canada - u.s. prices are artificially inflated

Canadians get preferential treatment compared to U.S.

(1) Don't have to go through the initail crap of (good,better,best) where they choose your options
(2) Don't have to go through the DellCare crap screen where they try to sell you an extened warranty.

Onto configuring an m1330
(3) Red does not cost an extra $50
(4) Opted for the T7500 (available to both)
(5) Windows vista home premium edition
(6) LED wcam +$150 (instea of +$300)
(7) Went with 2G RAM (both)
(8) 160GB HD (both)
(9) 8400M
(10) Can't get 1505N in US anymore, so went with 3945 for both
(11) Bluetooth on both
(12) 9cell on both
(13) US now forces stupid SB software edition, so pick it in canada too

$2324 in U.S. $2139 in Canada is bull****, not to mention the fact that you can cut down the HD, RAM, etc in Canada alot more to grt this thing in reason.

Is Dell jacking the US because they can't meet demand with the LED screens right now?

I certainly would not buy right now because of this artificailly inflated price.

 

lolz
that would mean in the EU we could never buy Dell
if you give the config for that price, I'll see what it costs in the EU
but believe me, it'll be quite expensive ^^

different countries have different prices and different strategies, simple as that. Don't forget that the difference in price, might have more to do with legislation and taxes than with profit for Dell!

 

Companies simply set their prices based on what they think will maximize profit in each geography. For example, a very similar setup from Dell India or China is running about $1900 USD based on current promotions. Of course, this is still a very premium price for the average upper-middle class worker in those countries.

If it's any consolation, a new car (import or domestic) right now, before taxes and fees, is running from about $1000 more for economy vehicles to sometimes $10,000 more for some luxury models here in Canada, thanks to the soaring value of the Canadian dollar. Retailers of other stuff from books to clothes are totally gouging us by selling items as though it still took 1 1/2 Canadian dollars to equal a US dollar, when the current reality is that they're basically at par.

So Dell is, at the moment, actually pricing their merchandise where it should be on a per capita income basis. All else being equal, $2300 causes the same "pain" for an average US worker that $2100 would for a Canadian.

 

All that seems fine, except for the fact that I was just pricing this laptop a couple of month ago in the US and a friend of mine even bought one. The prices were the same as the Canadian prices are now. My belief is that Dell is jacking up the price due to there inability to satisfy their current demand because of the LED screens.

This friend of mine just received his last week (with the LED screen) and while it looked really beautiful, the screen gave out after one day.

I believe Dell is jack up the prices until all the kinks of the LED screen are worked out.

Plus, why does US have to pay a markup for the webcam and the crimson red color? These are free addons for Canada.

 

Ahhh grasshopper...now you understand supply and demand.

 

Dell Australia has some good deals, and at the moment is the only country I can find offering a 2.4Ghz processor for the M1330. And way cheaper than U.S prices.

 

In Canada we have free LED w/o camera as well...

Its kind of a turn around in a way. Do you know how many years we have been hosed in Canada with prices tons cheaper in the US?

 

Isn't Dell a US company?

To me, they are sticking to their own.

 

rofl
Dell is an international company
the fact they have HQ in this or that country, doesn't mean a thing anymore

 

I saw this a week or two ago but haven't seen it on the site since.

 

Still There!!!

 

You bitter mingebag. You dare complain about CANADA when Dell is one of the only companies selling products at prices that accord with THE CURRENT EXCHANGE RATE? Clearly you should buy electronics in Canada, where everything is marked up 20% even though $1.00CAD is ~$0.95USD. People like you infuriate me. It's like on Xmas day if you got 9/10 toys you wanted but the poor kid across the street got the only one you didn't. Ridiculous.

 

It's perfectly standard to have different pricing in different countries. Maybe they are higher cause they think U.S. buyers can pay more, or maybe they want to stem US demand, who knows. And btw, it isn't always the US that has a higher price. Everything fluctuates.

Either way, if you want to know what gouging is, I suggest you price out a M1330 on a UK website and shed a little tear of sympathy for those of us forced to pay like 45% extra.

 

That is why I "used" to be a loyal Dell customer. I felt they were a loyal US company. Since they are sticking it to the USA, I will have to check what the competitiion has to offer. I'll have to see what Sony and Asus have in that line now.

 

yeah yeah Canadians have free health care too doesnt mean you have to rub it in our faces!

 

They are a loyal company. They are loyal to their shareholders where their main obligation is. I think it's wrong-headed to think of in some nebulous terms like "loyalty to the U.S." cause..well, they are my reasons and you don't have to agree with them and wanting to buy from a company you feel has strong ties to the U.S. is your perrogative is a consumer. However the thing to keep in mind is that if you decide to buy American, your choices are cut quite severely.

There are thousands, if not more, of factors that go into determining price. Exchange rate, import duty, taxes, supply chain problems are just some of them. And if "screw the U.S." is on that list (which I very very seriously doubt) it's certainly nowhere near the top.

Edit: Also something to keep in mind is while Dell does regigger their component prices quite frequently, the overall system price doesn't fluctuate all that much. It's probable that US customers are ordering the red lid and the LED screen in disproportionately high numbers and Dell is having issues with supplying them. So while the price on those specific items might have gone up, something else might have been reduced to compensate and overall the system is about the same price it always was. For example, getting a machine with web-cam enabled LED screen might cost more than it used to, getting one say with 250Gb hard drive and a regular screen might cost less. See what I mean?

 

I'm pretty sure it all works out even, since you always have a coupon to use with the Dells from the US or you can wait a couple weeks for one to come up. Coupons for Canada are very few and far between. Dell is just trying to make their US customers work harder

 

The prices in the US have definetly gone up and this is not down to a change in base specs. It used to be a lot cheaper if you compared a US XPS M1330 to a UK version but now they are pretty much the same price. Things are always usually much cheaper in America compared to the UK.

 

How exactly are you getting there? I just tried it again and only have the two basic options.

 

This thread is silly...it really depends on what you're buying. I just priced my D630 on both the US and Canada sites. The same machine comes to $1217(US) on the US site and $1589(CAD) on the Canadian site--or about $1507 US.

dordale

 

That can partially be attributed to UK prices going down as well.

 

The UK prices have not gone down they have been quite stable since the M1330 was launched. It would cost me £11 more now to configure the model i did back in July.

 

My point was this. Canada is always a few dollars higher than the US. I am guessing that it is just a matter of time before the Canadian sites prices catch up or the us prices go down. Either that or the ebayers will exploit this. I don't really care about all the economics and such that go into the reason. All I care about is my bottom-line dollar. And if those economics indicate to me that I am paying extra overhead dollars, then I just won't buy.

 

Want to buy a Vostro? I can give you a better deal than Dell.

 

you know.. canada have preety high taxes.. as of now my lappie get charged 14% tax in addition to the price shown on the dell canada website..

 

You think 14% is high?
Try the Belgian 21%

 

What's your income tax rate? Also, here in Canada we get taxed twice for gas... first time is the government fee and provincial levy, then we get the 14% tax...

 

Ha, foreign people. I'm sorry the US company Dell has the most options in the US. The only time we branch out is when we need tech support - and that's where India comes in.

 

I thought you have Indians living in the States... also in semi-poverty conditions.

 

Dell prices are actually quite comparable in different countries. 50-100 difference in most cases, thats about it.

Where as HP and LENOVO is cheap as chips in the US but more expensve than MACs in australia and other countries.

 

you don't want to know
income tax rate averages around 30%, with ups to 40% (or more)
luckily for those who know about it, there are lots of things that give you a reduction ... however, most people don't know enouh about those options

 

i'm not complaining about the tax...we get free (or pretty close to) heathcare

 

For now - That has begun to change over the past 10 years and will eventually be gone with.

Even nowadays, you get basic health care for free, but for better coverage you need to pay.

 

lol i love all the americans complaining about their prices..

 

There is no free lunch. "Free" healthcare is essentially paid for by tax payers money.

 

and our health system sucks... so... its "free".... but man its crap.

 

okok i know it's not 'free'
but at least you don't have to pay cash out of your pocket every time you need to see a doctor...it's affordable for everyone

 

Our healthcare is good, but the waiting list is quite long. But, still faster than Dell.