Question for Everyone.....

We're looking for a way to give back to our customers.... and we've thought of a bunch of different things to do... we've cut prices, brought in corsair ram, and other things.....

There was one thing I'd like to know what you guys thought... I've been presented with a bunch of different aluminum breifcase type notebook cases... I thought they'd go rather well with some of our notebooks. They are expensive (like $150 or more) but I was thinking of offering them at maybe 75% off with a notebook purchase or something like that. Just want your opinion on a couple that I've already gotten in.... some feedback would be great. It might not be everyones' cup of tea... but we've got more than just these available to us.. I just thought these were the slimmest and most like our laptops. The inside is fitted with foam and can be cut out for any notebook.... sorta james bondish... but, give me some constructive critisism... If you have any other ideas, I'm open to them as well.


http://www.proportable.com/images/aluminum1.jpg
http://www.proportable.com/images/aluminum2.jpg
http://www.proportable.com/images/aluminum3.jpg


Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I would be interested in one those which will fit my eagerly awaited Z71V.

Some info please ? You can email me [ ]

I like the one with the curved edges,very sexy (jpg 3)[:X]

 

I think options like laptop coolers, laptop bags for women, accessories like travel routers, external drives, USB docking stations, webcams, and similar items would do well.

I think most laptop users would like things that make them feel that they could do most anything with their laptop while on the go, or feeling that they don't have to use a desktop for any reason.

 

Well, it really depends on the customer... I'd say most STUDENTS probably wouldn't care for an aluminum case. However, for the business professional, I think it'd be a great deal. 75%off with the purchase of a notebook computer sounds like a great offer... I know if I was an office worker, I'd jump on that deal. Those cases sure scream professionalism.

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

I like aluminum 2 and 3 a lot. The first one, I'm sure it will appeal to someone out there. I couldn't see myself with any of them though.

 

Right..... we offered Asus' newest wireless stuff for a while. At one point we had the option for either (the WL-330g wifi ap, the WL-530g wifi router, or the WL-HDD wifi hard drive kit) ..... those ranged from $70 to $100..... and were very popular..

I'd love to make a package with a nice bag, router, extra battery... or something like that.... but to do all that I think we certainly couldn't do it for free. In that case, there are two options...

Offer something like: get this package for some great price when you buy a laptop.... OR.. just add that discounted price into all the laptops and make it a standard thing for everyone. There are two ways to look at it.. Standard with our laptops, you get a bag, a router, a warranty, a this, a that...... sure we're more expensive, but it's a great deal and they are things you'll use every day. Or it can be looked at by someone else as a bunch of crap they don't want... Everyone loves it though when it's part of a standard package..

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Our normal bags are already considered more than enough by most people... I think we'd just like to draw more attention to ourselves and our notebooks. If it's a sleeve or a case that people will carry it in, then we want people to stare at you (in a good way)....

Speaking of sleeves... anyone know of good ones you might suggest?

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

The 3 of them come in 1,2,3,4,5" thicknesses..... they'd probably be $40-$60 if we can order enough of them... but i'd say i'd like 1/3 of our customers to be into them.

The other thing I suggested was some stuff from mobile edge:

http://www.mobileedge.com/products.asp?cid=6&scid=6

I think the line I linked to would be more for the women (or atleast that's what'd I'd figure).... I know someone with one of those "komen series" bags and even for a guy, I think a girl would really like to pull a nice pearl S5,M5 out of one of thoses. The only problem is except for the microfiber one, the leather ones get pretty crazy. I haven't heard back from mobile edge yet to see if maybe we can get some sort of deal on those if we bundle them with some of the systems...

Anyway... If anyone else has some ideas, let me know. In the way of cases, ideally I'd like to keep them slim and lightweight (like the laptops)... nothing in a heavy leather or a really big, carryall type thing either.

While we're at it.... if anyone has an idea other than a different carrying case, toss it out there. I'm not sure what people might be looking for.... (software, gadgets, t-shirts.... whatever)

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Agreed... I think webcams would do extremely well, along with USB thumb drives and other "dongles"...[ ]

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

I think you should do the 'some great package' option with every laptop. Let the customer decide if the package is really that great. You should also do different package types.

Package 1 (standard)

Laptop Bag and travel mouse or webcam

Package 2 (Deluxe)

Laptop Bag, additional battery, travel mouse and web cam

Package 3 (Deluxe Plus)

Upgraded laptop bag and same items in package 2.

Package 4 (Premium)

Upgraded laptop bag, additional battery, travel router, mouse and web cam.

These are just examples. But, I think the packages should factor in people's budgets and leave them the flexibility to get what they want depending on how they intend to use their system. And, of course, your systems should be priced competitively with other vendors.

 

Free stick of ram would be cool. But as far as accessories go, I'd like to see a nice bag, sleeve, or case offered. The aluminum ones are a bit of an overkill for most people.

 

Thats a cool idea..... thanks.


Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Rather then fixed packages,it would be more popular if you give discounts on the accessories when bought with a laptop.

Like your 75 %off on aluminium case with any laptop over 1500$$

 

I see that point to..... But what I'd rather is to make the customer think of it as more of a gift (whether it's free, or heavily discounted) rather than a.... buy this and get something 1/2 off kind of thing... For some reason, to me... there is more of a difference.

With the idea of the aluminum carrying case... just one concept I had was maybe increasing prices $40 or something....... for that one can understand we might be a little bit higher than someone else..... but we've got a two year warranty, better ram, a free case worth $150.... for that, most people I think would understand.. But if we left things were they were and said, get this case for $40 if you buy a laptop... I don't know.. it just sounds cheap in some way.... oh well, it's a work in progress.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Yeah,

People do like free stuff very much.

But you got to also see you don't charge more than competitors rates for the same systems.

It will be a thin balancing act.

Some people like heavy discounts too.

 

Is it bulletproof?[8D]

Free stuff is always great, But i'd personally love to get a notebook starter kit, like a bag, a mouse, screen cleaner, compressed air, those goodies.

And the buy xxxx for $xxxx and get xxx for $xxx does sound cheap to me too, since, who doesnt want free stuff?[ ]

Or even better, a raffle. For every notebook purchase you get a random number and that corresponds to a prize, from a Wireless G router, to a notebook case, etc. Someone always wins and there always a possbility of winning something big too!

That actually works better in person, I remember when i bought my desktop, sure it was a cheap one($350 for a amd ath2800, 80gb/512/etc) but there was a promotion, as you roll a case full of balls, one rolls out and whatever that number was is what you win. I won a 17" CRT which was really nice! Too bad it wasnt an LCD but it's still in good use [ ]

 

thats cool.... I think about what we might do some more and get back to you guys..

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

How about this...

If you were offering that $150 case for $40 bucks or other accessories as "gifts." You could just make a catch all deal, like "Buy a notebook and get any accessory at cost" (or 50% off, or for $40 or $50 or whatever, you get the idea). And have the qualifying accessories listed.

just a suggestion.

 

Yeah, I get it... I think you're all just about thinking about this like I am.... No matter how anyone puts it, I feel like it's some cheap toy you get for buying something.


But I guess when I look at it like.. get 50-75% off a single accessory with order..... that might taken the "cheapness" out of it... I'm going to get a feel for these cases a bit more and see what I think. Initially I thought it should be handcuffed to my wrist and the nations nuclear launch codes should be inside......

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

or a million $$ ,inside [ ][ ]

 

Where there are many participants in a forum like this one for asus, it is always good to give something to them exclusively once in a while specially for a new product.

i.e. 'Pre-order now for your w3 (ETA 2006 - just kidding) and get free shipping, or power buy for all members at notebook review...email me for the price...'

I sometimes join av forums for receivers, speakers, plasma displays and when a reseller announce something like this, a lot gets excited and probably majority end up buying from that reseller.

Offering a huge discount for a product (70% off product XX) to push another product(asus w3), may not be very effective for me, specially when I am already stretching my budget to buy a model that I like.

Forums can also be a good extension of your sales effort. Having been very helpful in these forums, a lot of members here that are also members in other forums have actually recommended you to other members looking for asus resellers!

Just a thought. Anything really is better, but right now, I have no interest in the case even at a big discount.

 

Ja Ja, Justin,

You must at least give us, forum members, free shipping [ ]

 

I like your ideas, I really do.

With the pocket pc stuff we sell... i've been working with www.pocketmatrix.com a lot over the last couple years... Through them we actually got the US to notice Asus' Pocket PC line...

The problem there was... we ran contests and specials for forum members... and what happened is people who browsed the forums ended up taking advantage of them.... not like there's really anything wrong with it... but I'd like to give something back to the people who actually contribute to the forum... not guests or people who just don't post.

I like maybe giving something a little extra as a special gift for people who order early.... with a pocket pc it's easier to give a game or a battery of some sort.... but thats veryyyyy hard to do with a notebook.... but a laptop cooler.. or something seems cool.

Lets wait till I can get the W3 pre-order up... we'll talk.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]