Building customized comps and selling?

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Goodonebales

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Does anyone build customized computers and sell them to people for slightly more than you paid? I'm looking for a few extra bucks, and I figured it's a good way to do what I enjoy and make a few dollars. If anyone does it, please let me know how you got started, how much you make, and how you do it. Thank you!
 
eh, the only problem with that is most people who would need to employ your services wouldnt wanna go that route cuz they arent too tech savvy and would want the warranty/guarantee you find from a manufacturer. anyone who knows those guarantees are crap or could fix it themselves would more than likely be capable of building a comp themselves.

Now networking you could easily make some decent money in that. I work for best buy and I can't tell you how many people offer to pay me under the table to come in and hook up a wireless router for them and get their junk set up on a network, lol.
 
Yeah, and after looking into how much it would cost me to put an OS on these computers, I doubt it would be worth it. I know how to set up networks and stuff really well. I mean, I do it at my house and for all my friends and relatives. But should I get some kind of certification before I do that? And how would I get started in that?
 
Haha, I worked at this savvy apartment complex over the summer, and when they were upgrading their records and such, they went all out and purchased a ton of equipment to spread throughout the complex. Someone told me that I could set up all the networking hardware and get them online, so they paid me really well to do very basic networking.

I believe that networking would be where you could make the most $$$. Lots of people are incredibly helpless when it comes to something as simple as setting up a wireless router.
 
Yeah, and after looking into how much it would cost me to put an OS on these computers, I doubt it would be worth it. I know how to set up networks and stuff really well. I mean, I do it at my house and for all my friends and relatives. But should I get some kind of certification before I do that? And how would I get started in that?

Think of it this way, a certification is basically that safety net for you whenever you work on 'anything'. It's basically a legal certificate much like your highschool diploma that says 'I know what I'm talking about extensively'. I would check into comptia for a syllabus and further information. I have atleast two years 'building' experiance with computers along with 1 year experiance "troubleshooting' some of the problems I've created myself XD
Really, it helps your reputation, just in case someone else decides to double check your work and your the one to blame for a piece of hardware going wrong.
Aside from that, networking is the way to go in terms of easy money. I think you could find a buiesness that specializes on building pcs, maybe not as corporate as alienware but, there are some small shops that pay hourly wages to do what you like, then you can make connections with other folks who may need some under the table work done! Always keep your options available!
 
also if you have had jobs in the past or even just done jobs in the past that will help you out. Certs are more for people who don't hold lots of trust in people's words. Cause im sure that most people here who arn't certified could fix a problem faster and for cheaper then someone at geeksquad for example. its just a matter of who's done the most to appear the most qualified. I'm currently in the interview process for a company that does work on computers locally and does a lot of networking and security stuff with a business in Boston, and by having that under my belt ill be able to do a lot more and work at a lot of places.
 
I love playing devils advocate though, while geeksquad and firedog(circuit cities lesser known service center) are expensive, right off the bat a basic pc check up on an old unit is about 60 dollars, plus tax, then they move in like a mechanic. While not immediately 'fixing' the problem, they get the a-okay to fix it first then they do the work which is another 40 bucks or so. Even coming out to someones house is costly these days, but as midn1gh7 said, certifications and big names bring in more buiesness. more 'trusted' buiesness really, because some folks will allow you to fix their pc but turn around and say you did something wrong, kind of like malpractice.

If your serious about doing side jobs, try and get the work in writing or atleast the work you've done reccorded on paper or in your files to keep from something bitting you on the @$$
 
but then on the other hand people are more likely to take their computer to someone in the community that has been there a while and you can see the person actually working on your pc, rather then sending it in and having it sit in the back room of some Best Buy somewhere. So if you can establish yourself in the community then you'll get far more business then best buy. if you live in an area where you are closer then best buy.
 
sounds like I need to get into the home networking biz lol. but yeah, building custom pc's is a tough niche... I'm trying to get into it with a friend of mine running pc's with the intel/amd based OS-X v. 10.4.9
 
i think building pc's would definitely be one of the best jobs in the world. other then sitting around and doing nothing and making money.
or rapping.... that'd be the balls.
 
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