Dell and Walmart

[Jokerswild]

Looks like Dell can't take the heat of the competition online and is moving into retail stores now.

X-bit labs - Dell Set to Sell Computers through Retail Chains.

[DeanOlicious]

Haha, sweet, their quality will soon be right on par with Compaq and Emachines now.

[Pete]

Thats a good idea. I mean, people that don't have computers cant buy computers online right?

[Jokerswild]

Originally Posted by TTPete

Thats a good idea. I mean, people that don't have computers cant buy computers online right?

Thats true but so much of Dell's business is with business that I'm a little surprised by this move. They kept their business help lines in the U.S. while moving their general customers help to India a few years ago which made quite a few customers unhappy. Along with a Linux based computer which is also going on sale it's looking like they are starting to realize that business isn't their only customer.

[Hitman]

Honey, run to Walmart, pick me up a 6 pack of beer, a pack of cigarettes, some HoHo's, a Dell and some Skype Minutes.

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Walmart eh? Well, they'll get some more business I guess.

They've been amazingly successful for a site based online only.

[[Dr. V]]

It seemed like DELL needed to, sooner or later, take this stepping stone towards a larger success. HP is whooping EVERYONE'S asses to the floor with sales and all that jazz. They're simply the best right now - and their quality isn't bad at all either! I'm compelled one of these days to go grab an HP Computer REALLY cheap with 2GB RAM, E6(3/4)20, an insane 500GB hard drive or something and just move everything to a different case. That's, in most cases, cheaper than buying all the parts separately, and you still get to say you built it!

HELLO! SCORE!

HP is murdering all its competition BECAUSE they're in retail stores. DELL saw this drawback at their company, and finally decided to make something of it. This is going to bring a new level of success rate to DELL, let me tell you know. They could be more popular than HP, if you guys can level with me on that one, but HP has more sales because they are the widest available, and probably best price-for-performance value out there - definitely better than (again) buying individual parts. Heck, you can get an HP system AND an Antec P182 together for the price of the hardware alone elsewhere (thats an example, but it might be true!).

It's clear why HP is the leader right now. DELL knows and has known for a long time. Time to do something about it!

BTW - I really like the look of the new black HP cases they were showcasing recently! Finally > black! No more silver and blue...I do however not mind their straight silver look whatsoever.

[DeanOlicious]

Yup, I used to do tech support for Dell on their Dimension line (hated that job) and they always pushed the fact that their sales model is built on customization. I'm guessing this has changed as the gradually realized they could put out a lot of cheap machines that still give the average user good performance with wider distribution. The average user really doesn't know much more beyond "Can I use youtube, bearshare and play solitaire?" The customers that want customization will still use the website or the phone line, but there will be a BIG increase in sales for the mom and dad consumers.

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Right you are. Spending two years at the Dell forums gave me hell. Most people ended up buying the base Dimension 2400s and expected it to play games.

[Jokerswild]

Yea there's lots of people that buy into Dell thinking their getting the best and then find out that they got ripped.