building pc's for a bit of extra cash

Bramill

Bramill

Bramill

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Joined
16 Sep 2009
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158
Hi guys i was considering building pc's for a bit of extra cash along side my job maybe selling them through ebay.

The main thing holding me back at the minute is if things go wrong with the pc say the graphics card goes or the power supply wipes everything out, how does the warranty work, do I need to register each component
I buy for the warranty, and will the warranty be affected because I'm a business.

Also what are your opinions is this a good way of making a bit of extra cash, I have a full time job so if i could get an extra £100 a month for something I enjoy I feel it would be worthwhile.

I would really appreciate any advice from people already doing this kind of thing.

thanks in advance,

JJ
 
I don't see how you can make any money doing this without selling really overpriced high end systems and even then you would have to shift quite a few
 
I do it, however i don't do Ebay just contract works for offices/schools and private word of mouth etc.. and thats getting slow. However i used to do it big scale yrs ago and have made enough contacts to get wholesale prices on a lot of components and licenses etc.. without that i can't see you making a real decent profit, or that profit making up for the potential hassle dealing with and supporting the product.
 
Rather than looking at jumping into the wide world of building and selling, as lets face it, you're not going to get wholesale prices and you won't be able to contend with major manufacturers pricing....

Why not focus more on repairs?
  • Your same skill set can be applied
  • You may be able to skim a little as you replace parts
  • Your labour time will actually be appreciated as people don't want to know how many hours you spent building a new machine
  • Much bigger profit on your time than components you may get 5% off
  • No outlay (if you pay for a system and build it, if you don't sell it in 6 months it will be dead money as tech moves on)
  • No eBay listings to create
  • No eBay fees, just some small local advertising if it costs at all

Just a few thoughts, I've just done something fairly similar myself after giving it some consideration. Just by fixing 1 computer for a family member, a neighbour saw me doing it and has "commissioned" me into doing 2 other jobs for them.

Advertisement is nice and easy, vista print some business cards up, well known website ending in tree for a free advert, newsagents, local paper(s). Lots of things if you apply your mind. Even pay a local child to distribute flyers for you?

I've also expanded my adverts into upgrades, advising and carrying them out and also networking. Admittedly small time at the moment, mostly home networking, wireless and cable solutions but I'm learning more and more.

HTH
 
As well as all the points above you should pay tax on any profits you make from doing this if you're already a taxpayer.

You take your chances on getting found out if you don't declare any profits made.

I would hope that anyone doing this sort of thing as a sideline is paying their dues and not involved in tax evasion.
 
Interesting because this is something I was considering doing in terms of developing a hobby that I enjoy. I feel my skills are sufficient to repair most faults people probably encounter.

I was thinking of repairs/distributing flyers/newsagents/local paper/upgrades and setting up home networks etc.

Do you get much in the way of jobs, steve, or is it only a few?

Second of all, I was also considering the idea of investing in damaged computers, repairing them and reselling for a profit as this would give me plenty of opportunities to get my hands on hardware without losing masses of money. I'm curious as to if anyone has done this before? Where have they gotten the systems from? Have they had much luck with it?
 
I've only recently started pushing out into the outside world (so to speak) I could probably count the jobs on 1 hand I've actually done but had a few people enquiring by email which sounded quite positive.

I'd say I've had 2 repairs, 1 network job, 1 antivirus and 1 upgrade (ram).

Buying and selling spare or repairs is a good idea and I managed to wheely deal a whole build for free! I'd keep and eye on local papers, eBay and gum tree.
 
good luck with this project!
If you want to do it the proper way, I suggest you register as self employed tis bonus activity
 
well my idea was to offer a consultation where I found out what the customer needs/wants and there budget, then buy all the parts online. Then build it, install in their house and offer a 12 month warranty. Basically I'd just add £100 on top of the price of the components.

I looked at an ocuk prebuild and then added all the components to the shopping basket separately, and the difference in price was about £150 in favour of building it yourself, that's what makes me think this is a viable option for making some money doing something I enjoy!
 
Go for it buddy! Sounds a good plan.
Without being critical the only draw back is the systems ocuk sell are gaming/performance orientated and most people after that kind of product will know what they are doing.
If you aim at the "masses" who don't know ram from gpu you contend with pc world and ****** builds.

Just my thoughts
 
I think a lot of us guys with self built systems have thought something along the lines of making money out of building computers at some point. It's probably more hassle than it's worth selling them on auction or as a business in the long run when things break and warranties are needing to be upheld. IMO it's probably easier to stick to building systems for friends and family when required, and if you want to earn more do the repair thing that was suggested further up the thread. :)
 
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