Alienware Reseller vs Dell Purchase?

I'm wondering if I buy from a reseller I will be less likely to get a DOA laptop. It really is my #1 priority that it doesn't come DOA. My parents are die-hard Apple fans and I would like to show them PCs aren't all that bad. (I'm not some silly 12 year old, I will be buying this with my own money, but I give my parents all the $ I make from lifeguarding). I understand Dell will cost less, but I'd be willing to pay a premium for obviously the better support, and less likelihood of a DOA.

tl;dr: does buying from a reseller mean my laptop will be less likely to be DOA as opposed to buying from Dell.

Thanks in advance!

 

Just wondering where about you are buying for?
Personally I prefer to buy direct so the middle man won't take a cut, plus when you buy from the middle man they are in charge of the product getting to you on time and customer care etc. compared to being direct you are directly dealing with dell.

 

PNB, XoticPC are both great, if you're planning to purchase from them!

 

To me it would come down to what extra services they offer for the price? For example, I know that one of the resellers will use a different paste for a premium price. For the price they want I can do over 30 computers for it and that maybe under estimating.

Customer service may be another thing. Dell/Alienware use to be the best, but recently I noticed that they are making it more difficult to get things done properly and the company above from what I read is outstanding.

 

Where are you located? I am asking because I would say Dell/Alienware support is fairly good in North America. I can't vouch for anywhere else though. Plus, you have the Alienware reps on here all the time willing to lend a hand.

 

Im in the united states (nj)

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You should not have to much trouble with service then. If you have a problem with service, coming on here will generally fix that.

 

If you live in the US, you might as well opt to buy from Dell direct!

 

Hate to be a bother, but my question wasnt really answered. Will ordering from someone like xotic/pnb give me a better chance of not.getting a doa as opposed to dell? Ty

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Chances are equal.

 

I concur..

 

There is essentially 0 chance of getting a DOA unit when ordering from Xotic or mythologic. Especially if you get one/several of their XPC services. I believe they have said they give each computer a once over.in a couple of their videos. Also, if you are not a good negotiator, you still might save when buying from a reseller because of the 0 sales tax (unless you live in Nevada) which is several hundred dollars worth of savings right there.

 

Are the chances really high enough for it to be a deciding factor?

It may just be me, but it seems most problems arise after a few days of use. ( if we are still talking about it being right out of the box)

Sent from my SGH-T999

 

This is not true in xotic's case. They have been having some bad reviews lately over at sager.

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FYI: If you have a Dell EPP member id (nearly every school, government agency and most corporate businesses do), you save enough to make the purchase from Dell better than anyone else.

 

And how do you obtain this member ID?

 

You can either call up Dell and see if your company/School has a EPP member ID, or you can contact the IT department on your company/School for the same. My school had a section with hardware/software discounts and how to procure them.

 

all in all, the main reason to buy from a reseller is the fact you can do a lot more appearance and hardware customization with them than you can when getting straight from the manufacturer.