DO i have a chance

Drewster2012 · Mar 13, 2013

Ok so i want to know if i have a chance selling custom computers, like someone emails me i work with the budget to build a computer they want. do i have a chance??

Drewster2012 · Mar 13, 2013

2wenty :

LOL i love those videos... i have built 1 dozen computers for family before and i want to do it for a part time job now

bak0n · Mar 13, 2013

It is a REALLY hard business to get into. Also think about the support you are willing to offer post sale. Many of the builds I did expected me to be life long free support. I had to tell them this is not the case. I can save you money now, I can help you work through some easy issues, but I cannot afford to come over whenever you have an issue for free.

Drewster2012 · Mar 13, 2013

bak0n :

my plan is 1 year warrnty and it just covers the parts,,,, using manufacture warrenty... if 2 year is bought for parts then 2 year warrenty

mjmacka · Mar 13, 2013

I used to do this more often than I do now.

You need to use something for remote access... logmein, VNC, go-to-meeting. It costs you time and money to get from your place to theirs.

You also need to establish a good free toolset because most of your clients won't want to pay for things.

You need to figure out a price scheme that makes sense to you and to your client. I usually charge a flat fee and after that hourly at between $35-50 per hour depending on work. I charged more for server work. It's also essential that you are able to explain what you are doing in a way that people understand. Communication is the biggest weakness of most tech's.

Drewster2012 · Mar 13, 2013

SO do i have a chance at doing this or not????

Wolfshadw · Mar 13, 2013

I'd say it's not a good prospect. Most people don't have the slightest clue as to what the difference is between a $350 Wal-Mart PC and a $1500 custom built PC. If they do understand the difference, the profit margin isn't nearly as large as it used to be. There's no way you can compete against the low-end systems. Decent powered office systems, you'd probably break even. It's only in higher powered gaming systems that you *might* make any profit. Go to Dell.com and configure a decent gaming system. Then go to PCPartPicker.com and build the same system to find out if there is any profit to be made.

The second part of the equation is, as already mentioned, is support. If something goes wrong with a system that you built are you really going to turn them away when they come back to you for non-hardware help? You need to provide that support AND the time it takes.

-Wolf sends

mjmacka · Mar 14, 2013

The answer is up to you. I stopped doing this kind of work for the reasons listed above.

Drewster2012 · Mar 14, 2013

Wolfshadw :

I'd say it's not a good prospect. Most people don't have the slightest clue as to what the difference is between a $350 Wal-Mart PC and a $1500 custom built PC. If they do understand the difference, the profit margin isn't nearly as large as it used to be. There's no way you can compete against the low-end systems. Decent powered office systems, you'd probably break even. It's only in higher powered gaming systems that you *might* make any profit. Go to Dell.com and configure a decent gaming system. Then go to PCPartPicker.com and build the same system to find out if there is any profit to be made.

The second part of the equation is, as already mentioned, is support. If something goes wrong with a system that you built are you really going to turn them away when they come back to you for non-hardware help? You need to provide that support AND the time it takes.

-Wolf sends

my idea is more of the gamming systems...

Garner6425 · Mar 14, 2013

Drewster2012 :

What he is saying applies though. Even on higher end systems, the profit margins are going to be MAYBE 100-200 per complete system. You can't really sell it for more than a large retailer like Dell would sell a comparable system for, because then your customers would just go to Dell unless you do something that really sets your systems apart. But then you are competing with companies like Falcon Northwest.

Further, as he pointed out, you are going to be expected to provide some level of support. You say you will only warranty parts, which is fine. But when someone can go to Dell and get basically the same system PLUS 24-hour telephone support, it starts to make your systems not as great a value. For many people, the level of support offered by a large business like Dell, HP, etc is worth the extra few hundred that they spend on the branded system, vs building one themselves or buying a pre-built system off e-bay.

It is absolutely possible to do this, if you are truly dedicated to it. But how much you are going to make out of such a venture is going to be directly tied into how much effort you put into it. This is really something you do because you enjoy doing it, not to make money. Turning a noticeable profit requires a volume level and commitment to support that you just can't meet as a part time guy working alone.

Drewster2012 · Mar 14, 2013

Garner6425 :

Drewster2012 :

What he is saying applies though. Even on higher end systems, the profit margins are going to be MAYBE 100-200 per complete system. You can't really sell it for more than a large retailer like Dell would sell a comparable system for, because then your customers would just go to Dell unless you do something that really sets your systems apart. But then you are competing with companies like Falcon Northwest.

Further, as he pointed out, you are going to be expected to provide some level of support. You say you will only warranty parts, which is fine. But when someone can go to Dell and get basically the same system PLUS 24-hour telephone support, it starts to make your systems not as great a value. For many people, the level of support offered by a large business like Dell, HP, etc is worth the extra few hundred that they spend on the branded system, vs building one themselves or buying a pre-built system off e-bay.

It is absolutely possible to do this, if you are truly dedicated to it. But how much you are going to make out of such a venture is going to be directly tied into how much effort you put into it. This is really something you do because you enjoy doing it, not to make money. Turning a noticeable profit requires a volume level and commitment to support that you just can't meet as a part time guy working alone.

I want to do it becuase ilove building computers, and a little extra money cant hurt

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