Building gaming PCs for profit, and accepting payment?

I need some extra cash so I'm considering building PCs for local clients.

I already have most of it planned out:

For the price of about $1000, I could build a sleek-looking machine with a Wolfdale Core 2 Duo, plenty of RAM %26 HDD space, DVD Burner, XP Pro, and a nVidia or AMD graphics card that would dominate in Crysis -- while making a $150-300 profit.

I would advertise only locally, using mainly Craigslist.

I would also include Anti-virus, anti-spyware, productivity software, and configure XP to minimize resource usage. I would deliver the PC to the client's door and maybe even help them set it up.

I would make it clear that I can only provide warranty service on parts, not if they load their PC with spyware.

The only speed bump I've run into is how to accept payment. I would require it upfront to pay for the parts, but how in the world am I going to convince anyone to trust me with their money, given the fact that they won't get their new PC for 1-2 weeks? Any suggestions?

Building gaming PCs for profit, and accepting payment?hijackthis

You may be able to set up an account with an online dealer such as Tech Data, Newegg or TigerDirect. If you can set up such an account, then your purchase terms (Net 30, Net 15, etc) would allow you to order the parts, assemble your machine and sell to your client. Provided you can get your money from the client before your account terms are due for those parts, you can effectively set up cash flow that would not require you to spend money out of your own pocket.