Can Newegg Survive the Post-PC Future?

jfruhlinger writes "Upgrading your desktop PC's video card was once a rite of passage for many Slashdot readers — and could also be a gateway to building your own computer from the motherboard up. And more often than not, you bought the components from Newegg. But the tablets and ultrathin laptops that are today's hot sellers don't let you so much as swap in more RAM. What's a component retailer to do in world without user-serviceable components?"

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[Liamecaps]

That's probably why they advertise rice cookers in my inbox every morning. agh

Did the market really shift?

[Georules]

I doubt that those who purchased parts from newegg.com in the past are going to completely shift to ultrathin laptops and tablets. Developers, gamers, hackers who bought parts from newegg in the past are still going to want to make custom systems in the future.

Kids are still interested in this as well. I taught middle schoolers how to build a PC from scratch, and wanted nothing more than to work on their custom machines.

Re:Did the market really shift?

[erroneus]

I'm pretty much with you on this point of view. In fact, there might be a SLIGHT drop in volume, but by my guess-timation, NewEgg's future demographic is pretty much the same people who have been with NewEgg all along. Is that "survival"? In my mind it is. But there are still a million MBAs out there who believe that if you're not growing, you're dying. It doesn't make sense to me, but plenty to those who believe growth means everything.

Re:Did the market really shift?

[ShavedOrangutan]

I think you're the minority at this point.

Most computer geeks I know are using years-old hardware because it works just fine. Take a 3 year old system and strip off all the OEM installed garbage and it's lightning fast. On the other hand, most normal users I know are buying brand new PCs that are way over powered and throwing them away when they're too filled with malware to run anymore. And they buy those at Best Buy.

$300 for the latest video card? It's probably not going to boost the frame rate much for Unreal Tournament. My 5 year old NVidia 6thousandwhatever works great. I'll spend my $300 on an Acer Aspire One.

Huh?

[DogDude]

Post-PC? "World with user-serviceable components"? I don't know what world jfruhlinger lives on, but it ain't the same as mine. Desktop PC's will be around for a very long time. It's pretty hard to do any kind of actual work on an i*.

False Premise

[nmb3000]

Hello, I'd like to introduce you to the False Premise.

Besides, people who are replacing their real computer with whatever the current "hot seller" is are not the primary customer of computer component retailers.

Assuming they don't do anything stupid to themselves, NewEgg is going to be just fine.

Can itworld.com survive?

[dreemernj]

Can itworld.com survive an obvious lack of valid topics to talk about?

Re:Holy Wars ... the Punishment Due

[Timothy Brownawell]

Obviously there will always be some demand for high-end PCs. However, it is plausible that at some point in the near future, most people will be using "netbooks" or tablets for their day-to-day computing needs.

Won't those be the same people who currently buy preassembled machines at bestbuy or walmart?

Re:Holy Wars ... the Punishment Due

[bigstrat2003]

Exactly. The people who bought components on Newegg are enthusiasts; they aren't ever going to abandon their custom-built PCs in favor of some tablet. They might own a tablet, it's true, but that will be supplemental to what they already use.