Card shop management games sometimes depict the more… undesirable aspects of the business. While a title like TCG Card Shop Simulator has you spraying deodorant to combat the smell of customers, the upcoming You’re a Scalper, Aren’t You? has you interrogating suspicious customers to figure out if they’re scalpers, as well facing the moral dilemma of whether to do business with them.
As the owner of a card shop, your goals are to achieve top card shop sales and become beloved by customers. While these two objectives seem to go hand-in-hand, the way you go about making money and connections will largely affect your shop’s profits and reputation.
It all begins with gathering information. Using the in-game video-sharing website WowTube, you research recent card price trends, learn about incidents involving scalpers, and even get the scoop on other card shops. Conversing with customers is another way to learn more about which items are likely to sell well in the near future.
Once you’ve gotten a lay of the land, you can purchase booster packs and cards from select wholesalers on your days off. Not every seller will have everything you need, however, and there will be times when your most trusted supplier will not have enough stock. When this happens, you can turn to another seller and start a new business relationship. Some wholesalers will be wary about working with a shop that has an insignificant or negative reputation, but nurturing your business can lead to more opportunities.
With your items in stock, it’s now time to open the store. Business days are spent stocking shelves and interacting with customers who come in to buy or sometimes sell you cards. While some of them are genuine TCG enthusiasts, others are secretly scalpers who want to buy up your stock.
You can interrogate suspected scalpers with questions such as “Why are you trying to buy this card?” and “Why do you need so many??.” If the answers they give contradict each other or your information, you can accuse them of being a scalper.
A scalper won’t give up so easily, as they’ll try to talk their way out of your accusations. You’ll have to pay close attention to their claims and point out the discrepancies before they admit their true motives.
This is usually the part where you kick the scalper out of the shop, but the game offers you another option – one where you accept the scalper as they are and continue trading with them. Some scalpers might have entered the business because they had nowhere to go due to financial issues. Others do it just to profit off others and do not deserve your compassion.
It is important to note that your decisions on how you handle business and scalpers largely affect the story. Dealing with a well-known scalper, for instance, could potentially lead to more profits, but it could also negatively impact your store’s reputation. With several possible endings, You’re a Scalper, Aren’t You? shows that running a card business (or any business, for that matter) isn’t all black and white, and that sometimes, compromises have to be made.
Created by solo Japanese developer Miyabi, You’re a Scalper, Aren’t You? is currently in development for Windows (Steam).
