Building to sell: What brands do you love?

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kalleo335

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Alright fellow techies, I'm doing the old "test the target audience" research shtick that everyone who sees you trying to make money will tell you to do. Essentially, pretty soon I'm going to be buying various computer parts to assemble custom comps, some things refurbished, some barebones, some full gaming pcs, etc. Basically, I just want to know what brands you love for different components, and thus would be happy to see on a system I'd built. Do you like AMD or Intel? What cases, any luck with Rosewill? Has Corsair RAM done ya good? Nvidia or ATI, and why? Basically, whatever brands you would be most pleased seeing in a custom comp, please list them by part. Thanks in advance!

Also, I'm going for cost-to-effectiveness value, so if there's some obscure incredibly expensive brand that you love for whatever reason, that may not be what I'm looking for. I am trying to build budget friendly systems.

EDIT: And pardon my rudeness, I forgot to say hello! So, hello everyone! I've actually been poking around these forums for a bit now, just never bothered to register (yeah, I'm one of those guys...)
 
I'm not going to ask about a business plan, marketing etc... I'm hoping you've looked at all of that, building and selling computers is a tough market.

I sell a few systems on the side, more as a hobby than a business, I don't make enough money off the builds to justify the time that goes into it or the follow up questions that are sure to come.

One word of advice, if you're starting small (i.e.a basement or garage type business), I would never build then sell....go the other way, sell the comp, get a deposit and then build. The last thing you want to do is buy your parts and then have them depreciate while they sit there and you look for a customer. One other thing, who are your customers exactly....that will dictate your part quality and $$$. Jo Blo on the street can't tell the different between a 600watt $25 and a $75 PSU so you'd better know who you are targeting.
 
I'd say if you are only now asking for part and brand recommendations, you are no where near ready to start a custom PC business. How many PC's have you built previously?

Building to suit yourself or family is no where near the quality that some people expect (especially gamers).

Like jfenwick said, this is a very tough market to get into, and you better be very well prepared if you still think you want to give it a try. Being an actually licensed business, with a professional website and business cards helps out a lot. Build up contacts with people you know and start getting recommendations that way. That's about the best way to start if you are going local.
 
I'm planning on selling these on Ebay, and though I'm definitely not trying to make a career out of this, I am working on becoming more..."legit". I'm currently doing the paperwork to get a formal EIN, Sales Tax ID, and have worked through contracts from wholesalers for products I already know I'll need (Intel processors, for example) and spoken with their sales reps. In terms of making them, I have some experience, and will be getting the help of a friend with a ridiculous amount of experience.

My target audience then would be whomever I can sell to on ebay, which is why cost effectiveness is important. I am aware of marketing techniques; I'm not going to be pushing a 1300$ dollar computer with the latest, greatest graphic cards with keywords like "Home Use" or anything like that. I'm just curious what brands you think would make a possible consumer, whether with limited or great knowledge, smile. Thanks for the replies, and I'm looking forward to more!

Also, I'm not asking what brands are good because I don't know any brands, I'm already quite comfortable with the brands I like. However, there are some that I hadn't previously heard of that are somewhat more niche that certain audiences would enjoy. I think it's my fault, I should've been much clearer about what I was asking for help with. Also, I will be selling some products individually if I know they are a hot item; a new(er) graphics card, or strong processor that has just come down to a more consumer friendly price.
 
If eBay is your target. Give up now. That's all I have to say from personal experience. The only PC's that sell on eBay are the ones that somehow manage to trick people into thinking they are better than they are. Also, with eBay and PayPal you are losing $30-100 per machine, which really diminishes profits.

I've done the math with eBay and made many attempts, but only sold about 5 PC's for a total of $70 profit. All my other sales are local or personal website. eBay is a bad news bear when it comes to custom PC's because all the power sellers buy their parts in bulk from the same suppliers you are talking about, thus they make profits, but in order for you to match their price you barely break even. Everyone on eBay uses crappy base parts (like case, mobo, gpu) but really good CPU/RAM/Hard Drive to confuse the general public. They also never include an OS and offer personal warranties with hidden fees.

eBay is a no go, especially if you are starting from scratch with an eBay account that has low feedback totals.
I don't want to sound like a downer, but realistically your chances of succeeding through eBay is even lower than trying local or your own website.
 
So, when you made your attempt to sell things on ebay, were you actually registed as a business (had a formal Sales Tax ID, etc.) and buying from legitimate, full size wholesalers? Were the profit margins really that terrible? Would there be any better chance of selling individual parts due to decreased listing cost and shipping cost? I'm basically looking to make about minimum wage for a few hrs of work a day as a little side project. Is that not even plausible?

Even if this whole idea ends up dying as long as I have this post up, does anyone want to actually answer my initial question? Heheh...

surgeVel: I think I'll just go ahead and level with you about who you're talking to. I'm a 17 year old in a town with few job opportunities with some reasonable know how about computers, and what I would call an above average handle on business (compared to peers, I suppose). I'm not looking to make more than I would make working four hours after school at Dairy Queen, and don't really mind if it takes just as much work. I don't have a job, at all, and have little to no hopes of finding one around here. I'm just trying to keep from the old "cutting lawns" bit, have a little fun, and maybe have an interesting story to tell, or an interesting credential for a college app. Knowing that, is this a plausible goal? Oh, and +rep for the help thus far!
 
I'm sorry Kalleo, but I've tried it too, and surgeVel is 100% accurate on every point.
I heard similar things before I tried it myself, but I went for it anyway. I have a feeling it might be the same way for you since I personally had to try it for myself once I committed to it.

For selling individual parts you have an even worse shot, as you can not compete with newegg prices. They sell for less than you pay for them from any wholesaler. I'm signed up with all of them, and can quote you a buy price or two if you'd like. I guarantee newegg is cheaper, though =)
 
I'm sorry Kalleo, but I've tried it too, and surgeVel is 100% accurate on every point.
I heard similar things before I tried it myself, but I went for it anyway. I have a feeling it might be the same way for you since I personally had to try it for myself once I committed to it.

For selling individual parts you have an even worse shot, as you can not compete with newegg prices. They sell for less than you pay for them from any wholesaler. I'm signed up with all of them, and can quote you a buy price or two if you'd like. I guarantee newegg is cheaper, though =)

My supplier is cheaper than Newegg on almost all counts. The only things Newegg usually wins at are CPU's. Although, if you sell on eBay and factor in their fees, PayPal fees, and shipping costs (since Newegg is almost always free) you make little to no profit again.

And yes, Kalleo, this was after I was a registered business with a business website. I even had my business license displayed on all auctions so people could see I was a full-legal business, but it didn't help :(

Basically the only way you will compete on eBay is if you are willing to risk 10k in buying bulk parts to actually make a decent profit. But at the same time if you are starting with a new eBay account with only a few feedback ratings, it will be ignored regardless.

EDIT: Just saw your last section. If you really want to just make a little extra, try offering cheap repairs for people, or selling locally. You may be able to make some profits from eBay if you find the right part that has a great profit margin, or can deceive some people (bad, I know, but it's the only way to go with eBay). Your best bet is to try local first if you are wanting the best chances of getting some profit from this. Family and friends, then from word of mouth you can grab more contacts that way.

Thanks for the rep!
 
Being someone already in this field, would you be comfortable giving me some advice on what some good wholesalers might be? I think I'm going to try...maybe if not on custom built computers, then in some other area...there has to be something on eBay I'll be able to sell, right? :D *as optimism refuses to die...*

Maybe with enough research, I'll find some sweet time that prices on ebay are significantly high enough on certain parts that I can make enough money to prove to my friends I wasn't crazy when I came up with this idea.
 
haha, I had just PM'd him asking who his supplier was :p I guess now he can post it if he wants to.
The big name ones I can recall for electronics and such are Ingram Entertainment and D&H.

By the way, a good thing to keep in mind when finding more is legit wholesalers do not charge you anything to deal with them, aside from the costs of products of course
 
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