Would you consider this?

[clocker]

Well it's early summer and that has been traditionally a slow time in our shop.
Kids are out of school and the great outdoors beckons...who wants to think about their computer.

Good for them, but terrible for us.

So I have been trying to think up ways to lure in some bizness.

I came up with the concept of having a "Build Your Own Computer" day.
I would order the parts for five identical computers (the actual spec isn't important, but they would be pretty nicely kitted socket 939 systems), and one Sunday five participants would come in and we would show them how to assemble/install/configure their machine.
At day's end they leave with the new machine and a grasp of how to work on them.

We can OPK install Windows on the drives beforehand so we all don't have to sit around as the drives are formatted and XP is loaded, but drivers and programs would be installed by the owner (under our supervision).
During the preinstall, one drive would be specially marked and at the end of the build the person who had it would win a 17" LCD monitor.

Because we would be making a large order of parts with a guaranteed sale within a few days we could cut our normal markup, so the customer is actually getting a better deal than usual.

Does this sound like a concept that might work?

[Snee]

I'm sure someone like my youngest (16) kid brother would love it. (Had him beside me last time I was picking a computer apart, and he had a lot of questions about what was what, let me tell you :lol: I let him help me attach a fan, and he seemed fairly happy about just having done that :happy: )

And a lot of people, me included (and you I'd wager), prefer using machines they've put together themselves, the chance of doing so (or at least being present when it's done), under supervision (which hopefully elminates the chance of buggering it up, for a first-timer), would attract a lot of people. At least I think so :unsure:

You might need to watch them carefully though as some people are clumsy to a degree it's hard to fathom, assuming you let them touch the stuff.

[maebach]

That's a very creative idea i must say. i would definitely go. but that's me.

[lynx]

You think 5 would be enough? Get the local press involved and you could have a lot more interest than that.

[S!X]

Great idea!!

[clocker]

I'm sure someone like my youngest (16) kid brother would love it. (Had him beside me last time I was picking a computer apart, and he had a lot of questions about what was what, let me tell you :lol: I let him help me attach a fan, and he seemed fairly happy about just having done that :happy: )

And a lot of people, me included (and you I'd wager), prefer using machines they've put together themselves, the chance of doing so (or at least being present when it's done), under supervision (which hopefully elminates the chance of buggering it up, for a first-timer), would attract a lot of people. At least I think so :unsure:

You might need to watch them carefully though as some people are clumsy to a degree it's hard to fathom, assuming you let them touch the stuff.
The owner would do ALL the assembly...we would just advise/assist.
The whole idea is to get them comfortable with the basic workings of the hardware.
That way, when they want to add more RAM (hopefully purchased from me) or something, it would be a project they could reasonably expect to accomplish.

[S!X]

You say since its early summer whos gonna be thinkin about comps? heh me! and any other comp freak.

[clocker]

You think 5 would be enough? Get the local press involved and you could have a lot more interest than that.
We have a small shop and limited manpower available.
Five seemed like a number we could handle without too much trouble.

If I can get this to happen, maybe a larger group would be possible the second time.

[Peerzy]

The people who come in will be paying for the system they put together right? Its just that wouldn't it be hard to find 5 people who want to spend a day putting a pc together and have to pay for it.

I know it might sound wierd but kids are usually the only type of people who want these power/gaming pc's and most of them are a bunch of retards who just want to get it home as soon as possible and install Kazaa and download that great 30mb version of Doom 3.

Will it nay be hard to get all 5 people to come into your shop on the same day cash in hand?

Like Lynx said try and get the local press involved that way you're sure to get your number. Maybe also have them build a sustem with 512mb of ram and on the spot on the day offer them the chance to get an extra 512mb for a reduced price, same with like a set of nice speakers, a USB drive, a DVD-rw and some discs, it certainly would be a great chance to flog some old stock as such.

[clocker]

The people who come in will be paying for the system they put together right? Its just that wouldn't it be hard to find 5 people who want to spend a day putting a pc together and have to pay for it.
But it's their PC when it's done...


I know it might sound wierd but kids are usually the only type of people who want these power/gaming pc's and most of them are a bunch of retards who just want to get it home as soon as possible and install Kazaa and download that great 30mb version of Doom 3.
Surprisingly, this is not true.
These machines will not be "super gaming machines", just good quality, upgradable platforms that could be turned into anything.
I have gotten very good response so far from women ( and it's not my personal charm, trust me)...they are almost universally ignored when any hardware issue comes up, but the fact is that the majority of our customers are female. They are the ones who can haul in the broken PC while hubby is at work and many have been forced to become (semi) competent because of this.


Will it nay be hard to get all 5 people to come into your shop on the same day cash in hand?
They'll have to pay upfront when they sign up for the seminar...that way I'm using their cash to buy all the parts.


Like Lynx said try and get the local press involved that way you're sure to get your number. Maybe also have them build a sustem with 512mb of ram and on the spot on the day offer them the chance to get an extra 512mb for a reduced price, same with like a set of nice speakers, a USB drive, a DVD-rw and some discs, it certainly would be a great chance to flog some old stock as such.
That was the plan.

This is the base machine I was thinking of...
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price

Update COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: CAC-T05-UW

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $49.99 $49.99

Update GIGABYTE GA-K8N Ultra-9 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-K8N Ultra-9

**This item is warranted through the product manufacturer only. <
In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $133.00 $133.00

Update XFX PVT43GNDF3 Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI-Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: PVT43GNDF3

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $169.00 $169.00

Update Antec NeoPower ATX 480W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: NeoPower

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $116.00 $116.00

Update AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Winchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3500DIK4BI - OEM
Model #: ADA3500DIK4BI

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $261.99 $261.99

Update Patriot "Extreme Performance" 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model PEP5123200LL - Retail
Model #: PEP5123200LL

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $65.35 $65.35

Update Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST380817AS 80GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST380817AS

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $62.00 $62.00

Update NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3520A-KIT-BLU - Retail
Model #: ND-3520A-KIT-BLU

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $53.99 $53.99

Update Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 - OEM
Model #: N09-01152

**Software delivered damaged and/or defective may be returned for an identical replacement.
In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $91.95 $91.95
Subtotal: $1,003.27

This was just a quick and dirty Newegg shopping cart assembly, but it gives the idea of what I'm shooting for.
The machine has to be relatively high-end cause I don't want to deal with cheapskates and pikers...I want to attract more customers with disposable income.
It should also weed out dreamers and kiddies (although if Mom and Dad wanna pay I won't stop 'em).

Don't forget...we'll also be providing doughnuts and coffee too.

That should seal the deal, doncha think?

[Virtualbody1234]

The doughnuts and coffee will make it a big success!

These types of things sometimes turn out differently than expected. In a Linux group I went to, it just turned out to be a boring lecture sytle get together. What made it work was the discussions with others there afterwards. More interest was found in unplanned after events.

[Duffman]

Well I like the idea, and if I Didn't already have a nice computer and live thousands of miles away I'd do it, and, mmm... donuts.

Do you guys teach any kind of classes to the people, like how to build your own computer, or things like that already or is this the first of its kind for your shop?

[jensen]

yea that is a great idea!! Have other people that can't participate watch and learn too.

[clocker]

Do you guys teach any kind of classes to the people, like how to build your own computer, or things like that already or is this the first of its kind for your shop?
First time.

yea that is a great idea!! Have other people that can't participate watch and learn too.
Not really enough room to have bystanders (innocent or not) standing about.
Besides, the instruction is part of what they are paying for...why give it away to onlookers for free?

[Duffman]

Maybe you should offer some sort of summer school for computers, like building a computer 101, and stuff like that. Without having to spend 2 grand on a computer.

[bigdawgfoxx]

sounds cool to me

[Snee]

yea that is a great idea!! Have other people that can't participate watch and learn too.
Not really enough room to have bystanders (innocent or not) standing about.
Besides, the instruction is part of what they are paying for...why give it away to onlookers for free?

You might want to let the people paying bring one or two people though, say if it's a kid and hers/his mom and pop is paying, or a spouse if it's one of the ladies you mention, you don't want them to bring their entire family I reckon, but let them bring someone. Seeing as how there may sometimes be more than one person involved in the purchase.

Some kind of age restriction might not be a bad thing either :unsure:

[lynx]

What flavour doughnuts?

[JMK]

Hmm, this sounds like a very cool idea.. I know if i had the money i'd probably be into that kind of thing or just to watch as people put together their pc's is always interesting for me :).

Duff also makes a good point... that would be a cool idea also

[clocker]

What flavour doughnuts?
I am personally a fan of chocolate covered cake doughnuts, but there is flexability in my order.

Requests?

[JMK]

chocolate long johns are by far the best doughnuts.