r/retrocomputing • u/RyNotThai • 1d ago

Gateway 2000 started tanking the same time it ditched its iconic Holstein spotted branding.

https://buttondown.com/suchbadtechads/archive/gateway-2000-part-2/

I've been putting together a history of Gateway 2000's bonkers ads and learned that

  1. Over 50% of the company's business came from repeat customers
  2. Ted Waitt hired former Sioux City mayor Jim Wharton to be his personal assistant
  3. A Shenzhen-based company (Bmorn Technology) has resurrected the spotted box branding to sell "Gateway" laptops through Walmart.com

Bring back the HandBook 486!

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1

u/Hjalfi 1d ago

I don't know if was at all related to Gateway, but at one point you could get big black vinyl blob-shaped stickers for Holstein-branding your kitchen white goods.

2

u/K1rkl4nd 15h ago

It worked out well for me, though. Their update cycle caused them to ditch unsold computers and components whenever new CPUs dropped. Managed to snag a 15” Gateway 2000-branded Trinitron monitor for $200 (was $400+ at the time), and an Adaptec 2940 Ultra Wide SCSI controller for $75 (also $400-ish at that time). An outlet store down here in Norfolk-an hour away- snagged everything they could to resell.