Bitcoin Forum

I am in the process of opening a Bitcoin-accepting computer hardware store and I want to know what products you all prefer. I plan to start with a line including essential components:  motherboards, CPUS, memory, GPUs and etc. to allow customers to get complete builds going. I have my eyes set on Gigabyte, Asus and Foxconn as starting manufacturers.

I still want to get your word. What do you usually purchase when it comes to computer hardware? What are your requirements? Manufacturers? GPU models?

Thank you!

When I build a system, I'm usually looking on Newegg for ideal price/performance ratios. I don't get the highest end graphics card, instead I get, say, the second-best last year's model, secure in the knowledge that it'll last a couple years at half the cost of the alternatives. You can probably trawl Newegg for the most popular components and just carry those.

This is really cool btw - good luck!

As Plato once said,

What about specialty items for moding or special purpose computers?

I usually have more computer junk laying around than I could possibly want.  But here are some ideas that might resonate with the BTC audience:

Graphics cards that are good for mining (high performance / watt)
Open source compatible hardware
Arduinos
Water cooling stuff
Rackmount stuff

One thing that would be REALLY cool but may be hard to do is some niche stuff like guaranteed steppings for CPU's I remember I didn't want to purchase a q9550 from newegg for a while because I wanted to have the newer stepping.  Could also work with something like vertex 2's you could sell guaranteed 35nm nand ones. 

I don't actually buy a lot of hardware, because my requirements are pretty modest and I rarely discover a need to upgrade. But my next upgrade will probably be a solid-state drive, and I will definitely look at your store if it has reasonable prices on those.

I really like ITX and low-power stuff, since I like the idea of building dedicated machines for different purposes. (Still need to get around to that car PC.) Having "guides" for things like building a DVR or a home security system would be cool.

Would arduinos fit in this category? Wouldn't that be just more of a general electronics component?

I like this initiative! Go for something very standard and nothing like modding/watercooling or other useless stuff.

I'd be interested in this too. My computers powerful enough for now, but we our satellite contract is over and current old computer I'm using is a bit loud.

Big plug here, arduino/offshoots, shields, standard components would be a fantastic thing to spend btc on.

I'd like the simple stuff that everybody needs from time to time: mouses, keyboards, headsets,... =D

You'll need to build trust. Don't sell junk you wouldn't use yourself. Don't go for highend (except maybe mining stuff). Remember that computer hardware tends to rot over time (prices falling), so keep the selection small.

I'd probably buy from you if shipping is cheap and fast enough (germany) and prices are not too much above EUR

My BTC 0.02

Competing with big suppliers sounds difficult. You could buy used stuff from ebayers and bitcoiners who are in need of quick money. Verify it works and resell with a profit margin.

The big suppliers don't accept Bitcoin. I think that is sufficient reason alone to test this venture. Anyways, retail isn't too difficult. ...and when it comes to the bigger guys, you just have to one-up them one weakness at a time.

Price is a big issue.  With companies like Newegg shipping on time with wholesale like prices you do not have much room to compete.  If you price an item anymore then 15% above newegg most people will convert bitcoins to $ and just purchase at Newegg.   

I'll verify the sustainability with my distributor once the paperwork goes through. Newegg may be near mid-tier distributor-level but they certainly don't have a monopoly.

Consider getting volume discounts from places like monoprice.com and dealextreme.com

Buy from retail and then sell it retail? Heh?

http://www.metalez.com/photos/web%20images/Supply-Chain-Management.jpg

When you purchase from the distributor, "volume discounts" are innate. It's how retail works. : P

cool graph. monoprice is both a manufacturer and a distributor, dealextreme, I assume is just a distributor. both are far cheaper than retail

Hm, I see. Well, when I see that ordinary consumers can purchase from these guys, I assume they have to raise their prices for retail overhead. I'll consider them regardless.

Thanks.

i second most of the idea expressed already, like:
general HW,
mining GPUs,
consumptibles (mouse, dvds)

and i'll had ready assembled pc, maybe with the opportunity to custom choose the hw in them. you need to check shipping costs though...

That is the problem.  15 years ago I could go to a local distributor and get computer stuff at WHOLESALE.  I was almost always paying less then the lowest price the public could buy at.  Now that is not the case.  A true wholesaler like ingram micro or many others sells at a similar or higher price then newegg and the like.  Even buying in bulk does not help on anything but things under $20.  Shop around, you will not find a wholesaler that will get you a high end video card cheaper then you can get doing a google search that anyone can buy from, even in quantity five.

Now on the cheap stuff like cables, mice, keyboards it is different.  I can buy in bulk and get a fair markup. 

Last year our last local (I should say semi-local, they were 60 miles away) case distributor closed, they would bring a truck with 20 cases all in perfect condition with no UPS abuse.  They had  price cheaper then anyone else with shipping as they took the $5-$10 per case ups fee out of the equation.  Even that is gone now. 

With all due respect, you are incorrect. There are distributors who are in business to sell directly to retail at prices lower than the MSRPs. You just have to have minimum purchases over $1000 or so.

That is not what I said.

I said that there are not distributors for computer gear that sell it for much less then THE GENERAL PUBLIC can buy it online for (with the exception of cheaper items). 

Again... go to distributors big and small, price current hard drives, video cards, ram, cpu's, dvd drives, power supplies.   Check order price with $1000 order and you will find that a customer can shop online and buy it at nearly the same cost.  Newegg, tiger direct and others will often have prices BELOW the distributor prices. 

I never said anything about MSRP which has basically lost its meaning.