Would you, or would you not?

[Avacado]

Please see the poll. I was PM'd by a new member on OCN who lives local to me asking if I knew of a person near by that could put together a custom loop build. Before I respond, I wanted to poll your thoughts and perhaps get some insight on risks. Would you agree to do this and expose your home where there is quite a vast array of tech that could be stolen (If I met the wrong person).

 

@UltraMega I know you run a business, would like to hear your thoughts on this too. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by Avacado

[UltraMega]

25 minutes ago, Avacado said:

Please see the poll. I was PM'd by a new member on OCN who lives local to me asking if I knew of a person near by that could put together a custom loop build. Before I respond, I wanted to poll your thoughts and perhaps get some insight on risks. Would you agree to do this and expose your home where there is quite a vast array of tech that could be stolen (If I met the wrong person).

 

@UltraMega I know you run a business, would like to hear your thoughts on this too. 

I expose my home to customers all the time, but I tell them I work from home before hand, let them know I do in home service and if they still want to come to me, I meet them outside. I send them a friendly message with my address that says "details... I'll come outside to you". 

 

Gamers are weird ppl. They can seem sketchy at first. Unless they ask for some weird payment terms, I'd just ask for more details until you feel like you have a sense of what they really want you to do and as long as they're not asking for weird payment terms, there should be no risk. 

 

It's always good to establish a trade of trust in the sale. You take their computer for diagnostics; you charge them after you look at it. You have their computer, but they haven't paid you until service are rendered. This is the most successful path to a good customer interaction when building trust. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by UltraMega

[Fluxmaven]

Why don't you go to them? When I was last trying to sell a custom loop PC on FB marketplace I had a guy hit me up asking for help. I just showed up at dudes house with a box of tools and a heatgun and did a custom loop on their kitchen table. 

[UltraMega]

6 minutes ago, Fluxmaven said:

Why don't you go to them? When I was last trying to sell a custom loop PC on FB marketplace I had a guy hit me up asking for help. I just showed up at dudes house with a box of tools and a heatgun and did a custom loop on their kitchen table. 

I mean, for the simple fact that there is no good in home procedure for working on someone's custom water lop in their home. I would highly recommended against anyone ever putting themselves in that situation. That kind of work should always be done away from the customer. No professional would put themselves in that situation. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by UltraMega

[Fluxmaven]

4 minutes ago, UltraMega said:

I mean, for the simple fact that there is no good in home procedure for working on someone's custom water lop in their home. I would highly recommended against anyone ever putting themselves in that situation. That kind of work should always be done away from the customer. No professional would put themselves in that situation. 

Right but this seems more like help an OCN homie not a quit my day job and become a boutique PC builder situation. 

[UltraMega]

4 minutes ago, Fluxmaven said:

Right but this seems more like help an OCN homie not a quit my day job and become a boutique PC builder situation. 

Helping an OCN customer is probably going to be a lot more work than helping a run of the mill customer. I think they would expect quality and aesthetics out of their build and that is no quick task at the OCN level, even for us. @avacado should charge accordingly. I mean really you should not agree to do it unless you can charge a good penny and make it shine because he can take it somewhere else if he doesn't want the OCN touch. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by UltraMega

[Avacado]

7 minutes ago, Fluxmaven said:

Right but this seems more like help an OCN homie not a quit my day job and become a boutique PC builder situation. 

The second part is true, I have no intention of quitting 9 years before retirement and government pension. Though I do NOT know this guy and he has 1 post on OCN and a direct PM to me asking if I knew anyone local who could build a custom loop (Yes I do, Me). If it were a member I knew, I would be fine going to their house to help or complete a build, however I agree with Ultra in this situation as I don't know him from Adam and I would like to have all of my resources available when building.

 

Next logical question, how much would you charge to build a full custom loop from scratch? Do you make the customer show up with all the parts? I could potentially generate quite a lot of profit using materials I already have (Tubing, fittings, rads, coolant, etc...)

Edited January 13, 2023 by Avacado

[UltraMega]

1 minute ago, Avacado said:

The second part is true, I have no intention of quitting 9 years before retirement and government pension. Though I do NOT know this guy and he has 1 post on OCN and a direct PM to me asking if I knew anyone local who could build a custom loop (Yes I do, Me). If it were a member I knew, I would be fine going to their house to help or complete a build, however I agree with Ultra in this situation as I don't know him from Adam and I would like to have all of my resources available when building.

 

Next logical question, how much would you charge to build a full custom loop from scratch? Do you make the customer show up with all the parts? 

I don't do that sort of thing as I'll always recommend a more cost-effective upgrade to my customers. I charge $120 for rebuilds. I think you'd easily be in the $200 range for the kind of service you're looking at, but at that rate you should give the guy an invoice. 

[EHW Ai]

I'd treat the situation like a quasi Tinder date (no, I'm not on Tinder) and ask/invite them to a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop. After introductions, you could get into details there, including terms (if the discussion makes it that far). If not, no love lost, no risk of being mugged or robbed, yada yada yada. 

 

If it turns out to be a guy dressed in pink leotards, well, you know. At the least, you might get a real feel for what this person is like.

 

OTOH. NC is an open carry state, ain't it...?

 

Added: as for parts and labor, really depends on what this person wants. I personally feel that if they're after OCN enthusiast level quality, you charge accordingly.

Edited January 13, 2023 by iamjanco

[UltraMega]

2 minutes ago, iamjanco said:

I'd treat the situation like a quasi Tinder date (no, I'm not on Tinder) and ask/invite them to a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop. After introductions, you could get into details there, including terms (if the discussion makes it that far). If not, no love lost, no risk of being mugged or robbed, yada yada yada. 

 

If it turns out to be a guy dressed in pink leotards, well, you know.

 

OTOH. NC is an open carry state, ain't it...?

 

Didn't mean for that emoji to be sooo massive but ideally and most likely he is a cool dude and it's a smooth easy-going interaction. Less ideally, he's a weird dude and if so your preparedness and professionalism will save you from an awkward interaction. Just be prepared for that possibility. 

[Avacado]

7 minutes ago, iamjanco said:

OTOH. NC is an open carry state, ain't it...?

You're damn right it is. Good idea though. I am going to probe him via PM for a bit and see what he has in mind first. 

[EHW Ai]

3 minutes ago, UltraMega said:

 

Didn't mean for that emoji to be sooo massive but ideally and most likely he is a cool dude and it's a smooth easy-going interaction. Less ideally, he's a weird dude and if so your preparedness and professionalism will save you from an awkward interaction. Just be prepared for that possibility. 

 

I know what you mean and can relate to it, and would keep an open mind; but I'm also somewhat of a realist (believe it or not).  It's 2022 after all...

[UltraMega]

4 minutes ago, iamjanco said:

 

I know what you mean and can relate to it, and would keep an open mind; but I'm also somewhat of a realist (believe it or not).  It's 2022 after all...

Good luck, though I'm sure you won't need it. Take pics and let us know how it goes! 

[Sir Beregond]

I would not really be willing to have a complete stranger come to my house. Its one thing if it was an OCNer who was on there a long time, and maybe not known to me, but at least established on the site and seemed reasonable.

 

I'd probably just opt to meet for coffee or lunch or something first like Jan said just to get a feel for the guy and if it seems fine work out what exactly they are looking for, set clear expectations early if you decide its something to pursue. 

[schuck6566]

Talk about just what they want first,have them post a few pics of current setup so U have an idea what U would be getting into(never know,they may want a 360mm cooler added to an intel nuc case type of deal) then if still interested,meet over coffee somewhere and sketch what U think would work/interest them for the loop and give an idea what it would cost for parts and your time. If everybody's able to agree on something, you can always meet at the coffee shop or local police parking lot for dropoff and pick-up of the pc.(police lot is nice because it's all on cam if anybody tries to say pc wasn't delivered,ect.) Before return of pc to client make sure to take video of it running with the loop visible and date/time showing on monitor to prove comp was completed and in working condition when returned.

Edit: I voted YES, BUT only if you take precautions like I have listed here.

Edited January 13, 2023 by schuck6566

[Fluxmaven]

OCN watercooling is the Coolest™ new dating app. Definitely best to talk for a bit before going out for drinks and airing out what you both expect from the relationship. Can't be a slut that brings someone home and builds a PC on the first date. 

[pio]

4 minutes ago, Fluxmaven said:

OCN watercooling is the Coolest™ new dating app. Definitely best to talk for a bit before going out for drinks and airing out what you both expect from the relationship. Can't be a slut that brings someone home and builds a PC on the first date. 

Speaking of merch..........Avacado should definitely get this made up and wear it on his little outing.  Me flexing my mad photoshop skills.....

 

[EHW Ai]

...which reminds me, got to get some more finger hats

 

[damric]

1 post? Nope.

[Avacado]

So I have been PMing this guy over discord. He is going for an intel build. Has a 13900K, 4090, 7200MHz RAM and a 1000w PSU in hand. I told him the PSU might not be enough considering he wants to run the EK TEC on his CPU. I am sure you can all imagine the Case choice he wants. All WC parts are on the EK configurator because it was easy and to his credit he mentioned other brands that he knows are far better. I will work with him and if he decides to pull the trigger, I can meet him over a coffee or something. I am not doing anything at this point that I wouldn't already do for any member on our forum by helping make solid build suggestions. We shall see. 

 

I will most likely ask him to join EHW if this goes well, so i'll try not to beat him up too badly.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Avacado

[The Pook]

plot twist: "he's" really the grandma who pulled out in front of you and she's out for revenge 

[Fluxmaven]

Lol did they make a new EK TEC that isn't ass? Last I checked it was a $500 gimmick that couldn't handle any semi spicy multicore load. I'm guessing it's also in everyone's favorite O11D with an EK distro. 

 

Obviously they have money to burn. I have faith that out of any of us, you can guide them to a decent build. 

[Avacado]

20 minutes ago, Fluxmaven said:

Lol did they make a new EK TEC that isn't ass? Last I checked it was a $500 gimmick that couldn't handle any semi spicy multicore load. I'm guessing it's also in everyone's favorite O11D with an EK distro. 

 

Obviously they have money to burn. I have faith that out of any of us, you can guide them to a decent build. 

Apparently so.

 

EK-Quantum Delta² TEC - Thermoelectric Peltier cooler for Intel LGA1700 platform – EK Webshop

WWW.EKWB.COM

---

The EK-Quantum Delta² TEC is a 3rd generation CPU water block combined with a Peltier element - TEC plate. It's designed and engineered for high-performance cooling and advanced overclocking...

 

I will guide him as best I can, but this is a unique role and if he's going to be a "customer", I'll build him whatever he wants even if it's against better advice. 

 

[ENTERPRISE]

My personal view on this is if I was working a home business, said customer would only see the "Working Area" and no more. Plus the working area would be cleared of all items not necessary for the needs of the customer. 

 

This means that should the customer be of questionable character, they are only seeing what you allow them to see and you are not openly advertising items for theft. 

 

Furthermore I would have a Camera in said area operating, only even if it be during the customers visits. This tells them they are on camera and will likely deter them from any prior thoughts of theft. 

 

Personally my house is outfitted with CCTV inside and out, in key areas. I live in a town and occasionally move expensive gear in and out. So I make it clear that if you come for me, I will catch you lol.

 

I think its good to help others/have a business but you must protect yourself. Especially if its at your home, for you and your families sake. 

 

..... and yes...all clients should ve invited to EHW for online customer support

 

Should give out our EHW business cards!

[schuck6566]

3 hours ago, ENTERPRISE said:

My personal view on this is if I was working a home business, said customer would only see the "Working Area" and no more. Plus the working area would be cleared of all items not necessary for the needs of the customer. 

 

This means that should the customer be of questionable character, they are only seeing what you allow them to see and you are not openly advertising items for theft. 

 

Furthermore I would have a Camera in said area operating, only even if it be during the customers visits. This tells them they are on camera and will likely deter them from any prior thoughts of theft. 

 

Personally my house is outfitted with CCTV inside and out, in key areas. I live in a town and occasionally move expensive gear in and out. So I make it clear that if you come for me, I will catch you lol.

 

I think its good to help others/have a business but you must protect yourself. Especially if its at your home, for you and your families sake. 

 

..... and yes...all clients should ve invited to EHW for online customer support

 

Should give out our EHW business cards!

Here's a sample card if you want to get them prettied up and printed....