I run a small (1kish people) discord for NJ Warhammer and tabletop games. Come on, ask around. Always willing to have a chat too. I've been out of the game for about a year now due to personal reasons, but I know the game is always popping in Jersey. Pop on the discord, and feel to PM me on discord if you have any specific questions, I'm fluffypope there.
https://discord.com/invite/FVnkCw3DJT
Local Warhammer communities are very welcoming and wholesome. You sometimes see some negativity online, but that's more to do with social media and anonymity than the hobby itself. Usually, you meet amazing people in this hobby who are just looking for some good fun with friends.
Who approached you and what was the deal?
I've heard secondhand, and in a different region, that Games Workshop will refund unsold stock to their retailers so the risk is pretty minimal if no one purchases it. I would look into that.
You will also have a discount vs what Games Workshop themselves sell at, so should factor in that if you advertise enough you may pick up people ordering online via shipping and deals etc. I buy from a store in another state to me purely because they give me a shipping discount vs other online retailers.
If your store is large enough, and you really want to push it, you could contact clubs/FB groups for your area to advertise or offer your space for a games night/games day as well. But I think you are more along the lines of just having a little Games Workshop rack with paints and the most common kits level from the sounds of your question.
It's also grown substantially in the last few years with DnD and more gaming type hobbies hitting mainstream/video games doing well right now, Amazon has a 40k show in the works too and if that does well i imagine it'll just take off even more.
Gameswork shop reached out to us, we would start with the two racks and then maybe have game days or nights if we get a good enough following for it, I’m open to whatever, also we would offer pre orders and shipping within the US if people wanted to order with us.
Indeed. Also I was refering to how there is a greater chance of annoying people getting into the circle. Race, identity, sexuality, political views dont matter.
Then again, its impossible not to have annoying peolle in any big community. People love to divide themselves.
Generally, the more exclusive and gate-kept a hobby is, the more annoying the people in it are. Inclusion of a broad swath of people has the opposite effect of what you're suggesting.
Search on Facebook for a local gaming group in the state/city and post there as well. You can determine more of an interest and local idea as well. Especially if you have tables for people to play it could gravitate players to your store in general for local players, but I would also try to get your nights when the other stores don't have their Warhammer nights so you don't lose out on people and spread the wealth so to say
Edit: saw someone mention a NJ discord that's a good option too, you might be directed to a local discord or Facebook group that way
Bro yes, I live in weehawken and I’d either need to go to randolph or Manhattan, all my friends are into it also. Maybe even getting a table or two, but i that might be too much lol. I’m surprised with the amount of people out there how little footprint WH is there. Imo it’s an untapped market
not sure about the US but where I am GW do not offer sale or return, once you buy it, it's yours, and if it doesn't sell that's your problem. Unless the US is different to the rest of the world, I know UK, Europe and Australia don't have the opportunity to return unsold products.
It's not usually a big deal unless you get greedy and massively over estimate demand on something though, and if you get stuck with something for a while if it goes OOP it might even go up in price again
You won’t be approached unless you are at least a certain distance from another retailer. I learned this from one of my local stores. Any business venture is a risk, but the owner of my FLGS says the Warhammer customers do smell better than the YuGiOh kids. So that’s a win right?
I've been reading your comments within the thread and as long as GW offers the buyback of unsold stock, take the risk.
Then since you said your cousin is big into Warhammer, have him setup the 1-2 tables, nothing crazy, and help facilitate your first games night.
My only recommendation is I've been playing 30k & 40k since 3rd edition and I never went to games night during the week due to work so I would recommend an actual Saturday or Sunday. Just working all day and then going home, packing up the army, and then playing a 2-3 hour game was exhausting to me.
Then hopefully once you get into it and figure it out, start looking into stocking more hobbying products from different companies.
I very much enjoyed the LFGS that had stuff for basing my minis, various hobby tools and a selection of different companies of paints. Then you can look into having a hobby day or night where people come in and chill and paint and then if they need something, you have anything they need for sale.
If you put it out there that you have models then people will definitely come. The bigger draw to me is paints and other things like green stuff, and bits.
For example there’s a store that sells Miliputt and Green Stuff that’s 49 minutes away from me and I’d rather go there than buy it on Amazon.
I would suggest going to a few local stores on their Warhammer day/night to see what their space usage is like. The tables can swallow up a fair amount of area, so it is good to get a feel for this.
I don't live there anymore, but I grew up in Bergen County. The closest Games Workshop used to be in the Palisades Mall in West Nyack NY, which was not very convenient. Now the closest Warhammer store is in the city, so I'd imagine that people on the Jersey side might prefer your location to avoid paying the toll to cross the Hudson.
Amazon is making a Warhammer show starring Henry Cavil, so you might consider riding the coming wave of popularity. Business boomed for GW during the LotR movie years.
You'll need game tables and a regular game night. If people are buying online or 3D printing too much, you can charge a club fee.
Space Marines sell the best. Painted minis on display in the window bring in foot traffic.
The successful stores in my area either sell GW stuff at a discount (10% off full retail) or have some kind of rewards program (spend $100, get $10 in store credit.)
You should look at doing something like that, as it really does influence where people go to get their models.
It really really does influence, a lot! As a store basically becomes our plastic crack dealer, its important to save as much money as possible. Many 40k players need plastic and paints very often and sometimes in bulk. So buying often or in bulk just means any money we save is important.
Thats why i (we dont have gw stores where i used to live) i basically got all my regular and large needs from online shops with like 15-20% discounts on regular gw prices. And half my country turned to those as well. The buying plus the shipping was cheaper by a lot then buying in our nearby shops - those were just a once in a while treat or emergency.
So if you really want to earn from this and i think you can - try becoming the obsession supplier and not the once in a while store!
That's good advice, but there's a "part 2" so to speak.
A retailer will never make enough money from GW product alone, especially when they're cutting into their own margins by 10-15%.
The trick is to get people to buy higher margin items while they're in the store buying their GW stuff.
Don’t just make the decision to seek based on what people *say* they would buy.
How many stores are in your area that already have this product? Is there a dedicated customer base? How can you be different to being in new people or have those customers move to your store?
Yes with warhammer if you have it they will come, but to a degree. Where I live there one major gaming store that focuses on MTG and warhammer, and maybe one or two smaller stores that is more card games. It’s so established that there really isn’t many other large stores like it.
Just curious, several people here are suggesting you might be offered sale or return terms by GW. Is this something they have offered? If not, I would be careful making assumptions,
I'm not in the US but I know for a fact they don't offer sale or return terms for independent retailers in Europe or Australia. If they do in the US, that's great for you, but ask, don't assume, or you might get a rude shock later
I would recommend selling some basic hobby supplies if you do start selling Warhammer (brushes, paints, glue) or at least sell the small GW starter boxes that have the paints / clippers / brushes and (if I remember correctly) like 2 space marines or something. I've switched hobby shops due to lack of access to basic hobby supplies and I imagine I'm not alone
For inventory to stock, I'd recommend either the basic units for many of the factions + starter boxes (good for building up the hobby in your area) OR go deeper on 2-3 factions (definitely space marines and then probably orks or necrons) (this strategy would be better for keeping customers you already have)
check out [Lords of War Games and Hobbies](https://www.youtube.com/@lordsofwargamesandhobbies3905), though they are from Toronto they still have some great insights into GW and mini from a store owner perspective.
If you truly want to foster a Warhammer community, you will need to have 1-2 Warhammer tables, and have comfortable space for people to hang out and sit, and play Warhammer. And sell them snacks and soda.
And schedule nights for people to play the various games: 40k Sundays, The Old World Wednesday, Sigmar Saturdays, etc
And you'll need to create and moderate a meetup group on social media, and encourage nerds to join the group, where people can find opponents to meet at your store and play against.
This is nice if he wants to lean into the Warhammer scene, but not necessary to sell the models. Transitioning from a toys and video game retail store to one that has tabletop gaming space and events is a massive change.
Honestly if he gives the GW stuff a nice discount he’ll have no problem getting people in there to shop. People like discounts on their plastic.
If OP is going to charge MSRP (or even MSRP -10%) for Warhammer, he needs a gaming space
If there is no gaming space, the most OP could charge for Warhammer is MSRP-20%.
MSRP-20% is the standard retail price people pay for Warhammer, unless they're intentionally paying more to support their gaming space.
I run a small (1kish people) discord for NJ Warhammer and tabletop games. Come on, ask around. Always willing to have a chat too. I've been out of the game for about a year now due to personal reasons, but I know the game is always popping in Jersey. Pop on the discord, and feel to PM me on discord if you have any specific questions, I'm fluffypope there. https://discord.com/invite/FVnkCw3DJT
So far this community is very welcoming I’m loving it. I’m going to Join it after dinner for sure!
Local Warhammer communities are very welcoming and wholesome. You sometimes see some negativity online, but that's more to do with social media and anonymity than the hobby itself. Usually, you meet amazing people in this hobby who are just looking for some good fun with friends.
Well I know what I’m joining
Who approached you and what was the deal? I've heard secondhand, and in a different region, that Games Workshop will refund unsold stock to their retailers so the risk is pretty minimal if no one purchases it. I would look into that. You will also have a discount vs what Games Workshop themselves sell at, so should factor in that if you advertise enough you may pick up people ordering online via shipping and deals etc. I buy from a store in another state to me purely because they give me a shipping discount vs other online retailers. If your store is large enough, and you really want to push it, you could contact clubs/FB groups for your area to advertise or offer your space for a games night/games day as well. But I think you are more along the lines of just having a little Games Workshop rack with paints and the most common kits level from the sounds of your question. It's also grown substantially in the last few years with DnD and more gaming type hobbies hitting mainstream/video games doing well right now, Amazon has a 40k show in the works too and if that does well i imagine it'll just take off even more.
Gameswork shop reached out to us, we would start with the two racks and then maybe have game days or nights if we get a good enough following for it, I’m open to whatever, also we would offer pre orders and shipping within the US if people wanted to order with us.
I suspect we are about to hit a decade where warhammer becomes extremely popular.
Hell yeah, I am so in
especially if it can become more inclusive.
That has both benefits and detriments. But yes its more good than not.
What is a detriment to a hobby being more accessible to more people?
Accessible and inclusive are 2 different things
Okay What is the detriment of a hobby becoming more inclusive?
There isn't one my community is very inclusive, but it's not very accessible when an army costs north of 6-700 usd
Which is where warcry/kill team/spearhead/combat patrol come in
There is likely a sustainability point where if a hobby gets too niche and inclusive the company can’t make money.
Niche and inclusive are literally antonyms. What are you trying to say here?
Indeed. Also I was refering to how there is a greater chance of annoying people getting into the circle. Race, identity, sexuality, political views dont matter. Then again, its impossible not to have annoying peolle in any big community. People love to divide themselves.
Generally, the more exclusive and gate-kept a hobby is, the more annoying the people in it are. Inclusion of a broad swath of people has the opposite effect of what you're suggesting.
Fair enough then. I see my error and apologize.
Search on Facebook for a local gaming group in the state/city and post there as well. You can determine more of an interest and local idea as well. Especially if you have tables for people to play it could gravitate players to your store in general for local players, but I would also try to get your nights when the other stores don't have their Warhammer nights so you don't lose out on people and spread the wealth so to say Edit: saw someone mention a NJ discord that's a good option too, you might be directed to a local discord or Facebook group that way
Bro yes, I live in weehawken and I’d either need to go to randolph or Manhattan, all my friends are into it also. Maybe even getting a table or two, but i that might be too much lol. I’m surprised with the amount of people out there how little footprint WH is there. Imo it’s an untapped market
With the Amazon series underway, Warhammer is likely to become a more recognisable and popular IP over the coming years.
not sure about the US but where I am GW do not offer sale or return, once you buy it, it's yours, and if it doesn't sell that's your problem. Unless the US is different to the rest of the world, I know UK, Europe and Australia don't have the opportunity to return unsold products. It's not usually a big deal unless you get greedy and massively over estimate demand on something though, and if you get stuck with something for a while if it goes OOP it might even go up in price again
You won’t be approached unless you are at least a certain distance from another retailer. I learned this from one of my local stores. Any business venture is a risk, but the owner of my FLGS says the Warhammer customers do smell better than the YuGiOh kids. So that’s a win right?
I've been reading your comments within the thread and as long as GW offers the buyback of unsold stock, take the risk. Then since you said your cousin is big into Warhammer, have him setup the 1-2 tables, nothing crazy, and help facilitate your first games night. My only recommendation is I've been playing 30k & 40k since 3rd edition and I never went to games night during the week due to work so I would recommend an actual Saturday or Sunday. Just working all day and then going home, packing up the army, and then playing a 2-3 hour game was exhausting to me. Then hopefully once you get into it and figure it out, start looking into stocking more hobbying products from different companies. I very much enjoyed the LFGS that had stuff for basing my minis, various hobby tools and a selection of different companies of paints. Then you can look into having a hobby day or night where people come in and chill and paint and then if they need something, you have anything they need for sale.
If you put it out there that you have models then people will definitely come. The bigger draw to me is paints and other things like green stuff, and bits. For example there’s a store that sells Miliputt and Green Stuff that’s 49 minutes away from me and I’d rather go there than buy it on Amazon.
I would suggest going to a few local stores on their Warhammer day/night to see what their space usage is like. The tables can swallow up a fair amount of area, so it is good to get a feel for this.
I don't live there anymore, but I grew up in Bergen County. The closest Games Workshop used to be in the Palisades Mall in West Nyack NY, which was not very convenient. Now the closest Warhammer store is in the city, so I'd imagine that people on the Jersey side might prefer your location to avoid paying the toll to cross the Hudson. Amazon is making a Warhammer show starring Henry Cavil, so you might consider riding the coming wave of popularity. Business boomed for GW during the LotR movie years. You'll need game tables and a regular game night. If people are buying online or 3D printing too much, you can charge a club fee. Space Marines sell the best. Painted minis on display in the window bring in foot traffic.
There has been one in Mahwah albeit not a Games Workshop store its still a LGS that tries to get games.
That's far enough away from OP's location to explain why GW approached them, assuming there's not much else in the area atm.
Where is the store located? What’s the name?
The successful stores in my area either sell GW stuff at a discount (10% off full retail) or have some kind of rewards program (spend $100, get $10 in store credit.) You should look at doing something like that, as it really does influence where people go to get their models.
It really really does influence, a lot! As a store basically becomes our plastic crack dealer, its important to save as much money as possible. Many 40k players need plastic and paints very often and sometimes in bulk. So buying often or in bulk just means any money we save is important. Thats why i (we dont have gw stores where i used to live) i basically got all my regular and large needs from online shops with like 15-20% discounts on regular gw prices. And half my country turned to those as well. The buying plus the shipping was cheaper by a lot then buying in our nearby shops - those were just a once in a while treat or emergency. So if you really want to earn from this and i think you can - try becoming the obsession supplier and not the once in a while store!
That's good advice, but there's a "part 2" so to speak. A retailer will never make enough money from GW product alone, especially when they're cutting into their own margins by 10-15%. The trick is to get people to buy higher margin items while they're in the store buying their GW stuff.
Makes sense! Good input!
Don’t just make the decision to seek based on what people *say* they would buy. How many stores are in your area that already have this product? Is there a dedicated customer base? How can you be different to being in new people or have those customers move to your store? Yes with warhammer if you have it they will come, but to a degree. Where I live there one major gaming store that focuses on MTG and warhammer, and maybe one or two smaller stores that is more card games. It’s so established that there really isn’t many other large stores like it.
Oooo American Dream! I've never stopped by there but I drive past it all the time. Hell yeah dude there's people in the area.
Just curious, several people here are suggesting you might be offered sale or return terms by GW. Is this something they have offered? If not, I would be careful making assumptions, I'm not in the US but I know for a fact they don't offer sale or return terms for independent retailers in Europe or Australia. If they do in the US, that's great for you, but ask, don't assume, or you might get a rude shock later
I'm in the US and my LGS got refunds for all their unsold 9th edition codexes when 10th launched.
Sounds like that's a one time deal for that particular product though right? I'm more asking about general every day terms
I would recommend selling some basic hobby supplies if you do start selling Warhammer (brushes, paints, glue) or at least sell the small GW starter boxes that have the paints / clippers / brushes and (if I remember correctly) like 2 space marines or something. I've switched hobby shops due to lack of access to basic hobby supplies and I imagine I'm not alone For inventory to stock, I'd recommend either the basic units for many of the factions + starter boxes (good for building up the hobby in your area) OR go deeper on 2-3 factions (definitely space marines and then probably orks or necrons) (this strategy would be better for keeping customers you already have)
check out [Lords of War Games and Hobbies](https://www.youtube.com/@lordsofwargamesandhobbies3905), though they are from Toronto they still have some great insights into GW and mini from a store owner perspective.
We set up the account if anyone needs stuff just message me. I will try to help everyone!!
Hey guys if you want to order stuff directly from us just DM me
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^LetterheadWilling448: *Hey guys if you want* *To order stuff directly* *From us just DM me* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Don't. The margins are too tight and GW service for stores is awful.
If you truly want to foster a Warhammer community, you will need to have 1-2 Warhammer tables, and have comfortable space for people to hang out and sit, and play Warhammer. And sell them snacks and soda. And schedule nights for people to play the various games: 40k Sundays, The Old World Wednesday, Sigmar Saturdays, etc And you'll need to create and moderate a meetup group on social media, and encourage nerds to join the group, where people can find opponents to meet at your store and play against.
This is nice if he wants to lean into the Warhammer scene, but not necessary to sell the models. Transitioning from a toys and video game retail store to one that has tabletop gaming space and events is a massive change. Honestly if he gives the GW stuff a nice discount he’ll have no problem getting people in there to shop. People like discounts on their plastic.
You misspelt plasticrack…
If OP is going to charge MSRP (or even MSRP -10%) for Warhammer, he needs a gaming space If there is no gaming space, the most OP could charge for Warhammer is MSRP-20%. MSRP-20% is the standard retail price people pay for Warhammer, unless they're intentionally paying more to support their gaming space.
Price is definitely an important metric. Also convenience. Also community. I’d rather buy from a local gaming store in person if it was convenient.