|
Hi guys,
I'm going to be starting an online retail business and I'm playing with a buncha ideas for things to sell. Everyone always advises to sell something that you like or that your passionate about, so naturally (like any good nerd) I instantly thought of Starcraft. I'm working on doing market research presently and in addition to using terapeak I'd also like to get some information from my fellow Liquidites.
I've searched the forum and found a nice guide for shopping for progaming swag here (http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=96888) and there's also a poll on merch here from 2008 (http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=83406)
From my understanding it seems to be kind of a hassle for us foreigners to buy progaming merch and if I do end up selling progamer swag then it'll make the process really easy for foreigners. I have a Korean contact to help with translating if the need should arise (which I predict it will).
My question for the community is this: What type of merchandise would you guys be interested in buying and in what quantities? I'm going to rip off lilsusie's polls a bit (okay, completely) in this thread. I'm interested in any and all questions, comments, criticisms and concerns you guys might have. Thanks!
Poll: Would you be interested in short sleeve t-shirts?
(Vote): Yes
(Vote): No
Poll: Would you be interested in long sleeve t-shirts?
(Vote): Yes
(Vote): No
Poll: Would you be interested in official team uniforms?
(Vote): Yes
(Vote): No
Poll: Would you be interested in balloons, stuffed animals, etc.?
(Vote): Yes
(Vote): No
Poll: NEW: Keyboard bag?
(Vote): Yes
(Vote): No
(Vote): Maybe
Poll: NEW: Hoodies?
(Vote): Yes
(Vote): No
(Vote): Maybe
Poll: NEW: Jackets?
(Vote): Yes
(Vote): No
(Vote): Maybe
EDIT: I knew I shouldda did preview first! Fixing polls now. 
EDIT 2: Added the 'NEW' polls.
|
Voted yes on everything because I would be interested in everything you had to offer concerning programing teams ^_^
|
I'd definitely buy some short-sleeved t-shirts. voting maybe on the balloons etc once the option comes around
|
Do you have contacts to the teams or where are you going to be getting the merchandise? From what I know progamer merchandise is not sold in any stores there but rather its only special cases and if you're going to be serious about selling them you'll have to contact the teams and arrange some deals.
Assuming you get all those things out of the way I'd be pleased to buy some shirts assuming they don't cost ridiculous amounts, looking forward to it.
There's definitely some money to be made here.
|
oz shirts emmemmemm gimme
|
i would never buy pro team t-shirts lol :D
|
Canada5565 Posts
official team uniforms definitely the best of all options
|
On March 10 2010 02:31 Puosu wrote:
Do you have contacts to the teams or where are you going to be getting the merchandise? From what I know progamer merchandise is not sold in any stores there but rather its only special cases and if you're going to be serious about selling them you'll have to contact the teams and arrange some deals.
Assuming you get all those things out of the way I'd be pleased to buy some shirts assuming they don't cost ridiculous amounts, looking forward to it.
There's definitely some money to be made here.
Yeah, I'm aware that the sales are seasonal and with the 2+ years of 'coming soon' English stores on a couple of their websites but I think this would be a good way for them to get their team's fame spread outside of Korea without having to put any effort into themselves. This also allows for them to sell more merchandise and make more money for themselves without having to hire an entire staff of English-speaking professionals to do the marketing, web design, customer services, etc..
I'm really confident that I can put together a strong pitch to make a deal with the teams/suppliers. One of the most important things to having a successful pitch is having data to back your claims up, so if you guys haven't voted yet please do!
Thanks to everyone for all of the input thus far! I'm surprised how fast the responses have been.
|
YES
YES
YES
NO
I would love something like this! xD
|
OMG me want short sleeved shirts!!
|
I would buy any kind of official uniform you could get your hands on, in a heartbeat
|
Who said no to any of those things? -.-
|
I would also like to add keyboard bags to this list
great initiative, hope it works out
|
On March 10 2010 04:51 mOnion wrote:
I would also like to add keyboard bags to this list
great initiative, hope it works out
THIS
And i hope you could also get the nifty jackets :O
|
Welcome to the StarCraft Pro Gaming Merchandise store. We are currently under construction and the estimated date of completion is March 15, 2010. Please check back then for all the latest information with regards to placing orders and making payment arrangements.
Regards,
Edwin 'kOre' Jung
You do know that I have direct connections with every team except Air Force Ace? I hope you realize that getting these connections took 2 years of back and forth contact and it isn't something that you can just pull out of thin air.
Just a heads up so that you don't get caught off guard.
EDIT: Which is how I got CJ Entus to sponsor my local LAN with some of their merchandise. Link to Calgary LAN Tournament
|
On March 10 2010 04:51 mOnion wrote:
I would also like to add keyboard bags to this list
great initiative, hope it works out
|
If you are really able to do this, I would buy CJ stuff.
|
On March 10 2010 04:51 mOnion wrote:
I would also like to add keyboard bags to this list
great initiative, hope it works out
|
CA10828 Posts
i wouldn't waste the time or energy to do this, especially when edwin is way ahead of you in the process.
|
you forgot about hoodies and jackets!
|
On March 10 2010 05:59 LosingID8 wrote:
i wouldn't waste the time or energy to do this, especially when edwin is way ahead of you in the process.
Hehehe hyung 
On March 10 2010 06:00 CharlieMurphy wrote:
you forgot about hoodies and jackets!
Funny you mention those ... 
|
Wow kOre are you really that hooked up? I will definitely buy from you the second it becomes available. Is there somewhere else to find info on your future shop?
|
The 15th. You'll have to wait
|
Haha, gladly will wait, thanks for all your hard work!
Oh and OP, sorry for the thread derail...
|
I think out of everything the sports jackets are the best, basically they are like any standard sports coat, which are pretty nice.
|
yes, good luck on creating this store!
|
PANDABEAR GUY T-SHITS. If there you sell em I'll definately get one :D
|
Eh, I'd buy anything progaming-related from anyone.
|
CJ ENTUS KEYBOARD BAG!
Any other items need not apply.
|
I'm not sure if I should feel really awesome or really not awesome for voting yes to everything. I'm thinking awesome =)
|
yes
no
yes
maybe - if u have some bunkie stuff that would be sweet x)
|
Whoever can get it done, please do it! :D
|
yes to all! except maybe that last one
|
Katowice25012 Posts
agh I've wanted CJ to open their english shop since that site came online over a year ago 
|
I might be interested in SC unit dolls
|
|
|
If you could get hoodies/jackets I'd be interested. Doubtful that I'd go for anything else.
|
|
|
Wow, thanks for all the comments and replies! I'm going to edit the polls now to add Hoodies, Jackets, and Keyboard Bags. Also, that's friggin' amazing, kOre! Nice work, I wish I caught that LAN thread when it was first posted! Also, do you have plans of starting your own store? I have some web store experience and skills plus I know the legalities of S corporations (which is what I'm starting) as far as structure, requirements, and taxation goes. Maybe we could work together? Shoot me a PM.
Thanks again everyone!
|
Hoodies would be soooo awesome! ^^
|
Would love to purchase official team uniforms.
|
In order of priority (all are quite AWESOME, ofc, just some more AWESOME than others):
Uniforms
Jackets
Hoodies
Long sleeved T's
Short sleeved T's
Keyboard bags
Stuffed animals (bunkie!)
|
On March 10 2010 09:57 chekyosikz wrote:
Wow, thanks for all the comments and replies! I'm going to edit the polls now to add Hoodies, Jackets, and Keyboard Bags. Also, that's friggin' amazing, kOre! Nice work, I wish I caught that LAN thread when it was first posted! Also, do you have plans of starting your own store? I have some web store experience and skills plus I know the legalities of S corporations (which is what I'm starting) as far as structure, requirements, and taxation goes. Maybe we could work together? Shoot me a PM.
Thanks again everyone!
Unfortunately I've been doing this for the past 2 years (getting in contact with all the teams and players) and I have already gone through all the legalities as well as creating business accounts and getting my business approved by the government.
As far as the actual project goes, I have gotten contacts with most of the teams, I can speak Korean fluently so there is no middle man between me and the Sales Representatives. Also I have a partner who is working on the company with me who is also fluent in both Korean and English.
The website is pretty much up and running on my own server (I just have to upload it to the actual host) and I have everything pretty much set up.
Feel free to shoot me an IM though, I'll PM you with my MSN.
On March 10 2010 10:37 majesty.k)seRapH wrote:
In order of priority (all are quite AWESOME, ofc, just some more AWESOME than others):
Uniforms
Jackets
Hoodies
Long sleeved T's
Short sleeved T's
Keyboard bags
Stuffed animals (bunkie!)
Now how surprised will you be when I have all of that available?
|
On March 10 2010 10:51 kOre wrote:Show nested quote +On March 10 2010 09:57 chekyosikz wrote:
Wow, thanks for all the comments and replies! I'm going to edit the polls now to add Hoodies, Jackets, and Keyboard Bags. Also, that's friggin' amazing, kOre! Nice work, I wish I caught that LAN thread when it was first posted! Also, do you have plans of starting your own store? I have some web store experience and skills plus I know the legalities of S corporations (which is what I'm starting) as far as structure, requirements, and taxation goes. Maybe we could work together? Shoot me a PM.
Thanks again everyone! Unfortunately I've been doing this for the past 2 years (getting in contact with all the teams and players) and I have already gone through all the legalities as well as creating business accounts and getting my business approved by the government. As far as the actual project goes, I have gotten contacts with most of the teams, I can speak Korean fluently so there is no middle man between me and the Sales Representatives. Also I have a partner who is working on the company with me who is also fluent in both Korean and English. The website is pretty much up and running on my own server (I just have to upload it to the actual host) and I have everything pretty much set up. Feel free to shoot me an IM though, I'll PM you with my MSN. Show nested quote +On March 10 2010 10:37 majesty.k)seRapH wrote:
In order of priority (all are quite AWESOME, ofc, just some more AWESOME than others):
Uniforms
Jackets
Hoodies
Long sleeved T's
Short sleeved T's
Keyboard bags
Stuffed animals (bunkie!) Now how surprised will you be when I have all of that available?
quite surprised. when that time comes i'll probably be instantly broke too.
|
On March 10 2010 10:51 kOre wrote:Now how surprised will you be when I have all of that available?
wait... so it's a question of "when"? O_O SQUEEEEEEE ^_^
|
On March 10 2010 10:55 Zeburial wrote:Show nested quote +On March 10 2010 10:51 kOre wrote:Now how surprised will you be when I have all of that available? wait... so it's a question of "when"? O_O SQUEEEEEEE ^_^
More like a question of "how soon" which means "soon" in a way.
|
Nice, wish you success with this.
In general I think i'd buy anything 'practical'. That is thing's I'd actually use or wear. So as long as it's not super over the top and looks like a space suit or too heavily themed anything is fine, tshirt, sweater, bags etc.
|
On March 10 2010 10:51 kOre wrote:Show nested quote +On March 10 2010 09:57 chekyosikz wrote:
Wow, thanks for all the comments and replies! I'm going to edit the polls now to add Hoodies, Jackets, and Keyboard Bags. Also, that's friggin' amazing, kOre! Nice work, I wish I caught that LAN thread when it was first posted! Also, do you have plans of starting your own store? I have some web store experience and skills plus I know the legalities of S corporations (which is what I'm starting) as far as structure, requirements, and taxation goes. Maybe we could work together? Shoot me a PM.
Thanks again everyone! Unfortunately I've been doing this for the past 2 years (getting in contact with all the teams and players) and I have already gone through all the legalities as well as creating business accounts and getting my business approved by the government. As far as the actual project goes, I have gotten contacts with most of the teams, I can speak Korean fluently so there is no middle man between me and the Sales Representatives. Also I have a partner who is working on the company with me who is also fluent in both Korean and English. The website is pretty much up and running on my own server (I just have to upload it to the actual host) and I have everything pretty much set up. Feel free to shoot me an IM though, I'll PM you with my MSN. Show nested quote +On March 10 2010 10:37 majesty.k)seRapH wrote:
In order of priority (all are quite AWESOME, ofc, just some more AWESOME than others):
Uniforms
Jackets
Hoodies
Long sleeved T's
Short sleeved T's
Keyboard bags
Stuffed animals (bunkie!) Now how surprised will you be when I have all of that available?
Nice man! Congrats! I'll leave this to you then and start looking into a different product. I don't wanna try to compete with you.
|
This is a surprising development that pleases me
|
Very intrigued by this. And now excited for the 15th.
|
3861 Posts
Kudos to you! I hope you get a legit business running, it's really tiring to do it the way I've been trying to do it. If you need any help for anything though, let me know!
|
Why hate on the stuffed animals
|
If you have CJ merchandise, does that mean CJ will abandon their CJ store? :o
Not that they've had much progress to show for it within the last year.
|
|
|
Oh man, you have my many thanks if this gets up and running. Guess I better start saving for that $300 CJ jacket (or however much it is, should you carry it ). And I live in Las Vegas. But you'd bet I'd wear that fucker in the summer.
|
On March 10 2010 10:51 kOre wrote:
Unfortunately I've been doing this for the past 2 years (getting in contact with all the teams and players) and I have already gone through all the legalities as well as creating business accounts and getting my business approved by the government.
As far as the actual project goes, I have gotten contacts with most of the teams, I can speak Korean fluently so there is no middle man between me and the Sales Representatives. Also I have a partner who is working on the company with me who is also fluent in both Korean and English.
The website is pretty much up and running on my own server (I just have to upload it to the actual host) and I have everything pretty much set up.
Wow I'm glad to see you're so organized and prepared. If there was ever a chance to make something like this work then this is definitely it, good luck
|
|
|
jackets and all are nice but if you wear a really obnoxious jacket or something like that to school.... ull be a total nerd lol. Much love though. I'd probably wear it while i play starcraft to keep warm and make myself feel better when i play. <3 안녕
|
On March 10 2010 20:08 Bl1ss wrote:
jackets and all are nice but if you wear a really obnoxious jacket or something like that to school.... ull be a total nerd lol. Much love though. I'd probably wear it while i play starcraft to keep warm and make myself feel better when i play. <3 안녕
I'm going for overkill when I take my Japanese midterm today (four Koreans in the class), wearing my Oz shirt/jacket.
|
On March 10 2010 20:12 So no fek wrote:Show nested quote +On March 10 2010 20:08 Bl1ss wrote:
jackets and all are nice but if you wear a really obnoxious jacket or something like that to school.... ull be a total nerd lol. Much love though. I'd probably wear it while i play starcraft to keep warm and make myself feel better when i play. <3 안녕 I'm going for overkill when I take my Japanese midterm today (four Koreans in the class), wearing my Oz shirt/jacket.
Dude... Respect.
|
On March 10 2010 06:06 kOre wrote:The 15th. You'll have to wait
I've marked my calendar, don't let me down! I'm cutting my lunch budget for about 3 months to offset the shopping spree I'm going to have if this pulls through. I'll put your kids through college! :D
|
I find there is a correlation between wearing my SKT jersey while playing Starcraft and losing badly
|
Negative correlation, no doubt.
|
Thank goodness, as any statistician will tell you, correlation does not imply causation
|
get me a blue Air Force ACE shirt and I will shop
|
Super cool, but how are you going to get licensing rights from Kespa?
|
CA10828 Posts
On March 11 2010 01:30 JodoYodo wrote:
I find there is a correlation between wearing my SKT jersey while playing Starcraft and losing badly
hmm this would make a lot more sense if you were a zerg user
|
CA10828 Posts
On March 11 2010 03:13 love1another wrote:
Super cool, but how are you going to get licensing rights from Kespa?
why would he need that?
and if he does, kepsa is merely reps from the 12 proteams plus some mysterious old men in suits. he's already made deals with contacts from each individual team.
TL has done merchandise deals in the past with CJ/MBC/WeMade/Hwaseung and kespa didn't stop us.
|
On March 11 2010 03:13 LosingID8 wrote:Show nested quote +On March 11 2010 01:30 JodoYodo wrote:
I find there is a correlation between wearing my SKT jersey while playing Starcraft and losing badly hmm this would make a lot more sense if you were a zerg user
or protoss.
|
On March 11 2010 03:19 d(O.o)a wrote:Show nested quote +On March 11 2010 03:13 LosingID8 wrote:On March 11 2010 01:30 JodoYodo wrote:
I find there is a correlation between wearing my SKT jersey while playing Starcraft and losing badly hmm this would make a lot more sense if you were a zerg user or protoss.
You can break that curse if you visit Thailand though, or so I heard..
|
FuDDx
United States5008 Posts
I want Balloons. I love Balloons!!!
|
On March 11 2010 03:20 Puosu wrote:Show nested quote +On March 11 2010 03:19 d(O.o)a wrote:On March 11 2010 03:13 LosingID8 wrote:On March 11 2010 01:30 JodoYodo wrote:
I find there is a correlation between wearing my SKT jersey while playing Starcraft and losing badly hmm this would make a lot more sense if you were a zerg user or protoss. You can break that curse if you visit Thailand though, or so I heard..
Bisu was in MBC at that time...
|
On March 11 2010 03:55 SuperArc wrote:Show nested quote +On March 11 2010 03:20 Puosu wrote:On March 11 2010 03:19 d(O.o)a wrote:On March 11 2010 03:13 LosingID8 wrote:On March 11 2010 01:30 JodoYodo wrote:
I find there is a correlation between wearing my SKT jersey while playing Starcraft and losing badly hmm this would make a lot more sense if you were a zerg user or protoss. You can break that curse if you visit Thailand though, or so I heard.. Bisu was in MBC at that time...
And now the power of the anti-curse is clearly falling and he must take a break and go to Thailand again. Bisu being not a normal human being could've very well known about his future beyond the ranks of MBC thus he chose to manipulate the coaches to fund his trip to Thailand.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
