This is my upgrade blueprint for this fixer upper I got off Facebook for $70. It currently has a 6th gen i5, 8 gigs of RAM, an MSI B250M Bazooka, a 600W power supply, and a case I threw out in order for a properly sized case. This is the final upgraded build I’m planning:
i7-7700
GTX 1660 Super/Ti
256GB SSD I had laying around
16GB DDR4-2400
CoolerMaster MasterBox Q300L
RGB cooler
Same motherboard and PSU
Few months in so I'm still new to the gig really. Sold a budget PC a few weeks back i5-9500/2070 Super/16gb ram for £350 - nothing special but these cheaper PCs sell quickly around payday so I build a few like this every couple of weeks.
Kid buys it seems happy initially so no problems, a week goes by and he drops me a DM about how the performance isn't what he needs. I found out he's trying to play rust with maxed out settings on an ultra-wide 4k screen and the way he wants to play he doesn't want to turn anything down or enable DLSS or anything.
He seemed surprised I wouldn't just refund him? I mean if there was a genuine fault with it I'd obviously give him his money back but that's not what he's describing lol.
Anyway, I consider it cost of doing business and offer him 300 back with the assumption the PC will come back in poor condition so it'll at least pay for a case swap. as a plan B I also offered to build him a better PC purely for the costs of the parts (I had some parts I got for nothing so I figured that's where I'd make my cut)
He goes with plan B, he gives me his budget + I agreed to buy his PC back so we're looking at a about a £600 budget in total. So with that budget I spec out a 5500x3d, 3070ti and 32GB ram + storage etc gave him the performance estimates in rust to be sure he was happy before proceeding which he was.
I buy all the parts🤦♂️, put it together and agree a collection date. Collection day rolls by and I don't hear from him until the day after at which point he's changed his mind and just wants me to buy it back from him for £300 which I do....
Now, I'm not sour that the deal fell through as the 5500x3d PC turned out quite nice and I'd definitely be able to sell it for more than I offered the kid, and the PC I sold him came back in mint condition so I could just relist it as is after reinstalling windows.
I'm curious how any one else deals with buyers remorse, do you offer returns or flat out refuse? I'm warry of any negative feedback so I probably go too far with helping people out but there must be a line I guess.
What should i flip this pc for?
Rtx 2070 super
Ryzen 5 4500 (can change it if worth it)
Amd wraith prism
B450 machinist
Musetex case new from amazon with new argb controller
16gb 3200 mhz kingston fury
Corsair tx 650 m
Not sure about storage
Total build cost (for now) 341€
Hey this will be my first pc flip and I'm kinda nervous that it hasn't sold yet. I got the cpu, MOBO and ram from a 150 dollar combo and used the case that for another pc I plan on flipping. I got the gpu for 100 bucks and a 1TB NVMe ssd for 100 bucks. Overall im about 400 dollars into the build and I planned on selling it for 650. This sub inspired me alot into getting into flipping but im worried Chicago might not be a great market to start in.
The specs are
CPU: Ryzen 9 3900X (12c/24t)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212
GPU: RTX 2070 Super 8gb
Motherboard: B550M-A WiFi II
RAM: G Skill 16GB DDR4 - 3200
Storage: 1TB NVME ssd
PSU: 700w Thermaltake Smart
Case: Zalman Cubix-G (Black)
I5 11400f
64GB ddr4 ram
Gigabyte aorus b560
5060 8gb Pny
1TB ssd
Some old 2014 4tb hdd
Saw she dropped the price, figure 125 was worth the risk. She let it go for 120. I think i got a good deal
This is my first one since memory/storage prices fucked off so I was a little hesitant to dip my toes back in (havent built one since last August), but I spotted the i3 12100f in a mostly complete build for $100 (had everything except ram and storage, original GPU was an RTX 2060). I sold the 2060 for 120 (95 after ebay fees) so basically came out with a CPU, cooler, motherboard, and power supply for $5. I generally try to use NVIDIA since they sell better but I spotted the RX 6700XT for 150 and couldn't pass it up. Also saw the 2TB WD SA510 for $60 and took a gamble on it: it ended up being too good to be true, drive was completely dead, but it was well within the warranty window so I was able to RMA it and have a brand new one on the way (shoutout SANDISK). I just threw a 512gb ssd in it for now to test everything out while I wait
The memory was of course the challenge - being a DDR5 motherboard made the cost of RAM damn-near cancel out the fact that I got the motherboard+CPU+PSU basically for free. In hindsight I probably could've reduced the cost to ~400 by selling the original motherboard for $50-60 and getting a DDR4 mobo+ram for 130-150. But we'll see if the DDR5 in the title will make this more appealing or not
(I originally wanted to keep the 2060 but it was single fan, no backplate, and scratched up a bit. It would've made this otherwise clean/high end looking build just look cheap and perform pretty low-tier. I figured i could still get a decent deal on a better graphics card so I'm pretty happy with how it ended up)
Cost breakdown
$5: i3 12100f + Asrock 760M-C + EVGA BP650W
$150: Powercolor RX 6700XT
$150: 2x8GB DDR5 5600 memory (generic Samsung sticks)
$20 memory heatinks to cover the ugly green PCBs
$70: Brand new Lian Li V100 mini (original case was super old and beat up)
$60: 2TB WD SA510 (SATA SSD but we take what we can get)
$22: cable extensions
~$477 for a DDR5 build with 12GB of VRAM and 2TB SSD. Not too terrible honestly but definitely got very lucky with some of these.
Edit: Per the suggestion of several people now, I ended up ordering a used 13400F off ebay for 130 (146 after shipping). I'm sure i could've waited around for what FB Marketplace could conjure up, but I rarely see LGA 1700 CPUs selling for reasonable prices locally. If i can get 80-85 after sales fees for the 12100f, it should bring the build total to 538 and hopefully sell for 800 when all is said and done. I appreciate the suggestions so far!
Put at $0 with the clear title "Buying Pcs". I have received so many messages asking is this free, infuriates me so much. The post does work a lot as i recently picked up an rtx 5070, ryzen 5 8400f, 16gb ddr5 pc for 900, and sold for 1500 in 2 days.
Im planing to start pc flipping in croatia and i have this part list. I found these parts on croatian used marketplace. I plan to sell it this pc for around 550€. Is that ok price for this pc and is there anything i could improve or some tips for pc flipping generally? And does anyone maybe know is pc flipping even worth it in croatia? I see a lot of pcs on used markerplaces in croatia but they are all mid to high end with ryzen 7600 to 9800x3d and gpus like rtx 30 40 and sometimes 50 series and amds 7000 and 9000 series. They are all above 1200€. There are also budget pcs with like 5600x 16gb ram 512gb nvme that go for 550 ish € but without gpu included because you can choose betwen more gpus. With gpu like mine (rx 580) the price goes up to 670€ and with for example 3060 ti 8gb version price goes up to 820€.
Rx 580 60€ (used)
R5 2600x 40€ (used)
16gb 3200mhz 90€ (used)
A520m-hdv 57€ (used)
550w 50€ (new)
500gb nvme ssd 120€ (new)
Case 30€ (new)
Fans (4) 27€ (new)
Total price: 474€
Planning to sell for 550€
Ive been trying to find sidehustles i can actually handle, a know more than the average person about computers but not really the pricey newer items. Should i try pc flipping how might i do it during this troublesome time without blowing up my whole bank account? I dont have a e-waste center and facebook market is terrible in my are for some reason?
Or should i try something else perhaps?
basically getting a free motherboard, SSD, case, cooler, and PSU
since the combined cost of the cpu, ram, gpu pretty much covers the cost of the whole PC
[pic one]
Purchased for $300
This system has the listed specs
Ryzen 5 5500G
1660 super
40 gb DDR4 < this is what caught my eye
1.3TB of storage < also caught my eye.
Turns out the seller after purchase bought a 1TB micron NVME SSD, and a 32 GB corsair vengeance pro RGB ram, those alone are worth damn near what I paid. Along with the stock 515gb NVME and 8gb of ddr4
Haven’t decided on if I should part it out or just sell the ram and ssd separately, guess we’ll see the offers I get for the system.
[pic two]
Got this system for $150
10400F
1650 super
8gb ddr4
240gb ssd 1TB HDD
Not built with OEM parts
This system was being sold by a young man looking to get a dirtbike and knows nothing about PCs, was fully functional, but didn’t like video games, was a gift from a family member, he initially wanted $175 but then asked for $150 if I picked it up that day. Had no antenna or case screws, I threw on the extra screws I had. Sold for $340 the next day!
Most of this one came out of old office PCs that were lying around doing nothing. Skylake-era stuff nobody wants on its own, but drop in one decent GPU and tidy it up and it turns into a proper budget 1080p machine.
What went in, and what each part cost me (NZD):
Total in: $315 NZD (~$190 USD)
Sold: $600 NZD (~$360 USD) on Facebook Marketplace
Net profit: ~$285 NZD (~$170 USD)
The old office guts (CPU, board, RAM, HDD) basically cost nothing and nobody buys them separately. The RX 5600 XT is the only real money I put toward performance, and it's the part that turns a dead office box into a 1080p gaming PC. The rest of the spend went on presentation: a clean white ARGB case and a new cooler so a stack of 2015 hardware photographs like a modern build. That's the bit I think gets underrated. Old parts crawl on their own, but a good-looking finished machine with a card that handles 1080p sells in days.
I planned the build and worked out the cost split and profit in a tool I've been building for this, PartPlanner.
Hey everyone,
Recently I bought a new 9060 XT 16 Gb 32 Gb DDR5 PC for 700€ and got me thinking about pc flipping. I just sold my old rig as well.
I have read PC flipping tips, but I had a few more questions. Should I keep to newer generations as those probably sell faster? And for now at least should I keep to mid tier components? Like I saw a good deal on 3080 but maybe for now I should focus on 5060s or similar. Even more so since games like Fortnite need a good cpu over a very good gpu and that is probably better for selling.
Thanks for the help in advance.
Yes, this is a long flex post. PC enthusiasts love to brag about their stuff, and I'm no exception. I have some spare time, so I sat down and did the math on this current tech-buying rabbit hole I’ve been living in, and somehow it worked out way better than it had any right to.
The main catalyst that started this journey was finding a complete PC for a good price because it had an RTX 5080 in it. My plan was to pull the 5080 for my personal rig, replace it with my RX 9070 XT, clean it, install drivers properly, test everything, then sell the rebuilt system. Even if I had to sell it pretty cheap, I figured I could still land a substantial GPU upgrade without paying anything close to retail.
That's because my effective cost on the 9070 XT was $611 all-in after some Amazon return/refund shenanigans (long story, but nothing illegal or even gray area - ask me in the comments if you must find out). So I figured if I could sell it for $200-300 less than I bought it, around $800-900 for a 5080 is still a favorable outcome. The rebuilt system sold for my asking price which was $100 more than what I paid. So that means, once everything settled, my effective cost to own a RTX 5080 was $511.
Already pretty damn good. $511 for a 5080.
But it doesn't stop there. It gets better.
My wife probably noticed that random computers started appearing and disappearing from the house, so I decided to see whether this recent operation actually had some financial sense to it, or whether I’d just been moving the same money around while telling myself I’m a businessman. Backtracking a little, I've decided to include some of my recent activity in my computer hobby over the past 3 months or so into this equation to figure where I landed now. And it's pretty bonkers.
Here’s the recent chaos:
Scored a clean AF, barely used 3060 Ti desktop for $350 and sold it for $550.
Sold my ROG Ally Z1 Extreme for $500. I had $466 into it altogether.
Bought an Omen Transcend 14 with an RTX 4060 for $550.
Bought a brand new 1000W Gold rated PSU for my main rig for around $80.
Spent another $75 on a replacement PSU for the catalyst PC (cabling issue, not defective).
Sold the two old PSUs for $100 combined.
Sold a brand new UPS I received for free for $120.
Refurbished and sold several laptops I also got for free, bringing in at least $1,350.
Made around $90 selling some miscellaneous storage drives.
Bought my wife a brand new Insta360 X5 camera and accessory bundle for $410. The Marketplace gods demand tribute.
After calculating everything - I ended up about $268 ahead while substantially upgrading my hardware. And before anyone asks: No, nothing was stolen, scammed or otherwise acquired through criminal or underhanded means. It was all legitimate - just good deals, normal returns, free equipment that was mine to keep, and an unhealthy amount of time spent browsing Marketplace.
So I somehow:
Upgraded from a 9070 XT to a 5080
Upgraded my main PC's PSU to a brand new 1000W
Replaced my Ally with a premium RTX 4060 laptop
Bought my wife the Insta360 camera package she's been wanting
And still have at least $268 left over.
Obviously, this took work and time. I had to diagnose and refurbish laptops, clean systems, swap parts, update Windows (I always sell my systems with current Windows and firmware updates applied, it's part of my brand), test everything, physically prep, take good photos, write listings, and endure the Marketplace traditional ritual of:
“Is this available?” Followed by them disappearing into thin air. Or "What's your lowest?" before throwing a massive lowball.
But I enjoy the work. So it never really felt like a side hustle. It felt more like my computer hobby briefly developed survival instincts and learned how to pay for itself. Or, I somehow benefitted from a crippling addiction to the small dopamine injections that come with reviving computers, getting good deals, and upgrading my personal gear.
Now I just need to stop browsing Marketplace before the whole cycle begins again. Which probably won't happen
I'm gonna assume it just needs a fresh install of Windows
9800x3d | Asus TUF 4080 | 64gb ddr5 | 2tb Crucial p310 | Gigabyte x870 Gaming WiFi6 | MPG 850w | Thermalright Trofeo Vision 360 | Jonsbo x400
Paid $1550 for all the main components inside a boring case, bought the AIO ($150) and case ($120)
Have it listed at $2100 Hoping to clear $2000 for a profit of $200. It’s been up for a week and gotten four offers around $1800 so I’m not too confident this one will pan out but shouldn’t lose money at least.
Probably will part out any high end deals I find in the future but mostly wanted to do this one for fun.
Sold for 1350
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X — 6 Cores / 12 Threads
Lian Li Galahad 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler
ASRock X870 Steel Legend WiFi Motherboard
32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000 CL32
MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio 16GB
1TB Sabrent Rocket NVMe SSD
Corsair RM850 850W 80+ Gold Fully Modular PSU
Lian Li Vector V100 White Case
Thermalright 120mm ARGB Fans
Black & White 16AWG Sleeved Cable Extensions
WiFi + Bluetooth
Windows 11 Pro
3DMark Time Spy — 19,304
Graphics Score — 22,917
CPU Score — 10,196
SSD Health — 94%
DDR5-6000 EXPO Enabled
Smart Access Memory / Resizable BAR Enabled
**EDIT**
I added GPU support before the sale,
I’ve had this computer for about 3 years and gaming is boring now and want to sell it.
I had so much fun building my first computer that I wanted to do it again. So I set myself a budget of $150, and set out to see what I could build, with the idea that I’d sell it when I finished. Several months later, I’ve had my fun building the thing and I haven’t worked up the courage to make it actually sellable. I also went over budget after the board I planned to use had a pin snap off at the last minute after booting to the OS. I purchased another computer and took its motherboard, processor, cooler and RAM instead. I hope to get $250 for the computer, but I’d settle for $200 just to get most of my money back.
Here’s a list of the parts and what I paid for them:
Segotep 650w - $23
1TB WD Green HDD - $15
240GB SATA SSD - $20
i7-3820 + Asus P9x79 + AIO cooler + 32GB DDDR3 1600 - $80
Zalman Z3 Plus case - $10
Failed motherboard + i3-3160 - $30-$10 (resold).
Extra 16GB DDR3, DVD drive, i5-4440 - $20
Extra i7-4790 - $30
Extra 430w power supply
Extra 2000s full tower pc case
Extra 750GB HDD
Extra HD 7950 (untested)
The hardest part for me is getting everything working and usable. Right now, it’s finicky and takes a while to boot up despite having an SSD. I know I should probably install Windows 11, but I’m not sure how to install drivers, activate the install and access STEAM to benchmark it without accessing the internet, signing into STEAM, etc. and ruining the fresh install. For context, this install of Linux Mint was my first time ever installing an operating system, and it apparently came with AMD drivers included.
Also, I’ve acquired a bunch of peripherals for free or very cheap over these past several months in the process of upgrading my own setup, and I was wondering if I could bundle them with the computer to maybe increase the value? This would be cheap gaming keyboards, 1080p 60hz monitors, stuff like you see in the picture. I don’t know if people like to get that stuff when they buy computers off Marketplace or not.