December 31st.
Zhang Yuan arrived at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Handong University branch early in the morning. He ordered a cup of coffee and sipped it leisurely as he browsed through the Tieba forum. He wanted to see if the silly netizens had posted any interesting new posts recently.
Yesterday, he had already arranged for his employees to return all the faulty parts and send them for repair. He also used all the remaining funds in his account to buy parts with a higher failure rate, especially memory sticks.
Although there was a certain degree of contribution in stocking up, Zhang Yuan was more concerned about ROF's reputation.
When this brand was first born, Boss Pei spent so much money on 1024 Digital Day. Finally, it had a good reputation.
Wouldn't all of Boss Pei's hard work go to waste if the quality of the assembled machine ruined the company's reputation?
Therefore, the quality must be guaranteed!
They had to work hard to ensure that every assembled computer would not malfunction and provide the best after-sales service to their customers. They also had to ensure that there was enough stock so that customers in Jingzhou could have their orders delivered on the same day.
After he was done, Zhang Yuan could finally relax for a while.
Tomorrow was the New Year's Day holiday of 2011. There were three days off for New Year's Day, so everyone should be able to have a good rest.
Zhang Yuan leisurely sipped his coffee and browsed the Tieba forum.
Suddenly, a post on Tieba caught his attention.
"MSC's factory caught fire again???"
"F * ck! RAM prices are going to rise again, right? "
"Profiteer!"
"Damn, it seems like the price has increased!"
"I was still thinking of waiting for the shopping website to have any activities during New Year's Day, and then I'll install it! Now it's all over, a huge loss!!! "
"It's over, the profiteers have already acted upon hearing the news!"
"What is the meaning of this? Why is there a fire every other day? Can't wait to burn from last year's Double 11 to this year's Double 18? "
"Whether it's really a fire or not, those who understand would know. It's most likely the factory itself that started the fire."
"Indeed, these manufacturers are taking turns to catch fire. Not only are there fires, but there are also floods and power outages … In short, can't you just say that you want to reduce production and raise prices?!"
"The fire this time seems to be quite serious. Wafer production has been greatly affected. I'm afraid it's not only memory, but also flash memory …"
Seeing the netizens' discussions, Zhang Yuan was dumbfounded at first, but then he was pleasantly surprised.
He quickly opened the shopping website and checked the price of the memory sticks he had bought earlier. They had increased by more than 30%!
Moreover, this was probably just the beginning. In the coming week, it would probably continue to rise …
After all, Zhang Yuan had been in Tieba for many years, so he was very familiar with these kinds of tricks. Anyway, every time the price of memory sticks was at a low point, these manufacturers would suddenly catch fire or lose power. Then, the news would report that these manufacturers had lost more than a billion yuan. Then, all kinds of profiteers would start to frantically speculate on memory sticks.
That being said, no one knew when such an accident would happen.
If he had known, he would have stocked up on a batch of memory sticks in advance, and he would have definitely made a fortune.
This was bad news for Zhang Yuan.
That was because ROF's computer-installation business had a similar pricing strategy to those branded computers. According to Boss Pei's guidelines, they had to consider the brand premium and after-sales value from the very beginning. The prices could not be changed frequently.
If he wanted to raise the price, he would have to update the equipment. He couldn't do too many promotions either.
This strategy was mainly to eliminate customers' worries and give all consumers the impression that "this brand is very conscientious, very reliable, and very valuable".
Once the price of the memory sticks increased, the price of the entire computer would follow suit. It would make people feel like they were profiteers, and it would not be good for ROF's brand.
Therefore, the price of the memory sticks would have been bad news for Zhang Yuan. If the purchase price increased while the selling price of the entire computer remained the same, profits would be greatly reduced.
However, things were different now.
Zhang Yuan had already purchased a batch of accessories before this, especially memory sticks. He had stocked up on the high-end computers that cost more than ten thousand yuan, four memory sticks per computer!
That way, the price-performance ratio of these high-end computers would be explosive to consumers. They would be much cheaper than making their own computers!
To Zhang Yuan, he would still be able to reap huge profits if he continued to sell his current stock at the original price.
Of course, he could also consider raising the price.
However, raising the price was obviously not in line with the Tengda spirit and would not be beneficial to further expanding the market.
Therefore, after some consideration, Zhang Yuan decided to sell his stock at the original price!
Considering the price of memory sticks and other factors, he could consider making some adjustments to the configuration of the next batch of computers. He could increase the configuration and price, and then set the price again according to the new cost price.
Of course, that was a problem that he had to consider after some time.
That was because he really had a lot of stock this time …
At that thought, Zhang Yuan could not sit still anymore.
He immediately called his employees and asked them to custom-make a new batch of posters to display at the entrance of each Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. At the same time, the publicity page of the online shops would be updated.
The content of the publicity was also very simple. There would be no discounts or promotions, but there would be no price increases!
…
2011, January 1st, Saturday …
The three-day New Year's holiday was from the 1st to the 3rd. Pei Qian was happy to give himself a break and have a good rest.
The thought of Li Yada, Lin Wan, and the others returning from the United States on the 4th gave Pei Qian a headache.
How could a week pass so quickly?
Ai, happy times are always short-lived.
Pei Qian strolled out of the door, prepared to go to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Handong University branch to have a cup of coffee, play some games, and relax.
However, just as he reached the entrance of the internet cafe, he suddenly realized that something was wrong.
Why were there so many people?!
There was a long queue at the entrance of the internet cafe, all the way to the roadside!
Of course, it was obviously different from the long queues at the sales offices and train stations. It looked like there were only a dozen or so people.
However, such a phenomenon was very rare in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe!
That was because Fish-Catching Internet Cafe itself was very spacious. Although there were not many seats in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 1.0, people could rest in the coffee area, the viewing area, or the library area while waiting. They would not have to line up on the streets.
What's more, logically speaking, the number of customers who often went online should have been fixed. Even if it was the New Year's holiday, there should not be so many people going online, right?
Pei Qian looked further in and acutely realized that the problem seemed to be more serious than he had imagined!
The coffee area in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was not full. There were also empty seats in the internet area.
However, this long queue only extended from the counter to the outside. There was even a certain amount of space left for other customers to enter and exit freely.
The few people at the front of the queue only filled in a form at the counter, paid, and turned to leave. They did not go online at all!
The more Pei Qian looked, the more confused he became. What was going on?
At that moment, a waiter tried to maintain order as he said loudly, "Everyone, don't be anxious. Line up in an orderly manner. Placing an order at our online shop is also effective! The address of our online shop is on the poster outside! "
Pei Qian looked at the poster outside, feeling a little confused.
There was indeed the address of ROF Computer-Installation's online shop on the poster. There were also various price lists for computer installations.
However, the problem was, weren't these the normal prices?
The configurations and prices had not changed.
Why were these people queuing up in the morning to fill in forms and buy ROF's computer systems?
Pei Qian vaguely sensed that something was wrong. There was probably more to this than meets the eye!
The waiter said loudly, "Once again, I would like to remind everyone that ROF provides on-site warranty services for computer systems. We also provide on-site upgrade services. The fees are written on the flyer.
"However, please pay special attention to the special terms on the flyer. If you want to replace the computer system, you must keep the original parts. Do not resell these parts. Otherwise, you will no longer be able to enjoy the after-sales service we provide …"
Pei Qian felt even more confused. Why did they have to remind everyone about this?
Filled with suspicion, he walked into Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and saw Zhang Yuan sipping his coffee with a proud look on his face.
"What's going on?" Pei Qian was confused.
Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "Boss Pei, MSC's factory is on fire. The price of the memory chips has increased!"
"Huh?" Pei Qian was confused. He could not understand the meaning behind this.
Zhang Yuan said, "The memory chips were originally priced at more than two hundred yuan, but they have now increased to more than three hundred yuan!
"I'm afraid they will continue to increase in the future!
"Our high-end computer systems were originally filled with four memory chips. Now, each memory chip has increased by more than a hundred yuan. The price of the hard disk has also fluctuated. The price of the components for each computer system has increased by at least five hundred yuan!
"Now, not only are the novice computer-installation people feeling that our computer systems are worth it, but even the people who know how to install computers are feeling that it's worth it!
"In addition, you have been working hard to build ROF's brand advantage. Our computers are selling like crazy!
"Don't worry, Boss Pei. I've always kept your requests in mind. I will not raise the prices like those unscrupulous merchants!
"After I released the news that ROF's computer system prices will not change yesterday, many people from all over Jingzhou came to order computers today. What's more, dozens of computers have been sold in our online shop!
"Conservatively speaking, we can sell more than a thousand computers by New Year's Day!"
Pei Qian's face turned pale. He subconsciously tried to think of a countermeasure, but he could not think of anything.
Raise the prices?
No way. He had just said that he wanted to keep the prices stable. Wouldn't raising the prices be slapping himself in the face? What's more, people would still buy the computers even if they raised the prices. What's more, the profits from each computer would increase!
Lower the prices?
That was even worse. Everyone was buying like crazy. If he lowered the prices, even if the profits fell, ROF would become even more famous. What would he do then?
Pei Qian felt light-headed. He realized that there was nothing he could do. There was no solution to this problem at all!
Zhang Yuan looked relieved. "At the end of the day, this is a blessing in disguise!
"Boss Pei, you asked us to rent warehouses and stock up. Now, it's coming in handy!
"If we didn't have enough stock, we might have sold out today. Then, we would have to buy more components, and the prices would rise. Our profits would then be greatly reduced!
"What's more, a batch of faulty hardware appeared yesterday. All of them have either been returned or repaired. I was worried that there would be more problems with the remaining components. That's why I bought another batch in advance, especially the memory sticks.
"Based on the current situation, the memory sticks in our warehouse can last us for a long time. Our next goal is to make ROF's system unit brand dominate Jingzhou's desktop market!
"We can start to snatch away customers who are selling DIY and branded units!"
Pei Qian sat on a chair in the coffee area, feeling a little out of breath.
"Something's not right. Is there a problem somewhere …?"
Pei Qian began to doubt his life.
It was January 1st. 2011 had just begun!
He had not expected the first heavy blow of the new year to come so quickly!
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