new system integrator

[Indian pc builder]

Ok me and my friend are trying thinking of opening up a new pc building startup ( basically assemble computers and sell them) only thing is i know it is not a good idea and we will loose our money but my friend is convinced otherwise, can someone please tell me if it is a good idea and if not can someone tell me why?

[dilpickle]

I don't know about India but in most other places this will not be very profitable nor will you have many customers.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

7 minutes ago, Indian pc builder said:

Ok me and my friend are trying thinking of opening up a new pc building startup ( basically assemble computers and sell them) only thing is i know it is not a good idea and we will loose our money but my friend is convinced otherwise, can someone please tell me if it is a good idea and if not can someone tell me why?

Tbh im literally trying to do the same thing,

 

Though id start with selling stuff locally via eshop apps, here in indo ill use tokopedia, but you can use whatever

 

i wouldnt reccomend immedeatly going big and starting a complete buisness out of it, start small, see if theres any demand for the pcs you are building, then slowly grow your buisness

 

personally ill do it for fun and also to support my family cause hey i gotta compensate for my ass sht grades somehow 

¯\_ (ツ) _/¯ 

[HeroRareheart]

If you're good with tech it's a decent side hustle to build/repair computers for people here and there, that said to go full on system integrator you'd need to put forth substantial investments. Given the chip shortage and supply chain issues right now I'd say this is a bad time to try and launch a company like this. I'd wait for a less risky time if you and your friend really want to do this and just do miscellaneous PC work as a side hustle until then.

[harryk]

For any business to succeed it needs to offer something novel, something better, or something cheaper. If you can't accomplish any of those then it is a bad idea. 

 

Building PCs is not novel, plenty of people and businesses do it. 

 

You could try to build better PCs but this means offering something more than just assembling off-the-shelf parts. Think boutique customized cases and such.

 

You could try to build PCs for cheaper but honestly there is very little if any margin for profit. You still have to pay MSRP (or worse) for the parts, then assemble it. With everyone buying smartphones, tablets, and notebooks very few people are looking for a desktop PC. And those who are, are likely to seriously consider building it themselves. 

 

[Arika]

I would recommend against it. You would be far better off finding a SI and applying for a job there.

 

Not only is it a saturated market, you're also going up against every kid and their dog that has dreams of building PCs for a living.

 

It's fine to say "i want to build PCs and sell them to people for a living" but have you considered:

• What Warranty you will offer
• Will you do RMAs for your customers
• Will you have enough stock of every single component to be able to swap out a faulty part if the customer has issues
• Will you offer after sale support
• How will you secure supply of parts?
• Why would someone chose you, a new player to the game when there is plenty of other well established and well reviews SIs that can probably offer better services than you due to purely having more money.

[dizmo]

You have a lot you need to look into. @Arika S listed most of it, however I'll add:

• Business start up fees
• Taxes
• Warehouse space
• Shipping
• Marketing and SEO budgets

I think there is a chance for money to be made, especially since you have the ability to get into a relatively young market in your country. However, you'd have to offer something that someone with a ton of money might not; that's usually something on a service level. Home install, in person help, etc.

 

It's not a great time to start something like this, as parts are few and far between.

 

How much capital do you have to put into a project like this?

 

2 minutes ago, harryk said:

For any business to succeed it needs to offer something novel, something better, or something cheaper. If you can't accomplish any of those then it is a bad idea. 

 

Building PCs is not novel, plenty of people and businesses do it. 

 

You could try to build better PCs but this means offering something more than just assembling off-the-shelf parts. Think boutique customized cases and such.

 

You could try to build PCs for cheaper but honestly there is very little if any margin for profit. You still have to pay MSRP (or worse) for the parts, then assemble it. With everyone buying smartphones, tablets, and notebooks very few people are looking for a desktop PC. And those who are, are likely to seriously consider building it themselves.

That's not entirely accurate.

I sold mountain bike parts on mountain bike forums for years. It wasn't novel, wasn't better, and wasn't cheaper than other listings. It was far from a bad idea.

What you listed is more of a phrase used for designing a product, not a business.

 

You don't have to pay MSRP if you're bulk buying, and it's not hard for someone to get in touch with companies for bulk orders. You can also buy surplus.

 

If you think most consumers would want to build a PC themselves, I don't think you really grasp how big the market is, and how small the enthusiast market is in relation to it

1 minute ago, Arika S said:

I would recommend against it. You would be far better off finding a SI and applying for a job there.

 

Not only is it a saturated market, you're also going up against every kid and their dog that has dreams of building PCs for a living.

 

It's fine to say "i want to build PCs and sell them to people for a living" but have you considered:

• What Warranty you will offer
• Will you do RMAs for your customers
• Will you have enough stock of every single component to be able to swap out a faulty part if the customer has issues
• Will you offer after sale support
• How will you secure supply of parts?
• Why would someone chose you, a new player to the game when there is plenty of other well established and well reviews SIs that can probably offer better services than you due to purely having more money.

Usually I'd completely agree with what you said, but the OP is in India. I'd say this is still a relatively untapped market, and there's loads of room for a new business to get enough of the market (18% of the entire planet) to make a very good living. Their market isn't really saturated, and if he could come out by offering better customer service or perhaps home instalment, he'll have a good chance of making pretty good money.

[HeroRareheart]

19 minutes ago, harryk said:

For any business to succeed it needs to offer something novel, something better, or something cheaper.

There is one more, offer a service or product people need or want but don't have in the area.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

26 minutes ago, HeroRareheart said:

If you're good with tech it's a decent side hustle to build/repair computers for people here and there

Yep its a decent side hustle if you can even find computers to flip, though doing this for a living is gonna be really hard, and its basically gambling cause you know stupid sht like the silicon shortage can happen.

only real way to even make a living out of it is to start a full buisness or just create content while selling pcs like tech yes city

 

Im still 14 so i dont need to earn money but for a kid like me its not a bad idea since im not making a living off it, if you are older and already have a job then also not a bad idea for making money on the side to add to your salary

[Indian pc builder]

1 hour ago, dilpickle said:

I don't know about India but in most other places this will not be very profitable nor will you have many customers.

same in India but i am trying to dissuade my friend so i need a good argument that is why i have made this post to look for points about why this is not profitable

[Indian pc builder]

1 hour ago, harryk said:

For any business to succeed it needs to offer something novel, something better, or something cheaper. If you can't accomplish any of those then it is a bad idea. 

 

Building PCs is not novel, plenty of people and businesses do it. 

 

You could try to build better PCs but this means offering something more than just assembling off-the-shelf parts. Think boutique customized cases and such.

 

You could try to build PCs for cheaper but honestly there is very little if any margin for profit. You still have to pay MSRP (or worse) for the parts, then assemble it. With everyone buying smartphones, tablets, and notebooks very few people are looking for a desktop PC. And those who are, are likely to seriously consider building it themselves. 

 

or people may just buy a laptop

[Indian pc builder]

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

You have a lot you need to look into. @Arika S listed most of it, however I'll add:

• Business start up fees
• Taxes
• Warehouse space
• Shipping
• Marketing and SEO budgets

I think there is a chance for money to be made, especially since you have the ability to get into a relatively young market in your country. However, you'd have to offer something that someone with a ton of money might not; that's usually something on a service level. Home install, in person help, etc.

 

It's not a great time to start something like this, as parts are few and far between.

 

How much capital do you have to put into a project like this?

 

That's not entirely accurate.

I sold mountain bike parts on mountain bike forums for years. It wasn't novel, wasn't better, and wasn't cheaper than other listings. It was far from a bad idea.

What you listed is more of a phrase used for designing a product, not a business.

 

You don't have to pay MSRP if you're bulk buying, and it's not hard for someone to get in touch with companies for bulk orders. You can also buy surplus.

 

If you think most consumers would want to build a PC themselves, I don't think you really grasp how big the market is, and how small the enthusiast market is in relation to it

Usually I'd completely agree with what you said, but the OP is in India. I'd say this is still a relatively untapped market, and there's loads of room for a new business to get enough of the market (18% of the entire planet) to make a very good living. Their market isn't really saturated, and if he could come out by offering better customer service or perhaps home instalment, he'll have a good chance of making pretty good money.

i have done my research and i can tell you the market is very saturated by the big companies like dell and hp and lenovo, the thing is no one will buy a assembled pc if they can get one from a big company for better prices and there are a number of other small assemblers already handling all the demand for assembled pc's 

[Indian pc builder]

3 minutes ago, Indian pc builder said:

i have done my research and i can tell you the market is very saturated by the big companies like dell and hp and lenovo, the thing is no one will buy a assembled pc if they can get one from a big company for better prices and there are a number of other small assemblers already handling all the demand for assembled pc's 

not to mention all the other people who are reselling computers from big system integrators like dell lenovo, hp, ibuypower, etc. they make money by buying a pc from a big company and then customising it to the customer and then selling it at a higher price

[adarw]

1 minute ago, Indian pc builder said:

i have done my research and i can tell you the market is very saturated by the big companies like dell and hp and lenovo, the thing is no one will buy a assembled pc if they can get one from a big company for better prices and there are a number of other small assemblers already handling all the demand for assembled pc's 

Competitive Advantage. price isnt everything, you need to advertise why your is better than dell and hp. while there might be others that are system integrators they are way too big for on site troubleshooting, for example you can say that you offer 2 years onsite troubleshooting for all pcs you sell. ive seen some local guy simply build pcs off of used hardware, mod the case just a bit and sell them for way more. him making each pc personalized is a competitive advantage. find your competitive advantage and go forth, its okay to make mistakes!  

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

looks like the book im reading is coming in handy lol

 

[dizmo]

1 hour ago, Indian pc builder said:

i have done my research and i can tell you the market is very saturated by the big companies like dell and hp and lenovo, the thing is no one will buy a assembled pc if they can get one from a big company for better prices and there are a number of other small assemblers already handling all the demand for assembled pc's 

So, if that's the conclusion you came to, why do you want to try?

1 hour ago, Indian pc builder said:

not to mention all the other people who are reselling computers from big system integrators like dell lenovo, hp, ibuypower, etc. they make money by buying a pc from a big company and then customising it to the customer and then selling it at a higher price

By the sounds of it you're not really invested into having it succeed. You haven't come up with any pros or ideas, just negatives.

[adarw]

2 minutes ago, dizmo said:

So, if that's the conclusion you came to, why do you want to try?

By the sounds of it you're not really invested into having it succeed. You haven't come up with any pros or ideas, just negatives.

he is trying to convince his friend not to go forth with his idea. he wants us to give him points into why it would be stupid.

[dizmo]

16 minutes ago, adarw said:

he is trying to convince his friend not to go forth with his idea. he wants us to give him points into why it would be stupid.

I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea though, just have to attack it from the right angle.

With a population of that size, there's bound to be niches they can fill.

[adarw]

Just now, dizmo said:

I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea though, just have to attack it from the right angle.

With a population of that size, there's bound to be niches they can fill.

yep i agree, just wanted to let you know that @Indian pc builderis quite firm about him or his friend not doing this.

[dizmo]

23 minutes ago, adarw said:

yep i agree, just wanted to let you know that @Indian pc builderis quite firm about him or his friend not doing this.

If he was quite firm he wouldn't have said he was open to it being a good idea

[adarw]

2 minutes ago, dizmo said:

If he was quite firm he wouldn't have said he was open to it being a good idea

i miss read that lol

[Indian pc builder]

So in all is it a good idea? I am confused now should I stop him or encourage him?

[dilpickle]

It seems pretty unanimous that it is not a good idea.

[Indian pc builder]

On 11/29/2021 at 12:07 PM, adarw said:

i miss read that lol

 

On 11/29/2021 at 12:04 PM, dizmo said:

If he was quite firm he wouldn't have said he was open to it being a good idea

That sounds sus 

[Indian pc builder]

1 hour ago, dilpickle said:

It seems pretty unanimous that it is not a good idea.

Ok so I need more points 

[Indian pc builder]

Just now, Indian pc builder said:

Ok so I need more points 

Because I told him what you guys said and he still stuck on doing it