Introduce your business and tell us your story: How did you decide on what to sell, and how did you source your products?
I've been collecting video games my entire life but recently the industry has been moving towards an all-digital future where many games are no longer available in a physical format. I recognized that people missed that physicality. I've been developing games for six years, so I was able to start with bringing my own games to a physical format. From there, I was able to move into helping and publishing other developers' games in a physical format.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
All of our marketing was word of mouth via social media. After our first product leaked through a third-party we gained 1,000 Twitter followers overnight. Excitement for what we were doing was palpable. We've spent less than $200 on marketing to date We engage with numerous online message board communities that share an interest in video games. Those communities (NeoGAF in particular) have generated our most significant traffic and sales.
Tell us about the back-end of your business. What tools and apps do you use to run your store? How do you handle shipping and fulfillment?
StockChart has been invaluable in displaying the urgency behind our sales to potential customers. The app exposes stock levels to our customers and gives them a strong reason to pull the trigger on a purchase. We initially started shipping on our own via Shippo's Shopify app, but moved to ShippingEasy when volume became an issue. Our shipping is now handled by a family run business called Allpack in Butner, NC.
What are your top recommendations for new store owners?
Find a product that is unique and speaks strongly to a specific and underserved niche. We recognized that video game collectors were being ignored in the era of digitally downloaded games and served that audience.