Tech Business Idea - Is It Viable?

[MikeC]

So, I just randomly thought of an idea that seems pretty good in my head. I don't really have any first hand experience with this, though, so I thought I'd post it to see what everyone thinks.

Basically, I was whining to my roommate about how whenever you buy a new laptop, it's bittersweet, because another one comes out a month later that's better.

Now, being the fastlane graduate that I am, I began to think. Here's what I came up with in about 10 seconds, so it's pretty rough. It would probably only be a windows/pc based business, because new mac computers come out every six months - year, so it's not AS bad.

Basically, it would be a computer retail/online store. You pay an upfront cost that's either what you'd usually pay for a new laptop, or a slightly reduced price. Then, you pay a specific subscription fee each month. Whenever there's a new part you could get for your computer, you're notified about it, and you can request it sent to your home. When I was talking to RealOG at B&P, he was talking about how low the production cost is for most parts in a computer. With a moderately high subscription fee, you should easily be able to make a profit.

Not sure how realistic this is, because I'm mainly a mac guy. But every PC fanatic out there always tells me how easy it is to change parts, and if you can get the best parts each month in your subscription, you would be saving money as well, because it would be like getting a new PC every month. There are still some large details that need to be worked out, but I think it's a decent idea right now...

What do you guys think?

 

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[littlekingaz]

Personally, and this is just my opinion, I don't think that is a very viable market. Basically you are suggesting people be notified of new parts, but that would be expecting the customer to expect that there would be problems with his/her pc. It would just be easier to google parts needed (for free), and then order them online. If I subscribed and you sent me new parts that just came out, and I didn't need it, what would be the point of that? It's just more convenient and less costly to google the exact part needed or go to the store and get whatever I needed.

Only my opinion, but maybe some guys on here would think it's a great idea.

 

[MikeC]

Personally, and this is just my opinion, I don't think that is a very viable market. Basically you are suggesting people be notified of new parts, but that would be expecting the customer to expect that there would be problems with his/her pc. It would just be easier to google parts needed (for free), and then order them online. If I subscribed and you sent me new parts that just came out, and I didn't need it, what would be the point of that? It's just more convenient and less costly to google the exact part needed or go to the store and get whatever I needed.

Only my opinion, but maybe some guys on here would think it's a great idea.

Definitely a valid concern. I forgot to mention that there would be a huge focus on simplicity. It would be a service that would be usable even if you weren't a tech expert.

It's basically like a kind of "insurance." You pay a premium to ensure that your computer is always as up to date as you'd like it to be. You might not want every new part that comes out, but if something new comes out that you get excited about, you can have it shipped to your house immediately. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[andviv]

Laptops these days have less moving/exchangeable parts.

Your model sounds a lot like a glorified leasing business... think about it... what if you lease them the computers and then automatically replace them every six months for a small fee? And then rent the 'used' ones for a lower fee, giving the buyers a lot of flexibility.

 

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[MikeC]

Laptops these days have less moving/exchangeable parts.

Your model sounds a lot like a glorified leasing business... think about it... what if you lease them the computers and then automatically replace them every six months for a small fee? And then rent the 'used' ones for a lower fee, giving the buyers a lot of flexibility.

Ah yes, that is much better. Did a quick Google search, and it seems like computer leasing is possible, but hardly ever used by individuals. Worth looking into a bit more... might be able to set up a kind of middle man service.

The trick is making a pricing model which gives customers a better deal than if they just bought the computer in the first place, while still allowing the business to make a profit. Shouldn't really be too difficult, though.

 

[Graves]

I think the market is too small (not enough people want high performance PCs), but the idea is pretty brilliant

 

[alankong]

Hey hey,

It was mentioned that it may be a small market to gear it towards; however, perhaps instead of gearing it primarily just towards the general public, gear it towards online gamers. Those are the techs that love new updates, gadgets, and are willing to shell the money out for it.

Ordinary folks, including myself, are fine with the processing speed of a computer we order. For me, whether it is a 4GB of RAM computer vs. 8, I can barely tell the difference. 4GB is sufficient enough for the things I do, so people like me wouldn't use it.

But if you could always gear it towards gamers, perhaps even show them how much money they would save over a period of time, then you might have yourself a worthwhile idea my friend

Show a quick chart:

$x of dollars for buying new parts every 6 months
versus
$x of dollars for membership to your site

1 yr savings....5 yr savings...and ongoing..you get the point

+ Saving them the convenience of updating and hunting on their own.

Even if you had 1,000 people sign up, for $10 a month, that is $10,000 per month in gross revenue.

Not to shabby for just 1,000 people ya?

With the right execution, I think you can make it work!

Best of luck

 

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[MikeC]

Thanks for the reply, alankong.

I definitely like the idea of marketing it towards gamers. I'm not sure if I'm going to go through with this myself. I'll definitely do some thorough research, though, and see if it could work. Seems like the overhead costs might be pretty significant, but maybe once I get all the figures figured out it might not be as bad as I'm thinking. I'm sure the service would cost more than $10 a month, anyways.

 

[austinjeff]

If you're dealing with PC's, gamers are your best bet. But I think that when you break the numbers down, it won't work out. Shipping is going to be the killer, as your rates are going to be much higher than what Dell or Amazon pay, for example. (Arranging local pickup would also be expensive and a headache.)

Plus, for a lot of gamers, picking the components of the system is part of what they like. They tend to like to have lots of control. It could be a tough sell.

But how about iPad's? I know a lot of people who recently bought iPads are pretty upset about the new ones coming out already.

Charge customers to join your service. Then give 70-75% trade-in value on their old iPad. Sell the old one on eBay for more than you paid for it. Arrange with an online retailer to purchase credits, which they will give you at a discount, since they can sell the customer other items. (And sure, they could just sell it themselves on eBay. But that's not the way most iPad owners roll. They are obviously willing to pay a bit more for things that are easy.)

You could even do the whole thing as an app.

 

[Graves]

My problem is that well, most hardcore gamers are also hardcore broke

 

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