restarting order?

First of all, I ordered my Inspiron 1520 on 6/28, and the estimated delivery date is 7/17. I realize some have ordered later than I have and received theirs sooner. Kudos to you, but I'm just a little disappointed I couldn't get mine sooner.

Also, my price came out to be $1490, and I know I could have gotten it cheaper. But not really much cheaper. $100 at the most. Especially since the deals kept on fluctuating back and forth.

I ordered mine off the student site and got 4 discounts with it, including the $200 student discount, $292 Inspiron discount, %7 Dellcare Plus discount, and the 12% EPP discount for purchases over $1600.

The main thing that bugs me is that I did not get the earbuds with my order (I realize they are not available on student site), I wanted to get Bluetooth but wasn't sure before, and I am also having difficulty convincing a Dell rep to give me the remote for free.

I am wondering if it's worth cancelling my order all together and starting a new one (the exact same comp configs + a few small upgrades is about $60 cheaper than my original upgrade) and also convincing the Dell rep to include ear buds and remote as part of the deal? I figured they might be more likely to give it to me since I would be making the purchase through them.

Honestly, I've been waiting so long for this damn laptop that it doesn't even matter too much now. I just don't want the shipping date to be pushed back too much. How long do you think it'd be pushed back?

 

I think you will have a problem getting them free if you reorder, because they are now both listed on the site. The earbuds come free with the web cam option, and theres an option for the remote for $15.

 

I still don't see the remote listed on the student website. I can't even find it through the search.

EDIT: What's the difference between the Dell Travel remote and the remote for Vista Home Premium? Anything significantly better about the more expensive one?

 

I've been playing around on Dell's site with different config's ever since I ordered mine on the 9th. Maybe that's asking for trouble or more of a headache, but I actually found that if I upgrade to the 256 MB videocard and to the 7200rpm 160GB hard drive, and downgrade my monitor to the WXGA+ (1440x900) I'll actually save about $5 over my original order. That's with everything else I ordered staying the same.

I fired off an email of that quote to my rep and asked him to confirm the pricing for me Monday once he gets in. If that's correct, then I'm having him change my order.

I've been very frustrated because I've called and spoken to 2 different Dell Customer Service reps trying to see if my order could be expedited in any way. They did give me free next day shipping, but they are telling me the WSXGA+ screen (1680x1050) is backordered. I asked them how that could be possible since it doesn't say that selecting that screen will delay my ship date AND if my laptop has been in the "build stage" since Tuesday the 10th, shouldn't that mean they have all the parts?

Changing my order will reset my ship date. My rep explained that they don't just swap out the parts you are upgrading/ changing but instead they totally strip the unit down and begin again from scratch. Right now I'm looking at an estimated ship date of 8/8 if I do change. My original one was supposed to ship on 7/23.

Note: if I stay with the WSXGA+, 1680x1050 screen, my ship date only changes to 7/30 but I'm worried about what people having been saying with respect to that screen. I have not been able to find any 15.4" laptops in stores that have anything other than 1280x800 resolution. That being said, I think the 1680x1050 would make things appear too small. I'm starting to feel the 1440x900 would be the best screen resolution for me.

I agree with you, I don't want to have to wait any longer either, but if you can upgrade from your original order and get more for your money/ save money over the original order then I'd say go for it.

I have come to one conclusion. If I go ahead and change my order I have to stop looking at Dell's site. I don't want to get myself caught in some endless loop of order, find a better deal, change order, find a better deal, change order again, find a better deal, etc...

 

I definately don't want to wait longer, but at the same time, this is an expensive computer that I will be using for quite a while, and it kinda bothers me everytime I think about it. I mean, if you're gonna put this much money and time into it, might as well have it be everything you want and be satisfied with what you got, right?

 

the travel remote fits into an express card slot, and i think the vista home premium one is the media center remote which is a full size remote. You should find them in the accessory page.

 

I totally agree with you, you have no idea how many times I've changed, canceled and rechaged my orders in the past week... I first ordered on July 7th, I think I could have had the laptop by now but I've gone from the 1720(1920x1200) to the 1720(1440x900) to the Vostro 1500 lol and finally got the 1520(1440x900) yesterday.

Now I'm just waiting for it to get built and ship. I got mine for 3 dollars more than BodybyNotte with the same options. Oh same price as yours Pwnstar, I think its a pretty good deal.

 

An order is in the "build stage" 30 seconds after ordering it...that doesn't mean it's IN the build stage, it doesn't mean it has COMPLETED the build stage, it means the NEXT stage is the build stage

Orders can be in the "build stage" for weeks...

 

is it just me or is that price, with all the discounts, way too high for the specs?

 

I have the Dellcare Plus. Maybe that's why? And the tax was like $90 or something. Freakin ridiculous!

 

BodyByNotte - I ordered mine on the same day as you 7/9 and it shipped yesterday. I don't think it's the WSXGA+ screen holding it up because that's what I ordered too. I have the same screen on my current 1505 and I love it!

Pwnstar - I ordered mine through the EPP site and there was no option for the remote either. I checked again today and it's still not there. I'm going to wait until I get it and then call about it. The part number for the express card remote is: 412-0961. I was thinking about cancelling my order and reordering but I hate calling Dell for any reason... no matter how simple the call should be it turns into an hour long frustration. Hope you get yours soon!

 

I think it is the complete care pushing your price up. I only got the two year in home service with no accidental damage coverage and my total was $1,168

 

Those warranties are damned expensive. I passed and intend to live life on the wildside.

 

I only have the standard warranty, but I have CompleteCare because I got it for free

 

I am going to wait for my laptop. When I get it, I want my free remote + compensation. If those terms can't be met, then I will return it.

 

It's getting easier and easier to accept extorting Dell to give me money back for some perceived greivance. It seems like part of the game and I'm almost ready to give it a shot.

 

Yes, I am going to do the same thing. Let me know how well it works. Honestly, I don't think I got too bad of a deal on the computer, and since the reviews about the Creative earbuds are so bad on this forum, I don't even care about that anymore. I will probably never use it. Same with Bluetooth... but the remote I might. When I get that $50 coupon from Dell, hopefully I will be able to order the remote somehow. Maybe even get a sleeve or cushtop. Hmm... choices!

 

Ya, don't sweat it. Whatever you buy you're going to be happy with. Some people like extra doodads and extended warranties.. they get all the best stuff and have peace of mind that if anything goes wrong that they'll be covered. Some like being totally CA (cheapass) and deal with things as they happen. At these prices everyone is getting a good deal for a damn nice portable computer... who cares about a few hundred bucks either way...

 

Yea thanks Neded. I've been kinda stressing out over this matter, redoing my order with the same configs on both the student and home site, seeing if there's a better price or new discounts, even though I already ordered my computer. I was this close to cancelling my order today to re-order from the regular site just so I could get the remote, earbuds, and Bluetooth. But i don't really need any of that except the remote... which I only just WANT, but probably won't need.

I redid my order earlier and forgot the final price didn't include tax so... with all those 3 extra things + tax for the FINAL price is about $80 more than my original price. Not worth it in my opinion. I'll just haggle them about the remote after I get my laptop.

 

That's what I don't understand... I've seen several people post that they ordered on the same day as I did, with similar config and theirs already shipped or they have it in hand. The customer service reps were telling me that my WSXGA+ screen is backordered, but my sales rep said he's not showing it as being backordered. It's been in the build stage since Tuesday and that's driving me nuts.

Right now I have an email to my sales rep to change my current order to upgrade the video card to the 8600GT and upgrade the hard drive to the 7200rpm one. I don't really do gaming, and what little gaming I do will be done on my XPS410. I will use the laptop mostly for web browsing and for a mobile chatting program called Paltalk that uses text, audio and video. I listen to the Opie and Anthony show on XM (as well as Ron & Fez), and the shows are very interactive with their listeners. O&A stream the show live in the Paltalk and have 2 studio cams so the fans can be more involved and see what's going on in studio. Then at any show or fan events, there are always listeners who have their laptops and stream the video into the fan chat room so those who aren't there can still be involved and see what's going on. This isn't a sales pitch for XM or O&A...just trying to clarify what I'll be using my laptop for. You either like O&A or you don't.

Anyway, would the 128MB video card be enough? I feel like the frustration of waiting for my order is causing me to just keep reevaluating and second guessing what I already ordered. If I stay with my current config and just wait for the order to arrive, I can always upgrade the videocard in the future, if I need to, right?

Also trying to figure out if I really need the 7200rpm hard drive or if it will just drain my battery faster. I think the 5400rpm should be fine... a little slower but will I really notice it that much?

The only thing that worries me is the screen resolution. After reading the threads on that subject, I am wondering if the icons and text will be too small. JetCity - you're saying it looks great? On my desktop, I have my 20 inch Dell Ultrasharp LCD (4:3) at 1600x1200. Never had a laptop before and have only found 15.4 laptops in stores with a native res of 1200x800. The icons do look big on that res. How much smaller will the 1680x1050 be? You think I'll be alright?

I wish the thing would ship already so I could settle down and be done with it. At this rate, I might need counselling after this ordeal. hahaha

 

20" at 1600x1200? You'll be fine with WSXGA+, maybe a little smaller but still pretty close.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Video_Standards.svg

 

Thanks... Nedediah. Yeah, when I got my XPS410, I didn't order a monitor or speakers because I had the 20 inch Ultrasharp and my THX certified Altec Lansing surround sound speakers from the 8250 I had bought in 2003. Still works so why spend the extra money.

I think I'm going to stay with my config as ordered. I'm just freaking out because people with the same specs who ordered same day or later than I did either have their 1520 in hand or it's atleast shipped and enroute. All this waiting has made me paranoid and second guessing my order partly because this is my first laptop and partly because of what I've been reading. Reading is bad for you. haha