Back to school special

Just a thought. If me and my computer guy can get these systems working... why not sell them? i dont know too much about a computer besides how to break it down and sell it for scrap, but i do know selling it whole would get me way more money.

Back to shcool special $100. i would think if i posted this on craigslist and made flyers for bulletin boards at unversities, colleges, laundrymats around the shcools, i should get a few hits. $100 and you get an entire system. For $50 more ill add a gig or two of memory, speakers and a printer. what do you guys think?
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...0715-00053.jpg

Better than scrap value is always good. I always worry about the times the phone would ring, it's the person you sold the computer to and they say they've had it 3 days and it's blown up. Then I wonder if better than scrap is worth it unless you know what you are really doing with these things. That's just me though.

i feel the same exact way. thats why im willing to put up a 30 day 100% money back garuntee. ill issue out receipts with the date on it. My computer guy just better know what he's doing. and the worst thing that could happen is i refund their money and its back to scrap. i feel the difference in sellling versus scrapping is so significant its definitely worth the risk and time.

One thing then - put a tamper proof seal on the case, otherwise you will have people swapping out good bits for bad bits. Make sure your guarantee states that if the seal is broken the guarantee is void.

When I was selling them I guaranteed em to a point. Past a couple repairs where I knew they'd gone inside, it was their baby then. I only did one refund and it was to a total loony! (I allways thought speakers went with them anyway, and always supplied a set, even if they were yard sale specials, or I had to get cheap $6 sets at Biglots ; ) How are you going to supply a valid operating system? Luckily I had an endless corporate version, less than that you'll be hard pressed to supply one, and might be best selling them OS not included. They won't sell as fast, or as easy, or for as much, but it could still be profitable and more than scrap

good question Bear! I guess thats something i need my computer guy to address and make happen. Even if i sold this complete unit for $50 its still more than what i would get in scrap. I frequent auctions and see people buy computer systems without knowing if they work or whats even in them for 50 bucks. If all else fails, back to the scrap pile they go.

Usually used computers have to have good specs, or low prices to sell fast. That's due to the fact that you can get a manufacture rfurb for just under $100 from Dell, and new ones for around $200-300. But, that's also why a lot of them wind up as scrap.

I'd suggest learning a lot about pc repairs first as well as the tamer evident seal as stated before. As far as Windows goes, the license stays with the motherboard. You can replace anything else as long as the motherboard stays with the code.

That's from my experience trying to resell them. It's a lot of work, but if you do it right, it can pay off much better than scrap value!

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Originally Posted by Bear

How are you going to supply a valid operating system?

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If most are like the Dell in his picture, the pc usually comes with an operating system Certificate of Authorization (COA) code stuck to the pc that was sold with it. See this thread: http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/elect...uestion-4.html about the COA debate on removing that sticker and selling it separately. If there is a Windows XP COA sticker, then he can legally load XP on that pc if it will accept the OEM code, or has an OS install disc for that manufacturer.

By the way Scrapcrazy, is that a GX260, GX270, or GX280 in the picture? If it's a GX280, $100 with the monitor would be a good price. The GX280's are Pentium4-Hyperthread and are decent pc's with 1GB RAM and they accept SATA hard drives. Be sure to set in the BIOS under performance "Hyperthread = On" and "Hard Drive = Performance". The GX260 and GX270 are older P4 2.0GHz - 2.8GHz with the older IDE for hard drives and are a bit more sluggish especially with a virus scanner installed. You can probably get $75 with monitor for them. Also, they are prone to blown capacitors:

http://jpowell.blogs.com/jason_powel...s/dellcaps.jpg

They don't have to have the rusty crud on them to be blown. If you see any of the capacitor tops bulging up instead of being flat, that means they are about to leak or the motherboard is going to act flaky. Do a search about blown capacitors on Dell models GX270, GX270, GX620 and a few others. If it hasn't happened by now on the motherboard, it probably won't or has been replaced already by Dell, but you can always see the signs of it when it is/has happened.

AJR I wish you were my computer guy! I appreciate all your advice. I do know my computer guy said that most of my units have a sticker on them and he could call or get online to renew or redo or do something in regards to recertifying the operating system. He said something to the fact as long as the motherboard is original and it has the sticker, recertifying wouldn't be an issue. I'm trusting him to all of that. As for the type of pc in the pic..... I have no clue and that was just an example. I have many options to supply when it comes to providing a unit. I just thought $100 for a decent running system would be reasonable. I'd be more than happy to get even $60 but if I could get more, why not ask. I had a pretty good day today just selling parts and I did that without my computer guy. My customer comes out, picks out what he wants, throws me a price and I say yay or nay. As long as I'm making at least double than scrap, I'm happy. Thanks again for the advice.

Ah, I remember the whole blown capacitor problem. That's going back like a good 7-8 years. Was working at Timberlands HQ back then and we dealt with many, many leaky capacitor Dells then.

The memories...