Anybody build JUST to sell?

Jayce · 10-20-2005, 04:46 AM

I work about 50 hours a week and I am a full time college student, however I thought about having fun with something and possibly getting a bit of income on the side. Here at work there's a bulletin board and I figured I'd build a tower up one at a time and sell them for a little bit more than I paid to build it.

Just wondering if anybody else here does this... what I'm afraid of is getting stuck with a 2nd computer that I don't need because nobody will buy it, and essentially being "out" that money.

I thought about just selling as a backbone system too. No OS, maybe just the tower with the basic essentials, ram mobo cpu hdd proper cd drives power supply... etc.

Just wanting to see if anyone else here does this and what kind of success you folks have had.

The one stipulation is, I'd sell them as is, but I'd make sure they are working before I sell them of course. I'd just like to build it up, tack on a few extra bucks to the price, and sell. It's almost more for fun that income, but a few extra bucks won't work. After all, I have to pay for my dying Pontiac somehow! Its constant garage bills rack up.

Static_11 · 10-20-2005, 06:56 AM

Great idea IMHO. I'm thinking about doing the same exact thing

Jayce · 10-20-2005, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Static_11
Great idea IMHO. I'm thinking about doing the same exact thing

The only thing is, I'm really only familiar with the setup I've got. I wouldn't be able to build an intel setup at this point. I figure I'll just keep reading up on the forums and reproducing the setup I have maybe?

Hey, maybe I can tack on 50 bucks and include a kmart keyboard and mouse too. People may think a little more highly of it if ALL they need is a monitor.

I'm still curious about it though. Maybe I'll just hook up my monitor, install windows, make sure it works, take a picture of it in working order, format, then sell it like that. So that way I have a picture that's proof it works fine, more assurance to the buyer. I'd probably also let it run for an hour then check the CPU and system temperature to make sure that's a-okay.

Still not sure if I should just buy windows xp home and tack on 100 bucks to the final price and include windows with every one I build? I don't know. I may start bare minimal, backbone system JUST as a test. If it fails, maybe I'll just add windows to the package. *shrug*

I know... I'm rambling. Thanks for any input!

FghtinIrshNvrDi · 10-20-2005, 07:50 AM

I make people front cash and then build to their budget and pocket 75-100 of it. Make it very clear that you aren't responsible for hardware malfunctions. Most items have warrenties, and they can come to you for HELP, but not cash back. Make it very, very clear. People get freakin ANAL when they part with their money.

Yeah, I'm a college student too and have done 3 of those so far this year. It's fun, and I make a few bucks. It's a great deal. Just hang a sign in the computer labs!

Ryan

Jayce · 10-20-2005, 07:51 AM

Question:

Say I create a barebone setup and sell it on ebay as is. If a problem arises a month from now, I obviously am at NO responsibility because of the fact the auction was listed "as is."

What if I included the paperwork and flattened out the boxes all of the components came in and sent it to the new owner? Could that new owner use those items and take control of the manufacturer's warranty is something happens in the long run?

FghtinIrshNvrDi · 10-20-2005, 09:26 AM

Good plan. To be honest, I have no idea. The warrenties are still good, but I don't know if you would have to be the one taking care of them.

To be honest, I wouldn't sell on e-bay. Those things make almost no money unless you have a serious wholesale outlet at your fingertips.

Ryan

Jayce · 10-20-2005, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by FghtinIrshNvrDi
Good plan. To be honest, I have no idea. The warrenties are still good, but I don't know if you would have to be the one taking care of them.

To be honest, I wouldn't sell on e-bay. Those things make almost no money unless you have a serious wholesale outlet at your fingertips.

Ryan

No no, like... would the warranties transfer over to the present owner?

gaara · 10-20-2005, 12:53 PM

Contracts man...it's all about signing the warranties and responsibilities over to the buyer...with all of my buyers I get them to sign a receipt, make two copies and keep one for myself and one for the buyer

I don't prebuild machines...I get people to come in and talk to me and we configure a specific system for what they need...THEN I build it and they come and pick it up 2 days later...I buy all my parts from a local store, test them out and if they're bad I'll RMA them on spot under store warranty

Two things really kill your price..your OS and a monitor...prebuilt computers have huge discounts off wholesale monitors and you can't compete with prices...I've wanted to install Linux on my systems for a long time now to cut back on Windows licenses, but Linux still isn't practical for some things and has no end user support which scares most people away

Jayce · 10-20-2005, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gaara
Contracts man...it's all about signing the warranties and responsibilities over to the buyer...with all of my buyers I get them to sign a receipt, make two copies and keep one for myself and one for the buyer

I don't prebuild machines...I get people to come in and talk to me and we configure a specific system for what they need...THEN I build it and they come and pick it up 2 days later...I buy all my parts from a local store, test them out and if they're bad I'll RMA them on spot under store warranty

Two things really kill your price..your OS and a monitor...prebuilt computers have huge discounts off wholesale monitors and you can't compete with prices...I've wanted to install Linux on my systems for a long time now to cut back on Windows licenses, but Linux still isn't practical for some things and has no end user support which scares most people away

Meh. If that's what I have to go through, hell with it. I'd buy all of my parts online, build the thing, then sell it. I guess I would sell it as a backbone system... I'd sell it OS-less and monitor-less, and if it didn't sell I'd jack up the price to compensate for adding a valid copy of Windows XP with it too.

I figured I'd just word the description a certain way. Like, all you need is a monitor and you have a complete system that'll blow away anything Dell or Gateway has to offer. Basically reassuring the buyer that even though they have to add a monitor, it's a kick ass system for the price, and a better bang for the buck than what you would receive from even a high end Dell or Gateway.

I don't know, I figured I'd just throw the idea around. It's not like I'm going to build 30 of them at once and sell. I'd just build one with some extra money, see how it does, and go from there.

EDIT:

My idea was just shot down the hole. I did some ebay searching and found that there were virtually no auctions for custom pcs. Then I came across one particular auction. 4200 64 bit dual core AMD Athlon, 2 gig ram, 280 gig hdd, brand new, 10 year warranty, blah blah blahhhhhhhh ton of **** with it, going price was 732 bucks plus shipping. Hell, I'd make 50 cents profit off of something like that.

I think I'll just stick to overloading on overtime at work for some extra cash and as a time-user. But hey, if people I know come to me asking about it, I'd surely build one then.

FghtinIrshNvrDi · 10-20-2005, 03:18 PM

See, that's what I do. Gaara is right. Monitors and OS's KILL your ability to compete. I try to build machines for people I know, that way they won't screw me.

The PC market is really lame as far as what people think they want. They really, really like warrenties and we're at a disadvantage with out 100 dollar operating systems

Ryan