Starting a Business... But where do I get cheap goods from???

kev269

Hi,

I've been meaning to start an online business selling video games online and anything related to that with my brother and friend for quite some time now. We have had meetings several times and we have set out a plan, researched about the different competition etc. We are all IT graduates and we also have pre-university experience in developing professional e-commerce sites and know most of what there is to know about web hosting. I'm just trying to build up a picture because we are quite serious about this as we have been planning for a long time. My friend also knows about how businesses run and also has friends which know how to run businesses themselves, which helps.

My main questions is that although we have most things covered... where the hell are we supposed to find the goods for cheap in order to sell them and make a profit ??? I even bought "The Trader" magazine and it doesn't have anything good really, most things are at retail prices or they are old stock. I would like to know where companies like Amazon, GamePlay, SimplyGames, GameSeek etc. get their stock from... but it seems impossible to find out! It's as though you have to have contacts who work in the business in order to find out, is this true or not? because that's how it seems. If anyone can help me please, I would be really happy, even if its not about video games. It could be computer hardware stock, DVD's etc...

Thanks a lot.

Stevenj214

Well at a guess, you would get SEGA games from SEGA, EA Sports Games from EA Sports, Konami games from Konami.

Call up companies, ask who distributes them in Europe/UK, call them and get a hold of their closest rep, and there you go.

mamamia

Here is a long list of wholesalers I found, I hope it is relevant to what you are looking for.
http://www.salehoo.com/members/UK_Wholesale.pdf

soolin

Unfortunately your question is one that gets asked on a regular basis on the ebay boards, the business part is easy, it is getting the goods that is the hardest part. There are lots of people on various ebay boards looking to invest a few thousand pounds in easily saleable goods like games, it is very rare that any break into the market successfully, so be warned.

Some of the larger retailers keep their prices low as they deal in millions of pounds worth of stock, assuming you are looking to invest somewhat less than that you are unlikely to be able to price match them, so may need to look for another edge to get ahead. I'm not a business man, but basically if you can't compete on price you need to compete with something else the big boys can't offer.

Most of the time wholesalers are a waste of time as their prices are often higher than CDWow or even ebay, so as has already been suggested you may need to approach the manufacturers themselves. Although whether they will be interested in another retailer remains to be seen.

My only other thoughts would be to look for a more niche market, rather than get into an already overcrowded market look for something unique. That way you could possibly interest the manufacturers if they don't already have lots of retailers in that field, and maybe target your marketing.

I must also add that it is an odd sort of business plan that concentrates on how to sell rather than on getting the products first.

Soo

observer_2

I agree with the last post. If you want to sell mainstream products at the best price then you need to buy in reasonable quantities. Most suppliers have Internet retailers that do good business and there is no reason for them to dilute their sales by selling at the same price to start ups.

Until you do good turnover you're not going to buy at a reasonable price if you are an e-commerce venture. If you set up a proper shop then maybe you could, but obviously this will cost.

As the last post said find a niche, one with growth potential, and hit it hard with good products at good prices.

buglawton

How about concentrating on used games & part-exchange games.

Plus create yourself a Cubecart Online shop - it's just about the fastest way to get an online shopping cart.

Use Ebay only for research as it's a very expensive way to sell and competitive as hell.

bootcampbilly

kev269 wrote:

Hi,

I've been meaning to start an online business selling video games online and anything related to that with my brother and friend for quite some time now. We have had meetings several times and we have set out a plan, researched about the different competition etc. We are all IT graduates and we also have pre-university experience in developing professional e-commerce sites and know most of what there is to know about web hosting. I'm just trying to build up a picture because we are quite serious about this as we have been planning for a long time. My friend also knows about how businesses run and also has friends which know how to run businesses themselves, which helps.

My main questions is that although we have most things covered... where the hell are we supposed to find the goods for cheap in order to sell them and make a profit ??? I even bought "The Trader" magazine and it doesn't have anything good really, most things are at retail prices or they are old stock. I would like to know where companies like Amazon, GamePlay, SimplyGames, GameSeek etc. get their stock from... but it seems impossible to find out! It's as though you have to have contacts who work in the business in order to find out, is this true or not? because that's how it seems. If anyone can help me please, I would be really happy, even if its not about video games. It could be computer hardware stock, DVD's etc...

Thanks a lot.

I thought you said you were a private seller?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=2329160&postcount=18

ben500

Judging by your recent performance I would suggest you forget the whole idea until you have undergone some serious training in customer relations.

And stock control !!!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

bootcampbilly

ben500 wrote:

Judging by your recent performance I would suggest you forget the whole idea until you have undergone some serious training in customer relations.

And stock control !!!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I totally agree with you!

Also get a professional to design your auction layouts

kev269

bootcampbilly wrote:

I totally agree with you!

Also get a professional to design your auction layouts

i shouldn't have to back myself up to you, but I am a private seller on eBay and this thread has nothing to do with eBay and was intended on setting up an e-commerce website. I will now ask for this thread to be closed.

bootcampbilly

kev269 wrote:

i shouldn't have to back myself up to you, but I am a private seller on eBay and this thread has nothing to do with eBay and was intended on setting up an e-commerce website. I will now ask for this thread to be closed.

You don't have to back yourself up to me.
Again, you're closing threads when you don't like the way things are going.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=214375