Why I ordered Inspiron 1720 and cancelled Vostro 1700

Hi folks, this is my first post, after lurking for a couple of days and ordering my first ever Dell today - this has to be the best Dell forum out there! I've learned quite a bit from this forum and hope to help out some people with the little bit of experience and knowledge that I've gained recently.

After extensive research, I first ordered a Vostro 1700 because it seemed to be a superior value to the Inspiron like others have said, but later cancelled it after discovering a better deal with the Inspiron 1720 - yes, BETTER. First, my configurations and then I'll explain why.

Main specs of my Inspiron 1720 (total price: $1290 after discounts and tax):

Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7300 (2.0GHz, 4MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
17" UltraSharp WUXGA+ LCD w/ True Life (1920 x 1200)
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
160GB 5400RPM SATA hard drive
DVD/CD-RW
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic sound card
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N mini card
56Whr Li-Ion battery (6 cell)
Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
Midnight Blue

The Vostro 1700 that I cancelled (total price: $1269 after discounts and tax):

Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
17" UltraSharp WUXGA+ LCD w/ True Life (1920 x 1200)
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
160GB 5400RPM SATA hard drive
DVD+/-RW
Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N mini card
85Whr Li-Ion battery (9 cell)
Windows Vista Home Basic Edition

The prices are nearly identical, and although my Inspiron does not have the 9-cell battery (I don't like the idea of it sticking out or possibly being 'loose') or the DVD writer (I've never used mine in my current notebook), it has significant upgrades over the Vostro including the processor, sound card, and Windows. From what I've read, it seems like the Vostro's case is sturdier and more shock resistant than the Inspiron's (or am I mistaken?), but that's a small trade-off.

I first ordered the Vostro online with the $414 discount from the website - I didn't have any other coupons to stack onto it, nor do I know if they work. For the Inspiron 1720, here's what I did:

- I configured it online from the base configuration (important!) and used the $300 off coupon code that many people are currently using.
- Then I called my local Dell mall kiosk and asked what he could do for me beyond what I could get online. He stated that he could definitely take off an additional $50.
- Then I presented the online configuration to the kiosk rep I talked to on the phone and reminded him of what he had told me. He proceeded to give me the $50 off, as well as throwing in the color upgrade for free after I complained about the recent price increase to try to negotiate paying the $20 - but he generously gave it to me for free after calling his supervisor. So I bought my system there.
- Then I called customer service to complain after receiving the order email saying that the estimated delivery date would not be until 9/7/07 (!). The rep gave me free next day shipping, said he'd also 'expedite' the processing (apparently that doesn't do anything, according to others), and also took off another $50.

Note that I also called Dell sales reps before going to the mall kiosk to see if they'd do anything, and on my 4th (!) call I got a rep to say that they could only do a 'manager's discount' of $20. I've read that some others have had more success in negotioting via phone, but I believe that the kiosk is the way to go, if you have one in your area... unless you have some stackable coupons that I don't know about or you're living in one of these tax-free weekend states. I will say that if there is another delay, I'll call back again and try to negotiate the free IR remote and Dell $s, etc., like others have done - unless people think that I'd be able to call now to get these things.

So, I think that I did the best that I could for my first Dell experience (and no DPA) and am very pleased with my system specs for the price I paid. Feel free to let me know what you think of my system or my deal. I hope that this was useful for some of you. Thanks for reading!

(EDITED for additional obtaining-of-deal details and clarity, and also to ask that you refer to my post #22 below for additional details of the transaction if it sounds like what I did was shady. It was more that I got lucky with some understanding and generous reps.)

 

Do not taunt HappyFunBall...for he has made a very useful post. Repped.

HFB, sounds like you came up with a terrific deal. I too am finding that Inspirons are pricing out more cheaply than Vostros this week; configuring from the base model 1720 and using the $300 code is definitely the way to go.

I'm very interested to hear about your success at the kiosk. Did you print out your online configuration? I've also been having no success getting phone reps to budge beyond the $300 coupon price; in fact, I had one lie to me that the $300 off coupon could only be used with a DPA.

Do you have the name/extension of the phone rep who gave you the next day shipping and $50 when you called after the kiosk trip? Seems like some reps are better than others. If you do, could you PM that info to me? Thanks!

 

Your logic is correct, I think you made a good choice the CPU alone is worth more. I have found over the years with Dell you have to price different things different ways to get the best price, sometimes it makes no sense. This I understand but you still got a better deal!

It is a higher end system and most that are much more powerful cost much more.

 

I would say that if you want a warranty, then get an Inspiron, if you don't want a warranty, get a Vostro.

 

Durmat, thank you for my 1st rep and comments! And glad to see that you know the SNL reference! And nice catch with the starting from base configuration, I've edited my original post to reflect that. I did print out my configuration and take it to the kiosk. Although I first called him and got him to say that he could do better than what I got online - I should add this to my original post as well.

The guy was pretty reasonable. In person, I reminded him of what he said over the phone and also saying that I'd talked to phone sales reps (I didn't exactly tell him how much success I had there - or the lack thereof!). He pretty quickly deducted the $50 with a coupon code that he had (he said that those codes are specific to the kiosks), and then I mentioned the price increase with the color. He gladly called his supervisor and got that taken care of for me. Pretty good experience and it helped me secure the kind of deal that I was looking for - although the follow-up with customer service was key as well. I think that this combo definitely trumps negotiating with phone sales reps - although I suppose I could've called 20 times instead of the 4 times, but I didn't want to waste that much time!

baddogboxer, thanks, I agree that the processor itself was a huge upgrade and I'm glad that I did it.

larson, I just went with the base warranty, although I don't disagree with what you said in general. In my particular case, the Inspiron was just simply the better deal at this time.

 

imo last week the vostro would have won the price war... i tried both and could not get the inspiron to match the vostro pricing

 

also if i could find a killer deal on a 1720 or 1700 id switch to the 17" as well

 

^^^ I guess it depends on your definition of 'killer deal'. With the current state of things, mine fits that category for me, or else I would not have upgraded just yet from my current notebook. But I won't disagree with you about comparing 1700 vs. 1720 last week as opposed to this week; I only just started doing this stuff a couple of days ago. I was actually initially attracted by the unbelievable coupon code for the E1705, but then I found that the 1700 and 1720 gave me more for really not much more money. I was lured by the Santa Rosa chipset and some other stuff. I thought about waiting... and waiting... but then figured, we can always wait and prices will always drop, so when will I take the plunge? These back-to-school specials certainly may not be as good as 'Black Friday' deals, but it's a pretty decent time to snag a deal.

 

last week with the 25% off properly done i was about to pull the trigger on a 1700 with t7500, 2gb, 160gb drive, cd/dvd burner, 8600 gt, bluetooth, webcam, second battery, and everything else standard total 1213.00 now that was a deal.. i am kicking myself for not taking that and then just cancelling my 1500 order.. i still have the 1500 order in though same exact specs as above but total at 1064 minus the 50$ credit i was given from dell customer support for the delay times.... but yeah the more i think about it the more i wish i got the 17" one if they run another deal like last week or better ill be cancelling or returning the 1500 lol

 

^^^ Wow, those are very nice deals. When you say "25% off properly done", do you mean a mystery coupon, or...?

 

well yes but its the way its configured from the base system not from a value setup.. and getting on the phone with dell and talking to the business dept and playing hardball.. lol.. the business dept wants your business more than the reg one does.. especially if you are nice and explain this will be a test system and if you like it you will be ordering xxx more of them.. the guy was def more helpful after making him think he be getting more sales out of this one..

 

I also want to say that HFB did do an excellent job of detailing his experience, which was eerily similar to my own. I began my ordering process by configuring my 1720 from the base configuration (no instant savings, cheapest initial price) and adding in the components I wanted upgraded. This sub-total came to $1,554, which I then subtracted the $300 coupon to come to a price of $1,234. Using this price, I called a Dell sales rep (took me 3 tries to negotiate with a helpful rep) to ask for additional "perks". First off, she agreed to include an additional $100 Dell dollars (which I'm going to use to purchase a bluetooth mouse and a carrying case). I then convinced her to give me the color upgrade for free as well, since the price hike had been the nite before. I purchased the notebook (specs almost identical to HFB) for the price of $1,234.

Once the purchase was complete, I logged onto Dell Chat and spoke with a customer service rep who immediately agreed to upgrade my shipping to next business day. I double-checked this on my order status and it did indeed change to next business day once I had finished my conversation. The same rep also agreed to include the IR remote for free (I was starting to wonder what the response would be if I asked for a free notebook ) and this order was quickly added to my account.

With all the research I did pricing different systems, I'm very confident I got the best price for what I purchased. Doing your research always helps in the long run, and I'm excited for my purchase to arrive.

 

Nice i ordered the exact same config in the beginning of July and got 20% off (ordered through my dad's buisness) and i just got a call saying that its delayed until the 28th so yours might take a while to ship. Be warned...

 

Skaterchief, was your post directed to me? Where are you located?

 

dajoip, thanks for your comments and good work with your purchase, good info! But one thing - you got the color upgrade too but you got an 8/15 estimate?!? Wow... my estimate is 5 wks!

 

I think the midnight blue has the longest delays right now (12 days), whereas alpine white has no delays at all. I believe this is the main factor, because other than that, our configs are very similar. What is your location?

 

I tend to think getting an order 'epedited' means the same as getting free next day. Mine was epedited and it took just as long as everyone else's and it still said 3-5 day shipping in my status. After it was shipped, I saw that they had shipped fedex overnight for free.

Sounds like you got a nice deal on the 1720, congrats.

 

^^^ I specifically asked about that for clarification, and at least the rep specified that he "red flagged" it to move quicker through the production process. Based on what others have said about 'expediting', I will believe it when I see it!

I really appreciate everyone's comments, thank you. I've only been posting for about 4 days and it's taken over my life, lol. Fun stuff, replying to and starting threads on a forum where flaming is at a minimum. But "you never forget your first one"...

 

Let me fix this...

This is not really how to get the "best deals". Some people have dignity, and this is very much YMMV. Basically people keep posting more and more information about how to exploit loopholes in Dell's Customer Service system and thinking its a deal.

 

i did actually negotiate the prices.. and got a bit stern with them on the phone.. but to those that got diso****s this way... hey if it works ....

 

I completely understand that it works, personally I dislike the trend of people trying to manipulate Dell in certain ways.

Like, if someone has a real problem, and calls to complain, and gets something for it, good for them. I just see a lot of people getting ideas and creating problems for themselves, so they can call Dell and get something for nothing.

 

Boy ocellaris, them's fightin' words! Especially when not true. Maybe I should revise my statement about little 'flaming' earlier eh, lol. What's your definition of 'negotiate'? Here's Webster's: "to confer with another so as to arrive at the settlement of some matter". Certainly it wouldn't include something like you responding to another thread about getting free stuff and "cancelling a few orders" of a Vostro "while trying to get Vista Premium", because that would just be manipulation according to you, right?

But I'm not here to label and assume in kind because I realized after reading his incredible mischaracterization of my first post, I left out a few details that I didn't think were significant overall because my post was already gonna be huge. Though now I see how a person can run with it, make sweeping statements, and get on a high horse. Everyone who doesn't think of what I did in this way, please skip the rest of this and save some time in your life. For the rest, I'll try to set things straight below and give the nitty-gritty details:

- Yes, I *negotiated* with the kiosk rep. He in fact said that he wanted to wheel-and-deal with me so that he could get his commission. He first promised me things over the phone (and actually didn't deliver on nearly all of them in person), including the $50 off and color upgrade among other stuff. (Perhaps to bring more people in person to see him?)
- I get to the kiosk and reminded him after he was renegging and wanting me to buy additional upgrades. He then took the $50 off after getting them from several sheets of $50 (stackable) coupon codes that he said are specific to kiosk reps only - there were at least 1000 of them on there. (Why would he have that if there isn't room for negotiation?)
- When I brought up the color again, I was just trying to pay the $20 instead of $50 (which had just gone up in price); HE was the one who offered to call the manager and got it to me for free.
- But he also wanted a commitment from me to buy right there. I asked how long it would take before I'd get it. He told me that kiosk orders are sent to the front of the line of orders for that day and that it would take a maximum of 2-3 weeks total to receive. So I said yes and he made the deal. (Dell kiosk sounds kind of like new car negotations, eh? Well that's what it was like.)
- Later I checked the status online saw ESD listed at FIVE weeks, not 2-3. So, I relayed to customer care that the kiosk rep told me 2-3 max and asked if there's any way they could speed it up. HE is the one that offered me free next day, "expedited" processing, and a $50 credit.
- BTW, if anyone thinks I am making up everything in hindsight, then feel free to PM me and I will give you the #s/extensions to the kiosk rep and CS rep to verify.

My goal of this thread was to detail my thought process about my switch and to give some legit ideas to people. So I'll look at the negative responses as a misunderstanding based on my lack of information and also my liberal use of the word "complain" (twice I think) in my original post. Did I "whine, cry, and moan as much as possible"? Don't think so. So, I hope that this helps to clarify, but also to note that perhaps some people could also be less liberal in their use of words implying that someone manipulates, create problems, and has no dignity. If people still think this, so be it, go ahead and judge my negotiating style. I won't judge yours.

 

That certainly clarifies things. Sure it was a long original post, however its more logical when you give the rest of the details (for those of use that completely read all of the posts before responding).

 

^^^ Thank you for reading and understanding. Truce! I honestly thought that my original post was getting way too long so I 'cut some corners' with words. It never even occurred to me that someone could take it so negatively, but I tried to look at it from that standpoint. Hence, my 'clarification post'. Actually, I thought about editing the original, but since I didn't want to seem shady, I just added the 'addendum' in post #22. Actually, I *will* add a 1-sentence edit to #1 to refer to #22...

 

I would like to know what type of warranty everyone has?

 

^^^ I just got the base 1-yr warranty, but may be calling to request an upgrade as delays pile up.

 

That's what I thought. I wonder how much of a cost difference an upgrade would be compared to the cost at the time of purchase. By the way, you don't get anything if you don't ask. There is a certain amount of room all customer service represents are permitted to move on. It depends on who you speak to. Also, once a customer number or order number is generated there are notes listing all the actions taken. When it comes to business there's always room for negotiation. What you did was smart.

 

^^^ Thanks, it's good advice for anyone.

 

What is the code for the $300 coupon?

 

go to the top of this page and click the thing that says "dell coupons"

 

Thanks--configuring from the base model and using the coupon was cheaper than my student discount!

 

Thanks for taking the time to share how you arrived at your deal, HFB.

I configured an identical system starting from the base model just now and here are the figures I received.

Total before shipping and tax: $1794
Total after $325 coupon: $1469
Shipping: Free Ground
Tax: $88
Grand Total: $1557

Seems you got a pretty sweet deal there, even considering you received an additional $100 off from the kiosk and shipping delays that aren't factored into my figure. Knock off the same $100 from my $1557 and you're still $1447 or nearly $200 more than your cost.