Retailer Handbooks

The reason the Wallace's training guides and handbooks are important is that Wallace was one of the first people in the game industry to push for retailers to be viewed as, and act professionally. At a GAMA trade show years ago, WizKids gave out a limited edition Dropship to every retail store attending. While most retailers grabbed the ship and frantically either posted pictures of it or listed it on eBay, Wallace let his staff, which he paid to attend the show as well, handle that while he continued to discuss discounting and breakeven points.

Before the publication of these books, back around 2000, a game or comic store owner had little reference material on which to draw and opening a store was rather flying blind, as most game and comic store owners got into the business because of their love of the hobby and ran the store as a reflection of that love, rather than as a business. The Specialty Retailer's Handbook and the Store Manager's Training Guide were the Wallace's codification of what they had learned running their stores into a format others could use.