We sold the store in California and moved to South Carolina in 2009 where our employee prospects were dismal. One evening as we were tossing around ideas of what we could do, video games came up. It was what we knew, but we had been out of it for a while so we had to start from scratch.
We started buying games and systems where we could: off of Craigslist, at flea markets, etc. We also started selling at flea markets. Even there we offered great customer service so people started seeking us out. We started seeing some customers regularly. As more and more people became aware of us, we moved to larger markets with more tables.
In November 2010 we opened a small store in Hartsville, SC. It was slow at first so we continued the flea markets on the weekends. But as word got out about us we really started growing. Matt ran that store while completing his degree in Business from Coker College.
In March 2014 we took another big leap and opened a second store in Florence, SC. We had no idea what was waiting for us but we are happy to report it was an instant success.In June 2015 we saw another major jump for Matt’s Game Exchange as we opened yet another store in Greensboro, NC. It is our largest location and is making quite a splash in the Triad area.
Matt still enjoys playing games, is an avid collector, and loves to share his passion and expertise with everyone he can. He is now the CEO of our corporation. Even though we are a corporation, we still enjoy being a family-run business promoting family values. We now employ 12 people, 6 of which are family members spanning 3 generations.