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I Might As Well Buy A New PC
“I might as well buy a new PC” is something that many Computer Technicians are hearing more and more these days. In the last few years, large retailers have started selling ultra cheap computers and many consumers are now opting to buy new computers rather than have them repaired.
It seems that computers are becoming disposable items but you dont have to lose money because of this, in fact, you can use it to make more money than you would have if you repaired their old computer.
Here are some things you can do to make money off this industry change:
Offer To Transfer Their Old Data
I usually say something like this:
“If you would like to go buy a new computer from Best Buy or Walmart, go for it. If you like, I can reinstall all of your software for you such as Microsoft Office and your Antivirus. I can also move all your old emails, favorites and contacts to the new computer. I would be happy to come around and help you unpack it, plug it all in and set it all up for you for $XXX”
One of two things that generally happens when you say something like this to your client who is looking at a new computer as a cheaper option. They either realize that a repair will be cheaper once you take into account all of the setup needed, or you remind them that someone will need to transfer their data and you will probably get the job to do so.
Be Their “Second Opinion” When Buying A New PC
When clients are looking at getting a new PC from a Big Box store, tell them that you would be happy to let them know whether what they are looking at good deal or not. This can have three main benefits:
- Your client feels you are “looking out for them” and making sure they get the best bang for their buck
- They may feel that they owe you and you will probably get the job to set it all up, transfer settings etc..
- You kind of “adopt” their PC in their minds since you were there from the start. There is a good chance they will use your services for any future issues the computer may have
Offer To Build A Similar PC
Sometimes a cheap computer at Best Buy or Walmart isn’t that good of a deal and you could build something similar for the same price or even cheaper. If you can, then you could possibly get the sale.
However, you should never build a computer with sub-standard parts to price match one of the bigbox companies because they can become a massive warranty liability costing you more than what you earned originally. It can also damage your reputation by selling a substandard computer that keeps failing. In some cases it is just not worth trying to match the bigbox stores but if you can build a good PC for a similar price then it might be worth considering.
Get Commercial Customers
As I mentioned in a previous article, commercial customers generally value uptime and reliability over price so they are less likely to go down to the local Walmart and buy one of these low cost computers. However, if they do buy one of these low cost machines, they are very likely to need their data transferred and the network settings configured to suit their setup. So, regardless of whether they buy a computer from you or a big box store, you are likely to get some work anyway.
Switch To High Value Services
There are many Computer Technicians who choose to specialize their skills in high end areas such as networks and servers. This generally makes them immune to what the big boys sell because the big boys cant sell high end experience.
The industry is always changing and you need to change with it. There is always money to be made but it changes its location. In this case, going from selling PCs or doing large repairs to setting up bigbox PCs. You can fight it and complain about it, or just tweak your marketing and make money. There was a technician on the Technibble forums who compared the computer industry to the video rental industry and said “Be Netflix, not Blockbuster”.
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This artical is so true but I still get the occasion I don’t have $400.00 to buy a new one. So I give the people the options on upgrades and so forth.
Also when a customer tells you this, they have just told you that the place almost no value in their computer system, which usually means it can be bought cheap. I get alot of my used machines this way to resell. Many are given to me, many I get in exchange for a data transfer or burning their docs folders onto a dvd. If it is old crap, I pass or offer to recycle it if there are any parts I can strip before passing it on for recycling. I am seeing people toss XP machines left and right and even a few vista machines
This article is true, and I don’t think these consumers will be upgrading soon. With price and performance of current technology, a cheap dual-core (or quad core) will last a while, and 3-4GB of RAM is becoming the standard from what I’ve seen. All in all, computer repair business will be booming as folks won’t feel the need to purchase a new system (next generation).
I have been getting the “I might as well just buy a new computer” response for quite some time now. I usually say, You have to weigh the “ACTUAL” costs involved. Most of the clients do not know how to or don’t want to move their data, email, photos favorites etc. etc. So the computer is half of the financial expense and installation/setup labor is almost as much as the pc cost. But now the clincher is, What hardware and software is not compatible with the new operating system? Did they check or know how to check? Yes, there’s XP mode, but most do not want to deal with it or the concept. Virtualization is mostly a tabu subject. Re-installing software and hardware is another issue; where are the program CDs, utility CDs? I have been doing the free “I’ll tell you if the new pc is a good deal or not.” I will even do some quick searches through the local stores/online, make a recommendation for them to purchase and still get the job for installations, transfers etc. I just hung up the phone with a client, while typing this, that I am doing that with right now. That is the 4th one in 2 days. They do feel that you are watching out for them and they do rely on you for follow-up service. The last such job turned into: “Ok, install my new computer, fix the power supply in my old PC and how about setting up a network in my home.” A $75 repair job turned into $500 job. I will do simple small app. installs to small bus. networking. That’s just my take.
In my town, the only other “big” place in town to get a computer is WalMart. We have no Office Depot, Best Buy, etc. I just shoot my customers straight when they talk about buying a new PC. I tell them that WalMart may have us beat by a few hundred, but the machines are of poor build quality and are bogged down to no end with bloatware. They usually see the light when I show them our Vostro desktop/laptops with way better build quality and ZERO bloat.
In addition to that, there’s the whole transferring data, delivery, setup, teaching, handling warranty work, and other services that we always do. We like to go the extra mile, and personally it makes me feel good inside that I genuinely helped someone. Good luck getting WalMart to do that. :P
this is true. when I told one my clients that replacement $200 motherboard for his toshiba is needed, he completely lost his interest. after a few weeks of not hearing from him, I gave him a call and learned that he already purchase one of those netbooks. reminded him about his toshiba, he said he’ll just drop off one day to pick it up not wanting to continue with the repair. its been 6 months now since then and I don’t think he’ll ever show up again.
Often when they make a comparison they are comparing a low price netbook against the repair charge. You usually have to relay this to them and when they then compair they fine a ‘real’ laptop is over £400!
My problem with copying data and implementing the “box box company” cheap computers is that they are usually junk quality. you know the customer will take the failure of their new cheap (insert big company name here) computer on the guy who set it up for them.
i would rather sell them quality equipment with proper versions of office in them, and hardware that does not fail in 6 months.(after the warranty dies)
seems good sence to lose a bit on the sale of quality and gain in the long run on a good rep and referrals.
I’ve done quite a few of these lately. but they were mostly with 5-6 year old laptops.
I give them a list of options/components to stay away from and even offer to go to purchase with them if our schedules agree.
I haven’t failed yet to get the job transferring the data.
Many of my customers have old PCs that do not have adequate processors or memory upgrade capability. I advise them to buy a new PC instead of investing in an old one.
I do go over the options with them and let them decide.
If they decide to purchase a new one, I help them with the selection to be sure they get one that is adequate for how they will use it. I also do the setup, file transfer and Windows 7 training. (99.9% of my customers are in an “over 55 community”, and not super computer savy, so they appreciate help in making these desisions).
A happy customer is how I get my business. I don’t advertise.
I agree with all of the above and want to add my 0.02 cents worth.
Who says that “big box” computers are of cheap build? Best buy currently sells a dual core, 4GB and 500GB eMachines Win7 computer for $350 to $380. Yeah, I know, eMachines….
Ladies and gentlemen, eMachines was bought by Gateway which then was bought by Acer. You can buy the exact same machine labeled Gateway with a slightly different front bezel for $50 more and again the same hardware with yet another front bezel labeled Acer for another $50 more. Where is the “cheap build” argument now?
What I try to make my customers understand is that computers are mass produced items with certain failure rates and ought to be exchanged every three to five years because of the technical progress.
I hardly do hardware repair anymore at all, no money there. And I’d have a bad conscience to have a customer invest $200 to $300 in an overhaul of a five to seven years old XP machine and then they still would have an “old clunker”. I compare this against having a new, much faster Win7 machine for $550 to $600 total. 95% of the customers admit that they “had that feeling” anyway and opt for a new one. And I do have the clean up, install and data transfer jobs!
When someone tells me they might as well buy a new computer at a big box store I tell them about the longer warranty I can give them because of buying quality parts that come with the longer manufacture’s warranty (3 years for most parts except CD/DVD drives). I don’t give 3 years but usually 18 to 24 months.
If a person isn’t into gaming or video production an older computer is fine for using the Internet and word processing.
I also have customers who realize that throwing a PC away is just adding to the pollution problem.
if the customer is still not convinced he or she shouldn’t buy a cheap computer I’ll offer to transfer data and set the system up.
If the customer decides they need a new computer I offer to find them a good, cheap one. Then I do the initial setup process, remove all the bloatware, install all the updates, and a free AV. All of the above is rolled into the final cost of the computer that I sell to the customer ($80 above the price I got it for). I then offer to install the computer onsite and transfer the customers data for another $80.
Whenever someone comes into the shop looking for a new pc, we always make sure they leave with a business card and tell them that if they need some help decoding a pc’s specs then to give us a call. Even if they don’t buy the machine from us, they usually come back later for a virus removal or something
I hear that but put the customer back inline..Lets say Hard Drive is bad.. I charge $150 for new hard drive 3 year warranty with OS installed… if the customer wants there data backed up that is a additional $50..If they want a Antivirus that is another $50..that is a total of $250…”I Can buy a new computer for that” i always get that..This is what I Say..WHERE please tell me becuase if you can ill be buying them up to resell..U now confused the customer and explain…Go get your new computer then tack on a Antivirus (at best buy add $150) and add on a data Transfer ($100 @ best Buy) So now that $300 machine is costing them $550 VS $250..They are saving $300.. and I am making $150 PROFIT off that computer..Not bad for Installing a hard drive, Installing a OS, Installing a AV, and transferring data.. Will Take me 2 Hours MAX to do all that $75 a hour!… NOW if the customer wants me to build a machine from me i mark the machine up $200 but I Include a Data Transfer, AV, and free priority srvc for 1 year.. Along with a 3 year warranty on most of the parts because I only use high quality parts…NOW they thing they have free priority and they do BUTTTT 90% of there computer problems wont be covered by a warranty (no parts bad) they either have a virus or it is software related not my company’s fault and they have ti pay!!!..Just my 2Cents
Hey Ronald, my local BestBuy sells antivirus installed for $59. Your BestBuy is ripping people off.
If you are finding yourselves in this situation, you need to explain articulately that the cost of a new pc is NOT the be all end all part of the total cost of ownership of a pc.
I offer to get the pc for them, deliver it, set it up and transfer the data. After going over all the costs and explaining that I can select the most economical computer that meets their needs and help them avoid the sales and all the extras they try to package on, most of the time they go for it and I make more than twice as much as if i repaired it and they get a good safe easy deal. I mark up 20% and extra labor charges
win – win
New software is another thing that can add $$$’s to a new PC.
When you add on MS Office, antivirus etc it really adds up.
Plus there is always some little program that they can’t do without which stopped being made (and they have no CD) years ago!
I have little trouble with this.
First I point out that most of the ultra low cost PCs are aimed at home/student/disposable use (I only deal with businesses) and that the PCs I offer, all of the parts are Warranted by their manufacturers for 3 years or in the case of Kingston RAM, lifetime. I choose such parts because my customers cannot afford failures, even those covered by warranty – lost time, labor, data etc add up.
I produce a list of parts showing the alternatives for each component and costs of each (eg Intel’s desktop CPUs, Intel’s Motherboards etc). In the example I go directly to the appropriate range – eg Executive series and suggest a particular board. If they ask about a “value” product I explain the difference and point out that although Intel is a high end name brand, even they have lower end products that provide lesser performance.
Key: point out that often the cheaper products are already “older”; that the difference is lower performance for the whole life of the product and a shorter interval until a replacement is needed. A cheap motherboard is often more expensive since the user will need replacement sooner.
Finally I remind them that often a new CPU and Chipset version will yield 40% speed improvement and 40% lower power consumption. Compound 2-3 of these in sequence and the performance and quality difference between older designs and newer ones is dramatic.
My recommendation is to go with current, high quality, built to order PCs, and get the maximum life from them.
Finally, if they really can only afford $500, better than a poor quality full PC or laptop, I suggest a current top quality Netbook that prices out in that range, such as the Lenovo S10 series.
Look, honestly, there is NOTHING wrong with a cheap e-Machines computer. Basically for the *average* normal office worker or stay at home dad/mom browsing the internet they won’t notice a difference.
But, in 99.5% of almost all cases of repair by these cheap brown box machines, is the power supply. For $40 bucks you can pick up a new case, and a new power supply, spend 1 hour putting all the old hardware back in the new case, and wallah! Brand new computer. Charge $250 bucks and walk away happy.
hi i get p42.4-p4 3.0 machines given to me put a 80 gb hard drive and 1gb ram and sell them on for £80 each for the tower