Lloyd E Parsons wrote in
:

On 10/17/11 11:59 AM, RD Sandman wrote:
. net wrote in
:



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


"Lloyd E 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arise as the hardware is superseded by newer tech.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....

Back when, it was that way. Now most of the little mom and pop shops
depend on their service business to make a living as sales at the
current profit margins, aren't where it is at.

Yes, it was the same way back when, but that wasn't what was being
discussed was it.

And getting a good salesman is tough when they can't make good
commissions.

Most of the ones that I knew didn't have a separate marketing entity. It
was owner-do-all with maybe a couple of shop people or someone to go on
site.


--
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.....