taking on the big boys?

[funkyjoe]

Hi all.

About a month ago I snapped up a great domain which I couldnt believe wasnt taken. It is related to films/dvd.

As im sure you all know this is a very competitive sector, and while I have a fair bit of experience my other sites are all niche sites with poor competition.

I wouldnt expect to ever compete with the likes of play/amazon, but what I would like to know is if anybody thinks I could reasonably turn over ~2million a year in that vertical?

[Rob Holmes]

If you want to turnover that sort of money then by default you'll be competing with the other players in that industry.

If they turnover 2 million+ then theoretically you could too if you wanted to.

Getting there is another thing...

Rob

[funkyjoe]

Thanks.

Sorry for the crapness of my post. What I mean is I don't think I could ever show up on their radar, and grow to anything near their level.

Just wondering what people think if theres room in this market for the humble merchant like myself to do ~100 orders a day or if amazon and play have it all sewn up?

[Rob Holmes]

Theres usually room for 1 more but whatever level you decide to grow to it will take investment of time and cash.

Remember...

If you're not growing, you're shrinking ;)

Rob

[Cornish Steve]

What matters is your strategy for getting there.

1) What makes you different?
2) What is your target market?
3) What is your compelling value proposition?

The domain name may be relevant, but it's just the method by which potential customers access your business model. To compete with the big boys, you must have a very unique and convincing story.

Initially, at least, it might not be a bad idea to stay below the radar. Build an established base in one or two niche markets, then use your track record to take on the established players.

[mattk]

Surely it depends.

CD-WOW went from nowhere to being one of the biggest online CD retailer in a very short time. Fair enough, they undercut everyone in order to gain their market share, but it proves it can be done.

[Cornish Steve]

Surely it depends.

CD-WOW went from nowhere to being one of the biggest online CD retailer in a very short time. Fair enough, they undercut everyone in order to gain their market share, but it proves it can be done.
So, their strategy was to be the low-cost leader. This is one approach. The only other is to differentiate in some way: customer service, breadth of products, delivery times, and so on. Which of these strategies is likely to topple the established players?

[Ian J]

I'm not sure that having a "great name" will be enough as Play, Amazon and CD-Wow have managed to achieve their success without the name.

It's a very competitive business and the big players can afford to undercut the small boys due to their buying power and you will be starting off by paying top price for your stock whilst trying to persuade customers to switch from their existing supplier.

[DeveloperBloke]

Its one thing to build your business, its quite another (and very expensive) to build a brand.

The problem is creating a new category. Amazon, they have the range, CD WOW they ar cheap, play, free delivery

Unless you have a huge budget for marketing, alot of which will probably be wasted too, then i would concentrateon just building up your market steadily, with a view to maybe one day being a big boy, but without a USP and merket recognition of your brand, it is going to be very difficult indeed.

i have seen many many dvd sites, some which claim to be better than, or have the same range as, but its he brand that sells

good luck

jamie