How much would you charge??

Basically i have a couple of people that want me to build them a system, the question that first comes into my mind is how much should i charge???

 

cost of parts plus labor (figure 12-20/hr for labor)

 

To be honest, unless someone wants a gaming rig, it's near-enough less bother just to tell them to get a Dell. If you build a PC, you have to provide (in their eyes) warranty/support for it for years...

 

Seems reasonably to me!

You have a good point and it has gone through my mind.

I will be in contact soon and i will need to clarify a few things to him but i think he would rather have one built then goto dell. I thought buy a OEM XP, partition the HHD into 2 tell him to save docuements and files one the one side and leave the windows on the other. I would also make him a boot disc so he could reinstall without the hassel of installing and what not.

 

Seconded. I won't build people computers anymore for that reason.

 

Or map his My Documents to the 2nd partition - that way you don't have to tell him anything that may end up confusing him. It then allows you to easily recover his work if XP itself dies.

 

any links as how to do that dude?

 

Simply:

1. Right-click on My Documents (from the Start Menu/Desktop)
2. Choose Properties
3. Find the Location section
4. Click move
5. Choose where you want it to be moved to
6. Click OK

It'll then ask you if you want all of your original documents to be moved to the new location - it's probably easier to manually do this yourself beforehand.

I've had this working in 2000/XP/Server 2003 and Vista. Or use TweakUI - it makes it easier and allows you to move My Pictures, Music etc.

 

+1 vote for not building PCs for people. It's just not worth it because it becomes your responsibility to answer their computer problems for the rest of your life. And you feel obligated because despite what the reality might be, you know they're actually thinking "you are obligated to fix the computer YOU built me", as if it's your fault it's suddenly got an ID ten T error.

AH

 

I've been building/repairing/upgraded PC's for about 12 years now for family and friends. I've just started studying to get the qualifacations that I need to get a career in it though.

As what was said before, and what I've found in my own experience, it's only worth building a PC if they want it specialised (e.g. for gaming). If they just want a standard PC for the net, Word, etc, tell them to goto Dell. It makes your life alot easier, a lot less hassle, and then you can charge them to fix it when it goes wrong

 

I built one recently for my one of my teachers because she needed a specialised system but I made it very clear beforehand that once I had checked windows was properly installed it was no longer my concern, plus I didnt ask for any money. The only other people I have built computers for have been family and now I get asked to fix everything regardless of whether I built it or not

When people ask me now I say get a prepackeged one (dell etc) so you can ring someone up and say "fix it" at three in the morning and not get told to sod off.

Moriquendi

 

I'm going to cast another vote for a corporate system. I've built for friends before, and I always charged $parts + 10% and everyone was happy.

I got tired of dealing with their issues for the rest of time, so I now just help people choose specs on a corporate system. I usually go with Gateway instead of Dell, because in my experience Gateway has much, much better tech support. If I'm making a friend buy a computer so I don't have to handle support, I want them to have the best support possible and Dell loses badly.

I understand Gateway owns eMachines these days, and might handle their support as well. Something to think about, if you're looking for a cheap computer that won't turn your friends into enemies.

 

I've built systems for people 4-5 years ago, and they're still asking me now and again for help. But honestly, there is an easier solution.

The way I go about it now is that I simply force my "customer" (family, friends, actual random people who've just contracted me to build them a computer) to sit down with me through the entire repair process, taking them step-by-step, explaining in detail what it all does. Timely, but it works.

I've found this method drasticaly decreases the amount of service calls I get, and they're generaly much happier as a result. The reason this tends to work is because most people will have basically the same problem over and over again, reguardless of most other factors. So once they know a rough way to fix it, they can generaly figure it out from there. Plus it gives them a better sense of pride of ownership in their machine, which generaly equals better care and attention.

Since starting this method I maybe get one to two calls a week for tech support, rather than the five to six per day I got before.

Your call though.

 

Yeh i totally agree with all of you. I would hate to have to be going round fixing minor problems all the time but i'm studying for my CompTIA A+ Certification anyway, i could end up doing it for a living which i dont mind atall as i enjoy working with computers.

 

There is quite a difference in repairing your and your mates PC's compared to supporting systems on a professional/help desk manner.
Friends and family is what I would classify as fun repairs, heck, even internal support for schools and companies is alright, but Phone based support every day gets a little tedious.
Unless you are going for a role as a field engineer I doubt very much that you'll enjoy it as much as you expect.

On a side note, the A+, which I've also been thinking of doing recently as it looks good on a CV, is damned expensive! By the time you've bought all the books and taken exams it starts to add up into the region of £600!

 

I know the difference between building/repairing a mates systems and building/repairing on the professional level, i would never charge my mates lol. I have terrible communication skills so i wouldn't be fit for phone support.
I would rather work in the back room fixing the computers while a colleague works with the client.

I bought two books on the A+ CompTIA exams 220-602, 220-603 & 220-604 as i work for a online book retailer i get them cheap full rrp would come to about £90, the test only cost's about £120. Don't see how it would cost £600 unless you go with a training provider?

 

How?

All I paid for was the test, which was about the hundred poundish mark at the time, the test is incredibly basic so I can't see most people on these boards having to do an awful lot (if any) work (revision wise)

 

10% of parts price or £50 whichever is higher. Thats what I charge for system builds.