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Building/selling computers on ebay?

J

Jmmsbnd007

Diamond Member
I thought about this a while ago, but now I want to put it into play...
I see a lot of computers being sold on ebay sold by big companies with not a lot of quality. Even some incorrect information, such as "this aluminum case will bring down your temperature a lot!" I could hand-build them with quality, burn/test them for 24-72 hours, and ship them insured... is it worth the hassle?
 
No. The regular consumer doesn't care about this, nor do they understand the details of what you put into the box. They just want a good deal.
 
Well it depends how much the auction ends vs how much it costed you (including labor; time is a form of money😉)...
but I would say your odds are good since a lot of other folks are already doing it...
 
Peopel don't seem to care about quality much on Ebay. Shipping and Ebay costs will eat your lunch too btw. Tried that before made a small amount of dough, but not enough to be worth the hasslle
 
Originally posted by: Jeomite
Well it depends how much the auction ends vs how much it costed you (including labor; time is a form of money😉)...
but I would say your odds are good since a lot of other folks are already doing it...
Click to expand...
I'm a good builder, I use AS3, don't interchange wrong-sized screws, etc... the only expensive part would be the OS... after all, it's nice to include the CD. I can build a full computer in 15 minutes or so... make $100 profit or a little less/more depending... not bad.
 
Originally posted by: CurtCold
Peopel don't seem to care about quality much on Ebay. Shipping and Ebay costs will eat your lunch too btw. Tried that before made a small amount of dough, but not enough to be worth the hasslle
Click to expand...

Very true. Quality and eBay hardly mesh together in a sentence. And shipping is your enemy if you're selling whole computer systems...
 
remember there are people using e-snipe or similar software to auto bid.
e-bay also charge service charge. It is hard to make much money
 
Originally posted by: Jmmsbnd007
Originally posted by: Jeomite
Well it depends how much the auction ends vs how much it costed you (including labor; time is a form of money😉)...
but I would say your odds are good since a lot of other folks are already doing it...
Click to expand...
I'm a good builder, I use AS3, don't interchange wrong-sized screws, etc... the only expensive part would be the OS... after all, it's nice to include the CD. I can build a full computer in 15 minutes or so... make $100 profit or a little less/more depending... not bad.
Click to expand...


HAHAHAHA 15 minutes??? Sure, you show me that you can build a computer from parts, install the OS and get the drivers installed in 15 minutes?!

 
Been there as well...the fees ate me alive...I averaged about 100 bucks per machine after fees and shipping on a $850.00 PC.
I stopped doing it because it was a whole lot of work for very little money.

GL
 
Ebay is only good for reselling sh1t you got for free or a really good deal. Don't even think about selling computers on there. You won't make a penny.
 
HAHAHAHA 15 minutes??? Sure, you show me that you can build a computer from parts, install the OS and get the drivers installed in 15 minutes?!
Click to expand...

I am certain that I could build a fully installed box in 15 minutes but the caveat is that all the parts must be unpackaged and ready to go in, I would have to have an electric screwdriver, have a good feel for the layout of the front bezel headers, and a Ghost image.

🙂

Actually, I don't think this is a lucrative business. You MIGHT be able to match or beat the price of a Dell/Gateway but you won't be able to provide much along the lines of warranty or tech support.
 
All I have to say is good luck.

With companies like Dell and crappy E-Machines, its going to be hard. Like the other members said, consumers don't care getting the highest FPS in a game, they just want believe it can do AOL and word processing.
 
Make sure you put lots of big numbers, whether they have an effect or not. So things like 333FSB!!!!!!!!!!!! 512k cache!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And stuff like that, you'll blind the consumer and they're more likely to buy your machine.
 
Not worth it. You can't compete with Dell or E-machines, and for high end machines, people either build it themselves or go with Alienware.

You might try it with ONE computer to see how it goes, but I would be afraid to try more than that. You might end up with a bunch of PCs you can't sell for a profit.
 
Three obstacles:

- High shipping costs

- High chance of fraud (fraud folks like to buy expensive things)

- (biggest issue) Mostly non-technical minded fools who will install crap software/viruses then tell you the system is broken, they want a full refund with shipping fees reimbursed both ways.

The later two can put you deeply in the red.
 
Originally posted by: rml
remember there are people using e-snipe or similar software to auto bid.
e-bay also charge service charge. It is hard to make much money
Click to expand...
Isn't it like 35 cents though to list? How much would shipping be?
 
Originally posted by: radioouman
Originally posted by: Jmmsbnd007
Originally posted by: Jeomite
Well it depends how much the auction ends vs how much it costed you (including labor; time is a form of money😉)...
but I would say your odds are good since a lot of other folks are already doing it...
Click to expand...
I'm a good builder, I use AS3, don't interchange wrong-sized screws, etc... the only expensive part would be the OS... after all, it's nice to include the CD. I can build a full computer in 15 minutes or so... make $100 profit or a little less/more depending... not bad.
Click to expand...


HAHAHAHA 15 minutes??? Sure, you show me that you can build a computer from parts, install the OS and get the drivers installed in 15 minutes?!
Click to expand...
Wtf do you think "build" means? Is installing an OS building? I can have all the hardware installed properly in the case in 15 min or less.
 
Originally posted by: vegetation
Three obstacles:

- High shipping costs

- High chance of fraud (fraud folks like to buy expensive things)

- (biggest issue) Mostly non-technical minded fools who will install crap software/viruses then tell you the system is broken, they want a full refund with shipping fees reimbursed both ways.

The later two can put you deeply in the red.
Click to expand...
I'd sell them as-is... but I guess this does seem like a lot of trouble. Sigh. Why is it so hard to make money with such a needed skill? 🙁
 
I did this too. If youve got nothing else to do with your life - just do it.

If you want to make more money try these other ideas :

-Start a website to sell your girlfriends PEZ collection.
-Automate the buying and selling of stocks
-Hookup with Steve Jobs. Hes got plenty of ideas.
 
Even if you state as-is, no refunds, you'll be amazed at how many people will totally screw the system up, then blame you for it. If you use paypal or any form of CC for online payment, you'll have no choice but to take the system back as the buyer can do a chargeback on you. I suppose you could just accept money orders, but the problem with that is you'll have poor sales; maybe OK to do if you only want to sell a few systems a year, but certainly not an acceptable method of payment for anything beyond that.

I'd sell them as-is... but I guess this does seem like a lot of trouble. Sigh. Why is it so hard to make money with such a needed skill? 🙁
Click to expand...

 
Buyer ALWAYS pays shipping. Proof that most people here have no idea what they're talking about. Do it and see if you make a profit. If you do, great. If not, at least you tried.
 
Originally posted by: Lonyo
Make sure you put lots of big numbers, whether they have an effect or not. So things like 333FSB!!!!!!!!!!!! 512k cache!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And stuff like that, you'll blind the consumer and they're more likely to buy your machine.
Click to expand...

And use lots of big, flashy, colorful fonts, and meaningless buzzwords/


Originally posted by: Jmmsbnd007
Sigh. Why is it so hard to make money with such a needed skill?
Click to expand...
Yeah; IT's a lousy field right now. I know Cisco, Win2k, and troubleshooting; you'd think I could at least find something in the field. At least there's Walmart.
rolleye.gif

 
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