How to Choose Game Store Software: A Fair Checklist
The Oskii team5 min read
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Three vendors have sent you demos this month. Each one uses a fake shop with perfect data. None of them has asked how many printings of a single card you stock.
A demo shows what a tool can do. Your shop tells you what it needs to do. This checklist works on any vendor, ours included.
What should you ask any game store software vendor?
Ask ten things, and write the answers down before you decide. Ask to see each one working with your own export.
| # | Ask | A good answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Is each printing, finish and condition its own stock? | Yes, and I can show you a foil and a non-foil of one card as two lines |
| 2 | Is availability stored or worked out? | Worked out from on hand minus held, never typed in |
| 3 | What happens to a customer's hold when I import? | It's kept, and the preview tells you so |
| 4 | Can I preview an import before it changes anything? | Yes, a dry run you approve |
| 5 | Can customers search what's on the shelf right now? | Yes, in store, and from their phone |
| 6 | Does a request reserve the exact copy? | Yes, at the moment it's sent |
| 7 | Does the pick list show where each card is? | The bin is on every line |
| 8 | Can staff work without access to settings? | PIN sign-in for the counter, a separate login for the owner |
| 9 | Which games does the catalogue cover today? | A specific list, not a roadmap |
| 10 | What do you not do? | A direct answer, such as: no payments, no register |
Question ten is the one to watch. A vendor who can name what the product doesn't do has thought about where it ends. A vendor who says it does everything has probably not been asked by a shop owner yet.
How do the main kinds of tool compare?
Each kind is good at something real. A spreadsheet is cheap and flexible, a general register handles payments well, and a listing tool ships orders. The strain comes when one of them has to be the system of record for a counter full of singles.
| Kind of tool | Good at | Strains when | A fair fit if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet | Cheap, flexible, yours | Several people edit, or customers need to see it | One person runs the shop |
| General retail register | Taking payments and printing receipts | One card has many printings, finishes and conditions | Your stock is mostly sealed product |
| Online listing tool | Posting and shipping orders | The customer is at your counter now | Most of your sales ship |
| Game store operating system | One count shared by kiosk, picking and imports | You want payments and events in the same product | Your pain is the count and the counter |
Many shops run two of these together, and that's fine. A system of record next to a register is a common pairing. What matters is that only one of them owns the count. Two owners of one number is the drift problem again.
Do you want one vendor for everything, or a focused system?
Decide this before you look at features. An all-in-one gives you one bill and one login, and may also take payments, run your events and identify cards from a camera. A focused system usually goes deeper on the stock count and expects you to keep your register.
Neither is wrong. If you want one vendor and don't mind a thinner stock model, an all-in-one may suit you. If your pain is the count and the counter, a focused system beside your register may fit better. List which of payments, events and scanning you need on day one.
Which games and data does it need to handle?
Check the catalogue before anything else. If you sell several games, ask any vendor to show a real card from each one, in its own printing and finish, inside the stock screen. A promise on a roadmap doesn't count on a Friday night.
Then ask how your data gets in. A good answer is a CSV import with a dry run, so you can read the plan before anything changes. Switching is easier when you can try one binder first. The pricing page lists what each Oskii plan includes.
Questions people ask
- Is a spreadsheet enough for a card shop?
- It can be, for one person. It strains when several people edit it or when customers need to see what's on the shelf, because each copy of the count needs someone to keep it honest.
- Do I need software that takes payments?
- Only if you want one vendor for everything. Payments are a separate decision from where the stock count lives. Oskii doesn't take payments and doesn't replace a point of sale, so it suits shops that keep a register.
- How should I test a vendor before I switch?
- Import one binder from your own export and read the dry run. Then work through the ten questions above with that real data, and ask the vendor what the product doesn't do.
What to do next
Print the checklist, score two or three tools and trust the answers over the demos. The idea behind the count is in the game store operating system guide, and the part most shops test first is in pickup requests for card shops.
To see how Oskii answers, the retail page walks through a shop day, and support can answer questions about your own data.
