The PC Part Picker Con: A Cautionary Tale of Overpriced Systems and Dubious Business Practices

I recently came across an online listing for a custom-built gaming PC that caught my eye. The seller touted it as a top-of-the-line system, complete with a powerful CPU, high-end graphics card, and plenty of storage. But as I dug deeper, I realized that this was no ordinary PC build. In fact, it was a prime example of how some sellers are taking advantage of unsuspecting customers by charging exorbitant prices for their products.

The seller listed the system's components on PC Part Picker, which is a popular online tool used to research and price out computer parts. According to the website, the total cost of the system comes out to around $500. However, when I checked the listing again, I saw that the seller was asking for nearly 4 times that amount - over $2,000! This seemed like an outrageous markup, but I decided to investigate further.

As I delved deeper into the listing, I noticed that several of the components were from well-known brands such as EVGA and ASUS. However, when I checked the PC Part Picker database, I saw that these same components could be purchased for significantly less money - often by tens or even hundreds of dollars. For example, the EVGA graphics card listed on the website was selling for $140, but on PC Part Picker, it was available for around $80. This discrepancy suggested to me that the seller may have been trying to take advantage of customers who weren't doing their due diligence.

I also noticed that the listing included a number of "add-ons" such as custom cables and RGB strips, which added hundreds of dollars to the overall cost of the system. While these may be nice touches for some buyers, they're not necessary features that are typically expected in a high-end gaming PC build. It's possible that the seller was trying to inflate the price by adding unnecessary extras.

But what really caught my attention was the shipping charge. The seller listed a flat rate of $250 for shipping, which seemed like an outrageous amount. I checked with other online retailers and saw that they were able to ship identical systems to customers in the lower 48 states for around $100 or less. This suggested to me that the seller may have been taking advantage of their customers by charging an exorbitant shipping fee.

As I continued to investigate, I discovered that the seller's business address listed on their website was actually a UPS Store location. This raised some red flags, as it suggested to me that the seller may not be operating out of a legitimate brick-and-mortar store. It's possible that they're simply using the UPS Store as a front to sell their products and avoid paying sales tax or other fees.

The final nail in the coffin was when I looked up the nearest Micro Center store, which is located just hours away from the seller's address. As it turns out, there are several Micro Center locations within a short drive of this address, making it possible for the seller to source their components directly from these retailers and charge exorbitant prices.

In conclusion, my experience with this PC part picker listing was a wake-up call about the importance of doing your research when buying computer hardware. By taking the time to compare prices and check listings on multiple websites, you can avoid getting taken advantage of by sellers who are trying to take advantage of unsuspecting customers. And if you're in the northern Ohio area, be sure to check out Micro Center - they may just have the best deals on PC parts and components!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enmeet Blaise custom computers I was introduced to this company a few weeks ago by a follower on Facebook thanks for that message they specialize in custom handcrafted computer systems quote unquote and will build and ship one to you for a hefty premium and when I say hefty I mean oops so we're gonna pick these apart stay with me the be quiet pure bass 500 is a serious compact mid-tower contender packs enough space for a 360 Mele IO full-size ATX motherboard and extended graphics card along with a 140 millimeter bracket at the rear it comes with interchangeable top covers for either airflow or silence you can snag it in white black and metallic grey large power supplies welcome nearly an inch of cable management space behind the motherboard tray I could go on check it out by the link below now quick disclaimer upfront what you'll be hearing throughout this video are my opinions which are reliant on current hardware prices source from various online marketplaces so I think they're reinforced opinions but nonetheless they are my own opinions you might think a $500 bill fee is perfectly fine but I sure as heck don't and you might think that a $250 us shipping flat fee is fine but I sure as heck don't I also don't want anyone calling up this company for any reason apart from legitimate inquiries this is a satirical commentary and any publicly listed company is fair game including mine so have fun this company here is blaze custom computers and it has a pretty simple website with a dotnet domain the first thing you'll likely see is a slideshow of builds and peripherals not bad a nice hook to draw folks in right looking nice but scroll down a bit further and you'll meet the few of the atrociously overpriced PC listings notably half are sold out though and I feel bad for whoever purchased them at these prices consider this blaze viper TG i-5 system first of all instead of a spec sheet you owner decided to clump these chunky paragraphs together elaborating on each individual component and while I don't necessarily mind this approach much of what's here is over sensationalized garbage overhyped you get the point some of it's also inaccurate gigabyte gtx 1650 windforce this graphics card is powered by Nvidia Pascal no it's Turing come on you can look that up on in videos website in two seconds the most advanced GPU architecture ever created and including VR ultra-high resolution and multiple monitors I seriously feel like I'm reading an overhyped Craigslist ad right now if I'm being Frank I'd also like to see a raw parts list but we don't have that here it would help massively when pricing out components you have to dig for each individual item in these chunks paragraphs but anyway back to the meat and potatoes the system I spelled meet in eet in the script I don't know why I did that but anyway back to the meat me-80 and potatoes this system boasts a core i5 8,400 not the latest generation mind you and as rock Z 370 motherboard 16 gigs of treinen Z ddr4 and only 2400 megahertz the GTX 1650 we just mentioned an aged 500 P case from Coolermaster in ma 410 P from the same company a 120 gig SSD a one terabyte hard drive and a power spec he's also throwing in a cable mount LED strip a Windows 10 license and i captain america action figure for whatever reason let's start at the top a core i5 it's not bad in 2019 but you'd certainly pull more bang for the buck with Zen - that's what I would do if I was building custom pcs and trying to flip them and the 8400 slower locked clock speed seals a deal and for reasons unknown the Builder paired this lock skew with a Z chipset it's just kind of a rookie mistake great for overclocking if only you could overclock it's kind of a stupid and pointless pairing unless you plan to upgrade in the future but by then something better and cheaper will likely hit the shelves I've never really understood that it ideology like why spend more on an overclocking motherboards just spend more on a better processor up front from which you actually reap real benefits I won't pick on the slow ddr4 for this one for Intel systems is generally less relevant anyway but he also picked a reliable brand goji scale with trend Z the gtx 1650 is a bit underwhelming sure but what makes this entire thing a downright terrible choice is the asking price I'm not joking here the seller wants 1,400 freaking dollars for it and that's down from get this $1,900 it's doing you a favor folks it's just pulling these numbers out of thin air it seems I jumped in a PCP and priced it out you could build almost exactly what you're seeing here for less than $1000 and if you were a smart builder you'd use a cheaper air cooler because nad 400 doesn't need anything extravagant you would use an ons each if set board you would use cheaper Ram you would use a cheaper frankly better PSU and you would use a cheaper case that bring you to less than $800 but at 1400 you have to be a complete idiot to entertain this that's just me being bought there and remember there's a flat $250 shipping fee associated with this purchase yeah once things now you're into the mid-1600s right come on for 1600 bucks I could build something that would destroy this who in his or her right mind would spend $1,600 in a system sporting a locked older genuine and a gtx 1650 I really don't get it and of course we've got the seller trying to hype it up in the description probably because he knows he needs to if he wants to actually sell this thing don't settle for inferior proprietary components used by the big box brands every blade is custom computer system is built with the same two hands from start to finish to bring you the finest and quality and reliability ha he then goes on some random out Wi-Fi adapters original windows keys 80 plus efficiency I mean really he's distinguishing his components from inferior proprietary ones when his own system sports up power spec that's a micro centered brand you can't even buy that anywhere else unless you're buying used not garbage but not something worth bragging about and certainly contradictory to his description okay I don't help the point that uh there are cheaper computers to be sure but we craft computers built to last I mean come on how is what you're doing any different than what you or I could do this is part of the sensationalist claim here that the sellers trying to make it seem like because he built it because he knows what he's doing it's suddenly worth way more than if you built it on your own if I built the same system with the same specs it'd be subject to the same manufacturing constraints the same potential defects as yours and you're trying to justify a ridiculous markup by saying that you could build the quality and care as if everything you touch turns to gold you emphasize optimal component choice and superior brands but you fail to pick component that actually makes sense when seen in the context of your CPU and Jeep you locked core i5 with a Z 370 board need i say more an MC exclusive psu a freaking 1650 and a $1400 system I mean come on but ok ok I'll give you the benefit of the doubt maybe he just missed priced one system right there are two more over here that haven't sold yet so let's try these out which will it be blaze crystal series i7 r-tx 2080 or blaze crystal series i7 r-tx 2080 TI yeah let's pick more expensive one core i7 9700 k $340 pc part picker h 100x $80 pc part picker a sous Maximas 11 hero $3.00 referencing pc part picker 32 gigs try to see our DB ddr4 140 bucks all the storage adds up to around 500 USD he listed 20 DTI founders Edition but shows an EVGA SKU and the pictures so we'll pick the cheaper of the two the discrepancies his fault not mine $1,200 he uses a dated leanly PC o8 so I threw in a much better 11 dynamic Excel instead it's cheaper mind you that's just over $200 and lastly the rmx 750 watt PSU $120 according to PC bar picker as of mid to late December 2019 he's got a few fans here that's throwing like 60 bucks he's also got some custom cables and it looks like some custom RGB strips will attack on what another hundred bucks ok 200 bucks $400 who cares point is it doesn't matter we're still nowhere near the 40 for $100 asking price yeah you heard that right he wants over 4 thousand US dollars for this system plus shipping mind you so it clearly isn't just one overpriced PC on place custom peers it seems as though most if not all of these systems are egregiously marked up but why probably because he's moving inventory at this rate if he wasn't selling these pcs he'd be forced to lowers prices to move inventory and I find that to be disappointing it means folks are actually paying way more than they should for hardware that's just been screwed into a case you don't need a college degree from a freaking Ivy League school to be able to build a computer you don't even need a high school diploma you don't even need to graduate can you even graduate middle school it's freaking easy kids do it all the time the hardest part is probably the compatibility you can google that or maybe it's the part where you're supposed to price out components so you know what's the best buy for the buck seems as though a few folks skipped that memo and paid the price literally at this blaze site do they deserve it for not doing what little due diligence was required maybe that's an ethical question for you to decide but it doesn't mean I won't call out insane asking prices when I see them and funny thing is the seller lists a business address on his website that forwards to a UPS Store so there doesn't appear to be a brick-and-mortar of any kind not that he would need one I'm not gonna show the business address here I don't this guy being harassed it's not the point of this video but still I traced the nearest micro Center from this location and discovered that it isn't very far from this address so the Builder may just be hauling purchased parts from good ol MC in exchange for the occasional hefty profit and Micro Center would be one of the best places to profit on PC parts listen to me folks in the northern Ohio area especially if you live near a micro Center there is absolutely no excuse for overpaying by this much for a PC you're in heaven I'd kill to have an MC with within a few hours of me I need to drive over six hours to get to one from my house here in Florida you can find great CPU and motherboard combo deals discounts on peripherals Ram and more it is seriously a dream I honestly think it's smart that the buyers sourcing components from here especially if he wants to maximize profit but by doing so and by overcharging by hundreds or sometimes even thousands of dollars I think that is just disgusting and I'm assuming he's going to my Crescenta for at least some of these parts why wouldn't you right but what I don't think is smart again charging a $500 premium for this PC over $1000 premium for this one also something's got to be done about this insane flat rate shipping charge unless it shows up to my door in a crate I'd say you're overpaying at $250 for shipping a PC other retailers managed to ship for around a hundred bucks this is domestic we're talking about Hawaii and Alaska exceptions and then shipping overseas forget it but but within the lower continuous 48 that this that's that's pretty expensive I I don't pay anywhere near that for a PC case and a heavy PC case still wouldn't cost anywhere near $250 to ship I get that he's a small business doesn't have the the contracts with the shipping companies but still it's a fatal blow in my piñon on top of the price which is already a fatal blow if you guys like this video let me know by clicking the thumbs up button I appreciate that consider clicking the subscribe button if you haven't already slammed that Bell icon for me that'd be a huge solid I'd appreciate that and stay tuned for more my name's Greg thanks for cringing with memeet Blaise custom computers I was introduced to this company a few weeks ago by a follower on Facebook thanks for that message they specialize in custom handcrafted computer systems quote unquote and will build and ship one to you for a hefty premium and when I say hefty I mean oops so we're gonna pick these apart stay with me the be quiet pure bass 500 is a serious compact mid-tower contender packs enough space for a 360 Mele IO full-size ATX motherboard and extended graphics card along with a 140 millimeter bracket at the rear it comes with interchangeable top covers for either airflow or silence you can snag it in white black and metallic grey large power supplies welcome nearly an inch of cable management space behind the motherboard tray I could go on check it out by the link below now quick disclaimer upfront what you'll be hearing throughout this video are my opinions which are reliant on current hardware prices source from various online marketplaces so I think they're reinforced opinions but nonetheless they are my own opinions you might think a $500 bill fee is perfectly fine but I sure as heck don't and you might think that a $250 us shipping flat fee is fine but I sure as heck don't I also don't want anyone calling up this company for any reason apart from legitimate inquiries this is a satirical commentary and any publicly listed company is fair game including mine so have fun this company here is blaze custom computers and it has a pretty simple website with a dotnet domain the first thing you'll likely see is a slideshow of builds and peripherals not bad a nice hook to draw folks in right looking nice but scroll down a bit further and you'll meet the few of the atrociously overpriced PC listings notably half are sold out though and I feel bad for whoever purchased them at these prices consider this blaze viper TG i-5 system first of all instead of a spec sheet you owner decided to clump these chunky paragraphs together elaborating on each individual component and while I don't necessarily mind this approach much of what's here is over sensationalized garbage overhyped you get the point some of it's also inaccurate gigabyte gtx 1650 windforce this graphics card is powered by Nvidia Pascal no it's Turing come on you can look that up on in videos website in two seconds the most advanced GPU architecture ever created and including VR ultra-high resolution and multiple monitors I seriously feel like I'm reading an overhyped Craigslist ad right now if I'm being Frank I'd also like to see a raw parts list but we don't have that here it would help massively when pricing out components you have to dig for each individual item in these chunks paragraphs but anyway back to the meat and potatoes the system I spelled meet in eet in the script I don't know why I did that but anyway back to the meat me-80 and potatoes this system boasts a core i5 8,400 not the latest generation mind you and as rock Z 370 motherboard 16 gigs of treinen Z ddr4 and only 2400 megahertz the GTX 1650 we just mentioned an aged 500 P case from Coolermaster in ma 410 P from the same company a 120 gig SSD a one terabyte hard drive and a power spec he's also throwing in a cable mount LED strip a Windows 10 license and i captain america action figure for whatever reason let's start at the top a core i5 it's not bad in 2019 but you'd certainly pull more bang for the buck with Zen - that's what I would do if I was building custom pcs and trying to flip them and the 8400 slower locked clock speed seals a deal and for reasons unknown the Builder paired this lock skew with a Z chipset it's just kind of a rookie mistake great for overclocking if only you could overclock it's kind of a stupid and pointless pairing unless you plan to upgrade in the future but by then something better and cheaper will likely hit the shelves I've never really understood that it ideology like why spend more on an overclocking motherboards just spend more on a better processor up front from which you actually reap real benefits I won't pick on the slow ddr4 for this one for Intel systems is generally less relevant anyway but he also picked a reliable brand goji scale with trend Z the gtx 1650 is a bit underwhelming sure but what makes this entire thing a downright terrible choice is the asking price I'm not joking here the seller wants 1,400 freaking dollars for it and that's down from get this $1,900 it's doing you a favor folks it's just pulling these numbers out of thin air it seems I jumped in a PCP and priced it out you could build almost exactly what you're seeing here for less than $1000 and if you were a smart builder you'd use a cheaper air cooler because nad 400 doesn't need anything extravagant you would use an ons each if set board you would use cheaper Ram you would use a cheaper frankly better PSU and you would use a cheaper case that bring you to less than $800 but at 1400 you have to be a complete idiot to entertain this that's just me being bought there and remember there's a flat $250 shipping fee associated with this purchase yeah once things now you're into the mid-1600s right come on for 1600 bucks I could build something that would destroy this who in his or her right mind would spend $1,600 in a system sporting a locked older genuine and a gtx 1650 I really don't get it and of course we've got the seller trying to hype it up in the description probably because he knows he needs to if he wants to actually sell this thing don't settle for inferior proprietary components used by the big box brands every blade is custom computer system is built with the same two hands from start to finish to bring you the finest and quality and reliability ha he then goes on some random out Wi-Fi adapters original windows keys 80 plus efficiency I mean really he's distinguishing his components from inferior proprietary ones when his own system sports up power spec that's a micro centered brand you can't even buy that anywhere else unless you're buying used not garbage but not something worth bragging about and certainly contradictory to his description okay I don't help the point that uh there are cheaper computers to be sure but we craft computers built to last I mean come on how is what you're doing any different than what you or I could do this is part of the sensationalist claim here that the sellers trying to make it seem like because he built it because he knows what he's doing it's suddenly worth way more than if you built it on your own if I built the same system with the same specs it'd be subject to the same manufacturing constraints the same potential defects as yours and you're trying to justify a ridiculous markup by saying that you could build the quality and care as if everything you touch turns to gold you emphasize optimal component choice and superior brands but you fail to pick component that actually makes sense when seen in the context of your CPU and Jeep you locked core i5 with a Z 370 board need i say more an MC exclusive psu a freaking 1650 and a $1400 system I mean come on but ok ok I'll give you the benefit of the doubt maybe he just missed priced one system right there are two more over here that haven't sold yet so let's try these out which will it be blaze crystal series i7 r-tx 2080 or blaze crystal series i7 r-tx 2080 TI yeah let's pick more expensive one core i7 9700 k $340 pc part picker h 100x $80 pc part picker a sous Maximas 11 hero $3.00 referencing pc part picker 32 gigs try to see our DB ddr4 140 bucks all the storage adds up to around 500 USD he listed 20 DTI founders Edition but shows an EVGA SKU and the pictures so we'll pick the cheaper of the two the discrepancies his fault not mine $1,200 he uses a dated leanly PC o8 so I threw in a much better 11 dynamic Excel instead it's cheaper mind you that's just over $200 and lastly the rmx 750 watt PSU $120 according to PC bar picker as of mid to late December 2019 he's got a few fans here that's throwing like 60 bucks he's also got some custom cables and it looks like some custom RGB strips will attack on what another hundred bucks ok 200 bucks $400 who cares point is it doesn't matter we're still nowhere near the 40 for $100 asking price yeah you heard that right he wants over 4 thousand US dollars for this system plus shipping mind you so it clearly isn't just one overpriced PC on place custom peers it seems as though most if not all of these systems are egregiously marked up but why probably because he's moving inventory at this rate if he wasn't selling these pcs he'd be forced to lowers prices to move inventory and I find that to be disappointing it means folks are actually paying way more than they should for hardware that's just been screwed into a case you don't need a college degree from a freaking Ivy League school to be able to build a computer you don't even need a high school diploma you don't even need to graduate can you even graduate middle school it's freaking easy kids do it all the time the hardest part is probably the compatibility you can google that or maybe it's the part where you're supposed to price out components so you know what's the best buy for the buck seems as though a few folks skipped that memo and paid the price literally at this blaze site do they deserve it for not doing what little due diligence was required maybe that's an ethical question for you to decide but it doesn't mean I won't call out insane asking prices when I see them and funny thing is the seller lists a business address on his website that forwards to a UPS Store so there doesn't appear to be a brick-and-mortar of any kind not that he would need one I'm not gonna show the business address here I don't this guy being harassed it's not the point of this video but still I traced the nearest micro Center from this location and discovered that it isn't very far from this address so the Builder may just be hauling purchased parts from good ol MC in exchange for the occasional hefty profit and Micro Center would be one of the best places to profit on PC parts listen to me folks in the northern Ohio area especially if you live near a micro Center there is absolutely no excuse for overpaying by this much for a PC you're in heaven I'd kill to have an MC with within a few hours of me I need to drive over six hours to get to one from my house here in Florida you can find great CPU and motherboard combo deals discounts on peripherals Ram and more it is seriously a dream I honestly think it's smart that the buyers sourcing components from here especially if he wants to maximize profit but by doing so and by overcharging by hundreds or sometimes even thousands of dollars I think that is just disgusting and I'm assuming he's going to my Crescenta for at least some of these parts why wouldn't you right but what I don't think is smart again charging a $500 premium for this PC over $1000 premium for this one also something's got to be done about this insane flat rate shipping charge unless it shows up to my door in a crate I'd say you're overpaying at $250 for shipping a PC other retailers managed to ship for around a hundred bucks this is domestic we're talking about Hawaii and Alaska exceptions and then shipping overseas forget it but but within the lower continuous 48 that this that's that's pretty expensive I I don't pay anywhere near that for a PC case and a heavy PC case still wouldn't cost anywhere near $250 to ship I get that he's a small business doesn't have the the contracts with the shipping companies but still it's a fatal blow in my piñon on top of the price which is already a fatal blow if you guys like this video let me know by clicking the thumbs up button I appreciate that consider clicking the subscribe button if you haven't already slammed that Bell icon for me that'd be a huge solid I'd appreciate that and stay tuned for more my name's Greg thanks for cringing with me\n"