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If you wanted to build and sell some PCs locally.. what would you do?

P

plagiarist

Senior member
I'm talking about getting parts, power level of systems, etc. My main draw would be that people could drive over in a few minutes and have me fix the PC overnight instead of going through a tech support system with some guy halfway around the world first. Any suggestions?
 
Expect to deliver 50 hours of unpaid support for every PC you sell, and price them accordingly.

When they completely trash the computer installing spyware / adware, downloading trojans, etc. it will be "broken" and they'll demand warranty service. They'll also blame you for the loss of all the files they never backed up.

It's still better than building them free as a favor to friends or coworkers though.
 
There are other ways to make a decent living and don't have the computer headaches as noted above.

Let your clients find their computers themselves and you provide services afterwards. Those services are worth gold.
You don't want to build the systems, too many variables to get blamed for. Better to fix them after warranty is over.
This doesn't involve inventory, which is the biggest overhead you start with. A losing proposition.

Offer antivirus and spyware removals which are quaranteed business makers. Offer service contracts to renew AV and spyware protection.

Advertise free diagnostics to get fast business.
Run free diagnostics for malware and the like. Have clients drop off their computers at your place and go from there. Then call the owners and give them the bad news.
They will usually let you do the work or just leave their computers for you to sell later for your trouble. Great Ubuntu candidates.

Since prices for computers are dropping, there is a max price line that people won't go past before considering a new buy.
Offer to backup files services, clone harddrives, add slaves, copy to larger drives, and so on. These can be money makers and your clients will love you.
These services can be repeated over and over. What you charge depends on what the people will bear. Look for repeats and word of mouth.

Be interested in your clients problems and make sure you know what you're doing first, so I recommend a course in computer repair and diagnosis. If unavailable, then a stint at your local computer repair shop, first free for experience and go from there. If you got it already, good for you.

Good Luck and Happy computing.

 
My friend's computer shop is doing booming repairs for virus and spyware removal. He does files backup first, and a system wipe. Reinstalls Win XP, AntiVirus and Spyware software and charges for only that. The rest is left for the client. He charges extra for additional installs. His rate for work is between $220 and $250.
You can save yourself a lot of wasted time and this way returns your clients computers quickly.
 
Originally posted by: pkme2
My friend's computer shop is doing booming repairs for virus and spyware removal. He does files backup first, and a system wipe. Reinstalls Win XP, AntiVirus and Spyware software and charges for only that. The rest is left for the client. He charges extra for additional installs. His rate for work is between $220 and $250.
You can save yourself a lot of wasted time and this way returns your clients computers quickly.
Click to expand...

I'd be interested in this if I can get a ghost program or a way to install XP faster, plus a more reliable way to back up a users email settings etc.
 
Originally posted by: plagiarist
Originally posted by: pkme2
My friend's computer shop is doing booming repairs for virus and spyware removal. He does files backup first, and a system wipe. Reinstalls Win XP, AntiVirus and Spyware software and charges for only that. The rest is left for the client. He charges extra for additional installs. His rate for work is between $220 and $250.
You can save yourself a lot of wasted time and this way returns your clients computers quickly.
Click to expand...

I'd be interested in this if I can get a ghost program or a way to install XP faster, plus a more reliable way to back up a users email settings etc.
Click to expand...

XP faster: look into slipstreaming. You'll have to setup it up to enter in the key manually, but you can slipstream the updates as well, which makes it SO much faster.

users email settings: definitely look into 3rd party programs, etc here. I use a program called FolderMatch I bought for $35, and I use it to synch files between machines / flash drives. Incredibly useful. I've found ones that sync data in Outlook between machines, but haven't started trying them out yet.

What I do is search @ download.com for a utility, and then install it in a testing account in XP, in case it is messed up. If it works, I set it aside. Once I get all the utilities I need, I'll reformat and just install those. Speaking of which, it's coming up to reformat time here soon.
 
I've been using slipstreaming for a while.. would be nice if I could ghost on a copy of XP and then just switch the CDKEY over to that of the user.
 
Originally posted by: plagiarist
I've been using slipstreaming for a while.. would be nice if I could ghost on a copy of XP and then just switch the CDKEY over to that of the user.
Click to expand...



This is probably the hardest part of my tech service to friends esp when they do not have a dedicated XP cd for re-installation. I cannot use my cd since it will not get activated. I cannot ask them to buy a new cd since it costs too much. Unlike in the old days of 98 and 95, I can just use my own win cd to do a re-installation. With the activation, I can't anymore.
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Expect to deliver 50 hours of unpaid support for every PC you sell, and price them accordingly.

When they completely trash the computer installing spyware / adware, downloading trojans, etc. it will be "broken" and they'll demand warranty service. They'll also blame you for the loss of all the files they never backed up.

It's still better than building them free as a favor to friends or coworkers though.
Click to expand...

Spoken like someone who has been around the block a time or two. I was in IT for four years and the above comments by Dave ring true. My boss at that job was doing favors for friends etc on computers he learned too. Tech support duties have a way of mushrooming so be warned.

 
Originally posted by: plagiarist
Originally posted by: pkme2
My friend's computer shop is doing booming repairs for virus and spyware removal. He does files backup first, and a system wipe. Reinstalls Win XP, AntiVirus and Spyware software and charges for only that. The rest is left for the client. He charges extra for additional installs. His rate for work is between $220 and $250.
You can save yourself a lot of wasted time and this way returns your clients computers quickly.
Click to expand...

I'd be interested in this if I can get a ghost program or a way to install XP faster, plus a more reliable way to back up a users email settings etc.
Click to expand...

I use Norton Systemworks Premiere for my clients and students machines. It has Norton AntiVirus and Ghost, for cloning. The software runs $45 delivered.

When I work on clients computers and need to backup their email addresses, I just print them out and let them retype them back later. Just in case, if the clone doesn't pick up the addresses.

You can purchases licenses for Windows XP, but I just get them from my friend's computer repair shop when I need one. You're not buying 10 at a time, are you?

As I mentioned earlier, my friend does a complete wipe after file backup and just installs bare minimum. The rest is the clients doing, and he charges between $220 & $250.
It takes about 4 hrs to get it done. Usually he get one of us nerds to do the work, for free.
 
I think there is a market for PVR/HTPC construction and management.

I think a lot of people would love to have one (though you'd have to sell them on the idea), and I think they may be far less prone to spyware and malware.
 
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