If you want to be successful you would have to do something like Microcenter does.

They have the parts/components on hand in their store and can take them off the shelf by request of what each customer wants in their PC and you build it for them in front of them,
or have people send you a build sheet and you buy the parts/take them off the shelf and put them in the case for them and charge for labor and parts.

Working out of your house may not be the best idea unless you are a craigslist service person and craigslist/ebay is your only source of advertisement.

Trans_Am wrote If you want to be successful you would have to do something like Microcenter does.

They have the parts/components on hand in their store and can take them off the shelf by request of what each customer wants in their PC and you build it for them in front of them,
or have people send you a build sheet and you buy the parts/take them off the shelf and put them in the case for them and charge for labor and parts.

Working out of your house may not be the best idea unless you are a craigslist service person and craigslist/ebay is your only source of advertisement.

Then again I'm only 16 and don't really know how to go about buying the parts on my own and if they aren't reliable and I'm stuck with the build after the fact. I just want a way where they can give me the parts and I build it the same day and they come to pick it up with the money. I would do it on Craigslist for meetups no shipping would be involved. I am familiar with microcenter that's where I bought my parts from

Tupq wrote

Trans_Am wrote If you want to be successful you would have to do something like Microcenter does.

They have the parts/components on hand in their store and can take them off the shelf by request of what each customer wants in their PC and you build it for them in front of them,
or have people send you a build sheet and you buy the parts/take them off the shelf and put them in the case for them and charge for labor and parts.

Working out of your house may not be the best idea unless you are a craigslist service person and craigslist/ebay is your only source of advertisement.

Then again I'm only 16 and don't really know how to go about buying the parts on my own and if they aren't reliable and I'm stuck with the build after the fact. I just want a way where they can give me the parts and I build it the same day and they come to pick it up with the money. I would do it on Craigslist for meetups no shipping would be involved. I am familiar with microcenter that's where I bought my parts from

Show them suggested builds on PCpartpicker based on price and have them buy it, and when the parts come install them for them and charge labor


...or work at Microcenter

No point, you will end up making next to nothing due to shipping charges etc.. People tend to stick to main trusted rip off sites such as cyberpower for example. It just won't be worth it.

wouldn't work out and here is why.
A) You're a 16 year old lad doing it on his own, people won't trust you enough to spend a lot of money.
B) Why do it through you when they can have an established business do it for them, with warranties and guarantees and a customer support line etc etc.
C) If something were to happen, say parts arrived DOA then you can't ask the customer to spend more money to get working parts in the hopes of a refund or wait for a replacement part to arrive.
D) If a PC dies or isn't what they want can you provide a full refund for their product or troubleshoot what the issue is from on the phone

Honestly, we've all at one point thought about it but never have any of us gone through with it as more likely than not it would be too much of a hassle for a little bit of money.

This is just wishful thinking... Zayev hit the nail on the head with his comment.

We have all thought about it, hell i even did it for a while... It's a lot more hassle than it's worth.

Now I just build for friends and family. It's easier that way.

Craig wrote This is just wishful thinking... Zayev hit the nail on the head with his comment.

We have all thought about it, hell i even did it for a while... It's a lot more hassle than it's worth.

Now I just build for friends and family. It's easier that way.

Exactly, friends / family only.

That way, they dont expect too much and you can let them down slightly if stuff goes wrong.

For example, I literally built a PC this weekend for my friend and a RAM stick was DOA and caused a re-boot loop. He was good about it to be fair but you cant expect paying customers to be happy about if that does happen.

I mean, no one is stopping you but treat it like a hobby and not a job.