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Non-Tech : CompUSA (CPU) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TH who wrote (1772)	3/20/1999 11:48:00 AM
From: Tradelite	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3187

Hope CPU management is paying attention. The following story can be seen at infoworld.com _______________________________ Dell scores big with Gigabuys.com online superstore By Jim Battey (March 22, 1999) After establishing itself as the premier direct vendor in the technology arena, Dell Computer is testing the reseller waters with the launch of Gigabuys.com, a massive online commerce store. Gigabuys.com went live earlier this month and by early indications, it looks like a winner. Among other strong attributes, the site provides a generous selection of products and a seamless shopping experience. Dell has always been an online innovator at the forefront of the Internet-commerce revolution. The company says it currently sells more than $14 million in products each day over the Web, which accounts for 25 percent of its overall business. Dell's stated goal is to conduct 50 percent of its business online by the end of next year, and Gigabuys.com should go a long way toward helping the company achieve that milestone. Smooth sailing The first impression customers get when they visit Gigabuys.com is that it looks a lot like many of the other online stores, such as NECX or Insight. But a smooth user interface, outstanding searching and sorting capabilities, and a broad selection of products set Dell's offering apart from much of the competition. Gigabuys.com currently offers more than 30,000 computer-related products, and it promises at least 10,000 more later this year. Although the site is primarily geared toward consumers and small businesses, there is such a wide range of enterprise products that IT managers should take notice. For example, the Networking section of the store includes a hearty selection of hubs, routers, and network interface cards. One major drawback is the lack of choice when it comes to computer systems. It should come as no surprise that only Dell products are available in the desktop, server, and notebook categories. Navigation through the site is a breeze; the design is clean, and the pages load extremely fast. Nice touches such as the Gigabuys.com Hot Picks makes it easy to find what you're looking for. Searching for products is a snap, and you can sort search results by vendor, price, or product name. Like the Dell Store, the site uses the now-familiar shopping cart motif. Other useful features include the running purchase total that appears in the navigation bar and the ability to save your shopping cart for future visits to the site. Each product page is laid out sensibly. A color photograph of the product appears, along with its pertinent features, key specifications, and compatibility information. Dell also provides technical support information such as support phone numbers for the third-party vendors and the URL of their Web support pages. Advantage, Dell In addition to a pleasing shopping experience, Gigabuys.com offers generally competitive pricing. The prices tend to fall in the middle of the pricing range compared to other online vendors. For example, 3Com's Palm III goes for $250 at Gigabuys.com, which is on the low end of the $200 to $390 price range, but around the median price. Dell holds a key advantage over competitors such as Compaq and Hewlett-Packard: It doesn't have to worry about underpricing its network of resellers. Dell also benefits from a well-established customer base, and Gigabuys.com leverages the 25 million quarterly visits the Dell Web site receives. Much of Dell's online revenue is generated through customized Web storefronts called Premiere Pages that the company provides for its best customers. Dell plans to incorporate Gigabuys.com's sprawling inventory into the Premiere Pages in the hopes of providing one-stop online shopping. One of the biggest challenges facing Dell is successfully integrating the Gigabuys.com store with its existing Web site, and Dell appears to be off to a good start. Even though Dell has some experience selling third-party products, it must also learn to deal with distributors and additional technical support queries. Based on its past triumphs and the solid debut of Gigabuys.com, Dell looks like a big company that will just keep getting bigger.