Anyone build a rig or two and EBay them?

[MichaelD]

I'm not thinking of going into business myself. Read on.

After finally getting all the parts together and rebuilding my main and secondary rigs, I'm left with almost enough parts to build two separate rigs. Already have enough for a PIII 732 rig (550 that does 732 w/o breaking a sweat| 5.5 x 133)

I have thought about putting it in FS/FT, but in this cutting-edge place, most folks are already at 1GHz or better.

People on EBay buy almost anything, right?

 

[dolph]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

People on EBay buy almost anything, right?

just sold my 1 1/2 year old 16x10x40 cd burner for $48 shipped, so... yeah.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
People on EBay buy almost anything, right?

Yes. The problem with the FS/FT forum is that almost everyone is only looking for one or two pieces to complete their rigs. You may want to try selling locally also.

 

[PsychoAndy]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
I'm not thinking of going into business myself. Read on.

After finally getting all the parts together and rebuilding my main and secondary rigs, I'm left with almost enough parts to build two separate rigs. Already have enough for a PIII 732 rig (550 that does 732 w/o breaking a sweat| 5.5 x 133)

I have thought about putting it in FS/FT, but in this cutting-edge place, most folks are already at 1GHz or better.

People on EBay buy almost anything, right?

Mike, listen to me VERY CAREFULLY .

Unless you're hard up for cash, keep the stuff or sell them to your friends/co-workers.

-PAB

*EDITED for strategic emphasis*

 

[pillage2001]

The pain of selling through Ebay is not worth it!

 

[dolph]

Mike, listen to me very carefully.

Unless you're hard up for cash, keep the stuff or sell them to your friends/co-workers.

-PAB .

The pain of selling through Ebay is not worth it!

you guys have been burned or have heard too many horror stories. accept only money orders, sell as-is, and ship insured. you're fine.

 

[PsychoAndy]

Originally posted by: dolph

Mike, listen to me very carefully.

Unless you're hard up for cash, keep the stuff or sell them to your friends/co-workers.

-PAB .

The pain of selling through Ebay is not worth it!

accept only money orders, sell as-is, and ship insured. you're fine.

Wrong.

Ever see forged/counterfeit/stolen money orders?
Sell as is. Right. Think the customer gives a damn about that even if their stuff dosent work.
Ever get called every day for 3 months during a shipping claim?
Deal with non paying bidders from here to bucharest?
Have refused overnight COD's?
Cashed an official check that has payment stopped on it?

-PAB

 

[chiwawa626]

If you want to do money orders just do them thru western unions online site, they pay via cc, and then they print it and mail it to u.

 

[dolph]

Originally posted by: PsychoAndy

Originally posted by: dolph

Mike, listen to me very carefully.

Unless you're hard up for cash, keep the stuff or sell them to your friends/co-workers.

-PAB .

The pain of selling through Ebay is not worth it!

accept only money orders, sell as-is, and ship insured. you're fine.

Wrong.

Ever see forged/counterfeit/stolen money orders?
Sell as is. Right. Think the customer gives a damn about that even if their stuff dosent work.
Ever get called every day for 3 months during a shipping claim?
Deal with non paying bidders from here to bucharest?
Have refused overnight COD's?
Cashed an official check that has payment stopped on it?

-PAB

um... right?

to answer your questions:
1. yes, in movies
2. yes
3. lol, i don't post my phone number
4. nope
5. never
6. never

hey, your questions were pretty easy! got any other ones?
you can't seriously think ebay is that bad. otherwise, it would have been out of business a long time ago.

[doing my best pab imitation]
"mike. listen. very. carefully.

do not, under any circumstances, attempt to sell anything on ebay. doing so automatically makes you irrevocably stupid. i am the foremost authority on, well, pretty much all things. take my word as gospel.
[/pab imitation]

michaeld, if your stuff works and you set your terms clearly you'll probably be fine. there are always going to be some bad ebay traders, but the good far outnumber them.

 

[PsychoAndy]

Originally posted by: dolph

Originally posted by: PsychoAndy

Originally posted by: dolph

Mike, listen to me very carefully.

Unless you're hard up for cash, keep the stuff or sell them to your friends/co-workers.

-PAB .

The pain of selling through Ebay is not worth it!

accept only money orders, sell as-is, and ship insured. you're fine.

Wrong.

Ever see forged/counterfeit/stolen money orders?
Sell as is. Right. Think the customer gives a damn about that even if their stuff dosent work.
Ever get called every day for 3 months during a shipping claim?
Deal with non paying bidders from here to bucharest?
Have refused overnight COD's?
Cashed an official check that has payment stopped on it?

-PAB

um... right?

to answer your questions:
1. yes, in movies
2. yes
3. lol, i don't post my phone number
4. nope
5. never
6. never

hey, your questions were pretty easy! got any other ones?
you can't seriously think ebay is that bad. otherwise, it would have been out of business a long time ago.

[doing my best pab imitation]
"mike. listen. very. carefully.

do not, under any circumstances, attempt to sell anything on ebay. doing so automatically makes you irrevocably stupid. i am the foremost authority on, well, pretty much all things. take my word as gospel.
[/pab imitation]

michaeld, if your stuff works and you set your terms clearly you'll probably be fine. there are always going to be some bad ebay traders, but the good far outnumber them.

Forged cashiers checks do exist.
You can do everything by the book and still catch hell from the customer.
Your winning bidder has access to your phone number wether you like it or not.

Apparently my reasoning has failed here.

-PAB

 

[dolph]

Originally posted by: PsychoAndy

Originally posted by: dolph

Originally posted by: PsychoAndy

Originally posted by: dolph

Mike, listen to me very carefully.

Unless you're hard up for cash, keep the stuff or sell them to your friends/co-workers.

-PAB .

The pain of selling through Ebay is not worth it!

accept only money orders, sell as-is, and ship insured. you're fine.

Wrong.

Ever see forged/counterfeit/stolen money orders?
Sell as is. Right. Think the customer gives a damn about that even if their stuff dosent work.
Ever get called every day for 3 months during a shipping claim?
Deal with non paying bidders from here to bucharest?
Have refused overnight COD's?
Cashed an official check that has payment stopped on it?

-PAB

um... right?

to answer your questions:
1. yes, in movies
2. yes
3. lol, i don't post my phone number
4. nope
5. never
6. never

hey, your questions were pretty easy! got any other ones?
you can't seriously think ebay is that bad. otherwise, it would have been out of business a long time ago.

[doing my best pab imitation]
"mike. listen. very. carefully.

do not, under any circumstances, attempt to sell anything on ebay. doing so automatically makes you irrevocably stupid. i am the foremost authority on, well, pretty much all things. take my word as gospel.
[/pab imitation]

michaeld, if your stuff works and you set your terms clearly you'll probably be fine. there are always going to be some bad ebay traders, but the good far outnumber them.

Forged cashiers checks do exist.
You can do everything by the book and still catch hell from the customer.
Your winning bidder has access to your phone number wether you like it or not.

Apparently my reasoning has failed here.

-PAB

i stand corrected as far as phone numbers go; i've never had any auctions where email communication didn't suffice. however, i'm still convinced that ebay is the best way to dump obsolete hardware.

 

[vegetation]

Yes, but not necessarily at the price you want. Comp hardware can be a tough sell since ebay is glutted with old junk. Shipping prices can be high for slightly heavy items too, which turns off buyers on lower priced junk.

People on EBay buy almost anything, right?

 

[NetworkDad]

Originally posted by: PsychoAndy

Originally posted by: MichaelD
I'm not thinking of going into business myself. Read on.

After finally getting all the parts together and rebuilding my main and secondary rigs, I'm left with almost enough parts to build two separate rigs. Already have enough for a PIII 732 rig (550 that does 732 w/o breaking a sweat| 5.5 x 133)

I have thought about putting it in FS/FT, but in this cutting-edge place, most folks are already at 1GHz or better.

People on EBay buy almost anything, right?

Mike, listen to me VERY CAREFULLY .

Unless you're hard up for cash, keep the stuff or sell them to your friends/co-workers.

-PAB

*EDITED for strategic emphasis*

Mike & PAB - Listen carefully - You never ever sell stuff to your friends or co-workers. They will expect for life free technical support, and it will be your ass when it breaks. This comes from experience.

 

[Spac3d]

Originally posted by: NetworkDad

Mike & PAB - Listen carefully - You never ever sell stuff to your friends or co-workers. They will expect for life free technical support, and it will be your ass when it breaks. This comes from experience.

I'd have to agree. And with a namke like NetworkDad, you know he is right.

Spac3d

 

[MichaelD]

Hi guys; sorry I didn't respond sooner. I had my son this weekend and wasn't online at all. :Q I almost died from withdrawal.

I appreciate all the advice. I have heard many horror stories about EBay. Also, I've unfortunately also experienced the "Free Customer Service For Life" b/c I built systems for my GF and her coworker. That sucked @ss.

Her: My Tetris game won't work..it's been working fine for weeks!
Me: Well, what did you do?
Her: I don't know...my brother was on the computer...playing something he downloaded and now Tetris wont' start
Me: Well, just remove the game and reload it
Her: I can't do that...you need to come over and do it.
Me: :|:|:|:|:|:|:|

Yep; been there done that.

I was just pinging you guys for some ideas...at the time I posted I had tons of crap everywhere. Dining room table covered in parts of one PC, corner of living room floor covered in parts from another PC...videocard on the VCR..you know the drill. I've since put one PC back together..the rest of the parts are in static bags and put away. *shrug* I may put the Dell back together and sell it local...or just let it rot in the closet. You can never have too many "extra" PCs, right?

 

[SuperSix]

Originally posted by: PsychoAndy

Originally posted by: dolph

Originally posted by: PsychoAndy

Originally posted by: dolph

Mike, listen to me very carefully.

Unless you're hard up for cash, keep the stuff or sell them to your friends/co-workers.

-PAB .

The pain of selling through Ebay is not worth it!

accept only money orders, sell as-is, and ship insured. you're fine.

Wrong.

Ever see forged/counterfeit/stolen money orders?
Sell as is. Right. Think the customer gives a damn about that even if their stuff dosent work.
Ever get called every day for 3 months during a shipping claim?
Deal with non paying bidders from here to bucharest?
Have refused overnight COD's?
Cashed an official check that has payment stopped on it?

-PAB

um... right?

to answer your questions:
1. yes, in movies
2. yes
3. lol, i don't post my phone number
4. nope
5. never
6. never

hey, your questions were pretty easy! got any other ones?
you can't seriously think ebay is that bad. otherwise, it would have been out of business a long time ago.

[doing my best pab imitation]
"mike. listen. very. carefully.

do not, under any circumstances, attempt to sell anything on ebay. doing so automatically makes you irrevocably stupid. i am the foremost authority on, well, pretty much all things. take my word as gospel.
[/pab imitation]

michaeld, if your stuff works and you set your terms clearly you'll probably be fine. there are always going to be some bad ebay traders, but the good far outnumber them.

Forged cashiers checks do exist.
You can do everything by the book and still catch hell from the customer.
Your winning bidder has access to your phone number wether you like it or not.

Apparently my reasoning has failed here.

-PAB

Hasn't failed on me, you are right. Counterfeit cashier's check are a real problem, one of the reasons I ONLY accept Postal Money Orders. True, they can be duplicated as well, but the penalties for doing so are very harsh, I believe it's a federal offense, + wire fraud..

Andy is right, MichaelD, be very careful, especially with computer parts/systems. You won't get a whole lot for them (THe 16X CDRW sale is a fluke), and there are too many pitfalls, as PAB indicated. *I* would sell it pieces/parts on FS trade, those parts should sell well.. I've sold nearly 100 items on Ebay, and concur with PAB on this one.. Or assemble the PCs for family members/charities in the area..

 

[KthxBye]

3. lol, i don't post my phone number

Hi, you're stupid. The winning bidder can request your contact info from ebay, it takes about 20 seconds. Futhermore, anyone who would sel crap because they think they can avoid their customers is one step up from a con man.

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: KthxBye

3. lol, i don't post my phone number

Hi, you're stupid. The winning bidder can request your contact info from ebay, it takes about 20 seconds. Futhermore, anyone who would sel crap because they think they can avoid their customers is one step up from a con man.

finally... someone said it (about the phone number part)
but who said his hardware was crap? just outdate or older peices that he isn't using...

just build the rigs and run them as file servers or something like that... you'll never get the money to make it worth your while if you try to ebay them.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Only used Ebay to sell an extra Dreamcast I acquired last year. I need to sell some of the computer junk I have laying around....

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: KthxBye

3. lol, i don't post my phone number

Hi, you're stupid. The winning bidder can request your contact info from ebay, it takes about 20 seconds. Futhermore, anyone who would sel crap because they think they can avoid their customers is one step up from a con man.

First off, you're the one who is being stupid by not reading the entire thread before posting. Dolph already posted above saying he was mistaken on his understanding of the phone number availability.

Second, I didn't get the impression anyone was trying to sell crap or con anyone. MichaelD is simply trying to sell some older hardware he no longer uses. In my mind, if the hardware is sold as-is and works the first day and not the second day, then it is the buyer's problem.

Stop being so antagonistic and you might last a little longer.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks SuperSix and Steve0 etal.

I'm definitely not a ripoff artist...I have lots of parts...they all work...I may assemble them or part it out...or I may just keep everything! Dunno yet.

Been thinking of reassembling my Dell. It was my first PC that I bought back when i didn't know that mere mortals could actually BUILD a PC themselves. Hey, we all have to start somewhere, right? It's slow (PIII 550e) and only has room for one HD (damn proprietary crap) but it's QUIET...you don't even know it's on....I may turn it into another fileserver.

 

[lukatmyshu]

I think a definition of a con-man is someone who intentionally deceives people. I doubt Dolph ever deceived the customers he sold his items to. There have been hundreds of times i've seen auctions for things like "Duron 800 Mhz Processor .... does not work." and someone just bid 20 bucks for it. Makes absolutely no sense ... so I don't doubt at all that Dolph's burner sale was a fluke, I just think that the majority of buyers on ebay are stupid I don't sell anything there 'cuz I feel guilty selling it to them.

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Thanks SuperSix and Steve0 etal.

I'm definitely not a ripoff artist...I have lots of parts...they all work...I may assemble them or part it out...or I may just keep everything! Dunno yet.

Been thinking of reassembling my Dell. It was my first PC that I bought back when i didn't know that mere mortals could actually BUILD a PC themselves. Hey, we all have to start somewhere, right? It's slow (PIII 550e) and only has room for one HD (damn proprietary crap) but it's QUIET...you don't even know it's on....I may turn it into another fileserver.

if it's quite... run it as a DL machine... i've got an old laptop that was given to me, runs win2k, kazaa lite and winamp... it dl's nonstop and plays music (usually digitally imported off of shoutcast) while i sleep... works great

edit: etal?

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: NetworkDad

Originally posted by: PsychoAndy

Originally posted by: MichaelD
I'm not thinking of going into business myself. Read on.

After finally getting all the parts together and rebuilding my main and secondary rigs, I'm left with almost enough parts to build two separate rigs. Already have enough for a PIII 732 rig (550 that does 732 w/o breaking a sweat| 5.5 x 133)

I have thought about putting it in FS/FT, but in this cutting-edge place, most folks are already at 1GHz or better.

People on EBay buy almost anything, right?

Mike, listen to me VERY CAREFULLY .

Unless you're hard up for cash, keep the stuff or sell them to your friends/co-workers.

-PAB

*EDITED for strategic emphasis*

Mike & PAB - Listen carefully - You never ever sell stuff to your friends or co-workers. They will expect for life free technical support, and it will be your ass when it breaks. This comes from experience.

He's right. When I build my friends rigs, every single upgrade they want in their system or if their system goes fubar on them....who do they call? DANIEL. OF COURSE, since I am their friend and I wouldn't charge them for my time. Pff, yea right.

 

[burnedout]

Andy is right, MichaelD, be very careful, especially with computer parts/systems. You won't get a whole lot for them (THe 16X CDRW sale is a fluke), and there are too many pitfalls, as PAB indicated. *I* would sell it pieces/parts on FS trade, those parts should sell well.. I've sold nearly 100 items on Ebay, and concur with PAB on this one.. Or assemble the PCs for family members/charities in the area..

It's all supply and demand. Depends upon how much is invested and how much he expects to receive.

After over 6 years, more than 1800 auctions, and $112,000 later, I can safely say that yes, some PC parts are worth it while others are not. Right now, it's a saturated market out there with, for example, two PII 400s going for around $60, 128 MB SDRAM memory gets you between $10-$15, etc. IMO, his best bet would be to unload the CPUs and memory if he chose the auction route simply because those components are so easy to ship.

MichaelD: If you are interested in using a local method, PM me and I'll direct you to a couple local (for San Antonio) "places" where you may have some success unloading your parts and getting a decent amount for them.