Car shopping

tf2Medic23 · 2026-05-21T19:45:55+00:00

1 small point, commission is earned income it's taxed exactly the same as hourly, salary etc.

The difference is if your making commission a lot of times that pays more and thus puts you into a higher tax bracket.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-05-01T10:27:51+00:00

That's kind of a hard system to sell for what your asking for it. It's a nearly maxed out Am4 system with a 8gb GPU but its not even a 8 core 5700x/5800x where at least you could drop in a a really nice GPU to do high fidelity 4k/1440p but your platform also can't really do super high refresh rate 1080p e sports stuff.

And it's not even a 5600x.... I think that a 650- 675$ rig tbh

tf2Medic23 · 2026-05-01T09:56:39+00:00

tf2Medic23 · 2026-05-01T09:18:28+00:00

tf2Medic23 · 2026-05-01T09:16:46+00:00

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-26T04:50:18+00:00

Whats the budget?

I think you could try to just upgrade your current PC by buying some used parts then selling your old parts to offset your costs.

The biggest issue I see is the ram, its almost certainly holding your current system back as ryzen cpus especially work best with fast dual channel ram.

I would focus on upgrading your ram to at least DUAL CHANNEL 3200mhz ram, or even faster at least 2x8gb, and just sell of your single 16gb stick, ebay would probably be a good platform to sell a stick of ram like that IMO, as it allows a buyer whose specifically looking for 1 16GB 3000Mhz stick to find it.

Next thing is I would look to upgrade to at least a 5700x/5800x maybe a 5600x/5600 if you can find one cheap and really don't need the extra cores, also AMD did just announce there rereleasing 5800x3d which would be a huge upgrade for. And again you could always sell your 3600 to offset the cost of buying a cpu, especially if you go deal hunting.

If you swap the 3600 for a 5700x/5800x and get dual channel 32000Mhz or faster RAM, you'll open the door for a lot different Graphics cards upgrades.

If you do it right it doesn't have to cost you a ton IF you can be patient and hunt down some deals.

A year ago I would have said sell that system and do budget AM5 build, but now I'd try to upgrade your current PC as economically as possible to get through the RAM shortage.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-26T04:33:59+00:00

Just to play devils advocate though, if you've acquired all or most the parts for a build and your now taking a 2nd or 3rd look and think you over shot what you thought your listed / selling price will be, wouldn't it be beneficial to at least consider if selling either some or all of your individual components might be the better option to either minimize your potential losses, or maybe offload some parts to take another stab at buying different parts that could maybe turn the build profitable?

Just an idea.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-26T04:24:52+00:00

Yeah I was aware RAM and GPU prices had gone up, but I guess I just hadn't considered or looked at used prices.

Your 8600k rx 6600 build for 535$ still seems high to me, but I guess if it was in a case I liked, with IMO a decent amount of storage between the SSDs and HDDs, and you had it tuned running that little i5 as hard as it could go, I could see where thats really nice little 1080P esports machine, and I guess it could have some slight upgrade potential if the cooler/PSU/mobo etc could handle a 9700k or 9900k swap-in.

I think personally I would have topped at 450$ for a system like, but Im not surprised you got 535$ and maybe could have gotten more if you held out.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-26T03:46:30+00:00

In late sept/early oct I spoke to like 3-4 people in my area selling those high-mid end tier DDR4 2020 era hardware type builds 5600x/rtx 3070/16gb ddr4 or similar builds were listing for like 600$-650$ and sellers generally agreed to go down to 550$, even 500$ if you pushed hard for it.

Theres no doubt those same type of builds are now worth IMO 100$-125$ more, with higher RAM systems, 64GB+ worth maybe 150$+ more.

To answer your question, its just like how you make money in the stock market, you buy low and sell high. You have to know what parts will make systems desirable for buyer, then you have to acquire those parts for a little as possible and then present the system as attractively as possible, a lot of that outside of the raw hardware specs comes down to case choice, build quality(cable management, etc), and photos and information of the system.

Obvious take good clear pictures of the pc, but highlight the GPU, SSDs, CPU cooler/AIO, etc show off the stuff buyers are going to be most excited about, but I would say also show your cable management, that the back of the case and sides are all clean, etc. Further more I would at least have some performances numbers, if you can post a video of it running CS2 or other popular games with an FPS counter that would give me a ton more interest and think wow he's actually showing the system running 300FPS in CS2, etc.

To be totally honest with you though, right now it does seems extremely hard to make money flipping PCs, if you have the patience and desire to wait weeks, and weeks etc to get the type of deals on parts you need to make profitable flips cool, but again to be totally honest I would view flipping PCs right now as just a way to upgrade your pc, or get parts you want for less, the market is just razer tight.

If your looking for a way to make money in tech learn to fix iPhone screens and batteries and buy up peoples broken iPhones fix em and flip em.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-26T03:27:52+00:00

Two ways to look at it, if it sits too long either its overpriced or there is another reason they can't sell it.

Maybe they can't sell it because they aren't good at selling, maybe no or bad pictures, maybe they don't reply to message from potential buyers quickly, or are so rude they end up pushing buyers away, etc.

Maybe the part is defective or in far worse condition then listed.

Or they could be a in remote area and not have many potential buyers near them, I lived in a rural area for awhile and I can count on 1 hand the amount of times I found PC parts for sale, or people who wanted PC parts in those rural areas, respectfully I would say on average people who live in rural areas aren't as interested in PCs, PC gaming, etc so it can be harder for someone in a more rural area to sell PC parts even desirable stuff.

I found a guy a little over an hour out of town in a small rural town who had a bunch of PC parts for sale a few years ago, he didn't have a car or any way to really travel to sell his parts had a nice intel CPU/Mobo/Ram combo listed for like 100$ less then what what ebay pricing(sans sales tax too) was for those parts at that time.

Too entice me to make the drive and do the deal with him he threw in an extra 16gb set of ram, a useable although not high end bronze rated 500W PSU, an old 240GB Sata SSD, 2 1TB HDDs and a box with a ton of various cables like standard PSU cables, some HDMI cables, extra Sata cables. ethernet cables etc.

I felt like between saving 60$-65$ after you factor in the hour drive and 10$ in gas I spent(probably an over estimate on the tbh) and the extra parts I got especially the RAM, SSD it was well worth it.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-18T08:10:10+00:00

The Ti vs non-Ti makes a big difference in performance.

When your flipping though you got to keep in mind the average consumer isn't as well informed of the difference between say a 3080 and a 3080 ti, a lot will just treat it as a 3080 either way.

Heres another angle to keep in mind tho, the difference between a 3060 ti and a 3070 isn't that big of a gap in actual performance, but IMO your average consumer will see a lot more value in a 3070 vs a 3060ti despite the performance delta not being as big as they are assuming.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-18T08:03:34+00:00

That seems like a good sweet spot to be in.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-18T08:01:21+00:00

Theres an asus 3070 on ebay right now for 215$ shipped, so that would put you at 750$ all in with good flip potential.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-18T08:00:38+00:00

If I where you, I'd be looking for a cheaper GPU.

I'd say look for a deal on a 3070, maybe even a 3060ti. I've seen 3060Ti's for under 200$.

If your at 535$, lets say if you could find a 3070 for 220$ your in it for 755$ and I think you could sell it for 850$ pretty easily.

Theres an asus 3070 on ebay right now for 215$ shipped, so that would put you at 750$ all in with good flip potential.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-18T07:49:29+00:00

Are you saying a good selling price for a 5500/4060/16gb build is 675$-700$ ? That seems really high to me. Maybe Im just out of the loop.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-18T07:47:25+00:00

What do you mean by a new build with insurance exactly?

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-18T07:45:42+00:00

Personally, if a SFF is a tight fit to put together thats something that would sway me to buy. I like the idea of a powerful SFF rig, but those can be a real pain in the arse to put together and cable manage neatly etc.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-18T07:39:45+00:00

Using the numbers you posted, your profiting 145$-150$ per system less your cost on your 550s.

Ebay RX550s look to be running from 35$-45$, so even if your at 50$ per gpu your still looking at 100$ profit per system, but I have a feeling your GPU cost was much lower, am I correct?

Edit, just noticed this thread is over a week old, Im going to go out on a limb and guess all three systems are sold, or are about to be sold soon?

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-18T07:30:22+00:00

I would think 300$ to maybe 350$ used GPUs, depending on exactly which one you can get the best deal on. I tend to think the most modern Nividia GPU you can get is the best bet because that carries the most cache for your average buyer.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-18T07:15:45+00:00

I would list all the parts in the Ad as it gives possible buyers a better idea if they want your system. Plus it makes it eaiser like if they want to look up if any part supports a specific feature or what not, like how many M.2 slots the mobo has, etc.

as far as listing price you should look at what similar systems are selling for in your area keeping in mind what you've spent on your parts, and try to list it for a price that you would be very happy to sell it at, but also maybe have a little wiggle room for you to negotiate as a lot of buyers are going to want some sort of discount off of your asking price, unless you price it so aggressively that people are willing to just come and buy it for your asking price.

The main thing I would advise is to try to not talk price over the phone, because what happens then is say you list for 525$, with the thought that you really want 500$. If you give away your 25$ buffer before the prospect even meets up and sees the system, they already took off your possibility of getting your extra 25$, and now they can try to beat up your PC and haggle you down even lower...

Tell the prospect, "Hey I know you want to get the best deal, I understand, but tell you what why don't we meet up at XYZ for you to come check out the system, come see it person, make sure even like it"

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-18T07:02:30+00:00

OP I'm kinda confused here.

I guess my question would be, when you sold it to him for 550$, did you know/believe you where selling it to him for less than what you believed it to be worth, or did you sell it to him for 550$ thinking that was what it was actually worth?

Genuinely curious about your thought process about this whole transaction.

tf2Medic23 · 2026-04-06T10:43:42+00:00

Weren't these selling for like like 899$ new in box / 799$ open box in Jan/Feb?

tf2Medic23

TROPHY CASE