What It Takes to Run a Game Shop

[monkeymagick]

If you have ever wondered about the amount of effort it would take to run your very own video game store, imagine no more. A feature by Polygon takes us into behind the scenes of the blood and sweat that goes into running an independent business. And just like most brick-and-mortar stores, small shops are struggling to get by with competition from online retailers and larger corporations. With the current profit margins most are making off of new game sales; some are actually keeping afloat, not due from the games but from the sales of gaming accessories and merchandise. Some stores will break street-dates, in order to fill early demand and violate the agreements they usually sign with larger publishers. Even competition among the used game market is fierce, dwindling supply leaves very little room for growth. Consumers are more conscious of the value of what they sell back to stores with the ease of browsing for the value of items sold online. A few naysayers aside, most shop owners are estimating a life-span of about 5-10 years left in the retail business. I wonder how much it would take to run my own repair shop (mild Mr. Robot spoiler warning).

"In the case of Battleborn ...within a week it had dropped 10 bucks so there goes our entire profit," says Edgar Garcia at World 8 in Los Angeles, Calif. "So we're trying to break even, but then the reviews come out or Overwatch gets more praise and then it gets dropped another 10 bucks and now we're losing 10 bucks every time we sell a copy."

"Your profit margin is so slim on these games," says Frank Bond of Stateline Video Games in Feeding Hills, Mass. "I have a whole showcase full of games we're selling online right now, of games I probably paid $52 for and I'm selling for $15 and $12."

 

[daglesj]

Working in anything at the sharp end of IT was next to not worth it. I'm 9 years into running my own IT support business and I get by just with the number of customers I have. If I started now...the money just isnt there. Well it isn't unless you want to rip people off. Plenty of 'IT Specialists' driving around in BMW M5's that know a quarter of what I do. I just won't do it. I don't charge $1000 for $50 worth of kit and a hour of my time.

I met a guy a few weeks ago that has started up his own custom build PC business. He was saying he could beat the prices of the local Best Buy type for customers. I thought he must be making at least $3 a hour by the time he's finished. I asked him how many machines he had sold. One!

Waste of time.

In the nine years of being in business I think I've built around 10 custom PCs. Folks just don't want them or the need for specialist machines is too small. Instead I sell a lot of ex Enterprise/corporate kit. Small businesses love to buy those and I don't have to spend 8 hours speccing and putting them all together.

Amazon will be the last one standing in the end. We are all responsible.

 

[HeadRusch]

It's the 40 year old virgin syndrome........remember the store in the film that only sold things online, even though it was a store and had stuff on the shelves....every store is going to be that store now. The Service Merchandise (look it up) business model has snuck back from the grave to dominate!!!

 

[Time2Kill]

The Service Merchandise (look it up) business model has snuck back from the grave to dominate!!!

You're making me feel old, I remember that store from when I was a kid.

 

[focbde]

Amazon will be the last one standing in the end. We are all responsible.

So true - people (me included) bitch and whine about the fact that brick and mortar shops are disappearing, for example, but are straight off to Amazon or whatever because it's cheaper / more convenient.

 

[Dead Parrot]

It's the 40 year old virgin syndrome........remember the store in the film that only sold things online, even though it was a store and had stuff on the shelves....every store is going to be that store now. The Service Merchandise (look it up) business model has snuck back from the grave to dominate!!!

Amazon is recreating the Sears & Roebuck model. Substitute Website for Catalog and Order via Internet in place of Order via Phone and its the same thing. Amazon is even setting up small B&M pickup sites similar to the Sears Catalog stores of years ago.

I think my local game store(RPG and board game type) makes most of their profit from the vending machines that sell drinks and snacks for folks using the free gaming space.

 

[tenjuna]

I've run several IT related businesses over the years, and I can confirm that it just simply isn't worth it unless you have the passion for it and don't mind breaking even.

In 1997 I opened a LAN center, way ahead of its time especially in the area I lived in. 32 computers, full almost every day, which I found out was due more to the T-1 I had installed (in an age of 56k dial-up, this was a technological wonder unto itself) than because of the games. So I put in couches and tvs and charge people $20 to come hang out, play games, and do internet chats. I made all of my profit from selling coffee, pop, and small foods. Lots of fun, absolutely a waste of time and money.

In 2003 I had a computer repair and sales business, lots of sales and customers, but ultimately it drove me into the ground having to support all of those sales and customers, who collectively were about as smart as a broken Mac keyboard.

Really the only way to make money in IT is if you don't mind screwing people over, then you can be just like Dell, HP, Compaq, etc.

 

[dgingeri]

The big problem is that so many people believe it is wrong to earn a profit while running a business. So many believe that people should run a business just to break even. It's taught in our schools and in our media. (All the while they make massive profits and sue innocent people into bankruptcy.) It's taught to kids constantly that making profits is doing something "on the backs of the little people" so they think profits are all wrong.

So, they refuse to consider profits in figuring what they wish to pay for things. That drives the price down, and puts a lot of businesses down and reduces many jobs to minimum wage jobs when they shouldn't be. It saps the job market, reducing the number of jobs needing to be filled, which in turn reduces the pay many companies pay to fill those jobs. In addition, they don't consider making their own businesses, even side jobs, to make ends meet. They instead demand the government give that extra to them. So, it becomes this winding downward spiral destroying the entire economy.

So, yeah, it is tough running a small business. It is especially hard running a small business which has a target customer base of kids taught that profits are wrong. The older the customer base, the more likely one is to make a decent profit and be able to live off it.

 

[tenjuna]

So absolutely true ^^^ I couldn't even tell you how many times people complained that I wouldn't sell them a computer for my cost. Like what about my time and expertise, do I not get paid for that? Nope.

 

[daglesj]

Yeah the issue is the 1% have pushed a version of Capitalism that means only the top 1% get to make big profits. Real Capitalism states that everyone involved should get to make a profit.

For some reason customers have been led to think that anything to do with web and IT is free or costs next to nothing.

I get said to me "I don't want to spend much!" quite a lot. To which I reply to some (I walk away from most when I hear that), "Would you say that to a plumber when your toilet is busted?"

 

[SomeoneElse]

Yea, I fear Amazon's razor thin profit margin on products is causing these businesses to go under, and after a certain point everything is going to start going up in price slowly...effectively pushing competition out and truly secure a monopoly.

 

[defaultluser]

So true - people (me included) bitch and whine about the fact that brick and mortar shops are disappearing, for example, but are straight off to Amazon or whatever because it's cheaper / more convenient.

I don't complain about them disappearing. I've always hated shopping in a store with limited selection for something that's purely entertainment.

 

[ymer]

Yea, I fear Amazon's razor thin profit margin on products is causing these businesses to go under, and after a certain point everything is going to start going up in price slowly...effectively pushing competition out and truly secure a monopoly.

Amazon doesn't have razor thin profit, maybe the 3rd party sellers there do, but Amazon is very well off on the margin side of things.

 

[focbde]

I don't complain about them disappearing. I've always hated shopping in a store with limited selection for something that's purely entertainment.

Everyone's different I guess. Personally I miss the days of going into a store and browsing around for a game to buy vs. scrolling through a website. You can still do it to a degree but, especially for PC, it's not really there anymore.

 

[dgingeri]

Yeah the issue is the 1% have pushed a version of Capitalism that means only the top 1% get to make big profits. Real Capitalism states that everyone involved should get to make a profit.

For some reason customers have been led to think that anything to do with web and IT is free or costs next to nothing.

I get said to me "I don't want to spend much!" quite a lot. To which I reply to some (I walk away from most when I hear that), "Would you say that to a plumber when your toilet is busted?"

That's a lie perpetuated by unions, MSM, and the education establishment. Here are some real facts about "the 1%" that they don't want you to hear:
1. 85% of the jobs in the US are with the top 10% of corporations, and pay on the average of 25% higher than smaller businesses (Government now pays even more than that, at ~40% higher for the same jobs in Federal jobs, and 30% higher in state and local jobs.)
2. Big corporations only make up 15% of the businesses in this country. 85% of businesses are 50 people or less.
3. While CEO salaries are making big headlines for their huge numbers, they make up less than 0.5% of the companies' incomes on average, and are typically less than 2% of the salaries paid out by said corporations. The board members, who are stock owners and are just paid by stock values rising, usually make significantly more than CEOs, but still way less than the workers in total. The board members also don't make a thing, usually losing money, if the company doesn't make money.
4. Losses by stock holders are not tax deductible. If someone invests money in a company and the company doesn't make money, they don't get to deduct those losses from their taxable income. So, if a guy makes $55k/year, and invests $5k/year in a side business that doesn't make any money, he is still taxed on that $55k/year. If a millionaire makes $5 million in interest on some money in the bank, and invests that into a company that fails, and he loses all of that $5 million, he still has to pay all the taxes on that $5 million. Also, if the guy with $55k/year makes a profit of $3k/year on his side job, he pays income tax on that extra income at the highest range of his tax rate, so about 15%, so he gets taxed at $58k for that year, even though he spent $5k investing in the company. So even with a loss for the year, he still pays extra taxes. So, people who invest in businesses are taking a LOT of risks, and payoffs have to be big in order to cover the taxes.
5. Government contracts are the big money maker. They're usually given to politically connected companies, too. In addition, many corporations with big profits are using government enforced "IP" laws that prevent competition. In addition to that, there are many areas where local government are preventing competition for some corporations through local ordinances. No company makes huge profits unless they're either signed on to government contracts or they have a government enforced monopoly. Note: Government is the main source of problems here, with overpriced contracts, unfair tax laws that punish people for succeeding, and IP laws and local ordinances that prevent competition.

 

[daglesj]

That's a lie perpetuated by unions, MSM, and the education establishment. Here are some real facts about "the 1%" that they don't want you to hear:
1. 85% of the jobs in the US are with the top 10% of corporations, and pay on the average of 25% higher than smaller businesses (Government now pays even more than that, at ~40% higher for the same jobs in Federal jobs, and 30% higher in state and local jobs.)
2. Big corporations only make up 15% of the businesses in this country. 85% of businesses are 50 people or less.
3. While CEO salaries are making big headlines for their huge numbers, they make up less than 0.5% of the companies' incomes on average, and are typically less than 2% of the salaries paid out by said corporations. The board members, who are stock owners and are just paid by stock values rising, usually make significantly more than CEOs, but still way less than the workers in total. The board members also don't make a thing, usually losing money, if the company doesn't make money.
4. Losses by stock holders are not tax deductible. If someone invests money in a company and the company doesn't make money, they don't get to deduct those losses from their taxable income. So, if a guy makes $55k/year, and invests $5k/year in a side business that doesn't make any money, he is still taxed on that $55k/year. If a millionaire makes $5 million in interest on some money in the bank, and invests that into a company that fails, and he loses all of that $5 million, he still has to pay all the taxes on that $5 million. Also, if the guy with $55k/year makes a profit of $3k/year on his side job, he pays income tax on that extra income at the highest range of his tax rate, so about 15%, so he gets taxed at $58k for that year, even though he spent $5k investing in the company. So even with a loss for the year, he still pays extra taxes. So, people who invest in businesses are taking a LOT of risks, and payoffs have to be big in order to cover the taxes.
5. Government contracts are the big money maker. They're usually given to politically connected companies, too. In addition, many corporations with big profits are using government enforced "IP" laws that prevent competition. In addition to that, there are many areas where local government are preventing competition for some corporations through local ordinances. No company makes huge profits unless they're either signed on to government contracts or they have a government enforced monopoly. Note: Government is the main source of problems here, with overpriced contracts, unfair tax laws that punish people for succeeding, and IP laws and local ordinances that prevent competition.

And I could say that's the very propaganda the 1% push to the 99%...

 

[Cyraxx]

All I'm hearing is "People aren't as stupid as they once were"

Ya think? The whole Game Stop sell a used game for $2 and resell it for $35 isn't right in the minds of anyone but the mentally retarded. Videogames are sold in mass all over standard retail stores, so it's no wonder that video game stores don't survive.

That said, if you want to make a dedicated store, it needs to be more niche. A good example is there is definitely a market for people that play board games, many of which can't be found in a typical retail store. That's a market you would probably do better with.

 

[Cyraxx]

And I could say that's the very propaganda the 1% push to the 99%...

And anyone with half a brain would say you're just stupid when it comes to understanding capitalism. Nothing about capitalism says "I open store. Store should be profitable because capitalism!"

You must target a market, and specifically a market that hasn't already been fully developed and drained. A good example of people that learn their lesson are people that open up restaurants. They tell themselves "I make an amazing dish, everyone tells me they love it! That means I can sell it to other people!". Wrong. Every food type and food cuisine has been established. There is a reason why something like 80% of new restaurants fail in the first 5 years of opening, because you didn't have a way to differentiate yourself from others.

 

[Jim Kim]

That's a lie perpetuated by unions, MSM, and the education establishment. Here are some real facts about "the 1%" that they don't want you to hear:
1. 85% of the jobs in the US are with the top 10% of corporations, and pay on the average of 25% higher than smaller businesses (Government now pays even more than that, at ~40% higher for the same jobs in Federal jobs, and 30% higher in state and local jobs.)
2. Big corporations only make up 15% of the businesses in this country. 85% of businesses are 50 people or less.
3. While CEO salaries are making big headlines for their huge numbers, they make up less than 0.5% of the companies' incomes on average, and are typically less than 2% of the salaries paid out by said corporations. The board members, who are stock owners and are just paid by stock values rising, usually make significantly more than CEOs, but still way less than the workers in total. The board members also don't make a thing, usually losing money, if the company doesn't make money.
4. Losses by stock holders are not tax deductible. If someone invests money in a company and the company doesn't make money, they don't get to deduct those losses from their taxable income. So, if a guy makes $55k/year, and invests $5k/year in a side business that doesn't make any money, he is still taxed on that $55k/year. If a millionaire makes $5 million in interest on some money in the bank, and invests that into a company that fails, and he loses all of that $5 million, he still has to pay all the taxes on that $5 million. Also, if the guy with $55k/year makes a profit of $3k/year on his side job, he pays income tax on that extra income at the highest range of his tax rate, so about 15%, so he gets taxed at $58k for that year, even though he spent $5k investing in the company. So even with a loss for the year, he still pays extra taxes. So, people who invest in businesses are taking a LOT of risks, and payoffs have to be big in order to cover the taxes.
5. Government contracts are the big money maker. They're usually given to politically connected companies, too. In addition, many corporations with big profits are using government enforced "IP" laws that prevent competition. In addition to that, there are many areas where local government are preventing competition for some corporations through local ordinances. No company makes huge profits unless they're either signed on to government contracts or they have a government enforced monopoly. Note: Government is the main source of problems here, with overpriced contracts, unfair tax laws that punish people for succeeding, and IP laws and local ordinances that prevent competition.

Don't bother sourcing any of that, we would probably need to scrub our brains with a wire brush after clicking on the links.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonn...atistics-about-small-businesses/#3bbe36935ec8
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015...-the-self-employed-and-the-workers-they-hire/
http://www.epi.org/publication/top-...market-gains-and-the-rest-of-the-0-1-percent/
https://www.theatlantic.com/busines...cutives-making-way-more-than-reported/499850/

 

[daglesj]

And anyone with half a brain would say you're just stupid when it comes to understanding capitalism. Nothing about capitalism says "I open store. Store should be profitable because capitalism!"

You must target a market, and specifically a market that hasn't already been fully developed and drained. A good example of people that learn their lesson are people that open up restaurants. They tell themselves "I make an amazing dish, everyone tells me they love it! That means I can sell it to other people!". Wrong. Every food type and food cuisine has been established. There is a reason why something like 80% of new restaurants fail in the first 5 years of opening, because you didn't have a way to differentiate yourself from others.

What I mean is that everyone should have the ability to make a profit and a decent income and not be just hammered by larger entities that pay government to tilt the game in their favour.

You get a job in a corporation, wage increases get slower, fall behind inflation, apparently the corporation isn't doing so well you are told but the Exec still get 7+ figure rises.

They are bleeding the worlds population dry.

 

[Cyraxx]

What I mean is that everyone should have the ability to make a profit and a decent income and not be just hammered by larger entities that pay government to tilt the game in their favour.

Uh huh, you're someone that clearly hasn't had a business otherwise you would understand what competition is. Try making an amazing invention, devoting tons of time and research and doing test runs... The market it loves it., you find lots of customers initially.

Wait until a chinese knock-off is made almost exact to yours - except their labor and materials are outsourced. See how much you love competitors when it's you.

It's just like anything else in life... fighting for jobs, fighting for who is best in sports, fighting for who is the business on top... Everything is a competition in life, we don't all hold hands and sing in harmony. You sound like the typical person that praises socialism and thinks everyone should get an equal paycheck all around, even though Bob is doing 10% of the work that Jeff is doing.

 

[Ur_Mom]

Yeah the issue is the 1% have pushed a version of Capitalism that means only the top 1% get to make big profits. Real Capitalism states that everyone involved should get to make a profit.

For some reason customers have been led to think that anything to do with web and IT is free or costs next to nothing.

I get said to me "I don't want to spend much!" quite a lot. To which I reply to some (I walk away from most when I hear that), "Would you say that to a plumber when your toilet is busted?"

Many of those 1% started out as one of the 99%ers. They've worked their way out of a garage and into multiple building campuses spanning many blocks.

American success story, or are they the bad guys? Be successful, but not too successful? I don't like some of the tactics some of the larger companies use, but that's just those practices. The success of those companies were earned.

 

[trparky]

I understand that all companies need to make a profit, I have no problems with making a profit. I do however have a problem with the recent economic climate in which companies on Wall Street are required (by their shareholders) to make ever increasing amounts of profit quarter after quarter. This form of Capitalism is quite simply unsustainable. At some point you reach the point where there is no more room for growth. Any economics professor will tell you that slow and steady growth is best. Like I said earlier, I have no problem with making a profit but at some point companies have turned making a profit into raping the customer; that is what I have a problem with these days.

 

[Burticus]

I admire the passion of these store owners.... but they have to enjoy it on some level because they make no money. I don't know how they break even after rent/utilities, etc, forget about paying employees. Unless you have family members willing to work for free, forget it.

I sometimes had dreams about running a video rental store. I miss that experience, of browsing the movies etc. But it's dead, gone baby gone. As much as I love Amazon, they are part of the problem... if you call it a problem. Most call it capitalism or progress.

There are still some places around me that buy and sell stuff.... I recently dumped a bunch of movies at a place and got like a whopping $7 for 30+ DVDs. I took it, then went and bought lunch. Not worth the effort to sell them on ebay.

I've seen some chatter about custom built PC sales. I did that on nights and weekends back when you could actually make a tiny profit, long before Amazon. Mostly to co-workers. All it took was one stupid hoser complaining about ignorant stuff, or one fried system due to a power surge to wipe out a months worth of "profit". I still build my own stuff, but I gave up building for strangers 20 years ago, and family 10 years ago. Now, if a family member calls, I send them a link to buy a refurb or off lease HP/Dell online.

 

[RayderR6]

4. Losses by stock holders are not tax deductible. If someone invests money in a company and the company doesn't make money, they don't get to deduct those losses from their taxable income. So, if a guy makes $55k/year, and invests $5k/year in a side business that doesn't make any money, he is still taxed on that $55k/year. If a millionaire makes $5 million in interest on some money in the bank, and invests that into a company that fails, and he loses all of that $5 million, he still has to pay all the taxes on that $5 million. Also, if the guy with $55k/year makes a profit of $3k/year on his side job, he pays income tax on that extra income at the highest range of his tax rate, so about 15%, so he gets taxed at $58k for that year, even though he spent $5k investing in the company. So even with a loss for the year, he still pays extra taxes. So, people who invest in businesses are taking a LOT of risks, and payoffs have to be big in order to cover the taxes.

You right this up like a failed investment is supposed to be tax forgiven. If someone made 55K/yr, why wouldn't they pay taxes on that amount, whether they invested 5K in a failed business or not. If they made 3K with that 5K investment, their income is now 58K/yr, again, why wouldn't they pay income taxes on 58K. Your other examples are just the same thing.

Now if you want to talk about the whole income tax thing in general, please don't kick start me; admitting it or not, Woodrow can go suck the eternal egg for letting the central banks third attempt be the charm, but since income tax is the law of the land, why the fuck should a failed investment be tax forgiven if it didn't make you money. Capitalism is and has always been a form a gambling, the good that it provides over gambling though is immeasurable.

Seriously, this #4 just reeks of an investor entitlement mind, the "job creator" mentality, whether your investment was going to provide a job or not.

 

[dgingeri]

You right this up like a failed investment is supposed to be tax forgiven. If someone made 55K/yr, why wouldn't they pay taxes on that amount, whether they invested 5K in a failed business or not. If they made 3K with that 5K investment, their income is now 58K/yr, again, why wouldn't they pay income taxes on 58K. Your other examples are just the same thing.

Now if you want to talk about the whole income tax thing in general, please don't kick start me; admitting it or not, Woodrow can go suck the eternal egg for letting the central banks third attempt be the charm, but since income tax is the law of the land, why the fuck should a failed investment be tax forgiven if it didn't make you money. Capitalism is and has always been a form a gambling, the good that it provides over gambling though is immeasurable.

Seriously, this #4 just reeks of an investor entitlement mind, the "job creator" mentality, whether your investment was going to provide a job or not.

Well, mainly the little fact that it takes a LOT of profit to even really break even with a small business, and a huge loss when it doesn't work. With such little rewards and huge chances of losses, why do many people even bother to try? Know what it does to a society when it is really hard to succeed and really easy to fail and lose everything? Economic collapse, rampant poverty, and eventually people walk away. Personally, I'd rather get back to a place where people can succeed and prosper, rather than be punished for succeeding, as we are right now. If this continues, this country will collapse.

Edit: Heck, even gambling losses are tax deductible, in as much as they cancel out winnings over the same year. If someone plays poker and loses $6000 in 6 games, yet wins $10,000 in one game, they are still only taxed on the difference of $4000.

Not so for small business owners. For some, if they spend $5000 on advertising, and it only gets them $3000 in sales, they still have to pay income tax on the $3000. If they spent $6000 on advertising and made $10,000 in profits, then they pay taxes on the whole $10,000.

If filed a certain way, they can file for the business expenses to be tax deductible, but then they have to pay income taxes at business tax rate (35% off the top) and then pay income tax for themselves as well. So, if a small business makes $100,000 in profits in a year after expenses, then they get hit with 35% taxes on that, so they really only make $65,000 profit, and then if the owner pays himself $65,000 from those profits, he has to pay income taxes on that as well, so he takes home about $42,000. That little bit for working 12 hours days 6 or 7 days per week. That's not much of a reward for such hard work. Most of that is due to punishment from those imposing taxes on others.

I ask, why is it greedy to want to keep what you made with your own hard work, yet not greedy to take it away from someone else for no work?

 

[dgingeri]

I admire the passion of these store owners.... but they have to enjoy it on some level because they make no money. I don't know how they break even after rent/utilities, etc, forget about paying employees. Unless you have family members willing to work for free, forget it.

I sometimes had dreams about running a video rental store. I miss that experience, of browsing the movies etc. But it's dead, gone baby gone. As much as I love Amazon, they are part of the problem... if you call it a problem. Most call it capitalism or progress.

There are still some places around me that buy and sell stuff.... I recently dumped a bunch of movies at a place and got like a whopping $7 for 30+ DVDs. I took it, then went and bought lunch. Not worth the effort to sell them on ebay.

I've seen some chatter about custom built PC sales. I did that on nights and weekends back when you could actually make a tiny profit, long before Amazon. Mostly to co-workers. All it took was one stupid hoser complaining about ignorant stuff, or one fried system due to a power surge to wipe out a months worth of "profit". I still build my own stuff, but I gave up building for strangers 20 years ago, and family 10 years ago. Now, if a family member calls, I send them a link to buy a refurb or off lease HP/Dell online.

The 3 store owners I have known all worked through all the store hours, and did the accounting for it during their slow times while still minding the store. All three commented to me that they had previous stores that grew for a while and then sales fell and they had to close, and yet they rebuilt their stores from the ground up all over again. All three were also of the mind that they didn't want to work for someone else. They were very independent people, and didn't like the idea of answering to other people. That was the reason they ran those stores. They didn't care about the low income. They cared about their independence.

 

[daglesj]

Many of those 1% started out as one of the 99%ers. They've worked their way out of a garage and into multiple building campuses spanning many blocks.

American success story, or are they the bad guys? Be successful, but not too successful? I don't like some of the tactics some of the larger companies use, but that's just those practices. The success of those companies were earned.

In actual a huge chunk of the 1% inherited their wealth.

Again part of the "You can join us if you work hard!" lie.

 

[defaultluser]

In actual a huge chunk of the 1% inherited their wealth.

Again part of the "You can join us if you work hard!" lie.

Right, the Gates family was already well-off. He just saw an opportunity to become mega-rich.

Steve Jobs the only self-made Billionaire I knew of growing up. He was incredibly lucky to have grown-up in Silicon Valley at the right place at the right time. Surrounded by creative engineers and hackers just looking for a bright manager to lead them.

And now there's Jeff Bezos. Still happens, but rare.

Elon Musk came from a relatively well-off family that could afford planes and boats, and had lots of connections.

 

[dgingeri]

In actual a huge chunk of the 1% inherited their wealth.

Again part of the "You can join us if you work hard!" lie.

I do know from experience that "hard work" alone won't net jack shit for anyone. It is hard work, smart work, and more than a little luck. Guess what, life isn't freaking fair. It has never been and will never be fair. Some people get ahead. Some people start ahead. Some start behind.

Know what? IT DOESN'T MATTER.

It doesn't matter what you want. It doesn't matter what anyone wants. Life is pain, for most of us. It will never be fair. Trying to rail against it and change it is just spitting in the wind.

Pushing for politicians to get more power to "change things" isn't going to make it more fair for anyone. It will just put us all in poverty and give all the wealth to the political ruling class. It will only make things worse. Stop screwing us all over.

 

[capt_cope]

What does any of this "it's all the evil 1%" crap have to do with running a game shop? If you can't offer customers a compelling reason to pay you more than an online warehouse you won't remain in business for long. I'm more surprised game stores / computer stores still exist. The last time I went into a local pc store I wasn't sure if I should laugh at them or congratulate them for ever selling anything. Their component prices were close to double what newegg was charging, and it appeared to be staffed by teenagers who couldn't make it onto the geek squad.

 

[tenjuna]

^^^ Some people will never shop at Amazon or Walmart, and will go out of their way to support local mom and pops. As I posted earlier, shops like those aren't ever going to become anything other than what they are, but most small business owners will tell you that's exactly why they do it. There is something to be said for spending your life helping others, and making a modest profit to keep you afloat. Not everyone needs or wants to be in the 1%. Those that do aren't running a local mom and pop and are already doing something that fleeces people. I think that's the whole "class warfare" theory in action.

 

[Ur_Mom]

What does any of this "it's all the evil 1%" crap have to do with running a game shop? If you can't offer customers a compelling reason to pay you more than an online warehouse you won't remain in business for long. I'm more surprised game stores / computer stores still exist. The last time I went into a local pc store I wasn't sure if I should laugh at them or congratulate them for ever selling anything. Their component prices were close to double what newegg was charging, and it appeared to be staffed by teenagers who couldn't make it onto the geek squad.

We used to have a small PC shop in my town. Coolest people ran it. It's where I bought my first 14.4 modem so I could get onto the WWW. Online sales killed them. Which was to be expected. You can't beat that with a small store. Too much overhead for such small sales.

 

[mope54]

self made millionaires being rare but possible is a lot more accurate than many of the wealth holders in this country started from the depths of poverty, but dgingeri's posts regarding taxation in this country is so incorrect I don't even know where to start. I can't wrap my mind around his example of someone making $55K per year, losing $5K, and then earring a $3K profit and then complaining about being taxes on $58K gross income.

If you got your information on how corporations pay taxes and what rate they pay them at from your store owner buddies who were filing their own taxes, they either relayed it to you incorrectly or didn't know what they were doing when they filed but that information is all wrong from top to bottom regardless of where you heard it from.