“Shop” might be a bit confusing, I’m thinking more in the line of having all transactions done online and delivering/picking up any items through courier services.
tl;dr - ARC+work permit holder, want to offer small time PC software/hardware services, worth the risk or nah?
A recent thread asking about PC advice got me thinking.
I’d like to preface this by acknowledging the fact that this isn’t profitable, not by any stretch.
Desktop PCs and laptops are already a niche market given how everyone is able to go by with just a phone these days, add in the fact that I will only be dealing with people who can speak fluent English, and only those within Taipei/New Taipei City - we’re looking at a very small/close to nonexistent customer base here, and again, I’m completely aware that this isn’t profitable.
I doubt I can actually establish a business so that’s off the table already, given how the staff at the immigration instantly said “No.” when I asked if I could enroll in a Chinese Language course - I did make her double check with someone higher than her and she came back saying “Yes, but only on your free time.”
However, if I get to do this without any repercussions from the government, I’d gladly do it in my free time as this is pretty much a “hobby”.
About me:
a. In Taiwan with an ARC + work permit.
b. Hired as a regular.
c. Flexible work hours.
d. Into photo/videography (I already have the equipment, I just need some lights and a lav mic).
e. Into consumer PC hardware.
What I want to do:
Start a tiny “business” (if you can call it that) where I offer:
PC repair/troubleshooting
1.1. BSODs
1.2. Boot loops
1.3. Virus/malware cleanup
1.4. OS install/reinstall with file backups
1.5. Individual part upgrades/replacements
1.6. Hardware cleanup/maintenance (dust, gunk, replacing thermal paste, cable management)
PC assembly/setup
2.1. Vanilla setup, 1 day.
2.2. Setup with some bells and whistles (aftermarket HS/F or AIO coolers, cable management, LED strips), 1-2 days.
2.3. Setup with custom loops, 1-3 days (taking leak testing into consideration).
*assuming I have all the parts ready then these are my estimates based on past experience
As for the OS, I’ll probably stick with an unactivated copy of Windows since they’re readily available direct from Microsoft and the only difference with an activated one is a tiny watermark at the bottom of your screen.
I’ll be recording the entire process and will upload it on youtube as an ASMR-esque/tutorial kind of thing.
This way I get to:
Scratch my PC assembly itch.
Make use of my cameras and lenses during off season (I use them primarily for diving).
If you are worried about it being illegal, do it for free. If anyone asks, you are helping your foreign friend build a PC. I’m sure those foreigners would say thanks with a couple beers.
I guess there’s always that route. I’m still kind of worried of getting ratted out if I run into any unsatisfied friends, e.g. making false claims (broke their PC, broke some hardware) and then blackmailing me into returning the “beers” (sure, no problem) they “gave” me, but the bigger issue is if these friends ask for more.
Well. I did it for many years in a computer store throughout highschool and uni. I run a company now (doing other things) but if I was, I could easily just write fapiaos for any PC building service if anyone needed. But yea… I know the ins and outs.
Did the same exact thing as well back home, though I was doing it as @meishijia suggested - offering it primarily to friends and friends of friends, getting new customers through word of mouth.
I’m skeptical about doing the same thing here in Taiwan given the risks involved if I do this without any legal knowledge.
Hell, this is my first time hearing about “fapiaos”.
The market for this is really crowded in Taiwan though. I mean every shop at Guanhua can do what you do.
And the market has shrunk, it was hard before smartphones became a thing (when laptop on average cost 3x as much as a desktop of the same spec).
I worked in one of those shops… really cutthroat because you had to bring in 1 million NTD a month in sales or else you’re laid off. It’s a tall order for newbies. Also there is little profit in sales of major PC parts (CPU, Motherboard, GPU, and harddrive), and that the merchandise depreciate fast so you had better make sure you have above average inventory management system or else you’ll lose money FAST.
I’d look beyond PC repair if you want to scratch an itch. Stuff like PCB rework.
Yup, I’ve taken that into consideration already - see the preface, I’ve been visiting Guang Hua almost weekly last month when I was setting up my home office. I have no intention of competing with them or making a profit.
The goal isn’t sales. I only want to offer services, I don’t even plan on adding any markups for parts ordered through PC home - when I was looking for specific parts in Guang Hua, they literally just looked up PC home and matched the prices there for any of the parts that I was looking for which they didn’t have in stock. So no, I’m not looking at the sales angle.
I don’t think I’ll be offering PCB rework for free, I’d have to setup a proper bench and worry about the fumes and fire hazards whereas all I need for PC services is a test bench (even a McGuyver’d cardboard box is enough) to hot swap parts when troubleshooting.
My landlord would kill me if he or any of my neighbors notices any smoke coming out of my room.
Yea, my shop is good for those kind of thing, tin shack type place and not have to make consideration for keeping the place absolutely dust free (this is essential for my business, my work is very dusty).
Yea don’t do PCB rework for free but you’d get paid more doing it. Just so you know, the guanhua store will assemble the computer for free if you buy it there. I often ask them to do it for me, not because I can’t do it, but because if there’s any problem with the parts they can replace it, whereas I don’t want to get home only to find out the system will not POST because of a dead RAM stick.
I guess the closest way of explaining what I want to do is replacing pickups or refretting a guitar.
Anyone can replace pickups and tune a guitar by doing some research online and downloading a tuner app, no risk involved. You’d do it for free if a friend asked you to, done in a couple of minutes.
Refretting on the other hand, sure, given enough time and research, anyone can probably get it done, but there’s a lot of risk involved. I wouldn’t do it for free.
There are completely clueless folks out there who are afraid prying open their guitars and touching the wires inside or unsure if they’ve got their guitar tuned correctly and can’t do it/don’t know how to do it on their own.
There are folks out there who are enthusiastic enough about their instruments and would like to optimise it more based on their comfort and to suit playing style but don’t want to do it on their own knowing the risks involved.
I’m aiming for these two groups.
Clueless foreigners who panic after receiving an email from a Nigerian Prince.
Savvy foreigners who are afraid of leaks in custom water cooling loops.
Small set of people, but I’m not looking for a lot of customers anyway as this is more of a weekend/nights only thing.
Yea except I can’t find many customers who wants refretting done. And nobody will pay me just to open the cover and look inside the guitar. Actually I think most people aren’t even aware that there’s a problem. Taiwanese people can be extremely penny pinching, as in they’ll go with someone else because they’re 5nt cheaper even if they offer much less for the money.
I’m not expecting a lot of people interested in custom loops either, and I doubt I have the time to work on 3 custom loops in a single month.
Then there’s also this - now imagine if instead of a stereotypical East Asian woman doing interesting farm work and cooking mouth watering dishes mixed with gorgeous countryside backdrops you had a:
Guy who doesn’t show his face
Does boring PC assembly work (or guitar work)
Does commentary on what he’s doing
Is set in a boring room
Far from a million dollar production, not even a hundred, but as far as I’m concerned just being able to fire up my cameras and do some editing/color grading - that’s more than enough of a motivation.
I think what I need is someone with a good eye. You can make a boring room look interesting if you know how to dress it up with camera angle and stuff. But that requires a mind that isn’t neurodiverse. That isn’t me.
Well would you look at that!
I’m afraid this idea won’t be coming into fruition anytime soon however primarily due to my initial concerns combined with the fact that I don’t have a source for any parts yet.