Dell branded vs Store Branded

[datwater]

I work at a startup company with a retail storefront and onsite and inhouse pc repair, networking, etc. The owner has us set up to sell Dell systems which is ok, I guess, as I'm sure it does bring in some amount of business. I've always worked in places which sell their own custom whiteboxes, however, and this is an adjustment for me. He recently mentioned wanting to put together a gaming system, and mentioned the possibility of going white box on it. I quoted up a few different configurations and ran the numbers by him. Then he took those specs I had, and ran them through Dell's site to get a quote from our rep on custom Dells with those specs. Ugh.

I think it really comes down to - what will sell. If you were in the market for a gaming pc (and couldn't build your own), would you be more prone to buying a Dell branded gaming pc, or a custom built machine from a local retailer, and why?

This one is really bothering me - and I'm not sure why - but I guess it comes down to what the average gamer wants, not what my boss, or myself wants to sell.

Thanks for your time.

 

[RossMAN]

I think hardcore gamers who know what they want (AT'ers for example) would go for a local white box.

Otherwise general consumers would be more inclined to Dell, Gateway, Compaq, etc.

 

[ShellGuy]

My first thing if i coudln't build my own would be what type of warranty are you going to offer with your white box? I know what i can get with dells... If dell didnt' have the ability to give me what i wanted then i would get white box....

 

[cheesehead]

I'm a bit tired of being ass-fvcked by Dell support. I want to find whoever had the brilliant idea of working them for 16 hours a day, barely teaching them english, and using a god-awful phone connection, and shove a D600 up his nose.

Anyway...

I'd buy Asus barebones if you're going to be configuring them yourselves. If you buy them through a major retailer, you can simply get it swapped out with an identical barebones if it breaks under warranty, and do most of the other support yourselves. Although Asus makes excellent products, I've heard that the tech support is awful, so being able to deal with an intermediary reseller (like ZZF or Newegg) will make your life easier.

For customers who REALLY need reliable laptops (I.E. corporate suits) and have a spending accout to match, IBM/Lenovo's Thinkpad line is the way to go. HP's Evo line is nice (I own an Evo NC4010), but IBM's line has a rep for being just plain awesome. (I now only use Hitachi Travelstar hard drives, which are, conincidentally, the only type I know Lenovo to use.)

Selling refurb IBM's may also be extremely profitable. I've seen some resellers selling X40's with ULV Pentium-M's (1-1.2ghz) for about 1,000$. Assuming that you can buy a lot of, say, 10 for 900$ ea. (it's probbably less), and sell them for 1,200$, you're going to make a heap of cash, and IBM, from what I've heard, has good refurb warranties.

And yes, if you really want to know, I would love an X60.

....drools......

 

[andrewbabcock]

As a lazy consumer, i would almost say i would rather have a dell. The reason there is that dell commercially assembles computers and you get what you pay for. A local white-box almost seems unpredictable to me and i'd almost rather take the small risk of a dell because i probably won't have any problems with a dell. I've had 2 dells, both were completely problem-free. With Dell you know what your getting: this company got this big for a reason. Cheesehead flames dell on a daily basis without considering that fact that millions of consumers love dells because they just turn it on and it works. More-knowledgeable consumers also like it because they turn it on and it works but they also have the satisfaction of knowing that they can relatively easily switch out components down the line a few months. Lenono's build quality is a great option if you have deep pockets and don't mind not being able to change any components easily beyond ram. Dell has it figured out for everyone, as long as their computers work of course, and thats why they have had great commercial success.

 

[gclg2000]

Dirka Dirak Jihad

i like whities

 

[datwater]

Oops I miscategorized this poll. Was supposed to be in regards to a regular gaming rig - not small form factor or laptop or barebones. Oh well - thanks for your replies and input.

 

[Ayah]

I would go for a local whitebox if they offer what I want and build it nicely/cleanly.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
I'm a bit tired of being ass-fvcked by Dell support. I want to find whoever had the brilliant idea of working them for 16 hours a day, barely teaching them english, and using a god-awful phone connection, and shove a D600 up his nose.

Anyway...

I'd buy Asus barebones if you're going to be configuring them yourselves. If you buy them through a major retailer, you can simply get it swapped out with an identical barebones if it breaks under warranty, and do most of the other support yourselves. Although Asus makes excellent products, I've heard that the tech support is awful, so being able to deal with an intermediary reseller (like ZZF or Newegg) will make your life easier.

For customers who REALLY need reliable laptops (I.E. corporate suits) and have a spending accout to match, IBM/Lenovo's Thinkpad line is the way to go. HP's Evo line is nice (I own an Evo NC4010), but IBM's line has a rep for being just plain awesome. (I now only use Hitachi Travelstar hard drives, which are, conincidentally, the only type I know Lenovo to use.)

Selling refurb IBM's may also be extremely profitable. I've seen some resellers selling X40's with ULV Pentium-M's (1-1.2ghz) for about 1,000$. Assuming that you can buy a lot of, say, 10 for 900$ ea. (it's probbably less), and sell them for 1,200$, you're going to make a heap of cash, and IBM, from what I've heard, has good refurb warranties.

And yes, if you really want to know, I would love an X60.

....drools......

Dell's Gold Tech Support is actually quite good and U.S. based, but anyone who buys their baseline support is going to get crap support with it. The fact of the matter is that with nearly everything in electronics or computers, you get what you pay for. Sure Dell's are cheaper than Lenovo's, but you lose quality of the machine and quality of support in that price savings.

It is the same everywhere. Look at Wal-Mart. They strive to keep their prices the same or lower in spite of ever-increasing inflation and economies. So what happens? They tell manufacturers to save money by lowering the quality of their goods; take the metal widget and replace it with a plastic widget. Sure the product may fail sooner or perform less, but if the price is cheaper to the consumer who cares? Case in point: five years ago I bought a $2 pair of sandals from Wal-Mart. They were great, comfy, and sturdy. I wore them so much a hole started wearing through the bottom about a year ago (four years of use for $2). So I go to pickup another pair of sandals from Wal-Mart expecting the same quality sandal. These sandals are much cheaper feeling for the same price as I bought my original ones; they fell apart a few weeks later (I have big feet and abuse every product I own, what can I say). So I went back to my five year old $2 sandals and aside from the small hole in the bottom, they're doing great.

Sorry for the tangent, but people think that just because Dell drops prices left & right that you can get the same quality for a cheaper price. There's no such thing as a free lunch

 

[Octavarium]

I'd go for the custom one. Why? Because I always support "the underdog." Even if I did fully trust Dell, which I don't, I'd prefer they not get my money. If they continue to be the biggest player in the game, they'll get cocky, and start lowering standards. That is not something I want.

Henceforth, I buy the lower quality one. Besides, if the guy behind the desk made my computer, I can talk to him, and he'll know what to do. I don't need to call "Michael" (A.K.A. forced-to-rename-self Indian tech support) to have my problems fixed.

As it is, I make my own anyways ^_^