[nathanjbrown]

Hello All,


I have a habit of building, selling, and re-building Home Theater PCs in my spare time. It's certainly not for profit, but rather more of an expensive hobby. I recently completed building a Mini-ITX HTPC in an HFX Micro passively cooled case with AOpen MoDT motherboard, mobile Core2Duo CPU, 4GB RAM and slot-load Blu-ray drive. It's a sweet system, but I'm ready to sell it and move on to a new project.


Here's the question: Do you think I would make more money selling the entire system on eBay as a complete solution? Or should I pull it apart and sell each piece separately (i.e. RAM, Blu-ray, CPU, Motherboard, Case, etc)?


Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it!


Nathan


P.S. My next build will likely include an i3/i5 with H55 mobo in an OrigenAE low-profile case (I built a system a few years ago using an OrigenAE case and it was awesome...Their build quality is fantastic). This will be my sixth HTPC. Like I said...An expensive hobby!

 

[HTPC4Ever]



Quote:
Originally Posted by nathanjbrown /forum/post/18225511


Hello All,


I have a habit of building, selling, and re-building Home Theater PCs in my spare time. It's certainly not for profit, but rather more of an expensive hobby. I recently completed building a Mini-ITX HTPC in an HFX Micro passively cooled case with AOpen MoDT motherboard, mobile Core2Duo CPU, 4GB RAM and slot-load Blu-ray drive. It's a sweet system, but I'm ready to sell it and move on to a new project.


Here's the question: Do you think I would make more money selling the entire system on eBay as a complete solution? Or should I pull it apart and sell each piece separately (i.e. RAM, Blu-ray, CPU, Motherboard, Case, etc)?


Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it!


Nathan


P.S. My next build will likely include an i3/i5 with H55 mobo in an OrigenAE low-profile case (I built a system a few years ago using an OrigenAE case and it was awesome...Their build quality is fantastic). This will be my sixth HTPC. Like I said...An expensive hobby!

Depending on your location, I might go with craigslist... friend sells computer builds this way... very interesting ecosystem around craigslist... I don't use it much though.


eBay is easy... list it and see what happens... or look at other listings to see where they are falling. More than likely so many low-priced builds, not sure if an honest builder could make it (cracked win 7 installs, etc).


I normally give my old builds away to a kid going to college... works out well... I don't deal with the bs of selling... and I do something for a relative, friend, or even stranger that makes me feel good. I ask for nothing but good grades in return.

 

[nathanjbrown]

Craigslist is a good idea. That's fairly low risk and it will give me an idea of what price people might be willing to pay. I live in San Francisco, so I imagine there are many people browsing the computer listings everyday. I'm not sure I want to compete with a bunch of people selling low-cost computers with cracked copies of Windows on eBay. If I go the eBay route, I may simply break it down and sell it one piece at a time.


Thanks so much for your input. I welcome more from others if anyone has an inspired idea.


Have a great week everyone!


Nathan

 

[captain_video]

Selling the entire PC will save you a lot of headaches and wasted time listing each item. If you're not as concerned with maximizing your profit margin then I'd definitely go that route. Craigslist allows you to deal locally and doesn't cost you anything to list the item or charge you any commissions. Ebay will charge you for every little thing you do (i.e., listing fees, final value fee, PayPal fees, etc.). If you don't want to sit through the duration of an auction you can list each item for a fixed price, but I believe they even have an extra fee for that.


Hmmm. I think I may have to buy me some ebay stock. After thinking about all the fees they collect, their profit margin has got to be good, even in this economy.

 

[nathanjbrown]

Hello Everyone!


Well…After continuing to modify, customize, and modify some more, I've finally completed my HFX Micro M2 build and have decided to sell it on eBay. I even designed a custom face in CAD and had it fabricated to "clean up" the look a bit. Much more stylish! I'm very proud of the end result.


The auction listing ends today, but if you're interested in taking a look (or buying), click here .


I'd love your thoughts on the final build!


Nathan

 

[ANDYK48]

The final build is great !! although you should ship internationally as well

 

[bryansj]

So did you end up coming out ahead on eBay?


I use craigslist often and use eBay when I need a large audience to get the best price and the item is shippable (an iPhone and not a desk).

 

[Artslinger]

"Or should I pull it apart and sell each piece separately "


Who buys used computer equipment?