Podcast
The Manaverse Podcast
Hosted by Tom Traplin · EN
The Manaverse Podcast is a podcast created for you, the gamer with aspirations of building your own local game store (LGS), the entrepreneur running an LGS who wants to grow their business, and the player who wants a behind the scenes look into their favourite hobby. If you’re looking for inspiration, new ideas, and interesting perspectives then Tom Traplin has you covered. Learn the business of selling some of the best games in the world including MTG, Warhammer, Pokémon, Dungeons and Dragons, board games and Euro games from some of the best retailers in the industry. Hear from some of the most successful business owners in the tabletop game industry and learn about the strategies, tactics, and systems that make their businesses so effective.
21episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
MVP163: Tariffs, Trade, and the Future of Tabletop
Mar 2500:58:28Tap to summarizeIn this revealing episode, Lynn Potyen from The Game Board and Price Johnson of Cephalofair Games discuss the hidden crisis of tariffs impacting the tabletop games industry. Discover how sudden trade policies and tariff chaos are causing layoffs, delaying products, and threatening the future of the tabletop industry across America.Lynn and Price share practical steps for store owners, game publishers, and businesses at every tier of the industry, as well as consumers to push for transparency and reform. They highlight the importance of grassroots advocacy and collective action through campaigns like We Pay the Tariffs.Linkshttps://www.wepaythetariffs.com/
Transcribe →MVP162: Mastering Your Store's Google Business Profile with Bill Hibbler
Jan 3101:06:27Tap to summarize"Google Business Profile is where your store's introduction is made"What would the impact of having 100 extra potential customers walk into your store each month be? People who are interested in the games and products you have to sell. How would that affect your cash flow and bottom line? What about 500? 1000?Unless you live in an extremely isolated community, it's possible.I have yet to talk to a game store owner that doesn't want more customers coming into their store every month. But accomplishing that goal isn't always easy. There are so many ways to reach out and spread the word within your local community, but in today's episode Bill Hibbler and I explore one of the most effective ways to get your store in front of more people. Google search has been the default way most people use the internet to find what they're looking for. We go online and search for things like "Magic cards" or "warhammer store" or "sports card store" and we see what pops up. Sometimes we see places like Amazon and Target near the top of the search results, sometimes it's the local hobby store. We end up clicking on the website to get more info.The results aren't random. The reason the #1 result on Google is there is because they put in the work to rank that high. That's SEO (search engine optimization) and it has a big time commitment in order to pay off and start generating the traffic you're looking for.That's not what we're talking about in this episode.SEO is great. It's effective, powerful, and can change your business, so I recommend putting some effort into it.But if you want to see results in weeks instead of months, listen closely to how Bill breaks down a simple strategy for leveraging something you've probably set up once and forgotten about: your store's Google Business Profile.By optimizing your Google Business Profile and making a single page on your website, your Google Map rankings can see huge improvements in a very short amount of time. Instead of people in your surrounding local area finding big box stores when they search for the products you sell, your store can show up at the top of the Map Pack and grab that traffic for your business instead. We talk about:Setting up your Google Business Profile correctly so you get the most out of itHow Google tells you what it's looking for in terms of informationThe one webpage you need to get the most from your GBPHow to calculate the lifetime value of a customer so you can measure the effectiveness of your marketing strategiesThe simple strategy that reframes your store into a local destinationThere is a ton of great info in this episode, and to quote Bill one more time "When they pay more attention to your site, it's gonna get more people to pay attention to your store."Useful Linkslocation.gamestoremarketing.comgamestoremarketing.comGoogle Business ProfileCanvaGAMA Expo
Transcribe →MVP161: Q5 - The Secret Shopping Surge After the Holidays
Dec 1000:18:13Tap to summarizeGoogle calls Q5 a ‘distinct, high-value shopping season,’ and their data is fascinating which is why I wanted to talk about it. But the magic here goes way beyond Google ads. Game stores can use this Q5 behavior across their entire business — events, email, merchandising, community building, all of it.So this episode is all about how the psychology of Q5 works… and how you can tap into it in ways your competitors probably won’t.Check out the Game Store Mastermind https://www.skool.com/lgs-success-mastermind-6743/aboutBook a strategy call for your game store https://manaversesaga.com/mma
Transcribe →MVP160: Game Store Strategies for Black Friday Weekend
Oct 2000:16:00Tap to summarizeToday we're tackling one of the biggest weekends of the year, black Friday, small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. It is three days, four days technically of pure intensity.Everyone is running promos, customers are hunting for deals, and the whole retail ecosystem usually kicks into overdrive. If you don't have a plan, it is going to feel like chaos. But if you do it right, if you go in with a strategy this weekend. Can generate a massive surge of momentum for the rest of the holiday season, along with a ton of sales and revenue for your store.Of course. So in this episode, we're gonna talk about how to build your BFCM strategy. We're gonna go over how to design smart promotions that drive sales without gutting your margins. How to build anticipation leading up to Black Friday. So customers think of you first instead of your competitors. How to leverage small business Saturday to deepen community ties, how to gamify your store.And make the weekend fun for your customers. How to use this weekend for content creation. And finally, what to do Tuesday morning to lock in those long term gains. Want to knock Q4 out of the park but not sure where to start? Book a consultation call and we'll create a custom marketing plan for your game store that you can use immediately. Head to https://manaversesaga.com/mma to get on the schedule today!
Transcribe →MVP159: Is Your FLGS Ready For Q4?
Oct 300:27:25Tap to summarizeQ4 is make-or-break for local game stores — but without a plan, the holiday rush can feel like chaos. In this episode of the Manaverse Podcast, I walk you through a simple Holiday Game Plan to help your store maximize sales, get in front of more customers, and stay sane this season.You’ll learn:Why Q4 is the most important quarter for your storeA quick “holiday audit” to focus your effortsThe 3 pillars every successful game store holiday plan needs
Transcribe →MVP158: David Finn On The De Minimis Exemption Removal And Its Impact On Tabletop Games
Sep 400:45:01Tap to summarizeIn this episode of the Manaverse Podcast, we delve into the significant changes in shipping to the US from the rest of the world due to the removal of the de minimis exemption. David Finn, the owner of Giga-Bites Tabletop Gaming Cafe and Bridge Distribution breaks down why this change might actually be good for US and global businesses and strategies for adapting to the new rules.Discover how this policy shift is reshaping global trade in the games business and how you can shift your operation to thrive in the new environment. Get in touch with David Finndavid.finn@bridgedist.comSign up for SortSwift and use code MANAVERSE at checkout get your TCG singles business online while saving 5%!https://www.sortswift.com/?ref=manaverseReady to take your store's visibility and growth to the next level? Visit manaversesaga.com/mma for a free 30-minute strategy session where we'll review your current marketing approach and show you exactly what's possible with some expert guidance.
Transcribe →MVP157: Cardmill - Scan. Sort. Done. - Behind the Scenes with Jonathan Domanus
Jul 800:29:38Tap to summarizeCardmill—a compact, cost-effective card sorting device designed for everyday players and collectors of trading card games. Get a behind the scenes look at the CardMill and how Jonathan Domanus is working to make professional and efficient card sorters affordable and accessible to TCG collectors and stores around the world.Meet CardMillDesigned for PlayersThe CardMill is the only automated trading card game scanner and sorter on the market, priced for the everyday collector and player.Automated ScanningThe CardMill can scan and sort batches of 300 cards at a time, hands-free! It moves, scans, and sorts all on its own.Fast SortingSettings to sort cards alphabetically, by set/type/color and more! The CardMill auto-sorts your collection so you can find what you need when you need it.Intelligent IdentificationThis AI-model learns and grows with your collection. The CardMill scanner identifies cards by name, set, foil, you name it!Digital DashboardScanning is just the beginning. Use CardMill's digital library to organize, filter, track price trends and add your inventory to your favorite collection tracker! Track Collection ValueIntegrated with up-to-date TCGPlayer pricing, you'll always have the latest prices of your inventory at-a-glance.Find out more about CardMill by going to https://cardmill.com/manaversesaga and sign up to get notified when the Kickstarter campaign goes live on July 22nd.
Transcribe →MVP156: SortSwift - The Ultimate TCG Ecosystem
Jun 1300:42:41Tap to summarizeMikah, the founder of SortSwift and MTech Cave, comes onto the Manaverse Podcast to talk about his journey from running a phone repair shop to building cutting-edge tools for the collectible card game industry.Mikah shares how his business evolved from selling Magic: The Gathering singles to creating a Kickstarter for card drawers that raised over $150K, eventually leading to the development of his own card sorting machine—one of the first new production machines in over 20 years. Get started with SortSwift today - https://manaversesaga.com/sortswiftBut hardware is just part of the picture.SortSwift also offers an integrated software suite for game stores and at-home sellers that includes:Inventory managementAuto-pricing via TCGPlayerBuylist managementShopify and marketplace integrationsChaos-style organization (bin-level card tracking)POS and customer kiosk systemsCSV tools and fuzzy match importsPlans for a vetted seller marketplace and fulfillment networkIf you're tired of dealing with legacy systems like BinderPOS that aren't performing as promised and want something more responsive, modular, and affordable, you should take a look at SortSwift. Many game stores are already switching, and growth is accelerating.Sign up for SortSwift today!https://manaversesaga.com/sortswiftSortSwift quick hits:Over 2.2 million cards scannedNearly $750K in customer sales processed90+ active subscriptions and growing21 sorting machines ordered, with more in production
Transcribe →MVP155: eBay, TCGplayer & the Syracuse Union Showdown
Jun 700:40:19Tap to summarizeIn this episode of the Manaverse Podcast, Douglas Johnson (DJ) and I discuss the recent turmoil surrounding TCG Player and eBay. TCG Player recently announced the closure of it's Syracuse authentication center and the firing of 220 employees, right as the union was within weeks of finalizing a collective agreement.We talk about TCG Player's history in dealing with its employees, what this means for sellers and buyers on the platform, and the ethics (or lack thereof) in running a multibillion dollar corporation.Here's a short summary of the situationIn early 2023, the graders and authenticators at TCGplayer’s Syracuse Authentication Center voted to unionize under the Communications Workers of America (CWA).On May 22, 2025, eBay announced it would close that Syracuse facility, affecting about 220 employees, and shift all authentication work to one of its logistics centers in Kentucky.The closure came just days after union leadership and eBay management wrapped up their first contract negotiations—CWA says the timing is suspicious.eBay’s official line is that consolidating in Kentucky “streamlines operations” and keeps costs down. Minimum wage and overhead in Kentucky are much lower than in upstate New York.Workers and the union claim this move is a union-busting tactic—there are new unfair-labor-practice charges filed with the NLRB arguing eBay shut down a unionized site to avoid bargaining.The Syracuse center was TCGplayer’s original headquarters and a key local employer—many of those 220 workers were specialized in grading card condition and verifying authenticity.With the Syracuse center gone, sellers and collectors in the short term will likely face longer turnaround times for grading and authentication.The CWA and local labor leaders have already staged rallies outside the shuttered building, started petitions, and enlisted state politicians to pressure eBay.eBay acquired TCGplayer in 2022 for $295 million, aiming to double down on the booming trading-card market—this shutdown is the first major union battle under their umbrella.Helpful links and alternative platformshttps://cardgarden.com/https://www.cardkingdom.com/https://manapool.com/https://www.cardtrader.com/https://theroccoalition.com/https://x.com/amandalws
Transcribe →MVP154: 23 Budget Friendly Marketing Strategies For Your LGS
May 28, 202500:40:22Tap to summarizeIn this episode of the Manaverse podcast, we explore a variety of low-cost yet highly effective marketing strategies to help you increase the visibility and customer base of your friendly local game store. Inspired by a question from the Opening a Table Game Store Facebook group, we dive into 23 actionable tips, from optimizing your Google Business profile to running new player game nights and using attention grabbers to pull people into your store for the first time.Most of these strategies won't cost you more than the time you put in, so if you're looking for ways to boost your reach and bring in new customers, emphasis on new, give this episode a listen and deploy them in your game store. Several of them you can accomplish in under 30 minutes!Ready to take your store's visibility and growth to the next level? Visit manaversesaga.com/mma for a free 30-minute strategy session where we'll review your current marketing approach and show you exactly what's possible with some expert guidance.
Transcribe →