NMVe drive replacement questions

[sapphirescales]

Customer: "Can we get a better graphics card for this machine?" or "Can we put in an extra storage disk in this machine?" or "Can I add a third monitor?" Me: "Well....it's not as simple as you think."

And that's when I tell them about custom builds. Even business class computers are crap nowadays full of proprietary components and very limited upgrade potential. Just sold 2x custom built computers to a small business. They wanted 2x monitors but the integrated ports kept flaking out on them so they brought them in for a graphics card upgrade. Nope. Not even a slot for a PCI-e x16. 2 days later I built them a pair of Ryzen 3 systems with tempered glass side panels, good quality power supplies, etc. They couldn't be happier.

 

[InHomeComputerHelp.com]

And that's when I tell them about custom builds. Even business class computers are crap nowadays full of proprietary components and very limited upgrade potential. Just sold 2x custom built computers to a small business. They wanted 2x monitors but the integrated ports kept flaking out on them so they brought them in for a graphics card upgrade. Nope. Not even a slot for a PCI-e x16. 2 days later I built them a pair of Ryzen 3 systems with tempered glass side panels, good quality power supplies, etc. They couldn't be happier.

If I may ask what did you charge for that?

Rick

 

[sapphirescales]

If I may ask what did you charge for that?

$1,499 per computer. Parts cost a total of around $500 including a Windows 10 license.

- $55 - Motherboard
- $100 - CPU
- $40 - RAM
- $55 - Case
- $75 - Power Supply
- $45 - SSD
- $129 - Windows 10 license

I also sold them 4x new monitors for $169 apiece (my cost was $100) and 2x wireless mouse and keyboard sets for $99 apiece (my cost was $40). $2,400 in profit and they've got 2 amazing computers that will last them half a decade. And when something does go wrong with the computer, it'll be cheap and easy to fix and/or upgrade them.

You need to start pushing repairable products to your customers otherwise you won't have anything to repair in the future. I've been doing this for years now. You won't find a client of mine with a crapbox. If their budget is limited, then I sell them something refurbished. I refuse to sell anything that's disposable. I just wish more techs did this. It needs to become common knowledge that all this shiny crap is just that - crap.

 

[Haole Boy]

$1,499 per computer

Most of my customers won't pay $499 for a computer.... :-(

 

[sapphirescales]

Most of my customers won't pay $499 for a computer.... :-(

If they pay for crap they get crap. End of story. Tell them that in no uncertain terms. I get potential clients that don't want to spend crap on a computer all the time, and I'm able to convince them to spend what it takes 90% of the time. It just takes time/dedication to explain things to them and convince them. I don't just crap out a high number and get instant takers unless it's a past client that I've already converted.

 

[britechguy]

@sapphirescales,

Your opinion of what constitutes "crap" is not what's important. What's important is what a given client is willing to spend. And you can get plenty of way more than adequate laptops for daily use in non-processing-intensive environments for under $500, new.

Not everyone needs, nor wants, a business class computer.

 

[lan101]

Most of my customers won't pay $499 for a computer.... :-(

For these types what I try to do is just give them the minimum price that is acceptable in the refurbished business market...(I usually say somewhere around $450-$500). I then say if that's not in your price bracket there's not much I can do but if you want to give me your email address I'll see if there's anything out there and send it your way.

Then later on when I get time I'll send them over a link or 2 maybe from ebay/amazon and tell them this is decent for the money etc etc.
Then I just say call me if you need help setting anything up etc.

This way even if they are cheap or have no money etc...I can still get a piece of the pie potentially and not come off looking like an a-hole in their eyes. A few times I've even gotten good clients from these types lol...so you just never know sometimes.

 

[sapphirescales]

Your opinion

It's not an "opinion." The crap boxes with all proprietary components made with the cheapest crap on the market that might last a year or two at best are objectively crap. Get with the times. Cheap computers used to be adequate for the vast majority of consumers (and even small businesses), but it hasn't been like that for 3+ years now. If the computer is basically a disposable paper bag when it comes to upgradeability and reparability and the thing only lasts 12-18 months, it's crap.

Nobody is going to argue that IKEA furniture isn't crap. People buy it because it's cheap, not because it's good quality. So long as people understand what they're getting and make an informed decision, that's fine with me. The problem is, people aren't aware that what they're buying is crap when they buy a cheap computer. To them cheap = basic needs, not cheap = crap. Unfortunately they don't make a basic computer that's affordable and actually good quality anymore.

 

[Porthos]

Not everyone needs, nor wants, a business class computer.

Just a thought here. Directed to those who service businesses. How many business-class computers come in needing hardware repairs?
Everything I see is software issues unless someone cracks a screen or spills something on it.
Desktops only the usual HD failure.

 

[britechguy]

It's not an "opinion."

It is an opinion, and an incorrect one.

I never said, and am not saying, there are not computers out there that are pure garbage. But there are lots of computers out there for $500 and under that can and would get your average home user many years of use. I see a lot of those on a regular basis and, in reference to @Porthos's question about business class computers, that's mirrored mine on consumer class, too.

The most common hardware failure is either a screen (laptops, usually) or a HDD. I don't actually see spills all that frequently at all, though they do occur every once in a blue moon.

 

[sapphirescales]

It is an opinion, and an incorrect one.

You're not in my market. I'd say 80% of the computers I get in are less than 2 years old. The failures range from screen issues (like lines through the screen, not cracks or physical damage) to bad motherboards to failing hard drives and SSDs. Your clients haven't bought these new crap boxes yet. They're probably poorer and are still using 3+ year old systems. Just because a $500 computer was relatively decent quality 3+ years ago doesn't mean they're decent quality today.

Quality has taken a HUGE nose-dive, even in business class. I just bought a lot of Dell Latitude 7490's. Half of them have dead/expanded batteries and other hardware problems. I'm working with my supplier now to remedy the situation but they're frustrated too because the newer stuff is just crap. On a side note, I also bought a lot of E5550's and E7450's from them (these are a few years older than the 7490's) and they're all 100% perfect. The 2 year old 7490's are absolute crap. I really don't know what the heck I'm going to do going forward. You can't custom build a laptop.

 

[Porthos]

Quality has taken a HUGE nose-dive, even in business class.

I agree there. I like the older business class. Generally, the Win 8 generation is pretty well made. I5 or better.

 

[SAFCasper]

$1,499 per computer. Parts cost a total of around $500 including a Windows 10 license.

- $55 - Motherboard
- $100 - CPU
- $40 - RAM
- $55 - Case
- $75 - Power Supply
- $45 - SSD
- $129 - Windows 10 license

I also sold them 4x new monitors for $169 apiece (my cost was $100) and 2x wireless mouse and keyboard sets for $99 apiece (my cost was $40). $2,400 in profit and they've got 2 amazing computers that will last them half a decade. And when something does go wrong with the computer, it'll be cheap and easy to fix and/or upgrade them.

You need to start pushing repairable products to your customers otherwise you won't have anything to repair in the future. I've been doing this for years now. You won't find a client of mine with a crapbox. If their budget is limited, then I sell them something refurbished. I refuse to sell anything that's disposable. I just wish more techs did this. It needs to become common knowledge that all this shiny crap is just that - crap.

If this were me and the client willing to spend $1,500 I would go completely the opposite direction.

Something like a Dell Precision tower with i7, 16GB RAM, 512 SSD, W10 Pro and most importantly a 5yr on-site warranty. Cost to us would be somewhere just under £1,000. Sell that on for £1,150 (which is roughly $1,500) and walk away very happy.

I get £150+ profit for doing practically nothing but place the order. Client gets a top spec machine. And neither of us have to worry about a thing for the next 5 years. And yes, they are easily upgradeable even with a GPU.

However, we do this because it suits our business plan. Hardware sales and repairs aren't how we make our money. Our business plan focuses around MSP support contracts and other add-on services. We want everything as stable, standardized and minimal effort as possible. An ideal month is getting zero calls or tickets from a managed client. They still pay that support contract either way.

So when you say "otherwise you won't have anything to repair in the future"
I say we don't want anything to repair in the future.
5yr warranty ends - replace it. Or keep running until it fails then replace it.

So yea, not saying you are wrong. Just offering a different perspective.

 

[sapphirescales]

@SAFCasper In my experience, if you build a custom right it's very rare that a client will have a problem. That being said, if I have to replace a board for $55 later down the road, it's cheap and easy for me to do so. I made $800 more on a system like this vs. the Dell in your example so I can afford a $55 expense (not including labor of course) to replace a board if it dies later down the road.

Of course, if a client needed the specs of the Precision then it's hard to beat the specs per dollar of a machine like that. To custom build a system similar to that I would charge a minimum of $2,000, which is $500 more than the Dell. But most of my clients don't need i7 processors or a ton of RAM. Reliability is their #1 concern.

It depends on how large the client is though. I'm not going to deploy hundreds or even dozens of custom builds in most cases because lead time is way too long. You can't beat the simplicity of just ordering a complete, pre-assembled system. But most of my clients are very small (5 systems or less). I don't like large clients and avoid them whenever possible. My biggest client right now is a client I picked up back when they only had 2 employees and 2 computers. Now they've got over 500 systems across 7 states and they're in love with my custom builds.

Any time they have a hardware problem (which is rare with my custom builds, but with 500 systems it's not unheard of) in one of their other out of state locations I have to call up someone local to go out and deal with it. I've tried to switch them over to Dell business class systems, but 5 out of the 25 or so systems I've sold them so far have had problems in the last year. They're under warranty, but my client is NOT happy with them and has said that they won't accept anything except one of my custom builds from now on. I can't blame them seeing as they don't normally have 5 failures a year out of the 500 customs I've deployed. I just sold them 5 more systems about a week ago (Ryzen 3, 500GB SSD, 32GB RAM (they like to keep a LOT of tabs open)). Shipped them out and they just got them yesterday. A local tech they deal with is deploying them. It's not ideal, but they never complain about price and are very profitable so I keep them.

 

[SAFCasper]

That's some shockingly bad luck to have 5 out of 25 fail so early. Were they all similar faults? Wondering if you had a bad batch all from the same production line.