Originally posted by: dickie1900
I think this is a ridiculous argument. You say that it's important to find a no-name dealer that does quality work. The bottom line is that if it's not DIY you have to pay for LABOR. You're paying someone else to put the machine together for you. Considering this, the big name pre-built companies (AW, DELL, etc.) have a huge advantage, because they order in bulk (and I'm talking REAL bulk, not just 25 units of something) which gets them the better prices so they don't have to charge as much as the mini-vendors do for a complete pre-built system. There's no competition.
What in the world are you going on about? Do you think that the advertising that Dell does in all of the big-name print publications, tv ad spots, etc., are somehow FREE???
It's called "overhead", and the smaller white-box vendors have much less of it.
Plus, if you did the build yourself, you're spending YOUR time - is your time free? If you're not doing the build for yourself, but for a client - a good white-box builder can definately be your ally. (As well as your competitor, if you are both selling retail pre-built systems to clients, but we won't go there for now.)
The better vendors stock quality parts, and instead of going to NewEgg and picking out the parts, you go to them and pick out the parts that go into your system. Guess where NewEgg gets those parts? Guess where your white-box dealer gets those parts? The same place - because they are the same parts. Sure, NewEgg probably has a bit more purchasing power, but they're also applying a markup on *every* part, not to mention having to pay shipping. When you buy a pre-built system from a white-box dealer, they generally do a small bulk mark-up of all of the parts that are included, and then add in a fee for labor + testing the build. Altogether, assuming that you find a place that does decent work, you'll get the
same parts that you would with a DIY build, with
less hassle, and still a
competitive price. (Now, I'm not arguing that such a thing is superior to a DIY build totally - most of us at least partially enjoy the build process - buy if you've already decided NOT to go the DIY route, a good white-box vendor can be quite competitive on both price, component-quality, and warranty service to companies like Dell, and in many cases much superior to some lesser-build brand-names like HP and Compaq, etc.)
Originally posted by: dickie1900
And if you get DOA equipment, you can do the same thing the retailer would do, ship it back to the manufacturer and say WTF!! That's what warranties are for.
Yes, but isn't a short trip to your
local white-box vendor, for a quick test and component swap, much quicker and much less of a hassle, then having to do the RMA yourself?
I at least still find value in purchasing components locally, for things like RAM and motherboards. If something fails, I can get an immediate replacement, without worrying about how long I'll have to wait for the RMA process through the mail.
It's sad to watch the decline of the local "computer shows" though, with the rise of computer component sales on the internet, and the cut-throat pricing. I used to work for one of the larger (and IMHO better) vendors for over two years doing shows on the weekends. You get to know most of the other vendors, some of them had been doing that gig for 10 or 15 years even, and some of them, well, you'd see them once, and then they would be gone. Better yet, sometimes there would be "leftovers", mostly from the vendors that did system builds at the show, and some of the sellers of used junk. Picked up free RAM, HDs, mobos, CRTs, asst screw packets, you name it. Dell is like the Wal-Mart of the computer industry though, and it's hard to compete against it, especially when potential customers aren't even aware of the (oftentimes local) alternatives.