Bill & Ogre's Games With Co-Owner, "Ogre"

In episode 17 of The Match Slip podcast, we're talking with "Ogre" of Bill & Ogre's Games located in Murphy, North Carolina. The store is two hours north of Atlanta, Georgia.

Along with his Co-Owner, Travis, Bill & Ogre's Games did not start off as a traditional storefront. Instead, the storefront came later with the primary focus on wholesale-to-wholesale distribution. It wasn't until a storefront was requested that the owners agreed to do so. The storefront is only 8% of the business.

Travis and "Ogre" aren't in the store often as they have a manager - 4 employees total - who manages the store. At its peak, the store had 12 employees. Travis is primarily working out of the warehouse - which they have three of - facilitating big sales in addition to some travel. The majority of the travel is handled by "Ogre" where he ventures throughout the midwest buying and selling collections of bulk cards. Additionally, during the summer of COVID, they bought five game stores in the span of two months.

Prior to the current store, "Ogre", had other stores he owned. His foray into the business started with selling a Timewalk Magic: The Gathering card for $50 after buying it for $25. It was at that point he decided he wanted to do this as often as he could.

When it comes to the player base, Dungeons & Dragons events can fill the store. In fact, "Ogre" would like to create a unique Dungeons & Dragons experience for players that will feel "like walking in old tavern". As for trading card games, Magic: The Gathering is the most popular at the store with Commander and Draft the predominant formats.

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