PC Retail

We know the UK implementation of the WEEE directive is unfair, and almost 500 of you have told the Government so with a petition – which has had no official response. Add to this a lack of easy to understand guidance and huge fees and it's no wonder many of you are sick of the subject. But wait – we can make it easier for you and take away the worries.

ITACS has looked hard at the market and has found what we consider to be the best deal for our members. We negotiated to reduce the costs and if you register as a producer you can build custom computers and be paid for the WEEE you collect. ITACS gets nothing back from this scheme except the satisfaction of a good deal for our members. We also decided to share your pain during these hard times and have reduced our membership fee to £25 for your first year of membership.

So, apart from getting money for your WEEE, why build computers? There are three profitable markets that you should be looking at. The first, repair and upgrade is obvious. Selling a custom PC means you can repair or upgrade without warranties and call centres getting in the way. Also, using standard parts means you can reinstall or repair without trying to find specialist media or parts.

Another highly profitable area which some members are beginning to exploit is the custom gaming market. Building computers which can retail for £1,000 to £2,000 is interesting, fun, and profitable. Clients come back frequently and want to obtain the latest and best graphic cards or processors on a regular basis. With your direct access to distributors, you can obtain high quality parts at a good discount on or before the official release dates. There is also the modding market to exploit with LEDs, black lights, cooling systems, fancy cases and so on.

Finally, if your primary area of activity is business then look into custom servers. Instead of sending units back to manufacturers with the potential for data loss and long downtimes, you can step in immediately and repair the part that is broken. No need for complex RMA forms or phone calls to call centres who tell you to do a hundred things you have tried already.

Take the time to look at the WeeeCare deal on our website: www.itacs.org.uk/weee-deal/