Do these guys make much profit?

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

Any idea how many people are buying modest gaming builds on ebay?
How do some of the companies profit in this area? Is there profit to be made
(small profit though) in building computers and selling them on eBay?

Opinions on computers being built solely for resell?

 

[airdeano]

buy low and sell high for best practice. many of the "builders" have bulk access in parts and generally thats where their margins are. bulk or OEM or not for retail sale parts are used to save in cost.
the starter kits are usually garbage, its the "upgrades" that run the bill up and make their profit margin better. be careful, "barebones" sales can get you into trouble as not all the parts are there to be a complete computer. and again, more "upgrades". is it profitable? it can be, is it the best retail outlet, probably not.

airdeano

 

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

I have been looking at the prices and I can't seem to understand why people buy from them.
I went to iBuyPower and configured a lower end system and was surprised at the results.
I avoided overpriced upgrades like video cards, a good PSU, and "Professional Wiring" and the price still came to $576.

I pieced together a system with almost the same parts (Most parts are better) and I came to $457.
This is with the same case they use, same CPU, better Ram, better power supply, and a better hard drive (AFAIK).

The thought of building a PC for resale sounds great (even if I only make $20 profit), but I can't seem to shake the fear of losing a large sum of money.

 

[JDFan]

I have been looking at the prices and I can't seem to understand why people buy from them.
I went to iBuyPower and configured a lower end system and was surprised at the results.
I avoided overpriced upgrades like video cards, a good PSU, and "Professional Wiring" and the price still came to $576.

I pieced together a system with almost the same parts (Most parts are better) and I came to $457.
This is with the same case they use, same CPU, better Ram, better power supply, and a better hard drive (AFAIK).

The thought of building a PC for resale sounds great (even if I only make $20 profit), but I can't seem to shake the fear of losing a large sum of money.

Did you also figure in the cost of the misc stuff --- ie. Mouse , keyboard, speakers, cables, misc wiring, thermal paste, labor cost for assembly, packaging materials, shipping insurance, credit card fees, Time loss dealing with any DOA product, Legal licenses of included software (remember most prebuilt units will include a copy of WIndows and some other programs), Warranty support you need to provide to your purchasors (if using OEM software companies like Microsoft require the builder to offer support !!) - Also shipping fees for sending you any systems covered by your warranty and replacement parts , Cost of purchasing the products before sale and pricing fluctuations during the time between purchase of those parts and the final sale (prices drop quickly and you might wind up having to sell at lower pricing than what the cost of purchase was if you hold much inventory in stock !), etc. --- once you add all of those and still include any profit margin you'll find it hard to offer pricing to match the larger prebuilt companies and my find it hard to convince users of the benefits of buying from you. ---- Better to offer assistance in speccing and building systems to order for a fee and help in finding the parts for the best prices rather than have to purchase and hold inventory of items that are dropping in price.

 

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

Did you also figure in the cost of the misc stuff --- ie. Mouse , keyboard, speakers, cables, misc wiring, thermal paste, labor cost for assembly, packaging materials, shipping insurance, credit card fees, Time loss dealing with any DOA product, Legal licenses of included software (remember most prebuilt units will include a copy of WIndows and some other programs), Warranty support you need to provide to your purchasors (if using OEM software companies like Microsoft require the builder to offer support !!) - Also shipping fees for sending you any systems covered by your warranty and replacement parts , Cost of purchasing the products before sale and pricing fluctuations during the time between purchase of those parts and the final sale (prices drop quickly and you might wind up having to sell at lower pricing than what the cost of purchase was if you hold much inventory in stock !), etc. --- once you add all of those and still include any profit margin you'll find it hard to offer pricing to match the larger prebuilt companies and my find it hard to convince users of the benefits of buying from you. ---- Better to offer assistance in speccing and building systems to order for a fee and help in finding the parts for the best prices rather than have to purchase and hold inventory of items that are dropping in price.

The iBuyPower didn't come with Windows. They also charge for a cheap keyboard and mouse, so that also doesn't really come with it. I also know about needing to provide support.

Why all the exclamation marks?

 

[dalauder]

Buyers are willing to pay extra for a brand name they feel they can rely on--that's where OEM's find their customers. It's very possible, as a system builder, to only earn $100 per system. And that's not worth the time and monetary risks in my opinion. Besides, I still can't compete with OEM on-sale laptop prices, since those always include Windows and a monitor, etc.

 

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

Buyers are willing to pay extra for a brand name they feel they can rely on--that's where OEM's find their customers. It's very possible, as a system builder, to only earn $100 per system. And that's not worth the time and monetary risks in my opinion. Besides, I still can't compete with OEM on-sale laptop prices, since those always include Windows and a monitor, etc.

You are quite correct about laptops. I went with a laptop before building my desktop for that very reason.
If there was no monetary risk (like a 90% chance of sale at intended price), I would be perfectly okay with a small $10-$20 profit.

 

[jaguarmatt]

You'll invest less and get more profit out of buying and reselling parts. Also, remember that there's eBay and PayPal fees. Between the two, you'll be paying out ~11% of whatever the item sold for.

 

[brpeden82]

plus if your like me there close your account as soon as you get a fradulent customer. and hold your money for 45 days until you account closed.
that happen to me year ago at christmas i build 5 computers back to back without any problems. then a guy with a stolen credit card bought one of computers on ebay. and they flag my account. wanna review of what i was doing wanted finacial information where i got my parts from and inoices fro the parts. they reviewed it and said it wasnt a good business to them that i was only making $100 and buying the parts as a got the money from the sale. it not worth it the shipping cost the insurance i had come unplug on some computers that got there. screws back out and cards fell out.

IT NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!!!

 

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

You'll invest less and get more profit out of buying and reselling parts. Also, remember that there's eBay and PayPal fees. Between the two, you'll be paying out ~11% of whatever the item sold for.

Yeah, I have sold a good amount on eBay.

If I come across a buddy that needs a PC built (and doesn't want to build himself), I guess i'll offer to assemble free of charge and just charge the shipping. Thanks for all the input.