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- GAMA is a wrap
Hey folks,
Now that the 2023 GAMA Expo is a wrap it’s time to get back to the grind so I’m going to keep this short and sweet.
I’m launching a Premium newsletter to make building your game store business easier with the aim of keeping it quick and effective. A few minutes to read, filled with news in the industry, cool tools, upcoming release dates, Kickstarter projects that I think are worth paying attention to, and more.
The aim is to put them out Monday-Wednesday-Friday. Today’s Friday so check on that one.
Every other Friday will be free for all subscribers but if you like what we’re putting out here you should sign up for Premium. It’s only $10 a month.
I’m looking for feedback too.
Let me know what would be the most helpful information to include in the newsletter for your business.
There’s a feedback button at the bottom of the newsletter, or you can just send me an email, that works too.
That said, let’s jump in.
📰 Industry News
Highlights if you've only got 5 minutes
1/
TCGPlayer is making some big strides after acquiring Channel Fireball and BinderPOS back in 2022. They hosted a seminar at GAMA this year (check it out here if you haven’t seen it) detailing some of the changes in the org and what the mission is going forward. It’s worth taking a look, especially if you’ve got any interest in selling singles online.
2/
Printing company worker steals thousands of Pokémon TCG hits off the line and tries to offload them at LGS. While not enough to really impact the appearance of those cards in the market, still an interesting story on how to handle the situation. Contrast that with story #3.
3/
Youtuber gets a visit from wild west private security firm Pinkertons after leaking the March of the Machines: Aftermath set on YouTube way ahead of release date. Leaks have been a problem for WotC for a long time, but this is definitely one way to handle them.
4/
The war raging in the grim dark of the far future is about to change. New rules, streamlined datasheets, new units, #New40K has a lot going on.
🎲 Kickstarter Project
Cool games on the horizon
Fractured Sky puts you at the helm of an airship expedition to recover fragments of a magical falling star.
Funded at well over a million dollars (10x the goal of the KS), Fractured Sky is looking like a good bet. The team has shipped to over 30,000 backers already on projects Moonrakers, Veiled Fate, and Mythic Mischief so they’ve got a good track record, and the game itself looks colorful, whimsical, and fun.
3 Days left on this one (link)
⛏️ Cool Tools
Products, apps, cool stuff
BinderPOS - Point of sale, inventory management, integrations to major marketplaces. (link)
Roca Sorter - Sort your singles inventory automatically. (link)
Time.ly - Event calendar and online ticketing solution. (link)
Canva - The easiest graphic design tool ever. (link)
Klaviyo - An excellent email marketing service that integrates perfectly with Shopify and BigCommerce. (link)
Beehiiv - Another cool email provider, it created this email in fact (link)
Patreon - A solid platform for creating a membership program for your store (link)
📖 Learn
How-to’s and resources
Travis Winter Patreon - Weekly newsletter detailing Games Workshop new releases, tournament trends, and meta discussion, and FAQ's (link)
LGS Net Income - Michael Bahr’s deep dives into gaming retail (link)
Michael Caffrey Patreon - Learn the mechanics of buying and selling MTG singles from TOA Magic (link)
The Board Game Family - A roadmap to integrating board gaming into family life, filled with irresistible ways to engage even the trickiest of teenagers and manage game nights with flair. (link)
Go Premium
If you like what we’re doing here and want to get this kind of content on a regular basis, sign up for Premium!
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