Price Check, Video game Store..

[Toraborakid]

Hi Guts,

Ok here is my dilemma, i recently came into some money and was looking to invest in a video game shop, and low and behold, someone is selling one , the problem is he is asking $100k for the video game section alone which is all i want however, he is kinda innandated with alot of ps1 & 2 stuff both new and use but also has a sizable retro inventory but nothing super rare atari, coleoco, intelivision that sort of thing.

 

I know some of you here on AA have been to this store and as per the topic, there was a concencius on this guys pricing is a bit high..

 

So my question is this: What would you pay for this place if you were in the same situation?

 

here is his CL ad http://cnj.craigslist.org/bfs/2896467557.html

 

Also here are some pics of this guys place http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&sugexp=egsbsh&gs_nf=1&pq=swap&cp=8&gs_id=r&xhr=t&client=firefox-a&hs=769&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=577&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=swap+edison+nj&fb=1&gl=us&hq=swap&hnear=0x89c3d37f68bea199:0xf22bc5a66f83d4ea,Edison,+NJ&cid=5402902686455257668&ei=tftcT6i_Lanc0QHtqLXIDw&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=photo-link&cd=2&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CAsQnwIoATAA

 

and yes after reading the reviews of this guy and meeting him i to am scepical however its worth a shot if tthe price is right.. whats your thoughts? anyone?

[atari181]

Have no idea what store or what he has in inventory, but in my opinion 100k seems like an awful lot for just inventory. If he had a thriving business with 100k wholesale of inventory I would think he wouldn't be looking to sell. I would try to get an inventory list. In general, an inventory liquidation where you buy everything would/ should be around 25% or retail cost. Again I'm not an expert by any means but that is what would seem reasonable to me.

I would say AX here in the forums would have a good idea as he buys large lots of inventory.

 

[atarinut76]

I have been there once. and will never go again. Everything was way over priced. As you read the stores feedback you can see everyone is running away from the store. so 100k is alot for a non thriving business. you would have alot of work on your plate.

[Coolhand20th]

Look at his reviews and how he treats customers. Even if it switches owners, people are going to remember what he did and will NOT go back and buy anything even under new ownership. It will be a massive waster of money, time, and effort on your part.

[Toraborakid]

I have been there once. and will never go again. Everything was way over priced. As you read the stores feedback you can see everyone is running away from the store. so 100k is alot for a non thriving business. you would have alot of work on your plate.

 

you got a good point but i was looking at inventory only, besides the location although onm a major north south rte. on the east coast, the problem i would havew with the place its a bit ratty to begin with, and i would be better off going to flea markets before opening up there..

 

basicly i was looking at inventory only... but yea you are correct about him i was in there and this guy is way overpriced... but i will have to visit the store and check his inventory in greater detail to.

[Toraborakid]

Look at his reviews and how he treats customers. Even if it switches owners, people are going to remember what he did and will NOT go back and buy anything even under new ownership. It will be a massive waster of money, time, and effort on your part.

 

Yes sir you would be correct, this guy tanked the place pretty bad thats why i would have to buy inventory only.. and even then i have to go into greater detail on what he has recently..

[+frankodragon]

My guess the owner hired someone to write a 5 star review or written it himself- assuming his name is Robert.

[atarinut76]

Look at his reviews and how he treats customers. Even if it switches owners, people are going to remember what he did and will NOT go back and buy anything even under new ownership. It will be a massive waster of money, time, and effort on your part.

 

Yes sir you would be correct, this guy tanked the place pretty bad thats why i would have to buy inventory only.. and even then i have to go into greater detail on what he has recently..

 

really... I wish you the best of luck!! And let me know if you open something up I would to check it out!!

[Crazy Climber]

I think you would be better off buying out peoples collections if you are not even going to use the location...

[Mark Wolfe]

My opinion is that you save your money and look for an actual piece of real estate. real estate tends to hold its value and increase in value. don't worry about iventory. you can buy stuff from people here, on ebay and craig's list over time plus if you really want a game store and you put one in a place that will sustain one then the customers will bring shit to you.

 

stick to a real estate investment bro, you will not regret it and this way if the video game store idea fails you can do something else, rent the place out, sell it for a profit, whatever.

 

buy don't rent!!!

[Grig]

My opinion is that you save your money and look for an actual piece of real estate. real estate tends to hold its value and increase in value. don't worry about iventory. you can buy stuff from people here, on ebay and craig's list over time plus if you really want a game store and you put one in a place that will sustain one then the customers will bring shit to you. stick to a real estate investment bro, you will not regret it and this way if the video game store idea fails you can do something else, rent the place out, sell it for a profit, whatever. buy don't rent!!!

 

Great sound business advice. Hats off to you.

[Chris Leach]

you can start up a descent store of your own for under 50K..storefront, Inventory and payroll to get you started off properly, professional and firmly stocked with good stuff....

 

It is then up to YOU and YOUR staff to replenish the store, either by buying lots....(like my sms lot) <shamefull sorry for that, but you can find nice lots for decent prices from people online or even those people that visit your store. If someone comes to your store with their personal collection..dont pick and choose. Just buy it all..pay a fair amount for both of you and make that person leave happy! They come back they really do...>!

 

But if you are gonna open a store just looking for rares and wanna shove people off by screwing them over on your purchase prices..then you are gonna dig a hole and those people will not come back...

 

Good luck with the venture, but stay away from the franchise route and dont buy this guys business for 100K do a little leg work and you will feel better about the opening if and when you so choose to do so!

Edited March 12, 2012 by Chris Leach

[Grig]

Have you looked over in great detail what he has to sell? If he's way overpriced in his store selling prices then he is way overpriced on his inventory. Make him a lowball offer - he may not have a choice. Also, remember that you don't NEED to buy his stuff - but he may NEED to sell it to you. The bottom line is never how much you sell an item for - it's how much you purchased it for. You can always buy other inventory later, even at storage auctions. Anyway, good luck and please keep us informed - I'd love to do this some day and wish you the best!

[Madaracs]

Let me sell you my inventory and you can start your own store.

 

NES, N64, ColecoVision, Atari 2600, Vic20, C64, Pong, Odyssey2, Odyssey5000, Saturn, Genesis, SMS, mucho mucho games. I literally have enough inventory to open a store and I need to downsize! Maybe you could rent space somewhere else and populate with inventory you have and/or pickup here.

[Toraborakid]

My opinion is that you save your money and look for an actual piece of real estate. real estate tends to hold its value and increase in value. don't worry about iventory. you can buy stuff from people here, on ebay and craig's list over time plus if you really want a game store and you put one in a place that will sustain one then the customers will bring shit to you.

 

stick to a real estate investment bro, you will not regret it and this way if the video game store idea fails you can do something else, rent the place out, sell it for a profit, whatever.

 

buy don't rent!!!

 

Excenent point i wish i could buy the actuall location itself but sadly this guy rents..

 

But the location itself is on a major interstate rte.1 north also parralells i95 here in NJ, and from what i know about the price of real estate on rte. 1 would be astrominical..

[Mark Wolfe]

renting sucks. just throwing money down a hole imo. I'd spend the next 6 months or so looking around, maybe look in philly some too. there may be a perfect place that pops up and in meantime put you money in a savings account where it will earn some interest. maybe you can think about creating an on line store, not brick & mortar and find a place to run an office out of where you can store all the stuff, do shipping, etc. I actually have a website with a store front I am not using, that I have been meaning to get started to sell game modifications, and retro stuff... http://www.gameovary.com i'd be interested in partnering up, I am just about 45mins outside of Philly, near delaware, probably about an hour from the location you mentioned. I also run my own business that has been working pretty well over the last seven years. I get hired to bring video games to college campuses, I get booked pretty regularly and I make a good profit from it. that one is called http://www.plugandplayevents.com I have a booking agent and everything. I have always wanted to branch out but I can't do it alone.

 

anyway, my main point is, there are tons of opportunities and ideas that can be acted on, I think this guy and all his overpriced stuff is not a good business endeavor.

[PeculiarSatyr]

Check out his store and offer him like 20% of what you think you'd get retail for his game stuff.

[nitrosport]

Like coolhand20th said, the store has terrible reviews. It's going to be extremely difficult to change the stores image and build your customer base back up. Your basically just buying inventory, not a business. You have to ask yourself if his inventory is really worth 100K (probably not). Then your locking yourself into a rental agreement.

 

I would definately look for a new location, preferably a small piece of land that you could own. Rent is a real killer when starting up a small business. It takes time to build up your customer base, you must have enough money to keep the place running untill it becomes profitable. Mark Wolfe is giving you very good advice.

 

Good luck!

[Grig]

Like coolhand20th said, the store has terrible reviews. It's going to be extremely difficult to change the stores image and build your customer base back up. Your basically just buying inventory, not a business. You have to ask yourself if his inventory is really worth 100K (probably not). Then your locking yourself into a rental agreement. I would definately look for a new location, preferably a small piece of land that you could own. Rent is a real killer when starting up a small business. It takes time to build up your customer base, you must have enough money to keep the place running untill it becomes profitable. Mark Wolfe is giving you very good advice. Good luck!

 

Agreed.