Are you familiar with the Play N Trade video game franchise?
The franchise owners buy and sell used video games and video game related supplies and merchandise. At FranchisePick.com, Dale, an MBA candidate who is researching the Play ‘n Trade business model had some disturbing things to say about the Play N Trade used video game franchise :
I will graduate with my MBA in 6 days and my thesis is on Play N Trade. My professor has his PH.D. in management and we have been working on the PNT UFOC and financials for 4 months. I called corporate for information and researched everything I could find.
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The Play N Trade I went to did not have a play before you buy policy because the owner needed batteries for the game stations and he could not afford to buy them. He told me, a potential customer, that he was losing money. I felt so sorry for him I asked it I could buy a Wii but he did not have one in stock. As I looked around the store, “Out of Stock” signs were everywhere. I went to another store and had a similar experience and at the third store the owner tried to sell it to me.
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I have a co-worker opening a Play N Trade. I wish she had not bought the hype. I have heard it as well and it is good hype but unrealistic.
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My professor told me to tell my friend to “get out if she can.” It is not your business skills effecting your business. I have to defend my thesis and we can not even find a way to make the organization work. When I presented the company to my professor I thought it was great and he just smiled and said, “Let’s see how you feel at the end of the semester.” He was right.
Have you had any experience with the Play ‘n Trade video game franchise opportunity? What have you heard? Share a comment below.
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Also I would advise anybody reading this board to not take anything that is said at face value. Don't believe me if you dont want to. However, I would just try to take everything in and ask PNT some of these questions and see if they can answer them to your satisfaction. Do your own research. Just use this as a useful guide.
Disillusioned,
I think you have every right to come here and present your information. You lived it and suffered the consequences. Prospective franchisees want to believe, they want to buy into the dream. Your story is an excellent lesson, and may save other people from the same fate you had. People risk so much when they open a franchise, it is important for them to know these things. When Play N Trade tries to explain these things away, it is important to hear from people like you.
John
Does anyone know how many stores closed in 2009. Also, how many were sold?
Thanks.
I seem to recall on another thread, that a franchisee had said that during a conference call talking about the California issue, the CEO gave a number thru April 09 of like 34 stores closed, 39 stores opened. I would guess that the number of stores closed in 09 would be anywhere between 70-90 stores.
If you go back to 08, PnT said that they had sold like 585 stores, they now have what like 180-200 stores open, so 380 plus stores have either closed or never opended. Why would anyone ever get involved with that, unles they have a ton of money they dont mind losing.
Is Play N Trade staging a comeback?
Anyone know the status of the CA franchise registration?
PLAY N TRADE Franchise: 30 Stores to Open in 2010
I am looking at Play N Trade and they are not only registered in California, but have recently opened a new store in San Diego. The new store looks great and my research shows they've opened nearly 40 of them in the past year and that they are doing pretty well. They also recently rolled out a new POS technology package and are working on new web pages, national advertising and e-commerce solutions this Fall.
I AM REALLY CONSIDERING TO BE A PART OF PNT. I LIVE IN SOUTH TEXAS AND HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING IF IT WILL BE IN MY FAVOR TO BUY INTO THIS FRANCHISE. SOMEBODY PLEASE GIVE ME SOME ADVICE. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE DOMINATING FRANCHISE IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY IS GAMESTOP. ALTHOUGH I HAVE ENDLESS COMPLAINS ON GAMESTOP AND JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY WILL AGREE WITH ME ON SOME OF THOSE ISSUES WITH GAMESTOP. I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF IT WILL WORK IN A SPOT THAT IS IN NEED OF A GAMING STORE AND IS CURRENTLY NEUTRAL ON COMPETITION. I WOULD REALLY APRECIATE ANY ADVICE ON THIS TOPIC. I WOULD LOVE A REPLY ASAP SINCE I HAVE A MEETING IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS WITH A REAL ESTATE AGENT, CONCERNING A STORE OR LOT WHICH WILL FIT PNT's REQUIREMENTS. WHAT IS THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT I WILL NEED TO TAKE OUT OF MY POCKET TO START THIS WHOLE BUSINESS OPPORUNITY?
JUAN
Juan,
As a current Franchisee of the PNT System...I would recommend $250K minimum. The buildout is more expensive now than when I got in at the height of the expansion. You will need at least $100K in working capital to keep you going in this trying time of economic downturn.
Never underestimate the power of Gamestop. Even though your potential customers are telling you "they hate GS, the customer service sucks, they don't know anything"...you are still at a an extreme disadvantage when it comes to title allocation, product assortment and vendor support.
Instead of talking/asking people on this board about "what you should do"...call at least 10-15 franchisees in different locations and ask them thier experience. Not calling 10 franchisees is dooming you to fail and if you do not have the $100K working capital...you will.
Money comes slowly in this business...you may well feel you are alone out there but there are dozens of franchisees that are willing to help...just have to get to the right ones.
Juan,
Well I would really do my homework on this, I would call all of the franchisee's that are still open in Texas. I would take the the amount PnT say you need and double it, so I would plan on having atleast 500k, if going the SBA loan route, to borrow that amount, you will need atleast 100-150k out of pocket. if they will even give u a loan based off PnT's stellar sucess rate. I would ask PnT for a current list of closed stores as of today's date, and a list of people who purchased the right to open a store, but never did, and try to talk to every last one of em. I would also ask PnT for a current list as of Today, any pending lawsuits for and against PnT. In 2008, Pnt had listed 594 stores sold, today they have 210(Insert Joke here) stores open, you do the math, but thats not a very good number. My advice to you would be if you really want to open a store, do it yourself.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR ADVICE!!!! I WILL DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU RECOMMENDED!!! APRECIATE YOUR TIME AND ADVICE.. HAVE A MARVELOUS DAY AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!! : )