I am not computer savvy in regards to programming or setting up servers etc. If one were to buy all the equipment and software, hardware etc? How much would something like this cost to set up a Bitcoin exchange better than Mt Gox?
Servers are the least expensive things as usual. A rough estimate for a serious exchange could look like this:
Software development or purchase of out-of-the box product + customization: 100k-200k USD
Servers: around 20k USD should be enough + Xk USD that you want to spend on DDOS protection, X can be as large as you want and still won't give you 100% DDOS resistance.
Initial legal costs: 10K USD-100K USD (heavily depends on jurisdiction)
Thanks for your input.
Could you elaborate on the software?
Doubtful because its not exactly like windows where you can walk into walmart and grab it, it has to be made from scratch. So as for 'software' its what ever your team designs.
200k to startup? Doubtful. A single programmer, and a web security guy could get the job done waaaay cheaper than 200k.
Initial legal costs, I would not worry about this until you're making some money, they're not going to kick your doors in to fast.
Really all these exchanges do is record what you deposit, and give you fake coins to trade around, while the stash is in cold storage. I cant see that taking to much time if you know what you're doing.