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Retail Store Ideas
Elliandre
Posts: 2,468 Member
What kind of stores do you build in your game? I had a pretty decent bakery once, owned by Angela Pleasant after she graduated Uni, but I want to try to build some new stores. I miss all my toy, flower, pet and robot stores from Sims 2. What stores do you have in your game? Do you have any tips?
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Also a bakery, an outdoor store (with jungle and camping stuff) and a knitting store (with the different coloured llama wools).
I used to have a flower shop too, but my sims never went there.
I basically only bother with shops that mainly sell things you cannot get in bb mode, with a few standard bb items to fill it out if necessary.
The grocery store is huge, on a 40x30 lot, with 2 stories for the store plus a bar on the 2nd floor where Sims can also order drinks and food when they are shopping and a 3rd story with living quarters for the owners.
It also has a playground in back so kids can stay occupied while their parents shop, and I have the grocery vendor stall from cottage living outside as well, because the store sells ALL food ingredients except red and white wrapped meat...the game won't let you sell those two things on a retail lot sadly.
I use mods by LittleMsSams so that the vendor stall and the bar both automatically get staff assigned to them, even though normally they wouldn't on a retail lot.
The bakery is just a tiny bakery like anyone would have in their game.
One of the 2 currently inactive retail lots is a potion/herbalism shop that I'm going to sell potions from RoM and Herbalism out of and also all of the ingredients for those 2 skills.
It is a small shop, with a large garden beside it for growing the ingredients and living quarters on the 2nd floor. I'll be buying and getting it set up for business with my Sim who is a teenage spellcaster right now, once she grows up and graduates from university.
The 2nd currently inactive retail lot I just finished building right now and it is where I will sell upgraded appliances like that other thread was talking about. I set up an area for kitchen appliances plus areas for vacuum cleaners, stereos, TV's, computers, sinks, toilets, baths and showers and put a 2nd floor living area on it.
I'll be buying that with the next Sim that rolls around who has traits appropriate for someone who is into handiness, whenever that happens. I randomize traits for Sims born in game so I have no idea how long it will be before it's open for business.
I'll also probably open a flower shop at some point down the road, where a Sim can do flower arranging and grow flowers beside the shop. It's not in place anywhere in the game yet. I'm hoping the new world coming with the Wedding pack is large enough that I can find a small lot there to put it.
Edit: Just remembered you asked for tips. I don't really have any other than "have fun". Retail locations can run themselves, so there's no real secrets that I can think of for having them. But they definitely are better if you have a Sim own them, because then the employees are there even when other Sims you play shop there. If the retail location is unowned there's never any employees at it...you can still shop there, but I just find it weird shopping somewhere that has no employees.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
(Just starting out, pretty bare-bones right now. I'm happy that I got a run-down look, not easy in sims!)
I'm pretty new to retail gameplay so I'm still learning as I go.
So far, the most significant tip for Bess has been that when she sells an item, she can just click on the item's marker to restock it, and the restocked item is the same in every way as the item that just sold. She doesn't have to go to the fizzy station and make more juice. She doesn't have to do the same upgrades on the next appliance. Once she's upgraded an appliance to start with, all replacement appliances have the same upgrades.
Restocking takes a little time but not as much as fizzing or upgrading from scratch.
I haven't yet been successful in having customers buy bottles of fizz from the fridge. They will buy six-packs of it off a table. I'm not sure if there is a glitch at work or if the other items are just more attractive.
Love the look of your place, by the way. I struggle to get that grunge look when I try, you did an excellent job of it.
As for buying out of the fridge, I sell eggs, milk, cheese and fizzy drinks out of the refrigerator in the grocery store of my game and have never seen a Sim actually buy from it when playing the owning household. My other Sim households do buy from it all the time though. It's just convenient as heck.
You don't need to "restock" the items in the refrigerator, so honestly it's possible unplayed Sims have bought from it and I just didn't notice.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
@elanorbreton A camping store is on my list of shops I want to build. I'd like to have all the tents, camping coolers for sale etc. A knitting shop is a great idea. That would be so cute in Henford & Bagley.
@Stormkeep I really want to try a grocery store, but I'm just struggling to think of how I would lay out individual fruits and veggies. How do you display your groceries? Are they laid out on tables? Too bad we can't pile them in baskets ha. I think I will need to get that mod you mentioned too.
@mightysprite It's good that you don't have to make the item again from scratch. I don't remember if the Baked goods are like that too. I'd like to sell those fizzy drinks too though. That sounds perfect for a little convenience store.
@crocobaura oh wow, I think I need to work up a bit of skill before I try to build an entire mall. Actually, I've never even set foot inside the mall in the game. I wonder what's there.
I'll make some screenshots to post here when I visit it again later today. But a lot of what is sold I have on the floor, but with platforms built so that the "floor" is actually at waist height, making it look like a counter or table. using alt you can get a lot of produce really close together that way. You can also use bb.moveobjects on to stack it up like it would be in a real store.
And yep, Sims can still buy it and you can restock it when you do it that way, as long as they can reach it.
You didn't ask me this one, but for the potion store I'm setting up, I plan to buy brooms and wands from the vendor in the Magic Realm for her to sell. But you could also get them from Build/Buy. Don't forget with the cheat to show debug items, you can access alot of that stuff that you normally can't.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
Avarice Mall
This area is for my rich sims. So if something is expensive this is the place to go.
Inside are stores with expensive cakes, camping or ski related things, a jewel/gold store, store with flowers, another with seasons related things like ready decorated Christmas threes, presents and so on.
I was adding a wedding boutique as well, but had to put that on hold after I encountered the dressed mannequin bug.
Midtown streets (Work in progress)
This is where my poor/middle class sims will go for most of their shopping needs as there are plenty of stores in different buildings:
There is Grandmas knitting (also sells llama wool and cross stitching items).
Mr Cake sells cheap wedding/birthday cakes for my off grid sims and looks like a café.
The Handyman for anything outdoorsy, woodworking tables, candle stations and so on.
The Mystique shop has second hand furniture from different packs: Realm of Magic, Vampires, Jungle Adventure and Paranormal. For the unlucky sim there is also the risk of buying something haunted like maybe a medium table.
Johnny’s - cheap music related things downstairs and a special store upstairs.
Sally’s shop for when you need egg, sugar, flour or milk and so on. Also sells clutter items like shampoo and storage boxes.
The Oasis – Anything spa related, massage tables, towels, yoga mats etc.
Joy for all Seasons – Seasons decorations, Spooky stuff, presents etc. Also sells some kid related stuff.
The Amaryllis –Sells Scented flowers.
Charms & Elixirs
Sells potions, and occult/paranormal things. At least to the right buyers. The general public will have to be happy with “magic” crystals, and maybe some lesser magic that can be explained away like the Potion of Good Fortune (It was just luck) and other similar things.
Sandys Pets & Things
A pet shop with pet related things. They were also supposed to be selling pet fishes but it turned out that only tanks can be sold and not the fish inside them…
+ added on the same lot is my little curiosa store with collections items like the easter egg collection, plushies, snow globes, posters and so on.
That's a little weird though, as it will seem like you are buying a fish to eat, and then it is somehow alive when you get home.
I sell fish in my grocery store and sometimes buy the fish to then put in a fish tank. It's weird, but ... game limitations and all.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
With malls, I only got two employees, each shop has a cash register. I use the employees to talk to the customers or restock and clean and my played sim rings the customers at the cash register because the employees don't seem to do it. Now, malls are big places, and with so many items to sell, customers will be all over the place, but most often they tend to flock to one area and will buy more often from there, so I tend to keep my sim where there is the largest number of customers. If you don't play as the owner, then you just buy whatever and don't need to talk to the employees at all. I have both malls and several smaller shops on my gallery if you would like to check them out and see how they work. Also, when you play as the owner, sims tend to come in your shop and treat it as a meeting place and just gather around and chat a lot and don't do any shopping, I always send them away.
Yeah, I noticed that as well
I have plans to add another store to my world soon. It's going to be a pet store that sells pet toys and other pet supplies. I love the idea of going to a physical pet store to buy supplies for the new pet.
I like to try to earn/find the shop items in game first either through dueling, crafting or purchasing them from the stalls in the magic realm. However, if you don't want to go to all of that trouble, there are rooms with the items on the gallery.
Recently I had a bridal store. Where I sold wedding dresses and a couple suits and bridal party outfits.
I’ve also had a flower shop that also sold honey. Sadly when you download it from the gallery the flowers don’t work and look misshapen.
Wedding dresses/outfits and lingerie for brides, and suits/tuxes for the guys. I can probably add sexy sleepwear for the guys too with that silky robe coming to BG. I might also split this into several shops on one lot with a dress shop, suit shop and a bakery for the cake. I don't usually have bridesmaids outfits here due to only having 5 outfit slots per category/age/gender shared by all mannequins on the lot.
Maternity/Nursery Store
All the bassinets, toddler beds, baby/toddler décor, toddler toys, highchairs, potties, nightlights etc. I'll have mannequins wearing outfits suitable as maternity wear, for all genders. I believe you can adjust the mannequin bodies to look pregnant too so you can see what the outfits look like with a belly.
Toy Shop
Toddler and kids toys and books, activities and decorations plus the kids collectibles like MySims, Simmies, Meduso plushies and VoidCritter cards and device. I might also sell fun items that adults can use too, such as game tables, game consoles, foosball table, darts etc. Also, any associated merch like game posters, VoidCritter pouffes, MySims decals etc.
Kitchen & Bathroom
Counters, islands, cabinetry, bar stools, (upgraded) plumbing objects and (upgraded) kitchen appliances. I'll also add shelves and wall displays full of associated clutter/accents like towels, robes, fruit bowls, knife racks, pans etc.
Furniture Stores
A modern, IKEA type layout of contemporary living/dining/bedroom/study furnishings and associated décor like modern art, rugs, potted plants, clocks and sculptures. Maybe some of the nicer clutter things too. Also an antique store with a more cluttered layout of the heavier wood/more antique styles like Queen Anne and Storybook and décor items that look older or more classically styled and genuine artefacts.
Pet Shop
Pet furniture, toys and treats. I wish we had pet mannequins to sell collars and clothes here too. You can also sell aquariums, rodent cages and the GF pond object. Maybe sell collectible frogs, insects and living aliens too as small pets. Chicken coops and animal sheds are an option too, for more rural worlds. I don't think you can sell the animals themselves, but I haven't tried it.
Music Shop
Stereos, amps, instruments, mixing deck, DJ booths, dance floors, microphones, karaoke machines, music skill books. Music related décor and merch such as CD stack, band posters, band tees and jeans outfits on mannequins etc.
Craft Shop
Easels, knitting & cross-stitch bags/boxes, cross-stitch hoops, llama wool, yarn balls (pet toy), lumps of clay, soy/bee/wraith wax, kids craft tables, pumpkin carving bench and workbench. Career unlockable CAS items like the paint-spattered tank top, artist's smock and apron via mannequins.
Beach Shop
Swimwear and dive gear on mannequins. Grass skirt outfits. Floaties, portable lounger (the BG one), coolers, soccer ball, grills/BBQs, fishing traps, local mounted fish, shell/treasure collections, diving prints, diving gear furniture/debug items, Aqua Zips and island canoes.
Pharmacy/Alchemist/Herbalist
Completed potions, herbal remedies, mixology potions, medicine, debug sunscreen and massage oils, clutter toiletries and supplements etc. Also herbalism and alchemy ingredients (produce, bugs, crystals etc).
Occult Shop
Soul scraps, sacred candles, candles, crystals, séance tables, crystal balls, paranormal artefacts and décor, creepy doll (or it's safe lookalike), creepy paintings, mystical jungle artefacts, cauldrons, familiar orbs, broomsticks, book stands, vampire lore books and spellcaster tomes, vampire cure and other vampire drinks, spellcaster potions. Also have a séance table not set for sale so the owner and visitors can perform séances.
Crafted bouquets, wreaths, potted plants, vases of flowers, climbing plants, hanging plants, window boxes, topiaries and bonsai trees. Water feature items, garden sculptures, wedding arches and standalone fountains. Workbenches, floristry benches, planters, wall planters, (upgraded) faux meat wall planters, hydroponic planters, plant pots, sprinklers, debug compost sacks, seed packets. Eco items like dew collectors, solar panels and wind turbines. Deco such as tools, hose pipe, outdoor lighting, gnomes etc. Patio furniture and grills/BBQs.
Also, cowplants, if they are sellable (they spawn their own pot if placed on tiled floors).
Bee and bug boxes.
The raised platforms with the dark brown wood sides that are in some of the images, including the first one (the thing with the crosstitch hanging from the front of it) is the "platforms" I was talking about, where all the produce on them is considered on the floor, even though it's raised up. It's just easier to place things for sale that way because you don't have to finangle with limited slots or use height adjustments to get things lined up.
Everything else in the images is from the game itself, except for the rack with flour and sugar in the first image below the spoiler tag. I'm pretty sure that's a CC item. Everything in the images that looks for sale is for sale and it is all accessible to customers.
The lot I used for this is on the gallery by Simmaddness and named The Village Grocery Store. I expanded the store some and put it on a bigger lot so I could add some outdoor stuff, but most of the rest is his/her design. The base lot has no CC at all, that one item which I think is CC I added, because the store didn't originally have flour/sugar set up for sale.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
For the ones I forget to use, I’ve got a Winterfest shop where they can go buy trees and decorations. There’s also a miscellaneous mall shop that I downloaded that’s too huge to realistically play with. I may need to downgrade it to some of the ideas in this thread! There’s also a souvenir shop in Sulani.
My current save is a legacy so I’m not as concerned with the shops right now, but when I was using my rotational save I was trying to fill out more stores for that added realism.
Thanks for the words about the Spark-n-Fizz-- I might keep the fridge there anyway since it's a big part of the atmosphere, and maybe some of the other sims in my game would like to buy fizzy juice.
currently there are 3 retail stores in my game, though one is still a work in progress i feel i'll never actually complete...
the wip is a magic store run by a charlatan sim who is very much not a spellcaster. she claims everything in it is magical and a lot actually is, but there are a fair few fakes thrown in, too. the lot itself is on the lot that defaults to a bar in glimmerbrook
it sells all the herbalism potions, spellcaster potions, brooms, wands, familiars and such, along with the idols from selvadorada, paranormal pack items, the spirit dolls from komerebi and more (that's why i feel it'll never be finished. any time they add something remotely supernatural in a pack, i'll want to add it to this store)
the store also sells all the ingredients for every potion (both herbalism and spellcaster), an assortment of crystals (both 'raw' and the 'cut' version used for selvadoradan idols), all the frogs and insects and more. it's also got displays of 'magic' items like swords from get famous with the debug glows introduced with the magic pack hovering on them so they appear to be magical and shining, similarly 'magic' suits of armor, the magic bean collection and many of the selvadoradan artifacts. among many, many other things
it's also got a practice room where spellcasters can practice with the cauldron (or buy one) and practice their spells in peace
the retail store that's been in my game the longest is one run by my 'main' household, an alien scientist and her astronaut husband. the two (and their kids) have been around since the beginning of this save years ago and they master each path of every career that's introduced in the game, precisely so they can sell the outfits for them if i want a sim to have said outfit without going through the career (i've since started using a mod that just unlocks all the outfits, but i still have them master the careers just in case)
primarily what this store does is sell alien and scientist equipment, including all the scientist potions, scientist inventions, microscope and observatory prints, and everything that's just found on sixam, as well as the space rock collection. it also sells the potions unlocked by the mixologist career as well as the very elusive snagglefuster drink that greatly increases skill gain for 8 hours when consumed
this lot is one of the smaller ones in magnolia promenade, as i've turned that whole world into my alien-themed commercial lot world (with an alien-themed nightclub, sixam-themed museum and a sixam-themed restaurant owned by the same family that owns the retail store)
the final retail shop i've got is a tiny photo studio on the 20x15 in del sol's commercial area. i feel it suits the area quite nicely and is a great place to pick up various things, including stuff introduced with the moschino pack and the camera unlocked at the top of one path of the conservationist career. i've got a few professional photographer sims, but neither one owns the shop... it's still townie-run, though i often consider changing that
as for tips... i heartily recommend having a small break room area with at least a minifridge and microwave, or possibly just the 'snack' fridge from get to work, as well as a couch or bed for your played sim(s) to nap/sleep in if you're on the lot for extended periods of time (you can also use a mod that allows sims to actually live in their retail lots instead of just visit them forever)
another one is to get used to the bb mode cheats that let you see hidden objects such as many of the collectibles (including the brooms and familiars for spellcasters) and various debug items you may want to use (such as the swords i mentioned earlier)
- magical store this store looks like 3 separate shops. One is for wands, brooms and spellbooks, the second one is for poition and herbalism ingredients. The third part of this lot sells wizarding robes so my spellcasters can dress appropriately
- bakery I am rebuilding this one now. My new baker just earned the aspiration reward to prepare meals that never spoil. Now she has to cook and bake to fill the display
- furniture store I have not actually used this one so far, but I plan to add craftable furniture from eco lifestyle, knifty knitting and the workbench. Items which can be only seen with the hidden objects cheat
- bridal store this one is purely for story telling purposes.
I had a Sim making stuff at a workbench today for the first time in quite a while. I don't think I've made things at the workbench in like 2+ years.
Anywho, my thought as I was doing it was of this thread and that I really ought to make a store that sells the workbench crafted-items so that households I play who don't do that can buy the things. I like the additional things you combine with it here, good ideas! I think I'll do the same thing. Thank you for sharing with us.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
If the item in BB has no price, can it still be sold and the price added manually?
I can honestly say the few times I have used BB to get to things which I've sold on a retail lot that I didn't even pay attention to what the BB cost was. I have never seen any kind of "set the price" thing though, but also never had anything that was selling for 0.
I'm pretty sure the answer is no though. If it costs 0 in BB you probably just won't be able to sell it in the first place or if you can it will sell for 0.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods