Computer Buying Guide

Part 1: Where to Buy a Computer

A Royal Geek Has Examined Your Old Computer. The Proclamation? Computer repairs on your old machine just aren't feasible. The Royal Geek dispatched to your home or office advises you to go out and buy a new computer instead.

Naturally you want the best deal possible. Do you go to your local computer store or go online?

Article date: October 5, 2007.

Article by: Howard Sherman, The King of All Geeks

Easy answer: Go online.

We're all fans of our local merchants and it's natural all of us to want to support our local merchants whenever possible. But the local computer stores around here just can't keep up with the insane pace of change in the computer world.

Therefore it is not in your best interests to purchase a new computer from your local computer store. You'll inevitably pay more for your next computer and probably end up with out-of-date technology.

Allow me to explain.

Just about 90 days ago Dell was selling a basic home computer for $399. That computer came with Vista Home Basic, a decent AMD CPU (not the fastest, far from the slowest), 512MB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive. The price was $399 plus tax and shipping. If you wanted to add a monitor to your new system that was extra.

Two days ago a brand new Dell arrived at our mail room. The total cost of the computer, including free shipping and sales tax, was $405.54. This computer comes with Windows XP Home Edition, an Intel dual core CPU @ 1.6 GHz, 1 GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive and included a 19" flat screen monitor.

In highly technical terms we call such an event a jaw-dropping deal.

Sadly, local computer stores can't come near that price. You'd be lucky if you could get the 19" monitor all by itself for less than $250.

Local computer store owners are finally seeing the handwriting on the wall; five local computer stores closed their doors within the past 18 months.

The few remaining stores out there are struggling to stay in business as they offer older products at higher prices.

What's happening to the little computer guy right now is the same exact thing that happened to the local Internet Service Provider during the late 1990s through the early 2000s; the little guy cannot compete on the scale of the big guy.

The big computer companies are slamming into the little computer stores like a speeding freight train plowing into a bicycle stuck on the railroad tracks.

It's history repeating itself.

The Internet Service Provider (ISP) industry was booming from 1995 and on through to the dawn of the new millennia.

The ISP industry had its own magazine, trade association, multiple trade shows, equipment vendors, software suppliers, and on and on.

All gone within five years. Practically in the blink of an eye.

What happened to the local ISPs is what's happening to the little computer stores right now; the big guys out there are offering superior products at lower prices in such a way that the little guy literally has no chance of survival.

The big boys have astonishing buying power which lets them move massive volume at candy-bar like prices. Did you ever notice that Dell or Gateway or Apple never runs a clearance sale? They don't have to; they make so many sales so quickly that overstock problems are non-existent. Inventory isn't sitting on their shelf long enough to gather dust.

The little old computer store needs to keep feather dusters and dust mops on continual standby.

I miss the old local ISPs. But they're gone now. They went the way of the dodo bird. The local computer stores are heading this way too.

I'll miss them in a sentimental kind of way. But the consumer should rejoice in the new-found freedom they enjoy thanks to ever-increasing purchasing power courtesy of Dell, Apple, etc.

The next time you're in the market for a new computer there's no sensible choice but to buy your next computer online. The only choice left to make, as I see it, is will your next computer run Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac OS X?

We'll discuss that in the next installment to this buyer's guide.


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