Can I make money by selling PC's I build?

Kimbot

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

The reason I want wildcard to give me a link to a pc is because I need to know it's purpose. I could put 2 GTX 1080 Ti's into a pc design nad he might come along with a pc that has an intel atom and say "told you i could find a cheaper pc"

No he is saying that he will compare your system like for like and find it cheaper than what you are offering.

Aodhan5000

Ok, I'll post a design and prices, just give me about 10 minutes

victor8600

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

Well what other options do I have for making money?

-Start a YouTube channel where you can interest a lot of people enough to come back to watch your videos again. Some people make a lot of money just putting a video of themselves playing computer games and providing funny commentaries. 

-Find a new fad to replace the fidget spinner and market it among your own demographic.

-Learn PHP/Wix/js and do freelance jobs creating cheap websites fast.

-Do not sell custom made PCs

Graham

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

Ok, I'll post a design and prices, just give me about 10 minutes

Don't forget to add in amounts for:

payment processing (and potentially fraud).
shipping
packaging
insurance
warranty repairs
support
advertising
website/hosting/email
phone
profit???

KrakityJones

First off fair fecks to you for this, you're trying out an idea and you're ambitious.

In answer to your question, you won't make a profit out of it, but you'll gain a lot of experience in a lot of things - business, computers, life etc. It's very hard to make any money from that game, as others have pointed out there are bigger companies out there with the resources behind them to be able to do it cheaper, and they have a reputation already.

But all the same I'd say go for it, just don't build your expectations too high, and don't let it dishearten you if it doesn't work out. And if it doesn't, just try out another idea - the best inventors/businesses etc have all failed numerous times but they kept at it.

I wish you well.

Aodhan5000

Intel pentium G4560 Mindfactory 65.50
MSI B250m Micro ATX DDR4 motherboard Mindfactory 60.15
4GB Corsair Vengeance LPX red DDR4-2400 Mindfactory 35.90
1TB Seagate BarraCuda ST1000DM010 Mindfactory 44.68
Corsair Carbide 100R Mindfactory 48.85
Corsair CS550M Modular 80+ Gold Mindfactory 70.35
LG Electronics GH24NSD1 Mindfactory 11.91
I can lower the prices of components later when I search thoroughly.

Graham

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

Intel pentium G4560 Mindfactory 65.50
MSI B250m Micro ATX DDR4 motherboard Mindfactory 60.15
4GB Corsair Vengeance LPX red DDR4-2400 Mindfactory 35.90
1TB Seagate BarraCuda ST1000DM010 Mindfactory 44.68
Corsair Carbide 100R Mindfactory 48.85
Corsair CS550M Modular 80+ Gold Mindfactory 70.35
LG Electronics GH24NSD1 Mindfactory 11.91
I can lower the prices of components later when I search thoroughly.

Total, VAT, other items listed above?

Selling price?

Operating system, keyboard, mouse?

Wildcard7

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

@wildcard Give me a link to a page of a PC that I can't beat pricewise. I mightn't be able to beat the price but I'll try.

That's not really the way this works, you're trying to sell me something, not the other way around :-)

But ok, here's an example.

http://www.komplett.ie/paradigit-home-and-office-advanced/80046916/details.aspx

- Decent case (40.-)
- Mainboard with 7.1 sound, onbaord graphics, LAN, ... (70.-)
- 400W PSU (35.-)
- 8GB RAM, DDR4, 2133 MHz (70.-)
- Windows 10 Home (110.-)
- DVD drive (20.-)
- Intel i3-7100 (125.-)
- 1 TB HDD (60.-)
- 120GB SSD (70.-)

Complete desktop costs 599, parts add up to 600.

You could cut a few corners, but you still want to make money, you'll need to keep spare parts for warranties, etc.

And that still doesn't give me one reason to buy my computer from you, and not from a big chain.

Aodhan5000

My pc design costs 337.34 euros and I have a copy of windows 10 pro at home and the key. If the consumer wants an ssd to put the OS on I can get a Sandusky for 70 quid. Warranties wise there's always a risk but my PSU is an 80+ gold PSU. I have about 200 quid spare in comparison to your suggested pc. Half would be kept for warranties and half for profit and that was my first design.

Graham

If you're trying to compete at the bottom price end:

From a national chain 349.99 and I can collect now (including VAT) and a new copy of Windows.

PACKARD BELL iMedia S 2984 Desktop PC
Windows 10 (pre-installed)
Intel? Celeronâ„¢ Processor N3050
RAM: 4 GB / Storage: 1 TB HDD
With built-in WiFi

Citizen1234

OP I might be able to help you source some parts 15% - 10% cheaper if your interested

Aodhan5000

Can you give me a link

Aodhan5000

Graham, a pentium g4560 is streets ahead of that celeron

Wildcard7

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

My pc design costs 337.34 euros

That's the sum of its parts, how much do you want to sell it for? If you sell it for 337.34 you make exactly 0€ profit.

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

and I have a copy of windows 10 pro at home and the key.

What? I'm not sure I understand.
a) You install your copy on the customers PC -> that's illegal.
b) You have 1 spare license that you give away to this particular customer. Then what with the next customer? That's not how you calculate something.

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

Warranties wise there's always a risk but my PSU is an 80+ gold PSU.

It doesn't matter what parts you include, they can break. That's why you include a certain sum in your calculation to cover for that.

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

I have about 200 quid spare in comparison to your suggested pc.

You can't compare my computer to yours, what's the point in that? I posted that before I saw your post, they are two entirely different machines.

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

I have about 200 quid spare in comparison to your suggested pc. Half would be kept for warranties and half for profit and that was my first design.

You will only know how much you have spare when you add an actual pricetag to your PC that costs you 337.34, and add an actual operating system.

K.O.Kiki

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

Intel pentium G4560 Mindfactory 65.50
MSI B250m Micro ATX DDR4 motherboard Mindfactory 60.15
4GB Corsair Vengeance LPX red DDR4-2400 Mindfactory 35.90
1TB Seagate BarraCuda ST1000DM010 Mindfactory 44.68
Corsair Carbide 100R Mindfactory 48.85
Corsair CS550M Modular 80+ Gold Mindfactory 70.35
LG Electronics GH24NSD1 Mindfactory 11.91
I can lower the prices of components later when I search thoroughly.

Now tell us what happens when:

• Customer takes delivery of the product, something has failed
• Build works for 3 months, then the HDD fails
• Build works for 5 days, then the PSU blows
• January 2018, you/your dad/your dad's company have to declare PC part expenses
• Part prices go up by 10%

Aodhan5000

If those things happen I replace the parts. Yes it destroys profit but the chances of that happening to all the pcs I sellnis highly unlikely.

Graham

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

Graham, a pentium g4560 is streets ahead of that celeron

The majority of purchasers at the budget end of the market really wouldn't know the difference. What they will see is your price compared to the price of the cheap PC they spotted in Tesco/PC World/Argos......

That's where you're basically stuffed, you just can't compete on price. You can't even get close.

Think about it logically with your business head on:

How can you source components cheaper than a company that's churning out tens of thousands of PCs a month.
How can you assemble PCs cheaper than a company located where daily pay is a few dollars?
How can you compete with Tesco/PC World/Argos who have hundreds of outlets and shift thousands of products daily?

You just can't compete on price.

Aodhan5000

@wildcard7 I have a copy of windows 10 pro and the activation key ( my uncle gave it to me) and the reason I compared my pc to yours is because in opinion the are for the same purpose.

Graham

Graham wrote: »

The majority of purchasers at the budget end of the market really wouldn't know the difference. What they will see is your price compared to the price of the cheap PC they spotted in Tesco/PC World/Argos......

That's where you're basically stuffed, you just can't compete on price. You can't even get close.

Think about it logically with your business head on:

How can you source components cheaper than a company that's churning out tens of thousands of PCs a month.
How can you assemble PCs cheaper than a company located where daily pay is a few dollars?
How can you compete with Tesco/PC World/Argos who have hundreds of outlets and shift thousands of products daily?

You just can't compete on price.

Bang on. So many times I had people say "sure why would I spend €50 on your laptop charger when I can get one on eBay for €10." They didn't care that the eBay part was a cheap Chinese piece of crap that would likely blow their laptop, they just saw the price difference.

Wildcard7

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

If those things happen I replace the parts. Yes it destroys profit but the chances of that happening to all the pcs I sellnis highly unlikely.

How do you know that, you still haven't spent one second thinking about what your margin is.

Alright, you didn't finish the assignment, so I'll do it for you.

You spend 340.- on parts. Another 110 for a windows license, because (now hold on to something) noone pays for a new computer with pirated software. Which means your costs are 450.-.

Add on top of that a reserve of 10% for failing parts, you're at 495.-
We pay you a salary of 5€. Not much, but since you only built rock solid parts and nothing ever breaks, you you can keep the 45€ you kept as reserve as well. So you made 50 bucks. Not bad eh? Obviously now you can sell your shiny new PC for 500€.

Except I won't buy it, because for less money than your self assembled PC costs, I can buy a brand new one from a major retailer:

http://www.komplett.ie/paradigit-home-and-office-basic/80046915/details.aspx

Taadaaa.

In related news, I give up now. Thumbs up for your enthusiasm, shame you haven't enough sense for reality or simple maths to direct it somewhere where it could make you money.

Aodhan5000

Well how can i compete with big brands in low and high end pc markets.

Aodhan5000

Well what price would you pay for my pc design?

Graham

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

Well how can i compete with big brands in low and high end pc markets.

When you work out what you can offer that the existing vendors can't.

When you've worked it out, tell me first

ryanch09

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

@wildcard7 I have a copy of windows 10 pro and the activation key ( my uncle gave it to me) and the reason I compared my pc to yours is because in opinion the are for the same purpose.

What he means is if you're planning on selling many PCs you can't use the same license on all of them, you would have to also take into account buying a Windows 10 license for each PC you want to sell.

Graham

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

Well what price would you pay for my pc design?

I wouldn't, I'd go to PC World/Tesco/Komplett/Elara for a budget PC. They're all pretty much commodity products made up of commodity components.

Wildcard7

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

Well what price would you pay for my pc design?

I can get almost exactly your PC from a big retailer for 400. For me to consider buying it from the kid next door, I wouldn't pay more than 300. You can't do it for that price. Not even working for free and pirating the OS.

I don't know what you want. A dozen people have told you you can't make money on this. You can either insist on yes you can, or be unhappy about the unfair world (good luck on those two), or find a new business. Fix peoples computers, advise them when buying new things, maybe even find a niche. If you're the DIY type and with a bit (a lot) of practice can create cool, one of a kind cases, that might be something.

But assembling and selling PCs DOES NOT MAKE YOU MONEY. Especially when you haven't got the most basic clue about how to calculate costs (no offense, but you don't).

Lu Tze

Aodhan5000 wrote: »

@wildcard7 I have a copy of windows 10 pro and the activation key ( my uncle gave it to me) and the reason I compared my pc to yours is because in opinion the are for the same purpose.

Ok, and the next person who wants the exact same PC? What your build cost for that, plus the ssd?

It may seem that we are being overly critical, I think most of us aren't trying to be. You came looking for advice, which was given from our experience, which you roundly reject.

If you ever watched an episode of dragons den, you will see a pattern in the questions which are primarily:

Has it been done before?
Is there market demand for it?
Who are your competition?
What are your costs?
What is your profit?

In this case:
Yes its been done before (and most have failed).

Yes there is a demand, but most buy new from reputable retailers.

Your competition is every large PC manufacturer, established custom builders like overclocker and pcspecialist, and everybody on adverts selling cobbled together PCs from secondhand parts!

As regards costs and price, you haven't demonstrate and understanding of this as yet.

That said, its a lot more initiative than I showed at 14, and you must have an interest already. You could try going the secondhand route, picking up parts that you estimate are exceptionally good value (new or secondhand) building a PC out of them, and try and sell it on adverts.ie

You will have a much lower initial outlay than buying all new parts, you will be selling it as secondhand so no need to provide and warranty and will get an idea of how much profit you might make going this route (if you make a profit).

I would also suggest tracking how much time you spend looking for parts, negotiating, selling as well as the build time, and divide the profit by the number of hours to give you your hourly rate. If it exceeds minimum wage I would be surprised (but pleasantly). Make sure you include all costs, eg the price of windows if you use an existing copy, as otherwise you won't have a real gauge of the profit.

Digital Solitude

OP, selling computers on adverts is not going to make you money. Speaking from experience here.

I imagine you're looking at custom building gaming PCs, which does give you a bit more niche than some of the major manufacturers, but realistically, its still not worth it.

I'd recommend looking into fixing PCs for people, its definitely something you'd get work at. Figure your way around Windows and common problems with it, and you'll have any amount of work. If you can fix hardware (especially laptops) then you'll be flying.

When I was about your age I started fixing phones and laptops for people, replacing batteries, broken screens etc. Made a small bit of money out of it to keep me going over the summer.

A full toolkit is about €20 or €30 and www.ifixit.com has tutorials on pretty much any common hardware replacement you could ask for.

While some people won't let a kid near their phone, lots of people will, and at a €15-20 profit margin you'll be competitive with companies in the market.

Just remember to stay away from anything that requires heating to open it up unless you're prepared to buy the customer a new device, as lots of stuff can go wrong there.

Jimbobjoeyman

As everyone has said here your not going to make money building computers to sell.
At the low end of it before you take anything to do with warranties and such into account you have a matter of economies of scale working against you.
As in no matter what you do PC world, Curry's or Dell is always going to beat you component for component.

At the high end of this people generally build their own equipment or buy from extremely reputable builders that have hundreds if not thousands of previous sales.
Right now you cant compete.

When I was sixteen I started a repair service for xbox 360 and PS3 as they were failing left right and center.
Tonnes of cowboys so I had plenty of work but this involved me spending almost a year learning extremely advanced BGA reball repair techniques and investing almost €1000 in equipment up front.
This was before the cost of buying beater boards to practice on.

You could make a few quid with a repair service but as I did.
Only offer it if your doing it correctly or your wasting your time and everyone around you.

Phonicks

What about you buy a pallet of identical old i5 desktops of ebay, and make sure they are working perfectly, sell them on 1 at a time on adverts (keep a few for spare parts)

You can then offer a 1 or 2 year warranty as you have spares ready, you will have legit licenses, and they will have a known brand