What was your initial capital when you started your online store?

GuestUser8117 · Oct 22, 2012

Hi fastlaners !

I'm very curious on what was your initial startup capital when you started your business. I am struggling with this, I really don't know how much money I need to start my ecommerce biz. Maybe you can give some insights so newbies can have an idea of the amount of money needed to start an online store. I will probably sell video games to start but I have no idea on how many games should I order from the suppliers. Anyway what was your initial investment?

JasonR · Oct 22, 2012

Is there a need for this in the marketplace? How are you different than Amazon, Best Buy, Gamestop, eBay, etc.?

wade1mil · Oct 22, 2012

I have spent less than $50 on one and have spent more than $1,000 on another. The thing is, it's not a business until you have a customer. So, why don't you find out if there are people that would buy from you first (for free). Ask people on this forum that play games or a forum devoted to video games if they would buy from you. Based on what you said, you would just create a template website with games for sale. You don't offer anything that every single store selling video games doesn't.

Why would someone order a game from your website instead of Amazon? Gamestop? Walmart?
How are you better? Faster? Stronger? Cheaper? Higher quality?

Pinnacle · Oct 22, 2012

Unlike many, I never started with a set amount of money. I financed my last business with my semi-monthly paycheck from my job. It was my own "loan-as-you-go" plan.

theag · Oct 22, 2012

My startup capital right now is about -10k

PatrickP · Oct 22, 2012

$150.00

JAJT · Oct 23, 2012

Omerta said:
I will probably sell video games

Not to sound harsh but you've never researched the video game market have you? Margins are razor thin from my understanding.

Look at the biggest video game stores out there - what do you notice? All the focus on is used games, game warranties, loyalty cards (usually the perks favor the used games), strategy guides, trade-ins, toys, pre-orders, etc...

This is because new games aren't profitable enough to run a store. They may buy a new game for $50 and sell for $60. However if they buy that new game from a previous owner for $30 and resell for $55 they are up 2.5x the profit of a new game sold. Even better is trade in - trade in 5 old games and get a new game "free". So they give you a game worth $50 in exchange for 5 games they can sell at $20 profit each. $100 sold on the news games minus the $50 game they gave you = $50 profit. 5 times the amount selling that new game alone would bring in.

Make no mistake - the money in video games comes from the secondary market. Video game stores are nothing more than niche pawn shops.

GuestUser8117 · Oct 23, 2012

JAJT said:
Not to sound harsh but you've never researched the video game market have you? Margins are razor thin from my understanding.

Look at the biggest video game stores out there - what do you notice? All the focus on is used games, game warranties, loyalty cards (usually the perks favor the used games), strategy guides, trade-ins, toys, pre-orders, etc...

This is because new games aren't profitable enough to run a store. They may buy a new game for $50 and sell for $60. However if they buy that new game from a previous owner for $30 and resell for $55 they are up 2.5x the profit of a new game sold. Even better is trade in - trade in 5 old games and get a new game "free". So they give you a game worth $50 in exchange for 5 games they can sell at $20 profit each. $100 sold on the news games minus the $50 game they gave you = $50 profit. 5 times the amount selling that new game alone would bring in.

Make no mistake - the money in video games comes from the secondary market. Video game stores are nothing more than niche pawn shops.

So you're saying that new games aren't profitable. What do you mean by secondary market?

Jake · Oct 23, 2012

I'd read through this guys posts

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V

PatrickP said:
$150.00

JAJT · Oct 23, 2012

Omerta said:
What do you mean by secondary market?

Used games.

msj484 · Oct 23, 2012

My first business was an ecommerce store, and I was 18 years old living at home with basically no money. The only thing I spend money on from day 1 was a domain name and hosting. Nowadays that should cost you about $20-25 MAX.

From there, my most valuable asset was time. Time to find the product and supplier, to learn how to install the FREE platform that I used for the store(oscommerce), to upload all the products/prices/descriptions needed, to figure out how to get people to my website for FREE(SEO), time to learn SEO by reading webpages for forums, and to contact the SEO guru's at the time to find just one(although got in contact with 3) who would mentor me(also free) so that I could make sure I was successful.

That is exactly what I did 9 years ago, and I haven't looked back. I still believe wholeheartedly that even today... all that is needed for a successful store is time and a determination to succeed no matter what the people around you(family, friends, forum users(lol), etc) have to say. In the last 9 years I have made AT LEAST 5x's more money than all of those people who had something to way back when.

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What was your initial capital when you started your online store?

GuestUser8117

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JasonR

Maverick

wade1mil

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Pinnacle

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theag

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PatrickP

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JAJT

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GuestUser8117

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Jake

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JAJT

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msj484

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