How does the current crisis impact boutique builders?

F

flurp

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 14, 2004
Messages
111
In light of the dominant issue of the year, the economy, I was curious how folks felt about it's impact on the boutique builders.

I've been shopping for awhile, but in early July, right when I was a few clicks away from buying a new machine (puget was my choice, William was awesome), I just took my hand off the mouse and decided I'd hold off a bit longer as it looked like the economy was worsening. I decided to keep my cash in hand and available should my employment come into question.

Anyway, as the mess deepens, I'm curious how this has impacted the boutiques. I have no idea how the inner workings of these companies operate and I'm sure it varies greatly, but as their ability to draw upon credit becomes more difficult and as more customers, like myself, decide to hold off on what really amounts to a luxury item, it has to have an impact.

I still want a new machine but I have to tell you, in addition to concerns about build qualities or customer service, now we really should at least be mindful of the possible impacts the downturn plays in our decisions.

What if our company goes belly up? Your warranty is just a useless scrap of paper. Warranties and service are *the* definining advantage of a boutique over DIY and if they're out of business, well...

What if companies have to scrimp on quality, build time, service, because they've had to let go staff.

What if companies have to use lesser quality parts because it saves them 5% on overhead while they're getting hammered on their margins due to low sales?

Which of the boutiques are built to last, have the best business models and have the ability to weather the crisis? Some will likely go out of businessin the next year, but who knows which ones.

Just some late night thoughts I wanted to share.
 
The weak economy will definitely hurt computer makers. I would like to know if hardforum users will be cutting back on big upgrades like CPU or GPU upgrades....
 
A valid question. I am currently shopping boutiques and trying to figure out which seem most established.
 
As long as I have a job I won't be cutting back on any PC upgrades.
 
I am in the military and eligible for retirement at the ripe old age of 38(although I just reupped) so I'm not really worried about income.

However, your question is a great one.

And kinda scary.

I just bought a custom computer from a small boutique but the state of the economy only slightly crossed my mind. My greed for speed overcame any small doubts I might have had though.

I think you're very smart to wait however but I had neither the patience nor the will power to stop from calling ole Max and ordering my comp. :D

It would be interesting to hear from the reps of the small boutiques on whether their business has been affected.
 
chrispycrunch said:
The weak economy will definitely hurt computer makers. I would like to know if hardforum users will be cutting back on big upgrades like CPU or GPU upgrades....
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Weak economy or not I have been saving for awhile and next week plan on getting 6 1TB drives for my file server.
 
Heyy who knows, maybe us nerds spending such big money on PC parts will start to help the economy by pumping money back into it.

I have seem crazier things happen.:p
 
Speaking from our perspective, sales have been steady, but not off the charts. I'm friends with a lot of people who work for other small manufacturers, and that seems to be the consensus across the board...not great, but it could be a heck of a lot worse.

I wouldn't worry about the main players disappearing--Puget, Maingear, Velocity Micro, Ava, Falcon--because they're all very well established in their respective communities and can pull some of the constant traffic from local/regional businesses in their area to bolster their direct sales. We have solid reputations/relationships and devoted customers who turn into repeat buyers.

Those companies that do nothing but gaming rigs with no diversification are probably not going to be around in a year's time. The enthusiast market is going to build their own systems more frequently as money becomes tighter for everyone, I think. People who aren't enthusiasts but need a system are more likely to take a hike down to WallyWorld for a sub $400 complete system.

So sayeth the Heather. LOL. The opinion of one on the inside...
 
chrispycrunch said:
The weak economy will definitely hurt computer makers. I would like to know if hardforum users will be cutting back on big upgrades like CPU or GPU upgrades....
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this question was asked back in july by overclockers.com in an article. i said i'm doing reasonably good so i won't be cutting back ;). about to have a second Q9450 system and 4870x2 on the way :D
 
flurp said:
Thank you Heather. I was hoping you'd reply.

=)
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Thanks, Flurp. It's a question I've been asked many times over the last couple of months, and I'm glad to be able to reassure you guys that most of us are still solvent and will continue to produce and support our products.
 
That is definitely an outstanding question. AVADirect, though also a boutique builder, does not souly rely on just the consumer market. A lot of our funding comes from the Department of Defense, so we have a solid backbone of contracts for many years to come. As long as we are not dependant on a single marketplace, our business will not struggle. That being said, we are not vulnerable as you could assume, in the midst of this economical turmoil.
 
Although things are looking grim, I don't think that people are really panicing (in a big way)... yet. The big question is how things will be going is a year or two if the shit really hits the fan.... and sadly, it may :(.

Let's all hope for the best!

Sarah Palin says: ;)
 
I wouldn't expect the high-end PC business to suffer as much as other sectors. Let's be frank, when you even consider shelling out $5,000 for a computer that depreciates faster than used underwear, you're already either really well-off, you love your hobby like a child, or you are a horribly misprioritizing spender. And all three groups' computer spending is not likely to be impacted. I think the lower end retailers will suffer more, they're the ones with the customers most likely to say, well, I can stretch out my current config for another couple of years.
 
Frobot said:
I wouldn't expect the high-end PC business to suffer as much as other sectors. Let's be frank, when you even consider shelling out $5,000 for a computer that depreciates faster than used underwear, you're already either really well-off, you love your hobby like a child, or you are a horribly misprioritizing spender. And all three groups' computer spending is not likely to be impacted. I think the lower end retailers will suffer more, they're the ones with the customers most likely to say, well, I can stretch out my current config for another couple of years.
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Exactly. I doubt the big hitters here are really affected if they can afford the systems I see. They might have to put 87 in the Z06 to save for the 4870X2 CF :rolleyes:
 
Just out of curiosity (no offense to these companies at all, I am sure their products work great), I fail to see how they have a sizable market in the first place.

Mass producers cater to the non-tech savvy guys and corporations. These guys seem to cater to enthusiasts. Don't most enthusiasts build their own PCs though? :D

Personally, when I building my own PC, I get the nerdy pleasure of putting it together (yes it takes a while, but it is one Saturday). Also, I do not have to worry about build quality at all. Also, each individual piece has its own warranty. This is nice because I don't have to pay for longer than 1 year warranties most companies charge you for, and many of my components have lifetime warranties (RAM, MOBO, GPU). Shortest warranties I have are like 3-5 years anyway.
 
No offense taken, it's a really good question.

Lots of enthusiasts do build their own, but some end up having one built because they don't have the time to put towards doing it themselves, or because they don't want to fool with the RMA process if something breaks. Some people want something specific or different than the mainstream but don't really care to build it themselves, so they come to small manufacturers instead. There's also some people who want the biggest, baddest, and most expensive computer they can get their hands on--they aren't necessarily enthusiasts, either. I've seen retirees who took up gaming order a $10000 computer to play Flight Simulator X...they don't care about the hardware, they just want to play.

As far as businesses, boutiques can build small specialized orders to company specs, adding special components that the average big manufacturer doesn't carry and won't provide. Doing custom builds creates an element of risk that large PC manufacturers don't care to fool with. We get the aviation companies, engineering firms, and specialized government orders because the big boys won't do it. Plenty of companies get 40 Dell Optiplexes for their offices, then come to us for some off the wall CAD system or rendering rig.

You and I would rather build, Druelt, but isn't it cool that there are companies out there for those who don't want to do it themselves?
 
Thank you. I am a professional.

LOL.

(I feel like I should say something like "because I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night....")
 
I'm swaying off-topic a bit but the stock market is supposed to give us a heads-up as to where things are going. As such, you can monitor stocks like intel, dell, hp, micron, seagate, and western digital. Oh, and also AMD and NVDA. Both amd and nvda are getting hit really hard. Intel is at a 1 year low again...

This means the mass-market is expected to decline. It's good for boutiques because now you have heavy competition (nvda vs ati for example) and the need for these suppliers to keep innovating. Win-win for the consumer, boutique or mainstream computing..
 
No doubt there will be price drops due to lack of consumer spending. At the same time, people should save up because the outlook looks bad. No body is safe. If you think you are...how do u know. Nothing in life is certain. ;)
 
Raiden911 said:
No doubt there will be price drops due to lack of consumer spending. At the same time, people should save up because the outlook looks bad. No body is safe. If you think you are...how do u know. Nothing in life is certain. ;)
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DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!11111
 
chrispycrunch said:
I'm swaying off-topic a bit but the stock market is supposed to give us a heads-up as to where things are going. As such, you can monitor stocks like intel, dell, hp, micron, seagate, and western digital. Oh, and also AMD and NVDA. Both amd and nvda are getting hit really hard. Intel is at a 1 year low again...

This means the mass-market is expected to decline. It's good for boutiques because now you have heavy competition (nvda vs ati for example) and the need for these suppliers to keep innovating. Win-win for the consumer, boutique or mainstream computing..
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Uh, I don't know about that. That's like saying that the value of Manny Ramirez baseball cards tells you where his career is going.

Stock prices are almost purely determined by what the buyers/sellers believe. Stocks go down because YOU don't think AMD is going to succeed, so YOU sell your stake and the value goes down. Not the other way around. The stock price tells you nothing except what other people think about the company--it doesn't tell you what's going to happen to it.
 
Where I work sales have been down. Problem is everytime someone comes in and sees what we have for sale or asks how much it will cost to fix what they have, their reply is: "Well I can just go get a computer for $400 at wal-mart." And attempts to explain to them why thats not such a great idea *cough* crappy performance *cough* go in one ear and out the other.

I'm already looking for a new job because I want a job outside of retail. Anyone know of any entry level IT jobs in austin texas? preferably not a call center job. (Sorry for the thread hijack)
 
Get in touch with Chris Morley...he might be able to help you out. That's his territory.
 
Heheh...they usually don't care, as long as it fits wherever they intend to place the system. The P180 series always seems to be popular, as does most of the stuff lian-li puts out.

Usually the only real request we get is "no lights, please". I dunno...I think that some red cathodes would cheer MY workplace up.
 
I do think though that the rotation of new items will slow down now as more then likely the cyle of new processors/video cards will decline a bit as companies will try and cut back spending.
 
Heather Taylor said:
Heheh...they usually don't care, as long as it fits wherever they intend to place the system. The P180 series always seems to be popular, as does most of the stuff lian-li puts out.

Usually the only real request we get is "no lights, please". I dunno...I think that some red cathodes would cheer MY workplace up.
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That's pretty nifty, thanks for answering. Lian Li actually has a couple cases that have some very nice subdued lighting.
 
I'm actually a really big fan of Lian-li...my own chassis at home happens to be one. They're just the right size, and don't look like something out of a science fiction movie (one of my biggest pet peeves are weird looking plasticky cases).
 
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