Stocking a computer / electronics shop

motorguy

I have always had a (probably very naive) understanding that shops bought their stock from a wholesaler, sold it on and lived happily ever after.

But what i'm finding (relative to a computer store) is that local wholesalers aren't that cheap and i can get the stuff i need cheaper from the likes of ebuyer, scan, rambox etc.

Is it unusual to have to operate like this or am i missing the point? (or the proper wholesalers??)

Thanks in advance

Paul

Pennywise

Yep, you've discovered how things work!

That is why small shops etc are struggling to survive - the big boys have the buying power and hence get far cheaper prices than an independent firm.

An awful lot of small shops buy their stock from supermarkets or online because, as you have found, they can be cheaper than the wholesalers.

Having said all that, you are probably looking in the wrong place. You are probably best to do a bit of travelling to find cheaper wholesalers. In my area (Lake District), a lot of small shops own vans and go down to Manchester to get a van load of stock because it is cheaper than the local wholesalers.

Alternatively, try dealing directly with the manufacturers and importers - but you may find that they will want far larger order quantities/values that you can hope to give.

motorguy

my other problem is i am in northern ireland so my options are really limited full stop.

i don't mind doing the online ordering thing, but as we are just about to open a retail outlet (ok then - shop!) i don't want to be going off on the wrong path with our buying strategy....

nearlyrich

pgilc1 wrote:

my other problem is i am in northern ireland ...

I would say that this is probably the worst place to be a computer reseller buying from mainland distributors, the carriage costs are high to NI.


Wherever you are if you buy 200 printers in one transaction from a distributor you will get a better price and probably a free delivery deal than if you buy one or two.

Have you investigated the possibilities of buying from the distributors in Eire?

motorguy

nearlyrich wrote:

I would say that this is probably the worst place to be a computer reseller buying from mainland distributors, the carriage costs are high to NI.


Wherever you are if you buy 200 printers in one transaction from a distributor you will get a better price and probably a free delivery deal than if you buy one or two.

Have you investigated the possibilities of buying from the distributors in Eire?

i dont live that far from the border and dublin is only about 1 hr 20 mins away from me so it might be an option. will have to look into vat regs and stuff like that. ironically my brother owns a north / south haulage firm so i could go and buy the stuff and have him bring it up when he has an empty backload.

you might well be onto something there.... you've definitely got me thinking....

buglawton

Savvy customers already buy mail order so don't need a local computer shop.

I suggest you emphasize local service and specialist knowledge; then you will get all those computer customers - and there are loads - who need hand holding when upgrading their computers.

You might be able to cut a deal with a large online retail store (NOT a big name like Ebuyer) based on total purchases/annum to get say 10% off their already cutthroat prices, then add 25-35% on top to get to local pricing in a bricks & mortar shop.