How do you sell custom-built PCs?

[tkline]

Hey folks

So lately I have been thinking about starting a small side biz building gaming PCs. I enjoy building PCs, but I’m not looking for a replacement for my day job, just thinking it would be a good way to make some extra cash off of a hobby, and then see if it grows from there.

I thought I could specialize in ITX sized systems since they’re what I like. Never been a fan of massive towers. As an example, picking all of the components I want for a system, on Amazon I can buy it all for around $1750, but systems with the same components from Dell/Alienware are almost $2500. I tried CyberpowerPC and iBuyPower and they are all over $2100 or more for the same guts. So I thought I could sell this system for $2000. Not a huge profit, but good enough for a Saturday afternoon’s amount of work. Are there any distributors out there that would sell to me at a wholesale price, if I’m just buying the stuff for 1 or 2 systems at a time? Or will they not even give me the time of day unless I’m placing huge orders? I don’t want to, and can’t afford to have a huge stock of components on hand, I pretty much have to order what I need when someone orders from me (which is why I was using Amazon, they're fast). Or build 1 system at a time and then sell it.

Also, where do I sell them? My thought was I would just build a specific system and sell it on ebay, but I feel like the only people buying stuff on ebay are looking for bargains. Craig’s List seems like nothing but scammers & spammers these days. I’m a web designer by day, so I could also build a website / online store where people can select certain components, and then I order it and build it and ship the finished system to them in the same box that the case came in. But, just getting the word out will be tough especially when there are so many more established brands out there, which is why I was thinking build then sell would be a better way to go at first.

Anyway, just throwing this out there, wondering if anyone has any advice?

 

[captaincharisma]

first thing you have to remember is when you look at the cost of brand name computers like dell's alienware computers is how much of that cost is for assembling the computer, installing and configuring software. brand name companies may be able to charge less for that because they have factories that do all of this while it would be time consuming especially since you have a primary job so it is hard to say how you would plan to make a profit for doing this and try to keep costs lower then a brand name computer

 

[rchris]

I wish you luck in finding a solution, and please let me know when you do!

I love building systems, and usually end up giving them to kids, grandkids, etc., so that I'll have an excuse to build another one.

 

[cordes85]

i am in the same position, i am considering selling ITX builds, as most sites like scan, cyberpower, and such have increased their prices and Know we can undercut the big brands, but what you cannot offer, unless you have set up for it, is a warranty of service or guarantee. We all know a well built machine will last years but you get the occasional dimwit who may destroy their PC and look for a repair within the 1 year standard by law guarantee of items purchased for a repair, or replacement.
You only have to look on EBAY to see there is hundreds of sellers who are selling like-minded products. Id say go for it, if you have the time and patience. I know i will, but won't go into detail of how i will sell my products as you are a rival Ha.

But good luck!

 

[USAFRet]

In your price, are you including:
OS
Peripherals (mouse/keyboard)
Delivery
Warranty (Can I call you at 2AM if I think something is broken?)

Distributors and wholesale? Only if you are buying parts in lots of hundreds or thousands.

If you're just buying parts from Amazon, what value do you bring to the table? Why can't I just order the parts myself?


A LOT of people have had this thought. But you are competing with companies that can sustain a $10 profit. And can get the parts much cheaper than you or I can.
$10 profit on a system for you is about $1/hour, at best.

 

[thx1138v2]

Keep in mind that if you build it the purchaser is going to be coming to you with problems and if you don't handle those in a timely acceptable manner, they won't be back.

But to just get your feet wet to see what you'll be dealing with, usually a hobby to business transition starts out with relatives, friends, neighbors, and coworkers as customers. That will give you a feel for how far you want to pursue it.

I build my own PCs because I want to spend money on the things I want rather than a bunch of stuff I don't need that comes in a pre-built machine. I don't usually save any money but I get what I want rather than was some company thinks I need. You can use that as a sales pitch but that depends on the customer knowing enough to know what they want.

 

[Wolfshadw]

The biggest problem when trying to do something like this is beating name recognition. Everyone knows Dell. Some computer people know CyberPowerPC and IBuyPower. No one knows TKLine Computers. Even if you can undersell all the other company names, people will still purchase from them for the name recognition.

Second issue here is Technical Support and that means you! You're thinking, "Hey! It's just a Saturday Afternoon!". It's not. It's 24/7 Tech support if a system you built craps out for any reason. You're the one your customers are calling and they expect a fast turn around in repairs. They do not want to hear that you have to order a replacement part and wait for it to be shipped.

Third issue is how do you handle people who just don't take good care of their systems? You pretty much have to provide some sort of warranty. What do you do when someone's toddler shoves a PB&J into the Blu-Ray drive? That's a cost (and sandwich) you're going to have to eat.

Bottom line here is that it just doesn't work. If it did, everyone here would likely be doing it.

-Wolf sends

 

[JackNaylorPE]

1. I can give ya list of names that had the same idea, none of which are in business today. Here's the problem:

a) Until you commit to buying in bulk, you can't compete with the Cyberpower folks. I have had folks post questions in here about their selected Cyberpower build and if I'm lucky, I can match the build $25 - $50 cheaper as a custom build. There are Mom and Pop stores all over that do it for $100 (or less) over parts cost.

b) Shipping is tough too.... the biug guys get a huge discount ... the truck is there every day ... sometimes multiple times per day. You can't get the prices that the big boys do. with a once a week pickup. When that PC gets damaged in transit, it has to come back and you have to replace the damaged parts.... deal with the angry customer who call every day

It's not a "Saturday afternoon's work". You are going to get phone calls and bring backs for years. I have 1 guy who has brought his PC back 3 times to "clean off his SSD cause "it's full". Every problem that the machine experiences in its lifetime is your problem whether or not it was your fault.

We have been building PCs for people for 25 years. We do not charge anything. It started out as a "loss leader" for my engineering business building CAD boxes for other engineering firms, specialized workstations for business and municipalities / agencies, etc. And then as my kids got older, having a hobby to get involved with them ... and soon after it was all their friends, cousins, parents, friends at work.

If we did it for money, we wouldn't make minimum wage.

 

[boosted1g]

Both USAFRet and thx1138v2 make very good points.

By selling only gaming PCs your market is limited to a smaller group, and at least 50% (likely a good bit more) of that group already know how to build PCs
When looking at your general public market it is going to be difficult to beat the OEM prices because as USAFRet said, they get windows at next to nothing and because they are buying thousands of motherboard X, and cpu Y they get better prices then you can.

So at the end of the day what you can "sell" the customer is your reputation, your support, custom installation, and better quality of parts (with longer warranty).
Thus you will have to find a market that finds those things listed above worth paying more for then dell, asus, etc.

 

[vrumor]

Or you have to bring something else to the table. I love building PCs as well. But as has been said already in this post and many others like it here, there isnt much money in it. So ive built them into other things, a WW2 Ham Radio, a couple dozen NES shells, a couple of 2 player controllers. And for the last almost 2 years ive sold dozens of virtual pinball tables. From 24" up to a full size. Its still building PCs. And I make enough money to make it worth my time to answer those calls and make sure the product I sell gets to the customer unharmed from shipping.

Selling just PCs, is tough. You have to do something others arent. Often at least.

 

[tkline]

Thanks folks Yes I assumed it would not be an easy biz at all, which is why I was thinking of approaching it more as a hobby, like "that guy I know that builds PCs". I don't think that I'd be selling more than 1 or 2 systems a month. But yeah, i can see what you all mean about it not being profitable at all. I'll have to rethink it or just stick to building them for friends and relatives.

I actually did have an idea to make unique PCs also a little while back, like taking old timey wooden radios and putting PC guts in them. But I was afraid they wouldn't work so well, like finding one that will fit a motherboard will be one challenge.. let alone a big video card. But also doing the construction to get everything to line up right would be another (and if i mess it up I'm screwed and need a new radio), and then I don't really think they were worried about CPU or GPU temperatures in 1940, so heat might end up being an issue.

 

[axehead15]

Well, here are some things I have learned as I grow my business...

You can form a DBA (cheap and easy), get your Federal EIN, and state reseller certificate of authority fairly easy. From there, you have a couple choices:

1. for variety and ease of use, you can use Amazon or Newegg to buy your parts, both of which already have a markup on them, which then decreases your profit and increaes your price.

2. You can go to Ingram Micro or ASI or another distributor (I use Ingram Micro atm, looking into ASI) and fill out their paperwork to become a reseller/partner. You will get better prices, but be limited to what manufacturers they supply, whereas with an e-retailer like Newegg, you have all the manufacturers available. (i.e. Ingram Micro does not sell ASRock or DIYPC, you are stuck with ASUS, Gigabyte, and maybe MSI)

After that, a simple website will suffice to get you started.

The most important part of all this, is marketing. That's the most difficult as well. Getting your name out there. Make Amazon, Newegg, Craigslist, and eBay accounts as a seller. If you are specializing in gaming PCs, Twitch is a great place to tell people about yourself.

That is how I am going about it anyway. I wish you luck, and hope to see you on the competitive battlefield of PC sales

MOD EDIT: Removed reference to personal website

 

[cordes85]

I think Selling as 2nd hand, but as an unwanted gift, would suffice, you then sell on Ebay, and then make a smaller margin but don't deal with aftercare, as soon as the buyer receives the PC, and it works his end.
There are people who literally don't know how to change or add an optical drive, and you have to be fully descriptive, even plaguerise how other companies or sellers sell their products. To minimise hassle.

 

[tkline]

Thanks for all the opinions folks!

I don’t really want to try and take on the big boys with such a limited budget, and this is definitely going to be a side biz, or more like a glorified hobby. I'm not quitting my day job anytime soon.

What I was thinking about doing is setting up a website / online store basically allowing people to submit a quote for a custom system, with some multiple choice menus where they can select components, and a text area where they can describe what they want, and I’ll get back to them with a quote. I’d select everything through PCpartpicker for a price and add on a build fee for my time. When I receive the payment I’ll order all of the items, build it, and then ship to them. I’d build out the website to illustrate all of the components you can get, show off the coolest cases, do a few test builds showing off the fancy blinking lights, etc. I want to play up that you’re getting a hand crafted unique system with attention to detail, not just some off the shelf PC. I’ll probably look into doing some custom paint jobs too, for certain cases, possibly doing some 3D printing to add some cool extra details to cases, like game or faction emblems or other details. That would come later though… I thought going this route would keep my startup costs way down so I can kind of test the waters and see how it goes.

Then, separately, as funds allow I would try to have a couple of pre-made, 1 of a kind custom systems on hand ready to ship on a first come first served basis. I would also list those on Ebay as well.

I thought I could also do Facebook Live or Twitch videos showing the building process and talking about what’s going in the system.. or at least youtube videos after the fact so I can cut out the boring parts like me using a screwdriver again and again.

 

[jdlech]

The problem I always ran into is that everyone wants custom machine performance at big box store prices.

Of course there's always the bonehead who has been chased out of all the big box stores because he never learns anything. They like to stalk the small PC builders and bugs the hell out of them until you kick them out of your place and block their calls.