How do I sell PC's online?

[SmoochyTX]

Originally posted by: TruePaige

Originally posted by: SmoochyTX

Originally posted by: TruePaige

Originally posted by: SmoochyTX

Originally posted by: TruePaige

Originally posted by: SmoochyTX
Already, I have no customer support for my question. Not a good start OP.

No can't say I could =p

I'm just one person who was curious about a few PC's (2-5) a week type stuff =)

Acting flippant towards a potential customer will get you nowhere fast. You'll sit there with inventory dying a fast death or you'll lose your contacts waiting on you to order parts.

If you only plan on building 2-5 PCs a week (and I highly doubt you could even do that reliably), the money you might make is not worth the tech support you're going to provide on the back end.

You will make no money and burn in bankruptcy.

Well I already got the point of the replies that it's probally a bad idea...but just FYI...I could technically build that many PC's but I wouldn't have the money to finance it that much up front, and wouldn't be comfortable building that many.

The actual building of a PC takes me about...an hour.

But then I like to run a 48 hour burn in per rig to check for any premature component failure, assemble a 3 ring binder of specific troubleshooting information, install any requested GUI mod's and install any pre-purchased software for the client.

That's how I've done on-site repairs/set-up's locally at least. Thanks for the feedback everyone, it's been...interesting to say the least...=)

If somebody I was buying computers from told me they didn't have the finances to even cover the cost of what I was buying I would run like hell away from them.

Physically building a compuer doesn't take that much time but there's no way in hell you're going to be able to hold a customer's computer for 48+ hours for testing. If I'm needing 10 computers in two days and I'm willing to pay $1000 each are you really going to tell me that you can't do it because you have to test them for 48 hours?

If you tell me that, you've just lost my business and I'm going to Dell or Gateway or somebody else where I can get the computers I need in time and have tech support.

You also have to remember that to save money on computer parts, you should be buying in bulk. What's the problem with buying in bulk? You're going to have parts sitting on the shelf losing value because the latest and greatest is coming out and you need to get rid of those parts. Charging full price on those parts will get you no business so you're going to have to mark them down. Always think inventory in a startup like this.

Who's going to be manning a phone or phones while you're building? Who's going to be packing the computers while somebody is building the computers? How are you going to take orders while tracking down parts that need to be replaced on computers you've already sold?

Note - I wouldn't buy a PC from someone who DIDN'T give my PC a 48-hour burn-in minimum. =p

That's basically standard to test high-end PC Parts.

Aside from the whole idea of burn-in testing your components ability to handle an overclock, it's a guarantee from the shop that all the components work ok, and that it doesn't get spontaneous blue screens or a premature PSU blowout.

I appreciate the fact that you continue screwing with me. But let's forget the $1000 per computer cost. Let's make it $3000 per computer not even counting a monitor, speakers, etc. Just the box.

I want 10 of them in 2 business days. You're really going to turn that down and tell me that you can't deliver? And what if I have a customer that would be willing to buy 20 boxes from you next week depending on how my order with you goes?

Seriously, stop busting my balls and think more about your own.

 

[TruePaige]

I got your point a long time ago. I don't think you understand the importance of integrity. Shipping a machine that might have an undetected hardware flaw is not something I'd ever do. I'd tell any customer why it takes 2 days to fully test a system and if they refused it I'd inform them of the risks they took and that there would be a slim chance they could experience down-time in the future while their part is being replaced. That's how you do it. I may not have the capabilities to sell PC's in mass quanties / compete with online sellers...but I've troubleshooted/built LOCALLY quite a few great rigs. =p

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: Tom
Nobody thought Michael Dell could do it either.

Different time, different market conditions, etc.

Really, there is no comparison.

You don't get it. NOBODY thought it was possible when Michael Dell did it either.

Somebody will come up with ideas that nobody else thought would work, and get rich because they ignored people who thought it was impossible.

It will happen.

 

[SmoochyTX]

Originally posted by: TruePaige
I got your point a long time ago. I don't think you understand the importance of integrity. Shipping a machine that might have an undetected hardware flaw is not something I'd ever do. I'd tell any customer why it takes 2 days to fully test a system and if they refused it I'd inform them of the risks they took and that there would be a slim chance they could experience down-time in the future while their part is being replaced. That's how you do it. I may not have the capabilities to sell PC's in mass quanties / compete with online sellers...but I've troubleshooted/built LOCALLY quite a few great rigs. =p

I'm sure you're great at building computers. I don't doubt that a bit.

I'm just trying to get you thinking about this in business terms. Even after your tests, you can't guarantee that a PSU isn't going to burn up, a MB isn't going to flake out, a HD isn't going to say good night, or a video card isn't going to lay down within even 4 weeks of your selling the computer. Are you really going to keep extras of all of those in stock to replace 'just in case' or are you going to force your customer to wait until after you've bought them somewhere before you or a tech you pay has to go out to replace them.

Building a few rigs for yours or friends or family is completely different from building rigs for the general public. Even if your customer is a very knowledgeable consumer, they still expect fast and reliable service bundled in with the cost of their special comp. But then again if they were so knowledgeable, the argument might be made that they would build it themself at a lower cost.

There are just so many more things that are part of starting this type of business that you don't seem willing to see. You should take off those rose-colored glasses.

 

[angminas]

Rough crowd! :Q

OP, you might consider building a strong hometown business before getting on the web. Remember that there's much more to building computers than building computers. Since I don't know your sitch specifically, here are some possible general ideas:

1. Try to be a local Falcon Northwest or Alienware. Study their pricing, estimated profit margin, image, support plan, etc. If you want to build serious gaming computers, see what the big boys are doing, and then find something they've missed. You might reduce the inventory problem by only doing custom builds, but you'll have to justify that to the customer.

2. Work on your customer service / friendliness / confidence. People will want to be very confident in you before they lay down the long green. Look at eBay, Best Buy, and Circuit City. Write down what you like and don't like about their advertising and product descriptions. This will help you find your unique angle that makes people trust you more than a big brand. Ask someone who knows you well how you come across to strangers. Clean up your house, car, hair, and wardrobe. Practice answering questions customers will ask you.

3. Get involved in the local LAN party scene and learn all you can from people who build their own or pay nutty amounts to get exactly what they want. Find someone slightly lost who wants someone to help them, and help them.

4. Maybe someone at a local university doing CS or electrical engineering used to build computers for a living and doesn't mind passing on their wisdom now that they're out of the game. I struck a gold mine with this one.

I've no idea if any of this will be helpful or applicable. Hope I've helped rather than wasted your time. Let us know how things go!

 

[loic2003]

Gone are the days when a small business can get out there and kick arse. The best you can hope for is to become slightly popular then be bought out by a big-ass company. You're not going to be abe to do a Jobs-Wozniac combo any longer.

Time to look for other opportunities.

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by: loic2003
Gone are the days when a small business can get out there and kick arse. The best you can hope for is to become slightly popular then be bought out by a big-ass company. You're not going to be abe to do a Jobs-Wozniac combo any longer.

Time to look for other opportunities.

So the Google billionaires aren't real ?

here's the deal, pick any time in history, and most people had exactly the same opinion you have, and they always have been wrong.