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Local PC Gaming Store

Vision_Gaming
Level 7
Hey Guys,

Just doing a little market research, and wondered if any of you would be interested in the idea of a PC gaming store around your local area. Now obviously I understand there will be people from all over the place on here, but I'm just interested if you would visit this store to purchase parts / build your PC if there were to be a store opening in your area. We've also had the idea of running local competitions on games such as League of Legends, along with general gaming days (maybe a local build day on Minecraft?). Obviously the benefits of going to a store would be the help we'd be able to offer you face to face, along with building your computer (either behind the scenes or with you). We'd be selling all kinds of components, from low-end to high-end (same goes for peripherals).

Also, if there is already a gaming store like this in your area, do you visit it? Does it seem to be doing well?

We're also interested in any idea's you might have around this subject, things we could do, events we could run etc.

Should mention we'll be running an online store too.

Thanks 🙂
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9 REPLIES 9

martyn
Level 10
Novatech in the UK had several stores around the country, nearest to me was just outside Bristol, they closed several of those if not all the other branches leaving just main one in Portsmouth last year. Ok, they were a merchandising store, but a largeish one building and supplying PC's and componants and ancillary items not just catering to gamers but general pc users.

I was sad to see them go, because at least there was one place i could visit that wasn't PC World for build parts if needed quickly and almost always had items in stock. They had online store also with stock checker to save needless visits. It seems even the purveyors of the very things killing off the retail stores are themselves subject to reduced sales because of online shopping and its less considerable overheads entailed.

Sincerely hope that if you do open such stores you can find enough profit to remain in business and more for growth expansion - good placement coupled with the right rents/leases on premises essential. Best of Luck
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Myk_SilentShado
Level 15
Depends on where your Vision is coming from, if you're in Aus, in Victoria and not in the City I might be able to swing by. We have a games shop in town, but that's just games...two computer shops, but they charge too much on already high prices.

kkn
Level 14
it will be closed down fast becouse of lack of build and too mutch parts ( expenses ) and ppl that works there.
a store like that need a steady income.

chrsplmr
Level 18
I would think that building high end custom machines would have to be secondary to the business.
The 'big box stores' and internet outlets have the low end machine market. [It is to expensive to
turn a profit on producing low end equipment when price is the sale. Out of the Box computers are cheap, cheap.]
Maybe an internet/gaming cafe with servers featuring high end gamers, but mostly internet gaming/surfing
stations could be an option.
The trick would be controlling the environment. Protecting your investment.
Today computer shops struggle. You don't need a computer to do the lions share of internet joy .. ie. cell phones, tablets.
Most 'enthusiasts' know the equipment and how to tweak it.

Not to discourage you. Many things have been accomplished by those that have been told you can't.
Think of ALL the factors ... first is location, location, location .. target your perceived customers.

Best of Luck .. but know that it will be uphill all the way. .c.

Antronman
Level 10
As Chris mentioned, you want to find the most optimal location. Look for which area has the highest concentration of people buying videogames and buying middle - high end computers. There is a store similar to this in my area. It is called "Computer Stop". They mostly sell out-of-the-box low-middle end machines, but they also sell a variety of parts, from ethernet cables to refurbished video cards to brand new video cards. They are quite successful, but I would say that is because they also because they sell out of the box. You would need to design essentially a series of standard models to supply, from low to high end computers, and also take custom orders on the side. Hosting game competitions seems a little bit difficult to me, because you have to understand, that your target customer is likely thinking, "Why should I leave the comfort of my home and internet?" You need to convince them it is worthwhile. You would need prizes, like a newly released game or a rare/powerful computer component. You would also need excellent admins in order to insure that no hackers compete.

Good luck. And may the force be with you.
Say hi to the next generation.

Peace is a lie, there is only Passion

Through passion, I gain strength

Through strength, I gain victory

Through victory, my chains are broken

The Republic of Gamers shall free me

Vision_Gaming
Level 7
Great feedback, thanks. A series of standard models is probably something we'll look into. Our main concern is exactly like you said Antronman, "Why should I leave the comfort of my home and internet?" - And that's something we're trying to tackle head on. As for the competitions, the plan is to (if it's worth the investment, obviously) give out cash prizes. However I imagine we'll need to charge for entry (winner takes all sort of competition).

Customisation of machines has also been something we're looking into. For example. engraving, cutting out custom names/logo's and placing LED's behind - stuff like that.

Again, Thanks for the help.

Antronman
Level 10
Never do winner takes all. When the prize is what the people payed for entry, it is like a Casino. The house always wins. Your "house" always needs to win. Even powerball has a massive tax on the winner. You guys would need to take at my suggestion, a minimum of 20% of the collected money. Building/customization is something you should continue to look. If you can find the right location, where you notice people buying pc parts very often, you'll have 50% of your business ready to go. Location is everything. I cannot stress that enough. The location would not only need to be in an area full of gamers/enthusiasts, but also a nice location. Not by the highway or a busy road, lots of parking, with other services like food nearby. People get hungry 🙂

Back to a competition.
Even without any incentive, if you picked the right location and game you would always have a large group of people. There is something different about playing with your teammates/enemies around you than on the other side of the screen. Anybody who has been to a LAN part knows that.
Say hi to the next generation.

Peace is a lie, there is only Passion

Through passion, I gain strength

Through strength, I gain victory

Through victory, my chains are broken

The Republic of Gamers shall free me

LukeeVassallo
Level 7
I don't think you can start with a store and running competitions. From the way I see it, by just opening the store you need to pay a lot of money for licenes and registration and apart from that you need to stock the items, which requires deals with agents (these guys will not lower the price if you buy a 3 processors) However the Local gaming competitions is quite a great idea! Now here's the hard part, for people to attend (the most general case) you need to come up with a good idea on how to organise the competition and if you succed in that people will keep on coming.

Now if knew that idea, I would't tell you, because I'd do it myself 😛 But remember where there is a will there is a way!

Good luck
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