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CD-ROMs are the way of the future. Not only do theY turn your computer into a super-high-powered knowledge and entertainment machine, they can make a LOT of money for you, if you have vision and the willingness
to try some new things.
Why would anyone want a CD-ROM unit? Well, for one thing, a CD-ROM can hold tons more information and programming than a regular computer disk,
almost 400 times as much, to be exact. For example, there are whole encyclopedias that come on only one or two CD-ROMs! And these aren't just
plain, boring encyclopedias, either. The high amount of storage on a CD-ROM allows full-motion video, digitized sound, and other special effects to be
included. For example, if you look up the first moon landing, you might see an actual short video of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon, and you might
hear him say his famous "one small step" speech! CD-ROM games are incredible! Many CD-ROM games are ultra-realistic, with real actors, real speech, and
thousands of possibilities.
Desktop publishers love CD-ROMs, too. There are CD-ROMs available that hold thousands of typestyles and clip-art graphics. The ability to use
CD-ROMs is almost essential these days if you run a BBS (Bulletin Board System, accessible by modem users). There are dozens of CD-ROMs available
that contain hundreds of shareware programs each. Callers to your BBS can download these programs to their computer, so they can use them. With a
few of these, you can have the largest file base of any BBS in your area literally overnight!
So, this is the "why" of CD-ROMs. Just how can they make money for you, you might ask? First, you need to know how popular CD-ROMs are becoming.
According to an article in Fortune magazine (February 21, 1994), about 15% of the 5.85 million computers sold last year contained CD-ROM units. That's
over 877,000 CD-ROM units, just in 1993. That doesn't count the tens (or hundreds) of thousands of people who are adding CD-ROM units to computers
they already own.
Have you ever been to a music store where they sell used music CDs? Used CDs are as good as new ones, and you can usually buy them for half the
price of new CDs. This has become an industry in and of itself. People naturally want to save money, but get the same quality of product. Remember
the number of people I mentioned earlier who either bought a computer containing a CD-ROM or bought one to add on to their current system?
They'll be buying CD-ROMs. After awhile, they'll get tired of the particular CD-ROM they purchased. They may have finished a game, and not want to play
it again. They may have bought a CD-ROM that they just plain didn't like. You can run a used CD-ROM business much like the used music CD business is
run. Here's a nutshell description of what happens in a typical used music CD store. Almost everything will function the same for CD-ROMs. A customer
brings in a CD that they want to trade-in. If the music store owner wants it for his or her stock, they'll usually offer the customer $2 to $5,
depending on the demand for that particular CD. Then, they'll slap a price of $6 to $10 on the CD, and put it out for sale. That's basically all
there is to it. The difference with CD-ROMs is the price. Music CDs, at least in my neck of the woods, retail for around $14 to $16 each. CD-ROMs
usually start around $25, and can cost over $150!
HOW TO START THIS BUSINESS
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