The Smartest Price War Ever

from the follow-the-logic dept

IBM’s Lou Gerstner has apparently said that Dell’s attempt at starting a price war was very stupid. However, Bill Gurley explains why Dell’s price war is a really smart move for Dell. Basically, the idea is that Dell’s business is much more efficient, so it can afford to depress prices the longest – forcing everyone else out of business. Of course, I’m still not even convinced that the PC business really is a commodity business – since it is possible to differentiate yourself through quality and customer service. For example, despite being a loyal Dell customer for nearly 10 years, I would certainly pay extra to avoid ever doing business with the company again after the way they treated me when the last laptop I bought from them broke.


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Comments on “The Smartest Price War Ever”

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3 Comments
mhh5 says:

um, yeah, and Apple is still alive...

While I know people will disagree, I’ll say it anyway… Apple has consistently higher prices for their laptops, and they still sell well. I’m not sure what share of the laptop market Powerbooks are, but I don’t think Dell is going to run that many major players out of the laptop/desktop business. Micron, yes. Gateway, maybe. Apple, no. IBM, no. Sony, no.

But in any case, this is all good news for PC consumers.

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