Soo many boutique gaming PC stores.

D

Diesel_Power

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 23, 2007
Messages
259
Lately I’ve been in the market for a boutique gaming PC. It’s really surprised me as to how many companies who specializes in building gaming PC’s have popped up in the last couple of years. I remember 7-8 years ago when it was just Falcon NW and Alienware. Now you’ve got Vigor, DigitalStorm, Maingear, etc.

Is the market for boutique gaming PC’s really that big that all these companies can survive? Other than myself I don’t know of anyone else in my area who’s interested in buying a pre-built gaming PC and most people who are interested in purchasing pre-built PC’s don’t know enough and usually go and order with Dell.

It just seems like it’s starting to get a little saturated because all the companies pretty much offer the same thing. They aren’t building they’re own CPUs, graphic cards, or sound cards. They all use the same components to build their computers and they all strive to offer the best customer service. It seems the only difference is the name of the company.

How do all these different companies that offer the same product manage to stay alive? Especially in the southern California area where 4-5 of these companies are located.
 
Small business goals :

step 1: publicity

step 2: location location location

step 3: small business liscense, attain tax id number, apply for big-name wholesaler to purchase things at less than msrp.

step 4: profit
 
Seems people haven't been reading the rules for this forum much lately.:

"2) NO "I can build it myself for $$$ less!" posts. NO "I priced checked at Newegg/ZipZoomFly/ClubIT/etc and can build it for $$$$ less!" threads. These posts will be deleted and your account will be permanently banned"
 
The rule you quoted seems to be aimed at those who build for others and claim it to be cheaper to win business, not diy vs boxed systems.
 
Diesel_Power said:
It just seems like it’s starting to get a little saturated because all the companies pretty much offer the same thing. They aren’t building they’re own CPUs, graphic cards, or sound cards. They all use the same components to build their computers and they all strive to offer the best customer service. It seems the only difference is the name of the company.

How do all these different companies that offer the same product manage to stay alive? Especially in the southern California area where 4-5 of these companies are located.
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sound anything like what Graphics Board Partners are doing?
 
No,there are two rules specifically aimed at preventing endless"build it yourself" responses in this particular forum,which is meant to discuss pre-built systems and various vendors who build them.I mention it only because it's being ignored often lately.
 
Alright, duly noted.

For the Prebuilt systems, many offer unique services, cases, and tech support. Some people don't want the boring xps series, and don't want to build their own. Until one company offers a huge amount of options, and top notch tech support, there will be many.
 
bbz_Ghost said:
Seriously... you can build a machine that's just as powerful if not more powerful for 1/2 the cost of any boutique PC maker these days. I've been doing it for years now. I built a Core 2 Quad box for a client recently with 8GB of RAM that stomped the best thing Alienware offered at the time in a similar configuration.

Sure, they make pretty boxes, but those boutique fellas stopped doing that for the love of doing it years ago. Now it's a business, plain and simple.

You can do better, and you can learn a lot in the process.

Companies like that stay in business for two primary reasons:

1) Some people have the money to just toss out for such ridiculously priced hardware - i.e. the same people that pay $15,000 for a Rolex watch that tells the same time as my $40 Timex.

2) Some people are just fucking stupid, but #1 above still applies and they have the money.
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I think the reason there's "boutique" gaming PC business is because either a person wants something fast, but not one of the propriety generic "big names" and goes for a prebuilt that's usually less expensive than one with more bells and whistles; a person wants some choices in what goes into their computer, but needs/wants advice/guidance in what's best for them; not everyone has the know-how to build their own.

You may be a wizard at building, but that doesn't mean everybody is, and that doesn't mean they're lazy or stupid.

Of course the boutiques are in business to make money, so of course there's going to be a mark-up in the components/actual computer.

The big things, imho, to look for if you are looking at the boutique builders are -
when you go to their site can you navigate easily or is it a confusing mess;

when you decide to order, is there someone on the other end who will help you make the right choices, even if that means they're not going to make as much money from your sale;

they use at the very least "decent" parts and not crap that's sure to fail no matter how good the configuration looks on paper and how good the tech is building the box;

support after the sale/warranty. That's another big reason people buy instead of build (if they know how) - you build your own, you're your own tech support. You buy from a reputable company, you get technical support and they honor their warranty. You can't buy a good reputation, you have to earn it.

Any company that doesn't do the above is bound to sooner or later fail. Which of course narrows the field of all these companies, right? Leaving the good ones standing.
 
Some people out there don't know how to and/or don't want to take the time to build custom computers. That's why these companies exist. As to how so many manage to exist, which is the main question posed, I have no idea. They probably each have certain advantages, but I've never researched them.
 
The main ones I can remember at the top of my head are:

Alienware
Dell
VooDoo
and
Performance PCs

all known for high performance pcs but with the enormous price tag (which is where most of their profit comes from I'm assuming because you often are looking at $3,000-$5,000 pc's..)
 
Jester FPS said:
The main ones I can remember at the top of my head are:

Alienware
Dell
VooDoo
and
Performance PCs

all known for high performance pcs but with the enormous price tag (which is where most of their profit comes from I'm assuming because you often are looking at $3,000-$5,000 pc's..)
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Really.....

AVA Direct, Velocity Micro, ABS, Puget blah blah blah... and the few that you listed can't really be considered "boutique" really....

They are in business because they are run by people that understand small business... and that is exactly what they are.... small...... They don't attempt to compete with companies like Dell, nor do I believe they ever will... They target a different audience, not the average consumer who simply wants to go out and buy a machine that they can take home, plug in and use without thinking about it.... The small guys are out there to cater to the user that wants to be involved in the process... but doesn't want to use a screwdriver or be bothered with installing drivers and tweaking.... And obviously, the market is there... or they (the boutique builders) wouldn't be...
 
Well Falcon has always had great user reviews - never owned one and the paint jobs are not my cup of tea. Maingear has had favorable reviews and customer experiences and if I was buying a rig, this is one boutique I would consider.

Also, I beta tested the HP Blackbird and it is a great machine all around - it does have the force of HP behind it as far as customer service and tech support, and is the only machine I know that supports Xfire and SLI, so that is a big plus. If I had to have this rig, I would buy the watereddown version and add parts you buy - probably the best rule of thumb as it gives the best of both diy and prebuilt.

There is a market for these rigs - you are taking a small sample from a very large population. Hopefully, it grows because the more demand, the more innovation is created and it is good for all.
 
It used to be just mainstream and boutique companies, but now there's a third tier smack dab between the two--I don't know exactly what to call it, but it's where manufacturers like Velocity Micro, Alienware, and Voodoo kind of fit in. The computers are still highly customizable, but there's also a "pre-built" model, and they are able to produce a larger number of systems than smaller companies.

So where does it leave boutique companies like Falcon Northwest, Maingear, and my company, Puget? As a whole, each and every customer is very important to a boutique manufacturer, so the customer service level tends to be above average. The build quality is more exact because less systems mean more time spent on your build. You can often request parts not listed on the website, and a boutique company will add them to your build. Best of all, the support is pulled from local techs. Turnover tends to be lower at boutique companies, so the Joe you get this week will be the same Joe you can ask for a month or two months later. You can build a relationship with your salesperson or support tech that can last for years.

Yeah, you can build your own PC cheaper, but that leaves you accountable for all the things that can go wrong with your system. By buying boutique, you're supporting a small company that will, in turn, bend over backwards for you if something goes wrong. Some companies, like Puget, offer free labor for the life of the PC...so you're never alone for as long as you own your system.

If you have any questions, I've been in this business for...well, for a long dang time. I'll be more than happy to talk with you. :)
 
Fair enough, I know this is probably asked and questioned and also answered in most threads, but building your own computer CAN make many headaches for the end user, just look at 680i NVIDIA users, there's always any number of problems that can go wrong. I can imagine that there are many people that just don't need that headache and don't mind paying a little extra to have that extra warranty and the ability just to bring their computer back to the maker instead of troubleshooting themself.

Personally, I love building my own computers, I love doing what I can to make it better, but of course I know that isn't for everyone, actually it isn't for most people. But that doesn't mean that most people don't need a computer, even a nice one. There is definitely a demand for boutique computer makers, not everyone is going to build their own computer. Not everyone has heard of Newegg :p

I think it's just that MOST people that come onto a forum like this are the type of people that are willing to build their own computer. But even though there are thousands of people that have registered with [H]ardforum, that doesn't mean all of them build their own computers, and there are obviously MANY more that won't. I know I've offered my own father to build computers for him, every time he says NO, he would rather have a Gateway with a warranty :rolleyes: but oh well, to each his own.

There will always be boutique computer companies, just as there will always be people who build their own computer. And there will always be Dell.
 
Citizen86 said:
Fair enough, I know this is probably asked and questioned and also answered in most threads, but building your own computer CAN make many headaches for the end user, just look at 680i NVIDIA users, there's always any number of problems that can go wrong. I can imagine that there are many people that just don't need that headache and don't mind paying a little extra to have that extra warranty and the ability just to bring their computer back to the maker instead of troubleshooting themself.
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And on that same token the real nightmare can be with having to send in a whole PC and getting additional damage or issues occurring from the tech side of the OEM's handling of the PC whereas with the self built unit someone with some knowledge that can determine that the issue is with the MB alone all that need to be done is a MB swap.
 
I love building my own PCs, too...but then I know how to fix them because I work on them every day. There are days I wish I could just run screaming and have someone else fix the damn thing, though, so I can fully appreciate both sides. If I had a bunch of money, I might do the same thing and buy a computer just so I don't have to support it myself. LOL.

And yeah, there's also the flip side to having a manufactured computer...having to send it in for repair. Most boutiques try to accomodate customers by sending some kind of onsite, though in some cases (and all of those who have had an onsite tech try to attach a heatsink with wood screws and glue can testify how quality can be hit or miss--I swear to god, true story) it's just safer for it to come in. Aside from package handling companies drop-kicking the computer off the truck, all but maybe 1% arrive in one piece.

As with all things, you tend to hear more about the bad stuff than all the good stuff, but that's human nature. Most people aren't as vocal when they're content as they are when they're miffed.

So, I guess it comes down to how much money you have and how much work you want to do on your system more than anything else.

Yeah, VM's pretty neat. I used to work for them, and I really liked the company and the culture. Of course, they're a little bigger than Puget, but they seem to be retaining the quality, and that's impressive. As with all things, time will tell.
 
I'm waiting to see if any of these guys are going to put forth any compelling Cyber Monday deals and such.
 
Q-BZ said:
I'm waiting to see if any of these guys are going to put forth any compelling Cyber Monday deals and such.
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I believe maingear has a cyber monday deal going on. I found it on the NVIDIA SLI Zone when I was looking for Black Friday deals.

I will see if I can find the link...
 
TallwhiteDude said:
I believe maingear has a cyber monday deal going on. I found it on the NVIDIA SLI Zone when I was looking for Black Friday deals.

I will see if I can find the link...
Click to expand...

It's all good. I called them on the phone and they hooked me up a bit. Nice crew! :)
 
This is not a serious thread. This is how it works in this society. Not everybody knows know to build a PC, and not everybody knows how to repair a car.
 
Ahh, it wouldn't be a proper C/G thread without a comparison between computers and cars...

What happened around 2000 is a whole crapload of boutiques started up. Some took off, some didn't, some are still kind of hanging around waiting for their shot at the big times. To answer the OP's question, no, it is absolutely not easy to start up a computer building shop, and it's even less easy to make it profitable and successful. The reason we see so many now compared to say, 3 years ago, is that it's taken that long for a lot of these companies to culminate the customer base and recognition to gain national attention.

For the most part, none of these are "new" companies. They're just the lucky ones that built a solid computer, got word of mouth going, and garnered some good press. Not to toot our own horn, but our system eval program exposed the world to a lot of really good builders that you probably wouldn't have otherwise heard of. Maingear, Puget, AVADirect, OverdrivePC come to mind.
 
"I don't want to toot my own horn, but...... toot toot!!"

Just kidding Jason :p Your guys boutique reviews are always a good read. Last year or 6 months ago you guys were pumping them out, but I don't remember seeing any for at least 6 months. What's going on?
 
We had to shut down. Turns out that telling the truth is unprofitable. Who knew? There's a thread on it around here somewhere.
 
You could always count on the [H] guys to give an honest review--I really do wish they were still doing it. There's a great deal of room for honesty in this industry.

Jason, can I be something OTHER than a n00bie? Can't you put my status as "Not a Robot" or something? LOL.
 
I really, really miss reading the reviews... always good stuff. Got me through more than one long boring day at work.... that's for sure.
 
I sense a grass roots movement beginning to bring product reviews back...
 
Heather Taylor said:
Truth is not so desired anymore.

You guys did amazing reviews.
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then why didnt you guys sign an ad contract with H consumer? :(

yeah I liked H consumer, it was alright. But I read the H consumer is going under post and it makes sense. When you really stick to your ethics you become insoluble.

Seems to me for H consumer to really get going it needs a new buisiness model (well, if it wants to remain ethical).
 
I'm Customer Care, not Marketing. ;) However, I do know how the game is played and because of that, I know why [H] decided to stop the reviews. That doesn't mean that I can't be all pouty and and irritated about it...

We get a flack from some vendors for being honest...on our website if one of the staff doesn't particularly care for a part, we'll actually post it on the same page with the product. My favorite is support's review of the Mitsumi 7-in-1...he was being very diplomatic. I hate that reader because it constantly fails. (And now I'm going to get flame mail from Mitsumi, I'm sure...hehe.)
 
Heather Taylor said:
Turnover tends to be lower at boutique companies, so the Joe you get this week will be the same Joe you can ask for a month or two months later. You can build a relationship with your salesperson or support tech that can last for years.
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At one point I was the "tech guy" for a small outfit that liked to hire me out to customers on the side in addition to running our stuff. We were constantly using a local boutique because we could get an appropriate part immediately as at OEM/Reseller pricing. When Newegg came on the scene, we started using them increasingly when we could because the selection and pricing was better than our boutique could usually meet...still used them for urgent stuff, though, and would always price stuff out through them before checking with Newegg. They were still better priced fairly often, and close enough often enough that it was worth it in case our customer had a part we installed fail on them. I don't see this sort of business relationship going away. The personal touch can also be very good for some home customers...the big OEMs seem to be very insensitive to customer relations these days, and the big-name mid-sized builders like Alienware carry enough of a price tag (and not enough in spare parts) to be unattractive to lots of buyers.

Jason_Wall said:
Ahh, it wouldn't be a proper C/G thread without a comparison between computers and cars...
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I blame Neal Stephenson.

Jason_Wall said:
We had to shut down. Turns out that telling the truth is unprofitable. Who knew? There's a thread on it around here somewhere.
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Sucks. Although having readers that are confident that you'd rather not publish an article than lie to get more ad revenue - that's probably pretty profitable. :D

Heather Taylor said:
Jason, can I be something OTHER than a n00bie?
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Welcome!

Heather Taylor said:
I'm Customer Care, not Marketing. ;)
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Soo...they make sure people know you exist and try to get them to buy something, you make sure the customers don't get angry and never come back after the first order? Repeat customers are the key to keeping the ship afloat, especially for a smaller shop. Don't sell yourself too short. Also, hanging around here makes for pretty decent marketing. ;)
 
Heather Taylor said:
You could always count on the [H] guys to give an honest review--I really do wish they were still doing it. There's a great deal of room for honesty in this industry.

Jason, can I be something OTHER than a n00bie? Can't you put my status as "Not a Robot" or something? LOL.
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convince puget to talk to kyle to fund consumer? ;) lmao

You know youre speaking with someone who knows what theyre talking about when they actually give the competition honest credit ;) yay heather!
 
I give credit where credit's due. There's absolutely nothing to gain by trash talking the competition--or anyone else (other than Mitsumi, apparently, I broke my own rule there). If I don't have anything nice to say, I won't say anything at all.

Hey, if I thought my help would be enough, I'd try to talk Puget into helping Kyle and the gang bring back the reviews...but then that's kind of violating the whole spirit of the thing. If I win the lottery, though...hahah.

Yeah, hanging out here makes for good marketing, I guess, but I do it for more selfish reasons. I met a lot of cool people working for VM, and some of them are here...Magoo, Ditzilla, and 0mega among them. I also want to give my current customers a less formal place to talk with me.

I suppose I'm a fair hand at turning a bad situation around, and I appreciate the compliment...but no matter how good I am, I have to have the support of the company to make things right. I've been fortunate to work for two very customer service oriented companies, and that makes my job much easier. ;) I've been contacted by some of the large manufacturers out there, and truthfully, I chose boutique because it allows me to do things like hang out here.
 
Just as a mental note on those USB card readers I noticed this too when selling these a few years back with systems -- if you reinstall windows just remember to disable the USB ports from the bios before your OS reinstall and it won' pick up the drive as your C: drive. It's easier than opening the case and unhooking the USB cables. The problem with that Puget review of the Mitso drive is that he makes a sweeping generalization about the tech being older as it relates to "floppy" technology but fails to mention that cards readers are fairly new technology (and those como drives are main use for the card reader functionality).

If you want a plug for a brand that works I have use about 70 linskey USB card readers and have only had one failure.
 
My loathing of the Mitsumi drives comes not from the technology or even the pain of having to disable or unhook the drive prior to a reinstall, but from this particular brand and the insane failure rate I've seen with the blasted things. I won't disclose exact numbers, but it was something like 3 out of every 10...and it wasn't just with Puget. They also had the annoying habit of frying the USB header on the mobo, which turned a simple issue into something insanely complicated. It makes me exceedingly cranky just thinking about it. In fact, I launched one across the parking lot in frustration not that long ago and it exploded into plasticky shrapnel. Very satisfying.

Dan's an absolute genius, but he's also like...23. Floppies most likely seem ancient to him....lol. I remember installing one in an old 133mhz Gateway and seeing the bios register it as a floptical drive. But then...I used to program using cards, too.

Damn, I'm old. :p
 
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