The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
There are no other good places. Office Depot sells a couple of models, but they overcharge by hundreds, if I remember correctly. You might want to check them out in store and buy them online.
The nice thing about Lenovo's website is you can configure and the 30 day return policy, but it usually costs more and you have to pay tax. Bill over on ThinkPads.com offers a 5% discount for new customers, 10% for repeat customers and no tax unless you are in FL where he is based. Plus I believe he will do a dead pixel check before sending it off, a nice plus. You can probably get a cheaper price with an internet retailer i.e. NewEgg or Buy.com, but returns can be problematic if any. If you happen to get one with one with some dead/stuck pixels, unless you get a lot, you are probably stuck with it. I personally got both of my ThinkPads on ebay. You have to be careful on ebay. Read the descriptions carefully as there are a lot of refurbed machines and some sellers don't disclose it very well. I think it is OK to buy refurbed, but know what you are getting and don't over pay. I would pay with a credit card as well as it offers the best protection should something not go right. In the end I don't think there is a perfect place to buy. Either pay more with Lenovo, but get the security of the return policy and the ability to customize. Or get it elsewhere you take more of a risk if you happend to get a dud, but you'll pay less. I personally wouldn't buy at Office Depot because of the high prices and taxes, but it is a nice place to go look. Good Luck.
Bought mine from PCconnection, were cheaper than on lenovo website and had the same rebates (from the manufacturer), bought from them in 2000 for the first time, seemed ok to me.
Also don't forget that Lenovo has a variety of option pages that branch off it's main site. If you are affiliated with an educational institution, the government, or even just have a Visa or Mastercard, there are specifc sites from Lenovo that offer anywhere from 5-25% off the "Web Price" of any given system.
I bought mine from
Eritech. It was in the mail the same day I ordered it. Try to match that turn around time Lenovo!!! I originally ordered from Lenovo and they told me to expect 4-6 weeks, then changed it to 6-8 plus two weeks shipping with my second day delivery option. I don't know what they are doing over there in China but they need to get this mess sorted out.
You can't actually buy a ThinkPad at Office Depot. Each store was only given two ThinkPads, for display. They don't stock them in the regional warehouses either. And it's a direct ship item, so if you order a ThinkPad at Office Depot it ships to you directly from Lenovo. That means you'll suffer the same waiting period as everybody else who buys directly from Lenovo.
I got this information from a local Office Depot store manager. He said that Lenovo is offering ThinkPads through Office Depot as a trial, to see how much sales they may be able to generate through retail stores. Sounds like a doomed plan to me. If you can't actually buy a computer at the store, how much sales do you think will result?
Incidentally, when I was looking at Office Depot, the prices were exactly the same as the prices on the Lenovo website for the same models. I was hoping to buy at Office Depot because I needed a new computer in early January and could not afford the (up to) 2 month wait for a Z60t from Lenovo. That's another sale lost...
Abaxter for what ever it is worth to you a friend of mine has bought computers off them and highly recommends them. He went to their store and picked them out himself. I would have purchased there if they had the model I was looking for.
Edit-
I just had another friend go to
www.Thinkpaddepot.com today and came home with a T40 and is already thrilled. They gave her a deal because she was a student and picked it up in store.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
