Need your suggestions in opening a computer store

[sarfraz]

I have a store that I am starting to sell computer parts and accessories. I have registered a company and started PC peripherals business. I also want to sell computer parts and build PCs for the customers. To run a successful shop, what parts, components I need to put in the shop from the start? How much should I invest at the first and what should I not do? Please give me some useful advice if anybody knows it. 

[GoldenLag]

pretty much do Linus`s idea of doing a small stock house with the most popular comboes and do bang for buck at certain pricepoints. 

 

how are your skills within high end custom systems? you might be able to do custom orders for higher margins

 

 

its going to be hard to start the shop and you need to as quickly as possible get a supplier willing to give discounts on your orders. 

 

expand the business and hope you get aquired before big businesses take over. the idea is to expand infrastructure in many different towns and provinces. 

 

tl;dr its going to be hard to get big, but you can run quite a nice profit if you have a lack of competition. 

 

edit: infrastructure being everything from shop and employees, but also delivery and supply.

Edited October 31, 2018 by GoldenLag

[sarfraz]

Thanks for suggestions. In my area it is almost no competition but the need is there as there are no good computer shops at all. I have invested good money on peripherals but don't know how much should I on computer components and how much should I buy. Here high-end components aren't the demand but low to budget end components are mostly bought. 

[LukeSavenije]

Think about the worth of electronics. They go downhill whenever something happens in the industry. Positive or negative

[voiha]

Who are you going to sell them to ?
Find clients first

[Spotty]

Repeat business is probably going to make or break it for you. Make sure you offer services such as PC repairs as they will give you a lot of business through the repair service, replacement parts, and even potentially the customer buying an entirely new machine from you. If a customer comes in with a broken PC and wants to buy a new system, you could then offer them a small discount on a new machine if you get to keep their old machine, which you could then fix and sell as a budget refurbished option to someone else who wants a cheap 2nd hand PC, or take parts out of to use in repairs of other systems. How much of a discount you offer on the new system will depend on what the old system is worth and how much you think you could flip it for or part it out for.

 

As for what parts to stock, you're pretty safe with stuff like PSUs, RAM, SSDs/HDDs, and cases, as they have relatively long life cycles of compatibility.

Motherboards and CPUs, and to some extent GPUs, all have a shorter life cycle, so be careful you don't over-order on those parts or else you may be stuck trying to sell older 6700ks and 7700ks when everyone wants an 8700k. If you find yourself in that situation with last gen CPUs/Mobos, just use them in Prebuilt machines and most people buying a prebuilt won't care which gen it is (or even know).

 

Accessories can be a good way to make money with things like keyboards, mice, speakers, headsets, power strips, HDMI cables, SATA cables, etc.

[kevin222]

Identify your target customers first! Check what kind of people live around your shop territory. Then identify what kind of computer parts and computers they do buy, Discus this, with any other computer store owner that what kind of things are trending in the market which can be sold easily, The common peripheral devices can be sold easily. but other components like Ram, Hard drives, CPU and GPU parts should be those which are in trend and everyone using on that time. 

[Guest]

Look at what microcenter does & steal EVERY IDEA. 

 

When running a business, you must learn to say no to things because you always have to make money & be on top. This doesn’t mean you can’t outsource. 

 

Pretend you're fixing a “generic virus problem.” Lets day you don’t know how to remove viruses with malware bites & the Internet isn’t useful. You could turn it down OR call another company to get a quote. Instead of saying yes, make sure the customer is open to paying that. 

 

Have a policy for parts left. Incase you also do repairs. Some people WILL leave their stuff & not answer the phone and never ever come back. Have a policy. My local store for another product has a 30 day policy but in actuality holds things for at least 4 months before considering selling it or scrapping it. 

 

 

I talked with an airsoft gun store owner. When he opened he only stocked about 3 kinda of airsoft gun more or less. These were the selling kinds of guns. He’s a small store, he can’t carry “exotic enthusiast item” because it likely won’t sell. 

With PCs I don’t know what people are buying and where so it’s not a fair comparison but like if you were to stock CPU water coolers, I’d only stock a few of the top brand complete AIO instead of all the parts to make your own loop. 

 

Thats all i can say off the top of my head besides don’t be a hero. You don’t have to be a scum bag but don’t do things for EVERY customer. And require down payments. “You want this specialty item, you’ll have to put down X currency.” 

[Spotty]

Set up social media accounts for your computer store. Facbeook, twitter, Instagram, and any other local popular social media platforms. Post updates on a regular basis even if it's just sharing a photo of whatever latest system you've built, new stock you got in, or photo of you doing repairs on a system. Also gives you a good platform to advertise specials and your services.
If you're building PCs on a regular basis, if you have the time and resources maybe even start out live streaming building the PC on Twitch/Youtube. As you're building you can regularly mention that the system you're building will be available for sale in your store and links to your website/facebook are in the description. India appears to be quite interested in the tech community, especially on platforms like YouTube, so if you get a strong following on social media you can probably expect that to flow in to building up a good reputation with customers.
You could even do quick videos reviewing the product that you're stocking and showcasing the products a bit. Linus started out his Youtube career doing such videos at a major Canadian computer retailer, NCIX.

[FastRDust]

Maybe a stupid suggestion but i would go to a nearby market place or shopping mall and ask some strangers about what they expect.

What they would be looking for, to get a sort of idea what people want.

[Canada EH]

12 hours ago, sarfraz said:

store that I am starting to sell computer parts and accessories.

You have to know your market and cater to your demographic that you want to reach. India is much different then North America. I am not sure if playing games all day is a thing in India or not. You should try and get contracts with companies and get your foot in the door with rich people. Again its a cultural thing too.