Keep an eye on Valve, even if you're not into games
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 14th Apr 2012 20:34 UTC
Games When I ask you to name the technology world's most secretive company, you'd most likely respond with 'Apple'. However, there's one other technology company that, while substantially smaller than the Cupertino giant, is quite possibly even more secretive: Valve.
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RE[8]: Comment by Kroc
by porcel on Sun 15th Apr 2012 17:37 UTC in reply to "RE[7]: Comment by Kroc"
porcel
Member since:
2006-01-28

A few things that Alienware has to deal with that you missed on your post:

Labor costs, stocking and warehousing, facility management, customer support, marketing, taxes, legal expenses, warranty costs, etc.

People that do the kind of cost addition that you do have never tried to run a sustainable business that pays people a living wage and health insurance.

Just because you can build 1 cheaper PC in an afternoon than a company, it does not mean that you can build a sustainable business that way.

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE[9]: Comment by Kroc
by Neolander on Sun 15th Apr 2012 18:34 in reply to "RE[8]: Comment by Kroc"
Neolander Member since:
2010-03-08

So you are telling me that it costs more money per unit to produce a large amount of a given product than a small amount ? (Most mid-sized online and offline computer shops around here seem to agree on a price of ~750€ for a basic gaming PC)

That is certainly a surprising statement. I am not saying that it is false, because as you say I know less about the realm than you, but I have always been told that the reverse was true (thanks to economies of scale), and was actually a strength of big industrial groups with respect to small artisanal shops.

Edited 2012-04-15 18:39 UTC

Reply Parent Score: 1