What's the point?

So, we all know that Alienware is...well, not the best thing you could be buying for the price you're forced to shell out for it, so why do people actually buy them? Is it really just because they don't realise that they're overpriced? I wouldn't have thought that would be enough to keep them in business.

 

Well, the same thing applies to everything else. There will be flagship items, overpriced luxury items or stuff and there's nothing we can do about it. Why buy a $5,000 shoes? Why buy a $10,000 bag? Why buy a Lamborghini, we can go on here forever...

So yeah, that's why.

(I know I'm like two years late but I guess just for the sake of having an obvious answer to a question. )

 

They buy it so they can brag to people in public that they can afford one. The alien logo can be seen from far away, and it's more of a social status thing where only the elite can afford (or can choose to purchase) an Alienware laptop without really cutting through their bank account. That's pretty much it. Stats-wise, there are other laptops that can provide the same or even better quality in gaming, but it's different to have a "gaming laptop" in your possession.

 

It's for the name mainly. I don't see why people would shell out $5k for a gaming laptop, when you can build a very very good gaming PC for half that price. In my opinion, laptops should be used as a mobile workspace. If you are taking your laptop somewhere, odds are you will be away from your PC for about 2 weeks max. You could go without games for that long. If you really want a gaming PC, there are way more affordable and better options

But if you have the money, then why the hell not?

 

Personally, I've always wondered exactly the same thing about Apple products. What's really so special about them that makes them deserving of being so overpriced? And why on Earth do people pay for it? I've always seen Apple corporatism as the "Apple trap" and it's an expensive one. I guess it's the same with Alienware but I don't think they trap consumers in the same way that Apple do.

 

I have always wondered something similar as I was out shopping around for a new laptop. There must be a reason though, and there must be a market for them because they are still around. I know that they are supposed to be high functioning machines and really adapted well for gaming, but in terms of how overprices they are relative to other products I am not sure, but I am assuming that it is rather high.

 

There are people that love to pay for the brand name things so they can brag about it! I have seen people paying near $600 for a pair of jean. I can't fathom the idea of paying more than $1000 for the Apple laptop left alone a $5000 laptop from Alienware. That is way too rich for me.

 

It's the Apple-fad version of a custom built PC. There is no real point to it when you can assemble the parts for a more powerful system at only 3/4th to half the price on your own. What started out as an experiment in marketing things that normally no one in the know would spend any money on, grew into companies like Belkin charging $25 for an $8 cable, and Alienware charging hundreds of dollars more than what a computer was physically worth, and people buying it only for the name. During the 90's and early 2000's, Dell computers were (and many ways still are) the first of fad computer experiments to overmarket and overprofit upon the appearances and presentations made to the public, but thankfully you and smart people like you can see through them doing that and question it.

 

Yeah it's definitely a name plate reason. The same reason why you can now lease cell phones through certain companies. A friend of mine came to me and showed me her new iPhone 6 Limited Gold (or whatever it is) and I asked her how much she paid for that one. She said "Oh, I'm leasing it for 12 months at $80 a month" I looked at her and said do you realize you're spending over $900 to have that phone for the year? Kind of ridiculous to me, but whatever floats thy boat.