"Scout" wrote in
:



"Lloyd E Parsons" wrote in message
...
On 10/16/11 10:20 PM, Scout wrote:


"Lloyd E Parsons" wrote in message
...
On 10/16/11 4:16 PM, Howard Brazee wrote:
On Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:51:55 -0400, "Scout"
wrote:

Quite a few people make a living supplying people with such
systems customized to their specific desires.

Most of my computers have been those. But the local stores that
made my computers have all closed and not been replaced.

True, it's largely moved to mail order since that way you don't
have the
overhead of a store front, or if you do maintain a store front,
it's just to
pick up the occasional sale while you're processing the bulk of
your business through internet orders.

Face to face contact was good at finding out what my needs and
wants really were. Having a clone shop by mail order is as
personalized as having a big name computer by mail order.

I'd have to agree. And honestly, if that mail order clone shop is
cheaper on a per configuration basis, than most of the big names,
I'd be running away from them. It just isn't all that much cheaper
to buy the parts and put them together properly than it is to buy
ready made, UNLESS the shop has really cheap labor or doesn't
factor that in.

No, actually it is cheaper. It doesn't take very long to assemble a
computer, and properly done you easily undercut the names by
selective buying. Because the names don't get the discounts that
arise as the hardware is superseded by newer tech. A computer
they've had sitting in the warehouse for a year is not worth nearly
as much as it was a year ago, but they've already paid the higher
price for the hardware. A local supplier doesn't have this problem
because they have a much quicker supply turnover and thus they don't
lose the value in hardware at nearly the rate as the big players do.
Plus the small supplier can take advantage of price breaks, sales,
discounts, and so on, while the brand guys are limited in their
ability to change the hardware configuration at the drop of a hat.

Having been in the business for many years, I call bull**** on your
little story here.

The big boys buy in such massive quantities that they can buy current
stuff for what the little guy pays for the last cycle of parts. And
then have them built in factories with such cheap labor that any US
builder can't even come close to matching. Labor far, far less than
minimum wage here.

In the end, they sell for less than the little guy that values his
labor at all.

Odd, I've done it and even figuring my labor at $30/hr I could still
provide equal hardware at a lower price, or better hardware at the
same price and tuned to the customers exact requirements rather than
some cookie cutter. Plus I know several people who make a living out
of doing this and oddly enough they seem to be making a pretty decent
living at it.

That depends on the hardware. For example, I'm not in the PC business
anymore but on modems, routers, etc.. a person can go to a Best Buy and
get one for less than the computer shop owner pays for it. Where the
shop owner shines is in custom building. When certain configurations are
built to fill a particular niche for a particular customer. At least
that is how it was....way back when....

--
Sleep well tonight.........RD (The Sandman)

Witnessing Republicans and Democrats bickering over
the National Debt is like watching two drunks argue
over a bar bill on the Titanic.....