Fitting out a 25 m² TCG card shop: zones and stock

A first card shop often fits in a small space, sometimes 25 m² or less. That is enough, provided you decide early what goes where and do not tie up all your cash in the first stock. Here is a simple method to organise the space and choose what to buy first.

Four zones, even on 25 m²

• The showcase: valuable singles and graded cards, locked, well lit and visible from the register.
• The sealed wall: boosters, displays and boxes, arranged by game, facing the customer.
• The counter: near the entrance, placed to see the whole room and the showcase. It is also where buybacks happen.
• The play table: even one table for four to six players brings people in every week, and a returning player is a customer who buys.

Keep a clear path between these zones: a card shop fills up fast on tournament and release nights.

The furniture that really matters

• A showcase that locks, for anything worth more than a few euros.
• Wall shelves for sealed product: they free the floor for circulation and the play table.
• Binders and boxes for bulk and cheap singles, which customers love to dig through.
• Bright lighting, with no direct sun on the cards: daylight eventually fades them.
• A camera on the showcase and the register if you wish: filming a place open to the public requires authorisation from the prefecture and a notice sign.

The opening stock

Start with few games: the ones your public already plays. Each extra game means a full range of sealed product, accessories and singles to finance.

• Sealed: boosters, displays and boxes from current sets, in quantities you are sure to sell.
• Accessories: sleeves, toploaders, deck boxes, binders and playmats. They sell all year round and bring players back.
• Singles: they build up through buybacks and the boosters you open yourself.

Two traps come up often in new shops. The first is betting everything on one hyped release: distributor allocations are limited for a new shop, and stock rarely arrives as planned. The second is emptying your cash at opening: you need money to buy cards from customers and to restock what sells fast.

Premises that receive the public

A shop is a place that receives the public: fire safety and accessibility rules apply. Fitting-out work needs an authorisation filed at the town hall, and a shop sign may need one depending on the town. Check before ordering furniture: it is easier than redoing things afterwards.

If you run tournaments, consider how many people are present at the same time: that is what safety rules look at.

A register that takes no room

On 25 m², the counter must stay small. Echo TCG runs on a tablet or a computer, with nothing to install. It keeps singles, sealed product and accessories in a single stock, prints barcode labels and takes tournament entry fees at the register. Sales keep going even when the network drops.

This article is for information only and does not replace professional advice on the rules that apply to your premises.