Dell to sell PCs at Staples
Dell pioneered the approach of selling configurable computer systems directly on the Internet without bothering with brick-and-mortar stores. This manufacture-to-order, low inventory, low overhead approach was a big factor in making Dell the leading seller of PCs. However, in recent years Dell has stumbled and it has begun sales in stores like Walmart and now in the big office supply chain Staples.
One consequence of Dell’s abandonment of the pure direct sale approach is the addition of state sales tax to the cost of a Dell computer. As long as Dell had no physical presence outside of Texas, the practical effect was that no one in other states paid sales tax. (Technically, you were probably subject to something called a “use tax” but that was widely ignored.) Where I live, the sales tax adds an extra 7% to the cost. And that removes one of the incentives for me to buy a Dell. Companies like HP that have always sold in local stores can’t be unhappy about the leveling of the playing field.
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