Help me sell my cheap PCs that are not selling

[Ykcud]

So I got these really cheap what I been calling “Budget Gaming PCs”. Basically what they are is cheap DDR3 PCs that I put together from parts I got for free or really cheap. They are not designed for AAA games, but can do things like Minecraft, Skyrim or Fortnite on low settings. Here are the specs of them:

 

AMD Phenom II X4 840 (4 cores, 3.2 GHz)
8 GB DDR3 RAM @ 1333 MT/s (2x 4GB sticks)
120 GB SSD
320 GB 2.5” HDD
RX 550 2GB

380 watt PSU
Windows 10 (unactivated)

 

The problem is they are not selling. I got them for sale for $250 each. Am I asking too much for them? I am wondering what to do with these guys. I am thinking that maybe I should take out the GPU and sell those for $75 a pop because in the past I have been able to do that in my area on Craigslist (I bought the GPUs for less than $70 each). Then wait for the market to change for GPUs and get them a RX 560 4GB or a 1050 Ti. One problem I have though is that the PSU I have for them does not have any PCIe connectors so I am a bit limited on the GPU I can put into these things. Also they can only use two drives due to a limitation with the PSU again.

 

Another option is that I can take out the 120 GB SSDs and stick a 60 GB SSD and bring down the price to $225 since the 120GB SSDs cost me some. I also got a bunch of 500 GB 3.5” HDD now that I think about it for very cheap I can stick in them for no additional charge. I am just not sure what I would do with the 320 GB drives after that. Maybe I can pair them together and stick them into better computers, which I do have.

 

As a note, I am not a shop or a business. I am just a hobbyist who managed to get a bunch of parts for cheap in the last few months. Also I am a bargain hunter and at this point am pricing the PCs to sell for me to break even. I typically sell my PCs for very little profit if any as I see it as a fun hobby and as a service for my community.

 

Also looking for Craigslist ad ideas to sell these guys as right now my posts are pretty bland.

Edited September 10, 2021 by Spotty
fix font colour

[helfisk]

Don't know anything of the market in your area, but where I live, there's simply no market for those specs.
No one other than well-meaning mothers getting hustled, would purchase that.

[SorryBella]

Just now, Chronified said:

Dark mode users be like

Another day, Another PSA where i have to say KEEP YOUR TEXT COLOR AT DEFAULT.

11 minutes ago, Ykcud said:

AMD Phenom II X4 840 (4 cores, 3.2 GHz)
8 GB DDR3 RAM @ 1333 MT/s (2x 4GB sticks)
120 GB SSD
320 GB 2.5” HDD
RX 550 2GB

380 watt PSU
Windows 10 (unactivated)

Yeah, its hard to sell a phenom and FX system compared to something like Intel that really retain their price on the used market. Honestly i wouldve sell things separately if you want to get rid of it ASAP. Also, did you list your unactivated windows on the listing? Layman still see unactivated OS as a bad thing, i would spend the 5$ to get a gray market key, sail 7 seas, or slap Pop OS! on it.

[Ykcud]

5 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

Another day, Another PSA where i have to say KEEP YOUR TEXT COLOR AT DEFAULT.

Yeah, its hard to sell a phenom and FX system compared to something like Intel that really retain their price on the used market. Honestly i wouldve sell things separately if you want to get rid of it ASAP. Also, did you list your unactivated windows on the listing? Layman still see unactivated OS as a bad thing, i would spend the 5$ to get a gray market key, sail 7 seas, or slap Pop OS! on it.

That's really tricky. A while ago before I was aware that putting Windows 10 without a key was free on a PC, I did experiment with putting Linux OS's on them and that did not go over well with my customers and things sold much slower.

[Chronified]

From my point of view, likely the storage. 120GB SSD won't fit anything other than Minecraft after a copy of Windows and a 320GB laptop HDD is a real turn off, if you're posting photos of the rig the unactivated windows is likely turning people off too. 
In the very least skim your local marketplace for a used 1TB drive to swap the 320GB drive with.

 

Are you offering it as a complete system with a monitor+keyboard+mouse?? Much easier to sell systems complete ready to go. 

I have an activation.bat file if you want it , better than giving a client a PC with malware from a sketchy activation program. 

Find some dirt cheap kb+mice+monitors and offer an extra option for $275 for the complete set. 

Perhaps list it as "perfect back to school PC, won't play fortnite so your kid needs to do their work"

[Ykcud]

11 minutes ago, Chronified said:

From my point of view, likely the storage. 120GB SSD won't fit anything other than Minecraft after a copy of Windows and a 320GB laptop HDD is a real turn off, if you're posting photos of the rig the unactivated windows is likely turning people off too. 
In the very least skim your local marketplace for a used 1TB drive to swap the 320GB drive with.

 

Are you offering it as a complete system with a monitor+keyboard+mouse?? Much easier to sell systems complete ready to go. 

I have an activation.bat file if you want it , better than giving a client a PC with malware from a sketchy activation program. 

Find some dirt cheap kb+mice+monitors and offer an extra option for $275 for the complete set. 

Perhaps list it as "perfect back to school PC, won't play fortnite so your kid needs to do their work"

. . . but I tested it and it does play Fornite  Anyways, I do offer a keyboard and mouse combo for an additional $10 with it on my ad. My local market does not have a used 1 TB HDD for sale, I am quite sure, I watch it like a hawk (Its part of being a bargain hunter  ) I also do offer monitors for it but I don't list the price because I have so many different models that I just leave it as a ask me about it kind of thing. That being said I CAN add those 500 GB HDD to them and 60 GB is enough to add a single game or two on the SSD as long as it is not a AAA one, which it can't play anyways. Windows only takes up about 25 GB to 30 GB in my experience after updates.

I also already have the "Perfect back to school PC" for sale which is another story. Its $75

[mariushm]

24 minutes ago, Ykcud said:

So I got these really cheap what I been calling “Budget Gaming PCs”. Basically what they are is cheap DDR3 PCs that I put together from parts I got for free or really cheap. They are not designed for AAA games, but can do things like Minecraft, Skyrim or Fortnite on low settings. Here are the specs of them:

 

AMD Phenom II X4 840 (4 cores, 3.2 GHz)
8 GB DDR3 RAM @ 1333 MT/s (2x 4GB sticks)
120 GB SSD
320 GB 2.5” HDD
RX 550 2GB

380 watt PSU
Windows 10 (unactivated)

 

The problem is they are not selling. I got them for sale for $250 each. Am I asking too much for them? I am wondering what to do with these guys. I am thinking that maybe I should take out the GPU and sell those for $75 a pop because in the past I have been able to do that in my area on Craigslist (I bought the GPUs for less than $70 each). Then wait for the market to change for GPUs and get them a RX 560 4GB or a 1050 Ti. One problem I have though is that the PSU I have for them does not have any PCIe connectors so I am a bit limited on the GPU I can put into these things. Also they can only use two drives due to a limitation with the PSU again.

 

Another option is that I can take out the 120 GB SSDs and stick a 60 GB SSD and bring down the price to $225 since the 120GB SSDs cost me some. I also got a bunch of 500 GB 3.5” HDD now that I think about it for very cheap I can stick in them for no additional charge. I am just not sure what I would do with the 320 GB drives after that. Maybe I can pair them together and stick them into better computers, which I do have.

 

 

If you have older cheaper video cards but which require a pci-e 6pin / 8 pin connector,  use a 2 x molex - > pci-e 6 pin / 8 pin adapter cable.  BUT the psu must have the 12v current ... check label.  You have 100w on phenom cpu and mobo, you'll have 100w on video card, so your psu should have at least 250w on 12v  (> 20A) 

 

I'd aim for $199  as a price, add the 500 GB hard drive, maybe replace the SSD with a 60 GB one or drop it completely... bargain hunters would buy it without SSD.

 

Your price is still not that great. 

 

The CPU is 17$ on ebay : https://www.ebay.com/itm/352716230996

The mobo is $30 on ebay : https://www.ebay.com/itm/393444252145

The ram is ~25$-35$ on ebay : https://www.ebay.com/itm/224404817504

A case and psu could be bought for under $50, a cooler for $10,  a mechanical drive for 10-15$ .. all that's left is the video card. 

 

 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

1 hour ago, Ykcud said:

So I got these really cheap what I been calling “Budget Gaming PCs”. Basically what they are is cheap DDR3 PCs that I put together from parts I got for free or really cheap. They are not designed for AAA games, but can do things like Minecraft, Skyrim or Fortnite on low settings. Here are the specs of them:

 

AMD Phenom II X4 840 (4 cores, 3.2 GHz)
8 GB DDR3 RAM @ 1333 MT/s (2x 4GB sticks)
120 GB SSD
320 GB 2.5” HDD
RX 550 2GB

380 watt PSU
Windows 10 (unactivated)

 

The problem is they are not selling. I got them for sale for $250 each. Am I asking too much for them? I am wondering what to do with these guys. I am thinking that maybe I should take out the GPU and sell those for $75 a pop because in the past I have been able to do that in my area on Craigslist (I bought the GPUs for less than $70 each). Then wait for the market to change for GPUs and get them a RX 560 4GB or a 1050 Ti. One problem I have though is that the PSU I have for them does not have any PCIe connectors so I am a bit limited on the GPU I can put into these things. Also they can only use two drives due to a limitation with the PSU again.

 

Another option is that I can take out the 120 GB SSDs and stick a 60 GB SSD and bring down the price to $225 since the 120GB SSDs cost me some. I also got a bunch of 500 GB 3.5” HDD now that I think about it for very cheap I can stick in them for no additional charge. I am just not sure what I would do with the 320 GB drives after that. Maybe I can pair them together and stick them into better computers, which I do have.

 

As a note, I am not a shop or a business. I am just a hobbyist who managed to get a bunch of parts for cheap in the last few months. Also I am a bargain hunter and at this point am pricing the PCs to sell for me to break even. I typically sell my PCs for very little profit if any as I see it as a fun hobby and as a service for my community.

 

Also looking for Craigslist ad ideas to sell these guys as right now my posts are pretty bland.

Ok ish

 

I think phenom is more or less equal or a lil better than a c2q

 

Even if its only 8gb atleast you put them in dual channel

 

Tbh i wouldnt bother with a tiny ssd, just get a large hdd instead or a 256gb ssd

 

Psu might be ok but check the 12v amperage

 

 

I suggest overclocking the cpu and gpu so games will run smoother

 

 

I would say the system is prob worth more like 150$ or 200$, if it doesnt sell then just sell the gpu

[Chris Pratt]

The GPU is the only component worth anything. The rest is garbage basically. However, a new RX 550 goes for about $250 on its own, in the crazy world we now live in. You'd do better just parting it out and selling the GPU separately.

[LogicalDrm]

For that price, getting Ryzen laptop with Vega iGPU and 250gb SSD is better deal. Just Windows license in there is worth $60.

 

Argument "well this CPU from 7 years ago is better than even older CPU" is not gonna help you sell anything. Don't compare to things you already beat. Compare with things that are beating your offer.

[HerrKaLeu]

5 hours ago, helfisk said:

Don't know anything of the market in your area, but where I live, there's simply no market for those specs.
No one other than well-meaning mothers getting hustled, would purchase that.

+1

Except the GPU, the  specs are lower than the old PCs I use just for Media PC to watch YT, Netflix on TV. If the GPU can do 4K, that is maybe what it could do. 

 

Someone who just browses and does some Word etc. could use it. Definitely not worth $250. And this is a PC for a noob. So any OS should be fully functional (activated). Someone smart enough to find a cheap key and activate, also is smart enough to see this system is not worth much. 

 

Hope you didn't pay actual $ for the hardware. Much is probably more a case for electronic recycling. If one part fails, you will have a hard time finding cheap repair parts for such old standard (DDR3 etc.) and a single part failure basically will mean they need to upgrade a lot. Of course, the target audience won't have that knowledge. 

 

And don't advertise hardware as "gaming" anything if it can't play anything remotely modern. That is mis-leading at best. 

 

If you find people needing replacement parts, you could part it out. but honestly, a small HDD, small SSD etc. are pretty much worthless and you have a hard time giving it away for free. No one wants to put valuable data on a used drive with unknown longevity. And outside someone just googling, they are too small. 

[FruitOfTheLum]

I don't have anything to add that everybody else hasn't already suggested.

 

One thing that stood out to me in your post, though, was that part of the reason you did this was as a service to your community. If you're still unable to sell them, you could always donate one/some/all of them to a local charity? There have been a couple of charities around where I live, especially since COVID and the lockdowns, that have been taking donated PCs and getting them to underprivileged families who don't have any access. It might be a nice thing to do, unless you're in urgent need of the money yourself of course.

[Mark Kaine]

7 hours ago, Ykcud said:

That's really tricky. A while ago before I was aware that putting Windows 10 without a key was free on a PC, I did experiment with putting Linux OS's on them and that did not go over well with my customers and things sold much slower.

Well, sell them without OS, or ask extra $ for a installation of windows / other OS (at whatever price it costs you), i mean, it just psychologically doesn't sound good "unactivated windows" (or similar),either with / or without would probably work much better. 

 

I think this might be the main reason they aren't selling well, otherwise this is about as much as the GPU alone would go...

 

I almost want to say try more, lol, 300 for that "premium" feel* although I'm not sure that's a good idea, but you could try?

 

*ps: im serious,  price is important psychologically,  just 279, 249, 149, etc might sell better...

And I thought about it, i would pay "200" for this if i were looking... but then the GPU alone might just cost as much...

 

So tldr: OS either yes or no, and experiment with pricing a little bit (like if all fails try 199, still better than nothing!) Good luck  

 

1 hour ago, HerrKaLeu said:

And don't advertise hardware as "gaming" anything if it can't play anything remotely modern. That is mis-leading at best. 

Well, maybe "budget gaming" some people don't have much money and it would probably work for them, someone who just needs it for browsing/email could indeed get a cheaper intel without dGPU, imo!

[da na]

I'd buy that for like $150 or so... buy a cheap Windows 10 key from ebay (old OEM keys usually) and activate it.

They'll sell a lot better with activated Windows.

[Middcore]

Unactivated Windows definitely makes it sound sketch. People don't really understand what that means, what the drawbacks of not having Windows activated are, and probably think they'd need to spend $100+ on a retail copy if they ever want to have Windows "legit."

 

If you aren't doing so already, heavily emphasize the performance in popular esports games like Fortnite, Rocket League, LoL etc. Give actual frame rates (what are they, for that matter?). Don't bother mentioning Skyrim and stuff like that, it's been released a hundred times over 10 years and nobody wants to play it for the first time at low settings now. 

 

Hate to say it but having that AMD chip is also probably driving people away, even compared to an Intel CPU of equivalent vintage and performance. Normies simply don't know what AMD even is but people read "Intel" and they hear that "Doot doot-doo doo" chime from the commercials in their heads. If you must use the old Phenoms, make sure you actually say "quad core" prominently, don't expect anybody to know that's what "X4" means. 

 

I'd be interested to know how much you're actually paying for each of the RX 550's you're using. Seems almost like if you can afford to put them in complete PC's for $250 you could probably just resell the cards at a profit and not bother building whole systems. I understand building and selling full systems is more fun but my feeling is there's a relatively narrow cost/performance band where it's actually practical and profitable to do so. 

 

[adarw]

18 minutes ago, Middcore said:

Unactivated Windows definitely makes it sound sketch. People don't really understand what that means, what the drawbacks of not having Windows activated are, and probably think they'd need to spend $100+ on a retail copy if they ever want to have Windows "legit."

 

If you aren't doing so already, heavily emphasize the performance in popular esports games like Fortnite, Rocket League, LoL etc. Give actual frame rates (what are they, for that matter?). Don't bother mentioning Skyrim and stuff like that, it's been released a hundred times over 10 years and nobody wants to play it for the first time at low settings now. 

 

Hate to say it but having that AMD chip is also probably driving people away, even compared to an Intel CPU of equivalent vintage and performance. Normies simply don't know what AMD even is but people read "Intel" and they hear that "Doot doot-doo doo" chime from the commercials in their heads. If you must use the old Phenoms, make sure you actually say "quad core" prominently, don't expect anybody to know that's what "X4" means. 

 

I'd be interested to know how much you're actually paying for each of the RX 550's you're using. Seems almost like if you can afford to put them in complete PC's for $250 you could probably just resell the cards at a profit and not bother building whole systems. I understand building and selling full systems is more fun but my feeling is there's a relatively narrow cost/performance band where it's actually practical and profitable to do so. 

 

yes! this is all vaild

6 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

Eh, maybe try selling them as budget computers rather than adding the gaming part?   You're going to give people, mainly non-techies, that the computer can only be used for gaming.   Cut the price and sell them as a budget computer for work, homework, social media, etc then you'll probably sell more.   As mentioned, most people would go with a newer system if they're gaming at that price point.

this too!

 

 

another thing that drives people is cases, rgb, people like rgb and modern cases. get a new case with rgb for 65 max. make formal descriptions with all its components listed. and finaly post on facebook marketplace aswell.

[adarw]

also add a bit more to the price since your going to spend 20 and 65 on cases. so sell it at 325

[char3327]

Where can I buy? Sounds perfect for a cheap mc server I want to run...

[Wictorian]

How many do you have? I would say taking the ssds is a smart move. Do you only want to sell locally? Then not much to do.

[Slayerking92]

Asking way too much for garbage.  Even Memory Express refurbs are cheaper with much better specs.

 

https://www.memoryexpress.com/Category/DesktopComputers?FilterID=0e757706-0903-d8ff-8186-d297993b5869

 

 

 

1. Factory Refurbished / Recertified are products that are returned to the Manufacturer for various reasons, including customer returns, cancelled orders, overstock, end of lease, demo units, damaged boxes, etc. All these returns are tested and rebuilt to their original specifications by the manufacturer, or it's partner. They are then re-packaged for retail. Refurbished items are just as compliant to the stringent quality standard imposed on brand new products. All major manufacturers including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo have factory refurbished products that are fully functional and come with a 90 Day Warranty from date of purchase. Customers typically save significantly off the original Retail Prices. Factory Refurbished items offer savings to customers looking for outstanding value.

[DBX5TDA]

outside of the GPU the computer isn't really worth much its probably too much effort to upgrade them to make them more appealable, your best bet is likely this;

 

Sell the cpu/gpu/ram/mobo/drives separately on ebay

toss the rest.

 

not sure which case it has depending on that it could be desirable might want to search around could be worth selling that on ebay too.