Current Dell prices to drop soon?

Nothing persuades me more to buy a Dell than the occasional low prices one can get with promotional coupons. Otherwise I'd usually pay more and just pick up a nicer laptop. But lately I just haven't been impressed at all with the coupon prices floating around. Am I wrong? I've been watching them for a couple of weeks.

I know that Dell is kind of unpredictable about their pricing, but does anybody think they will have some deals on the Inspirons soon? I can't remember if Dell drops prices during post-new-years. Any input appreciated. Thanks.

 

Actually, Dell has streamlined their promotional coupons and overhauled their discounting strategies since this past late summer. Hence, you no longer see the $400 or $700 off coupons anymore and it's down to either the 20% or the $300 coupons. They still occasionally tweak the prices selectively and still run a 1 off deal but those are rare. Bottom line: If you need the computer now, get it. If not, I'm sure you get a better deal, maybe they'll throw free upgrades here and there.

 

Well a number of things need to be factored in.

You have the Date. They are at end of year budget and a boost in sales will help the bottom line. Government and companies buy in March and April to clean out the budget.

You have the season. Christmas will be very busy for them. If they wanted to boost sales; that would have been the time.

Technology. The start of the New Year is not really bringing any new things to the table; Vista being the biggest as I know. I doubt they will be clearing stock as it is still current.

So how I see it? I think January will be slow because they could use the break and need to make decisions for the New Year. But then I am no expert.

 

I just bought my 6400/1505 in November with an Intel Core Duo. I see Dell Canada still offers the Core Duo but are moving towards the Core 2 Duo.

So I agree, if you need it and can afford it get it now, otherwise it’s forever always better hardware and deals tomorrow.

 

I have read in other threads that Dell does have a 30 day price drop policy. I believe the conditions are that the price drop has to be greater than $50 and that you have to keep up on what the specials are and prove to them that the price has indeed dropped.

I believe the coupons floating around now for Dell laptops are 20%. So if you buy now, and within a month a 25% or a 30% coupon pops out, with the difference being greater than $50, you could then call Dell and ask for check.

Don't quote me on this though. You might want to call Dell and see what their pricing policies are in these circumstances.

 

From http://support.dell.com/support/top...dsn/en/document?c=us&docid=302177&l=en&s=gen;

"Dell Price Match Information


Dell does not offer a price protection policy, nor do we match current competitor pricing for similar products.

For US Customers Only - Dell realizes that prices and components change very rapidly in the computer industry. As a courtesy, Dell's US Customer Service Division will issue a credit for any price drop greater than $50 within 30 days from the invoice date.
The amount of the price drop will be refunded back to you according to the original payment method (credit card, payment terms, etc.) within 10-15 business days."

 

Sigh. Thanks everybody.

I'd read that Dell was, as somebody said, overhauling their discounting strategies but I hoped they were still doing some of the discounts as they did in the old days.

I read a post a while back, on the Dell blog as I recall, that claimed this overhaul would ultimately benefit the customer, and perhaps that's true for the "average" consumer who does not dig around for coupons or has no awareness of them; but i can't help but see this as a loss for those who bought Dells during their periodic big discounts.

 

Dell's major overhaul seems to be centered around their markiting and not where the problem lies. They do not offer killer deals anymore rather act like a big box store. Futureshop, Best buy, CC etc.. 5% off an item if you buy 5 extras..

Dell was built on good customer service and is being held up by their size right now. If they want to get back into the game they should offer better support. I am still waiting on an email, 2 weeks now, and 3 phone calls.

I am starting to ***** about Dell. That is not a good thing.

 

I think their price is pretty high now, since the 750off coupon doesn't work anymore. Even if you use 20% off and after tax, the price can't be call "Cheap"

 

Dell has a $293 off coupon now on inspiron 6400's. I just bought a great laptop with this coupon. Check it out here:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=bndwe4h&s=bsd

 

About a month ago they still had 25% off and 30% off coupons. Check out the I got a new Dell thread, lots of people post their full specs and prices so its nice to compare with. I think the prices will drop a little shortly to help sales in the post holiday spending period. I'm sure nothing significant though. You just have to decide if it is worth $100- $175 to not have your computer for another 4-6 weeks.