Dealing with an Alienware/Dell sales rep *IN* Australia?

I'm currently looking at buying a new m17x to replace my m1710 and so far, my dealings with Dell sales has been... frustrating.

The rep I spoke with essentially read out the baseline configuration, told me the price and expected me to buy it then and there. I actually had to ask him about upgrade options and educate him on what my choices were.

When I asked about EPP discounts he said Alienware does not offer (and has never offered) EPP discounts. In addition to that, the best he could do for me was a $65.00 discount on a AUD$3600 configuration.

When I called back a few days later to try and speak to someone else, there was apparently no one available to speak to so I left my phone number. The same rep I'd spoken to earlier was the one who called me back (at about 9.30pm on a Friday night)

So that's the background. I'll try again tomorrow to speak to someone else but in the interests of saving time, can anyone recommend a sales rep that they've had a good experience with?

 

I'm afraid my rep is not much better. They are VERY unhelpful form experience. Hopefully someone can let us know a good Aussie rep.

 

Unbelievable.

A combined 1/2 hour on hold, a whopping 12 transfers and no way to speak to anyone who has a clue.

In one case I hadn't even finished uttering "EPP" and the guy spoke over the top of me and transferred me through to some random area asking me for a part #, who then then transferred me through to a switchboard, then another switchboard, then to another guy who had no idea and transferred me through to yet another switchboard who tried to put me through to sales (who were unavailable).

When I asked to speak to someone IN Australia I was told they do not have access to direct #'s in Australia or other countries so it was not possible to transfer me there.

This is trying to get through to someone in SALES who has half a clue...

 

Yup. 100% horrible service.

I spent 9AM to 12PM on the phone with them today. Three full hours of transfers and hang ups. I'm absolutely sure the hang ups were on purpose too because they didn't want to sit with me on the phone to cancel and replace an order.

These reps are filth and should be kicked to the curb.

I'm tempted to get a Masters in Business just for the sake of cleaning up the entire facility lol ....

I was so curious at why people are so disgraceful ..googled India Dell ...2300$ PER YEAR ...for entrance reps, most of them are 28+ years of age ...no wonder people don't care ...those wages are piitiful

 

wow, had no idea things are so bad in Australia
have a read in my sig about ordering form dell US ...

 

Thanks mate, I've previously read your (excellent) thread - I considered that.

However, I think it unfortunately works out more expensive. My understanding of the process is that the purchase is charged US state sales tax appropriate to where it is being delivered (eg. MYUS.com's delivery address is Florida I think?), then once it hits Australia, it's slugged again for import/customs taxes.

I still wasn't quite clear on how the warranty works purchasing via the US though. If I transferred the warranty to AU afterwards does that mean I can still have AU techs come out if required or do I need to send the laptop back to the states?

 

you are completely right about the purchase taxes from Dell US. they will charge around 6% for Florida if i am not mistaken, and yes, you'll probably pay Australian import taxes as well (you must know better )

As for the warranty, you can transfer it to AU and have full Dell service regardless of the warranty you purchase. If however, you want an international warranty (in case you are travelling a lot or for any other reason want to service it in a country other than the one your AW is registered at) you are going to need a minimum of three years of advanced warranty.

Don't know about AU but for Israel it was well worth buying it from US.
If Australian prices are relatively close to US then yes, it will be more expensive.

 

Indeed, I just ran some quick figures, factoring in:

• US State Sales Tax
• Estimated shipping costs via MYUS to AU, insurance, MYUS membership and inactivity fee
• Import Duty for Australia
• Goods & Services Tax for Australia

It's relatively on par with purchasing in Australia up to the point it reaches Australian customs. Then the added AU costs (Import Duty + GST) combined with the purchase itself & the shipping work out more expensive than just purchasing from AU. Ah well, you've done a fantastic job regardless.



I'm assuming the Sales consultants are on a standard/minimum wage complemented by commissions for each purchase. If I find someone helpful I'd be more than happy to coordinate a few of us to purchase via the same rep and hopefully give them incentive to haggle the purchase price down a bit more for all of us.


Conversely, if anyone else from AU reads this and has had a good experience with a particular rep - do something nice for them (and us!) & recommend them here.

 

I agree. Before March, i will suggest to go to local DELL KIOSK for 10% off on any AW laptop. But for now, i could only contact online rep and the result is not much/no discount. What i got in my last order was a free AW keyboard on a A$3084 config. By the way, i do not think DELL AU's EPP include AW products.

 

Unfortunately I think you may be right. I queried EPP discounts for Alienware in my organisation and was told that Dell do not offer EPP discounts on Alienware systems as they are "specialised" products.

I've asked why the US and CA can obtain EPP discounts for these "specialised" products but we can't and am awaiting a response from the Product Manager that handles the relationship with Dell. The discount isn't necessary, but it'd certainly be nice to put towards the Intel SSD I have in mind.


Is your rep any good mate? If it provides us some leverage with discounts maybe he'd like business from a few of us here...

 

As far as I know, you cannot get discounts on Alienware products in Australia. When I went to purchase my M17x I bantered a hell of a lot about discounts and got absolutely nothing, from different reps. Buying overseas would be nice because there are so many more options to choose from, not to mention the little things like the customisable nameplates.

The two reps I have dealt with for this purchase have been pretty good to me, though. They are Dell sales reps and I am unsure if they were affiliated/specialised in Alienware products but I suppose they had to have some sort of knowledge in order to sell it to me (after reading this thread though, that might be questioned!). I don't think they were from elsewhere, and I am pretty sure they are from the Sydney offices but I could be wrong.

All I can say is that you can really only get lucky with the reps. I've never had problems with Dell before this past month at all, even with the reps. Maybe I, myself have just gotten lucky.

 

there is also the fact that you can get anywhere between ten to twenty percent discount from Dell us, have you taken that into account?

 

as i mentioned before. not really a big deal. if u r happy with aw keyboard/mouse/headset/boss speaker/some A$130 worth upgrade. that might happen. otherwise i can not get more from my rep¡£it's hard in AU.

 

I re-ordered yesterday and managed to at least get a helpful, responsive and cheerful. Did not seem massively aware of all the ins and outs of it but not too bad. This is as opposed to my first rep, where I had to lead the conversation the whole time and would get one word answers.

I also got a small discount but it was of the same order as ceshimm mentions. If you want I could pm you her contact details.

 

Acutally mate, no, I hadn't - good point.
So I've put together a quick example based on the information I have available to me now:

Example spec:

Intel® Core™ i7 820QM 1.73GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
Dual 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 4870 in CrossfireX™ (In the absence of Dual 5870's)
17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
250GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD (US, AU would be the standard 2x320GB in Raid 0)
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
3 Year Advanced Warranty (3 Year premier in AU)
​

Costs to purchase from US and ship to AU:

Total including 6% Florida state tax* = USD$3485
MYUS.com Total Costs to AU = USD$281**
Total to physically get to Australia before it has been assessed by customs = USD$3766 (AUD$4090)

*Florida state tax assumed at 6% and used as this is where MYUS is located.
**MYUS: Includes; Registration & inactivity fee, insurance and estimated shipping costs to AU.
​

Costs to clear Customs in Australia:

Now, my understanding is that laptops imported into AU do not attract any customs duty but are subject to a 10% GST (Goods & Services Tax) if they are over AUD$1000. A customs processing/clearance fee is also applicable, which for the sake of argument let's assume is AUD$50.
Note that GST is applicable on the total cost of getting it to AU, not just the purchase price - so that includes shipping and insurance to physically get to AU.(I'm awaiting confirmation of fees/charges relating to customs)

So, purchasing the spec listed above directly from Dell AU is: AUD$3983

To purchase from DELL US, ship to Australia, and have GST and customs processing fee applied works out to:

With a 0% discount from Dell US: AUD$4549
With a 10% discount from Dell US: AUD$4140
With a 15% discount from Dell US: AUD$3931 (approximately AUD$52 saving)
With a 20% discount from Dell US: AUD$3724 (approximately AUD$260 saving)​

​

So in summary, it seems worthwhile with a full 20% discount. I have also not included any associated costs for setting up a Skype US phone number and crediting your Skype account so that cuts into the savings as well.

This is still a fantastic option, especially for those that aren't in a rush and want to save some money - assuming they can get discounts that outweigh the costs. It's tempting for me just for the engraved nameplate (which, surprise, isn't an option in AU Haha ), however I think I'll just stick with the direct from AU route.

Exchange rates referenced from XE - Currency and Foreign Exchange Site 1 AUD = 0.921652 USD, 1 USD = 1.08501 AUD

 

nice mate, good info.
Actually if that is the situation, i wouldn't bother with ordering from US, a lot of hassle for almost no gain..
I'd understand if there was something in US that you can't order in AU, but if you can get the same spec i wouldn't bother..

Anyway you decide to go - good luck !

 

Yeah, looks like I'll definitely purchase via AU. It's just not economically viable enough as it currently stands. The only thing I'm trying to decide now is whether or not I should buy one with the (newly available) SSD option in AU or purchase separately.


On another note. I can confirm that at the current point in time, EPP discounts do not apply in Australia for both the Alienware and Adamo laptop range. Each country apparently has its own EPP policies.

It makes me wonder, do countries that do not have EPP discounts on these items essentially subsidise other countries that do have the discounts...

 

Definitely go for an intel x25-m 160 ssd and not the samsung Dell sells. You won't regret it. Add a 500/640gb storage drive and you're all set.

 

Hi guys,
since I'm doing Bachelor of Business (specialising in International Trade), it would seem silly NOT to put my input here.
Ok basically as far as I am aware, Australia does NOT have any Dell outlets (unlike say USA, or even Dubai from what I saw when I was there). Therefore.. I have found it impossible to reach an Alienware.. hell even Dell representative who is Australian (living in Australia or works directly for Dell Australia).

India and philippines. These countries get the most outsourcing from companies in Australia. Dell I think outsources your calls to the philippines, and to be more precise, it is handles by those from the XPS department. When I called last time saying to direct me to an Alienware representative, they said XPS and Alienware are on department (Obvious Lie.. but what are we to do).

Now being as they out outsourced, the chances of you coming into dealings with someone locally are pretty much 0. Therefore we get the ty end of the stick. For each of my dealing, the operators aren't very well versed on Alienware selected models, although from what I've heard they do real well with XPS computers. This is a problem, as Alienware (while small) is still the most expensive branch Dell has. Currently Alienware only has direct support for North America, UK, Germany, France, and a rather rest of Europe number.

Australia is considered too small a niche market to designate support directly.

Now, in terms of buying, prices can range from $500-$1000 more than our US counterpart prices. I confirmed the price of the M17x, and it was $800 different (various configuration). So best case you fly to USA and pick one up, but not everyone can do that.

That leaves you with trying to import it in (whether it be by a friend, someone from the forum here, or even via mfractal's rather great guide to ordering from overseas).

Now during my studies (and Ebay dealings) I've come across some information that you might be able to use in ordering from online (hopefuly with the 20% discount deal). Now its already been mentioned here, that it costs 10% GST (est. July 2007) of total price of a machine when importing it into Australia when the cost of that item exceeds the value of $AUD 1000 (and thankfully no import duty). Thats fairly good, as importing clothes and such has a 17.5% import duty. Sometimes a $54.20 fee is charged on top for customs duty.

One thing I'm not sure of but will try to find out is if you can beat the GST price (doubt it), by declaring the computer as a gift. Since its unlikely, best get whoever is shipping it to mark down the value of item considerably to get away with a lower GST price.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope I've brought something extra to the table

 

Thanks Jubbing, appreciate you contributing mate - however, read through this very thread from the beginning and in particular, a few posts up - I've already gone through most of that so unfortunately you wasted a bit of effort for answers that were already here.

I was in the US on holiday during December and January after spending a couple of months travelling around Europe and Canada so while it would've been cheaper to purchase a new laptop then, I wasn't looking for one at the time and honestly wouldn't have been interested in carting one around while on holidays.

Dell don't have outlets in Australia, but they do have kiosks. Up until a couple of weeks ago this page also listed 2 for Melbourne - one in Chadstone and the other at Southland I think. However, according to Gizmodo, Dell is actually shutting all of these down in Australia shortly.

Unless I'm mistaken I believe their call centres are India and Malaysia and the sale is diverted based on need, i.e. home, small business, medium business, enterprise etc. So a Dell Home Sales consultant will more than likely cover everything - including the Alienware, Adamo, XPS etc. product lines.

The problem with declaring as a gift, other than attempting to circumvent Australian Customs by making a deliberately false or misleading declaration - is that they will still inspect the item. If it's clearly a brand spanking new laptop declared as a gift then you're in trouble. I'm not sure what penalties may apply but at the very least you'd be required to pay GST on the value that they deem appropriate.

 

Yea I read Gizmodo's post on that, and that is why I didn't mention anything on the Kiosks, as I figure Dell will tend to pay less attention to problems that arise from the Kiosks. (my understanding is that they are already closed in VIC?)

And yes I read through all the other posts *after* I posted mine but no biggie

And no, Manilla is where they are based (and India). You see I'm born in Malaysia so I have a pretty good idea of accents.. and they sound phillo. That and if you read around a few Dell threads, you'll notice talk of Philippines. (This is for Australia only.. Malaysia has its own tech center located in Malaysia for Malaysian).

My point was that XPS people are seriously overwhelmed by Alienware specifications apart from what they have on their screen (unless they've dealt with the problem already).

Perhaps it would be a misleading decleration, however you can get away with dropping the price. Not by like $2000 or something. If you have family, you can certainly fix that as a gift I think.

Nevertheless I was bored so I don't count it a wasted post