Best way to make money over the summer with computers?

[Retro_R]

I have been seeing a lot of place that if you want a cheap gaming pc, you should put a low profile graphics card into a dell optiplex, and I've been seeing quite a lot on craigslist for some reasonable prices. I've been thinking of buying these and putting a low profile graphics card in there then flip it for cash over the summer. Since at the moment I can't get a job at the moment (at least all the jobs I can get aren't really for me) I was thinking of doing this for money. But what did you guys do for money involving pcs in teen years?

[Mira Yurizaki]

I'd imagine the profit margins are going to be pretty low. Also if you're doing this over Craigslist, I'd imagine people may have second thoughts the moment they see "some kid" trying to sell them a computer. This is on top of the inherit danger of selling on Craigslist.

[Velcade]

All these kids trying to flip computers.  Do yard work; earn some money.

 

I doubt you'll be able to make the kind of money you want and if anything goes wrong they'll be calling you up about the systems.

[Tristerin]

Use CPU and GPU mining to mine low level coins...use the BTC exchange market and sell your low level coins for small amounts of BTC.  I don't make much but rather than my PCs sitting off when I leave for work they all start mining until I get home.  I make more than the electric bill costs for it /shrug - and if you are young enough your parents pay that

[BrinkGG]

14 minutes ago, Retro_R said:

I have been seeing a lot of place that if you want a cheap gaming pc, you should put a low profile graphics card into a dell optiplex, and I've been seeing quite a lot on craigslist for some reasonable prices. I've been thinking of buying these and putting a low profile graphics card in there then flip it for cash over the summer. Since at the moment I can't get a job at the moment (at least all the jobs I can get aren't really for me) I was thinking of doing this for money. But what did you guys do for money involving pcs in teen years?

I got a job completely unrelated. Went and worked at a bike repair shop for the summer and a bit during the school year to buy/upgrade my first desktop PC. ended up with an i3 2100 and GTX 760 system in late 2014. Used that for a little under a year. 

[Mira Yurizaki]

Also want to point out that low profile video cards are hard to find for anything other than bottom-tier GPUs, and those bottom-tier GPUs are already a tough sell for many since you could get something much better for not a whole lot more. At best, throwing one in there might be good for a kid's first gaming PC or someone looking for an HTPC (at which point they may already be doing their own thing), but not much else.

[2SidedPolygon]

Risky business, not much profit. If you want to make money with computers, your best bet is repair. I'm 15 and have decent money repairing computers in my neighborhood, and depending on where you live you might be able to get a lot of business. Repair often costs hundreds of dollars that people don't want to pay, so, as a teenager, you can just get in there at a really low price and fix all the computers people don't want to cough up a couple Benjamins for.

[dizmo]

If you're able to get some money right now, and you live in a decent sized city, yuor best bet is to buy PC's off ebay and either part them out or sell them complete locally. But, honestly, there are profitable things to be flipping, just takes a little research to see what your market wants and what you can get cheap. 

 

Don't focus on making money with PC's. It's the wrong way to go about it. Go get a regular job. You're a teenager, you're not going to get your dream job now. 

 

5 hours ago, Mr. horse said:

I would not want to do this, the risk is extremely high. Someone will ether brake the system or not know how to use it and blame you and your up shit creek without a paddle.

I would stick to tech support or ebay/amzon affiliate marketing.

i used to make about 250$ a week just posting good deals I found on eBay on one forum.

Really, once it's sold it doesn't matter what they do to the system. Tech support from a teen is even less likely than a purchase. 

5 hours ago, Mira Yurizaki said:

I'd imagine the profit margins are going to be pretty low. Also if you're doing this over Craigslist, I'd imagine people may have second thoughts the moment they see "some kid" trying to sell them a computer. This is on top of the inherit danger of selling on Craigslist.

Eh, as a teen he doesn't need to make much per unit. I'd imagine even a few hundred a month in profit would seem like a sizable sum to him. 

 

Teenagers can still present themselves well, and risk can easily be mitigated. Craigslist isn't THAT dangerous, especially if you're selling computers. 

21 minutes ago, 2SidedPolygon said:

Risky business, not much profit. If you want to make money with computers, your best bet is repair. I'm 15 and have decent money repairing computers in my neighborhood, and depending on where you live you might be able to get a lot of business. Repair often costs hundreds of dollars that people don't want to pay, so, as a teenager, you can just get in there at a really low price and fix all the computers people don't want to cough up a couple Benjamins for.

You must live in a pretty small town with no decent shops if repairs are costing hundreds of dollars. 

[2SidedPolygon]

Just now, dizmo said:

You must live in a pretty small town with no decent shops if repairs are costing hundreds of dollars. 

Currently, yes, but in my experience even when I used to live in a larger town it was at least around the 100 mark.

[Norwegiantweaker]

17 minutes ago, dizmo said:

If you're able to get some money right now, and you live in a decent sized city, yuor best bet is to buy PC's off ebay and either part them out or sell them complete locally. But, honestly, there are profitable things to be flipping, just takes a little research to see what your market wants and what you can get cheap. 

 

Don't focus on making money with PC's. It's the wrong way to go about it. Go get a regular job. You're a teenager, you're not going to get your dream job now. 

 

Really, once it's sold it doesn't matter what they do to the system. Tech support from a teen is even less likely than a purchase. 

Eh, as a teen he doesn't need to make much per unit. I'd imagine even a few hundred a month in profit would seem like a sizable sum to him. 

 

Teenagers can still present themselves well, and risk can easily be mitigated. Craigslist isn't THAT dangerous, especially if you're selling computers. 

You must live in a pretty small town with no decent shops if repairs are costing hundreds of dollars. 

the risk here is he'd be liable if it breaks and if he cant reimburse and someone takes him to court or whatever what happens then ? 

[dizmo]

5 minutes ago, Norwegiantweaker said:

the risk here is he'd be liable if it breaks and if he cant reimburse and someone takes him to court or whatever what happens then ? 

No, he wouldn't. You can simply sell as is, final sale, etc. There's a multitude of ways one can get around that. Not only that, he doesn't have to give refunds, as he's not an actual business. Is anyone going to pay the $250+, plus the days wages to take him to small claims court for something likely worth not much more? Highly, highly unlikely. As someone who's sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of product on Craigslist over the years, it simply isn't going to happen.

[Norwegiantweaker]

2 minutes ago, dizmo said:

No, he wouldn't. You can simply sell as is, final sale, etc. There's a multitude of ways one can get around that. Not only that, he doesn't have to give refunds, as he's not an actual business. Is anyone going to pay the $250+, plus the days wages to take him to small claims court for something likely worth not much more? Highly, highly unlikely. As someone who's sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of product on Craigslist over the years, it simply isn't going to happen.

does not work like that over here i guess i didn't take into account that laws are different all over. you can even buy a car for whatever amount and come back with it because it wasn't exactly as advertised as is etc doesn't count lol 

[Mooshi]

You'd make more money flipping burgers part time.

[dizmo]

2 hours ago, Mooshi said:

You'd make more money flipping burgers part time.

Depends how you calculate it. He'd do less actual work with his plan, but he'd likely make more money working an entry level job...with the side effect of greatly increased hourly investment.

4 minutes ago, Mr. horse said:

This is not how things work in the real world. He might be able to get out of refunding but chances are the person he pissed off will bad month him And make life hard fore him.

Sure is. I've had many people damage something after buying it, or say they didn't receive something in their order when they've simply either misplaced it or thrown it out with the packaging materials. If I know I've included it, then I don't budge. They're on their own. You'll never be able to please everyone, and I won't take the financial hit for others stupidity. It's very unlikely that it'd ever get to the point you're alluding to.

[Video Beagle]

18 hours ago, Tristerin said:

Use CPU and GPU mining to mine low level coins...use the BTC exchange market and sell your low level coins for small amounts of BTC.  I don't make much but rather than my PCs sitting off when I leave for work they all start mining until I get home.  I make more than the electric bill costs for it /shrug - and if you are young enough your parents pay that

Huh..interesting ideal....might look into this.

[YaBoiWill]

19 hours ago, Retro_R said:

at least all the jobs I can get aren't really for me

I worked jobs that looking back I would rather shit in my hands and clap then do again. 

Just go up your local high street or whatever with a CV and find someone who will employ you for the summer months 

[wasab]

You can be a cam girl, assuming if you are of legal age and female. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

On 5/28/2019 at 5:25 PM, 2SidedPolygon said:

Risky business, not much profit.

It's risky for sure. Depending on how seriously you take it, you'll also get very little free time.

 

Profit is also highly dependent. You make money when something sells, and only when something sells in a business like that. When going in, you stand to make a lot or lose a lot. It can easily go either way, it's not a standard 9-5 job at a store or fast food place where you can take time off and still get paid, that's for sure. But if you do it right, you can make more money doing it than you can working retail or fast food.

 

On 5/28/2019 at 5:49 PM, dizmo said:

If you're able to get some money right now, and you live in a decent sized city, yuor best bet is to buy PC's off ebay and either part them out or sell them complete locally. But, honestly, there are profitable things to be flipping, just takes a little research to see what your market wants and what you can get cheap.

This ^

You'll have to do a fair bit of research to find out what's worth buying with the intent to flip. Like I said, you'll likely not have much free time in a business such as this.

[wasab]

1 hour ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Snip

I know a person who flips houses and cars. He is rolling in dough. 

[demolitionGoat]

Of you feel confident you can make the work look really good and leave the buyer with a professional looking cable managed clean ready to use product... Why not try it out?

If you cannot do that I'd bet it's gonna be a tough ride.

[NineEyeRon]

Are you super expert in any software or games? Maybe you can do instructional classes instead? 

 

I would love some coaching on My CSGO game.

[YaBoiWill]

1 hour ago, NineEyeRon said:

I would love some coaching on My CSGO game.

Just keep playing on it, I haven't played in ages but I think hitting F1 or something at the start of the game gives a good range of guns to use. 

Don't play the bomb diffusing games, do the death-match ones, more action. See if friends at work/social circles also play to game in private matches - bit more fun and helps as they can give tips

 

[Glinch]

Buddy, you're probably best off getting another job. You'll grow to hate computers if you work with them for a living.