How Customers Lose Money when Saving on a New Computer

When buying a new computer, it's important to get the best computer for your needs while spending the least amount of money. Most customers want to save money but usually forget value and pay for it in the end. Following are a few ways customers lose money while trying to save on buying a new computer.

Buying the cheapest computer

Usually the first question I'm asked by a customer looking to buy a new computer is "What's the cheapest computer you have in stock?" This questions raises lots of questions to a computer sales person (Did you research at all? Will the computer take care of your needs? , etc.), but I'm able to sympathize with anyone that's trying to save money.

The cheapest computer is good for its low price but the customer will be getting a bad deal in the long run. More than likely, when buying cheap, the customer is getting what they are paying for. Cheap computers are usually built cheap are more subject to problems like overheating, surge issues, and are more likely to have their power supplies and motherboards blown out than pricier computers.

The cheapest computer in the store is also outdated. The customer is usually buying technology made for times that have passed - in short, they're a bit obsolete. What good is buying a new computer for cheap, if you're going to have to buy another one in a year or so. If the customer would opt for a pricier computer, that'll have a longer lifetime, they'll be getting a bigger bang for their buck (and better performance).

Passing on Accessories

Lots of customers see my recommendations for accessories as an attempt to squeeze a commission out of them (FYI, I don't get paid commission), but most accessories are important for increasing the lifetime of the customer's computer or laptop.

Costumers are usually a bit reluctant to buy protective cases, surge protectors, battery backups and antivirus software, but it's not the greedy salesperson that's trying to do them in - it's their wallets. I can understand not having the money, but I'll get the same reluctance from a customer with an opened wallet full of cash as I'd get from a customer that's counting change on the counter to make sure they have enough for the least amount of merchandise.

Buying accessories are best done at the point of sale so that customers can try and "haggle" on the price a bit. If you are buying a computer and lots of accessories, a salesperson would rather give you a discount than lose all the money you were spending to one of their competitors. Buy the accessories when you buy the computer or run the risk of paying more money when you realize that you really do need the accessories.

Refusing Warranties and In-Store Protection

Every customer doesn't need in-store protection but I'd recommend all customers buy some sort of warranty for their new computer. In-store services like computer setup, software installation, updates, performance tweaks, and others are usually provided for customers that have the extra money but aren't savvy. Warranties are made for anyone that doesn't want to pay full price and lose all of their money on a new computer. I understand the reluctance to buy the full coverage but it would be wise to put a little extra money on the side to buy the lowest coverage - this way you can update it later but guarantee that you have protection.

Skimping on a warranty to save money will usually only save the customer money on the front end but cost them regret in the end.

Ultimately, customers want a great computer but want to save money - that's understandable. It would serve new computer shoppers to pay extra attention to value vs. cost when buying a new computer because when value drops it will cost them more in the long run.