Retail or Online

Byteman

Byteman

Malware Destroyer
Question I need views on: Do you think most non-computer savvy people get their computers fixed at a large retailer (ie. BestBuy,CompUSA,etc...) or go online, (ie. forums, support sites, etc...)? I been hearing lately, that most rip their computer out of the wall, drive down to a large retailer, leave it there for a week or so, and pay through the nose, rather than solving their probs online for free, with a bit of patience. Right or wrong???
 
I been hearing lately, that most rip their computer out of the wall, drive down to a large retailer, leave it there for a week or so, and pay through the nose, rather than solving their probs online for free, with a bit of patience.
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So very true. When I was working in computer service at a hole in the wall shop (Praetor can vouch for the shops hole in the wall qualities :)) there was always a steady inflow of computers that were asking for us to install windows, and fix minor problems. Occasionally there was a big problem but you'd be suprised how content people are to leave their computer somewhere for a simple fix instead of doing it themselves and learning something.
 
So, you think most would do that? I heard (at least here in the states) that CompUSA charges 100.00US just to look at your computer, no matter what the problem, and then charges more on top of that for whatever they find. How much are people paying in the UK? or Canada? or elsewhere?
 
We charged ~$40CAD to diagnose. Sometimes repairs were additional, but extra costs were extremely variable.
 
Many people don't want any headache fixing their computers. Think of the doctor who is using his PC at home for some work, he is actually a computer and don't want to be a computer technician, that's why he hands out his PC to the service center whenever any problem occurs in it. Many people fear messing up with their computers because they feel that they might cause more problems by messing with it, and thus paying more money to fix 5 or 6 problems rather than fixing just 1 or 2 problems from the beginning.

We have the same case here in Egypt, but prices are different. A windows re-installation costs between $5-$8 if you hand out the PC to the service center yourself.If you call them to send you some technician at home, this might cost between $10-$15.

Also, people with little or no experience don't trust shopping for their computers over the internet either because they lack experience, or because they need something hard and physical infront of their eyes to buy.

There is another thing for people who prefer buying from shops. The shopping experience itself, they like to go shopping, go to the mall, sneak around and ask for the computer they are looking for in 3 or 4 shops and then decide to buy and go do it. It's a whole complete experience which many people like it :D
 
We have the same case here in Egypt, but prices are different. A windows re-installation costs between $5-$8 if you hand out the PC to the service center yourself.If you call them to send you some technician at home, this might cost between $10-$15.
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Wooo buddy!!! is that US dollars? That's incredible! :eek:
 
Byteman said:
Wooo buddy!!! is that US dollars? That's incredible! :eek:
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Ya, that's in US dollars. $1 = 6 Egyptian Pounds, so when you calculate this, you will find the ranges like this:

30-48 EGP
60-90 EGP

And given that the average salary here in Egypt is around 1,000 EGP per month, these prices seem reasonable from the Egyptian computer user point of view and seems cheap from the US computer user point of view :D That's why foreigners and Egyptians who get their salaries here in USD are very happy and want to stay in Egypt as much as they can because the average salary is around $1,500 which is around 9,000 EGP. You can buy a brand new car using the salary of just 7 months and you can get a new PC for around 3,000 EGP. Acer notebooks are around 6,000 EGP.

Anyone interested to ask about the cost of any other goods here :D
 
narafa said:
Anyone interested to ask about the cost of any other goods here
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jancz3rt said:
LOL...what do you mean? LOL.

JAN :D
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Well, I meant to ask if anyone else is interested to know how much other stuff cost here in Egypt apart from computers and cars :D LOL like food, cloths, home furniture, appartments villas and homes, etc ;)
 
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