Question What price should my USED PC Cost?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

nospecgamer

Reputable
Sep 28, 2018
163
6
4,615
Hey everyone, I just got into PC Flipping and since it's my first time, I didn't really know much about pricing. I've contacted someone that's been flipping PC's for quite some time now and I gave him some specs of what I was gonna pick up used. He told me that, it should be sold at around $600-$700 (Canadian Dollars). He has a similar PC for only like $450, and I asked him why $600-$700, when someone could be going for that $450 one. Since I was trying to go for a Gamer Style PC with the RGB Bling, he said that at the price point I gave you, would be a good starting point if you are building the PC for looks+performance. He told me that, though you could get the same for PC for a much cheaper price, the current stage of the generation is RGB. If the computer looks good, it'll attract people to buy it. If you went more on ONLY the Performance and not the Looks, there would be less people trying to buy it because it just looks like a plain old Dell Desktop with a slapped on GTX sticker. I already gathered up the parts, but i'm still thinking about the price. I know I should be selling it for $700, but everytime I looked at someones elses PC that has the same specs for a lower price (With obviously no RGB Bling, and fancy cases). It just feels like somethings wrong, or it might just be my brain. If you were me how much would you sell this PC for? Of course, in Canadian Dollars.

Specs:

i7 2600 (Stock)
ASUS P8P67 Pro REV 3.1
RX 570 Nitro+ 4 GB
16 GB's (4x4) of (something speed, I got the parts but tested in a testbench but forgot to check it's speed)
500w DA500 PSU 80+ Bronze
120 GB Intel SSD (Boot)
500 GB Samsung Pro SSD
4x Deepcool CF ARGB Fans
Deepcool Matrexx 50 Tempered Glass

(I wish for a profit of $200) (Minimum profit is $100)
 

nospecgamer

Reputable
Sep 28, 2018
163
6
4,615
The pricier the parts you put in, the more you'll have to raise the price. You're still talking about a CPU and motherboard that dates back about 8 years, and DDR3 RAM that hasn't been used since the Haswell era Intel processors.

So? It doesn't matter - what matters is that a much more modern system, with full warranty, is available for very little more than the outdated system that you're offering, without warranty. It's on sale, but someone can actually buy it. Why would they buy your system?

I mean, you are free to try and do whatever you want - but you asked a question here, and you're being given answers, and being given explicit reasons WHY those answers are given to you. It seems like you're fighting to convince us that what you want to be correct should be correct..... but it's the reality of what you're selling that's the issue.

The only way you're going to profit off of that system is if you con someone. If that's what you want to do, then we're not going to help you do that. We're just telling you the reality of the value of your system vs your asking price.

Yes, I understand that I’m trying to convince you that I’m correct. But, that’s not for, “I want to ** sell it for $700”, I’m trying to convince you to at least allow me to sell this computer to be sold at around $600. Anything under $500 is just losing money and just calling myself a failure. Like, should I get a better power supply? I can find like a Seasonic Focus or a like a cheap PSU like a EVGA B3. Should I provide support if something doesn’t work? Should I provide accessories and a monitor? Should I give them a Win10 Key if the first one doesn’t working? I wasted 2 months waiting for this moment to sell it and now what, “Haha lose your money, cuz dat dookie 2rd Gen is ** ” “Ha you wasted your money no one is gonna buy your PC kid”, “Ha #goodluck”, “#sellitfor$1”



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited by a moderator:

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
You can price it at whatever level you want.

The question is...will someone buy your collection of mismatched out of warranty parts with a shady OS, or a brand new system from the store for the same $$ or less?

It's not US you have to convince, because we here are not buying this thing.
You have to convince a potential buyer, and yourself.
 

nospecgamer

Reputable
Sep 28, 2018
163
6
4,615
You can price it at whatever level you want.

The question is...will someone buy your collection of mismatched out of warranty parts with a shady OS, or a brand new system from the store for the same $$ or less?

It's not US you have to convince, because we here are not buying this thing.
You have to convince a potential buyer, and yourself.

I’m not selling it for like, “NEW PC! BETTER THAN A NEW ASUS GAMING PC”, I’m selling it used aimed for people who want a good PC on a budget. I’m not aiming for someone to buy a completely new PC fresh. I know there’s no warranty but again I’m not aiming for someone who wants everything new, I’m aiming for people who have a low budget but wants a good PC


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

King_V

Illustrious
Ambassador
I wasted 2 months waiting for this moment to sell it and now what, “Haha lose your money, cuz dat dookie 2rd Gen is shitty” “Ha you wasted your money no one is gonna buy your PC kid”, “Ha #goodluck”, “#sellitfor$1”
Nobody is responding in the way that you're characterizing it - if that's how you feel, that's on you. The problem is that you went into this without really knowing what you were doing. You're probably far from the first one to do so.

This was an expensive learning experience, as, the impression I get is that you didn't research hardware trends, what's current, what people may want vs no longer want, etc.

There's also no way we can change things to make this profitable for you. Yes, it was a waste of money, yes, it is a painful experience. What do you want us to do, exactly? Better parts are not going to give you enough of a profit margin on this PC that will compensate for the old parts you overpaid for. Nobody is going to pay even MORE for a Sandy Bridge era system.
 

nospecgamer

Reputable
Sep 28, 2018
163
6
4,615
Nobody is responding in the way that you're characterizing it - if that's how you feel, that's on you. The problem is that you went into this without really knowing what you were doing. You're probably far from the first one to do so.

This was an expensive learning experience, as, the impression I get is that you didn't research hardware trends, what's current, what people may want vs no longer want, etc.

There's also no way we can change things to make this profitable for you. Yes, it was a waste of money, yes, it is a painful experience. What do you want us to do, exactly? Better parts are not going to give you enough of a profit margin on this PC that will compensate for the old parts you overpaid for. Nobody is going to pay even MORE for a Sandy Bridge era system.

Then, fine is $580 ok? Includes monitor and PSU warranty.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

nospecgamer

Reputable
Sep 28, 2018
163
6
4,615
You can only get what someone else will pay for it.

Sell it, and let us know how it went.
Who knows...with the right marketing, you might find some sucker.

What if I sold the CPU and motherboard, and bought another one? I had another option which had a FX 8300+Mobo+RAM for $150 CAD, I paid $225 CAD for the i7, motherboard,RAM, 2 SSD’s and a GTX 460 Also a 27-inch 1440p monitor in one bundle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

King_V

Illustrious
Ambassador
The FX-based platform (AM3/AM3+) is even MORE outdated than Sandy Bridge.

I think the best bet is to have very solid knowledge of PCs, CPUs, and so forth before trying to make money off of building and selling them.

I mean, if you didn't know that Sandy Bridge was new in 2012, and that the FX-8300 was one of the last of the AM3 socketed processors, and also came out in 2012, then you really shouldn't be doing this at all.
 

nospecgamer

Reputable
Sep 28, 2018
163
6
4,615
The FX-based platform (AM3/AM3+) is even MORE outdated than Sandy Bridge.

I think the best bet is to have very solid knowledge of PCs, CPUs, and so forth before trying to make money off of building and selling them.

I mean, if you didn't know that Sandy Bridge was new in 2012, and that the FX-8300 was one of the last of the AM3 socketed processors, and also came out in 2012, then you really shouldn't be doing this at all.
How about a LGA 1150 CPU? Like are any of the CPU's worth it?
 
D

Deleted member 14196

Guest
i would always recommend people to buy a new system with a warranty. pc flipping isn't an ethical business IMO

plus those specs are not impressive at all, not even for 500 canadian
 

nospecgamer

Reputable
Sep 28, 2018
163
6
4,615
Well the LGA 1150 CPU's are more future-proof for people, the obvious reason is that it's newer (It came out in 2014), and is more power efficient. Someone who wants to upgrade their PC, wouldn't have to encounter bottlenecks. The LGA 1150 is 5-10% at their stock clock speeds. It accepts DDR3 Memory. But still, after looking at the prices on places like AliExpress and Kijiji I don't think it'll be worth it. Considering the fact that I still have to sell the LGA 1155 stuff, and most likely will take a long time. After what you guys said, of it being very old.
 

nospecgamer

Reputable
Sep 28, 2018
163
6
4,615
i would always recommend people to buy a new system with a warranty. pc flipping isn't an ethical business IMO

plus those specs are not impressive at all, not even for 500 canadian
I mean, I spent $480 for all the parts. If I were to not sell it, would my paying price be ok? If this PC doesn't get sold in like a long time no worries cuz my family needs a faster PC anyways. (FM2 Socket with no ways of upgrading other than RAM) (It can't even open Google Chrome properly) Also, another alternative if it doesn't get sold is to just sell the parts in a bundle. But what worries about me for that is if people will still buy that LGA1155 combo.
 

King_V

Illustrious
Ambassador
Well the LGA 1150 CPU's are more future-proof for people, the obvious reason is that it's newer (It came out in 2014), and is more power efficient. Someone who wants to upgrade their PC, wouldn't have to encounter bottlenecks. The LGA 1150 is 5-10% at their stock clock speeds. It accepts DDR3 Memory. But still, after looking at the prices on places like AliExpress and Kijiji I don't think it'll be worth it. Considering the fact that I still have to sell the LGA 1155 stuff, and most likely will take a long time. After what you guys said, of it being very old.

Did you know those things before you asked the question originally?

And, used parts for older systems tend to be a little pricier than an entire used system. So, if you're buying older parts, and planning to put it together into a complete system, it's a losing proposition.

I'm not sure I even understand what your business model is. Are you trying to compete against new PCs? Do you know fully what parts you're buying? Do you know how much a complete system, used, with such parts, typically goes for on eBay, Craigslist, etc?

I have the impression you're trying to go into business on something you don't have a lot of knowledge about, or a clear plan for.
 

nospecgamer

Reputable
Sep 28, 2018
163
6
4,615
Did you know those things before you asked the question originally?

And, used parts for older systems tend to be a little pricier than an entire used system. So, if you're buying older parts, and planning to put it together into a complete system, it's a losing proposition.

I'm not sure I even understand what your business model is. Are you trying to compete against new PCs? Do you know fully what parts you're buying? Do you know how much a complete system, used, with such parts, typically goes for on eBay, Craigslist, etc?

I have the impression you're trying to go into business on something you don't have a lot of knowledge about, or a clear plan for.
No, I didn't know the stuff before because i've never had ANY sort of experience with older CPU's. I only know like the surface of CPU's in Computer Tech. I'm just that typical guy who watches tech videos and learns from there. Basically, I only know Ryzen and which ones are good or not and that's it. I've only learned about PC Parts 4 Months ago. But, yes I do know what other people are selling complete systems for. For my similar PC, it's around $500-$800. Honestly, now that you mentioned if I understand anything, looking at myself and my knowledge. I barely know ANYTHING. What does Sandy Bridge stand for? Idk. What does GPU stand for? Idk. Which one is better? i7 3770k vs i5 4690? Idk. I am getting into this stuff wayy too fast, it's just I watch some other people do PC Flipping, and since i'm very young and I don't have a job yet. I wanted to make some money and be different then the others who are throwing newspapers.
 

King_V

Illustrious
Ambassador
I can understand wanting to be different, but, in the case of PCs, you have to have a lot of knowledge to be able to do something like this.

Even for individuals with experience, it's not easy to make money on this. You have to compete with big companies that have sales, and so forth. Plus, as has been mentioned, they often have sales, and then there's holiday sales above and beyond that.

Given that this sort of thing also requires you to tie up a bunch of your own money up front, it's even more difficult, and more risk is involved.

I hate to sound like a downer, but you happened to jump into something that's very difficult to make money on even if you do have extensive knowledge on the topic.
 

nospecgamer

Reputable
Sep 28, 2018
163
6
4,615
I can understand wanting to be different, but, in the case of PCs, you have to have a lot of knowledge to be able to do something like this.

Even for individuals with experience, it's not easy to make money on this. You have to compete with big companies that have sales, and so forth. Plus, as has been mentioned, they often have sales, and then there's holiday sales above and beyond that.

Given that this sort of thing also requires you to tie up a bunch of your own money up front, it's even more difficult, and more risk is involved.

I hate to sound like a downer, but you happened to jump into something that's very difficult to make money on even if you do have extensive knowledge on the topic.

Ok, well if my PC gets sold by someone who actually thinks it’s good then yay. After that, the only time I’ll sell computer stuff is things I don’t use anymore. I got many monitors and components. I was selling a monitor for $30, and it immediately got snatched after 30 Minutes. If the PC doesn’t get sold, I’ll give my sister/family the PC. My sis likes to play Minecraft and I suppose she’ll like a upgrade from her Intel HD Graphics


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: King_V

nospecgamer

Reputable
Sep 28, 2018
163
6
4,615
I've been tinkering with computers for about 20-ish years now, and basically I've gone with just selling older stuff that I don't use anymore.

It won't make a living, but there's a little money for it here and there.

Yeah, I do agree. But when things are way too old um. No. I tried selling a GTX 460 for $10, and no one wants to buy it. Funny how others are selling a 460 for $30. When honestly it should be 10. But don’t worry one day someone will come across my $10 GTX 460 and snatch it up. So, I can finally afford to buy a Big Mac Combo. (Totally) But, my problem is pricing, like for some items I know the used price but for other stuff like old LGA775 or FM2 Motherboards, I don’t know how much they should me. Cuz, on Ebay they are all over the place in prices.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk