Getting into building a pc business. Is it a good idea for me?
Posted by ProfDoodlewacker@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 100 comments
I’m not really sure where else I’d post this, so that’s why I’m posting here. How would a 15 almost 16 year old such as myself go about starting a business that builds gaming PC’s for people? Basically people come to me with a budget and I tell them the components they can get, and build the pc for them for a certain fee. (I’m thinking of around $80) I’m fairly confident when it comes to the internals of pcs and what pairs well and what doesn’t, but I am not sure how to build a custom water cooling loop. I’m also not sure whether people will trust me with their expensive parts considering I’m still a kid. Im just posting to see if anyone thinks if it’s a good idea right now, or if I should wait until I’m older.
Tsukino_Stareine@reddit
Are you prepared to do hours of troubleshooting after building if the PC has problems?
Are you prepared for people asking for refunds?
What if you break something by accident, do you have the capital to cover that loss?
No business just builds and rinses their hands of the product with no guarantee or return policy. You're still a kid with no idea how anything works, maybe try working for a PC building company first before trying to start your own.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
Yes, I am. I am definitely not doing anything like this until I get a job and have a bit of extra money to cover accidents if they happen. Yes, I am aware of that. I’d have a year of warranty that if anything went wrong I’d fix it for free. You are correct, I don’t know anything. But there is always time to learn.
FumingFumes@reddit
The key is to do the learning part first. Coming from somebody with the same mindset when I was your age
qtSora@reddit
Really depends on where you live, like im in Italy, if i break something by mistake Amazon changes It for free in the First 30 days
mysticrainman@reddit
There is a game - pc building simulator. I suggest playing that for a few days and see if you like it. If you do, you can try it in real life.
The main challenge, like other said, is hedging against the risks involved in running a business. If that's taken care of, you'll be fine, as long as you are willing to be dedicated to your business.
redshift39@reddit
This is a great side hustle for a kid! — I did similar things when I was younger too.
However it’s not going to get “first car money” as a regular job would.
If you do decide to do it, follow these simple steps.
Ease into it, start with people who are interested in building a mid-tier PC first — around $1300. Do not start building multi-thousand dollar PCs, that’s where you could make a mistake and get in trouble.
Study best practices and combinations for people around that price point, case size, etc. one trend I like is minimalistic, small, but powerful PCs.
You’re going to need a small testing process once the computer is done to make sure the it works satisfactorily as a unit and software wise. And give your clients benchmarks of popular games. There is software to do this testing
You’ll need to create a guide about how to care for the computer. And also an “agreement” that you’re not responsible for any kind of issues customers have after the product is delivered and tested from you. Use ChatGPT.
Once you have your 3rd or 4th successful customer experience, ask them for a review (testimonial) and pictures of them with their computers.
Set up a one page website explaining what you do.
Raise your price to $159 for your building services and take the next 3-4 customers.
Once you’re at this point, and if you have steady experience you can consider upping your game and going after more refined builds.
Don’t be discouraged, but be patient and careful. Building computers is seemingly “easy” which is why people think they can do it.
What’s not easy is to figure out what to do when things go wrong and you need to troubleshoot. Familiarize yourself with that too.
Hope this helps.
Unhappy_Hamster_4296@reddit
Anyone shooting down your ideas of starting a business is a moron. It doesnt matter if it's highly successful, you will never learn more than running your own business.
Doing something you're passionate about is also a huge boost to your likelihood of success.
I'd say go for it. It's a low overhead model, you can get a feel for the business world without much risk, and you're young.
GO FUCKING GET IT
love_me_some_reddit@reddit
I build around 20-30 a year as a side hustle. I Just advertise on facebook marketplace. Most people just bring the parts they buy to my house and we build it together and I charge 100 bucks. I have met some pretty cool people.
Justagoodoleboi@reddit
Theres not a big market for “let me pay extra to have a random person assemble my computer for me” and you don’t have any way to get parts at a cheaper wholesale price. Even capital backed corporations fail at this, so good luck!
peperonipyza@reddit
Could be cool to make a few extra bucks. Biggest concern is knowing your customer and setting expectations first. Will they expect you to help fix stuff, what if they don’t like how it works, etc. work out that stuff beforehand and think about it. Sounds fun though 👍
ProficientMethod@reddit
I tried it, worst issue is people would call and ask for what type of build they should go for and just get a build list and not talk back to you. I had a business account on new egg which cut the costs down and would sell the pcs at a good price. I was trying to sell at cost just to get a bunch of pictures for my website of different builds than I just gave up after most my money was made just replacing hard drives and diagnosing bad parts.
Hobby money was okay I just wanted some extra money but people love to only call for your opinion on what they should do when it comes to tech stuff.
drowsycow@reddit
not a good idea, its good to learn but not as a job. just learn software instead.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
I don’t plan to have it as my full time job. I’ll be working somewhere else while doing it on the side. I feel it would be a fun way to make some money since I enjoy doing it
Little-Equinox@reddit
I do this personally, but I charge like €40.- an hour + components cost, while others often charge more. For me it's just a hobby though. But I make a rough estimation how long I'll be busy with the system, and on that I explain to them I'll take an hour or 2 with the system, but I also do proper cable management and software installation, plus I pre-install common games on request as well.
I also tell them, if they only specify certain specs like CPU and GPU, I will decide on the rest and what they can expect on the price.
But then I personally primarily use Asus, AsRock, Corsair Link and Lian-Li.
donkey_loves_dragons@reddit
Still a bad idea!
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
How so?
donkey_loves_dragons@reddit
Did you ever build a PC for family, friends, or colleagues? I don't believe you did, or you wouldn't ask me this.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
I have actually, numerous times. I’ve also had to disassemble my old laptop a few times to fix it, as well as my current desktop computer. I actually build it myself.
donkey_loves_dragons@reddit
Then you must know what an aftermath it has. Suddenly, you're the admin and guilty of everything that goes wrong. Now multiply this with people that actually paid a sum.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
I’ve never been blamed as guilty for problems that happen. I’ve been asked if I know how to fix them, but never blamed. It seems that your basing everything off of a bad experience you had
Shadowraiden@reddit
its not just 1 bad experience.
friends and family wont really blame you. a customer will ive worked in PC stores and even done some online selling myself. both times you will really struggle to make profit long term without really pushing it because customers will be on you constantly over any little thing.
k1rage@reddit
I don't know it happens to every builder eventually
Some guy fucks up the pc and it's your fault and you have to fix it....
Don't sell to internet randoms... it's not worth it... be easier to mow lawns for some cash....
grapejuicecheese@reddit
Friends and family are different from paying customers.
donkey_loves_dragons@reddit
Okay, buddy. Go ahead and open your business. I wholeheartedly support your great idea to build PCs for paying customers. You go, Bro! I believe in you and your idea! You can do it!
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
That was the most sarcastic sounding comment ever, lmao.
donkey_loves_dragons@reddit
Noooo! Why would you say that??? I believe in you!
You'll be the next DELL.
Go ahead and open your business. I will buy a PC from you, when your business is up for, we'll, business. Can't wait!
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
Yeah, totally
Jpotter145@reddit
Support of all kinds..... people will expect you the builder to support everything after the sale - software and hardware (Just like they expect Best Buy, Dell, or whomever to provide support on the PC they bought). So when something, anything goes wrong, they call you.
Do you have time for that for $80 a build?
Shadowraiden@reddit
ill be honest you probably wont really make any money.
building PC's has such low margins that without alot of investment yourself to cover any potential issues your just going to lose money
Imnewinthisredding@reddit
If you have an idea to make some cash or just an idea in general, don't ever ask strangers if it is a good idea or not. They'll shut you down with their insecurities, fears and envy.
If you want to do it, do it. The experience alone will be worth 100 times whatever little money you make or lose because lessons learned from mistakes is what makes you.
Go start your pc business. And fail, and try again.
Faktion@reddit
I turned PC building into a decent sized business and sold prebuilt gaming PCs on Amazon under a certain botique brand name. It wasn't really worth it. People have buyers remorse or do stupid shit to the PC under warranty. Pivoted to technology consulting for new/small businesses. That was fine.
Changed careers twice since then.
It's fun if you keep it really small and do it for fun.
qtSora@reddit
How would you put the ad? Like a PC photo with "i can build It for you"?
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
Pretty much. I’d just have a picture of a nicer looking pc with the title as “Pc building service” and the price as what you’d charge.
drowsycow@reddit
if you can get side gigs yeah do it, if you do software then it becomes a plus but you only have so much limited time, best try to prioritize what you can actually use
Accomplished-Ad-3597@reddit
Time over cost. Spending 2 hours building and seting up the PC for the customer for a meager 80$ is hardly worth it. Plus not like you're gonna have customers lined up everyday for a month to make a decent month's earning.
Real money is in the sponsorships and partnerships with part makers, but then again you're just a solo individual building average PCs, hardly something for them to recongnize an opportunity in you.
Sorry for the harsh words, but it's not a career path I'd recommend anyone.
Toymachina@reddit
I highly doubt you can get enough clueless customers that would pay for such a service, especially when there are prebuilts and even many shops will build for free if you get components from them. As for advice on what components to get, anyone can get that for absolutely free in just a few clicks online. Besides, those that do not want finished solution usually research on their own as well.
I mean sure you might occasionally get a customer or two but that's not a business.
Final_Wait635@reddit
You really, really shouldn't. I would do similar stuff at your age and the only result is you get underpaid no matter how good your work is and you'll be unpaid or coerced tech support for YEARS after.
RevTurk@reddit
I don't think most people would be willing to hand over that amount of money to a teenager. I also don't like the idea of telling the customer (who doesn't know what they're doing) to buy parts. So that means the person I'm buying from can't supply parts, and is probably giving links to prices that aren't that good.
You probably don't have a lot of experience putting PCs together.
Building PCs is a very niche thing, it's not that hard, if someone can put together lego they can put together a PC.
I guess if you live in a neighbourhood with a lot of second generation rich people, IE: they are basically useless at everything and need people to do everything for them. But those kind of people tend to buy from overpriced vendors, not kids.
Eren69@reddit
Building a pc company is not worth it
Whimzy209@reddit
What I used to do was buy used parts on OfferUp or Craigslist that were going for a good price, build a rig with them, fully stress test it, then sell it. I would advise against custom loops imo
sixis22@reddit
As some1 double your age i wouldnt, not worth it, you could make tiktoks like some other people and then they promote they website with offer "i can help u pick parts if u tell me the budget + add affiliate links..
aminy23@reddit
Your idea on how the business should be run is 100% correct, just go for it.
With the customer buying their own parts, then the risk is very low because you have nothing to lose. It also weeds out serious customers from the time wasters.
If you get no customers, you don't lose money. If you get customers, you make money.
One of the things I'd strongly encourage you is save and document everything to create a portfolio. One day if you want to apply to college or apply for a job, you can list this as actual work experience.
For example if at 22 you apply for an IT job, you can then show your have 7 years experience building computers.
If you don't keep the documents, photos, etc - then at 22 you have zero experience.
Don't worry about custom water cooling, it's a waste of money and few people will want to go that expensive.
Generally my rule of thumb for gaming PCs is to allocate half the budget to the graphics card. This is especially important as a business.
An $800 PC with the best $400 graphics card will almost always outperform a $1,500 PC with the best $300 graphics card.
If a customer buys $1,000 - $1,500+ in parts, they will feel ripped off if someone buys a cheaper PC that outperforms it. If they call you and ask where the money went, it will feel scummy if you answer "a really good power supply", or "really nice fans".
If you deviate significantly from that, then you should be transparent about it. For example "this is a $1,000 PC, with $350 in aesthetic upgrades".
Dangerpizzaslice_Z@reddit
unless you kill something with static or just overtighten a screw until MB cracks or anything else really. Who's paying for dead parts? it's not all that safe, being cautious and signing up a job waver is a must.
aminy23@reddit
Compared to other kinds of business where you're paying rent, and possibly have thousands of dollars in inventory - the risk is very low.
A motherboard is fiberglass and extremely tough to crack by over-tightening a screw. One of the reasons Phillips screws are used is because the screwdriver will cam-out and strip the screw before it over-tightens.
The_Machine80@reddit
Pc gaming ain't big enough. Dont bother it's not profitable. Trust me I'm a mechanic that does pc tech stuff on the side. I maybe pull off 100 bucks in a month on pc stuff. It's WAY to easy for people to build there own which I tell people to do. There easy to fix with YouTube and reddit.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
It’s still money to help me save. It will be something I do on the side like you, while doing a job
Shadowraiden@reddit
but you wont save is what people are telling you.
if you want to just build PC's then go a different route.
save a bit of money from your job and go buy some job lots of parts. build a few pc's out of those parts and then dump those cheap pc's on amazon with amazon's fulfilment by them in that you just pay monthly and they will store and then handle all shipping of the product.
you could build very low budget small form pc's that are marketed as work from home pc's
The_Machine80@reddit
OK if that's what you wanna do but your picking one of the worst side jobs possible. Hell lawn mowing will make you 5x more in a city with hardly any lawns. I understand why you wanna try. Your young and have to learn!
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
I honestly don’t even care about the money, it’s just the building the pc that I want to do. The money would just be a bonus.
The_Machine80@reddit
Now that's a good reason to do it cause you won't make money. Learning and fun is good at your age.
MedicJambi@reddit
Some things to consider.
Some of these can be mitigated by doing business in-person.
Things to consider. Good luck.
foki999@reddit
As a side gig yeah, as an actual job? No
Too many negatives too little positives
jgab2048@reddit
Go for it.
Maximum_Stop6720@reddit
Yes it's a good business
speedyblackman@reddit
ive tried this (im 23, just for your reference)
we have had around 10 "potential" customers but none of them showed up for proceeding. i think they all went with pre-builts out of sheer convenience i guess. also one thing to keep in mind that in my country, PC building is extremely niche and expensive, so people would rather be conservative with their decisions and get a pre-built
waffleranger5@reddit
Who cares what we think if you want to do it, do it.
Dangerpizzaslice_Z@reddit
I started the very same thing when i was 17'ish , doing it for 15 years now.
People won't be putting big jobs for you 100%, this is just age based decisions. Nobody wants underage teen to fuckup a 4090 and be like "ooopsies" , people need to be sure they will get a good, reliable job.
At 16 you barely know PC's. Hell you barely know anything.
It may soung harsh, but it is true, at 16 you just a hormone fueled tireless machine with "ill conquer the world" attitude, but reality check gonna happen. Many times.
Do it as a hobby, do jobs you ocassionally be handed, but do not expect it to be a real job anytime soon.
zhafsan@reddit
If you are just helping out friends and relatives and take some money under the table then it’s great. But as soon as you start a business and take money from strangers you have to think about quality and the possibility of customer support/satisfaction and returns.
MadMax4073@reddit
Didn't work out for me. I am doing this for 20 years by now. Building and repairing rigs for friends and their friends as side gig. But apparently I am too good of a person and I enjoy this hobby so much that most of the time I am not even asking for money. Most of the time the folks are just giving me bags of snacks and drinks and other stuff like that which makes me happy anyway lol
QuaintAlex126@reddit
As someone who’s doing this as a side job, it can work… sort of.
Sales will be slow, but this is basically easy, free money. You lose nothing if you don’t get customers, and you make money if you do. This will really only work as a side thing, not full-time.
I can give you some tips and tricks if you’d like. I charge $130 USD per machine, undercutting my local Microcenter and, of course, Best Buy by a ton.
Masungit@reddit
Try it, it’s the only way you’ll know if it’s profitable.
VegatronX@reddit
In my place large electronics store charges about 40 usd for building the PC for you from chosen components and they stress test if before giving to you. And they slap 36 months warranty on whole build + you can upgrade it. Why would I go to a private party to do it ? Biggest question is what you are going to do if YOU make a mistake during the build and fuck up something. Like shit happens, you can drop something, bend a pin, mess up anything - what is your plan in that case ? )
k1rage@reddit
Can you afford to provide a warranty and support once the idiots fuck up the pc you built?
That's the real issue here.
You spend a few hours building a pc make 80$ then you are the tech support guy for that thing....
I seriously don't recommend selling to anyone you don't know well.
Illustrious-Limit160@reddit
Better money in repair. Significantly better.
_dharwin@reddit
Get an LLC. Not hard to make but crucially important in the event of any legal issues.
RunalldayHI@reddit
You will learn a lot, but you will be humbled at times, starting now could jump start your future, one thing kids slack on now days is opportunity, and this translates into your future.
cuddly_degenerate@reddit
Just advertise on Facebook, make a professional looking website as well and do a good job. Best of luck
EnvironmentalMix8887@reddit
you can watch youtube videos on how to do stuff, and what you could do is stay on Reddit and help people until you get a job than you will have a huge amount of pc knowledge
shakingspheres@reddit
Ignore absolutely everyone here and do it.
You may find success, you may fail, but most importantly, you have an idea of something that's caught your interest and you will learn a lot in the process about building a business.
PCMcGee@reddit
This. You have absolutely nothing to lose doing what you have an interest in. My advice is to make some PCs for some Twitch streamers and have them link to your website in the !build command and stream description. You will have more than you can handle and make some nice powerful systems in the process. Gamers always want the best, and many are willing to invest to get it. Good luck!
Proud-Act2811@reddit
Funnily enough, I’m 15 almost 16 considering a pc building business that has no idea to do a custom water loop. My advice is to just tell people you can’t do custom water loops, very few do it and they’ll understand. $80 is a good fee for building, and I’m not sure if you’re legally obligated to let people know you’re 15. Last piece of advice is that if they building thing isn’t working, buy pc parts, build them yourself, and sell them on Jawa for $200 extra.
tuura032@reddit
...$200? If you can expect that, you should be scaling that to a full time gig.
Proud-Act2811@reddit
You can go with Jawa or do what I call the NFF: Nvidia, Facebook Marketplace, and Fortnite. Instant Profit
coatimundislover@reddit
As a hobby, yes. As a job, you’ll almost certainly lose money.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
I plan to have a job with this just on the side. I know it won’t make much money, I just want to do it because I find building pcs fun
tuura032@reddit
The problem is, lots of people have this same idea, and will build other people's PCs for pennies. Even if you have no margin, it's still very competitive to get any interest at all.
Now, it won't hurt to put yourself out there and give it a try. You can only win by practicing the skills it takes to run a small business. Just don't be disappointed if it doesn't go anywhere - just try to keep building and trying new things until something works.
Last thing, maybe get a small portfolio now, and then get a few customers closer to the holiday. In my personal experience, the pc market is DEAD right now.
Yoga_Douchebag@reddit
I have been buying and reselling PCs the last four years.
Personally, for me it’s a great hobby to assemble and learn things, earn some pocket money and finance my passion for PC parts. But I don’t think it’s good money since margins are really low. You need to think about how much time you put into your PC parts, stock levels, quality claims/RMAs, fluctuation of the market or prices.
As said, I love it as a little side hustle but can’t imagine it to become more.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I don’t expect it to become anything more than a side hustle. I find building pcs fun, and want to do it
Nukes72@reddit
Yeah building pc is an expensive hobby. Best to sell your service by offering to build someone else's pc.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
That’s basically what I was meaning, but I also give them help on what components to use
-PlatinumSun@reddit
I am doing the same thing as we speak via big loans from family. Save 20 grand up, buy memory, motherboards, storage, cooling, and CPU’s from alibaba, only get GPU’s from China if they are an RTX3060M or RX5700XT (with 3 fans in this case)
Otherwise use a fishtank case. Get GPU’s used locally, repaste them with PTM7950.
For CPU’s if they are low end buy a huge tube of cheap thermal paste (ignore thermal grease [the copper coulored stuff) even if its cheaper because it will be conductive).
Is your post office anal? If so give up. But it’s a nice fly by night operation you can live off of if you live near a large city.
Focus on your license first, and save up 10-20 grand, and hold a job while you do this stuff.
Take commissions when you can, install cameras and home servers too. Maximize what you can with the inventory and skillset you have.
DM me questions or ask em here.
CtrlAltDesolate@reddit
How do you plan on covering accidents?
If you accidentally damage a pin on a CPU or motherboard for example, and it's beyond your level of repair, do you have a fund set aside to compensate people for the cost of the part?
If so, great.
If not, do consider how you plan to manage that situation - as saying sorry it's enough, people will expect you to cover the replacement.
If you've not got a few dozen builds under your belt as a hobbyist / helping friends build (not spec but physically putting it together), I'd suggest looking at other avenues.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
I currently do not, but I’m going to wait until I have some money saved until I start advertising. It would be idiotic to go in without a bit of accident protection.
Gammarevived@reddit
Not worth it. I have a friend who did the same thing for a year. He made next to nothing, the income you receive is not worth the labor.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
It won’t be my full time job. It will be just something I do on the side. I find pc building to be fun, and it would be good working experience for the field I want to get into when I’m older.
Gammarevived@reddit
Eh, it's still not very smart. I'm guessing you aren't going to get any sort of insurance that can cover you in case something happens when building a customers PC. It doesn't matter how careful you are, shit can and will happen, and you have to be willing to cover the costs by either insurance, or paying out of pocket.
Also, $80 is way too high. My friend was charging $30, and like I said it just wasn't worth the time and effort. $80 if you're a well known company, but that's way too high for someone who's doing this on the side.
WreckingxCrew@reddit
I run my PC business in a town that has no tech shops. My business boomed because people will not bother going to Best Buy or order online. It’s a lot of work to plan, figure out business policies and other things.
If you live outskirts outside of the city than business is there and that is it.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
My town has no tech shops as well, but the town over has a few. I live near a major city, but that’s about an hour away. I am willing to put in that work, because I genuinely find it fun.
WreckingxCrew@reddit
I am an hour away too l. As long you know your connections you will succeed. People love custom built PC's now
VersaceUpholstery@reddit
$80 if you can do it in 4 hours is about $20 an hour. Nothing too crazy. That’s if you can even find the clientele, which is the hardest part.
This sounds like something you should do as a hobby on the side, not as a business.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I missworded it. I was meaning more as a thing on the side than an actual job
Naerven@reddit
Generally speaking as a side hustle it's an ok thing to do as long as you realize you won't make money every month. In fact it isn't unusual to lose money some months. I think the Toastybros on YouTube are two of the success stories. They also both have business degrees.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I don’t expect it to. I’m not even really doing it for the money, I’m doing it because I find building pcs fun. The money will just be a bonus
caguirre93@reddit
I don't want to try to tell you not to do it. However it's important for you to have the expectation of this being more of a hobby thing and less of a side hustle.
You would almost be better off just getting another part time job.
However, if you actively WANT to build pc's because you find it fun and interesting. Then go for it. Just try to be good at networking with people and advertise locally.
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
I know it won’t make much money, but that’s not really why I want to do it. Yeah sure the money is a nice bonus, but yes as you said it’s because I actively want to work in the pc field and build Pc’s.
qtSora@reddit
I was thinking of doing the same but i have no idea where to Say that I do It? Like where do i make a post that i build a PC for someone?
ProfDoodlewacker@reddit (OP)
If I do, I was planning to just post of Facebook marketplace. It would keep your clients local
FrostByte_62@reddit
No.
MightyMace_123@reddit
Hard part is getting started
AlphaDenver@reddit
You’ll make pennies.