Whats a fair price for this custom pc?

[Edge Tech NY]

hey guys, have a client who wanted a computer built.. he doesnt need anything special, just for everyday use (internet, office suite ect).. the specs i picked out are:

- AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000 3.1GHz Socket AM2 89W Dual-Core Processor
- ECS A780GM-A AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
- G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
- Western Digital Caviar 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
- LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA

Also a Radimax case w/ PSU and Logtiech wireless mouse/keyboard..

The pricing for all that through newegg is $364 w/ shipping.. Now I havnt even added windows yet (would you recommend. vista or xp pro?), how much would you sell this machine for or is there a rule of thumb most of you have (ex. atleast $300 profit)?
I'm also offering him 6 months service warrenty.

Thanks guys

 

[Blues]

$500-700 just from a brief glance over it I know its a wide range but I took a very quick glance and gave you a ballpark figure so run with it and do some your own math don't forget your time spent.

 

[schwags]

I think $300 - $350 profit is acceptable since you are probably going to spend 5-6 hours total ordering the parts, assembling it, making it look pretty, installing the OS, drivers, and other useful hardware. Then you need to plan on a few calls after the sale for the stupid questions.
The one thing you need to do is make sure the client understands the value of paying extra for quality components and having a real face to talk to for support. He could get a comparable system from Dell for a better price (i suspect, I didn't actually price it out). So, you need to promote the value, not the price.

BTW, I still stick with XP while it is available. Old habits die hard even if Vista is getting bearable now....

 

[Edge Tech NY]

thanks for the face to face value tip, but i also thought i was beating dell's price performance wise by far..? You dont think I am?

 

[NYJimbo]

Get Vista Home Premium SP1, turn off "aero" and tweak it a little to make it more like XP and it will be great. Be sure to install something like AVG free, MBAM, SpyBot and Hijack This as well as other utilities before you deliver. Clients love it when you give them machines that are already loaded with stuff to make their life easier.

Don't try to hard to beat other PC prices. Come pretty close but ADD FEATURES, even if its free software that is truly useful and they will love it.

 

[Edge Tech NY]

Spec-wise, compared to dells machines, even tho there intel, I think this machine matches up with the ones that go for $700, no? my sell point is itll cost $700 but be worth $1000, thats how I always thought it out to be.. Am I wrong this whole time?

 

[Edge Tech NY]

Alright thanks.. I just dont want to be ripping this guy off but I also want to make a decent amount of money.. Hes probabaly going to need a monitor also.. So far im at $507 incl. s/h and a 17" widescreen Acer monitor without a copy of windows..

 

[Edge Tech NY]

Is this guy better off going to Dell for this price? Or can I cut down on some of the parts i chose..? maybe a cheaper processor or mobo? thanks

 

[Tiddle]

Is this guy better off going to Dell for this price? Or can I cut down on some of the parts i chose..? maybe a cheaper processor or mobo? thanks

What did the guy ask you when he told you to give him a quote?
Did he give you a limit..a budget?

Check this


http://www.google.com/products?hl=e...a=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title
Those dont have monitors.
If i bought a pc from a technician you better believe im going to google my specs.
So base it off what you see online.

 

[schwags]

I admit, I didn't price out an exactly comparable systems from dell. I was shooting from the hip. If you have priced them out, and they are MORE expensive than you are charging, then I think you could go a little higher. Still stay under, but you don't have to be a lot lower. Remember that the true value of your service is that you actually provide service.....people put value on that.

Also, I wasn't including monitor in those prices...that could change things.

 

[Edge Tech NY]

change things for better or worse on my part? haha, I was thinking, when you guys build someone a PC, do u tell them how much the parts are going to be and say plus $250 for me putting it together and a year of on-site warrenty & whatever? or do you give a flat price and not even say how much the parts are? I feel like when I tell this guy $700 so I can atleast make $200, hes going to go and buy a $500 dell..

 

[basic]

change things for better or worse on my part? haha, I was thinking, when you guys build someone a PC, do u tell them how much the parts are going to be and say plus $250 for me putting it together and a year of on-site warrenty & whatever? or do you give a flat price and not even say how much the parts are? I feel like when I tell this guy $700 so I can atleast make $200, hes going to go and buy a $500 dell..

I wouldn't tell them how much you are marking up for labor. I would just find a quote on a Dell, or some other manufacturer, and highlight how much cheaper your system is over theirs.

 

[schwags]

I feel like when I tell this guy $700 so I can at least make $200, he's going to go and buy a $500 dell..

He won't if you have done a good job educating him on how much better your parts and services are.

EDIT: I still wouldn't tell him how much you are making...

 

[Majestic]

I used to build systems for clients but I rarely do it these days as I don't find it's worth it. The money really is in the service. What I will recommend to you though is to give a 1 year warranty on labour, 2 year on parts (meaning if a part fails you can rma it but they pay you for your time). I used to give 2 year warranties on parts and labour and it really bit me in the ass. Time = money and when you have people calling you up over a year later to fix their computer.. You're losing money not making it.

Regards,

Majestic

 

[Edge Tech NY]

did you have a contract for this that they signed or anything? if so where can I get one?

 

[papahobo]

fair

Majestic is right. First of all, good business is not always about giving someone the best "deal". The fact is you can't do this as a small computer dealer. What you should be offering is service with the sale to make the customer happy. If I'm not making at least $300 on a computer sale, it's not worth it. I go on-site to do the initial setup (configure email, internet, printer) and I offer 1 year on-site hardware warranty. Most of my clients are happy to have real customer service, especially in the instances when a hard drive fails and they don't have to talk to someone 5000 miles away.

 

[Rider]

As far as the OS goes, I'm probably gonna get smacked here but I would go with Vista. Like it or not, Vista/W7 is the future. Installing Vista now will make it easier/cheaper to upgrade to W7. IMO if you put XP on it he will be wanting/needing an upgrade in the near future.

I currently have Vista on 2 of my machines and while I still prefer XP I haven't had any major problems with Vista. Most of my issues with Vista are simply my lack of experiance with it.

Of course the best option is to ask your client what OS he would prefer after explaining the pros and cons of both.

 

[Blues]

As far as the OS goes, I'm probably gonna get smacked here but I would go with Vista. Like it or not, Vista/W7 is the future. Installing Vista now will make it easier/cheaper to upgrade to W7. IMO if you put XP on it he will be wanting/needing an upgrade in the near future.

I currently have Vista on 2 of my machines and while I still prefer XP I haven't had any major problems with Vista. Most of my issues with Vista are simply my lack of experiance with it.

Of course the best option is to ask your client what OS he would prefer after explaining the pros and cons of both.

Vista Business or Ultimate and Downgrade to Windows XP Pro would be legit and they would have the Vista liscense one of which should qualify for a much cheaper Windows 7 upgrade and from what I can tell Windows 7 is shaping up to look like a nice OS