No Method to the Outlet's Madness

With the current refurb discount in the Outlet (supposedly 35% off regular outlet prices), I was pleased a couple of days ago to see some X200/201 models in the $500 - $600 range. Those are the only prices that make sense to me as refurbs as most of the time, the outlet store prices are actually HIGHER than the new computers sold through the regular store. But those units evaporated in moments and now the smattering of refurbs -- even with the so-called 35% discount -- are once HIGHER than new units(!). AND less fully-featured! Two questions. One theoretical, one practical:

1. is the rhyme and reason behind this pricing SCHEME. (I mean that in both senses of the word.)

2. Do you think there will be new inventory of those units and very low price points in the online store over President's Day weekend, or is it bye-bye?

 

In addition to the problems you mention above, there are two additional problems with the outlet system's ordering system.

1. It is extremely hard to cancel your outlet store's order.

2. Sometime there are couple hundred computers, but in the next second they have have a couple computers in the system. Worst yet sometime they don't even have a single laptop on the outlet site.

 

I agree k2001. Very odd -- I wonder if the outlet store is outsourced or run as a separate unit from the store. I've purchased refurbs from other manufacturers, and the process is much simpler -- you're dealing with the same people, subject to the same warranty policies, and can make some assessment about the value of the refurb compared to new units.

 

i tried to cancel my order and they won't allow it.

have to return, with 15% restocking fee.

 

@jor: were you talking about returning this one that you had just bought?

 

If something is defective do they charge a restocking fee? Never used Lenovo Outlet..

 

Yes. I think I will keep the 201. It is a better value. It has a small defect, as I post in the other thresd. Lenovo won't fix it. I am gonna try.

X200s is on the way. I might return it

 

it is probably because there is not enough people running the outlet website, and that the outlet and the normal online retail sites (and pricing) are run by two different teams (whom most likely do not communicate on future planned discounts on the lenovo.com website).

This has also occurred on the Dell website, where certain discount sales make LCD price cheaper than the outlet site.

 

Lead_org, myself, and others can remember when the Lenovo Outlet was worse than now --once you picked which kind of notebook you wanted, you had to click on every single one individually to get its specs. There was no filtering that let you select what kind of optical drive you wanted, or only models with bluetooth, etc. It was a huge mess. You might have to go through twenty notebooks to find what you wanted.

While it's much better now, the risk is still there that you could get a machine different than the one you specified (which is why you need to print-screen the model you're ordering, and keep careful track of all paperwork and order-processing documents). I managed to cancel an Outlet order myself when I bought my T400 (I found better pricing on a new unit), but it did take some work, and your mileage may vary.

Contrast this with the experiences I've had with Dell's Business Outlet, which have been very good. They have always had sorting functions so you could specify a discrete graphics card, and other features. Much of what I've ordered has come standard with a three-year warranty. Return process is very straightforward and consistent.

Then again, Dell started out doing it well. Lenovo started with a very broken system, and has made it less broken over time, but has a way to go.