Fantastic to see any entry to the market with a non-windows PC. At the moment if we want to buy a desktop PC there are only a couple of places in the UK we can get one without Windows. The commodity desktop PC market is not a particularly nice place to be right now. The big boys appear to be playing a game of chicken with their prices attempting to put each other out of business I think. The problem is that if you offer a package that can be compared directly to a bargain Dell then you will always look expensive even though the Dell includes a boat anchor of a legacy operating system. We think the trick is to be uncomparable. We are in the process of launching a range of little servers that come with one of a range of interesting applications pre-installed and a days on-site installation and training plus remote backup and replacement. It is an inexpensive way to start using something like OpenERP or Moodle. For smaller businesses it will cope just fine for production use, for the bigger business it is an ideal pilot or proof of concept. We are not really targeting desktop users with this even though the hardware is basically a desktop PC. It is just too competitive. More details on our stuff here http://www.theopenlearningcentre.com/libertus.html
So my advice is add some value and bundle it all together with a good overall price tag. That could be training, documentation, installation etc. This is a little tricky with a desktop though. Maybe have a minimum order quantity of 10 and include a training class for 10 people. A minimum order quantity sounds a bit mad - you will be turning away sales, but you will have to think a little sideways or you will be playing the same game as the big boys and your money runs out before theirs does! Alan. Eddie Bernard wrote: > Good morning everyone > > First off, a declaration of interest, I'm in business selling desktop > PCs. However, to avoid accusations of spamming, I won't give further > details (unless you actually want them!) > > My reason for contacting you all is a sort of market research, if > you'll be kind enough to allow that. I am interested in your opinion > on pricing for a computer with Ubuntu pre-installed, as it's a market > I am currently looking into. > > 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. > > I have a price in mind for this machine (including UK mainland > delivery) - but I'm curious to hear what other people think might be a > fair price for it. > > If you can help me I'd really appreciate it. If not, I apologise for > transgressing! > > Thank you for your time > > Eddie > > -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
