by Thomas Traplin | Mar 15, 2015 | Articles, Fundamentals
Coming up in a future episode of the Manaverse Podcast I talk with Pascal Espinosa. He’s the owner of Metal Galaxy in Calgary, Alberta. Pascal has a unique approach to the business and has managed to carve out a profitable niche in the shadow of two giants in... 
by Thomas Traplin | Mar 13, 2015 | Podcasts
In this episode, we chat with Jacob Alden Stanley. He's the owner of Adventurer's Quarter in Denver, Colorado. We chat about what makes AQ a solid business. Hint: listening to what your customers are telling you is a good first step. As a relatively young venture, AQ... 
by Thomas Traplin | Mar 12, 2015 | Articles
Gamers, Magic players in particular, are a fickle bunch. We are constantly on the lookout for an LGS that will treat us better. Offer us a better deal. Make us feel welcome. The trouble is most store owners fail to create a lasting connection with their customers so... 
by Thomas Traplin | Mar 7, 2015 | Articles, Community, General Business
August 23rd 2013, the weekend of Grand Prix Oakland. Hosted by Channel Fireball, the attendees of this particular Grand Prix were treated to an excellent seminar about how to build a proper deck in a Sealed tournament by two masters of the game, LSV and Ben Stark.... 
by Thomas Traplin | Mar 4, 2015 | Podcasts
In this episode, we chat with Dan Hoffman. He's the owner of Canton Games in Baltimore, Maryland. If you are working in a job that you don't like, this episode may just convince you to try your hand at running a game store. Dan gives a bunch of compelling reasons why... 
by Thomas Traplin | Mar 4, 2015 | Podcasts
In this episode of the Manaverse Podcast, we talk with Brad Ashton Haiste. He's the owner of Worlds Away in London, Ontario. Worlds Away is the premier LGS in London and has a thriving, passionate community of players. Brad has been working in the business since 1998,... 
by Thomas Traplin | Mar 4, 2015 | Podcasts
The inaugural episode of the Manaverse Podcast. It's been a long time coming. In this short session you will learn a little about myself and my history with Magic and why I'm going through the effort of putting together a podcast for you. Make no mistake, a podcast is... 
by Thomas Traplin | Dec 24, 2014 | Articles, Community, General Business
This is the third instalment in the Level Up series. If you haven’t read the first two parts you can find the first one here and the second one here. Each one leads into the next but if you prefer to read things backwards I can’t stop you. Some people like... 
by Thomas Traplin | Dec 2, 2014 | Articles, Community, General Business
Last time we talked about how to turn customers who don’t play Magic into beginner/casual players. That article can be found here if you haven’t read it yet. The principle behind the concept of the Customer Development progression is that a local game... 
by Thomas Traplin | Nov 18, 2014 | Articles, Community, General Business
Magic: the Gathering is an excellent game. 21 years and still growing is a pretty good track record. It is fairly easy for a local game store to open up, declare that they have game tables and Magic cards for sale and have a steady source of income for their business....