Need some input

[Tyler.rlawrence]

I am starting a pc repair business from home. To do on my spare time. Is there any sites out there for cheap computer hardware besides like newegg or tiger direct? Or you guys got any input?

Thanks

[superman22x]

newegg will be your best bet. You will have a hard time competing with big names on part sales.

[Tyler.rlawrence]

I figured one of those would be by best bet. Just thought there was something else out there I didnt see. Do you know what most repair shops are charging? I am doing $35 for the first hour and $15 their after.

[superman22x]

I'm not really sure, but I think its more than that. Are you doing this out of your house or renting an actual business place? I think there are a few people here that do it, but I'm not sure if it's a real fulltime thing for them.

[Tyler.rlawrence]

Out of my house right now. I work full time during the day. figured at night and weekends i do can repairs. I am not sure on the price yet. Might charge more later on all depends.

[superman22x]

Be careful when you raise the price. People don't like that, but it's important to build a strong customer base first with good service, good prices, and good timing.

[Tyler.rlawrence]

True. I might just leave it, since its a hobby and really the only place around here that does repair charges like 60 an hr.

[Indigo]

I do flat rate support for friends of friends and contacts. I don't charge for things like building systems or upgrading (I am truly a hardware geek, I LOVE getting to build those things) so I only charge for the hard(er) part - software, malware, etc.

TeamViewer is your friend (and it's free)

I generally don't discount, but I also don't charge as much as the local shops ($90+ hour).

[Tyler.rlawrence]

og: Do you do this out of your own home? What do you do about taxes?

[jmacavali]

The actual business I worked for was $60 an hour with 1/2 hour minimum charge. I only do work for family and friends. I usually insist that they don't pay me but if they really feel they have to I tell them $20 an hour. If I would start my own business on the side (out of my house) I would probably say (in my area) $25 an hour flat rate.

You could call around to some local repair shops and just ask what they charge to do certain things and base your pricing off of that. If your charging $35 out of your house and there's a local business that only charges $40-50 people may be more likely to trust that the business is going to do a better job for not much more. But if your charging $35 and the business is charging $80-90 people might wonder why you are so cheap. I think I'd try for like 40%-60% of the business rate.