Computer building side-gig

[Philed_In_12]

Hi LTT community, 
Hope everyone is well in this time of crisis (as of April 6th 2020)

 

Today, I’m reaching out for help on something I’ve been wanting to do for a while and that a couple of you might have done in the past. For the better part of the last 5 years, I’ve gained a lot of interest in computers and electronics. I watched hundreds of hours of footage from BitWit to HardwareCanucks and of course LTT. The reason why I am mentioning this is because I think I’ve learned a lot of things and that I’m ready to use this knowledge to help others. Of course I don’t know everything and you can always learn a thing, but I’m confident that I can now use it for something.
 

So here goes my idea. I really want to start a side-gig. I would essentially offer PC building services from components research and gathering to building and maintenance.

 

I’m reaching out because I want to know if any of you has done it, is currently doing it or wants to do it. This could be a topic where we could share knowledge and experiences. 
 

Of course, I came with a few questions in mind:

1. Can it be profitable?

2. Where should I post my ad? (Ex. FB marketplace, Kijiji, website)

3. What’s the best way to do this? (How do I charge? Do I buy from manufacturers or retailers? If you have any other tips, go ahead!)

4. Do you need to have building experience to start?

Thank you everyone,

 

Let the conversation... begin!

 

-Philipp

[Yoinkerman]

There's not really any money in it.

 

I do it for a 24 of beer and that's pushing it

[Letgomyleghoe]

Unless your a giant prebuilt company selling shitty prebuilt sand buying in bulk, you’re gonna make very little if any money

[harryk]

You have to ask yourself what service are you providing that has value and to whom.

 

The majority of consumers are looking for the cheapest computer to browse the web which will be fulfilled by laptops and prebuilt desktops from the big manufacturers. There's no way you'll be able to compete on price. You could focus on expensive gaming computers but the clientele for gaming computers is equally searching for the best price and are much more inclined to build the machine themselves. The only real market I see for building computers is the super-high-end bespoke computers for wealthy clients. The kind that involves custom case designs with machining and crazy water loops that take months to build. But that market is extremely small and has a high barrier of entry.

[Teddy07]

1 hour ago, comander said:

As stated, not really any money in it.

Yes and don´t forgett that you have to deal with warranty and support if problems occur.

[Arika]

There is going to be thousands of people like you, it's not really feasible to do it. Ask yourself; why would a customer come to you over a proper computer store with warranty and service staff? Are you going to handle RMAs? Will you help customers if something goes wrong?

[Mutoh]

I sold systems on the side for a few years and it can be profitable but its not a big margin and its a lot of work. My prior job had a lot of down time so I was able to spend most of my days getting parts and planning builds.

 

 

Some things you should probably know:

 

Familiarize yourself with older parts and see which ones can work for what youre looking to build. IMHE buying new parts and trying to sell a custom system at pretty much the same price as a tower you could buy at CC or best buy isnt super enticing for most people. Depending on your market, you could get great deals on stuff thats only a gen or 2 old.

 

Check classifieds or even retail stores for good deals often and make lots of offers.

 

Stress test the shit out of your parts. Especially if they are used. If you wouldnt feel comfy using it in your main machine, then why would somebody else? 

 

I like to re-paste used GPUs.

 

Dont do anything that might cause extra problems for you or the consumer in the long run (crazy OC profiles, custom loops to noobs etc...) because you will hear back and it will be a headache.

 

Parts in new cases tend to attract the eye more than parts modded to fit in some old HP OEM tower.

 

Cable manage, take lots of pictures. List your specs and what your pc can do and what you've tested.

 

You can get cheap windows keys from various places. Definitely an option although there are varying opinions.

 

I offered a warranty of sorts where I would fix or replace any parts within the first 3 months (as long as the damage wasnt user error such as a consumer OC blowing some VRMs on a board or something)

 

If you're using OEM boards and havent already, remove all the bloat. I also like to remove W10 bloatware on new installs (and update all drivers and windows itself).

 

 

All in all, with a bit of time and luck you can get a decent thing going. On average I would probably make a good hundred or 2 on builds. I would still do it but I dont quite have the time to allocate to it anymore.