Millgate Posted October 20, 2011 Author Posted October 20, 2011 I really appreciate all your feedback and ideas guys. I'm out tomorrow visiting a college but I'm going to have a think over the weekend so they'll be some new and hopefully useful offers next week. Might even do a Xmas promo
witch Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 I agree that we rarely buy kit because of a special offer - however, things like upgrading the RAM would actually make a difference to me if the price was pretty similar. I always have an issue trying to explain WHY I want to spend more money on a brand new piece of kit! Ditto things like free headphones, memory sticks etc. I wouldnt buy from you just because you offer those things but if I am looking at similar pricing from different places, it might just swing the deal your way As long as there are hobnobs, of course! I also agree that more cheaper offers are good. There are a lot of us down at the sharp end who would be more likely to sing with Bon Jovi than get the wherewithal to buy an i3! 1
localzuk Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 Ebuyer deal includes 3 year NBD warranty. Doesn't show until you put it in your basket though. I don't understand the argument about it being out of date technology. It's more than capable of running Windows 7, Office 2010 and the curriculum software that will be installed on them. Its capable *now*. But as you've just pointed out someone running a computer for 5 years+, is that good enough? Basically you're planning for your device to only run current software and current requirements. Part of what we do is planning for the future. Windows 8 is out next year, with its fancy new Metro UI. Who knows where it'll be in 5 years time? A 3 year old processor now will be 8 years out of date then. So, yes, you could buy cheap now because your headteacher lacks the foresight to include ICT provision in your budget correctly or you could point out that you are being asked to provide a solution that is old before it enters your building, meaning that the school will once again be in the situation they are in now in barely 3 or so years again! Deals, for me would be maybe buy 10 get 1 free deals? Or, discounts on SSDs when buying as an upgrade for a PC? 2
glennda Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 I really appreciate all your feedback and ideas guys. I'm out tomorrow visiting a college but I'm going to have a think over the weekend so they'll be some new and hopefully useful offers next week. Might even do a Xmas promo everything free?
Millgate Posted October 20, 2011 Author Posted October 20, 2011 everything free? Ha, it would be nice. I'll make sure it's good for you guys as well as for the budget. Hobnobs for everyone!
AyatollahPies Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 Its capable *now*. But as you've just pointed out someone running a computer for 5 years+, is that good enough? Basically you're planning for your device to only run current software and current requirements. Part of what we do is planning for the future. Windows 8 is out next year, with its fancy new Metro UI. Who knows where it'll be in 5 years time? A 3 year old processor now will be 8 years out of date then. So, yes, you could buy cheap now because your headteacher lacks the foresight to include ICT provision in your budget correctly or you could point out that you are being asked to provide a solution that is old before it enters your building, meaning that the school will once again be in the situation they are in now in barely 3 or so years again! Deals, for me would be maybe buy 10 get 1 free deals? Or, discounts on SSDs when buying as an upgrade for a PC? Remind me how old Windows XP is and how long we've been running that? (Still does the job) The head teacher is new and is doing a damn fine job of sorting out a large mess that was left for her. There "may" well be a bigger budget for IT next year, but at the moment I have more in my wallet than this school has, and they are unable to use IT efficiently right now, never mind in 5+ years. Not all schools are the same. Anyway, I've gone off topic here, for which I apologise to Millgate. 1
Arthur Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 http://www.edugeek.net/forums/our-advertisers/84334-hp-compaq-8200-elite-sff-free-19-monitor-millgate.html I know you are not meant to complain about free stuff, but would it be possible to offer monitors with DVI or DisplayPort ports in the future (instead of VGA), particularly if the computers in question have these ports? Students at our school (and I imagine many others) often mess around with the settings on the VGA LCDs (adjusting things like brightness/contrast and the horizontal/vertical positions). With a digital display, they can't do this. Why buy something that's already obsolete which will be even worse in a couple of years time? I agree. The cheapest option isn't always the best. 1
synaesthesia Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 Slight afterthought - a common query I see is the lack of accessories with certain kit. How about something nice and easy, and cost effective - for instance offering a choice of a VGA splitter (great for whiteboard computers) or wireless keyboard/mouse or similar. 2
Arthur Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 How about something nice and easy, and cost effective - for instance offering a choice of a VGA HDMI or DVI splitter (great for whiteboard computers) or wireless keyboard/mouse or similar. I agree.
john Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 Upgrade your ailing kit bundles, for example I have a number of 4 year old PCs with 512mb or 1gb (if were lucky) ram, these are core2duos and in need of a boost and know from testing ram will help them So "upgrade your IT room Ram pack" say may have 30x 2GB sticks of DDR2 ram in for a special bundle price etc rather than just saying please price for 30 sticks etc.... see if you can get a nice bundle for that? 1
featured_spectre Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 Actually John along those lines is a good idea...bundles of SSDs, RAM, maybe certain CPU chips, GFX cards for art/design depts.
SYNACK Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 Remind me how old Windows XP is and how long we've been running that? (Still does the job) How long some people have been running XP and most of the people complain that they can't run newer versions specificlly because of the hardware due to making poor or constrained decisions in the past. Way to continue a trend.
Millgate Posted October 21, 2011 Author Posted October 21, 2011 How about some kind of Millgate Edugeek "points"? So instead of me guessing with offers you want, giving you x amount of points to use on ram, mice, keyboards etc. I'd have to run it past the powers that be on Monday but what do you think to that?
SYNACK Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 How about some kind of Millgate Edugeek "points"? So instead of me guessing with offers you want, giving you x amount of points to use on ram, mice, keyboards etc. I'd have to run it past the powers that be on Monday but what do you think to that? Upgrades like RAM are always a good little extra as it can be hard to justify in some instances but does give you the oppertunity to extend the life and abilities of existing hardware.
AyatollahPies Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 How long some people have been running XP and most of the people complain that they can't run newer versions specificlly because of the hardware due to making poor or constrained decisions in the past. Way to continue a trend. Fair enough. It was a poor example. However, it does tell you about the predicament some schools are in, whereby they are still running it and see no reason to change, because it still works.
pete Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 that HP at £520 is expensive imho I paid £270 ex vat for core i3 64gb SSD drives 4gb ram although no os... It is expensive. If it's the part code I'm thinking of (XY149ET) the average* is about £385 off the shelf, with better pricing available if buying in bulk. *assumes you have access to decent pricing.
featured_spectre Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 @millgate would this be like the tesco clubcard scheme? If so westwood associates did that for my old place and it turned out bad for us and we got stung by it. If you mean you get 2 point for every £10 spent and you get stuff from say 100 points (usb stick), 200 points (1x stick of ram) and so on and so forth
Guest Guest Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 I know you are not meant to complain about free stuff, but would it be possible to offer monitors with DVI or DisplayPort ports in the future (instead of VGA), particularly if the computers in question have these ports? Students at our school (and I imagine many others) often mess around with the settings on the VGA LCDs (adjusting things like brightness/contrast and the horizontal/vertical positions). With a digital display, they can't do this. Plus VGA will be gone fairly soon. I stopped buying VGA only monitors last year for this reason; DVI with minimum resolution of 1600x900. As lets be right about it, as long as a monitor doesn't get damaged there's no reason why you couldn't get 6 years out of it if you spec it high to start with.
SYNACK Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 Plus VGA will be gone fairly soon. I stopped buying VGA only monitors last year for this reason; DVI with minimum resolution of 1600x900. As lets be right about it, as long as a monitor doesn't get damaged there's no reason why you couldn't get 6 years out of it if you spec it high to start with. I agree but tend to try for at least 1000 vertical resolution (1080, 1024 etc) as it just gives you that much more room when reading stuff, you can generally fit a whole webpage without chroming up the browser or full screening it. Does not always make it into the purchase but these last longer as the extra (height) seems to make people feel as if the PC is more powerful. It's a psycological thing.
localzuk Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 To be completely honest, I'm not a big fan of 'offers'. I'm of the ilk that thinks 'offer us your best price always, and you'll always have a customer'. Too many suppliers try it on by giving a price that they think is ok, and then keep knocking it down when you tell them they're overpriced. It encourages poor purchasing practices which are prone to damaging both the customer and the company.
Rydra Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 Coming from the marketing background of EvE-Online, I've always liked the fact that for anyone who wants to, they can see or at least work out what the approximate build costs of an item or services are, and see what others are charging. It means you get open and fair competition, and it comes down to supply/demand and clever thinking. It's a shame this model doesn't work in the real world, where everyone does their best to hide what it cost, in case someone worked out that they were making a killing from it.
pete Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 (edited) Coming from the marketing background of EvE-Online, I've always liked the fact that for anyone who wants to, they can see or at least work out what the approximate build costs of an item or services are, and see what others are charging. It means you get open and fair competition, and it comes down to supply/demand and clever thinking. It's a shame this model doesn't work in the real world, where everyone does their best to hide what it cost, in case someone worked out that they were making a killing from it. In Eve it's considered perfectly acceptable for the customer to explode you if unsatisfied. Then explode your factory, starbase, friends, allies, cat and then do victory flights in penis formation*. Whereas lurking by the M25 with RPGs for a particular HGV to come along is frowned on. *surprisingly tricky to achieve. Edited October 21, 2011 by pete 1
Millgate Posted October 21, 2011 Author Posted October 21, 2011 @millgate would this be like the tesco clubcard scheme? If so westwood associates did that for my old place and it turned out bad for us and we got stung by it. If you mean you get 2 point for every £10 spent and you get stuff from say 100 points (usb stick), 200 points (1x stick of ram) and so on and so forth I'm not sure yet, it's hard to give £1 =1 point because everything has different margins. I'm going to have a think over the weekend and have a chat on Monday. I'll post on here the ideas first, to get feedback from you all if that's ok? One thing that has stood out from you guys is that you'd like things for your department as well as getting a good deal so I'll make sure that's discussed
localzuk Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 In Eve it's considered perfectly acceptable for the customer to explode you if unsatisfied. Then explode your factory, starbase, friends, allies, cat and then do victory flights in penis formation*. Whereas lurking by the M25 with RPGs for a particular HGV to come along is frowned on. *surprisingly tricky to achieve. Now *that's* how to do business!
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