How do I find a video game store for sale?

Most independent game stores are never advertised. The owner is often the buyer’s first and only contact, and many sales happen quietly because customers and suppliers would react to the news. That shapes the search. You will look in a few places at once, use the words owners use for their own shops, and be ready to start a conversation with someone who has not decided to sell.

Search under the trade’s own names

Owners rarely call their business a video game store in a listing. Try game shop, retro game store, used game and console store, trade-in store, and game and collectibles shop. Search business-for-sale sites and broker pages under each name, and read the thin ones closely. A short listing may hide a store that fits you well. Ignore results from other countries. Your search is for Canadian stores you could actually visit.

Ask the people who hear first

Game distributors and accessory reps visit many shops and notice when an owner is tired or planning to leave. Repair technicians, tournament organisers and the landlords of retail strips often know too. So do accountants who serve small retailers. Tell each person what you are looking for and what you can offer a seller. Ask them to pass on your details rather than names, and let the owner reply.

Approach an owner directly

Visit the store as a customer first, more than once, and learn how it runs. Then write or ask for a private meeting. Say plainly who you are and why you are asking, and offer to sign a confidentiality agreement before any records are shared. Never raise the subject at the counter in front of staff or customers. Stay courteous whatever the answer.

Widen the radius

A store in the next town may suit you as well as one down the street. Decide in advance how far you would drive each day, or whether you would move. Once a store turns up, our page on how to tell if a video game store for sale is profitable covers what to look at next, and the question of buying or starting your own may help you decide.