# Flipping Computers for Profit



## AJsoftoledo

Hello, My buddy lance wants to start a computer store. He wants to make a computer for 600 bucks invested and flip it for double (minimum) for profit. I thought I would get others opinions on this. What type of computer could be built for around 600 bucks and be sold to the average joe with no computer knowledge for double. SPECs please


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## johnb35

Get real, that will never happen.


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## Hyper-Threaded

Maybe a $150 profit margin, maybe. And the OS, win7 for every computer. Expensive. If you put Ubuntu (or other linux distros) on it nobody would buy it. Give them Pirated win7 and they will most likely find out and report you. If you dont know enough about computers to make your own build, I would not attempt it.


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## voyagerfan99

Spending $600 and flipping it for $1200 makes him just seem like an ass. People aren't willing to pay that. At the shop I work for, I could stick a mid-range gaming computer out for $349 and it will sit FOREVER! People expect to spend very little and get a lot, which doesn't happen. And when they find that out, they don't want to spend that kind of money to get what they want.

Your friend needs a better business idea. Computers don't sell like you'd think. From observing the purchasing habits of customers, a lot of them tend to go the laptop route. Gamers are some of the few that still have desktops.


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## claptonman

Yeah, that will not happen, sorry, though. Best thing to do is post ads on craigslist and say you'll build a computer for a fee of $50-100, if you're lucky. I've made some money on it.


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## johnb35

Depending on what I do, I usually only make $50-$75 when building a machine.  If its just building it then its 50, if I have to transfer data and other stuff then its 75.


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## Russ88765

So.. You wanna be con-artists and get advice on how to do it? That seems illegit, just a tad. Unless you're getting a good deal on parts, or have something to bring in a lot of customers I wouldn't expect those kinds of numbers off the bat. Until you get established, it's best to sell on a build by build basis off of craigslist. You should have a knowledge of what people like and are buying. Right now it seems like laptops and cellphones are what's hot, a lotta people on the go so that's where a lot of buyers' interest seems to be heading. 

Along with where you live, you'll be having a bit of competition from those markets unless you manage to get into them somehow. Another thing is that the value of computer components depreciates rather quickly as is the case with most technology; so if it doesn't sell kind of fast people are going to be looking at other more powerful and up to date parts for their rigs. It's very risky, and there are no guarantees anything will sell - especially with all the do-it-yourselfers out there. They need a reason to come to you - give them one.


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## strollin

The big guys like HP and Dell don't have a 100% markup on their systems.  They have the purchasing power to buy parts much cheaper than you or I could.  If they can't sell their computers for 2x what it cost them to build, how do you expect to?


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## Viision

Buying broken or damaged laptops off kijiji or craigslist is one thing some times you can get a really good deal and fix it, sell it and still make a profit. Generally the profit isn't much so if your thinking you will be able to buy a car after a month be warned. As for building computers, and doubling your money it cannot be done. If it was possible to build computers and double your money wouldn't everyone on this forum do it?


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