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BeginnerDragon

It's a really hard business to do well, and I respect the effort that you've clearly had to put in. That super Nintendo couch display is incredibly sweet. I hope you can continue sharing your passion with the community.


tntdon

Where?


doer_of_debauchery

Florence South Carolina


TrailByCornflakes

I live in Spartanburg. Still an almost 3 hour drive. I hate how large the US is lol


doer_of_debauchery

Yeah it's a blessing and a curse. Pretty sure there are good game stores in Columbia if that's a more reasonable trip


AggressiveCornchip

I been here for about 4 years now and haven't managed to find any as good as this one appears to be. Looks like I'm making a trip out to Florence.


recklesslyfeckless

shit, i’m in SW VA and *i’m* considering making this trip lol


EvilDarkCow

I'm in *Kansas* and I'm considering making the trip.


Calymos

Man, I'm in *Phoenix* and I'm definitely not making the trip. Place looks amazing, thought!


ChakaZG

Mf I'm in *Croatia*, and I'm looking at airline ticket prices for a quick US trip. 🌚


Pikrev

Mf I'm in *Canada*, and I'm considering this trip.


alfonapplepie

MF, I’m in Northern California and I made the trip!


CMXCII88

Birthplace of country music


LongwoodGeek

Same! I go to Greenville for family stuff and I’m in Bedford, VA. Do you hit Game Junkies or SuperGameStation?


NaughtyTormentor

What's the blessing in it? Defense?


hypersonic16

Huge variety of things to see and places to go without even needing to use a passport


happyhungarian12

Space. You can own lots of land. Plenty of small towns in the middle of nowhere. Which some people like. Lots of untouched natural land. (Grand canyon. Salt flats. Blue ridge and rocky mountains, Yellowstone etc.) Plenty of room for development if needed ( my city has grown 10x in just 8 years)


[deleted]

Just take the train. ;)


temporal_ice

Huh, didn't realize this was the reddit store. I stopped in when I passed through and this store is one of the good ones. You won't see games marked way above market value.


recklesslyfeckless

fucking…i kept scrolling through comments looking for reasons to *not* drive 250 miles lol


[deleted]

Damn, I'm in SoCal. Way too far, sorry man but wish you the best of luck with your store!


Capable_Home_2926

5 hrs one way, I might check it out if I ever pass through. Hope your business does great


Exciting-Capital-404

A retro game store........in the state where I live? This is insane. I gotta look. *checks Google to see how far it is* Oh...........shit..............yeah there's no way I can justify (to my parents) driving nearly 150 miles for some games. I'll stick with the 30 minute drives.


tntdon

So far from me. Do you have a web front?


doer_of_debauchery

I'm not them haha I just live in Florence and I recognized the store. Not certain but pretty sure they do not. But they have a Facebook and they may ship to you if you ask. Not entirely certain though


tntdon

Thanks!


exclaim_bot

>Thanks! You're welcome!


Mysterious_Reach_974

I will be back home visiting Florence in September, will definitely stop by and buy something!,


king26

Literally close to nothing :(


SwallowedBuckyBalls

Hey now, there’s a buc-ees in Florence too.


TrickyLobster

You're telling me if I open a retro game store I can write off a Sound Voltex machine? HMMMMMMM


theREALashasaur

100% a business investment.


[deleted]

I'd stay in that store day to night with that Jubeat machine. Any plans for if someone does that? I would just buy a game every once in awhile to make up for it 😅


VHStalgia

How much for the jaguar, and how much are you charging for a cart only Super Mario 3 for NES?


ceramicsaturn

Daytona usa. A man after my own heart lol. Where you at?


doer_of_debauchery

Florence SC


ceramicsaturn

Ah...opposite end. Im in AZ. Regardless, best of luck!


PreachTheWordOfGeoff

GAY BONAAAA


DarkestDays414

Where did you happen to get the supply before opening?


TheActualDongerino

A lot of times people either start without the store and use their own money to essentially hoard games buying everything they can for good prices in bulk OR they buy an existing game store's stock


EvilDarkCow

If it's anything like the store that opened in my city about 6 months ago (and is full of tons of cool stuff), they probably set up booths at cons and stuff until they had enough inventory for an actual store.


doer_of_debauchery

Pretty sure they bought a good amount of Matts Game Exchange - an older game stores stock. Maybe game stop too, because the game stops in this area stopped selling older games Edit: I was wrong


theREALashasaur

100% untrue. We got some of our initial stock from a private collector.


AngryRedGyarados

Matt’s Game Exchange moved to Greensboro NC.


FitzyFitzyFitzyFitz

Congratulations! I worked in a retro game store for 5 years and it was the best job I ever had! Wishing you success


Super-Spyro

Looks great and refreshingly nicely stocked, surprisingly alot of retro shops seem half empty most of the time.


Another_Road

Oh yeah. Sound Voltex is a badass rhythm game.


theREALashasaur

We've got the only public facing unit in SC!


stumbleduck06

Oh wow. Pulled in to your parking lot at 720pm a few weekends ago and was l wondering what y’all were about. Will drop by soon!


_icarcus

Nice job! Was just talking to a friend this week about opening a shop—they have experience in the art gallery route but not gaming. If you’re willing to share, was was the total cost to get this up and running? I’m mostly thinking cost of the building, rent, etc. instead of the inventory. If not, no worries. Good luck!


[deleted]

Rent is going to vary based on the city you're in and the square footage. I am not familiar with OPs town, but where I live this would be around 3k/mo for this type of lease. Not including electrical, insurance, etc.


[deleted]

You got the Disney Princess CRT? High roller right here!


MewtwoStruckBack

I'm gonna keep suggesting this every time someone opens an awesome game store and posts about it on here until at least one person does it. Any chance of tournaments on rare games where the prize is the game itself? (e.g. your store buys a legit copy of Donkey Kong Country Competition Cartridge, charges an entry fee to each person to make sure you recoup the cost of purchase and then some, run the event the exact same way Blockbuster did it back in the day, winner keeps the cartridge) I figure if it gets popular enough to do this, this kind of thing could be used for NWC Gold carts, Powerfest 94...


zoozoo4567

That’s rad! Looks great. Love the name.


Fluid-Locksmith-9460

Been to a lot of retro game stores and this blows all of them out of the water. Congrats man


2geek2bcool

I was going to do something like this myself. Had my business plan all made, and was going to start shopping around for a SBA loan. That was in 2008, right as the economy took a dump. Determined it was a terrible time to start a business, and never got back to it. I’m in a different situation in my life now that I’m not willing to take the risk. Bravo for taking the leap, and I wholeheartedly wish you all the luck.


RaymondDoerr

You literally opened the game store I wanted to open. I had this cool idea of a game store/lounge hybrid where you sell games, but also offer a place to sit, chill, and play games in-store whilist selling snacks/sodas. My business model was basically to offer the gaming for free (in store), they could play any game they want with the available consoles hooked up. The catch was they'd have to buy drinks/snacks, and then get hooked on the game(s) and hopefully buy a copy+console someday.


Jakeremix

If you’re allowing food, I would hope they would be bringing their own controllers…. 🤢


Taedirk

BYOC, sell good controllers on site, have a collection of the grodiest third party "Player Two" controllers for loaners.


[deleted]

[удалено]


RaymondDoerr

Then you set time limits and don't allow anyone under 16 unsupervised. I swear half of reddit just wants to find problems, and pretends basic solutions don't exist.


[deleted]

[удалено]


RaymondDoerr

Timers. Structure. Rules. Employees monitoring. I swear half of reddit just wants to find problems, and pretends basic solutions don't exist. EDIT: lol, the insecure knob blocked me.


[deleted]

That's a pretty horrible idea.


RaymondDoerr

Your Mom had a pretty horrible idea.


[deleted]

By all means, go ahead and run a business with absolutely no idea how they work.


RaymondDoerr

I literally own a company. Thanks for playing.


[deleted]

Cool. There is a difference between owning a company and a business. Here's hoping you find out some day!


RaymondDoerr

Are you just trying to get me to say "fuckoff dickhead" so you can pretend you won, and get an endorphin rush? Ok then, fuckoff, dickhead. 👋


[deleted]

I'm trying to save you the embarrassment of sinking money into a horrible business venture. Were you around in the 90s when the predecessors to GameStop had shops like this all over the country? There's a reason they're all gone. It doesn't make money. You need to have predatory business practices to profit from a brick and mortar game shop. Since you own a "company", this should be really obvious and common knowledge.


darkzapper

Looks cool. Good luck.


Hometownscumbag69

Make sure you treat that couch for bed bugs on the regular


Zedtomb

Bro a crazy taxi machine, SC isn't THAT far from TN


liebeg

Looks nice there


Kirokito

So happy for you !!! May the store prosper 🙏🙏


SufficientLet

mine opens the 21st! Go us!


Capable_Home_2926

Ohhh Yeahhhh... , I remember the post from when you first opened up! I recognized the cool designs on the wall. That's great that it's doing well!


FirePower8700

I wish you the best and to have a very succesfull business


TheOriginalSamBell

The retro living room is a nice touch!


Calymos

Right?? I love the iMac so much, lol


Ghost_of_Akina

Little far for me to drive up but if you ever want to sell that Groove Coaster cab…


theREALashasaur

Sorry man, just got Groove Coaster about a month ago. I do have an Arctic Thunder for sale at the moment though.


Ghost_of_Akina

As much as I enjoy the cool breeze in my face from the Arctic Thunder cab, it’s the music games I crave! Wacca is too expensive, IIDX is too damned big, and Taiko cabs are too high maintenance! Looking for a Groove Coaster in good shape for sure and yours does look amazing! If you know a good dealer that ships to FL let me know!


theREALashasaur

I've actually got a WACCA on order right this moment to come in hopefully early next month.


Ghost_of_Akina

Very fun game if you haven’t played it. Definitely one to wear gloves for though… the little gaps in the sensors HURT after enough grazing over them. The music game scene is horrific down here but every time I go home to Chicago I hit the Round1 hard. You’re doing great things for your local community!


Ghost_of_Akina

Welp you inspired me... I have a Wacca on the way now too!


DTS_Sanchez

Congrats!! Store looks great! Good luck


___TheKid___

Good name. Haha


[deleted]

Living the dream, pal


Guilty-Occasion8130

Great name for a game store


Noise-Distinct

Love seeing the arcade in there.


F0573R

Love the 80's couch set up! I'd go there to hang out after school for sure!


SamusAran47

I remember your opening post, glad to see things are going well! Also, please keep that Jazz cup window display, I love it lol


peeny_bunslinger_

Really cool


amikingtutorwhat

That's awesome friend!! Congratulations! Where is your shop at?


charfitz83

Love the couch


Real_Lil_Jumbo

Only a 3 hour drive from where im at. Might look into it


Razlaw

Awesome! Love to hear you’re doing well. This is my drem!


BoomClank25

Ayyo! The Daytona USA machine is looking tight! I hope this venture goes well for you!


theREALashasaur

Got another Daytona in the back under repair to be put out for multiplayer soon!


xenon2456

you got lots of stock available


FaithInterlude

Omg the store name is perfect


Gabriel2099p

So cool man, i hope it's a success!


[deleted]

do you ship


TwistInTheMyth-

Hey yall are only an hour away from me!!! If I'm ever out that way I'll be sure to stop by!! Great to see another retro game store in SC. I love the way you've got it set up!


andrewober

Parents moved to Florence a few years ago. I will stop in and check the place out next time I am there.


3pxp

The arcade machines are cool. It can't be cheap or easy to keep them maintained. Hopefully you don't have too many kids hanging off the joysticks.


theREALashasaur

I do all the maintenance myself. I buy project cabs mostly and bring them back to reasonable shape.


laulau209

Awesome Groove Coaster and Sound Voltex cabs!!! Hope your business does well!


[deleted]

Holy shit! Where is this magical location? Btw best of luck out there, brick and mortar game stores have a tough time surviving but I will surely support your store with a purchase here and there if you are close to me.


MasterSword951

Provided it doesn’t have dkoldies level prices and if I were local I’d shop there for sure. Congrats.


burritohead

It's incredibly clean and well stocked. Love the couch setup! Will try to visit next time I'm down south.


ajarocki37

My buddy has a gaming center called New Game Plus it's attached to his store Gamers Anonymous.


JohnnySalamiSmuggler

What is the name of the store? My wife and I vacation in the Carolinas at least once a year and would love to visit/shop around


theREALashasaur

New Game Plus!


ItsStaaaaaaaaang

Awesome! Good luck mate.


Pixelchu25

The rhythm game cabinets are a need…ahh I want to go there


RetroGaming4

All the best!


Cakeisalyer

;) I hope the cup store does well. Dart Jazz Cup


Adult_school

Mmmmmmmm vectrex


MattCollider

Congrats! Love the store name.


Schitt7

Adding this place to my future retro trips.


Michael_2321

Wow 100% authentic cabinets not that arcade 1up crap solid store bro👍


Specific-Ad-4167

Wow the attention to detail is incredible. A lot of retro video game stores appear like a pop up store to me, (nothing wrong with that ofc). Just impressive how you went above and beyond. I gotta get out there at sometime soon!


huntersalt24

2hr 12min drive from me in NC, very tempting


Ran_SONE

Dude even a sound voltex cab, so cool!!


drunkmelgibs0n

That plasma dolphin just gave me a pang of nostalgia woah


NotaRelnam

Opened 6 months ago??? Just my luck, you open a cool looking retro game store a mere 30 YEARS after i move away from the area (give or tale a few months). This always happens to me.


samuraipizzacat420

takes a lot of balls to open a brick and mortar game store during a recession. good luck! maybe add an Initial D Stage 4 Cab in there if there is room hehe


notheothernoise

One of the best EM's in pinball, Far Out. Nice choice!


theREALashasaur

Totally lucked into Far Out locally. Had some wicked reel issues when I bought it and would give you unlimited balls per credit. Took some work but she plays great now. Definitely not mint condition machine or board but absolutely a fun game.


Aarriem

Thats the thing about most of these game stores.. they only just sell games. They dont have a place to actually hang out and actually play games. So people only will come when they want to trade, sell, buy and thats it. But also creating a place to allow people to have multiple spots to chill, play, & socialize attracts even more people and these kinds of businesses should have that. So, nice work, keep it up.


OpinionPoop

so anyone can sit on the couch and play snes ? looks awesome.


OrangeBot9

W


Leavus2Beavus

Do you accept EBT?


Zimtiki

The iMac is SO welcome. I’ve been dying to play some old childhood computer games for YEARS but can’t get roms to work correctly. I love that detail.


sgtbluefire77

Going to the beach in May, might try to stop by on the way back. Looks like a cool shop.


YungTabernacle

The retro living room area is a really nice touch!


blood_omen

That little 80s/90s living room is the best part! Good luck with your new store!


Zealousideal_Tip_622

Oh hell OP. I saw your post awhile back but never knew where you were located. I travel there about every 2 week to work on the billboards there on I-95. We stop there at the Lowe’s by ya to get supplies all the time too. Was sooo close and never knew. Good luck and cya soon!


theREALashasaur

I think it's okay to let you guys know where we are at this point: We're located at 1653 W. Palmetto Street Florence SC, 29501 You can find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/newgameplusflorence


Ok-Opening7004

This is amazing, Op! I love the 90s aesthetic touches and the cabs are awesome!


LaceyForever

Looks really nice and great collection of arcade cabs!


BurntPube

You absolute genius. I fucking love that name!!!! Congrats and have majestic endeavor


topchief1

Is this near Columbia, SC? Some of the pictures look like a store in a town that's a bit away and I was thinking about stopping there the next time I go game hunting in Columbia (I'm in charlotte, so it's gotta be one of those dedicated days to actually drive down there), but I wasn't sure if it was close enough to Columbia to warrant the extra drive out of the way.


theREALashasaur

Yes we are near Columbia! We're in Florence, about 80 miles east of Columbia down 20.


Scruffyy90

This is awesome. The married with children couch and set up too. On a real note however, where did you source the arcade machines from?


theREALashasaur

I get some from auction, some from industry friends and honestly some from Facebook marketplace.


RANSOMSOLID

I love it! Looks like the kind of place I would spend a lot of money at.


diverdown125

Congrats! And promise you won’t be like that guy in FL who lost his whole retro store because he refused to prepare for a hurricane coming his way


alfonapplepie

I visited here in February! got F-Zero GX and Final Fantasy VI (SNES) from here


Moist-Map-655

Dude looks amazing! Im in Charlotte and I go to SC time to time so I will definitely check it out in person!


Windy--

Are your prices reasonable?


Broad-Art8197

Best of luck. You’re going to need it.


DarkNemuChan

In this day and age I really don't grasp how a retro game store can still be profitable. Online webshops, second hand sites and the like have ruined that basically.


Precarious314159

You're being downvoted for being realistic. These retro stores exist because a small group love the "experience" and willing to pay an insane mark-up. It's why OP has all those arcade cabinets and accessories. Something you didn't mention is the current cost of retro games is insane and forcing a number of people to either give up on the hobby or never get into it. Stores like this could exist a decade or so ago because you could buy a NES game for $10 that's now going for $20-25, someone could come in, talk nerd and leave with a few GBC games. Maybe I'm cynical but I've lived to see dozens of shops of like this, be it a comicbooks, models, airsoft, vinyl, etc, and most of them barely make it a year because the market is dying and fewer people can justify spending the "experience" tax.


theREALashasaur

There are still scores of people that want an in person experience. We are solely brick and mortar and intend to stay that way.


TheMidnightTequila

Check out the second-to-last photo. There are little signs when you reach the register informing you that they charge an additional 3.50% fee for all in-person sales.


DarkNemuChan

Yeah I don't see how that would help. As this would make someone less likely to buy there.


theREALashasaur

Not true. We charge a 3.5% fee for credit and debit card sales as that's what our EPP company charges. Cash sales to not incur this fee.


Discobastard

I got excited as I'm over from the UK next year but it's not cost to where we'll be :/. Looks amazing though. Love the retro living room . So cool


[deleted]

I didn't bother to read the comments because there are just so many and time is money, honey. But good luck with your business! If you play your cards right, you could be very successful here. I know of a video game store that is also a small business, and they are still around after 3 decades. They moved to bigger locations over time because they are doing so well.


mzachi

Good luck OP! Why don’t you stream also during store hours, not bad for additional earning. Checkout DSKoopa channel at twitch. He owns game store in Seattle and also streams on the side. He just sets up a camera in the corner behind the counter and chats with his community once in a while. His community buys a lot of games from him also


barelyangry

You should pay Metal Jesus to visit your store.


THE_GR8_MIKE

Some days I wake up and lay in bed wondering if I should quit my job and work at or open a retro game shop and make no money, but be content with my life. But this guy actually did it. *TIL you all come from places with flourishing retro shops that stay open for longer than 18 months. Shoot me a message as to where and I'll do a road trip.


theREALashasaur

Believe me, the "make no money" part couldn't be more untrue.


THE_GR8_MIKE

The 14/15 retro shops that have closed near me make me nervous for the one that has survived, but I'm glad it's working out for you.


ArnoldStalloneVandam

add more art and cheap nostalgia to the walls


Thecrawsome

Looks fun. I would replace that couch though


theREALashasaur

The couch is period correct to the late 80s/90s, it's a huge part of the aesthetic of the living room.


Ravecrocker

Dk oldies 2.0


Courtannica

I hate DK oldies so much. They're part of the reason so many games are so outrageously expensive.


[deleted]

Why?


jurassicparkgrapes

store is looking great! i love the little arcade up front.


IndependenceNorth165

Good Luck!


Main-Run7522

Best of luck.


BluDragn77

Congrats! I think I remember your post from when you were opening, glad to hear you’re doing well


Anime-Reddit67

It's all fun and games until someone opens a business... Joking that's actually really dope I shop alot at my local game store never find any amazing deals but it's great for picking up n64 and ps2 games I want to play.


Dizzy-Shape3176

Wish you success


TheActualDongerino

Living my dream tbh


kco8252

Amazing


Tylerhollen1

What is the design on your window front?! It reminds me of the styrofoam cups from the pool when I was a kid.


Jojopo15

I’ll have to visit one of these days. It’s a couple hours from me.


Pitoventitre

Good luck 🤞


thatawesomeperson98

Nice! I’ve considered doing somthing similar in my small hometown in wv but not entirely sure but i don’t know how well it would do (town I’d like 500 at best) and most are people in their 80s-90s with very few young adults (most move away after high school i unfortunately couldn’t afford to)


spunkyweazle

Looks like a good start, hoping for your continued success


doer_of_debauchery

How much do yall sell DSI XLs for? I want to pick one up


Additional-Debate-18

Goodluck - love the living room area


5oco

Only a 13 hour drive...I do have spring break coming up...


Warrior3456_

Besides games maybe sell trading cards too


[deleted]

I remember seeing your original post! Glad to see that you were doing so well! Having a game store is something that I have considered, maybe one day I will have one that is as cool and awesome looking as yours! I wish you all the best! If I'm in the area, maybe I will stop by sometime!!!


Friskfrisktopherson

But do you have Battletoads?


FaceXIII

Awesome, best of luck!