What the heck is up with Dell laptop prices?!?!??!

Over a year ago i bought an xps m1330 2.53ghz cpu, 4GB memory, 250GB hard drive, intel wireless N + completecare in home warranty for about $1350 via EPP.

The equivelent studio xps is more expensive for the same specifications and they don't even let you configure intel wireless anymore. Dell EPP only saves me $50 bucks. What the heck kind of deal is that???

Anyone have any coupons or insight on how to get a studio xps13 for cheaper or know whats up with high dell prices?

 

The 1340 is an NVIDIA chipset, and I've read that there's some interoperability issue with the Intel and NVIDIA hardware. I thought that was strange, but didn't mind the Broadcom adapter as it's been great and Win 7 has the driver for it right on the disc.

I've also noticed that I bought mine in mid-August, and the price is STILL a little bit more for it. Strange. I had bad RAM with mine, but otherwise it's been great. Dell overnighted another 8GB of RAM for it.

 

These are the specs i got for my GF.

-XPS 1340, Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 (2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3M L2 Cache)
-4GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz 2 Dimm
-13.3 Inch Wide Screen WXGA WLED Backlit LCD
-500GB 7200RPM Free Fall SensorSeagate Hard Drive
-Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit
-Dell Wireless 1510 802.11n Half Mini Card
-Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1)
-NVIDIA GeForce N10M-GS 512MB
-56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion P Primary Battery
-2 Year Limited Warranty
-LoJack Theft Recovery Service,XPS - 1 Year DHS
-McAfee Sapphire MUI, 36-Month

$ 1,149.39 Final Total After Tax.

This was through the phone VIA EPP.
First, the epp price was similiar to what you listed.
I called over the phone, asked about any similiar deals or discounts that would give me a lower price. I mentioned i was a college student. she then told me about a "student" special, which gave me a cheaper price with the exact same specs i wanted (and also came with a printer). I then told her i had no need for a printer, and if there was any way to the printer taken off for a cheaper price. She then talked to her supervisor, which agreed to take off an additional 50 without the printer. This brought the computer to $1249.39 after tax.

The next day, i recieved an email from dell listing a 2-day coupon for $100 off epp systems that were $1000 or more, and it said it was good with other current offers. I then called and was able to use it (with some hassling since i already made the order). This brought the the final price to $1149.39.

So, I would recommend waiting till you get an epp coupon for a dollar amount off, then talk to someone over the phone and see what discount they can give you as well.

 

Regarding current EPP prices, also see this post.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=432248

 

I just posted there. I usually go through a bit of effort before I buy so I know what options are available, and sometimes you can get stuff that isn't even spec'd yet if you just call them. Tell them you want overnight shipping for free as well, and they'll give it to you.