Where would you even buy bulk PC components?

[DonVonHulio]

I work with my hands for a living already. And assembling a PC is really easy... as long as all the parts work correctly out of the box (damn you Corsair). Even if something like a specific PSU shouldnt fit in lets say a Bitfenix Prodigy, it only takes 15 minutes if you already have the tools to make it fit.

Since im irritated at Corsair for their lack of testing their products properly, in a few months i will upgrade my Standard ATX to a custom water loop since its bigger and easier to work on. I dont need to, its perfectly fine the way it is now. Its barely a year old... but the experience of doing a custom water loop would be nice. And after i do that i will add on to my Prodigy build once i decide ive used the replacement H100i long enough.

Once i get that down, i just need to learn how to draw... i guess. Or figure out what i need to make my own plastic molding like the professional case modders are doing.


Main thing im concerned about is i just want to build PC's because its fun and making some cash doing. And i want to try and cut out the middle man like Newegg, Tigerdirect, Frozen CPU, and even Amazon. Id like to offer an actual selection of each component, instead of just the GPU, CPU, and HDDs... Do i need to become a parts distributor first and try to market them, then start building to sell?


Everything below is semi-offtopic/opinion rant lol

ibuypower and all those other "custom" services... they just add (usually) some red LEDs and say you have all these choices to cutomize the PC.... except you can only choose the expensive and pointless i7 if you want this case... or you must buy the Bluray Burner Combo and 750GB SSD if you want the GTX Titan in it, so its even more stupid expensive for no reason. All they really do is assemble it, that is all. And you cant actually choose everything that goes in it.

If im going to make a PC to sell... its going to be really nice, and one of a kind to actually warrant marking up 500+ dollars... because then its not "just because you got these parts" its because i actually spent time making it aka Labor.

[Chris]

It depends on the quantities.

If you’re thinking about 10s, 100s and 1000s then you’d go to the manufacturer. Get into contact with their sales team, give them money and then in a few months you’ll receive a crate full of goodies.

…But if you’re thinking about smaller numbers (less than 10) then you could still give the manufacturer a call and they’d probably still oblige but you won’t be prioritised. You could also give your favoured retailer a call and see if you can haggle them down in price if you buy several of a certain item.

[Jamebonds1]

Check sercet hardward site first. They're trustworth PSU reviewer. Remember 99% of reviewer are wrong. Tester equipment is pretty expesnive but good reviewer.

Question, are you look for sell it then buying new part to build different computer?

[Rove]

I think you could email the sales reps of any brands you are interested in working with and ask these questions.

They might tell you that there is a minimum order quantity or that they are not willing to sign a supply contract with a unproven individual if you are wanting parts on a as-needed basis.

I would suggest you would need a small warehouse and factory workshop before your dream becomes viable. Not to say you can't raise capital and rent these things on credit or whatever but you will need money, either your own or a investor's.

Another idea if you are personally interested in being a trades-person working with your hands building PCs is to apply for a job at any nearby local PC manufacturer which operates a factory or assembly plant in your country or area. There are also smaller PC shops in lots of places and you can look for one that is hiring.

If you are interested more in managing a business, well it costs money to make money so you either need to have some already or get investors who do.

If you want to be a self employed trades-person who assemles PCs for others then I would suggest offering their choice of parts at-cost from a site like PC Part Picker and charging them a fee for the assembly, maybe like $50-$100 for a basic rig and extra for watercooling. Other than that you must charge them everything at-cost including the shipping to them so they know exactly what they are paying for and are not being ripped off. You want rich happy knowledgable customers who appreciate your service, not someone poor who feels scammed and would rather have built their own like you do.

[Tusken GA]

The problem is that this entire aspect of the industry is going away. People aren't buying desktops much anymore. With CPU speeds rapidly reaching their physical limts and already being good enough for the average person, laptops have become a very viable alternative for a full PC experience.

Not so much on the gaming front yet, but it's getting there too. GPUs will eventually reach the same limit that CPUs are approaching. At that point, paying for a full sized desktop just won't make as much sense anymore. The Price/Performance ratio is going to come down on laptops.

Until we find some crazy new thing we want to do as a species that modern technologies, like silicon-based computer parts, can't accomplish, the push is going to continue to be toward smaller, more mobile, more versatile systems.

That means precision engineering, it means non-removable parts, and it means indpendent computer technicians rapidly going the way of the dodo.

[DonVonHulio]

Hmm... well. Thank you all for responding and trust me i read eveything :)

The most id ever feasibly buy of anything would be in the 10s. I think that would be an ok amount, because if i dont use all of an item to build a PC i wont have as many to sell individually and still make a profit or at least break even, even if the price on the item drops for some reason.


Ya i love working with my hands, its what i do for a living. And if i was to apply to one of those factoires, chances are i wouldnt be assembling PCs, id be doing maintenance on their industrial motors and fans. lol
I definitely hear ya about the pissed off poor person and the mister money bags. People with too much money are my prime target, i want to build things that they really want and are more than willing to pay for.


Ya, hopefully media starts to advance at a faster pace as well. But if there are still video games, there will still be a demand for gaming computers.

[_I_]

for cases, fans, cpu coolers and some other components
you cna order from cmstore
http://www.cmstore-usa.com/

iv never had any problems with their refurb cases, cpu coolers, or fans

[DonVonHulio]

Nice, thank you.