New to Laptops, some maybe silly dell questions

Hello there everyone, brand spanking new member to NBR here, been reading the forums for a bit but i seem to have hit a wall


Looking to buy my very first ever laptop for my last few years of university

The laptop would be used for mainly word processing, with some gaming (Guildwars, Starcraft 2 etc)

Where i hit my wall was well, i'm and idiot when it comes to laptops...

Looking at the dell website, the studio 15 first caught my eye, but when i looked at it a little more vs the Xps m1530, i must say i really like the xps better, little lighter, can get a better graphics card, the little extra $$ isnt too much of a problem when i configured on the dell site due to the 25% coupon i found for it .


BUT!! alas, i'm in canada and when i configure the exact Xps m1530 on dell.ca i cannot use the 25% coupon

Is there a different coupon for canada Vs the states ?


Really, any help on this would be great lol, the Xps m1530 seems to be the laptop for me, but i would REALLY like to get the 25% off.. can i get it in canada? should i wait for this upgrade thingy mabobber people are talking about (no idea what it is, but upgrade usually means good things lol)


Really any help would be amazing

Thanks everyone


Little edit:

The dell Xps m1530, should i be waiting for the new upgrades or not quite worth it ?

 

Sorry to tell you that there is not equivalent deal for Canada. Usually Canada gets shafted when it comes to deals on laptops. Really, the only way to remotely get a good deal is wait for a good sale (which rarely happens), or call in and try your luck. Most of the time, the phone will garner better results than the website.

 

well that just stinks lol, 1500+ laptop for 1100 in the states, or 1500+ in canada... if i phone the company, would they be willing to ship to canada i wonder...

i've never ordered a computer online, or well... bought a new computer for myself before, so its all a really big learning experience for me...

really REALLY like the xps m1530 with the configuration i made, but maybe the extra 400 dollars i got off in the states isnt right with the dollar being so close right now...

 

i'm planning on buying a 1530 as well, but i'm hoping to see some more coupons (for Canada) near the 'back-to-school' time; shouldn't be too long i'm hoping!

 

so there are coupons for canada ?

really though the 25% off coupon may be too much to wait and pass on... thats a HUGE amount off no matter what..

 

There is always something going on in Canada for back to school. I'd wait.

 

The best I saw was 100$ off 899$ purchase.

I think those kind of coupons (like the 25% discount or other major deals) are quite common several times a year on Dell US and other American competitors (I know HP has them often).

Have you considered shipping it to Canada? the savings will be worth it.

 

to be honest i've never bought anything online before, i used to be REALLY paranoid about my credit card number getting stolen, i wouldnt have the first clue to how to ship it to canada... can i ship right from dell ? or do i need someone i know in the states to ship it to me ?


sorry for all the questions by the way... i know most people know this stuff by heart, thanks for all the help also

 

I believe you would have to ship it to someone there first in order to use the coupon... then that person would have to send it to you.

 

back to the option of talking to a dell rep on the phone to see if i can get the 25% ... dont really know anyone in the stats that i could do this with lol, my parents have a place in arizona, but no one will be there in the next few months to get it..

anyone ever experience trying to get the % off coupons in canada before??

would love some input on the process if its like pulling teeth or..

 

I had a 20% coupon for a full xps m1530 and a -299$ on the m1330 which are still valid. Just subscribe to the Dell newsletter they send deals often.


P.S I'm also ordering from Canada.

Note: I used the 20% a couple days ago.

Here what I got left:

 

I live in Israel and everything here is twice as expensive. I often ship things from different countries. This is not always a good deal, you have to consider each case.

When deciding to ship you have a few options:

1. Dell US ships to Canada - The easiest option but this is highly unlikely as they will be killing their own Canadian market.

2. Shipping to someone in the US - if you have someone you can ship to who lives in the US they can either ship it to you when they get it or give it to you in person if they are traveling to Canada.

3. Using a shipping company - This is the option that usually scares people. There are several companies that offer you a service that includes an address in the US and shipping. You order the product from Dell and gets it shipped to that address, the company then ships it to you. Usually they offer secure shipping in Fed-EX style. I have used such companies extensively with no problems but obviously you need to shop around for one with a reputable credit. i am afraid I can't recommend one as I use Israeli companies.

When deciding on buying something like a laptop abroad you need to consider these issues:

1. Warranty - I have recently spoken to Dell US and was told that they offer international warranty. Obviously, not having warranty will be undesirable so you should verify this.

2. Taxes - Each country is different in this aspect but almost always you will be required to pay some kind of tax when importing things by mail. You should definitely find out what the Canadian rules are.

3. Shipping costs of the whole thing - Shipping costs would obviously be higher than regular shipping. You should factor it all in and see if it's worth it.

4. Credit card regulations - Some companies won't accept foreign (even international) credit cards. This is done to prevent you from doing exactly what I am suggesting. I am not familiar with the Dell policy on this so you will need to find out. If they refuse Canadian cards you can either have someone in the US buy it for you or sometimes PayPal will work.

5. Electrical equipment concerns - I am not sure if it is relevant when shipping between the US and Canada but obviously there are different electrical standards in different countries. You will need to verify that it is the same standard or alternatively that using converters is possible.

These are the main issues I can think of now, I think it covers most of it. It may seem like a long post but It's not really such a big deal, you can often accomplish international shopping, I do it all the time.