Comments on: Dell's dilemma--it's about pricing

As the company forecasts an earnings slip, bargain PC makers are making steady gains in market share.

[Roman12]

it's about pricing

Somewhat because, Dell still uses Intel ONLY chips in all their computers. And Dell's competition began using ADM chips in many of their products as AMD gained marketshare. And we all know that AMD chips are less expansive on average then Intel.
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[Ucidalin]

It's all about the Pentiums Baby!!!

Dell will continue to have higher selling prices until the start using AMD Athlon XP and 64 processors. Intel is falling farther behind and is still more costly than its AMD competitors.
I remember back in the late 80's early 90's when Dell only made top of the line custom PC's only comparable today to Alienware's. Hey need to get a better deal from Intel on there Intel only market if they want to continue on this same road.
Instead Dell uses the sub-class Celeron and Centreno Pentium processors to compete with the XP and 64. These might compete with the Durons, but how often do you seen systems with Duron processors?
Don?t get me wrong Intel makes a good processor, but I prefer more bang for my buck.

amd's you mean

I agree with everything you said, except I dont care a lick for Intel...their company has become old, stale and way overpriced...they have too much of the retailers whipped (hence the monopoly charges currently being investigated against Intel) and a few too many zombie buyers..."I dont know what the difference is between intel and amd, but I saw some guys in blue on tv for an intel ad, so that must be the one to buy" type of mentality. Price/performance for price/performance and segment level for segment level, at this time there is not an intel that can touch an amd.

[Jerry Dawson]

AMD vs Intel

I build and sell computers, and the whole AMD vs Intel issue is actually very complex. However, in a competitive market I think it is quite wrong for Dell not to offer their customers the choice - I would never dare to do that - and one would hope that their poorly thought out strategy backfires on them... (which may well turn out to be the case it seems).

[dhdoyle]

It's about service!

I have two Dells in my home, and our small business is all Dell. Their customer service has gone into the tank. They have problems with their Inspiron notebooks overheating and burning up. They won't service damaged components or fix the problems out of warrantee.

They're stalling on replacing defective GX270 motherboards to corporate clients. Feel free to search on either issue.

Meanwhile, customer service surveys show that Dell's satisfaction is in a slide:
http://www.computerworld.com/hardwaretopics/hardware/story/0,10801,103959,00.html

"Study: Dell customer rating plunges; Apple leads pack. Customer service, not products, were source of dissatisfaction for Dell"
News Story by Tom Krazit
AUGUST 16, 2005 (IDG NEWS SERVICE)

And Price

You're right Dave service is lousy, I know from experience.Their price is also to hi for what you get especially for those who want just an "Internet computer" where you don't need a lot of horsepower.
Although Dell has made some good deals as of late,It still needs to do MUCH better on service.

[sr71000]

amd or intel

that's all relative to what you plan to do. Also, the next level intel processors are looking to "spank" amd processors for lack of a better term. Like it's always been...these companies will go back and forth, at times amd being faster and cheeper, at times intel being cheeper and/or faster. For now..i'm an amd fanboy myself, but soon the tables may turn...remember not to become a mindless amd zombie because they won't be on top forever :) no one is!!

[sr71000]

whoops

sorry....i keep replying to story instead of post..so it comes up in the wrong spot...my bad

[Jared White]

Losing reason to buy

I think Dell's biggest problem is that they're losing their game.
Other PC companies are often cheaper, and other companies --
especially Apple -- are riding innovation highs that Dell just can't
match. Dell has also gained a reputation for mediocre service and
slipping build quality.

Methinks they need to spend some time figuring out just what
"Dell" is all about.

[Stating]

Cheap Is As Cheap Does

I've had nothing but problems since the day I bought a cheaper HP Pavilion laptop from CompUSA which required two trips to the repair depot. It is now out of warranty so I must live with the random screen flicker and an AC adapter that sparks when plugged/unplugged. The cooling fan runs constantly, and is louder than a hairdryer -- a constant reminder that I should have bought a Dell. What do you call this laptop? A piece of ****.

A friend of mine recently bought a Gateway laptop. It wasn't exactly cheap at over $1,200. But what do you call a laptop only a few months old that has the key labels wearing off already? A piece of ****.

A customer of mine recently bought a Compaq Presario 2218RS. The laptop was only 1 day old when the power LED light stopped working. He didn't want the hassle of having to box everything up, take it back to Radio Shack, get another one, and redo all his customizations. He decided he will just live with it. What do you call this laptop? A piece of ****.

Dell should run an ad campaign with the slogan, "I should have bought a Dell." I will do the commercial for them for free.

[zaznet]

Dude, you should have bought a Dell!

That's a good come back slogan. I think their "Dude your getting a Dell" slogan really worked well, but they haven't had anything like that in a long time.

As for the warranty issues. You should have brought it back again stating how it is NOT yet fixed. If it's been returned to you within 30 days, you should be able to get them to re-repair it again for you.

I know it is a hassle, been there with an old Tandy monitor that just wouldn't work. I ended up with a brand new monitor after several months of sending it back. On the first ship out I lived without a monitor, but after that, I demanded they provide me with a temporary replacement while I waited for the repairs. It went out a total of 5 times before they stopped trying to fix it and just replaced the monitor.

For expensive purchases that you will not want to live without, use the in-store warrnty options if available. I've done this with the old PS2 and when it started to have issues was able to walk in to get a replacement unit. No long waits, no worries if it was going to break again in a couple months after a shody repair job.

[Earl Benser]

You certainly have.....

... very unlucky friends. Yours isn't all that good either. I bought HP
and Compaq and my PC machines all work very well. The power
LED's even work and the key labels are still good.

[zaznet]

The AMD Market shift...

AMD has been shifting to compete with Intel. For a long time they held a lower end and lower price market. Now they are competing on the top end and closer to the Intel price margin.

Filling the gap left behind now is Via. The current AMD products are faster and cheaper. The interesting thing is that the longer things stay that way, the more consumers assume it's always been that way.

[zaznet]

Buy a new Apple Mac?

We are seeing reports of Dell sliding and Apple picking up sales increases. Maybe some of Dell's market is going over to Apple. :)

This would be the other end of the market that was not focused on in the article. High-end, High-performance with good customer service and at a premium.

[Ahmad_Ali_84]

please all if any one can help me with this Q please aswer me as soon as you can i wish if now because i really need to know ..... again please


the Q is :- The market for PCs is in the mature (or late) stage of its product lifecycle. Within the context of this industry, would you characterize Dell?s current strategy as predominantly ?offensive? or ?defensive?? Explain your characterization and provide evidence?

wait for relplay
thank you