Latitude E6410 and Canadian pricing

I was considering buying an E6410, fairly well tricked-out. On the Canadian website I get a price of $2,660(or $2,523 in US dollars). The same specs on the US site would be $2.004... which means that I'd be paying a premium of more than 25%.

The Canadian premium seems to be even greater with lower-end specs. On the US site an E6410 can be had for $709, but on the Canadian site the starting point is $1,457 ($1,382 in US dollars). And unlike the US model the Canadian version doesn't have a wireless card.

For what it's worth, Apple charges about the same for a MBP in Canada and the US.

What gives?

Presumably I can get a better price if I pick up the phone, but I'm wondering how much better I can do compared to the web price.

Anyone have any experience in negotiating a better price?

 

When I asked the Dell representative why my system was 300$ cheaper if
I drove across the border 30 minutes away he just laughed and said something
about the difference in volumes handled by both countries. I guess it's part
of the price we pay to live in the great white north.

One difference I noticed between the two has to do with warranty. On the
Canadian site the minimum was 3 years on site next business day, whereas on
the US site the minimum was one year. This makes for a big difference. Since
my LCD screen broke the first day I was quite happy to have the better
warranty.

Yes you can haggle on the price. I think it may be easier to get upgrades
than to try to lower a price by downgrading. One really crazy thing which
I've complained to Dell about, is that the same system if configured under
"Public Sector" (or whatever) is 500$ more. I told them that was my taxes
they were collecting...

Having played with my E6410 for a couple of days now, I like it.

Paul P

 

I may be wrong, but I believe that manufacturers have to pay an additional fee to get it approved by CSA. In the US, they only have to go through UL. This isn't to say safety and performance is more stringent in Canada -- more like manufacturers have to pay to jump through one more hoop.

 

It seems that the US site offers a 3-yr warranty by default, however it is a mail-in rather than onsite. But it can be upgraded to onsite for $99. When I compared my selected system to the US version (upgraded to a 3-yr onsite warranty) the Canadian E6410 would be almost 30% more expensive than the US version after taking into account the exchange rate.

I also priced out a Lenovo T410 with comparable specs. On the US site the E6410 was $158 ($US) less than the T410, but on the Canadian site the same machine was $132 more than the Lenovo (again, prices are adjusted to reflect the exchange rate). This might explain why Dell doesn't do terrific volume in Canada.

Your suggestion that I try to squeeze more upgrades out of them (rather than get them to knock down the price) seems like a good strategy. I was planning on getting lots of upgrades anyway, so maybe I'll start out asking about a lower-end version and let them talk me into the upgrades.

And I'm glad to hear that you're happy with your E6410.

 

Your point is valid, and I'd not really considered the CSA requirement in the context of computers, however I am aware that it is a cost faced by any manufacturer exporting electrical devices to Canada. (BTW, in some cases Canadian standards are more stringent than those in the US. I just bought some US-made commercial laundry machines and the manufacturer had to modify the design of the dryers to meet Canadian standards).

In any case I expect things to cost a bit more in Canada, if only because of shipping costs (although there are also duties, taxes and brokerage fees to consider). Nonetheless, after adjusting for the exchange rate a comparable T410 costs 5.3% more in Canada, and I saw comparable Sonys on Best Buy's Canadian and US sites with a 6.6% price differential. The $2,000 (US) MBP can be bought in Canada for $2,050 CDN, which works out to $1,944 in US dollars, or a 2.8% discount compared to the US pricing. (I guess Apple hasn't noticed that the dollars are no longer at par).

So I'm not expecting to pay US prices in Canada, but a premium of nearly 30% seems a bit rich to me.

 

You should be able to talk them down from that. I started by configuring my
system using various paths through the online program to get the best
combination of savings -> for instance, if you configure starting with the basic
model which has no "$off the price" it ends up more expensive than if you
configure starting with a higher-end model with the highest savings and
remove stuff.

I also compared continuously with the US site, just for fun. I ended with a
difference of 100-200$ I believe.

Now, when I called Dell and went through my configuration step by step
the quote I got was hundreds of dollars higher than what I had come up
with myself on their site. So the first step is to get them down to what
their own site offers, and then go from there.

I have just about never haggled in my life but doing so with Dell was kind
of a fun experience.

Paul P

 

Thanks again for that.

I'd like to take advantage of the $$$deals$$$, but the only one presently being offered essentially amounts to getting Office 2010 for free. And I don't think that I have a lot of need for Office. (I have Office 2007 and will remove it from my current machine).

But that deal ends today. Hopefully tomorrow they'll offer a free upgrade to 128GB SSD.

I also remembered that Dell offers (for whatever reason) special pricing to employees of some large corporations (such as the one I work for) so I guess that I should pursue that approach as well. (Apple offers the same, and I found prices to be about 6% lower than list. Unlike Apple, Dell's "deals" are negotiated on the phone rather than the web).

Whether it is really "special" remains to be seen, but it can't be worse than the web pricing.

 

I find the Canadian reps are a lot harder to get deals out of. I've called several reps to get things for a previous notebook but none would budge more than a $50 upgrade.

 

Actually, there are many reasons why Canadians pay more for most goods and services. Instead of asking why Dell Canada charges more, it might be more constructive why there is a Dell Canada instead of "Dell North America" in this era of supposedly "free trade?" I can't blame Dell for the regulatory and legal roadblocks that force a separate Canadian distribution channel. Of course, separate Canadian subsidiaries keep Canadians working, despite the higher costs passed along to the Canadian consumer?

On the other hand, I have no way of knowing just how much higher the costs are for Dell's Canadian distribution channel. There can be a number of reasons why there is such a great price differential, above and beyond the obvious ones. Most people don't ever think of currency hedging, but increasing number of corporations do it. Similarly, a company might chose to keep pricing constant to enjoy a windfall profit, with the expectation that exchange rates will fluctuate? Does anyone have a clue what the Canadian dollar will be worth in relation to the American dollar a year or two down the road? Will it be at par or will it be trading for 30% less, in which case, Dell made the correct long term decision in pricing?

 

The E6400 was awesome in Canada.
Not only it was cheaper by 300$ or so, in Canada, but also had the better warranty

I guess Dell wants their 300$ back