Opinion wanted. This Market too saturated to enter?

[Zee]

With all the news about economy and stuff (in NY tuition is rising, gas prices are up there, war threats, terrorism fears, the Wiz shutting down, sales tax being added to major stores,etc etc), you think the market is too saturated and dying now for a new internet store to try to succeed?

would you try to open a internet store to sell computer hardware or u think the economy is dying and people jus visit the top 10 stores in ResellerRatings.com anyway so there's no chance...?

Please post any opinion you have on this matter. Would you invest money and start a venture?

 

[thirtythree]

If you have something new or can offer better prices than competitors, go for it. I don't usually check reseller ratings as long as the site looks legit. But I'm not an expert or anything ..

 

[tbates757]

I would say go for it, but start small and don't quit your day job

 

[IGBT]

I hear duct tape and rolled plastic sheeting are in high demand.

 

[Zee]

Originally posted by: IGBT
I hear duct tape and rolled plastic sheeting are in high demand.

lol. hmm so are you suggesting i start selling massive quantities of bottled water too? heheh.

As for the others, thank you for your input, and yes, it's not going to be my primary form of income.

Please keep the opinions rolling in if you have any pearls to share...

thanks

 

[0roo0roo]

a few years ago tons of little computer hardware stores sprung up. u can guess where they are now

its a saturated market, unless you've got some insane sh*t up your sleeve your gonna die.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
a few years ago tons of little computer hardware stores sprung up. u can guess where they are now

its a saturated market, unless you've got some insane sh*t up your sleeve your gonna die.

yup.

There just isn't much the "little guy" can offer in todays computer market.

I would invest my money elsewhere.

 

[rh71]

You can definitely open up a new store and succeed... as long as you do better with customer service and prices. People buy because of low/competitive prices and go back to buy more if you give them good customer service. There's this one place I've never heard of but has gotten 350+ 5-star reviews thru pricegrabber. Buydigitaldirect.com ... located in Brooklyn ... and they have the best customer service I've ever experienced. I ordered a camera... called the next day to confirm ship date, and they asked if I had any questions about the particular camera. They even upgraded me to next-day delivery just for calling (was free for original shipping)... and to spread a good word about them. There's no reason I wouldn't do that. And not to mention... they had the top price on the camera (Canon A40) anywhere on the web. Again, I found them through Pricegrabber and knew they were reputable because of all the good cust.service reviews. And they'll definitely get more business from me in the future. You can't lose if you serve people right... bottom line.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: rh71
You can definitely open up a new store and succeed... as long as you do better with customer service and prices. People buy because of low/competitive prices and go back to buy more if you give them good customer service. There's this one place I've never heard of but has gotten 350+ 5-star reviews thru pricegrabber. Buydigitaldirect.com ... located in Brooklyn ... and they have the best customer service I've ever experienced. I ordered a camera... called the next day to confirm ship date, and they asked if I had any questions about the particular camera. They even upgraded me to next-day delivery just for calling (was free for original shipping)... and to spread a good word about them. There's no reason I wouldn't do that. And not to mention... they had the top price on the camera (Canon A40) anywhere on the web. Again, I found them through Pricegrabber and knew they were reputable because of all the good cust.service reviews. And they'll definitely get more business from me in the future. You can't lose if you serve people right... bottom line.

This is true.

I still wouldn't put my hard earned cash into a computer hardware business, though. Not in this market...

 

[tcsenter]

would you try to open a internet store to sell computer hardware or u think the economy is dying and people jus visit the top 10 stores in ResellerRatings.com anyway so there's no chance...?

Unless you have access to a couple hundred thousand dollars in capital, don't waste your time.

If you were thinking of selling to a niche market (but not in computer hardware) then you can do it on far less.

 

[0roo0roo]

i'm not sure what niches are left. insane oc/mod equipment stores are everywhere online now.

 

[rudder]

The problem is there are too many stores with low prices due to better buying power. The thing is many offer crappy customer service and are a pain in the ass to deal with. If you offer excellent customer service and make a reputation for yourself you may get somewhere. The problem is consumers would rather get rock bottom prices and accept crappy customer service than to spend a little more at a place that offers better service. You can't sell cheap and expect to have a staff of 20 techs manning the phones for customer assistance.

From the posts on this board you can see Dell has crappy customer service, but you would be hard pressed to put together a decent machine with LCD for $599 to compete.

 

[Zee]

what about building and selling high quality barebones then? you think that might be a niche market?

 

[MadRat]

Originally posted by: Zeero

Originally posted by: IGBT
I hear duct tape and rolled plastic sheeting are in high demand.

lol. hmm so are you suggesting i start selling massive quantities of bottled water too? heheh.

Shipped USPS originating from the New Jersey area would not be a good idear.

 

[DaveSimmons]

It's still a big risk, but two niches that aren't well-filled yet are:
* custom-built quiet PCs at various performance levels and form factors.
* custom-built Home Theater PCs

Both would be premium services for people with either more money than free time or who are unsure about their DIY skills. Both are probably low-volumne markets though, and would be ignored by the typical budget-conscious and DIY-confident ATers.

 

[PoPPeR]

My government class had a stock broker come in today to talk to us about the stock market. He works for Morgen Stanley, and although most of his coworkers think that the stock market is going to rebound, he personally see's probably the greatest crash in the history of the stock market. His estimates or research show that the PE ratio is at 25 or 28 or wahtever right now and if it wants to go down the the historically average 14-15, the stock market would drop to about 6000, another 25% from its current standing. He's advising his clients to buy bonds, then exchange for stocks

 

[MadRat]

Imagine the money he can make by buying against that loss. You can conceivably make great money speculating a drop in value.

 

[tomcat]

I tend to agree that the market is far too saturated unless you plan on doing something dramatically different. Good cusomer service is nice, but I don't think its going to singlehandedly make a profitable business. On the other hand DaveSimmons pointed out some excellent ideas for niche markets, if you can create high quality products in those catergories I think you might have a shot.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: PoPPeR
My government class had a stock broker come in today to talk to us about the stock market. He works for Morgen Stanley, and although most of his coworkers think that the stock market is going to rebound, he personally see's probably the greatest crash in the history of the stock market. His estimates or research show that the PE ratio is at 25 or 28 or wahtever right now and if it wants to go down the the historically average 14-15, the stock market would drop to about 6000, another 25% from its current standing. He's advising his clients to buy bonds, then exchange for stocks

If the PE ratio is about ~27.5 right now, and he thinks its going to go to ~14.5, then it would fall 52%...i.e. drop to around 4175 (if earnings stayed the same). Thats a pretty extreme prediction, sort of chicken little-ish.

 

[Miramonti]

If you want to open an internet store, specialize in a specific niche, and do an awesome job at it. The challenges that you'll face as a startup (exposure, inventory) will probably be somewhat irrelevant to the current economic fluxuations but will be more parallel to what startup companies always face.

 

[xBopx]

The most profitable and most effective web based businesses look something like this one : Stop Your Divorce

That website alone produces $15,000 in pure profit month after month.

 

[OutHouse]

1. get a piece of paper and a pen
2. write down on the left side the CONS and on the right side the PROS
3. make your decision.


My .02 cents is dont do it. in order to be competive in the market you will need to sell lower than the big boys, i dont see you doing that and still make a profit and stay alive.

 

[CallTheFBI]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
It's still a big risk, but two niches that aren't well-filled yet are:
* custom-built quiet PCs at various performance levels and form factors.
* custom-built Home Theater PCs

Both would be premium services for people with either more money than free time or who are unsure about their DIY skills. Both are probably low-volumne markets though, and would be ignored by the typical budget-conscious and DIY-confident ATers.

DaveSimmons has good advice. If you want to start up a computer business try to find a niche market. Don't try to sell just vanilla OEMs because there are hundreds of other stores selling those. Sell PCs that are watercooled and are ready to be overclocked or something along those lines that would appeal to a hobbyist.

 

[Zee]

Thank you all. there's some real insight in this thread.

 

[CallTheFBI]

Originally posted by: Bop
The most profitable and most effective web based businesses look something like this one : Stop Your Divorce

That website alone produces $15,000 in pure profit month after month.

LoL, who told you that?