Ideas?

ally_uk

I work for a company which is a charity we receive donated computers and hardware but we are struggling to generate a income.

We take in the donated hardware and refurbish the computers for resale we recently attended a student fair and sales were pretty small.

We have access to a pretty big workshop and lots of hardware but where is the money at?

Any ideas guys?

Lee H

whats the spec and how much do you sell them for

TFT or CRT, also a good question

ally_uk

Pentium 3 1ghz 20gb ide hdd 256mb ram Windows XP home 17 inch CRT = £99

Pentium 4 1.6ghz 20gb ide hdd 256mb ram Windows XP pro 17 inch CRT = £129

They include a years warranty and Open office 2.3 Installed.


TFT's we do sometimes get in and we usually sell 17 inch ones for about £60

Sales generally have been poor as we are struggling to target a market

Ideas would be very useful!

Lee H

Hi Ally

I understand exactly what you mean, i have my own internet based company selling PC's and offering the customer to build there own by selecting each item, and our prices are not quite able to beat the market leaders

All it takes is PC World's loss leader for £299 and we cannot compete

Depending on how many you have and what they look like you could mail shot Community Centres, Nursing Homes etc, old people in general wont know the difference between a fast and slow PC, also detail what the PC can do ie Internet, Word, Play music etc

You could also contact your Local Authority and offer your services, Local Authorities actually pay companies to collect their E-Waste which i am sure you may put to good use


Let me know if this helps


Lee H

ally_uk

Hi Lee thanks for the feeback

http://www.jamiescomputerclub.org.uk/about.html

That is our website if you are interested in getting a general idea of what we do

In terms of selling computers I agree that it is difficult due to the sheer amount of competition from the likes of PC World etc. I think we are trying to get the wrong audience I mean we did try students but that didn't turn out really well,

The place has potential I mean we get a good supply of hardware donated to us both domestic and comercially and occasionally you do come across some equipment that isn't that to shabby

We had a 3.6Ghz HT P4 alien ware come in godknows why they donated it to us lol

I have exhausted other ideas for income such as rent a pc, Internet cafe, we have rebranded our company and even though I personally think the new branding is great we're still not making the progress we should be.

And it's kinda knocks your morale when you have endless numbers of pcs just sitting on shelves.

As for the WEEE directive coming into play we have a oppurtunity to extend our commercial income through collecting I.T equipment.

But general income and job stability for the future remains a worry!

Lee H

Hi Ally UK


Your website is pretty cool, are you in any of the pictures?


check out mine www.pcrefer.co.uk


dont ask how much it cost,


Lee H

ally_uk

Nice website Lee although your prices seem to be a bit high for me

I can build a decent core 2 duo E6600 2 Gig of ram Geforce 8 for under £650

I'm not in any of the pictures either if I was then we certainly would have more female customers know what i'm saying :P

sthomas

Have you contacted some of the schools in your area? I am not sure about the UK but in the US alot of schools buy refurbished equipment instead of or in addition to new stuff because it saves money. just a thought

Lee H

I have worked in a secondary school and as long as they have control over were they purchase from then they will buy new pc's

Standard desktop case Floppy, 40 GIG hard disk, wired keyboard n mouse with 17 CRT all black, we bought 100 of them costing £230 each, this was low due to volume

Some companies are tied into agreements with Dell and such so they pay full price which includes 5 year warranty

ally about the prices, my thoughts exactly, my other 3 business partners are in disagreement


Lee H

ally_uk

Are there any other areas we can aim our computers at?

ally_uk

Lee use a company like scan computers to price up the cost of a average machine and show your partners. Then they will see that lowering your prices could benefit you

How long have you been in busniess?

Lee H

Hi Ally


We have only been at a point were we can trade for a few months, also we all have full time jobs so at the moment none of us are putting in some real time


I recommend you leave your calling card with the person who actually decides what to do with old equipment, contact councils up and down the country specifying you dont charge for collecting old equipment, or at the very least a small charge to cover costs


If your PC's are beige then consider spraying them all black, a lot of masking tape but would look better than "hearing aid beige"


I know this sounds daft but try a car boot sale

Lee

ally_uk

Hi Lee you have hit the nail on the head with the car boot sale comment!

I have mentioned out of frustration that we should load up the van with a assorment of goodies and see if we can sell any at the local car booty.

Although I was presented with the response " it's not going to be good for our branding "

I'm like well you wont have any branding left when the company goes bust due to lack of sales

Lee H

How many PC's do you have and how many are you recieving each month?

Old peoples homes is a good option, silver surfers there called, lol



Lee H