PLAY N TRADE Franchise Stores Closed & Closings

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• I am glad I closed the store! I was a long 4 years. Aug2007 - Aug 2088 The first year was great! Sales were better than expected. I bought into 3 more stores in my state.

  year 2 saw a downturn in the economy...I also saw 2 more CEO's and numerous changes in corporate staff. Sales were slipping quickly.

  Year 3.. the challenges were unexpected and HUGE. Suppliers (we were and never will be direct with publishers) couldn't get product on time, didn't have the needed products in stock after day 1-4 release. Sometimes we would wait 2-3 weeks for replaenishment. That meant Hundreds to thousands of dollars lost to competition and a loss of credibility.

  Year 4 was dismal. sales = 1/2 that of 2007/2008. no choice but to close. Asked PNT Corp for help but an unwillingness to help was the answer and I was forced to close bankrupt.

  Corporate support was lacking at best...some of thier answers included "get it at Target, call your competition and see what they have left". Amazon became my 3rd largest supplier of video games.

  Unfortunately, I do not beleive that the corporate team has the skills to do the job that they want to...industry contacts, buying power, marketing, social networking...all of these things combined are setting themselves up for disaster not success.

  For the most part, The franchisees themsleves put their lives into the franchise and were duped into a system that has major and very evident flaws.

  Opening a entertainment based franchise in this type of market will surely go down in flames.

  I am glad to be disenfranchised with Play N Trade. I expect that PNT will see more closures in the future with less store openings. Expect less than 150 stores open by years end.

• The store on Mineral Spring Ave in North Providence, RI closed down this week.

  The owner said she was going to try to make it strictly family-owned and rename the store when I went there a few weeks ago, but I guess they couldn't do it due to lack of profit.

• It was a little over a year ago that with great fanfare, and major press releases, that the Countryside IL Play N Trade brand new proto-type rediesgned store opened. This Play N Trade now too has closed. I believe the count of PlayNTrade stores closed in the last two years is over 100. Does anyone have a good number. And yet...PlayNTrage continue to sell franchises. In my opinion, Play N Trade is a black eye to franchising.

• I almost invested in PnT, but I am sure glad I didnt !!!! Great concept, but if you can't make money its a no go. I heard a lot of area/region managers got duped as well.

• The Play N Trade in Carmel, Indiana closed in August (2011)

• Athens, GA closed

• I am in the process of closing my store now. Play N Trade in Chester NY. It has been open for a little over 2 years. $350k out of pocket!! All though I have a great location and great customers... The franchise was absolutely impossible to make money. Everyone gets paid but me! I was in the top 10% almost every month in sales and it made me nothing! Of the stores that closed ... How did you get out of paying the royalty amount of the 10 year agreement? I suppose bankruptcy through the LLC?? Help a broke dude out!! All though I have to say one thing... PNT corp does have good people working there and they do try to help verbally! A shame that we all pay into "national advertising" anyone ever see a commercial or link out there? I sure as hell have not! Franchisees have to pay for advertising! Somebody reply with any info on closing and breaching the contract properly!

• They are nice people..

  unfortunately the business model is DEAD, and they have no clue what to do about it.

  It's a shame...they have no answer for how being a showroom for amazon.com is a money maker....

  they have no answer for what to do with $100'ks of rapidly deteriorating inventory you need to buy (i went to fye yesterday..they had well over 1000 old games and movies lying on the floor),..

  they have no answer for how to compete in an increasingly digital and socially connected world

  they have no answer for what to do as publishers and manufacturers conspire to kill the used market (they won't kill it, but they will make it impossible to make $$ on it)

  Don't let them reel you in with disc protection and repairs...if thats your thing, just open a website and send out a couple thousand mailers every month..at least you won't go broke on rent while you sit there all day bleeding to death buying 75cent used games off teenagers, desperately hoping for a copy of halo 3 to come in so you can make10 bucks

  if you are still interested, read gamestops 4th quarter earnings report..

• @ Todd, I feel your pain, I closed my store also at the end of 2010. First thing to do is cut them off ASAP, they will continue to debt your account or charge your CC for royalties. I dont know what Franchise agreement you signed, but when I did mine, there was not a personal guarantee in the agreement, so they couldn't go after me personally, only my LLC, which was broke and had nothing. After a few months, PnT will contact you about the past royalties due, and send you a mutual termination form to sign, basically they are letting you slide on the royalties, and you promiss to release them of any wrong doing and not sue them. My store was open for 2 years also, and I have yet to meet anyone who has made a dime off this franchise.

• @Todd @Former Franchisee
  I agree with Former Franchisee. Cancel the Credit card or debit account they use for royalties. It sounds like you are on the way out so nothing to lose but pride anyway.
  I ended up closing in May 2011. having a Huge liquidation sale that they never saw anything of. Closing up shop and putting everything in storage.

  I signed a mutual termination form.

  I have sold most remaining inventory at Amazon.com for next to nothing but enough to pay for the loan payments I have for the nect 3 years.

  I realize you are top 10% but that means nothing when you are eating rice and beans.

  Get out while you can...save your home and your life and relationaships.