I Want to Start Refurbishing PCs, But...

[Maximoose]

I am wondering about a few things before I start refurbishing PCs. I live in the USA

 

Getting the PCs:

 

I am thinking of putting an ad on Craigslist for finding old PCs, but how many of those PCs do you think would be broken or too old to refurbish. How much money do you think an unrefurbished PC would be worth paying for for what specs and age?

 

Refurbishing the PCs:

 

Do you think a RAM, SSD, and graphics card upgrade will be enough, will Ubuntu be a good OS if the person I got the PC from wants the HDD back? Are there simple things I can do to improve the aesthetics of the case?

 

Selling the PCs:

 

How much will a person pay for what specs? Do many people actually buy refurbished PCs? should I include peripherals? Do people really know how much Windows costs and will they spend the extra money for Windows? I plan on selling through Ebay.

 

Thanks, any help is appreciated.

[cfair766]

Personally i have found that really old pc are not worth doing anything to, maybe scrap the parts. The ram is most likely too old, psu too small or made specifically to be exactly good enough for the say dell build, case maybe keep but some say dell cases are hard to fit new parts in

I would say open a computer repair store instead

[comicsansms]

Buy computers that have Core2 Duos or better that are "Broken" or called "Computer" (Look at the case stickers)

 

I bought a HP DC7800 with a screen keyboard and mouse for $10, the tower alone is worth $30. It was listed as broken but it works fine, it didn't even test the 8400GS since it's only input was DMS-59 and I didn't have a DMS-59 ti VGA or DVI adapter.

(Core2 Duo E6500, 2GB Ram, 160GB HDD, 8400GS)

[airdeano]

a word of warning:

taking money for a PC/computer means you'll have to provide 32/9 (24/7) support

as between friends/family/joe schmoe regardless of your parts or not. and far be it

easy enough to get run into small claims court over a $100 PC that you might have

profited $25. just sayin'

 

ya might have figured that someone already has tried to capitalize on this same

idea and already has fubarred it for everyone else to try the same to find out the

headaches and pitfalls of trying to make a buck or two.

[techguru]

a word of warning:

taking money for a PC/computer means you'll have to provide 32/9 (24/7) support

as between friends/family/joe schmoe regardless of your parts or not. and far be it

easy enough to get run into small claims court over a $100 PC that you might have

profited $25. just sayin'

 

ya might have figured that someone already has tried to capitalize on this same

idea and already has fubarred it for everyone else to try the same to find out the

headaches and pitfalls of trying to make a buck or two.

he wouldn't have to provide support for refurbished..you just sell it "AS IS"

 

the real problem here is..theres hardly any money in it

 

say he buys the pc for 50-80$...and say it needs 50-100$ of parts...its unlikely he would get that back from the selling of the pc

[r1Ns3]

a word of warning:

taking money for a PC/computer means you'll have to provide 32/9 (24/7) support

as between friends/family/joe schmoe regardless of your parts or not. and far be it

easy enough to get run into small claims court over a $100 PC that you might have

profited $25. just sayin'

 

ya might have figured that someone already has tried to capitalize on this same

idea and already has fubarred it for everyone else to try the same to find out the

headaches and pitfalls of trying to make a buck or two.

 

Yea that is the exact reason I am not making and selling gaming pc's, some idiot is gonna accidentally give the cpu 30 volts and blame that it was my fault.

[Neemil]

Tbh I actually love collecting older PC's which family members or friends just want to throw away, heck I still have my Pentium D system running.

[JefferyD90]

I am wondering about a few things before I start refurbishing PCs. I live in the USA

 

Getting the PCs:

 

I am thinking of putting an ad on Craigslist for finding old PCs, but how many of those PCs do you think would be broken or too old to refurbish. How much money do you think an unrefurbished PC would be worth paying for for what specs and age?

 

Refurbishing the PCs:

 

Do you think a RAM, SSD, and graphics card upgrade will be enough, will Ubuntu be a good OS if the person I got the PC from wants the HDD back? Are there simple things I can do to improve the aesthetics of the case?

 

Selling the PCs:

 

How much will a person pay for what specs? Do many people actually buy refurbished PCs? should I include peripherals? Do people really know how much Windows costs and will they spend the extra money for Windows? I plan on selling through Ebay.

 

Thanks, any help is appreciated.

If you're going to do this you're going to need storage space.  My best advice is to not put any extra money into the computers.  Get 2 computers and then make a whole working computer out of them.  Usually, you can get 3.5 working computers out of every 5 "broken" computers.

 

Most of the time they just need the OS reinstalled anyways, its nothing physically wrong with the computer.  The owners just don't know what their doing and "junk" them.

[LogicalDrm]

When you can get new and pretty good PC/laptop for basic use for $350-500, you aren't going to get any more than $300 for used and old PC. Local recycling center sells C2D level PCs for €50-150.

[TheMechEngineer]

Getting the PCs:

Many people throw away Pentium 4's and dual cores that still work perfectly fine with Windows XP. If you start trawling in the right places, you can find refuse stores and places where old computers just get thrown away onto a massive pile. Provided there isn't a company getting all funny about their sensitive data getting recovered (which can be a thing), then you should be fine to snatch them up.

 

Refurbishing the PCs:

Hard drives can be items that are usually dead or dying, but they're cheap nowadays and getting newer ones isn't overly hard.

Also, I'll say it quietly, but for cheap systems it's best to go with a pirated copy of Windows XP.

 

Selling the PCs:

Selling working rebuilt units for $50 or $100 for newer ones might be an option, but usually it'll be hard to get a return on your investment. Computers depreciate real bad. Just try to spend as little money as possible, and there might be a chance of getting a profit if you do it right.

[comicsansms]

 

Getting the PCs:

Many people throw away Pentium 4's and dual cores that still work perfectly fine with Windows XP. If you start trawling in the right places, you can find refuse stores and places where old computers just get thrown away onto a massive pile. Provided there isn't a company getting all funny about their sensitive data getting recovered (which can be a thing), then you should be fine to snatch them up.

 

Refurbishing the PCs:

Hard drives can be items that are usually dead or dying, but they're cheap nowadays and getting newer ones isn't overly hard.

Also, I'll say it quietly, but for cheap systems it's best to go with a pirated copy of Windows XP.

 

Selling the PCs:

Selling working rebuilt units for $50 or $100 for newer ones might be an option, but usually it'll be hard to get a return on your investment. Computers depreciate real bad. Just try to spend as little money as possible, and there might be a chance of getting a profit if you do it right.

 

You are NOT going to get $50 for a P4, you are not going to get $50 for a PD. You may get $50 for a C2D.

 

From looking at ebay listings, you will have to make a gamble othewise you are going to make nothing.

 

I am going to buy a computer in Melbourne because it could have a C2Q, it probably won't, but for $5 and for a 3 hour drive (6 hours return) and spending a day at Melbourne it is worth the gamble IMO.

 

I'd look at your local rubbish tip, they may have good stuff or they may not. I don't know, I haven't looked into it.

[Guest]

I'd also probably avoid the whole pirating Windows thing - not looked upon favorably around here.

[kierwest]

I actually buy, sell, trade, and refurbish computers and computer parts.  I basically have a network of wholesale, auction houses, and sellers that give me discounts on higher end desktops and laptops.  I can honestly say that it is to risky dealing with oldre computers, and I have lost tons of money from unseen blunders, shipping mishaps, and ebay scammers.  Don't get into this.  Just learn how to build websites and stuff.  Make money doing that. 

[LieutenantLime]

Just learn how to build websites and stuff. Make money doing that.

SQUARESP-

No, stop, we've had enough...

SQUARE-

NO!

....

....

BUILD IT BEAUTIFUL.

Sorry. I had to.