Buildings pcs!

[Turtlesquisher]

I would love to start building pcs and such for my locals, me and my friend thomas love desktops an all of the components that go into them. I am 17 and have studied what desktops do, what components do what, what you need for a pc, and specifics. I just started college and need money for books, how could I go about this and start?

[shadowbyte]

step 1: acquire a fair sum of money

step 2: create a list at pcpartpicker.com

step 3: purchase parts and wait for delivery if shipped

step 4: construct PC by following youtube guide such as this

step 5: profit

[SeraphicWings]

You could start by saving money for a rig then practice building it yourself (guides are plenty in youtube)
But before deciding to purchase parts, please consult us at the forum

[Turtlesquisher]

Just now, shadowbyte said:

step 1: acquire a fair sum of money

step 2: create a list at pcpartpicker.com

step 3: purchase parts and wait for delivery if shipped

step 4: construct PC by following youtube guide such as this

step 5: profit

I have created plenty of pcs on pcpartpicker, but I would like to do a service business. Have the client call and I will ask questions of what they want and charge i dunno like 20$ to make the pc part list then tell them to order and ill build then charge another 40 or 50?

[shadowbyte]

Just now, Turtlesquisher said:

I have created plenty of pcs on pcpartpicker, but I would like to do a service business. Have the client call and I will ask questions of what they want and charge i dunno like 20$ to make the pc part list then tell them to order and ill build then charge another 40 or 50?

well, it's a pretty saturated market at this point, so I'd stay local to start

I wouldn't charge to create a parts list, since it requires almost no effort on your part

see if you can find people that are interested and maybe charge like 30 dollars to construct the system

[Turtlesquisher]

7 minutes ago, SeraphicWings said:

You could start by saving money for a rig then practice building it yourself (guides are plenty in youtube)
But before deciding to purchase parts, please consult us at the forum

I have seen literally all guides, I fooled around with a couple of computers but nothing gaming-like. I have over 15 pcs built on part picker an they vary from 400$ to 2000$ I will definitely consult before buying though, thank you

[Turtlesquisher]

1 minute ago, shadowbyte said:

well, it's a pretty saturated market at this point, so I'd stay local to start

I wouldn't charge to create a parts list, since it requires almost no effort on your part

see if you can find people that are interested and maybe charge like 30 dollars to construct the system

I recently talked to a person who owns their own tech company in Hawaii and he said to even take a look at a pc or make one virtually, they charge atleast 80 so I just based my price considering im not certified, although I know a lot I dont have the papers, and this is somewhat new for me.

[Trav_X]

6 minutes ago, Turtlesquisher said:

I have created plenty of pcs on pcpartpicker, but I would like to do a service business. Have the client call and I will ask questions of what they want and charge i dunno like 20$ to make the pc part list then tell them to order and ill build then charge another 40 or 50?

Just have people call you and make a PCPP list based on their needs, then put it together and charge like $50 for making it for them. Help them install the OS too.

[Turtlesquisher]

6 minutes ago, shadowbyte said:

well, it's a pretty saturated market at this point, so I'd stay local to start

I wouldn't charge to create a parts list, since it requires almost no effort on your part

see if you can find people that are interested and maybe charge like 30 dollars to construct the system

I also need money for books so thats why I put it up to around 75$ for everything cause I need books soon haha but I can definitely scale it down

[Turtlesquisher]

1 minute ago, Trav_X said:

Just have people call you and make a PCPP list based on their needs, then put it together and charge like $50 for making it for them. Help them install the OS too.

Have any tips on how to get my name out there? Cause I know that is something that is kind of difficult, it might even be the hardest thing to do but should I go on facebook and make a page? Any suggested mainstream social media websites or pc places?

[Trav_X]

1 minute ago, Turtlesquisher said:

Have any tips on how to get my name out there? Cause I know that is something that is kind of difficult, it might even be the hardest thing to do but should I go on facebook and make a page? Any suggested mainstream social media websites or pc places?

You could make a page, and just let people know. Tell your friends and family and ask if they like their current PC, would they consider getting a better one, etc. A Facebook page wouldn't be bad, and you could even do the old Make-Flyers-And-Put-Them-On-People's-Doors

[Turtlesquisher]

Just now, Trav_X said:

You could make a page, and just let people know. Tell your friends and family and ask if they like their current PC, would they consider getting a better one, etc. A Facebook page wouldn't be bad, and you could even do the old Make-Flyers-And-Put-Them-On-People's-Doors

I think I will definitely do that, I will do now actually, any thing you think I may need to get started? physical items to be exact?

[jbirtman]

1 hour ago, Turtlesquisher said:

I think I will definitely do that, I will do now actually, any thing you think I may need to get started? physical items to be exact?

Everything you need to build a computer... 

Not really that much: 

Screwdriver

Static Wristband

Scissors

and the Computer Components

[SilentXer0]

it's a good idea to have some rubbing alcohol and heat sync compound handy.

I keep some older processors hanging around Because some times the motherboard will need a bios update to support newer processors. (not usually necessary)

 

[SLAYR]

1 hour ago, Turtlesquisher said:

I also need money for books so thats why I put it up to around 75$ for everything cause I need books soon haha but I can definitely scale it down

The way pretty much most custom builders who profit on it do so is that they pay for the system to be built upfront, and then the customer pays when they have received the final product.

 

 You may also be responsible for such things as warranties, and you or your parents (since you are a minor depending on your country) could be responsible for fixing whatever breaks on the computer, and also it means tech support, so if something goes wrong the customer is goingto go to the place they got the computer from. 

 

Really mowing lawns, shoveling snow, raking leaves or such is a lot better option then selling computers, and more profitable, even though it doesn't sound fun. Because not many people want/need a custom computer, and every house needs someone to mow their lawn.

[Borium]

Well you're going to need some money. Computer components aren't cheap. Once you have experience in building PC's you will understand them more and then you can help other non-techies with there stuff (offer to optimize their tech even if they dont ask) establish yourself as a tech-guy to people who know you. From there just let your passion lead the way

[LogicalDrm]

I would recommend not starting your own business. Or if you do, watch Linus' Laptop or Bust videos first. Those are actually good general views of starting business. First rule being that you need capital to make money. Nobody will trust their money for you to buy parts. Friends and family are good start to offer building, upgrading and troubleshooting help for small fee. PC shop takes $50 for basic things, you can do it cheaper.

 

Second option is look for job from PC shops. You might not get into building anytime soon. Probably just fetching stuff around warehouse, packaging and other all around jobs. But if you truly like PC hardware, you could end up like Linus. Building, customer service, keeping invertory and making YT videos or major retailer.

[minibois]

I don't really have anything to add what the others have said, other than that you have to keep in mind you take somewhat responsibility of the customer's PC if you built it. If they have trouble with the PC, they will likely contact you .

[Cryptonite]

6 hours ago, Turtlesquisher said:

I would love to start building pcs and such for my locals, me and my friend thomas love desktops an all of the components that go into them. I am 17 and have studied what desktops do, what components do what, what you need for a pc, and specifics. I just started college and need money for books, how could I go about this and start?

the way I started was word of mouth. I had one person hear I was pretty decent at computers and he asked me to build him one, gave me the money upfront and I bought the best parts I could for his scenario and got paid for the labor. this was in grade 10 I then started doing it for more and more people as they heard of my cheap reliable builds

I quit doing it and went to uni, dropped out and started working for a company as their IT administrator for 2 years, I came back to my hometown and word spread that I was back, people phoned me and required help with their computers again, I helped out, then got calls from people hearing of me from the people I helped and so on and so forth, now I run an internet cafe / pc repair shop in my hometown.

 

It depends on where you live and what the need is for the things you want to do. if there's no need there won't be much profit. that said looks can be deceiving as it didn't always seem like there was a need in my hometown.