Dell outlet : Post your experience

If u bought u'r laptop off dell outlet, how has been u'r experience ?
Which model did u buy ? Cosmetic damage ? Have u had to invoke the warranty ?

 

I actually bought a couple of things from the dell outlet. Two desktops and one notebook. The desktops were perfect nothing wrong with them except one forgot to have a mouse, not that big. My notebook was a scratch and dent which made it have scratches but just hairline on the top of the notebook. It came with a Core Duo and 1 gb for less than 600. I actually bought more warranty later for my notebook which cost me 90 for an extra 2 years, so now I am good till 2009

 

Not sure about Dell outlet , the pricing seemed too high compared to simillar configured new notebooks with coupons .

In my opinion the 2nd hand factor , cosmetic demages , reduced warranty and "lemon danger" justify much lower prices .

Of course Dell will not do it on its own as it will hurt their new notebooks sales , and why should they if some are willing to take the chance for only a low premium .

I'd too like to hear other opinions with deals details ( how much was saved ) ? Maybe it was after some kind of negotiation ?

 

I buy practically all my notebooks and desktops from The Outlet. My experience is you cannot tell the difference between new and refurbished (sometimes I wonder if they really are refurbished!), depending on what you buy, the warranty can be as good as the original (Latitudes), the price is generally WAAAAY lower than the normal price, especially if you keep looking, you'll find an occasional super-low price (almost seems to be a price mistake!). Out the hundreds of items I've bought, I've only had one problem. The rest were flawless. Go for the Outlet and don't look back!

ps. I wish Outlet coupons were more frequent!

 

I forgot to mention...The Outlet ships SAME DAY in most cases!!! I LOVE 'EM!!

 

Pricing too high? Dell rarely does the coupon thing anymore. They have the long standing $200 or $300 off an already overpriced laptop or desktop, which brings the price back down to what it was LAST WEEK when there were no coupons! Trust me, I spend a lot of time on dell.com comparing prices (I resell), and it is funny how the price one week is the same as the price the next, even after coupons and super $$$ off. "Free monitor" with a desktop? It's not really FREE. They jacked the price of the base system up, along with increasing the prices of the options, and give you a "free" monitor, but all-in-all...it's the same.

Off the top of my head, deals i've gotten include nicely equipped Lat D620's for $589, a $3600 (priced at Dell Home) XPS M1710 for $2400, my current E1705 with was priced new at the time for over $1800 for just over $1000. All of them are perfect condition, and work great!

Others opinions might be based on single or two purchases from The Outlet. I've bought hundreds of computers at The Outlet, and I would highly recommend it (assuming you want to wait for them to get the perfect configuation you want!).

 

Dell outlet is great! Have purchased 5 notebooks for friends and family off dell outlet! Most of them were insane deals! Now you do have to be careful, some notebooks are a complete rip off and are even more expensive then configuring one new, others like dells XPS line, you usually do quite well in Dell Outlet. Have even seen an M90 maxed out for $1500, configured it went for well over $3k! Talk about a savings!

 

Are there outlet coupons ? maybe thats it ..

I can't agree more , and they are overpriced too like someone else wrote , thats why I'm often not impressed even if the outlet is 100's $ cheaper . Dell charges 2x on memory and HD upgrades so when I look at outlet prices I don't compare them to a Dell overpriced upgraded configuration but to the total price it would cost me to buy new unit and upgrade it myself .

I guess this is the secret to Dells outlet .

Now that looks like a real bargain , not just because it Dell priced it for 3600$ , but also because getting any workstation , let alone a maxed out one for 1500$ is a good buy .

 

I figure if I can save at least $300 (and usually I save more), or if I can get a low-end unit for $400 (for someone who has a limited budget), then it's worth it. When I save substantially more, it allows me to spend a few hundred at newegg.com buying some really nice upgrades!

 

I like u'r signature

 

And how can I buy @ Dell Outlet?

Just at their website?

 

correct delloutlet.com

 

So whats the deal with the outlet prices ? I too occasionally see posters here who "catch" hot deals in the outlet. But the wierd thing is, its not a sale, just some specific systems have a very good price, as compared to other similarly spec'd systems in the outlet. What gives ? Why do they have only a few systems for a low price ?

 

i bought the comp in my sig for 1671.71$ shiped. my eperiance was great. they processed and shiped it over the weekend! WOW! it came, and didn't have a scratch on it.

 

YOu have to shop around for a little. Sometimes the deals really aren't deals. Other times they can be a deal. For instance there was a 6400 for sale last Thursday for $1000 that was close to $1200 if you bought it new.

While I have not purchased one from the outlet, I have a frield that has bought two laptops from there. Both have been working fine without issues since they were bought.

 

I think that's the only real problem with the Outlet. For some reason Dell can sell very similar configurations at very different prices. However, I believe the deals are better with the Latitudes than the Inspirons.

I bought my notebook from Dell Outlet when they were offering a 15% off coupon for Latitudes only. I'm sure it'll be a long time before that's offered again, if at all. But it brought my configurations down (without the extra battery) to $1025 w/ 3yr Next Business Day On-Site Service, taxes, and handling charges. Even built through my school's Dell Premier website, the same configuration would cost $1800 (granted the warranty is upgraded with CompleteCare) today.


In short, the only problem I have with Dell Outlet is that shopping there feels more like a game of chance.

 

But, that is part of the fun! It's like a treasure hunt--that maybe you'll happen upon an almost impossible deal! Once you do, it feels real good!

 

Speaking of a treasure hunt, look what I just found (and bought):

Dell D620, Core Duo 1.66, 4GB RAM, 100GB 7200RPM, 8X DVD Burner for $1589. Priced new, right now, is $3086!!! The RAM alone, at Dell.com is a $1,750 upgrade, and at crucial.com is $2339!

I probably swap the ram with my E1705, and sell the D620 for what I paid for it!!! Talk about a free 4GB RAM upgrade! The Outlet rocks!

(I could have gotten it even cheaper, but the 10% off coupon required I upgrade to GOLD TECH support, which I'll never use, and that cost $69...so I only saved $100 using the coupon)

 

Well, i've look and looked, and nobody, anywhere, has actually put 4GB into an E1705 to verify whether it works. I found one person who had 2.5GB in their E1705 (2GB + 512MB), and that worked, so I can assume (hope) that two 2GB RAM's will work too!

If not, it's an easy sell to make some $$$.

I'll post as soon as I know for sure! (not that anyone really cares, since 4GB is too expensive for most people).

 

This may be a stupid question. When there is no video card listed in Outlet, does it mean that the computer doesn't come with one at all, not even an integrated one?

 

I got the laptop in my sig... just about a maxed out M90 Precision workstation with a 3 year waranty for $1700. This included MS Office Pro. The "dell retail" was over $3800. But the condition I got it in was just like brand new. The only way to tell it was a "certified refurb" is the red sticker on the bottom saying it is. But the dell prices lately on the outlet have been really high I got mine about 2 months ago and now the same Laptop goes for 1k more.

If there is no gfx card listed it usually means that it is integrated gfx, computers dont really work withought a graphics solution.

 

4 gigs will work, xp will only recognize 3 though, unless you running the 64 bit version

 

No. Obviously (or not), Dell wouldn't make, or sell, a system that had no video card.

If they don't list one, it's integrated video.

 

Outlet's great! Really, I can't see the point of buying a dell anywhere else.

I've bought 3 Inspiron9400's, and an XPS desktop, which were all below market value. Any problems are sorted out (you just need a little patience!)- you're entitled to demand a perfect system.
Any purchases I make, I compare the prices to ebay not dell.com.

 

I'm actually wondering the same thing. Also, where is the actual "Dell Outlet" located and where would my comp be shipped from?

 

does the outlet ever sell E1705s with the 7900 GS?

 

yes they do, but i haven't seen any also in the past couple days

also i haven't seen any core 2 duos for the e1705s, they have lots of core duos however