Is Dell Charging for the "Free" Windows 7 Upgrade?

There is an article up on PCWorld.com that explains that Most computer companies are actually charging between $12 and $17 for the "free" W7 upgrade. The charges are being labeled as "shipping, handling, and fulfillment fees".

Now I registered for the upgrade after I purchased my computer back in August, and no where did it mention that I would be charged to be sent a disc. As I explored the Dell Win7 upgrade site, I found in the FAQ that certain regions would be charged tax and S&H, but there's no way to know which regions are going to be charged.

Anyone have any idea who is going to be charged?


Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/173069/free_win_7_upgrades_have_fee.html

EDIT:
According to a story on mouseprint.org (Link) Dell will NOT be charging US customers for the shipping and handling fees.

 

Shipping and handling. Ya man, it is just like any other industry.

To receive a free fleece with your ESPN Mag subscription, you pay for shipping and handling.

To get your free customized notepad from Visa.com, you gotta pay for shipping and handling.

This is the norm and they aren't trying to "cheat" ya.

 

meh, this is different imo
I already paid shipping and handling for software and hardware for the computer and if they're going to use FREE windows 7 upgrade as a selling point on the computer it should be that way. ie if they must, charge me for the shipping and handling up front when i purchase my computer, but don't expect me to shell out for shipping the upgrade afterwards

 

My point is that this is acceptable in every other industry. Something tells me the reason why is because the law allows it.

While it doesn't seem fair, that is a relative perspective. The flip side of the coin is that they could of just charged you the regular upgrade price, like every other company. I see this as them doing you a favor. In any other industry, this is the norm. The dealer doesn't come and pick up your car for a free inspection. You drive the car to them. My mechanic offers me free tire rotations, but I gotta pay the gas to drive my car there. They also offer to install my new headlights and wipers. But I pay gas to drive it over there.

My tailor offers lifetime adjustments on my suits, but I gotta pay gas to drive it over there. He also offers to resew any buttons that fall off for free. Again, I gotta pay gas to drive there.

Sounds perfectly fair to me.....

 

apples and oranges, its not a favor
its why I waited to buy the laptop, it was a selling point
and as such the cost of which should have been made clear up front when i PAID for the computer. I paid for a laptop with windows vista and a Windows 7 upgrade and paid for shipping and handling of ALL of that when I checked out online. That should be the end of it

when you go get your free oil change or whatever, it is on top of whatever service you bought from them already, so what this is essentially like is if they also charged you labor for the free oil change, but gave you the oil free or vice versa

 

You still have to drive to the dealer

 

which i would only have to do once
ie i drive there to get the service i paid for and the free oil change thats part of the promotion

 

The free tire rotation was for buying tires from them. So it is an apples to apples.

They do offer free rotations with oil changes too

The tailor analogy fits too. When I start looking like the Hulk, the jacket no longer fits like it use to. So the tailor adjusts it. Actually in this case, a tailor can only do so much, If you gain that much weight, a tailor will tell you it will look disproportional even WITH the adjustments.

 

Stop with these stupid analogies.

It would be one thing if the companies were charging $4.99 for S&H, but $10-20 is over the line. By charging that much, these companies are making a profit from sending out Windows 7 upgrades, which completely violates the "FREE" advertising.

It's pretty black and white that what these companies are doing is unethical.

 

Should of used Fedex huh?

 

ok your analogies are getting a little crazy now
lets get back to discussing the shipping here
what i'm saying is that when i pay for my computer, i also pay for any costs associated with it including the upgrade which happens to be free (yes you're right they can charge me whatever they want for it but at the end of the day, it appears on the invoice when i check out) and the shipping should be right along that.
With the car analogy, the difference is is that if i wanted the free rotation, i already brought my car there (ie paid for shipping) and the oil change is on them. They don't REQUIRE me to drive there, get my rotation, drive home and then drive back to get my oil change. And if that was the case, it would be apparant up front when i paid for it or it would be written on the voucher or coupon.
I'm not even sure what you're getting at with your tailor analogy. You're gonna have to explain that one

 

Again, every other industry considers shipping and handling a fair charge for "free" items.

You should go to a Men's store. Bring in a suit and say the button has fallen off. Every store will do it for free, because they assume you bought the suit from them. Tell them the sleeve is too long. They will adjust it for free. But you got to drive to them.

You buy tires from my guy. He offers free rotations, free road hazard, etc. You just drive to his place to accept the offer, of course, after you buy the tires. It isn't the free rotation if you buy an oil change bullcrap. This is the better offer, which is almost ALWAYS extra (usually called road hazard isurance).

My bottle of Baileys came with a free gift. I could mail them a check for S/H for a set of 4 engraved Bailey's glasses.

Every other industry, this is considered acceptable. But not the computer industry?

Edit:

The free tailor adjust gets even better. Not only do you have to drive to them, you got to drop it off, unless you want to wait an hour or so. And that is if he has nothing to do. Usually you drop it off. Go home. They call you . You drive BACK, pick up your suit. And make another trip home. And they can reasonably call it free.

Yet there is no article about tailors ripping us off.........

 

oki don't think you're understanding my point here
I'm not complaining about the shipping charge, whatever they deem fair is fair
HOWEVER i am complaining about not making it up front. Like you said it is a given wherever you go, it is a charge UNDERSTOOD by both the customer and the seller. In this case that understanding did not happen and it was not made clear. When I purchased this computer, I did so on the understanding that the number at the bottom of my invoice would be all I would be paying for for my laptop and the upgrade. When I read about the documentation about the upgrade, nowhere did it say that "FREE" did not include shipping. When you get free services as part of the promotion, caveats about the shipping are always made clear and up front. In the world of online purchase, the custom is that the vendor makes shipping charges clear and up front. When I pay for my computer, I expect the information about any costs associated with upgrades free or otherwise to be made clear so I can make an informed decision about my purchase. As such, an extra charge tacked on at this juncture would be misleading at best and double charging at worst.

 

Ok, maybe I was the only one who realized they weren't going to package a disk, drive it over to your mailbox all for free.

Probably because I've seen promotions like these before. ESPN mag does this. WSJ does this. "Free" leather dayplanner with S/H if you subscribe. If you lose your paycheck, HR will cut you a new one for "free", buy you have to pay a stop check fee. Jack Daniels will send you a "free" T shirt after you buy a handle and fill out a form and pay S/H.

Again, my point is, and I'll cut and paste, every other industry considers shipping and handling a fair charge for "free" items.

Even after you pay for an item upfront already.

edit:
Now if you don't think it is fair because you didn't see it coming, that is a whole nother discussion. We can blame the education system for that. Make economics classes mandatory.

 

you'll notice on all those promotions though they always say "SHIPPING AND HANDLING NOT INCLUDED" if you look at any of the promotional info on the windows 7 upgrade dell had on their webpage AND in print, none of them that i've seen ever said that

theres a reason there are laws that require vendors to make all charges up front so that the customer can make an informed decision on purchases.
If it doesn't say "shipping and handling not included" the default position should be that it is in fact included

 

I totally agree 100%. $10-$20 is waaaaaay to much just to ship an ordinary CD that will be in a paper folder. I order Music CD's from Amazon, the shipping costs....is only $2.98. We're talking about full size jewel cases too.

 

This is a valid claim. While it isn't on the front page of the ads, I do recall seeing it in a click through.....


https://win7.dell.com/

Edit:

I must add, that while there is no mention of shipping of handling on the front page, that does not conclude that the practice is deceptive. I clearly remember this from my advertising class. I'm sure I can dig up some notes..........

The BBB would clearly condemn this practice though....

 

Ok, so we have to pay shipping and handling on a CD. I guess there's no way around it.

Without changing the subject, the real question is...Do we get a full installation of Windows 7? I've talked to many supervisor's at Dell. Some tell me it's a FULL INSTALLATION CD. Meaning, you'll wipe Vista completely off your hard driver, and then install Windows 7. However, some have told me it's an UPGRADE CD. I don't know which to believe.

 

You can clean install with any Windows 7 upgrade disk. Or you can choose to do an in-place upgrade.

It sounds like they will also include drivers with the disk.

 

I downloaded the Win7 Release Candidate as an .iso and I burnt that to my own DVD (the cost of which is basically negligible.) So why isn't the Win7 upgrade offered as a free download? I'm registered as being entitled to my copy of Windows 7 so why not just allow us to download and save all those distribution fees?

There are PC Game retailers that allow you to buy a game online, download the .iso and you can burn it as many times as you want. They even keep the transaction on file so if it ever needs to be re-downloaded you're allowed to.

We can't do that with Windows 7...why?

 

I can think of a number of reasons.

The cost of the server. The cost of upgrading their tech support capacity (cause I know they are gonna get TONS and TONS of calls).

Providing those download services wasn't exactly a cake walk for Microsoft. One the first day, the page to download the RC crashed.......

 

The "Full" disc and the "Upgrade" disc all contain the same thing. It's the license that determines what version you're using, not the disc.

 

From my experience, an "upgrade" disc is just that. You must already have an OS installed to allow the "upgrade" to occur. This process changes the registry, files, and folders on the already installed OS. However, a Full Installation Disc is quite different. It allows a clean install. I recall a lot of people having problems using an "upgrade" disc to Windows XP. It reeked havoc on a lot of machines, and caused so many errors...they recommended to NOT use the upgrade disc. They recommended a clean install.

I've spent countless hours on the phone with many Dell "Resolution Specialist" trying to get answers about this Windows 7. One lady told me she answers 100 calls each day about this. She informed me that it will be a Full Installation of Windows 7, and that you must UNINSTALL Vista...and then install Windows 7. She gave me her name, extension #, and made a case # of our conversation. She tried to reassure my skepticism that each Dell customer will get a Full CD. If that holds true...then I'll be shocked.
But IF they don't send me one, they'll hear from me everyday until they do.

 

The upgrade disk do in fact allow a custom install. In fact there is no difference between the two disks. The license on a upgrade disk only allows you to install it if you have a valid Vista installation.

It was the same way under Vista, if I remember correctly.

http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/pages/moving-to-windows-7-faq.aspx

Edit:

You gave that lady a hard time man. Should of just went to the source, Microsoft.

 

Quote from Dell website:

"Purchase an eligible Dell™ system between June 29, 2009 and December 31, 2009 and visit the Dell™ Windows® 7 Upgrade Option program website at http://www.dell.com/windows7upgrade to register your system and set up your account. Registration deadline is January 31, 2010. Customers who register will receive an email notifying them when the upgrade is available. At that time, customers will be required to enter their credit card information to pay tax, shipping and handling charges. The upgrade kit will ship after payment is received (ship times will be quoted at the time of order). No Vista Home (Basic or Premium), XP or Linux Operating systems are eligible for the upgrade on business products. Vista Home Basic, XP or Linux Operating systems are NOT eligible for the upgrade on consumer products. The taxes, shipping and handling charge will vary by region. Please allow 10 to 15 business days from date of purchase for your service tag to be populated in our systems."

 

I found this story on Mouseprint.org:

I wonder if I'll have to pay, as I'm Canadian? Time to call up Dell.

 

Did they get the right to send out upgrades free from Microsoft?

Anyway, there's nothing free about any part of what we get when we buy a PC - but I agree that the cost should have been built in to the original price.

 

Exactly! That's my point. I don't want an "upgrade" disc. I want to completely reformat the HD, and then do a clean install of Windows 7.

Fact: Dell will begin sending out computers with Windows 7 on them when it's released. Customers who purchase a computer then will get the Full OEM Installation disc of Windows 7.

Meanwhile, will customers who fall into this "upgrade" category consistently have to install Vista Premium when they want to install Windows 7? I feel this will lead to errors. It did with XP.

Nawww, half the time they just don't understand what American's are trying to say. I expressed my concerns about the difference between an "upgrade" and clean install. She assured me Dell customers who fall in this upgrade to Win 7...will get a Dell OEM complete installation disc of Win 7. She just gave me the information to contact her when it's released. Could be because I asked to return the system, and to wait to buy a system with Windows 7 when it's officially released.

 

Installing with an upgrade license does not mean that you have to perform an upgrade installation. You can still do a clean install if you want. All an upgrade license tests for is a previous eligible version of Windows. If this test passes, you're free to perform a format and install 7 cleanly.

Furthermore, to be completely honest, I'd bet a large sum of money that no one participating in this program will actually get a retail upgrade license. Microsoft/Dell will be handing out OEM licenses, the same ones that come with a brand new computer. This means that there's not going to be an upgrade check, but also that the license will be tied to hardware.

 

You didn't read the link did you?

Obviously, Lithus did.