is there a pattern to the special offers from Dell?

Hi,

After getting a refund on the Sager 9262, I have decided on getting the XPS M1730, so I have been watching Dell UK's website closely over the past week, and have noticed how the offers on this laptop seem to be getting better and better!

Last week, they were reducing the price of the 1730 by £100 and free shipping as well we 25% off 4 year XPS premium hardware support.

This week - they have reduced the laptop by £140 with free shipping, as well as offering 3 years XPS premium support for the price of 2!

This coupled with the 10% coupon code I got from this forum (thanks) means that I can get a T9300, 2x250GB, SLi 8800 with 3 year XPS support, 1 year accidental damage and a XPS carry bag for just a shade over £1900! - I can barely steal myself away from the 'Checkout' button!

But some of you out there may watch the special offers more closely than I have, and maybe there's a pattern.

The current £140 off and free shipping expires on the 12th of March.

Do you think I should hold off, in the hope that an even better deal arises? or do you think that this is it - the best they'll offer on this laptop.

I would'nt have minded the X9000 CPU, but it is currently unavailable on Dell UK - and the X7900 has gone up by £300! to £770 extra

 

I want to know what happened to the $500 of $1599 coupons, they used to run those deals a lot. The driver of prices is obviously the demand, if dell isn't selling enough 1730's they will continue to slash prices until demand is where they think it should be. Prices will likely continue to fall...you just have to wait until it's a good deal for YOU.

 

LOL, I'm trying to understand the offer-pattern too. I decided to get a Vostro 1500, but I won't have the money to buy it until next week. I saw the offers last week and thought "I'm sure next weeks will be just as good". They weren't.

At the moment, I'm hoping that they alternate between good offers and not-so-good offers, week-to-week. My fingers will be crossed on the 7th!

 

The more seasoned Dell users out there must have noticed a pattern to their discounts though.

At the moment I am waiting for a wire transfer to come back from XoticPC - which will more than cover the cost of the XPS I am drooling over at the moment

But because Dell's 10% offer ends on March the 5th it may mean that I will have to buy the laptop on my credit card, then when the wire transfer comes through - pay off my card.

£212 is quite a saving - too much to ignore so I may just bite the bullet and on monday, get this beast ordered.

Any ideas on what the lead time is on the XPS M1730 in the UK?

 

There does come a point when the offers don't get any better. Last June I almost bought an Inspiron 1720 when the near-maxed out price including 3-year warranty slipped below $1500 after tax, waited one day, and the offer was gone. There wasn't an offer that good on the 1520/1720 for months after that. So when you see a deal that screams "excellent", I'd say go for it. There's no guarantee they will keep getting better, and waiting forever isn't exactly fun.

I certainly wouldn't bet on a £700 decrease such that you could get the X7900. That's a huge decrease. I'd say, if this offer seems better than any before and very good overall, go for it now before it disappears. And remember that by getting the T9300 instead of X7900, you'll be getting 50% more L2 cache for several hundred pounds less!

No idea on build/delivery time. Mine was about 3 weeks in the U.S. during a relatively busy time...hopefully it wouldn't be much longer than that but I can't be sure.

 

Well I know Thursday is the price/package changing day for the UK. I'm keeping an eye on the 1700 currently as Penryn is now available here.

However, the current top package evalue code is includes Office 2007 Basic, and unless it's included on a separate disc I don't want it as I'd reformat with XP as soon as I was happy with the machine once delivered. No point paying extra for something you can't/won't be able to use.

Unless someone tells me something different I may wait for the next price/offer round.

 

I'm also in the market for an xps 1730, where might I acquire such a coupon ? (Although I'm not sure if it'll also work in Belgium)

 

Here you go, Prophex:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=224410

Hope it works for you!

(oops, just noticed. UK only. Still, no harm in trying it)

 

Hi,

I decided to take the plunge and order my XPS

BUT, I will have to ring up Dell in the morning - as I found a discrepancy between my saved basket and the final invoice...........

The discounts of £140 on the laptop was £140 minus VAT (£119.15) - which contradicts my basket invoice of £140 inc. VAT (which according to the website is the correct figure) AND

the 3 years for the price of 2 years XPS support on the invoice I pad was £70.50 minus VAT again (£60)

Which means, that with the 10% discount on my invoice the total came to £1942, when the exact same spec on my saved basket came to £1913

Strange but true!