Originally Posted by
Flack
The pitfall my parents ran in to was Wal-Mart. Their computer store (Yukon Software) was open for one year and specialized in C64, Apple, and IBM software. They also sold things like blank disks and a little bit of hardware.
Their store opening in the summer of 1985 and was open for one year. They only made a profit one month, and that was the month they managed to sell two computer systems. They took a loss the other 11 months, mainly because the only thing they focused on was new software, which had an average mark up of $3-$5 bucks per title.
The last few months their store was open, Wal-Mart began selling software for cheaper than my parents could buy it. I remember specifically one of the Bard's Tale games. My parents could buy it through their sources for $35 and sell it for $40 and Wal-Mart had it for $29.95. So my parents did what anyone else would do, they bought stuff from Wal-Mart and then marked it up a little, but that's a pretty doomed business plan when your store is 5 minutes from said Wal-Mart.
I don't know what rent is up that way, but it will take a lot of Atari carts to pay rent. Make sure you have something with a bigger profit margin, like consoles and stuff. Also, charging for LAN games, that's straight profit and a great idea.