Forum Thread: Custom Rig

2 months ago I would have paid for a custom rig but the prices online were too high so i did it myself.

I think it is a very tough market based on the mark-ups I saw on custom PC sites.

But compaines like that also need to pay for things like workers and web-hosting and other things but this would be small and the major brand like dell or HP equivalent would cost around $200-300 more

 I don't quite think I get what you're asking...Are you asking if you could make a profit by selling custom built rigs?

Correct, setting up a small website order the parts build the computer and then ship to the buyer

I don't imagine it'd be too good, it's hard to rival with the prices of normal desktops, even if you build your own. You'd have to do some great LED and case mod work to make money doing it, probably. Look around and see how well other custom computer shops do. Alienware used to be one :3.

I wouldn't mind doing case work and lighting work, but the hardware yo get from computer manufactures like Dell often give you outdated hardware

Well, if you want it bad enough, you can certainly do it ;p.

But can it give a good profit and will people actually want it?

I built my own rig recently.  Ordered individual parts from NewEgg.  I was sadly surprised to find that it would have actually been cheaper to go with a pre-built rig I found on NewEgg, built by CyberPowerPC.  The pre-built one was cheaper, and equal if not greater in power.  I went with custom due to obligations, and wanting to control everything that went into the computer (and also get the experience of building it).  I do not regret it, but I think it shows that it might be challenging as an independent builder to really get a profit if you want to build good-quality machines but still compete with builders like CyberPower, iBuyPower, and DigitalStorm.

However, if you choose to go for it, then good luck and more power to you.

Prices on computers are so competitive that Futureshop and Best Buy  frequently sell computers in store at below cost. I know this because I have a friend who works at the afore-mentioned locations. Employee discount is cost+ 5% which is sometimes a great deal, but when he was looking into getting a new laptop he noticed that using his employee discount actually RAISED the price a noticeable amount above the regular price. I digress…

If you're looking into building custom rigs and selling them, it's going to be hard to turn a profit if major retailers can't even sell at cost.

Before people go crazy on the Best Buy/Futureshop story ("Then why would they still sell computers.."), they make near 100% profit on the warrantees, setup, and maintenance. Apparently it's still worth it.