The Brutal Reality of Owning a Video Game Store 

Don’t forget my bad reputation too

qrd?

@@PhoenixResale does he got ps vIta or steam decks n also for vr I recomend the pIco 4 n ps5 headsets

They make RU-vid videos about you where the thumbnails have you crying and they call you names *shudder*@@PhoenixResale

You're right. He seems like a super mellow cool dude. I wish him the best as well.

all of us can learn from his ethics

Let’s hope it’s 30x times he the shit

He will if he focuses equally on Gunpla, the junkies don't stop. 😂

I hope he does well too but dedicated game stores is a dying business model.

wuz good didnt expect to find you here lol

Agreed

Exactly what I was going to say,,, very well putt.

100% this guy gets it! Wish him nothing but success for him and his business

I just hope he doesn't one day regret missing out on his kids early years. You can never get those back.

The Cains vs. The Abels

gamestop *cough cough*

Wouldn't be so bad if it was quality stuff, but they sell alot of junk

Damn it I was gonna say that😂😂​@@kasrakh86

​@overused6632 gamestop is a game store, not a toy store. Same with this guy's business. I haven't shopped at a gamestop (as a previous regular customer) in like 4 years because they turned over half the store into stupid toys and "collectibles". I love dedicated game stores like this guy has.

Thinking collectibles are stupid but video games aren't is at least a little silly.

Na they're selling at max+ bid price at the last 5 seconds price

This is the problem with the Internet, everybody has all the same information and you can only get a good deal if the seller is desperate or died.

Yeah whenever I see a game I care about it tends to sell more now used with no box and manual than it cost new back then

The problem is that there are multiple youtube channels bragging about getting these awesome deals. They then turn it over a week later, earning a profit. I don't blame flea market owners. Why let someone else keep that profit and then rub your face in it on a RU-vid video?

amazon changed it, its a tapped market. @@googiegress7459

So much this. I'd rather make less money than ever go back to working a full time office job with a commute. Did it for a few years when my kid was born because I had to make bills, but there were stretches of days I didn't even see her awake. Couldn't pay me enough to go back to that...

but you have 3 mountains of essay homework

Same bro, same 🥲

11:02 (for timestamp) - completely agree. It’s alright that those times have passed, but they’re not gone. They’re still in our minds and hearts

me in the windwaker days

Cringe

Lol the Comicbook Guy from the Simpsons types.

YES. like I get its tough being small business owner and having to compete with big business but if you can't compete in experience, why ppl want to shop at your place (and dont give me help local business/ economy stuff

Yeah. I hate those types of owners. They don’t know the basics of client relations

Theyre so ancy about their collectibles. My local mall the dude who owns it eyes you like youre gonna steal it or worse break em Sadly we got a store like this guys who had comics collectibles they had gatherings for starcraft LoL fps yugioh magic gathering DnD etc. Games and get togethers. Then....covid made it flop sadly. Even some of the stuff was legit low cost

Yeah it always cracked me up when my boss/owner of the business would complain about how bad business was or how difficult it was to compete when they had TERRIBLE service and did nothing to compete. It's like I want to agree with you but honestly I can't, I wouldn't recommend anyone shop here.

He must get filler, what does he do just donate it? My guess is he uses game cases for recasing good games and just blows out the fluff. It is impossible to avoid unless you are a cherry picker and pull all the good stuff out of deals you see (like FB Marketplace stuff),

Cognitive dissonance high among gamers. Reduces threshold for suspension of disbelief increasing enjoyment of video games, its like edging before masterbation an art also perfected by many a gamer😂

@@RPcropland Oh okay

LOL! C’mon man gimme a break, did you come for the N64 section or marriage advice? -the guy

@@RPcroplandtouch grass

New hero. ESPECIALLY for the customer service part. No one who loves games , video or card or whatever, at least everyone i know, all of us feel like theres NO POINT trying to go reSELL your games or cards, cause places, stores around here fucking SUCK. but THIS guy looks like he will give you an HONEST chance, and tried to have someone COME BACK, by giving them a FAIR deal, rather than SCREWING people over to hopefully make money by cheating someone out of something worth something.

He 'created' nothing tho?

There is no escapism.

@@KarlTheExpert he created a market space. if you love burgers and there are no burgers chains in your town the man who creates the space creates the supply. "he didnt make the videogames hes selling so he didnt make anything" is the understanding of a literal child

@@satsu3098 the original comment said "he created THE NEED" Which is not true. There was a need and he created the solution to it.

@@satsu3098weirdo

why, what did he do? buy games for cheap and resell for more? what a noble cause! lol, yet another kick in the face of gamers

@@arksin11 Did you not watch the video? He sells for cheaper than most stores. Physical stores increase the availability of retro games. Most people would not bother peddling their collections online, as shipping is a hassle. It's much easier to put them all in a box, bring them to some guy, and he just takes them all.

@@arksin11 You're not very smart

He needs to not work so much and ordering take out

@@arksin11 Do you even know what business even means. I guess you are too young to know it. I mean these days youtube is filled with kids anyway.

I can tell that vulnerability is what gained him a loyal following. He's real and he tries to be on the same page with you and do right by you. Mans got a good heart and passion.

Where is his store located?

@@channelfour6098 It's called Dynamo Collectibles, and it's in Fort Myers, Florida.

@@channelfour6098At the end of the video they say Fort Myers (FL?)

He’s located in Fort Myers, Florida

@@SP_Souryeah that doesn’t answer the question there’s a bunch there

He cares about money.

@@RealHomeRecording no shit

@@RealHomeRecordingdo you work for free?

Work for free vibes in this section

yes but the owner isnt the employees. he undoubtedly has some jerkoff employees who dont care about the customers, thats a sure thing.

noob

I agree!

hellyea id love to visit his store too im just a guy who loves games and its hard as shit to find old games even handheld consoles like the ds systems that are hard to find in good condition

Antique stores that cares about their product and what they're selling got so much history and love to them it's hard not to be interested to take a look even if it's not your thing in general.

Does he have a website? Didn’t see info for his store in the description

Does he have a website or Instagram?

This stupid channel doesn't link to his website or business. How do we find him?

@slurpwis Google dynamo collectables that's the name of the store, I don't think he has a website but he has a Facebook

We need contact information, and if the store hosts tournament play or not.

He exploited people desperate from covid unemployment. Unreal.

@@datacipher He exploited them how?

@@datacipher How mad do you have to be that you copy-paste the same hateful reply under multiple comments?

He won't be able to, with our current economy and the rate at which the prices are increasing for just general goods, he will be lucky to retire before he dies.

@@whitecloud2002 Given the fact that big retail stores are no longer selling physical media I imagine it would mean more business for him. Also the fact that there are allot of gamers who want to buy physical media vs. going all digital. Let's also not forget that there were people during Covid willing to buy a PS5 for 1k$ therefore at the very least we know there are some die hard gamers willing to pay no matter the price or economy thus I do not believe his job will be going anywhere anytime soon.

Wood floors yellow walls and the lighting make me not like it for some reason . None the less hope his business goes well

i love yellow walls! ​@@SleepyCardinal-yx2lk

​​@@SleepyCardinal-yx2lkagreed, it's horrible. He's a nice guy though.

@@SleepyCardinal-yx2lkYeah he isn’t gonna tear down everything to redo walls, floors, and lighting that would take ages.

@@SeudXe didn’t expect him to

It sucks. When I was a kid my mom and I would go to yard sales all the time. We always got deals not it's just not even worth it

What game ever sold for 22 that wasn't bargin bin? A lot of NES games cost as much as current games do when they were released.

Yeah I'm not paying 30 dollars for ANY GameCube game

@@kitten-whisperer back in 86 i was in america we had all my toys from yardsales and yes i twas yard sale cheap

Nobody wants to admit that the old school 'peer to peer' market experience was a competition of knowledge and a grift economy at the end of the day. Now that you can research nationwide prices and find the 'meta' in like 5 seconds with your portable connection to almost all data of humankind... it just won't be like that anymore. This guy hosting local swapmeets and still profiting even amongst a bunch of commerce he isn't DIRECTLY related to is absolutely GENIUS. Because that really IS how you get that 'yard sale' vibe. It's not a 'walk up' deal any more, it's something that has to be created with events and communal vibes.

Boom! It should always remain accessible. That's why I fkn hate these kind of stores. They're selling Dreamcasts for 250$. Like wtf?

Lol its a waste of money. Why buy all these overpriced retro games when you can just download off the internet for free and play them with an emulator

jajaj you are missing the point its about nostalgia and owning phyisical things, some people like to touch smell stuff. Its not for everybody but its just basically the reason why most people collect stuff. @@anthonyfaucy2761

Love this video. Super interesting to learn what it takes to own a business. This guy is living his dream. Earning a living from what he loves.

@@draguOdoT 1) These are multibillion dollor corporations who want everyone to everything back to them instead. 2) This is a good point but even then its just pointless as emulation has got to a point where its very good quality. Extra hardware is just clutter. 3) If anyone has enough intelligence to create a google account they have enough to figure out how to use emulators. Everyone has access to youtube and all they need to do is follow a video step by step. Its not rocket science. 4) Physical software and hardware is literal junk. Its plastic crap that is worthless. 5) Going to a store to buy a videogame is very outdated concept. With access to internet being so readily available why would anyone prefer the hassle?

Money ain’t worth it

@@kingcatx2 I agree but we are all in different situations. I had the luck to find a job that gave me better pay and work life balance but not everybody gets that. However, would I love to own a video game store too probably yeah. It looks like he followed a passion and he's trying to make the best of it. Not everybody will like it or agree with it.

@@kingcatx2 Disagree, money CAN be worth it if you're setting up future generations. But for 75k a year? Definitely not worth it.

@SpartanArmy117 money is not worth it if it means sacrificing your relationship with your wife and kids. My father worked as much as this guy and I barely even knew him. He taught me one thing, though, that I will never do that to my kids.I spend almost every free moment I have with them.

@@SpartanArmy117 agreed hopefully his sells pick up!

So true. Online sellers will be more convenient and have more options, being friendly to your customers and having better prices is about the only way to compete.

there nerds, u expect them to have social skills

You say "nerds" but I've been into plenty of non-nerd niche shops that lacked customer service. Most people aren't suited for running a brick and mortar business and that's why they fail. This guy gets it.

Hi rush, You still doing watch parties?

@@WiiFitGOTY A physical store cannot and should not compete on price with online sellers. Ever. They should compete on customer service above all else, which one store I know does well. They also have a system where if you trade in a game for another, the trade in value is 25-30% or more above what they will give you in cash. You don't even have to trade in right away, but they'll give you store credit if you prefer. So, they have a lot of good retro inventory because people trade in retro stuff they get a good deal on to buy new stuff, or newer gen 2nd hand stuff. They do have an online store, but IMO the physical store is an experience in itself, tons of old console displays etc where you can play old legendary games on the original hardware, and should you want to, you can buy it. Not 100% is for sale, but very close to everything is, but not necessarily cheap. All retro games and consoles are tested and sold with a warranty, provided you're not me who takes a discount and handshake deal over warranty lol. I've done all sorts of unorthodox deals with them but I'm more of a "free agent" than a straight up customer, I'll find games or consoles for them at times, sometimes help get rid of something they have too much of, but they will keep aside specific things for me if they come in. They get sold to me without ever being listed as inventory.

him and the tech guy i follow, its not about what the business is, its about treating customers right in a market where people want something without worrying about being tricked or scammed online

Also the philosophy of mantaining velocity over maximum profit margin. There's a lot of people who've been burned in the "crash" because they bought at peak or bought early but just kept sitting on it until it was too late. It sounds like his philosophy of "buy it, mark it up a bit, flip it, lock in profit" and not holding on for maximum margin has done him well.

@@milhousevanhoutan9235 getting people what they want for a fair price is a service, and will always be in demand. squeezing out every last margin of profit is doable, but, is much more risky.

Yeah this plus having a good customer base is how you keep regular business. One of my favorite stores had nothing but druggie burnouts there every day so I got sick of dealing with them and eventually quit going because his store had nothing to offer me anymore.

How old is this video made ?

Is his authentic pokemon games from gba>ds good pricing??? Or over 200$ like every other video game store i see

Lies

@@FatalShotGGof P

@@Dialogos1989 Lol

Having sold a fair few different gaming things on eBay, you kinda just have to price high on there because of the stupid fees you pay. It's a PITA.

He is able to afford to do this because it seems like he doesn't have any employees. The man is a workhorse but he's able to be that because he doesn't consider what he's doing work, it's his passion. The man is truly living the dream.

"He undercuts the Ebay price to turn over product quickly." This is actually standard practice for most video game stores.

not anywhere around me@@MK_ULTRA420

But is he under cutting ebay? This video quickly showed Super Smash Bros. Melee Player's Choice for $75. I checked ebay and it goes for typically $50-$60, with many CIB going for under $55 after shipping.

Honestly not that much considering the amount of work he puts in as owner and primary operator. $75k is good but I guarantee he wishes he was making more for the amount of time and effort he puts in

@@baloo1522 That's to be expected, that's why he wants to expand the business more. More marketing, more connection, etc...

@@baloo1522 I'm busting my ass making 40-50 every year I would love to do what he does.

100% its NOT all about the Monetary value! being a resellers NO matter what it is and no matter how you do it either online, flea markets , shows , owning a store or even having weekly yard sales You have to love it like 100% all of it no matter if its a grind or not because if you don't it can eat you REAL quick take it from someone that has done full time reselling for the last 25 years both online and off line multiple avenues (eBay, amazon, mercari, poshmark, offline via FB marketplace, Craigslist, flea markets and shows) one thing i have not tried and i commend those that do is doing the retail shop thing its HUGELY expensive to do that and most business that try fail in 3 years like Mark stated many do not treat the business as a business and close shop within a year hopefully Mark has made it this long he can hold off and make it a long long time.

@@baloo1522 thing is he states it is work (don't let any one fool you) but he LOVES what he does (and all the benefits you get from being your own boss and owning/running your business it outweighs working a 9-5 minimum wage job answering to someone else and helping someone else or another company get richer) and after 25 years of full time reselling both online and off line many different platforms and venues (off line) I'm a VERY VERY firm believer in the saying "if you love what you do then you will never have worked a day in your life" so if you go to a 9-5 and DREAD getting up in the morning doing that JOB your going to look back on your life and hate it but if you LOVE YOUR JOB and what you do then you will never feel like you worked a day in your life you will look back at your life with NO regrets

this dude markets

F squirtle a real og would be holding charmander

@@alexraj9436 squirtle destroys your charmander, and that is an argument you simply cannot dispute.

@@terraversalvoid5391 funny charizard consistently beats blastoise both in the game and cartoon despite blastass having an advantage

​@alexraj9436 F charalamander. The cameraman needs a hug. Actual physical contact for once. He has to record everything since time immemorial from metor showers to people on a cross and even a crying a charalazard in the rain. Unable to do anything but record.

How is it "lucky" to have Dad working when you hit your first homerun? Or Dad was working when you learned how to ride a bike? Kids remember a LOT of stuff.. they remember even more when you "weren't there".. He seems like a go-getter and solid dude/family man, but the amount of time someone is putting in and the sacrifices that are being made arent always "worth" it in the long run.

@@KrowDD214 It really is a double-edged sword, for sure. You bring up good points, but he's bringing in a solid income for his family. Probably mountains more than his serving job. Kids might not be able to understand why dad isn't there in the moment, but down the road they'll more than likely understand the sacrifices and hardship dad had to face to provide for his family. All while working against the grain to build something and prosper. If that isn't one hell of a role-model, I don't know what is. Being there when learning to ride a bike is trivial... Being there to provide and make sure food is on the table and needs are being met is incomparable. Sacrifice is never a win-win for anyone. That's why it's called "sacrifice," and why when done tactfully and selflessly, earns my respect.

Work at fed ex and talk to me about work life balance lol.

@@alexander2685bro is trying to have a pissing contest online 😭

Are you gatekeeping work/life balance?

No, haha just passing on some wisdom before my time is done.@@ian8956

I like funkopops….

Customer service isn't for everyone, people assume they can do it easily cause they're sociable but it takes a lot of effort and patience to be kind and courteous towards people screaming at you for something out of your control and threatening your job at you. You really gotta be a saint to smile and wish someone a good day after they insult you, your family then your entire bloodline then take the next customer in 5 seconds.

I started doing HP/Compaq support in an outsourced call center. I got taken off the phones the first month to work on a starting line project to pad the drastic difference of being an agent vs training. Like my class didn't have that and half of them were gone within a week which was the norm then. I got to rebuild the training syllabus not that they used it but i did which along with a notetaking tool i started writing in training and actually built out into some smart code that linked together their otherwise very disparate tools taking so much manual daily searching workload off me as an agent. Our site went from dead last to #1 after around 120 of my agents hitting the floor. I lied the idea of instead of taking 20 calls myself/day I'll copy my technique train it then like spin up all these virtual me's and take 500x the calls 10k/day done very much at a high level of support like the didn't need the 2nd level agent-help-line any more I had accidentally made myself and all my peers redundant so they reworked it and we became relevant but they always hated me then elitest losers can't stand a DJ would be so much more technically skilled like DUH bro. And the girls only talk to me because i don't hit on them, grow up. I burnt out after ~500 agents alone when it would normally take ~3 of us. I could only get basic agent pay for the first year when I should have been getting a trainers salaried position of double that after the first month. I didn't smoke so never took a single break and usually just ~5 min lunch cuz I got 20 arms up or agent's melting down and I know there's 1 or 2 often women back to work after spending 3 years raising a kid in what seemed like seclusion usually that might be struggling technically (cuz they were NOT nerds) and we hadn't trained them properly like we promised it's NOT their fault but they came in w better support aptitude then you can ever teach someone. If they were there after the 1st week would keep coming in on time, for longer then i did whereas tech nerds get bored after a month and skip out or collect up 5 lates in a year or 1 no call no show. Actually my overall agent loss so unbeatable as to be unfair to compare for whatever reason (instilled passion thru shortform concentrated training + my tool). My rant concludes with the unexpected loss of fulfillment I had after I suddenly learnt of SH, bordering on abuse by a few male supervisors against lower level agents and gave my 2 weeks. HP doesn't outsource there any longer and it moved to another city. :)

That sucks cuz tbh i hate and low key get annoyed when employees talk to me.Needy customers like yall are annoying.If they have the game buy it.Why do you need to be catered and talked to soo much??Sheesh

@@fabmelo4195 With you on this. I'm Dutch that was forced to be in America, and honestly prefer they """non-existent""" customer service. I also work in customer service, so I know full well how fake the "kindness" they show is, because they will not remember me 3 seconds after I walk out. I'm still a walking wallet to them, they just think, or have been trained, to beleive kindness will make me open it up wider. It's actual emotional manipulation by definition and I don't like it. Now I actually come seeking assistance or have questions about the product and just get ignored, that's entirely different.

Yeah well when there's 15 people a day that try to stand there and talk to you about Xbox 360 games, it gets old. It's a business, and there's a limit to bullshitting. I knew people that lived at GameStop and never bought anything. That's a fucking problem.

@@DriftKingfromTekken3 sounds like a problem for you. All you have to do is be nice but. It give that much attention and they go away. Always worked for us when people like that came in.

It's not your job to make people feel welcome. Treating people normally isn't a "job," it's just what you do because you're a person. It's your job to give them food.

He exploited people desperate from covid unemployment. Unreal.

I guess he didn’t exploit too much if his profit margins are supposedly so low. Him not buying their stuff during Covid would have helped those desperate people? Them not getting money or getting less money from someone else is good?

@@alainbelanger9852 it's possible, though I strongly suspect he made good money off those initial exploitation profits (so much so that he mentions is here in his own puff piece) but it is NOW that he faces a squeeze. He is the one that admitted it himself. Has he got thin margins now, that were equally thin in the desperate sellers market? That is assuming we take him at his word - a dubious assumption. It's not as though the poster has a reputation for generosity outside his own echo chamber! :-)

@@datacipher What backwards logic is this? now exploitation is people contacting him to sell their stuff online during a tough time? or actually serving entertainment during a crisis? or what do you think constitutes exploitation?

@@datacipher If thats how you choose to see it, thats up to you. But thats not how i see it. We are stuck inside doing fuck all and this guy sell good priced games for me to pass the time while being bored out of my mind. Whats wrong with that? Every businessman exploits some flaw to succeed, but selling video games is way less detrimental to your health than selling heroin or crack to desperate people during bad times.

He exploited people desperate from covid unemployment. Unreal.

Yeah we call them babies, they love stuffed animals

Me and my girl gave that to him lol seems he is enjoying it@@Truekingr6

He exploited people desperate from covid unemployment. Unreal.

@@datacipher lol that's not exploit at all. If you want fast money for your stuff you get a huge cut. That's how it works.

@@promero14 “Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) exploitation | BUSINESS ENGLISH exploitation noun [ U ] UK /ˌeksplɔɪˈteɪʃən/ US Add to word list the use or development of something for profit or progress in business” That’s right, he used the desperation of Covid unemployment to take a huge cut. If you want to call it something else you can do so. We at least agree on what he did.

At the same time it’s also a means to provide for said family.

​@JeanRodo success isn't guaranteed He's trading memories for a hope of retiring at 50 and making up for it Tons of people chase the carrot and miss the world around them just focusing on that carrot IMO it sounds like he needs investors and partners to off load some of those 70 hours so he can also invest time in family so 15 years from now he has amazing relationships with his wife and kids and not hate and resentment...because that supportive part wears , and that dad wasn't around hurts

I own a game store in Texas and I’m closed two days a week for family time. You can’t make up that time.

It's what u have to do

​@@idrumcovers Exactly. We close on Sundays now for this very reason.

Its a society problem. So many people have been taught greed. They want to be the next millionaire and have no issue ripping people off to get there. Many people have forgotten real happiness comes not from money but from family and doing things you enjoy.

This guy is above ebay and pricechart as well check out the prices.

Quick flips pay up little bit to make customer happy sell under market to make also happy customer lol quick flips stay consistent and move volume instead sitting inventory like every retro shop does

His business strategy totally the opposite of phoenix strategy haha

It's the same strategy

​@spursbrown Yeah but he also had the opposite approach with the business as a whole. Caleb started with 500 bucks and made do with that, doing flips until he had money. This guy (whose name i forgot) started with what? 25k? And said that you will fail in the business if you don't have enough money to start with. Meanwhile Caleb's existence is in starch contrast to that. Using what is, a pathetic amount of money on comparison, and, ultimately, achieving the same results.

Brown nosing Caleb there 😂 regardless, this man is in a COMPLETELY different league than Phoenix Resale. A better league, he cares about his customers ​@@Chaotic_H3LL