Dell going upscale with small-business, home PC pricing?

Personally, I see this price change for Dell as a real mistake. But in reality, it’s not really my problem as I don’t own many Dell products.

July 11, 2006 (IDG News Service) — Dell Inc. plans to announce pricing changes to PCs for U.S. small-business and home users on Thursday, in a move expected to shift the company away from promoting inexpensive, bare-bones computers for that market toward more mainstream configurations that cost more.

Dell declined to give details about which products will be affected.

“It will pertain to how we can create better value for customers who opt to buy products and services from us,” said Dell spokesman Venancio Figueroa III. The company will announce a “major pricing initiative” during a conference call hosted by Ro Parra, senior vice president and general manager for Dell’s home and small business group, he said.

The move is a reaction to customer complaints about prices, one analyst said.

Dell frequently offers PC sales prices as low as $499 or $399, but those computers are low-end models that quickly grow more expensive when customers ask for faster processors or extra memory, said Nicole D’Onofrio, an analyst at Current Analysis Inc…. Source: ComputerWorld