looking for the next items to purchase.
Sorry for going over 5, Im sure I could think of many more, but those were the ones that came to my head first due to my personal experiences first and ones which Ive tried to avoid having issues with at the shop I help run.
I just wish my area had a game store for magic games instead of a comic shop that doesn't have magic as more than a side thought. Every time he does run games he easily sells a box or two, so much wasted potential.
Wow, seems like magical Christmas land. Around me is 8 of those 10 things you names. Only 8 cause there's no tables so no Yugioh and it's usually too warm, not too cold.
1.) Miserable prize support. Sorry, but I'd rather not pay $15 for an 8 person draft, and have the prizes be 3-1, when for the same $15 we could just all draft out of a box. They also have Zero prize support, aside from promos, for FNM or Game Day events, and the only event of the week they do have prize support is a whopping $2 buy in.
2.) The place is absolutely freezing in the winter. As in, the heat in the store hasn't worked for over a year, and AFAIK they have no plans of fixing it. They're located inside a mall so this isn't ungodly awful, but the average temperature in the store in the winter is no higher than 50 Fahrenheit.
3.) Ridiculously low inventory. They break about 1 box for singles every set, and nothing else. They also buy at 1/3rd the price they sell at, so they have very few people selling anything to the store. They also run out of packs with depressing regularity, and rarely have packs of anything but the most recent block on sale.
4.) The few singles they have are inconsistently priced, and the prices are never updated. Should there ever be more than one copy of a card in the sales case, it's a fairly safe bet that they will different prices, to reflect the price the card was when it got put in the case. Whenever this gets pointed out to an employee, the inevitable response is "If somebody buys it, they'll get it for the right price."(The store uses SCG for their prices). They are usually pretty good about changing the price down to SCG price, as long as the person buying from them knows to ask. Otherwise, they'll gladly sell you that Sorin for $60, or Tooth and Nail at $18. Needless to say, if I ever want to try to trade for something that's at an old and hideously high price in the case, it's an uphill battle to say the least.
5.) The layout is horrible. The play area is cramped, the employees don't have easy access to the singles, so trying to get anything involves them having to walk halfway across the store to get the cards, then back to the register, and for larger events we frequently have people having to stand and play at a counter, or sit and play on the floor.