Selling "normal" people on Linux

[oregano]

I decided to try and make some extra money by taking old castoff desktop computers, putting in newer optical and hard drives, installing Linux Mint on them, and reselling them on Craigslist/Ebay. My first one is ready to go, it's an old eMachines desktop made in 2006. Fortunately it still had the original hard drive so all I had to do was put in a newer optical drive. I put it on Craigslist and Ebay and got pretty much zero interest if you don't count Nigerian scammers.

My mom asked me if I could tell her the advantages of Linux over Windows, and I told her about not needing to "update" the OS and all the application programs all the time, about Linux Mint having all the programs you need already installed so you don't have to go hunting for programs all over the internet and then have the added expense of purchasing said programs, about not needing expensive antivirus software that of course is also updating itself constantly.

She said those were all good reasons, but that I would need to figure out a way to concisely sell Linux to people who think "Altoids" when they hear the word "mint". Since I'm autistic it's really hard to think of a way I could do this. Any suggestions?

I also wonder if people are just not interested in buying stuff right now because it's August and very hot and nobody is inside. I know that there doesn't seem to be much activity on the amateur radio bands, for example, and other hams have noticed it too, and I'm wondering if people are just down at the rivers and lakes splashing in the water due to the heat and I should wait a few months.

 

[Kevin1968]

On the linux vs Windows, perhaps focus on the fact it is free and can be updated free too (hardware permitting) meaning unlike an old Windows XP machine it won't cost money to keep it up to date.

You could use the analogy of Android/Apple which are effectively different OS used on smart phones but both phones do practically the same thing ultimately.

As regards fitting optical drives, are they really used anymore?

Not sure about the functionality, but could you install WINE to allow use of common Windows applications? (I know it doesn't work for everything)

The beginning of the school/college year is probably a good time for selling, but with Microsoft so ingrained in schools perhaps it isn't viable for school use.

 

[Judge]

My first one is ready to go, it's an old eMachines desktop made in 2006. Fortunately it still had the original hard drive so all I had to do was put in a newer optical drive. I put it on Craigslist and Ebay and got pretty much zero interest if you don't count Nigerian scammers.

Sounds about right. Here's the bad news, no matter what OS you install on that hardware platform. Linux produces certain marketing issues to contend with. But if you mention they're on an old eMachines hardware platform, expect most people to just walk away.

If you google "eMachines", don't be surprised to see all too often adjectives like "junk" or "crap" associated with this particular brand name. Too many substandard hardware components in general. Reminds me of years ago when I went into the local Best Buy and saw a long line of unhappy people at the customer service desk. All who bought eMachine desktops, who all had certain components that got zapped in a recent electrical storm.

Linux is a great system to run on less powerful platforms, no question. However it remains an OS that tends to be preferred by more experienced users and developers rather than the mainstream. No offense intended, however installing Linux onto an eMachine platform is like putting lipstick on a pig. In essence you'd be better off building a new low-cost system with better brand name components. Especially the motherboard, even on a low-cost basis. Even then though, I'm assuming you're selling this on an "as is" basis without the product support of major vendors you'd be competing with.

I once gave some thought to building machines just to sell. But I gave up on the idea because I knew I'd have to offer support for them, and with computers more often than not you're talking about user software errors and malware problems rather than hardware failure.

But there are advantages to Linux, if you can reason with people: Linux vs. Windows

 

[Misery]

Honestly the biggest advantage of Linux over Windows is.... it's not Windows.

After all the crap Windows has put users through over these many years, you'd think that's all you'd need to say to anyone.


Now as for the idea of trying to sell old computers and wondering why they arent selling.... well, the answer is right there. "Old computers". The vast majority of people simply have no use for those. Only tech enthusiasts would want something like that. Like, the sort that are really into older hardware as a hobby... those old machines have no other function now. It doesnt matter if it has Windows or Linux or whatever, or what brand it is, or any of that... it's simply of no use to almost all consumers. Expect things like that to take a LONG time to sell, unless you already know, in advance, exactly where to go to make it happen (which is almost guaranteed to NOT be Ebay or Craig's List). If you want to sell it sometime this century, you'd best find somewhere else to do it. Somewhere that's more entirely focused on that sort of thing, selling to hobbyists. Heck if I know where that'd be, but I do know such sites exist.

 

[Major Tom]

I'm a big fan of Linux, Mint in particular. Like Kevin said try maybe installing WINE, Anbox, and Steam. Maybe you'll get some more hits. All in all though, unfortunately people are just stuck in their ways and don't seem very interested in an awesome and free OS. They'd rather stick with what is familiar to them.
I wish you the best. I hope you can make it work.

 

[oregano]

I honestly didn't know that eMachines was such a bad brand. I found the box in a barn, coated with gunk, at an estate sale. I took it home for $5. I discovered that the PS/2 ports were bad, but thought it was no big deal. I guess I will just take out the optical drive, and also remove the hard drive since it is a Seagate, and junk the rest. Fortunately the rest of the PC's in the garage are Dells. Should have used Google.

My main line of thinking was maybe to sell the boxes to the poor. I live in the exurbs of Silicon Valley and there is an extreme chasm between haves and have nots. The have nots need computers to access the internet, but plunking down $800 for a brand new laptop is just not doable for them. There are several places that sell refurbished PC's in my city, but even those tend to be rather expensive since those places have to pay rent and utilities for their shops, then pay salaries for their techs (and of course all the taxes that go along, which about doubles the cost for the business), and etc. I was thinking that I could undercut the prices of the local brick-and-mortar refurbishers, and sell a PC that will cost less in maintenance and won't go obsolete in a few years.

 

[Graphin]

Reminds me of how *somebody* I know without special tech skills casually installed and kept Ubuntu after I guided them through using it for data rescue from windows.

 

[Graphin]

Most people just kinda scare away no idea what to do about that.

 

[FreeDiver]

Here's the thing. You are gonna have to reinstall windows on those machines. People just don't want to deal with linux. I used to carry a generic Windows install disk and could install a fresh/legit copy using the COA license on the side of the machine. It is possible to sell a complete Core2 Duo system with 4GB ram and a clean reinstall of windows for about $100 at a thrift store.

 

[Aspychata]

l love linux mint and Ubuntu l also have used. Use to get Haking magazine that came with cd. My ex stole all my magazines, l really enjoy reading those magazines, still sad about it 5 years later.

 

[Aspychata]

l like puppy linux. It came free. I think l tried slackware. That was great.

 

[Transmission]

Linux can now run Windows only games on Steam so that should make it more appealing to people into PC gaming. I've met people who said they couldn't use Linux because their Steam games didn't work on it.