Can’t escape (incorrect) opinions from the past! Fortunately, that was long ago and incredibly irrelevant today. Sticking to other communities, especially Magic, was a better decision. Glad to be here!

Thanks for the warm welcome, and for the feedback!

It’s incredibly painful for stores to have ownership that doesn’t care about the player base at a personal level. Since we are in a luxury industry, the assumption is that card store owners are “doing what they love.” Unfortunately, there is the occasional owner that, after opening a store, doesn’t realize that he is not a positive influence on his own community, but rather sees the customers as “walking wallets,” as you said.

I can think of at least one store owner who has made the joke that he “sees his customers as dollar signs” as they walk in the door. It’s an unfortunate, toxic mentality that can stop community growth in its tracks. My sympathies go out to any player who has experienced this in the past.

You’re definitely correct about the store regulars, and how having friendly people who are consistently at the LGS can help to foster a better community as well. I suppose I take for granted that my various LGS have had these type of regulars, and those players certainly deserve the credit for helping the community in their areas.

In future articles, I will likely be touching more on individual examples of these types of players. Thanks for the feedback!

I am more than happy to trade with such people, taking a large handful of bulk off their hands in order to get them the cards they want or need to play with, or to work with them to find the right build for their budget. As a player at the store, I want more people to come and play more often. It means I continue to have a place to play. These newer players remember me and the store as a place that didn’t just try to take their money but actually tried to help them, and they have a better experience overall.

I find that many stores overlook this aspect of their community and might benefit from fostering it. Nothing is going to bring the customer back more than knowing that they can walk in and talk to the guys who play there, play some games and trade well with them. My LGS takes care of me because I take care of their customers and keep them coming back with their friends.