Welcome to Maple to me, people uniting players around the
world. A 30-minute exploration of PJ
and Gareth ball. Game experiences from across
both sides of the Atlantic each episode.
They share their thoughts and opinions on the world of war
games including their favorite themes games, hot topics and
much much more hey and welcome to episode 33 board game shop in
Focus today. We're here with Nick at Titan
games Springfield our Topic is used games game trades.
You name it. I'm PJ.
I'm Gareth and we are glad we're glad you're with us today.
So how are you guys - how you been?
It's been a week since I've seen you.
It's been good last week's episodes who was fantastic.
We had really good response. So I've seen did since, since he
has coped, well with that Fame and stardom that comes with chat
into the You sometimes me, I think.
I think she wants to be a regular on the show.
He does. Yeah, she does.
Yeah. So but then I'm looking forward
to hearing more about Titan games and listening to Nick and
trying to sneak around I guess game sales, trading sales, cause
we haven't got, I don't know of a game store in the UK.
That allows you to go in and trade games.
Really? That interesting.
I do my training either on face book or like a game conventions.
Bring them by Exhales. So I'd like to know more.
I have suggested this idea to a couple of friend local game
stores and they looked at me as if I was crazy.
So let's see, whether Nick is crazy and makes it work.
Yeah. So we figured that we'd invite
Nick, he's a local game store, owner and operator.
Is that the right term Nick? Own operating?
Yeah. Um and we thought it'd be great
to have you on to talk about this topic, but I figured, let's
let's begin real. Quick question is, how do
Started in the hobby. Like, what was your first game?
And how did you get into this? Sure.
So there's kind of two starts in Hobby gaming.
One was when I was, you know, in my 10 from like 10 to 13 in that
range. Yeah, my parents bought me a
couple games one of those Bean Battle Masters, which PJ, and I
have actually gotten to play once which is kind of crazy and
also playing a lot of D&D with friends, in a one of our buddies
basements. But then, as I got in high
school and college, I kind of drifted away.
Away from it a little bit. And then when I got out of
college started working and doing different things, I had a
group of friends that started playing Catan regularly, so that
sort of brought me back into the fold really quickly.
And then I got involved with X-wing miniatures game and a
number of other things. Before I knew it, I was running
events at our local store and shortly after that, they were
asking me to come on as an owner and open another location.
The rest is history. Yeah.
And how long have you been running sites and games?
So Had our Springfield location. Now for eight years, I've
actually been with a company about nine years and the
champagne store is celebrating their 10th anniversary this
year. How many how many locations do
you got? All right?
Now, just the two champagne in Springfield.
Yep. Ten years.
Wow. Yeah, that does not look like it
has been that long at all, and you've had to put up with me for
the last five. So I'm sorry about that among
many other people. Yes.
And what well what's the, what the components of the other
store. So in the UK we have, they're
pretty much thought or some now have a cafe with, with the way
you can rent and play board games.
Was it a pure store or is it what the components?
So yeah, I know this can vary greatly.
Yeah, not only within the us but obviously overseas to where our
locations are specifically retail Plus Play Space.
So we do a certain amount of event management & event running
for different games but it is primarily a retail location.
So but we do have the play Space to support events for many.
If not all of the games that we have on our Shelf.
What's the most popular game in the Play Space is that all well
games? Or is it like magic the
Gathering or? Yeah.
So we do a lot of Magic the Gathering.
It's a very casual crowd at our Springfield location here which
is kind of nice and fun and its own way.
Way. But then, we also have a pretty
big board game night actually. Every Wednesday, we have open
board game night. That's one of our bigger events,
consistently every week. We also have a number of groups
that play Dungeons & Dragons or other role-playing games
throughout the week as well. So it's kind of hard to pick
one. I would say, most consistent is
probably our board game night though, cool, and them compete
with just bring their own games, along with you.
Got a pool game Library. Yes, we have a small library of
gate demo games that people can pick up and play it anytime.
I'm but everybody's welcome to bring in their own games as
well. And it seems like we kind of go
in these rotations, where will have different groups that are
bringing in their own games, and there's another group that's
kind of playing the games out of the library.
Yeah. And then, as they sort of, get
more into the hobby, the people are playing at the library, they
start buying their own games, and they got their own games to
bring. And then there's a new group
that starts play it out of the library and it just sort of
Cycles back and forth. It's kind of interesting and
he's every child used to playing in the for our board game
nights. We do not have any Ew, it's just
an open night for anybody to come in and play.
It's a store still open, so I find it a.
So, let's just stop oven for retail.
Yes. Cool.
Guess what? That's always the danger.
That's a really cool game. Yeah.
And do you do food and food and drink or people bring their own?
So we do not do any food and drink.
There's a couple of different reasons for that but one of them
is in we're in the state of Illinois.
There's some very specific guidelines for writing drink
establishments which is End of an area that we don't have the
expertise and we're just not willing to kind of like dip our
toe in and mess it up. And all the sudden we've got all
the state agencies all over us to deal with it.
We're just not going to mess with that bird went away.
Yeah, simple, awesome. So PJ said that mentioned to me
that you guys do secondhand game cells.
So how does how does that work? So we do one per year one
weekend per year at each of our locations.
So we do kind of a spring that are Springfield store and a fall
one at our champagne store. And just so everybody kind of
understands the difference are two stores are about an hour and
a half drive away from each other.
It's about 100 miles or so. So they're just far enough apart
that like you're probably not popping over for the day.
Yeah but you know for a big event.
Yeah. Going over for the weekend or
for the day is not a big deal. So we started doing this five,
six years ago. Now, I think maybe a little
longer than that. And we just saw it as a good
opportunity for a lot of our regular customers that buy games
from us regularly to kind of go through their Collections.
And say, you know what, I really don't need these three games
that are a lot like other games that I want to buy that maybe
have a better theme or just found their way out of my
regular rotation and it's a good way for them to kind of cash
those games in for store credit and use it to buy the stuff,
they do actually want coming out.
So and it's also a great opportunity for people that are
maybe newer to the Obby to pick up some games that, you know,
maybe it's been out for ten years but they're new to the
Hobby. Haven't played it yet.
It's a good game at a good price and they can take it home and
get started with that. Look at one of the questions
I've been asking me to leave. It talks about a seven here is
been knowing whether the games complete.
Do you do a check or is there any conditions that that is
consistent concern? I guess is probably the best way
to put it but as part of our seller sign up, you are
essentially affirming that all of your game pieces are there
and complete. I think we've had one issue
because interest in the five or six years that we had.
And literally like the day after the sale, the person that sold
the game was like I was going through other stuff and I found
these cards. Can you get them to whoever
bought it? It's like, yeah, we can do that.
Like that's not a problem. So don't even notice.
It's not. Yeah, I think I mean, I know
Percy the board gamer. I look after my games and Emily
stuff doesn't go missing. Yeah, it was one of those it was
like cards from an expansion that they included.
But the, you know, the original box wasn't in there because
everything kind of fit in the mainstream.
Inbox. But there was some extra cards
that were promo cards or something.
They put in the expansion box to store, so it was just one of
those. Like it wasn't even necessary
components to the game but of stuff that went with the games
they wanted to make sure the new person got it reminds me of my
sold some games on Facebook and I think it was Lords of
waterdeep and the expansion but they were, there were some cards
mixed up and I saw both games are different people and then
and then we realized that they were cards in the wrong box
sizes said, hey guys, this then, Each other actually it works its
way it worked out, okay? But I guess sending it a games
convention, you just don't know who's taking it and that would
have been would have been a bit of a disaster.
So I learnt my lesson at that point, I mean, that is one
advantage that if we did ever have an issue like that, where
somewhere a buyer took home, a game, find out there were
missing components or something wrong with it.
We do have a registered list of all the owners of exactly who
had sold that game. Yeah.
So we can immediately just Say, you know what, it wasn't
complete will do a refund or will talk to that person.
See if they happen to know where those pieces are.
So we've got a way to track that backwards.
If any buyers have any issues with stuff and nice.
Look, luckily, all of our buyers are essentially from yellow cool
in our local community. So it's not a like, you know, we
got to track this person down states away to try and find him
and get this stuff. It's usually just a matter of
the Facebook message or a quick call saying hey you happen to
know what happened. This and then he on with it, you
know. So so so Nick in the community
of retailers in the US and he way more for our friends
overseas on our listeners. So you notice that not every
game store in the US, has a used game sale specifically.
Like Titan, does, what goes in that process for you and the use
game sale and maybe some of your other retail owners who choose
to do? Ooh, a different type of, you
know what I'm saying? A different form of used game
trade, sure. So, there are some stores in the
US that have like permanent used game sections, which is kind of
a whole different beast in and of itself depending on how they
have it set up. We've opted for this once-a-year
thing partially. So it is kind of a special event
and it's also kind of spaced out so that are one in Springfield
at least is kind of early in the spring.
Simply because we realized that a lot of the big news for
releases kind of comes out first quarter of the year, at least
the announcements will, so then people can kind of be planning.
Okay, I've got to make room in my collection for this stuff
that I definitely want to get this year.
So it gives everybody that opportunity to make some room in
their collection early in the year.
And then, as those things released throughout the year, at
gencon, it Origins wherever whatever they're going to do
with it. There's room for them in the
collection already to be back. Bill did so nice and at the same
time, all the games they got, you know, over Christmas
holidays Thanksgiving. All those ones.
They couldn't quite fit in there.
They know what game they want to pull out.
It's time to get it out of there.
So, yeah, I think I guess I did the same with, with you to the
UK games Expo, which is the end of May June.
I just stay all just stack up. I can see him looking at me now
and I take I take them and then dump them for the weekend.
I guess I've got control on my pricing.
Where's you guys? How does your, how does your
price of mechanics work? So the only things that we
regulate pricing on in our use game sale are games that we
specifically like have on the Shelf.
Okay, so it's one of those like if we have Pandemic on the shelf
for 50 bucks and you want to sell your used copy for 45, does
that make sense for anybody? Yeah, they're what.
Yeah, you know. So it's fair, we just with those
games, you have to be no more than 50% of MSRP.
Which is it's a decent discount that you're getting to use Game
even if you could get a new one for ya that.
But if I put in a now have to bring game, yeah, that's totally
up to you. He's close it for whatever you
want to. I do tell people on out of print
stuff like that, it's kind of Hit or Miss year to year.
What can fires were going to have?
There have been years that I watched one guy, walk around one
year, literally pick up every game that I'm like, oh, I
learned about that one this year.
I learned about that one this year, that's really expensive
and you Like I spent a couple hundred bucks on games that are
just hard to find. Yeah, but then we've also had
other years where there's a number of those games that are
hard to find kind of unobtainium things and they just sit there
like they're at a reasonable price but there's just not
somebody interested in. So it's kind of Hit or Miss.
But yeah, if it's out of print that is totally up to you what
you want to do, I always tell people, you know, the more
aggressively price. It the more likely it is.
This is my Approach. I see people who games in at
Crazy Prices. Yes, Little Bear Down on the
Sun. And a whereas I yourself to
clear, but as long as you have, you know, it's not about making
a profit. It's about.
Okay. What you think on the, the
individual sellers have different motivations like there
are legitimately some people that I know in our community
that Collecting trade games, kind of as a hobby.
Yeah, so for some of them it's like they're willing to put a
game in @x price and if it doesn't sell their totally fine
with that, they'll keep it or sell it somewhere else, will do
whatever they want to do with it.
But there's other people that are just like if I get five
bucks for each of these, I'm fine.
You know, they just want out of the house.
So that's something else we started doing.
Maybe the second or third year, as we gave people the option,
because our sale runs Saturday and Sunday, if your game does
not, L on Saturday, you have the option for Sunday to price it at
half of what you had it is that okay?
Or you can make it a dollar and the reason I woke up with that
is, you know we had a lot of like medium and small games that
were in the in the sale for like five bucks and it's like, so if
you go half of five that's $2 like, why do you just want it
gone? Let's Make a Deal for everybody
and get it out of here. And if it doesn't sell, they
come and collect them on the Monday.
Is that that's correct. Whenever people pick up their
games that didn't sell well issue, their store credit to
them, or if all their games cell, which is always fun.
I just get to send them a message and say, your store
credits on there and sold. Yeah.
It's um, it's a really great. Yeah, it's a great opportunity
because we get the store credit. When my wife and I when we sell
it tighten, we take that money at store credit so that we can
get like our painting supplies and other things for you.
Like all the frost Haven minis. Yeah, we have to paint.
It's a really great opportunity and I think that that's one of
the beauties of these use game sales.
I think, do you find other customers they they see that
value. It's not just, you know, I'm
getting store credit but that it really, it fills back into
other, you know, like adjacent gaming things, oh, for sure.
And it's interesting to see kind of what people decide to spend
their board game money on to does it does that credit turn
into new board games or does it turn into role-playing?
Books that have turned pains to turn into different hobby
sectors that we do support as well.
So it's always interesting to see somebody that's number of
times. I've worked with sellers that
are kind of families and they have like a group of games that
their kids would play with them but now they're kids have kind
of outgrown those games. So they're clearing this one's
out so they can kind of get the next batch of games in that
their kids will play with them. Yeah I'm PJ if you to use every
is that one of his a kind of key weekends It is so.
So Kailyn. I've already pulled out the
games for the sale and with Gen Con now it's like so whatever we
don't sell will sell a Gen Con in the summertime.
So it's kind of a, you know, I mean, it's a great program, I
loved it, I loved it. Nick's able to do this, it's
pretty fantastic. Yeah, I think sighs things that
if it was nearby like you say within a half hour, 45 minute
drive There is one just to important restriction of South
Coast who do something, but I always find out about it the day
before, and it's yes, yeah, too late.
I'm got time to organize myself that you can drop off and then
it's there for, like I think it's just the few like six
hours. It's like during the daytime.
Oh wow, it's really tight. So yeah, I think I can see the
benefit because taking everything to Birmingham, which
is two hour drive, and then you've got lug it in and queue
up for an hour, two hours, and then I guess there's an app that
you Back where it's gone too but I do like the idea of being a
yeah. See every 6 months or 12 months
being able to just cycle through a notable games and just click
just clear the space its space isn't the problem I have.
Yeah that's that's the money is the it's yeah it's the slaw
space bases. The reason a lot of my personal
games are going into this hill this year because we've got some
more kids on the way and with that we're in a house that
doesn't have a ton of room. So we have to be very particular
About what games were actually keeping and which ones are
getting out of the way, so we can have more stuff.
So I think it's, I think it's twofold.
So for us space obviously, I think that everyone's issue
right is space. The other 12 is what, gets 3
points, the games that just don't hit the table, right?
Yes. An opportunity to get rid of
them and it never fails. Particularly the last year.
We found Grand Austria hotel which has been on my wish list
forever out of print we managed to find It.
And then, you know, like there was Murano.
We found that at your sales last year and that was like I didn't
even know what that was, but it was out of print, that was
amazing. And, you know, now it's when it
hits the table at least once a month.
It's great. So I really like this idea and
what it does for the Hobby and it keeps it going, you know?
So yeah. And she have a say, in the UK,
we have very active School, UK ball games trading and chat on
Facebook. And that is, there's a few
others, but this is the main one.
So it's a chat is to chat group, but that it's a lot of trading,
very trusted well-organized. You got those kind of things in
the US or the EU s just too big. To be at I would say yes and no
in like those groups do exist. But I do think that the
geographic limitations of it in the u.s. also play into that a
little bit. I mean, I'm sure that multiple
regions communities do have that kind of stuff specifically set
up. However, I don't believe there's
one where we are necessarily but I could be completely wrong
that. Yeah, no, didn't I?
That's neat. A lot of folks in the u.s. do or
Game Geek trades or math trades and all that kind of stuff.
But I'm just not super familiar with that aspect of the, the
trading lending. Yeah, borrowing and stealing
section of. So things will Pool Game Geek.
I have never traded, and then, as for maths trade math trades,
I have investigated. I've looked at them, I've never
done one, but anyone listening would like to educate me on how
they work? Because I've been told by it's
quite nice. Active Instagram group in the
UK, who they all seem. Now I've gotten boarded
masquerades, and they're saying it's easy, but I think it's just
it's like once you learn to swim or you had to matter trade is
your done, but they always look so intimidating.
It's one of those things like conceptually understand how its
best work. I just don't think I've ever
taken that step to be like, okay, let's try this.
Yeah, you know, yeah, I think it's just that.
Yeah. Just he's just sitting and
vending get an hour just going, right?
It's this how you do it. I think it's relatively easy but
it just requires a bit more thinking time like you say just
yeah. So I need to try I'm a traitor.
Maybe another another opportunity, I mean the other
advantage to how we do it in our story.
Anytime you do those online trades, you're going to have
shipping evolved with some. Yeah.
And as we all know most board games aren't the lightest things
in the world, the ship. So you're easily looking at, you
know, seven to ten bucks to ship.
Yeah, even a small game really. So I think as those rates have
gone up, it's made it a little more difficult to do that stuff
for a little harder to justify it.
Versus drop them off at your local store.
Have them for the weekend. They're done.
That is the appeal. Who are you saying the tenth of
said before the conventions? Yep.
Same time. Having boxes in the house,
having peanuts, and packaging material.
What? I know when I sell things on the
same, the Facebook group, I might put up 50 games to sell
and that's it. That's my, that's my weekend.
Ruins, not really. That's what you're doing.
All you're doing is answering and people are trying to trying
to negotiate and usually work out this person.
B first, that's the first five hours and then it's like, oh,
now I need to see and package everything up.
Oh my God, another three or four.
I was so so. Well I guess it, I guess.
I don't I'm not giving. I'm taking all the money for
yourself. I got cuffs or packaging to do
the time allowance that you have to put in again turning up.
Somewhere here. They all are and then I guess
you guys take you guys take a percentage of the sale.
Yes so welcome, anybody who sells their game if it sells
they'll get 90% of the Hill price and still read it.
Yeah. Same as the Expo takes a second.
Most of that's because we allow people to pay using like credit
Cards debit cards, whatever they want to do.
So, there are some fees involved with, yeah, as well.
Some hours by our employees, to just get everything set up and
ready to go. He says cool about having a
stand permanently install. We've actually discussed it a
number of times, and there's kind of two different ways to go
about doing it. One of them is essentially
having a consignment area, for lack of better terms, and the
other way is for the store to straight out by the game.
Yeah, I'm whoever selling them and just have them in that you
Section there are benefits and attractions from both sides of
it. And I think a combination of
Just need any more information on them in general.
And also having some space limitations within the store
where we are already has made it difficult for us to do just yet.
It is something we've talked about, for probably the last two
or three years and then we also on top of that discuss, you
know, if we do have a permanent section, how is that different
than this twice a year? Special sale that we do is
there, is there a perk to doing one over the other.
So we've been trying to Look at all the options and balance out
how a permanent section might work in our store.
And I think we've got a fairly good concept.
We want to kind of get through this year and see ya if the
balance is right, and if we can make it work but the other part
of it is it's kind of fun just to have these two weeks.
Yeah. Where it's, it's crazy.
And we think from the second year on here, in Springfield on
Saturday morning, at least an hour before the store opens,
there's a line down to the end of the love.
It will just just ready to jump in there and grab the game.
So it's sort of hearing under the window, right?
I see the game, I want on that table and I'm going to get, I
said, can you people drop off before, so I can drop off
happens, starting this coming, Saturday, through the Wednesday,
before the weekend. So we then have two days in
store to process all the games, get everything tag, ready to go.
And then, that Saturday will be the first day of the sale
itself. Um, so give us the dates and the
information Now, while we're talking about that, if you were
so the first day for drop off is I got a double check this real
quick, that would be March. 25th is the first day for drop-offs
the last day to drop off your games would be March 29th and
then the sale is April 1st and 2nd, Saturday and Sunday.
What time? What time does the doors?
Open doors? Open at noon and Saturday will
be open till 7:00 and then someday is noon to 5:00 awesome.
You got that. Gareth, if only I wasn't having
any hours away, the convince TJ to stop in the store and do a
little video chat while you're eating.
Yeah. You to a lot into that live.
It's Instagram life like we did last year.
Yeah, we did that last year. Do we do that the night before
when you were helping set up? PJ we did we did.
Yeah. Yeah.
So yeah. The night before the sale so
Friday night after we've kind of set everything up, we usually do
a little walk around video member.
Yeah. I didn't even think about this,
I thought it was just kind of a, you know, a nice way to show
people. Like there's a lot of games this
sale and like, the next day, the first three people in line had
mapped out in their head, just from watching the video like
where exactly that game is that they want and they knew, as soon
as the door opened the hood, go to that spot, pick the game up
and check it out. And there was just thinking the
same, I think any says, yes this gives me Prime in Prime in
sight. Or Intel.
Oh yeah, into whether go pretty well, I'll make sure that I do
that for you and you can watch it.
And then yeah, send me a message or be like, hey, I want this
game and then did the seventy dollars to ship it to the UK,
right? Or until you visit or I visit
you. I think I think if you remember
like Nick you could answer this one of our friends on Instagram,
actually reached out to you last year about games for the use
game sale. I think it was one, was it?
I think it was one of our friends in Poland.
Yeah. Okay, yeah, yeah.
Now all of our listeners, know exactly who were talking.
Yeah, whoo. Yeah, yeah.
So, but I think the shipping was cost prohibitive.
Right. Yeah, I bet it is.
Yeah, it was gonna be a little rough.
Again, board games are not light item.
No, no, no, shipping is not cheap.
And at that point, we were kind of at the height of the really
crazy shit course. He's yeah.
Do so that was definitely not helping out with that.
Yeah, but you're not opposed. You would be willing if any of
our listeners wanted to try to order something from you.
Yeah, I don't think we're putting it online this year.
Okay. This run into too many issues or
potential issues. Where as a retailer we have
minimum advertisers pricing requirements.
Yeah, and buy some of those agreements.
Even a used game, which we do not technically own.
If we are advertising it for sale would put Pus in default of
that agreement. So just to alleviate any of
those issues. I think this year we're not
going to do any online. Just again to keep it simple for
everybody and we still typically see between 65 and 80, percent
of the game, sell them any given year.
So it's it's really nuts than the a crazy weekend for
everybody but it's a lot of fun too.
I love it. I wish, yeah.
I look forward to seeing that. PJ what you pick up and what?
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.
Anything else? PJ you want to cover?
No, that's that's a bit. You have any questions for us?
Nick? Anything.
We ask. No, just thanks for doing the
podcast. I've been I don't get to listen
every week but usually, when I make a trip to the champagne,
sir I can catch up on three or four episodes at once, and the
usually works out really nice for us.
Well, thanks for listening. Why don't you go ahead and give
us those dates and times one more time for our listeners just
in case they miss me. Drop off starts March 25th and
runs through March 29th and then the sale itself is happening
April 1st and April s of 2023. Perfect perfect.
Probably do that. Walk around video Friday, the
31st. Yeah so that everybody can plan
out where they're going Saturday morning, first thing.
Yeah, amazing awesome. Awesome potency in it.
Where can our listeners find you on all the social media
platforms? Sure, taking games.
On Facebook or websites. Tekken games online.
There should be a header that links you to all the info you
need for these game sales. Far sellers, or buyers is
concerned. If you have any other questions
you can always email Us Springfield at Titan.
Games.com cool, cool. Well, thanks Nick.
This is great. Thanks for coming on and talking
about game trades and use game sales and an opportunity to plug
your sale. We're always there every year
and we love it. So I'm really surprised we fit
it into, you know, half an hour. Our when this could have been a
three-day conversations laughs tradeworks.
Yeah, I've got milk ice about how to run this game still, but
maybe that's a different episode that's that is a month long
conversation. Yeah.
So I thank you for joining us and good luck with your game
sale. Thank you for looking forward to
it. Thanks everyone for listening.
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