I just want to add that while 1/3rd of projects on sites like ours and our competitors will be price conscious, the remaining 2/3rds are awarded based on ratings, certifications and expert guarantees. Some workers make tens of thousands of dollars a year and more (see the worker list ranking list at https://www.rentacoder.com/RentACoder/misc/AllCoderCompleteList.asp for details).

You can maximize your earnings by making your bid stand out from the rest. Many of our workers use free ExpertRating certification in a relevant skill to maximize earnings while others use our Expert Guarantee program. The Expert Guarantee program isn’t always required (some buyers request it), but it helps. You can also make multiple bids. Other tips include specializing in less competitive field, submitting relevant samples with your bids, and responding in a professional and timely manner. By providing quality work and remaining dedicated to your skill, you’ll soon attract high-paying buyers without you having to make any bids.

If you have any questions, please let me know. You can also call in to talk to a facilitator 7 days a week, or email us (see http://www.rentacoder.com/Rent.....edback.asp).

Nicole
http://www.rentacoder.com

1. Dell (26.3% market share)
2. HP (26% market share)
3. Acer (12.6% market share)
4. Toshiba (7.7% market share)
5. Apple (7.6% market share)

It should be noted that Dell lost market share last year, down 18.9% in growth. Apple too lost ground, down 12.4% in growth. Acer did great last year, with 51% increase in growth, and Toshiba was up 33.9% growth. HP stayed about the same, slightly gaining a bit of market share. Who is gaining ground and making the huge bucks? Foreigners selling computers for dirt cheap, because we’re in a massive recession. They’re making billions.

Dell is now continuing to lose market share to HP and Acer, and has dropped to 3rd.

When I was speaking of natural monopolies, I suppose to be technical I was talking about oligopolies. I was referring to the nature of these kinds of markets to be dominated by a few key players with NEAR IMPOSSIBLE barriers to entry. I don’t agree with your take on Apple. If I’m not mistaken, Apple was the first main seller of home computers. If they had played their cards right, the masses would be using Macs, not PCs and Windows. They had every opportunity.

All these companies are either old computer manufacturers, or foreigners entering our U.S. market. There’s no up and coming guys, gaining significant market share. Acer is based in Taiwan, and goes back to 1976. Apple too goes back to the same time. Toshiba goes back to 1939. HP goes back to 1935. Dell, 1985.

I’d be interested to see someone just step in and start making money selling systems. I think it’s next to impossible, even with clever marketing.

“It’s time to stop pandering to the low-end” ? So stop selling to the primary markets which bring in the most money? There’s not infinite segments out there, and some are more profitable than others. A LOT more profitable. The core argument I presented is still the same. Why a few key players, backed with lots of money, can buy in bulk and out sell everyone else. Sure there’s skill to it. It’s a ruthless battle between the key players, but outside of huge Wall Street backings, you’re never going to get into this game, and that’s my point. And why all the profits are entitled to a handful of people is also a question of society’s concern, especially when it requires a special ticket of opportunity to play the game.

You’re either one of the first guys in the market, because you yourself create it, and get an early head-start position and secure it, or you force your way in with huge amounts of capital. So 1) you get a unique opportunity presented to you available at the time, or 2) investors.

Getting investors and fighting to get in an already dominated market will be much harder.

As for selling organic milk, there’s money to be made, but it’s nothing compared to what the big dairy corporations are making. Examining the 2008 figures, only 3% of all milk sales are from organic milk. It’s probably a slight tad bit higher now, but as you can see, that already limits you to a small fraction of all profits. I suppose if we’re satisfied battling for the crumbs from the master’s table, we can all do so. But no matter how clever you are, I doubt you’ll ever win a place at the table with the big guys.

So as the big guys battle for all the money, the average man is pretty much confined to petty wages, watching his savings eaten away by inflation, due to the fractional reserve banking system and Fed policies. And as the corporations push their employees harder and harder, there’s nowhere else to go. They have no choice because they need to provide for their families, or starve to death.

It takes a certain type of ambitious temperament to fight your way to build a company. Telling everyone that they’re too lazy, or not clever enough, is no way to build the world we all desire.

There’s a strong argument for socialism. But as I said in the post, fighting back through taxing the fat cats, labor unions, etc., will lead to the big corporations moving elsewhere where they can find cheaper labor, unless they need very skilled workers. Then even the “low-end” jobs no longer exist.

When I carefully examine the arguments found in all these economics textbooks, the system is rigged against us. But how to implement socialism successfully, I don’t know. For now, I think capitalism works out better. At least if you can be creative enough, you can create your own market, and get in early. Or if you’re really clever, design some awesome technology and start competing with the big guys. Easy to do? No. But at least you can try.

The last 2 computers I bought, I typically spend around $2000 on a new desktop every 4 years, but this time it was around $1700 for my iMac and $1600 for my MacBook Pro. Apple is the ONLY computer company in the world who sells in this market at premium prices. They’re still a billion dollar company despite guys like Dell who cheapen the product.

How they do it is through better design and marketing. They found little holes in the marketplace that are weak areas; things people typically hate about Dell and others. Then they exploit those weaknesses.

Cheap milk is similar. If I were going to market milk, it’d be suicide to sell on the basis of price. Yet this is exactly what most dumb business people try to do. (Perhaps because they’re not creative or just plain ignorant)

Instead I’d sell my milk as being from “organic free range cows who got daily massages, ate only the finest grass and were blessed by Jesus before slaughter” – now I can justify my $7 per gallon price.

Not everybody will buy my $7 milk. But a certain segment will, and with better marketing maybe more. And surely enough of them will buy to make sure I have enough money to buy $2000 computers

It’s time to stop pandering to the low-end.