Need a bit of help wanna get into games as a business

[Budsmoka]

I was thinking of eventually starting a store focusing on mostly retro,import and hard to find games but I wanted to start small right now. What would be the best way or doing this? I was thinking of going to all the gamestops and game crazys first picking up all of their last gen stuff cheap when they have B2G1F and 25% used games deals. I was also going to check out the independent shops,garage sales,thrift stores,message boards, flea markets and online for even better deals. I am mainly going to get quality titles that people want. I figured after I got a good stock about 50-100 titles I would get a table at the flea market and try to sell and trade stuff to people maybe offering 50% of what I would sell it for. I was also thinking of using ebay to sell stuff maybe. So what do you guys think? I was thinking of carrying nes,snes,genesis,saturn,n64,ps1,dreamcast,ps2,gc,gb,gbc,gba,ds,psp and systems. So anything I'm missing guys?

[PharmaceuticalCowboy]

Sounds good to me. You need to get a basic business sense about you and then you will be able to expand and really focus on what you want to do.

[hashiriya1]

Well, I always sell Japanese games and systems to Racketboy members. If you want something from Japan, just send me a PM!

[dedalusdedalus]

if you eventually plan to open a physical video game store, you should take notes from digital press. those people are definitely doing it right.

http://www.digitpress.com/

[blackmagepwns]

Just don't smoke too much, or try to sell hand-painted systems.

[dedalusdedalus]

Just don't smoke too much, or try to sell hand-painted systems.

oh, snap. this WAS the dude with the custom cannabis PS2.

[Budsmoka]

Just don't smoke too much, or try to sell hand-painted systems.

hey money comes first man.

Well I'm going to try and get 100 to 150 quality titles by January thats my goal and the only downside I see is that I'll be stuck with a kick ass game collection.

[RCBH928]

if you want to listen to me
open online, dont sell in any real market place(unless you know a lot of retro people buy/sell in that area)

you should open in a place with reputation building first, like amazon or ebay. Lose some money or break even at first so you can build a reputation for yourself.

[Luke]

if you want to listen to me
open online, dont sell in any real market place(unless you know a lot of retro people buy/sell in that area)

you should open in a place with reputation building first, like amazon or ebay. Lose some money or break even at first so you can build a reputation for yourself.

Solid advice.
I would also suggest trying to purchase 200-350 titles if possible, as it will increase your chances of breaking even or possibly making a profit.
Try to differentiate yourself from the other sellers as well. Do some research on what is selling before purchasing the titles you wish to sell. Focus on a target market, and see what has an what has not worked in the past. Start setting realistic sales goals early, you are entering a fairly competitive market.

Good luck!

[jp1]

Don't buy your inventory from Gamestop or any other retail store. You will be sure to loose money spending that much up front on your stuff. Keep a close eye on Craigslist and Yard Sales. Even put an ad on Craigslist or in your local paper saying you pay cash for used games. Never pay more than 25% of what an item can be sold for.