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JoyDivision
3rd October 2005, 14:21
As one of my side ventures I am thinking of setting up a specialist online record shop, does anybody know where I can get records whole sale?

If the business takes off I might sell it to concentrate on my web stuff.

I am ok on th technical side of it, its the practical side of running an online shop I don't know much bout, I am well up on consumer law so I know how to trade by the book, its just stuff about getting stock I am unsure of.

Thanks.
Top Hat
3rd October 2005, 14:42
Guess you're talking about vinyl records.

Finding suppliers is one of the hardest things with a new business, (They seem to hide online, so the interweb is no good)

Then you've got to:
* Get them to take you seriously
* filtering out the poor from the good.

Trade mags and trade fairs are your best bet
JoyDivision
3rd October 2005, 14:46
I am talking about both vinyl and CDs :)

Where do you get trade magazines from? I guess I need to look in a large WH Smith.
jimbojones
3rd October 2005, 15:13
Try S.Gold & Son Ltd

They are one of the main importers/wholesalers for CD/DVD/Video and Vinyl........I think.

Here is the web address for more info: www.sgolds.co.uk

I must admit that this market has very tight margins and there isn't alot of profit in it, especially with Tesco, Play, CDWow etc running new releases at a loss.

However if you can negotiate the right deal - it will be worth it. If you have any questions or queries don't hesitate to post back.

Cheers

Jamie
JoyDivision
3rd October 2005, 15:22
Thats why I will specialise in a certain genre and offer a service Tesco could never hope to match :)
jimbojones
3rd October 2005, 15:29
Glad to hear it !!

Best of luck - I hope it works out for you, again if you have any queries drop me a line :)

Jamie
JoyDivision
3rd October 2005, 15:39
Just had a look at their prices, I can get cheaper in HMV, if thats typical of trade prices my venture is a bit pointless :(
jimbojones
3rd October 2005, 15:50
Apologies - I think the site only displays the RRP prices - you have to register for an account to view the trade list. :?

Sgolds supply Play, HMV, WHsmith etc and so they do a good price, however as previoulsy mentioned the margins are quite small and HMV apparently run some CD's at a loss just so that they undercut the competitors.

Believe me it is not easy setting up in the CD game.........it has taken me months to sort out a supplier. But if you can drive the right price it can be worth your while - what volumes do you expect to be pushing on a monthly basis ?

Jamie
jimbojones
3rd October 2005, 15:58
Apologies - I think the site only displays the RRP prices - you have to register for an account to view the trade list. :?

Sgolds supply Play, HMV, WHsmith etc and so they do a good price, however as previoulsy mentioned the margins are quite small and HMV apparently run some CD's at a loss just so that they undercut the competitors.

Believe me it is not easy setting up in the CD game.........it has taken me months to sort out a supplier. But if you can drive the right price it can be worth your while - what volumes do you expect to be pushing on a monthly basis ?

Jamie
JoyDivision
3rd October 2005, 16:57
I am really into music and setting up a record shop is somthing I have always wanted to do, as I will hopefully producing e-commerce sites for other companies I need experience of running my own. So its not crucial that it makes money, I am happy for it to break even.

I am probably looking to shift about 100-200 records a month but some maybe rarer second hand ones in which have a higher profit margin.

I am a web developer I can keep my costs down a lot, advertising will really be the main expense.

What kind of margins are there? I probably would need to make £1 profit on each CD after postage otherwise it would be hard to break even or make a profit.
www.sitepal.co.uk
3rd October 2005, 17:38
As one of my side ventures I am thinking of setting up a specialist online record shop, does anybody know where I can get records whole sale?

If the business takes off I might sell it to concentrate on my web stuff.

I am ok on th technical side of it, its the practical side of running an online shop I don't know much bout, I am well up on consumer law so I know how to trade by the book, its just stuff about getting stock I am unsure of.

Thanks.

records were or are a nightmare

mp3 has to be the best for music

best

Tony
JoyDivision
3rd October 2005, 18:04
I am an audiophile so I couldn't run a business I didn't agree with :)

I don't really want to get into selling electronics becuase its too much hassle. I can build PCs but the margins now so think its pointless, as a kid I used to make quite a nice bit of money of selling PCs.
clickprofits
3rd October 2005, 18:56
Interesting ecommerce article in the September issue of Real Business magazine, which features (amongst others) Firebox, ASOS and CD Wow - the latter say that they make a profit of 50p on each £8.75 cd they sell - they have 130 employees (110 in warehouse/dispatch) but rely on massive volume to overcome such a narrow profit margin. Not mentioned in article, but I think I read somewhere that they have something like 35 million customers!

The article can be read for free online at http://www.realbusiness.co.uk/
(It's the one titled FEATURE: The perfect dotcom)