Hi,
My name is Ira Probst. I have been a passionate gamer for over 15 years and I love all things gaming. I focus my gaming on trading card games and role playing games. My wife, who is also a passionate gamer, and I want to open up our own gaming store. We have been selling game cards and books at a local flea market and have been successful in the context of the flea market. We have several repeat costumers who have all voiced their excitement about the prospect of us having our own store.
If we can obtain the funding for the store, we will use the funds for:
- 1 year of rent (so we do not have to be concerned with paying rent during the very important first year)
- Renovations to the location we are looking at
- Store fixtures
- Tables for tournaments and role playing games
- Signage and Marketing
- Inventory
If we do not obtain the full amount we are looking for, we will use whatever we get to launch the store.
We will be selling 4 major products. They are:
- Magic: The Gathering has been in existence for 21 years and has become more popular every year. The game has over 7 million peple playing world wide. This number has steadily increased since 2006. Magic the Gathering has an organized play program called the Pro Tour. The finals were at one point televised on ESPN2. With the release of a movie on the horizon (2017), the popularity of this game will increase greatly in the future.
- YuGiOh! has been in existence for 15 years and since inception it has sold over 25 billion cards worldwide. In 2009 it was named in the guinness book of world records for being the top selling trading card of all time. the card game is based of an animated television show of the same name that has been running since 1996 and continues to run today. There is a very large fanbase for the television show which coincides directly with the card game.
- Pokémon has been in existence for 18 years and is a very popular game with kids between 8-16 years old, but also several adults love the game. The game is produced by the Nintendo company who also produces an animated television show, which has been on the air since 1996 as well with some of the most popular animated character in current pop culture. The main character of the series, Ash Katchum's favorite pokemon Pikachu is one of the most popular baloons at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade every year. Also, the Pokemon video games are always among the top sellers for the handheld Game Boy/DS systems also produced by Nintendo.
- Dungeons & Dragons is the most popular live action RPG in the history of gaming. Created in 1974, the game has evolved from once being a "nerdy" game to having people of all types playing the game. With the release of the lord of the Rings movies, and now the hobbit movies, it has rached new heights of popularity as the playes are using characters that greatly resemble the characters from these popular movies. In 1981, the game had more than 3 million playes worldwide and copies of the rules were selling at a rate of approximately 750,000 a year by 1984. By 2004, consumers have spent more than one billion dollars on Dungeons and Dragons products. In 2007 the game reached 6 million players worldwide. the game has won several awards throughout the industry.
The closest competition in my industry are located in Brockton, MA and Lowell, MA. Both are very small locations that get very cramped, and they provide tournament winners with lackluster prize support. I have frequently visited both of these stores and have often realized they have very many flaws. I intend to capitalize on exploiting the flaws that they have and making my store much more accessable and easy to maneuver, as well as having a much larger selection of product. Also, being innovative thinkers, we will always be looking for ways to improve our store and make it the best gaming experience for our customers.
If you would like to donate just 1 dollar that would be wonderful and I would be very thankful as every dollar helps!
