Strongly considering an outlet notebook but want advice

I've never gotten a notebook from any outlet and wanted to know any experience with Lenovo's outlet. I'm eyeing a X200 from there and I'm ok with New, Redistributed, or Refurbished but I would like to know advice from people with more experience with this kinda stuff and what they thought. Is getting a notebook from Lenovo's outlet ok?

 

The descriptions are not accurate, make sure you take a screenshot of the options/peripherals that is listed in the description, so that you have recourse in case the computer you get from Lenovo Outlet does not match the specs stated on the outlet website.

 

That is a great tip, and copy and paste any text that you're not putting in your screenshots.

 

What I did (according to a forum post from someone with a lot of experience with Lenovo Outlet) is downloaded the free PDFCreator program for this purpose. Once installed you can simply use your browser's print feature to "print" the page to PDF, which you can print later at any time, or email, whatever. He also mentioned that saving HTML isn't accepted by them if something goes wrong, and the same may apply for screenshots (though probably not).

Definitely, make copies of every page during the order process (maybe not pointless things like credit card info and agreements). This includes the item description before you add it to your card (important, because for me this was the only time it listed the features), your cart, etc. It's good to have too much info than not enough when the time comes

From what I've heard, they do occasionally get orders wrong, which is why this is important. Shipping is also supposed to be really slow, although for me it wasn't too bad: 1 day to ship the free carrying case, and 4 days to ship out the laptop. It hasn't arrived yet though, but I'm hoping they don't mess up the order, because it would be a hassle to send it back, etc.

But even with any hassle there may be, it's still a bargain - you can't beat 50% off on a laptop this new

 

From what I have others say Outlet should be great. You should get a nice notebook for a really great price. Like the others said, double check the specs. I would print out the specs you want and call up Lenovo and double check them. Their descriptions are many times inaccurate and incomplete, like listing some specs but not others.

 

Bullzip is also a great (and free) PDF printer. It is a very effective way to keep records of everything without amassing large quantities of paper.

As far as the outlet, definitely take screenshots or printouts of the page. You should also try and look up the Model/Type number on Lenovo's site to see if you can get a better description this way. If possible, you should also give Lenovo a call if the specs seem odd (e.g. 1600x1200 display on a 12" laptop).

 

It seems to me that the outlet prices are not that great.

Its better to go with CPP discount and coupons.

And I can never proceed to check out whenever I have an item in my basket. I have tried with 3 different browser. FF, IE, Chrome.

Just a thought

 

It depends on the model I guess - I bought a brand new X300 (optical drive + 6-cell battery, bluetooth, etc.) from the outlet for $1280. This model would have originally cost $2800.

 

X2 about the X300 comment.
If I didn't have my current T61 (which meets my every need), I would've bought that X300 for $1280 myself from the outlet in a heartbeat !

 

The outlet specs are often inaccurate - but sometimes the real specs turn out better than the advertised ones. I have found that the parts lookup page generally have more information :
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/product.do?template=/partslookup/partsLookup.vm
The last seven letters (L??????) are the serial number of the specific machine and the first three are part of the four digit model number (767?). It is possible to find the fourth digit by trial and error.

 

Regarding the outlet's order correctness: I looked up my part number (now that I know exactly the model type # from the shipping notification), and noticed "MS VISTA BASIC:LABELS" - this should have been XP Pro. This is the only difference I can notice from the part number lookup - all the major things match (DVD burner, 6-cell battery, 2GB RAM).

Though even the part number lookup results seem kind of unreliable - the items listed don't seem complete, it lists some strange things like "IDATAPLEX 2.5 INCH PAPOOSE BACKPLANE CAR" (whatever that is), and it lists the DVD burner twice.

I guess I'll just have to wait till it arrives to find out for sure. I'm not sure what I'll do if I Vista Basic. I don't think I'd want to send it back over this, but I was kind of hoping for XP Pro.

Edit: Also, I have a question: one of the items included is "TRACKPOINT CAP KIT:MECHANICAL ASSEMBLIES". Does this mean I'll get a variety of the different trackpoint cap styles? Does Lenovo usually include this, or do they normally just give you one default cap?

 

ThinkPads tend to include three different TrackPoint caps. The soft dome is installed, the classic dome (sandpaper/eraserhead) is also included, as well as my favorite (very light on the finger for prolonged usage) the soft rim.

I don't think Lenovo (or any OEM) uses XP stickers anymore. Even if your machine comes with XP (or PC-DOS) pre-installed, you will still get a Vista (either basic or premium) sticker.

I think "IDATAPLEX 2.5 INCH PAPOOSE BACKPLANE CAR" is the sled that the SATA HDD sits on. This is probably to distinguish it from the SSD caddy (smaller, lighter, w/o rubber rails).

 

Ok, that makes sense - I thought it might be something like that.