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DAYTON — Since he was in 9th grade, Anthony Knight has been interested in fixing computers. Now, he’s turned it into a career, trying to keep technology available and affordable for people in his community.
Knight, who runs Knight Owl Computers in Dayton, regularly sells desktop and laptop computers and individual computer parts to anyone who needs them. He said he always tries to keep his prices affordable, around $500 to $600 for a computer. He also does repair work, much of which comes from retirement homes such as Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community and Bridgewater Retirement Community.
Although many of the computers Knight sells are refurbished office machines, he said he does his best to ensure anything he sells will last.
“Just within the past 24 hours, I sold seven computers,” Knight said. “I’m busier than ever, but I will gladly take on more work. This lady bought a commercial-grade Dell laptop. The price was $575 for her computer.”
In addition to his work with senior citizens, Knight said he regularly gets business from students attending James Madison University or Bridgewater College. No matter who the customer is, Knight said he hopes he has something for them.
“We try to keep things affordable,” Knight said. “Even if you compare our prices to Best Buy, you’re going to be paying similar prices, but it’s a consumer-level product. Our machines are more metal than plastic. More durability, Windows 11 Pro versus Home. We make it easy for everybody.”
William Dove, of Weyers Cave, brought an old laptop to Knight, hoping he could remedy an issue with a new version of Adobe Acrobat. Dove said he needed Acrobat to edit .pdf files, but the software developers no longer supported the laptop’s Windows 7 operating system. When Knight couldn’t fix the problem with Dove’s computer, he gave advice and told Dove not to worry about the $30 payment they had previously agreed on.
Dove said he came to Knight for help after his family recommended it. Now, he says he would happily recommend Knight Owl to anyone who was looking for tech support.
“The best part is his ability to communicate,” Dove said. “How he talks about what is involved in what issue you might be having, and shares information about questions that you may have about other computer-related things, like how to get rid of Microsoft. I would come back in a heartbeat.”
Despite chronic computer component shortages driving up prices for RAM and graphics cards worldwide, Knight said he’s kept his prices about the same by buying components in bulk from vendors across the country. By doing this, he can make sure anyone can get a computer, he said.
“When it comes to my pricing, I try to stay affordable for everybody,” Knight said. “I’m a long-term strategy kind of guy. I want to be here for two decades, so I’m not going to nickel-and-dime each customer. I believe in the golden rule.”
Knight started working at the computer shop as a partner in 2014. Now, 12 years later, Knight is the shop’s sole owner and employee. He said he doesn’t plan to go anywhere and wants to build a team to keep the shop running in the long term.
“Honestly, I plan to keep going until retirement,” Knight said. “Keep growing this thing, and having several people working underneath me. That is my end goal, to keep this thing going. It’s a slow strategy. Long-term, but you don’t grow too fast.”
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