[plug] Good Hardware supplier in Perth

Phillip Kilby bishop.frog at gmail.com
Tue Sep 13 12:15:05 WST 2005


> Indeed. Even so, it does help for them to have a clue about the /uses/
> of what they're selling. I'm not convinced that knowing about Linux
> support is really a reasonable extent of knowledge to expect, though,
> when these people deal with thousands of rapidly changing items, Linux
> support is its self always in flux, and getting a solid answer about
> support for a /single/ device can take hours.

Yes it took hours for a single device last time I looked around for a
good nic that is supported in linux. The interesting thing is that I
ended up paying a lot more for the nic in the end just for linux
drivers out of the box.

> If you want sales people with a detailed knowledge of what they're
> selling, I suspect you'd actually have to pay them. And I don't mean in
> peanuts. This is not something that hardware retailers seem big on -
> because their customer base is so price sensitive, forcing them to keep
> prices at rock bottom. When they'll drive 1/2 way across the city for a
> $100 part that's $5 cheaper there than at the local outfit, one might
> say overwhelmingly price sensitive.

It gets a bit ridiculous at that point, I could imagine it would be ok
for $30 difference, but $5 doesnt really make that much difference.
Unless your talking about a whole PC where 10 devices are $5 cheaper,
making the whole system $50 cheaper. But even then, service and
overall package does make a big difference.

> I do think, however, that the sales people can be expected to have some
> knowledge of the items they're selling. This is, after all, part of why
> one deals with a retailer rather than using a wholesaler like DMA. For
> example, it's absolutely absurd for a sales person to sell a motherboard
> with an incompatible power supply - at the same time to the same
> customer. Surely they should at least ask "Are you planning on using
> those together? If so, you'll need the power adaptor, or to buy a
> compatible power supply instead." It's common sense.

I'm guessing that most linux users have at least some clue about
hardware and should know what works with what?

> Then again, with the constant overload and rush these people seem to be
> under, it's not surprised they can't even sell you the right part
> sometimes. This comes back to my desire for a retailer that's just
> a /bit/ less constantly rushed - no sales phone hold time, reliable
> courier prep, etc - and consequently just a bit more expensive.

Thats my point, is it really worth buying from a sweatshop? I guess I
can't talk though, (so ill just type instead) because sometimes I just
want to be in and out as fast as possible. ;-)

Phillip.

-- 
"The ecological crisis is a moral issue."



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