Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas Sansone.
Hi Thomas, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
It all started in 1999 when I purchased a crate full of old Atari 2600 games. eBay was new and I figured I would buy them and try and sell them online. Turned $20 into $200 or so and just kept buying more. in 2000 I started videogametrader.com and opened an online store on the largest online marketplace, Yahoo Shopping. This was still a part time business as I was also working full time.
About a year or so later, I opened a retail spot in Englishtown flea market. That only lasted a year as it was too much to handle with my full time job so I went online only. At this point, I also started selling on Amazon. In 2010 I had an opportunity to buy a significant amount of inventory for a great price and decided to quit my job and do this full time. In 2012 I relocated from New Jersey to Georgia to be closer to my family that moved to Georgia in 2004. I opened my first “real” retail store in September 2012 and am still in that location.
In 2016, we were voted Best Video Game Store in Gwinnett County and have won that ever since. This year we expanded to Trading Card Games (TCG).
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t always been smooth. Up until about 2016, I wasn’t able to make a real income. Plus I had a business partner in 2012 that wasn’t the easiest to work with. I learned a lot and bought him out in 2015. Haven’t looked back. But cash flow is always a struggle. We spend so much on inventory, especially around the holidays. If we make a bad choice on a product it could really hurt the cash flow.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m not really sure how to answer. I don’t think I’m anything special. I don’t have any special knowledge that I didn’t learn on the way. I’m just a hard worker and enjoy what I do. It really isn’t work for me. Well, sometimes it is.. Lol!
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a loner growing up. I didn’t have many friends. Kept pretty much to myself. But ever since I was 13 years old I knew I was going to own a business. Back in the mid-80s, it was going to be a baseball card store.
Contact Info:
- Email: sales@videogametrader.com
- Website: www.VideoGameTrader.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/video_game_trader/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/videogametrader
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4AUZxCA0uOXz6OCatwC2Yg
