Should i sell homebuilt pc's?

[Zamblot]

Ok so i was recently turned down for a job of dog walking (£5 per hour of dog walking 1 hour a day)... This job would of funded for my pc and more... I have been waiting for ages yet only one person has responded about my dog walking advert and they turned the job down. The other day my friend told me a kid that i only vaguly know in my school (im only 13 so i cant do many jobs) makes computors then sells them and earns decent amount of profit from them. I was wondering if i could do just that... I live in england and im only 13 so this aside from doing a dreaded paper round (i like my sleep and dont want to do one xD in other words im lazy) i was wondering if i could build computors and sell them but i wouldnt know where to start. Where would i advertise them to sell and where would i sell them, i have heard evay takes quite a bit of your money away and i wouldnt know how to deliver them. I dont know how much i would charge extra profit (like how much should i sell a computor i built for say £500? would i sell it on craigslist? Also how to i get a heavy pc delivered well and cheaply? I know a decent amount of things about computors... im not a genius on them but have been learning about them for about 2 years (I have never built one)
My plan is to save up enough money and build my own pc (£500 or so) Then advertise that im selling it and if no one wants it after a month ill just keep it...

Thank you also remember
I live in england so lots of american websites are not helpful

I am only 13 so would i be legally allowed to do this?

Thank you for helping me with this It means alot

 

[TechyInAZ]

I can see why you want to build PCs, I personally would of loved to build PCs as a job, but it's just not something that will bring in good income.

The problem is that you've got all these other companies, HP, Lenovo, Dell, Ibuypower etc. that offer surprisingly good generic PCs at good prices. The huge majority of people look to those companies because they can give them deals you'll never be able to do unfortunately.

Now, you might get maybe a couple customers, but that's it. And it's not like those same customers need a PC built every single month either, so doing it as a job would be really really rough.

If you want to build pcs for a living, your best option is to work for a company like Origin PC.

I'm sorry about that, but I've also looked since it's also a dream job of mine, but it simply isn't viable.

 

[MeanMachine41]

I agree with TechyInAZ and also, there are only small margins these days for pre built PCs and another factor to consider is having to provide backup and support to the customer.
You would have to obtain a trading permit and I don't think you can at your age.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I can see why you want to build PCs, I personally would of loved to build PCs as a job, but it's just not something that will bring in good income.

The problem is that you've got all these other companies, HP, Lenovo, Dell, Ibuypower etc. that offer surprisingly good generic PCs at good prices. The huge majority of people look to those companies because they can give them deals you'll never be able to do unfortunately.

Now, you might get maybe a couple customers, but that's it. And it's not like those same customers need a PC built every single month either, so doing it as a job would be really really rough.

If you want to build pcs for a living, your best option is to work for a company like Origin PC.

I'm sorry about that, but I've also looked since it's also a dream job of mine, but it simply isn't viable.

I think, while this is good, you missed a very important part. Support. When I worked at SWS in Tucson we offered a 1 year standard warranty for every prebuilt or custom system we made and offered, for a charge like the big guys, an extended warranty to 2 or even 3 years. It covered parts and labor so long as it was a defect and not caused by the owner, we had warranty seals to show if the machine had been opened.

However we had 30+ years of being the only store like that to sell parts and builds and so we had the support and staff to back that warranty. We also delt with retail channels to get parts and not major websites like Newegg and Amazon so for us to RMA a part it was vastly easier and we could easily just throw a new part in and send the old one back.

I would say that when you have a stable foundation on which to build with you can do it. However just starting it at a young age is hard as you will need to compete with other locals doing the same who have the tenure you wont have.

I would get a normal job and start by doing support on the side. Once you build up a decent client base that would be where to start but just starting from nothing these days is near impossible.

 

[amdfangirl]

If anything pops up or breaks, they'll come after you.

They might demand a refund, repair or replacement. Whatcha gonna do then?

If you can handle that, then you can have a go.

 

[McHenryB]

+1

Building a computer is easy. Dealing with the consequences when something goes wrong is more difficult, especially if you destroy someone's data.

If you have enough time to provide after-sales support, and have made sure that you have good liability insurance (which may be difficult for a 13-year old) then go for it. And don't forget your tax obligations when costing your product. You probably need to set a reasonable amount of cash aside to allow for returns or people who change their mind after ordering a computer - you may be landed with a set of parts and no immediate sales prospect, which will lead to cash-flow problems. It will be easier if your parents are prepared to bankroll you. I'm not sure what the UK law is with regard to a 13-year old making a contract, so you will need to check that out - again, you may need formal backing from your parents acting as guarantors.

 

[amdfangirl]

Not to brag, but we computer guys have done PCs for years. We have the spare parts, the knowledge and tools to fix everything that could possibly come up with a broken PC.

We have several systems, power supplies, extra screws, Windows discs, Linux ISOs, extra cables and most importantly the KNOWLEDGE of how to fix a PC when it goes wrong.

It's not difficult, I'll admit, but when customers demand to know how quickly something can be fixed, how much it will cost, exactly etc. then it's really something you need to consider.

(I've worked in a real computer store before, prices seem high, but when you do the books you realise there ain't much money there)