How to buy a Dell Notebook (with a 37% discount)

How to buy a Dell Notebook (with a 37% discount)

I recently ordered a Dell notebook computer and I expect it to arrive in a couple of weeks. I learned a few things that will help others be smart Dell consumers.

Pick a machine. I was on the fence with the 15" 1505 Inspiron vs. 1705 Inspiron. The main difference was the DVI port for powering an external monitor - it was only available on the 17" model so I went with the bulkier model.

Outfit your machine. Upgrade everything you want to in the Dell configuration website. You can save a bit of cash by buying RAM upgrades separately. I bought 2 1Gb Ram modules for my machine for about half the price Dell wanted, including shipping and tax from NewEgg.com. Consider upgrading your graphics card. If you want to power a large external monitor you may want the extra power. Finally, consider spending $10 for the Windows reinstall disk. Rumor has it that it is easier to reinstall from a Windows reinstall disk than from whatever default recovery solution comes with the machine.

If you want to buy an external accessory such as a monitor, Dell sells these items through other vendors, and you can save $$ by going to a vendor instead of buying from Dell. I bought a 24" Dell monitor for $750 (no tax/ship) from www.SaveAtEagle.com after a friend received the same monitor safe and sound in just 2 days.

Finally, consider purchasing the Dell warranty package. They offer an advanced package that even covers drops and spills - much better than the simple hardware failure extended warranties you may find elsewhere. 4 years of peace-of-mind for about $400 was well worth it.

Now the fun part - how to pile up 3 discounts to save 37%

Go to NotebookReview.com and click the *Dell Coupons* link at the top. If you're lucky, Dell will be offering a discount through their affiliates and you will find the code for redeeming a discount here. The current coupon when I purchased my system was for 30% off an Inspiron notebook valued over $999. That saved me $767 off my configuration. In addition, if you visit a Dell Direct kiosk in your local mall (Westside Pavilion for Los Angeles locals) they are often offering a special of some sort that changes from week-to-week. For the past 3 weeks the discount has been 5% off your purchase, which brought me to 35%. To eek out an additional 2% I signed up for their Premier program (free signup, includes a credit line), and purchased the system using the new credit line (bonus - no interest for 6 months). purchasing through the Dell Direct kiosk also got me free shipping.

In the end I got a system with most of the available bells and whistles with a value of (including $175 for third party RAM) $2728 for about $1975 - 1920x1200 screen, best graphics card offered, 1.83 dual core intel chip, 2Gb RAM, 100 Gb 5400rpm drive, 9-cell battery upgrade and the super 4-year carefree warranty.

* One final note of caution: the 21 day satisfaction guaranteed return policy comes with a 15% restock fee.

Key features I got for $1975:

Inspiron E1705, Intel Core DuoProcessor T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz FSB)
17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WUXGA (1920x1200)
2Gb, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm (third party)
256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS
100GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X DVD+/-RW Drive
80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
CompleteCare Accidental DamageProtection

 

I must say - very impressive... Dell hates smart consumers like you! haha... Congrats!!

 

very nice. and i thought i got a steal...well, actually i think i did. i got 34% +12% from EPP.

is the 5% from dell direct, stackable with EPP?

 

I know how to get over a 40% off discount But you will need to buy the coupons off ebay

1) Buy a 35% off coupon off ebay
2) Buy a $35 off stackable coupon off ebay
3) Sign up for a fatwallet.com account 3% off
4) Sign up and pay using a dell preferred account 2% off

 

very nice and LOL at the dell hates smart consumer part. Its so true

 

Where do you get the $35 off coupon, where do i go on ebay to get this?

Also i signed up for a fatwaller account, but when i click on "3.0% Cash Back Rebate Available!" it just links me to the dell homepage, and there is no coupon code or anything

 

I'm sorry, but I can beat all the above, with a small bit of patience.

If you wait long enough, Dell sends out 30%+ off coupons to folks on its EPP mailing list. the highest one I've seen is 40%. Take that, and combine it with the EPP discounts (I usually get 12% off with the service level I choose), then stack on dell prefered account rebates (2%), dell kiosk coupons (usually 5%), or whatever other coupons you happen to have.

Counting those, it's a whopping 59% off! Even if you reduce the 40% main coupon to 30% (the most common EPP coupon), it's still nearly half off!

 

Just be sure to allow popups. Then you click on the Dell page from fatwallet. As long as you are signed into your account, it regesters that you clicked on the dell page. Whatever you buy from dell, you will get a 3% cash rebate. The rebate can be sent to you via Check or Paypal then transfered to your bank account. There is no coupon code or anything.

 

So if i need to go through fatwallet to the dell website to get the 2%, how do i order it through the kiosk at the mall? Also how do i get that $35 off coupon from ebay?

 

Just so you know, the Dell Preferred Account opens a line of credit (which entails a "hard" credit check) and will (temporarily?) hurt your credit score.

Also, fatwallet only works with Home purchases, correct?

 

I'd agree you can get some of the best deals through the EPP program , i got a E1505 for $1225 which at the time listed for about $2500...i'm happy

 

erm, i hate to be a newb but could you spell out all your acronyms like EPP and so forth?

 

I believe EPP can stand for two things:

1) Employee Purchase Program
or
2) Educational Purchase Program

 

How does the Dell direct kiosk work ? Do they have a code or is it 5% automatic off any order through the kiosk ? IS there a salesperson involved ? Or just a computer to order from ?

 

Hmm this is very interesting, I think I'll call tomorrow, I hope they're open and have some holiday discount. It would be nice to stack an extra 5% ontop of the the 30% EPP and 4% and 6% that I have configured on my systems in my wishlist..

 

So the 5% off is on top of all other discounts, and works on ANY program like EPP/bus etc ? IS there a code involved ?

 

Hmm... I just chatted with a Dell Product Advisor, and they told me No [you cannot order from the Dell Direct kiosk], Dell Direct kiosks are just for customers to take a look at the products you still need to order online or by phone. I'll call a few kiosks today to see whats up and if they have a discount.

 

Okay, so i called a couple of places today.. and they both said no we can't add anything to the EPP system. They do have coupon codes but will not give them out, they didn't say what type of codes they were though. Also one of the guys said that Dell is already losing money on these EPP discounts.. hmm I think he was just offended that he couldn't give me a better deal or something, but he said this very rudely and added "I'm not gonna touch that system." I guess we can't combine the kiosk deals with our EPP.

 

Dell is still hauling in the motherload with their bottom line. Sure, when you discount, more volume goes out with less profit. In the end, the numbers are still staggering, i'd bet.