HUGE difference in prices on the ASUS Z62f???

Am I configuring this wrong? Maybe I have the wrong model notebook...

ProPortable Z62f
http://www.proportable.com/detail.aspx?ID=179

ACIZ62F
PROPortable Z62f Centrino Notebook (Napa Platform)
1. Intel® Core Duo™ w/ 2MB Cache; 677MHz FSB : T2500 - 2.0GHz; 677MHz FSB; w/ 2MB Cache
2. DDR2 so-Dimm : 2048 ddr2 677 (1024mb x 2) - Corsair
3. Hard Drives 2.5" ATA100 : Hitachi Travelstar 60GB 7200 RPM w/ 8MB Buffer
4. Optical Drive : 8x DVD Super Multi Burner (+/- R/RW)
5. Internal Wireless Card (Required for Centrino) : Intel PRO/3945 Wireless 802.11a/b/g MiniPCI
6. Operating Systems : No Operating System
7. Warranties : 3 years parts & labor w/ 1 way paid shipping

Order Total: $1,937.43

PowerNotebooks
http://www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=274

Same Specs

Order Total: $1495.65



Any ideas???

 

I guess Justin or others will be able to give you a better response...but from what I can see, I got the same total on Proportable as you did at $1937.43 but I got $1569 at the powernotebooks site for the same configuration. One reason could be the brand of Ram, It's corsair at proportable but not mentioned on powernotebooks...so that could be quite a bit...and I also see that proportable values their 3 year labour program at +$150 whereas powernotebooks seems to include it in the base price of the barebone...so you should check what you're getting there.

That's all I can see on the surface, but as I said, I'm sure Justin can justify the price difference If everything is apples to apples. If It were approx. a $100 difference, I'd say it was definitely attributed to the warranty, and the level of service Proportable feels it's offering over and above the competition.

There has to be a logical reason...give it some time and I'm sure someone will be able to point something out

 

The price of the Z62f is the most updated price as it's the newest model...... I don't know how you're figuring it all out, but our "standard" configuration is with a two year warranty which is part of the price of course.... RAM contributes to a difference in cost Corsair is expensive to start.. I'm not sure if we only have the DDR2 677 on the site, but there's a huge difference between DDR2 533 and 677... we may have both on the site and if so I guess that could be seen... .. as does the brand and model of hard drive.... but I don't get into what's what all that much anymore, because there are a lot companies out there that have become so cut throat that they're making close to nothing on a system and not even building it themselves...... outsourcing the build, the support and the warranty may make things cheaper, but not better. I'm not going to compare, because when I do it, I always find something stupid.... like one comes with a combo drive and one comes with a dvd burner. I know for one, we're only selling the Z62f with the dvd burner (this model has a built in, non removable drive... so we'd need to carry stock of both models, not just different drives.).... that may be the case, I don't know.

I'd put a value on our service, longevity, awards from Asus and dedication to strictly Asus systems....... but there's really not. The markup on this type of hardware is 10-15% and that isn't profit..... profit is more like 5-7% (and I'd like to see someone argue with me on that). So, when the prices differ more than that markup percentage.... something's wrong..... either there's a typo, or you're getting a great deal. Personally, anyone who doesn't think the people providing you with a service and a product should profit - should be the same ones who understand when the company dries up and can't or won't provide service down the road.

With that said.... drop me an email with the configuration you were looking at on our site and I'll check that against the latest price lists..... Perhaps there was a shift in cpu prices recently that require an update to the server... With all the new W5's and V6's going out last week, there's a chance there something was missed.

 

I say you should check a 3rd party to see their price, just comparing 2 retailers in this case is not enuff, check out c9tech and ISTNC, and others.

If their prices are closer to Justin's then you know something must be wrong with powernotebooks price...if its the other way around...then it "could" be a mistake on Justin's price.

That's my 2 Cent


Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

If I was in your position, I'd do an Excel speadsheet and put each line item next to each other...there could be little differences that make a big difference in the end (to you). That way you're not jumping at the price without doing due diligence.

I know when I'm working with clients on hardware/price discussions, you need to do this type of a comparison since you're often not comparing "apples to apples".

 

i calculated using ISTNC and theirs comes to $1586, the two main differences are:
-corsair memory for proportable which could account for 50-80 more, also the warranty for 3 years is 120 vs 150 for proportable...still that only comes to at best a $240 difference in price, not sure where the rest is coming from

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it 3 years PowerNotebooks warranty vs 3 years Asus warranty? You have to account for the cost benefit for that also.

Frankly I don't know the difference between different RAM manufs. yet, but I'm good w/ ProP and the Corsair.

 

no built-ons all are currently 1 year warranty's from asus...the other warranty's are all reseller based like powernotebooks, proportable, istnc. The real question is what worth you place in service after the purchase which is very important as this is what sways most users to purchase from a specific reseller

concerning RAM, corsair is a very reputable brand but the reason the original posters config is so expensive is because he has 2gigs of the new 667 ram. Proportable has already mentioned in another thread that the gains of 667 vs 533 are minimal at this point and not really worth the notable price difference

hmm some other reputable brands are kingston and crucial, the latter I use in my desktop system

 

Asus doesn't really warranty the barebone... it's always the warranty of the dealer who either sold it as a barebone - or built a system up with it.... Warranties are certainly different all over, but I have a hard time understanding anyone's warranty other than our own which is simply worded and yet covers basically everything for the term of the warranty with the exception of accessories, batteries and accidental or normal wear type stuff.

I checked out the pricing today and anything under $1,500 for that configuration would be impossible as cost for the parts are at least that. We have to figure in shipping to us obviously, labor costs to built and test, an average of 2.5% that the credit cards take on the charge, and the cost for the warranty.

I won't bad mouth anyone....you're not going to beat those deals. We sell a lot and we've taken the time to build a reputation and if we sold that system at that cost and continued to work the same way, we wouldn't be in business much longer. Now, the minimal cost for parts to ship to us is divided between all systems as we order a lot of different things at one time... but I'd say that there's a good $15 (which isn't a real factor)... not building your own systems does help costs like that but when it comes to the build, the testing... the warranty, etc... if it's someone else's responsibility I guess as long as you don't lose money you're ok. Right now, there might be 3-4 Asus systems builders in North America who actually build, test and warranty their own systems...... maybe 2 that physically stock their systems... If I was looking for the best price, I wouldn't choose us either, but that isn't going to change how we have to operate - we'll just figure out more services we could offer...

 

a bit OT i guess but what are those extra 2 buttons to the right of the space bar on the z62f that the z63a and w3v/j don't have

 

The picture you're refering to shows the Z62f with a different language keyboard layout... they're probably keys that function to make typing in that language (looks like Japanese) easier.
The Z62f should have the same keyboard as the W3 series.

 

no one mentioned this, but maybe proportable is just ripping people off?

they seem to see their customer support/service as having quite high value

 

Santas,
I doubt Justin/Proportable are "ripping people off." Sometimes people and companies do place too high a value on their name, sometimes appropriately, sometimes not. It certainly seems to be working for Justin/Proportable. However, it should be noted one of the companies mentioned in the above thread, PowerNotebooks.com, has an equally extraordinarily high ResellersReating.com, including in the area of customer service. In addition, in my conversations with various parties at various companies in my search for a laptop, I find Powernotebooks.com to be a very ethical Christ-centered company.
mikeylee

 

This conflicts with what Justin said earlier on this thread...

The two configs I made both had 2 gb 667 RAM

 

This whole thread is ridiculous. This isnt pricewatch here. If you want the cheapest dont have high expectations of post sales support in particular 100% self service without needing to send to asus for issue like motherboard related problems. VEry Very few dealers in the states have the ability to self service 100% of the notebooks they sell without relying on the manufacturer.

 

wow you kind of exploded there

and why the attitude?

the thread was simply a question of "why is the price different?" which was answered by many people here, so it was not a rediculous thread because my question has been answered

 

Your question has been answered... fair enough.

Thread closed - we don't want to have any unnecessary comments.