Opening a new shop in Dublin - what should we get in stock?

Savage_Henry

Hi, we are a small repair shop in City Center location and planning to sell some stuff as well. Now with Peats closed and Maplins ridiculous prices on some of their stuff, its not easy to get parts or other computer stuff. we plan to cater for guys that repair computers locally too.
My quick idea so far what should we have in stock:
ram
Hdd
ssd
external hdd
thermal paste
isopropyl alcohol
power supply units
laptop LCD panels
laptop chargers
laptop dc jacks
some obvious stuff like mice, keyboards, bags.
there would probably be budget and high end/brand item for each thing (like ram or external hdd etc)

Do you guys have any other suggestions? im thinking of not stocking video cards/cpus/mobos because they get old very quickly and i wouldnt like to risk getting an expensive video card in that in 3 months time would be half the price. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

coylemj

See what your competitors are doing - take a look in any branch of PC World, they have a components section. Whatever they have in stock is probably a good reflection of what people are buying.

Savage_Henry

coylemj wrote: »

See what your competitors are doing - take a look in any branch of PC World, they have a components section. Whatever they have in stock is probably a good reflection of what people are buying.

not sure if pc world would be good spot to look at. they dont even have thermal paste there.

Torqay

Scratch the laptop LCD panels. They're not generic parts. Find a good supplier and order what you when you need it.

Savage_Henry

lcd panels are generic parts (most). we`ll have the popular models in stock like 15.4, 14.1, 15.6 LCD and 10.1, 10.1 razor, 15.6, 17.1 led because we will use them for our own repairs anyway.
one thing i forgot is wifi cards / routers

Serephucus

I would love if you guys could stock some watercooling parts. Some fittings, a pump or two, and maybe biocide (PT Nuke or similar) and kill coils. AFAIK, there isn't a single place in Ireland the stocks anything, and it would be great in the event of something going wrong.

Random

perhaps also look into a supplier who can offer you next day delivery on products that you dont stock in store? this might encourage people to buy off you more etc if they can order on their lunch on monday and pickup on tuesday etc

_AVALANCHE_

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Thank you thank you. I was the poor sod who bought in all the (draws breath): motherboard, CPU, RAM, cases, GPU, PSU, monitors, cables, internal HDD, flash memory, heatsinks, mods, peripherals and other general components. Pretty much if it was computer related I bought them in (other than external HDD, printers & scanners). When I first started prices were pretty dire so I aimed to be as competitive as possible.

I'd like to think that overall I did a good job. Yes we could have been even more competitive but unfortunately when you work for a family business you tend to be tasked with multiple objectives so purchasing wasn't the only role. Had I more time and didn't have to focus on other things our prices would have been even better.

Kintaro lost his job when Peats closed, hire him. Has the contacts and the Knowledge.

Savage_Henry

Serephucus wrote: »

I would love if you guys could stock some watercooling parts. Some fittings, a pump or two, and maybe biocide (PT Nuke or similar) and kill coils. AFAIK, there isn't a single place in Ireland the stocks anything, and it would be great in the event of something going wrong.

thanks for the idea. what would be a fair price for
10ml Pulse Modding PM Nuke Concentrated Biocide?


Not sure if i coud get parts in that quick. at least not for a good price. I can get stuff in in 3-4 days.

We are just a small company and we wont be hiring anyone.

Serephucus

I'd say about €5-6.

dazberry

Savage_Henry wrote: »

Not sure if i coud get parts in that quick. at least not for a good price. I can get stuff in in 3-4 days.

Well if you could get stuff at competitive prices, I'd have no problem waiting a few days, especially if delivery was going to be a PITA and it would be much easier to pickup of a Saturday for instance.

I was looking to replace a faulty GPU recently but didn't want to spent too much so was looking around the 6770 level. Prices in the B&M stores were just crazy, but delivery would have been a PITA. In the end Maplins were doing a special and I got a card at a price equivalent to online + delivery.

The other thing would be cases - I'm a bit of a Lian Li fan myself, but either way it would be great to order the stuff and pick it up than trying to get it delivered to work and the security folk refusing to sign for it and the courier getting annoyed etc...

D.

Janedoe10

Annoying things like cables and chargers for pc,s , laptops . Things like that . Also try and gets accessories for iPods for example some can be generic cables that can be used for than one model .. Since you are starting out u could also involve any new visitors to the store in surveys . Ie what they would like u to stock if u get enough of interest in a certain area u can suss out the potential market for future areas .. U want to make your place to be some where that customers come back for repeat business not one off browsing ... U don't want to smother customers with surveys as well ...I like going into a shop and guy knows what he is talking about .. Not giving me the hard sell on something that he only sells in his shop . Have u thought about extra services like printing or cv service .. It's getting much harder now to find places to print off stuff. . Not every one has printers at home .. ESP with some people looking for jobs now and may not have to write up cv's in years and it can be over whelming .

Good luck

Serephucus

The last thing I'd want to see in a computer shop is iPod accessories. Everywhere, and I mean everywhere has them. Some freaking newsagents have them for god's sake.

Janedoe10

Some of those iPod accessories in the shops are crap though . If u asked the sales guys in news agents about them they would look at u stupid . I guess they have them there because there is a market for them and they get a good margin on them ..

Savage_Henry

i think it will be apple free zone. not sure yet.
Thanks for the ideas! keep em coming!

CiaranC

Savage Henry wrote:

I can get stuff in in 3-4 days.

Kinda defeats the purpose of going to bricks and mortar for it if you have to wait the same length of time as online delivery anyway no?

CiaranC

Savage Henry wrote:

I can get stuff in in 3-4 days.

Kinda defeats the purpose of going to bricks and mortar for it if you have to wait the same length of time as online delivery anyway no?

fasttalkerchat

Good quality thermal paste is hard to find!

Redisle

Would be good to stock little cables and adaptors and small bits and pieces.

Some ideas..

sata-sata cables
sata-esata cables
USB 2/3 Extension cables
Molex-Sata Power
ATX 20->-<24 pin
DVI-I - VGA
Display Port to VGA/HDMI/DVI (Very Relevant at the moment)
Empty Hard disk enclosures
External Molex/Sata Power + USB Interface. Something like this.
Case fans
Sata to IDE converters for old motherboards. E.G

etc.

You could probably also offer custom length network cables.

Tea_Bag

I probably wouldn't stock SSDs if i were you. their prices just keep plummeting so you're going to get burnt if you hold it for several months. and very few people even know and understand what they are makes it hard to convince them to buy a 120gb drive over a cheaper 1tb yoke.

I'd also like to see water cooling parts. And cables of all kinds.

yoyo

Another one, decently priced CPU Fans/coolers. Spent ages looking around dublin for one a while back, a certain large component store had a non brand slightly better than stock intel for €35 :rolleyes: . Ended up buying it online.

Nick

rolion

If you an get all the stuff that Maplin has it on shelves,online,in their catalogue,but at a 2012 price,yeah i can see you're having success and be in business after year 1.

But,now,most of the online-ers checks prices online then walk in to your shop and says:you r expensive,better go to ebay or www.com and getting from there...
I even myself get servers,laptops and desktops online from UK companies because they are cheaper overthere !!!

Sorry ... & ... goodluck !

TheInquisitor

Original and compatible inks ( This is a must, biggest seller day in day out)
Batteries ( all types)
Earphones and headphones
USB sticks/Memory
Paper
Small section of Phone Covers
All types of cables
Then all Hardware, software etc
Repair section

If you need any suppliers send me a PM. Please note however, they are all UK or European based. Its the only way you'll get the best prices.

fasttalkerchat

You could look into getting the equipment to refil ink cartridges.

kaahooters

multi monitor stands (if there cheep)

cable ties

small repair / upgrade toolkit (spare thum screws thermal paste, screwdrivers ect )

usb 3.0 cards

mid and low range gpus that arent massivley overpriced (like pc world)

pc bundles/ upgrade bundles (like buy cpu, mobo, ram and get a % discount off whats in stock)

dvd packs of 100 (pain in the balls finding them (for back up purposes....)

Savage_Henry

rolion wrote: »

If you an get all the stuff that Maplin has it on shelves,online,in their catalogue,but at a 2012 price,yeah i can see you're having success and be in business after year 1.

But,now,most of the online-ers checks prices online then walk in to your shop and says:you r expensive,better go to ebay or www.com and getting from there...
I even myself get servers,laptops and desktops online from UK companies because they are cheaper overthere !!!

Sorry ... & ... goodluck !

1. we wouldnt have space for that many items
2. I think we would have more of the urgent stuff or smaller stuff, where there is no huge reason to order online and wait to save a few quid. or you cant wait around. Maybe a bit cheaper than Maplins.

Jordan537

spare bolts and screws

webcams

print cartridges

adpaters ( VGA HDMI ETC )

laptop batteries

re writeable discs

cooling pads

books ( tech guides )

software discs ( windows 7, adobe photo shop )

tech screwdriver sets

cleaning clothes and sprays

speakers

general leads.

yoyo

Another one to mention I just thought about is decently priced compressed air cans. Have seen them selling for ridiculous prices in some of the larger stores,

Nick

Torqay

yoyo wrote: »

Have seen them selling for ridiculous prices in some of the larger stores

Got myself a nice compressor...

Inquitus

As people have mentioned above, a great thing to be able to nab at a reasonable price locally would ne all the ****ty little odds and sods.

Maplin dvi - £20.99
Ebay dvi - £2.25 + £6.95 postage

I'll happily pay €5-6 for one locally to have it now rather than in a week off ebay and get stung hard for postage.

Its that sort of stuff that it really pisses me off being unable to buy from a local shop for a fair price.

Plus screws, thermal paste, general other cabling etc.

Not sure its worth stocking high value stuff due to the depreciation you can cop on it and the fact that people will prob go with online prices for bigger purchases.

Happily buy HDs, Generic RAM etc. if the bricks and mortar tax isnt too bad.

unkel

Think about where your advantages would be over a big online seller (who is always going to be cheaper, much cheaper)

Just as an example from my point of view as a potential customer:

Many times when I want something, I want it now. I wouldn't mind paying €10 for a €1 cable, but I'll be damned if I pay PC world (€25) prices...

And FWIW, your timing is excellent. Dublin (and Ireland in general) have a severe lack of B&M computer shops compared to other EU countries and now with Peats gone, surely there is an ever bigger gap. An opportunity to grow quickly too but you will need funding for that.

Nothingbetter2d

Savage_Henry wrote: »

not sure if pc world would be good spot to look at. they dont even have thermal paste there.

ive bought thermal paste in pc world many times... they stock artic silver and asaka paste. the artic silver costs about €10 the asaka paste is about €7

Eboggles

I'd say things like thermal paste and compressed air, maybe a speaker set, a few things like sound cards, wireless cards etc.

And a few software DVDs.

N64

+1 on stocking compressed air!

_AVALANCHE_

Surge protectors

syklops

Again, I would echo others here who say 'Stock stuff people need asap, but dont screw them on price either".

Didnt see it mentioned here but power strips. I ran a PC repair business a few years ago, and I found a great deal on black power strips. For some reason most wives want white power strips to match their skirting boards, and anytime I saw black ones they were always cheaper than the white ones. So I bought a load of them, and in a pinch I could always get 2-3 times what i paid for them and therefore a greater profit margin.

"Have you got power strips?"
"Yes, but only in black"
"Sure jaysus any color at all so long as it works"

Generic laptop chargers, and again dont screw someone because they need a charger asap. Once got quoted 90 euro for a generic Sony charger. Who pays 90 euro for a 15 euro charger? Someone who is desperate, but for 90 euro you learn your lesson once and you never darken the door of the place again.

I would also echo "no ipod accessories", unless its a unique or a specific accessory that not everyone else is doing. You wont beat the likes of Xtravision or Game on price, and as someone else said even garages are selling them these days.

Definitely stock long lengths of LAN cable(I mean like rools) and make sure all staff can crimp it. In fact I wouldnt bother stocking network cables, I would just stock LAN cables and have everyone know how to make straight-through, crossover etc. Also stock a crimper. Once spent 45 euros for one in Maplins when I needed one on a saturday.

desaparecidos

Continuous ink flow systems (reservoirs and cartridge kits, bottles of ink etc). Make sure to point out to the customer the massive cost saving over time.

Savage_Henry

thank you for your input! We are making our first order this week. Sure we wont get everything right in the first go, but we will try to do our best! Im not sure if i can mention the shop details here (advertising rules?).

fasttalkerchat

Savage_Henry wrote: »

thank you for your input! We are making our first order this week. Sure we wont get everything right in the first go, but we will try to do our best! Im not sure if i can mention the shop details here (advertising rules?).

You can PM me the location then I can ask you "By the way OP, is that your shop on X street" You can then reply yes it is!

yoyo

Savage_Henry wrote: »

thank you for your input! We are making our first order this week. Sure we wont get everything right in the first go, but we will try to do our best! Im not sure if i can mention the shop details here (advertising rules?).

I have no issues with the shop name being mentioned, once its not being spammed I have no objection

Nick

Savage_Henry

could you be more specific with the water cooling parts. are there some parts that are common? im getting the biocide, because you can add that to any water cooling system, but i wouldnt like to be stuck with something that does not shift. If someone wants to get the whole system, they would probably go online anyway.

Firblog

PCMCIA / PCI cards
USB HD Caddys
USB - adaptors ( e.g audio / network ) for those who don't want to open a PC
VGA, HDMI, Audio Cables, USB Speakers
Network Homeplugs / Wireless Access Points / Routers
Ink & Toner - People always need it to print off something TODAY!

None of this stuff is very expensive but the variety of stock on display makes ppl come to you when they're stuck, the "well if anyone will have that then 'yourshop' will have it" idea will take root in ppls minds after seeing a varied range of stock on display.

Also if someone asks for something you don't have, even if you can't get it for them within a reasonable time frame - and it's not hugely expensive - order one or two for the next person who may want the same thing..

Firblog

PCMCIA / PCI cards
USB HD Caddys
USB - adaptors ( e.g audio / network ) for those who don't want to open a PC
VGA, HDMI, Audio Cables, USB Speakers
Network Homeplugs / Wireless Access Points / Routers
Ink & Toner - People always need it to print off something TODAY!

None of this stuff is very expensive but the variety of stock on display makes ppl come to you when they're stuck, the "well if anyone will have that then 'yourshop' will have it" idea will take root in ppls minds after seeing a varied range of stock on display.

Also if someone asks for something you don't have, even if you can't get it for them within a reasonable time frame - and it's not hugely expensive - order one or two for the next person who may want the same thing..

Savage_Henry

lot of you guys say printer cartridges.
im not that familiar with cartridge system - are there a lot of different types that each company has or lets say hp uses 2 types for their blacks etc?
also, what do ppl prefer - oem or compatible? how about quality issues?
there are a lot of refill places around dublin - is there still a market and is it worth it?

Firblog

There are hundreds of different inks... but usually less than 10 very common ones for the main manufacturers

EG

HP 21 22, 15 45 78 300 301 350 351 would be fairly common
Canon 5 8 40 41 512 513

Stock both OEM and Compatibles,

Some ppl won't go for compatibles, so only OEM for them, some won't buy OEM so compatible for them; some suppliers will sell to you on a sale or return basis, so you're not taking a risk there

the_syco

What NOT to have:

Savage_Henry wrote: »

ram
Hdd
ssd
external hdd

Maplins don't stock much of the above because they don't sell, and the ones that they sell are overpriced as they've been sitting on the shelf for a while.

Look in Maplins, and see what they sell, and what they sell for too much. Then ask yourself if it's too much for too little as they were unable to sell it when a larger price was considered cheap?

Savage_Henry

the_syco wrote: »

What NOT to have:

Maplins don't stock much of the above because they don't sell, and the ones that they sell are overpriced as they've been sitting on the shelf for a while.

Look in Maplins, and see what they sell, and what they sell for too much. Then ask yourself if it's too much for too little as they were unable to sell it when a larger price was considered cheap?

ok we are scrapping the ssd, but we still need HDD as we are a repair shop and we will be using them ourselves

paddyandy

Don't push products on people there to browse .

witnessmenow

I kinda have a communist approach to how i would run a shop

I reckon buy in one decent product of "generic" things:

Hard drives: No need to stock a selection e.g. Samsung AND WD AND Seagate etc With your suppliers work out the best price you can to stock them exclusively.

I'd even go one further than that, only stock maybe 2 sizes: 1tb and 2tb , again negotiate the best price you can off the suppliers as you will be buying bulkish. You could easily end up in a position where you are selling 1tb drives for the same price as maplin are selling 250gb drives. Nobody wants smaller drives, they want cheaper drives

Ram is the same, stock one brand, dont bother getting 512mb in stock

Same with DVD drives, only stock dual layer re-writers, again, nobody wants plain DVD drives, if they are buying it they want a cheap drive!

Obviously the parts you need to get have to be good quality, no point point only stocking cheap crap, you want to be selling good stuff cheap!

Get good quality generic cables from China - Or even the €2 shop or dealz (there is one in Athlone, presume they are elsewhere they are poundland in the UK), there is no shame in buying a micro usb cable for €1.49 off them (+ claim your vat back i guess) and selling it on if its cheaper than you can buy off suppliers.

Stock Ipod accessories if they sell... you'd be crazy not to.