[ubuntu-uk] Ubuntu pre-installed computer prices

Rob Beard rob at esdelle.co.uk
Wed Mar 25 12:12:07 GMT 2009


On 25/03/2009 11:47, Eddie Bernard wrote:
> 2009/3/25 Rob Beard<rob at esdelle.co.uk>:
>    
>> On 25/03/2009 10:24, Jamie Bennett wrote:
>>      
>>> Rob Beard wrote:
>>>
>>>        
>>>>> I'm looking to offer a base unit, 2GHz dual core Celeron (E1400) with
>>>>> 2GB DDR2 PC2-6400 RAM, and a 150GB SATA hdd. Graphics, sound and
>>>>> ethernet are onboard. Like I said, I would install Ubuntu 8.10 (and,
>>>>> of course, ubuntu 9.04 when it's released!) and run through the
>>>>> update utility. I understand there are issues regarding selling a
>>>>> Ubuntu PC with non-free applications pre-installed (e.g. medibuntu)
>>>>> so I assume I will have to leave them off, but perhaps give advice
>>>>> to those who need it.
>>>>>            
>>>> Going on that spec I'd say maybe £250 to £300 would be fairly
>>>> reasonable (considering you'd need to make a bit of money on it).
>>>>          
>
> I'd be delighted if I could get away with that; either way though it's
> interesting you started the bidding, as it were, at a higher point
> than I anticipated. Which is a good sign, hopefully.
>
>    
>>> Let be honest though. A slightly higher spec model (250gb disk) with Vista will
>>> set you back £228.34 delivered (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159369) so without
>>> the licence of Vista one would expect a slightly lower price. Also the Dell
>>> offers that pop up now and again blow this price out of the water.
>>>        
>
> Do you think I might do better offering this machine with a 250GB
> drive? Just wondering how much space a customer might need these
> days...
>
> You're right, of course. It's exactly that machine you have referred
> to that makes me nervous about trying to sell an Ubuntu desktop (at my
> suggested spec) at anything above £230.
>
>    
You might be worth offering a 250GB drive if the cost difference isn't 
that much.  You'd be surprised these days how much space people use.  
Okay lots of people are different (I'm a heavy storage space user) but 
some people might want to import a CD collection or store a load of 
photos on their PC.
>> To give a comparison, I built a Phenom X4 system with 2GB Ram, 250GB
>> hard drive (onboard video and sound) for about £200 all in buying bits
>> from Aria.  I made about £15 on the system when I sold it on which
>> really didn't cover the build and testing time I spent on it.
>>      
>
> I think the market conditions are pretty difficult at the moment, too.
> Understandably, perhaps, but then again I would have thought if
> anything the lower end of the market would be attracting more
> customers trying to get a cheap PC. Or maybe people just aren't buying
> PCs at all right now. I know eBay is no great source of information on
> this, but if you look at the completed listings in the desktop
> section, you'll see dozens of PCs every day going unsold.
>
>    
Yep, I think a lot of people these days want laptops.  For some I think 
they just want laptops for the status symbol they think it carries (they 
don't take into account that they may be buying a really low spec over 
priced system) where as others will make proper use of having a portable 
machine.

Then again there are some people who are buying PCs, just doesn't seem 
to be many.  I guess it's got to the stage that a couple of year old PC 
will probably do the job just as well.  Of course it probably doesn't 
help with the problems with the economy at the moment.
>> There
>> doesn't seem to be any margins on PCs these days unless you can either
>> offer some added value (such as on-site support if you're selling PCs
>> locally) or have the buying power to buy multiple components at cheap
>> prices.
>>      
>
> Yes, sadly... it's extremely difficult to compete without operating on
> razor thin margins. But it is doable. I think the key is that if
> you're making the same system again and again, you save time both on
> building and testing, as you know if it worked the first and second
> time, it's probably going to work on every subsequent iteration.
> That's where I'm at at the moment - and if I can get the necessary
> demand, I can place larger orders, and, fingers crossed, it would
> escalate from there.
>
>    
Yep that does help.  I do build PCs for clients but they tend to be more 
one off's.  I've found I make more profit selling hardware upgrades to 
existing machines and replacing faulty components.  Doesn't help when 
you're selling Windows machines either and having to cost in £60 for 
Windows.  A couple of local companies got round this by providing pirate 
copies of software but got caught out by Microsoft.  I wouldn't be 
surprised too if there is some of this going on with eBay (I mean, for 
starters I've seen some 2GHz dual core PCs listed as being 4GHz!).

I'd say good luck with it anyway.  Maybe something else you could 
consider if you can get a supply of old machines is to try providing 
some computers to local non-profit organisations running LTSP, I did 
this with the Exwick Community Centre in Exeter (luckily they got a 
grant to cover the server costs) and it helped spread the word a bit 
about Ubuntu.

Rob




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