Move over Eurocom! (Canadians? Meet ProStar... ProStar? Canadians...)

Oh snap LOL i live 3 blocks away from AET Solution INC... i didnt know they sell those laptop at St-Laurent

 

The problem with small retaillers is that we don't know if they have the laptop in stock, have to mail for a quote. And they just seem to be a Sager reseller so they should charge you the price it costs to import a Sager into Canada exept if they have wholesale price or some kind of tax reduction.

 

Dammit crappy work internet I composed a nice thing about why buying from Eurocom and the transaction did not go trough.

Anyway, that probably well sum it up. All this for 45$ in saving on a 2k% system? Whoa.... ...

Clevo never breaks... Yeah
Go tell me after 1 defective ODD, 1 broken HDD and a motherboard replacement... All 3 shipping covered both ways by Eurocom ... Drives were "advanced replaced" in a day. Mobo took under a week, just because of a back order. I got an email from tech guy next day I shipped.

Taxes... Meh
The carrier will charge both taxes whereever you are located in Canada because taxes are handled by the carrier.... Buy Eurocom outside ON and pay only 5% .

Service
I always got nice replies from all reps. My email chatter with Alen 2 years ago had like 65 replies, all detailed, polite and courteous. 1 conversation with Jonh fell into a void (Which cost Eurocom a HDD bracket - I went ith xotic). Other chats were ok. Chatter with tech guy was best of all. I was very confident I get back my lappy in one piece.

AET
They look a little amateur, but they are also like 5 minutes from home. I may check sometime. Note they are a sager distro and not a Clevo distro. I mean it's fun to ask Eurocom about obscure Clevo models not listed anywhere. I'm thinking right now about a 735T or a 746TU, both in stock lol...

Anyway I don't really get why there's so much Eurocom bashing around here. My experience with them has always been top notch. Sure, sometime their web prices are sky high, but one thing you have to understand with them is that their web prices are not always the truth. They just like to deal lol...

Finally another good reason for us canadians to buy from Eurocom.... Buy canadian! Make our own people work. Dammit that's worth more than 45$ over a 2k$ system!

 

You WILL get a good price. You'll probably just to have to work your way to a good price . They are not stupid; they won't loose a sale to a competitor.

My sincere advice is don't make them loose their time for 50$. I mean keep in consideration shipping, warranty, taxes. You will know when you get to their bottom price where they won't move anymore.

Just another advice is watch out for costly options; they're good for overpricing them. Sometime a bigger hard drive with them will cost more than keeping the basic drive and buying a new one from a reseller. Same for RAM, ODD, batteries, A/C adapters etc.... Give 'em some proof where you found something cheaper. If they don't move, don't get the upgrade. Xotic is good with upgrade options.

Just get a wanted configuration with competitors, send them the specs and adjusted price (shipping, conversion, etc...) and they should do it.

 

a little message from AET just to check their price

Hello Robert,



Thank you for your quote request. As per your request, the system requested was as follows:



NP8660 Series
- Internal Bluetooth V2.0 + EDR Module
- Intel 2GB TurboMemory Module
- 8X DVD ± R/RW/+DL Burner Drive & Softwares
- 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 2 X 2048MB
- Microsoft Office Ready with Free 60-Day Trial
- Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300AGN - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Genuine MS Windows® VISTA Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition
- 320G 5400rpm SATA 300 Disk Drive
- 45nm Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P9500 / 6MB L2 Cache, 2.53GHz, 1066MHz FSB
- 15.4" WSXGA+ LCD with Super Glossy Surface (1680X1050)
- Sager 1 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty
- Fingerprint Reader
- Nvidia GeForce 9800M GT Graphics with 512MB DDR3 Video Memory



Warranty Explanation

Here at AET Solutions, our goal is to make the purchase of a Sager Notebook as easy as possible for our Canadian customers; this is the reason we take on the warranty claims for all user serviceable parts in Sager Notebooks (i.e. Hard Drive, Memory etc). For all non-user serviceable parts, the unit must be returned to Sager Notebooks’ Depot. All warranty shipping costs must be incurred by the customer.



Price includes all shipping and handling charges to major cities in Canada as well as all brokerage fees.



The price is $2,539.93CAD + tax.

The price includes a cash payment rebate of 2.5% (cash/check/wire transfer).

The price for payment by credit card is $2,603.43CAD + tax.



If you are located in the province of Quebec, GST and QST apply.

If you are located in western Canada, only GST applies.

If you are located in eastern Canada, only HST applies.



This quote is only valid for 3 business days.

This is a special order laptop and cannot be returned for credit.



If you have any questions or concerns such as whether this is the right laptop for you, feel free to contact me at the number below or email me your contact information and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

 

I paid 2566$ w/o cash discount but I had a 7200rpm HDD with a 3 year warranty w/ 30days no dead pixel but I had no OS. So this is around $350 more expensive. I paid $110 for express shipping. And for AET, you have to pay shipping for warranty and as they ship it back to Sager, that will cost as much as if I bought from them directly. And I don't think they have great price like XoticPC so the quote they sent you should be based on: Sager website price + Profit. Go for Eurocom as they can service the laptop in Canada instead of shipping it back to the states.

 

I'm looking at AET and Eurocom.

What do you think of M860TU Montebello from Eurocom?

Also, the Cdn AET Solutions website shows a Sager 8660 as more expensive before taxes than a comparably equipped laptop from Eurocom. Does that sound right? After taxes, I found the M860TU to be cheaper than one from AET before taxes.

I thought going for a Canadian distributor (of Sager/Clevo clones) might be a better idea than the American distributors. I'm buying through my company so it might be more convenient. 'Not sure yet.

I looked at ExoticPC, System76 and ProStar. However, are those prices American funds? They have to be very competitive price-wise since the customs charges and taxes seem to be about $300 on systems that are just under 2K.

 

US sellers = US funds AET is a Sager reseller so its the same price as Sager, but with exchange rate. Eurocom have its own price, since they build their computer themselves.

Without considering the currency, Sager/XoticPC have the lowest price with Holiday sale. With the taxes, Pro-Star leads. With the currency, Eurocom is the easiest way although it ends up with the same price as XoticPC.

I bought mine for around $2500 USD with everything (taxes not included) in September. Now, its around $1800 USD. I had US funds bought when 1 USD = 1 CAD. But even with the currency, $1800 USD is around $2200 CAD so that's not bad. Eurocom stopped doing price match because Sager prices are too low.

 

Thank you for the info, livesoft. I just wanted to confirm that.

I'll probably go with Eurocom if I order from a non-brand name company and if I do, I'm still getting a Sager notebook which is highly rated here, right? Unless someone here gives me a good reason to go with something/someone else, that is.

Since I'm not buying it directly, the Eurocom site might be the safest and easiest bet.

 

Just to get this clear. Eurocom and Sager do not make these models. Clevo does.

However, Eurocom and Sager are both direct importers of the Clevo models. So when you order from Eurocom, you are getting a Eurocom-branded Clevo, not a Sager-branded Clevo.

 

In other words:

Clevo --- ships barebones to ---> Sager/Eurocom.

Eurocom --- add components --- shipping ---> You (Eurocom brand)
Sager --- add components --- shipping --- Canadian border ---> You (Sager brand)

As for retaillers: You --- send money ---> XoticPC --- send order to ---> Sager --- add components --- shipping ---> You (Sager brand)

For more information, you should read the Clevo Guide, sticked in this sub-forum. I still have a personal preference for XoticPC if the price is about the same, although repairs could be a pain (but in reality, its not so bad).

 

Thanks, guys!
So, I should rate them this way?:
1) notebook from XoticPC if possible (depending on price and if I'm eligible?)
2) notebook from Eurocom (if I need to order from a Cdn company/distributor)

But, with Eurocom, it's probably an easier order and I'm still getting a Clevo, correct?

 

When I included Pro-Star in the mix, the price when converted to CAD was about $1889 so slightly cheaper than Eurocom's.

I guess I need to see if an American distributor is an option and then go from there.

 

Yes, its the same computer , just not the same brand (since its sold under different names: NP8660, Montebello, M860TU, etc.) but its the same computer!!!

If you order with XoticPC and pay with your credit card, the bank will apply an exchange rate to convert your money in USD. You basically have to do nothing in the process. When ordering from them, you should expect an extra on shipping ($110 for express) and taxes to be paid at the door.

If you order with Eurocom, its a bit more expensive now but hassle free since the price is in CAD and you pay taxes and shipping and all the fees during the online checkout.

If you get it with ProStar, you get the Holiday sale discount and all the fees are paid during checkout so its also hassle free

 

I definately reccomend Eurocom, I talked with Jeffrey Darabaner throughout the whole purchase of my M860TU. Even though I was a pain in the butt always changing stuff, asking for updated quotes with different options he was always quick to reply and a big help. They cut me a decent deal too, just talk with them. Plus they are the only ones offering higher performance....if thats something you are looking for.
Plus like p bucher said...

 

and from eurocom dont pick the camera, it comes free on m860tu, their too lazy to remove camera so they live it there as gift

 

Good to know, thanks.

Do you think it's a good idea to go 'light' on the HDD and RAM? The RAM is upgradeable so leaving it as 2GB and going with the default HDD or a cheaper HDD is a good idea? Also, is the bluetooth upgradeable or if you choose to not have it, it's then not available period?

 

-I wouldn't say that, it probably cost more in wages to remove it... it's more generous than anything, they could easily embed the camera selection so you don't have any option for that one, so 'lazy', might not be the right word

 

Definitely on the RAM. Go with 1x2Gb stick of RAM, and then if you choose to, you can upgrade later for cheaper.

I went with the cheapest HDD; specs were good enough and I don't need that much HDD space cuz I have a few external drives I use. Depends on what you need I guess.

Bluetooth: no idea, sorry bud!

 

I agree with all that, 100% Makes sense and sounds like a good idea. That will be my strategy if I go with that notebook! Thanks!