Buying A Discount Computer
I've been operating a discount computer store for over three years now — long enough to know, and relay to you, how the business works. When most folks go shopping for discount computers they bring a certain leeriness with them. You see, no one looks for a cheap computer. They look for the cheapest computer. They don't really want the cheapest computer offered — only a sucker would want that. What they really want is a discount computer that is worth much more than it's sticker price.
People are constantly on the lookout for the best deal you see, and will go far and wide to find one. Even though computer discounts change daily and something new will go on sale tomorrow, they stubbornly hold onto the belief that they can find the perfect deal. A little secret: The key to running a successful discount computer store is to let them continue to think that.
The Discount Computer Reality
You see, there is a truism about the discount computer industry that no one shopping for computers wants to admit. Realistically, no matter how great a deal you get today, there will always be a better deal tomorrow.
You can get a great discount computer deal. Particularly if you're willing to buy from a local distributor who doesn't have the enormous advertising overhead that companies like Dell have. But you need to realize that you can't stay ahead of the curve when buying a cheap computer. Computer technology gets better all the time and the only way to keep up with the Joneses is to wait 'til they buy a computer, then buy yours.
This fact drives many people nuts when they shop for discount computers. I recently had a customer that was looking for a discount laptop computer, so I gave him one of the best deals that we'd had in months. Nevertheless, a week later he came into the shop fuming. It turns out, he had found that same discount computer on sale out of town for about $100 less. Although I tried to explain to him that this was not an unusual occurrence in the discount computer market, he wouldn't have it. Can you believe that he felt like I had personally betrayed him? He didn't want to believe the most basic reality of the discount computer market.
The Best Discount Computer Deal?
No matter how hard I try to explain to people, they resist. When folks want to get the best deal, they can be extremely stubborn about their money. And not many of them understand that there is no such thing as "the best deal" in the highly competitive discount computer industry.