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#1
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"Free monitor upgrade" dirty trick
Two days ago I configured two Dimension 9100 systems and put them in my
online shopping cart. The system with the features I really wanted came to $1677. I already have a nice monitor, but part of the base package was a 17' CRT which I decided to accept because there was only a $20 reduction for not taking it. I figured I would give it away to a relative or sell it at a garage sale. Today while Googling for something completely unrelated, I stumbled on a Dell page offering Dimension 9100 systems with free monitor upgrades that now included a "19 inch E193FP Analog Flat Panel" and a "17 inch UltrasharpT 1704FPT Digital Flat Panel". Wow, that's much more interesting than a free $20 CRT, so I go back to the Dell site, log on, and open my shopping cart. Immediately two messages flash by saying "system is invalid" or such, and my shopping cart magically is empty. No big deal, I think, it's just a web page screwup and it will only take five minutes to configure another system. Going through the process, I see that the price of every single enhancement I wanted has gone up, a lot. Even the $8 operating system backup CD is now $10. Bottom line, my $1677 system is now $1857. If I go for it I'll be stuck with a $200 flat panel screen I don't need instead of a $20 CRT. I think for Dell to do this is sleazy marketing, and bad customer relations. This would be my 4th Dell system, but now I'm not sure I want it. |
#2
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Cliff Chinaski wrote:
Two days ago I configured two Dimension 9100 systems and put them in my online shopping cart. The system with the features I really wanted came to $1677. I already have a nice monitor, but part of the base package was a 17' CRT which I decided to accept because there was only a $20 reduction for not taking it. I figured I would give it away to a relative or sell it at a garage sale. Today while Googling for something completely unrelated, I stumbled on a Dell page offering Dimension 9100 systems with free monitor upgrades that now included a "19 inch E193FP Analog Flat Panel" and a "17 inch UltrasharpT 1704FPT Digital Flat Panel". Wow, that's much more interesting than a free $20 CRT, so I go back to the Dell site, log on, and open my shopping cart. Immediately two messages flash by saying "system is invalid" or such, and my shopping cart magically is empty. No big deal, I think, it's just a web page screwup and it will only take five minutes to configure another system. Going through the process, I see that the price of every single enhancement I wanted has gone up, a lot. Even the $8 operating system backup CD is now $10. Bottom line, my $1677 system is now $1857. If I go for it I'll be stuck with a $200 flat panel screen I don't need instead of a $20 CRT. I think for Dell to do this is sleazy marketing, and bad customer relations. This would be my 4th Dell system, but now I'm not sure I want it. Did you print out your original quote? If so, I'd imagine/hope that Dell would honor it. Give them a call! Notan |
#3
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How, exactly, were you getting to the page to configure your system?
Through the Dell Outrageous Deals link, the Dell Outlet Store, the Home and Home Office link on the Dell home page at www.dell.com, or some other link? You will find that the system price will depend on exactly how you got to the system and through which links were used to get you there. "Notan" wrote in message ... Cliff Chinaski wrote: Two days ago I configured two Dimension 9100 systems and put them in my online shopping cart. The system with the features I really wanted came to $1677. I already have a nice monitor, but part of the base package was a 17' CRT which I decided to accept because there was only a $20 reduction for not taking it. I figured I would give it away to a relative or sell it at a garage sale. Today while Googling for something completely unrelated, I stumbled on a Dell page offering Dimension 9100 systems with free monitor upgrades that now included a "19 inch E193FP Analog Flat Panel" and a "17 inch UltrasharpT 1704FPT Digital Flat Panel". Wow, that's much more interesting than a free $20 CRT, so I go back to the Dell site, log on, and open my shopping cart. Immediately two messages flash by saying "system is invalid" or such, and my shopping cart magically is empty. No big deal, I think, it's just a web page screwup and it will only take five minutes to configure another system. Going through the process, I see that the price of every single enhancement I wanted has gone up, a lot. Even the $8 operating system backup CD is now $10. Bottom line, my $1677 system is now $1857. If I go for it I'll be stuck with a $200 flat panel screen I don't need instead of a $20 CRT. I think for Dell to do this is sleazy marketing, and bad customer relations. This would be my 4th Dell system, but now I'm not sure I want it. Did you print out your original quote? If so, I'd imagine/hope that Dell would honor it. Give them a call! Notan |
#4
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"Cliff Chinaski" wrote in message
news:X4RKe.5426$rY.646@trndny03... Two days ago I configured two Dimension 9100 systems and put them in my online shopping cart. The system with the features I really wanted came to $1677. I already have a nice monitor, but part of the base package was a 17' CRT which I decided to accept because there was only a $20 reduction for not taking it. I figured I would give it away to a relative or sell it at a garage sale. Today while Googling for something completely unrelated, I stumbled on a Dell page offering Dimension 9100 systems with free monitor upgrades that now included a "19 inch E193FP Analog Flat Panel" and a "17 inch UltrasharpT 1704FPT Digital Flat Panel". Wow, that's much more interesting than a free $20 CRT, so I go back to the Dell site, log on, and open my shopping cart. Immediately two messages flash by saying "system is invalid" or such, and my shopping cart magically is empty. No big deal, I think, it's just a web page screwup and it will only take five minutes to configure another system. Going through the process, I see that the price of every single enhancement I wanted has gone up, a lot. Even the $8 operating system backup CD is now $10. Bottom line, my $1677 system is now $1857. If I go for it I'll be stuck with a $200 flat panel screen I don't need instead of a $20 CRT. I think for Dell to do this is sleazy marketing, and bad customer relations. This would be my 4th Dell system, but now I'm not sure I want it. It's Thursday. IIRC, Dell updated their special in Thursdays. For future reference, print the config or create a PDF and in most cases Dell will honor the configuration sometimes as long as 30 days from when you priced it out. (at least business sale does) Yet another reason to always buy from the business side of the house. -- Rob |
#5
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It's not exactly a dirty trick here. Dell changes the pricing and special
offers (e.g. free shipping, free memory upgrade, free monitor, ad nauseam) on its web site VERY frequently. I'm not sure what sort of algorithm is in place, but it's obviously computerized and it takes into account customer demand on one side and whatever is being milled out on the assembly line on the other side. It surely takes into account the changes in their buying prices of commodity items such as CPUs, hard drives, etc. I think the intent here is to get people to buy in impulse when they see what they think is a really good deal. But it may also encourage people to put off buying, waiting to see the next special offer. This very flaky pricing scheme does not exactly give a warm feeling, does it? Nor does one get a warm feeling when the price of a computer at the "factory outlet" is higher than an EXACT model through the regular on-line "store". .... Ben Myers On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 23:22:31 GMT, "Cliff Chinaski" wrote: Two days ago I configured two Dimension 9100 systems and put them in my online shopping cart. The system with the features I really wanted came to $1677. I already have a nice monitor, but part of the base package was a 17' CRT which I decided to accept because there was only a $20 reduction for not taking it. I figured I would give it away to a relative or sell it at a garage sale. Today while Googling for something completely unrelated, I stumbled on a Dell page offering Dimension 9100 systems with free monitor upgrades that now included a "19 inch E193FP Analog Flat Panel" and a "17 inch UltrasharpT 1704FPT Digital Flat Panel". Wow, that's much more interesting than a free $20 CRT, so I go back to the Dell site, log on, and open my shopping cart. Immediately two messages flash by saying "system is invalid" or such, and my shopping cart magically is empty. No big deal, I think, it's just a web page screwup and it will only take five minutes to configure another system. Going through the process, I see that the price of every single enhancement I wanted has gone up, a lot. Even the $8 operating system backup CD is now $10. Bottom line, my $1677 system is now $1857. If I go for it I'll be stuck with a $200 flat panel screen I don't need instead of a $20 CRT. I think for Dell to do this is sleazy marketing, and bad customer relations. This would be my 4th Dell system, but now I'm not sure I want it. |
#6
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"Cliff Chinaski" wrote in message news:X4RKe.5426$rY.646@trndny03... Cliff, Try again from here. Maybe you'll wind up with a 20"LCD instead of a 17" or 19" : http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=04&l=en&s=bsd Stew |
#7
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On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 19:09:13 -0500, "S.Lewis"
wrote: "Cliff Chinaski" wrote in message news:X4RKe.5426$rY.646@trndny03... Cliff, Try again from here. Maybe you'll wind up with a 20"LCD instead of a 17" or 19" : http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=04&l=en&s=bsd Stew I've been holding off replacing my 4550, but.....hmmmm...... |
#8
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Dave wrote:
On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 19:09:13 -0500, "S.Lewis" wrote: "Cliff Chinaski" wrote in message news:X4RKe.5426$rY.646@trndny03... Cliff, Try again from here. Maybe you'll wind up with a 20"LCD instead of a 17" or 19" : http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=04&l=en&s=bsd Stew I've been holding off replacing my 4550, but.....hmmmm...... There's alway going to be a better deal, tomorrow. If you wait, you'll never buy anything! Notan |
#9
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Thanks for all the good advice. I'll probably be calling Dell to ask for the original $1676 pricing
from 8/5. Luckily I did do a 'Print Cart' that day. I didn't know about the many entrance points into the buying system you guys pointed out, so I made a comparison spreadsheet. This is not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison due to some mouse and service plan selection differences, but you can see the pricing of each item for each plan. Item prices vary and of course free monitors aren't really free. As Ben commented above, this marketing approach does not provide a 'warm feeling'. Columns 1 & 2 are Home and Home Office, prices from a straight visit to dell.com. Column 3 is from the Outrageous Deals link given by Stew. Column 4 is from Small Business, from a straight visit to dell.com, with only a 1-year warranty selected. Sorry about posting in HTML format, it's the only way I could get the columns to line up. ORIGINAL NEW "OUTRAG- "SMALL PRICES PRICES EOUS DEALS" BUSINESS" 8/5 8/11 8/11 8/12 PENTIUM 4 3GHZ W/ XP HOME BASE PRICE 1034 1078 936 706 MAIL-IN REBATE -100 2 GB MEMORY 338 450 420 420 17' CRT FREE YES 19' OR 17' FLAT SCREEN FREE YES 20' FLAT WIDE SCREEN FREE YES NO MONITOR -279 DELL COLOR PRINTER FREE YES YES 256MB ATI VIDEO CARD 0 0 40 40 250 GB HARD DRIVE 60 80 140 140 3.5 FLOPPY 30 40 30 30 DELL USB MOUSE 0 LOGITECH OPTICAL MOUSE 50 50 50 DATA FAX MODEM 0 0 20 20 DUAL 16x DVD, 48x CD-RW 0 0 69 69 NO SPEAKERS MS OFFICE BASIC 112 149 149 149 NO SECURITY BACKUP OPSYS CD 8 10 NONE NONE 3YR WTY, AT HOME SVC 59 3YR ON-SITE ECONOMY PLAN 149 1YR WARRANTY 0 "NO EXTENDED ON-SITE SVC" YES SURGE PROT 35 35 35 TOTAL 1676 1857 1938 1659 |
#10
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Sorry about that mess, you can find the speadsheet nicely aligned in newsgroup alt.test since I
can't figure out how to do it here. Same subject line over there. |
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