Can anyone give their opinion on Lenovo OUTLET?

I used to be paranoid about getting a used notebook and wondering if everything would be checked out before I buy a used one. Just like getting a used car, I wanna make sure I can get it from a reputable source (among other reasons).

Anyways, I'm looking at particularly the X200, the perfect combo of power and size for me. But one complaint I saw on Lenovo outlet from the tabletpc review I think was that the Outlet store was managed by a 3rd party company and how her order got lost and was never processed even though she got the confirmation email.

Whenever I check up on a buyer, I'm too keen to look for every thing that's a con. Hopefully, some more experience from people who've bought from there can help me understand more of Lenovo's outlet.

 

I bought a few from the Outlet for others. The transactions went smoothly in my case. They looked new to me, but the refurbished one returned for some reason. My guess would be there's a higher chance of screen imperfections like dead/stuck pixels, though it's a suspicion not based on any fact. The ones I bought were fine.

 

Did you buy a refurbished or new or redistributed?

For yourself, I mean

 

I bought my X300 from the outlet, redistributed. It shipped within 3 days, arrived on time, and was exactly what I ordered (although I got an AGN card rather than a ABG, which is a nice bonus). The box was definitely unopened, and the laptop brand new.

 

it is good, saved over 500$ over a similarly configured cpp with discount. everything including battery was new. but disappointed of the warranty which initially showed 3 and dropped to 1. my t500 is flawless after 4 months of operation

 

You mean you've had your T500 for 4 months so far or it's acting up after 4 months?

 

new, redistibuted or refurb?
hope he meant 'still flawless'. 0.o, didn't notice that Shin

 

i brought it under the new category. Battery has zero cycle count and the machine was manufactured less than a month before i got it. i got all the software that was ordered originally for free. i think the machine was for a university user, that explains both the low price and education software i got.

 

Refurbished.

 

Just bought and received a "scratch & dent" battery for my T60. I paid $32 for the thing and it is brand new. There are no scratches, and there are no signs of it being used or abused in any way. My Thinkpad even reports that it has had 0 charging cycles.

I'm so glad I did this, as I would never had replaced my old battery with a new $120 one.

 

I also bought a battery from the outlet just a week and a half ago. I bought a 6-cell for my W500 for $36--- quite a steal.

I was a little bit disappointed when I got an email telling me I ordered some Trackpoint Caps (the red things) for $9.99 --- I did not order this. I called them up, and they issued me a new order for the correct part number. I finally got my battery, and it looks brand new and works great.

Somehow though, my old order number got fixed and I was delivered another spare battery..... and probably charged for it too -- so I am going to have to reconcile that with Lenovo somehow.

 

Shin Kai,

Did you pull the trigger on an x200 yet? I was in the same position as 'martinmach' - meaning that I found a killer deal on the Outlet. I was debating between the x200s and x200, had thought I was gonna with one of the Topseller versions (can be had as cheap as $1375), but then a saw a post by 'allfiredup' on the deals at the Lenovo Outlet. I was still looking for an x200s, but then I saw an x200 with 4GB Ram, a 7200rpm HD, the 9-cell battery, AND the Intel 5300 - all for $930!! With CPP pricing, the exact same setup was running $1321, and that doesn't include the free notebook bag, PLUS the added savings on tax.

I placed my order on 3/18, got email confirmation on 3/20, and hadn't heard anything since. Then, I finally called today and they told me my order shipped out yesterday, 3/23, but they don't have a Tracking # yet?!?! They told me to call back in 1-2 days and find out about the Tracking #, but I'll probably (hopefully) get the computer before then.

My experience - FANTASTIC/Unbeatable price (if you find the configuration you like), service could be a little more organized. I'll update when I get more info.

With all the different coupons/promotions they always seem to have going on, Good Luck!

 

I'm frustrated with them so just cancel my order....I'll probably regret it later

I ordered an X301 last week, on the 19th, and just called to get order status, they said my credit card has just been verified and it will be 7-10 days from today. Well that's BS. The whole point of the outlet, if you read the VERY LARGE BANNER at the top of the page is that these systems are pre-configured and ready to ship. Yeah, right. I bet the one I wanted is already gone to someone else because they took so long. Very frustrating. Had I known that I would've kept the new one I ordered that I just sent back this morning. It was a few hundred more, but I had that baby IN MY HANDS. Can't believe it. Oh well, time to start over...

I'm sure they'll say they never got the cancellation through in time and it'll ship anyway...

 

I'm waiting for an X200s from the outlet, on 3/16. My estimated ship date was 3/23. I called today since it hadn't shipped, and the estimated ship date was 3/30. They mentioned the same thing they told kevroc, "We just verified your card on 3/18"... Gee thanks. I'm still holding out hope, though.

 

Update: When I got home, the UPS tag was sticking on my front door! I called for warehouse pickup and am booting up right now!! Typing this on secondary computer...shipped yesterday, here today!

 

The Lenovo Outlet really isn't a place to get good deals any more. Haven't found anything there that I couldn't get for the same price or cheaper using CPP or good sales at the main site.

Back when I ordered my T61 from the Lenovo Outlet a year ago, the pricing was WAY more aggressive. I paid $750 for a brand new $1800 MSRP notebook that sold for $1150 on the best days on Lenovo.com THAT is an outlet discount. What's there now is a joke. Dell has FAR better pricing at their outlet site and even sends out coupons.

That said, outlet sales are shipped quicker cause they're already built and my notebook was brand new as described.

 

I had a decent transaction with the Lenovo outlet. I ordered my laptop on 03/13 and received it yesterday 03/23. Not a terribly long time to wait if you ask me. The bag it came with was very nice and probably saved me $30-$50.

The laptop itself was in excellent condition, it looked practically brand new. It was listed as a refurbished computer. I ended up getting my U330 for $650 with free shipping, so I saved a decent amount over a new one.

I would give the whole experience a 8.5/10.
-.5 for a bit of a wait 10 days isn't great
-1.0 for not giving me any sort of email that I ordered the computer until it was charged to my credit card (03/19). This was a bit nerve racking because I wanted to make sure my order got through, but did not want to order one again and end up getting two computers. The 6 days of waiting for the email of order confirmation was very frustrating.

 

I recently ordered an X200T from the Outlet.

1.86 GHz, 4 GB, 160 GB 7200 RPM, WXGA AFFS+ LED, BT, Vista Bus. 32 and an ultrabase for 1300.00 and change, which is a steal no matter how you look at it. There's not a mark on the system or ultrabase, zero dead, stuck or otherwise affected pixels, and the system works exactly as it should.

I ordered 03/13, my card was charged 03/15, with e-mailed order confirmations in between these dates, and the tablet and ultrabase (which wasn't in the system listing, by the way; I opened the system box and there it was. ) were at my house on 3/18, two days before the scheduled ship date.

Overall, I was very pleased with the lenovo outlet and saved a significant amount of money. There are some deals to be had, particularly on the x200 series--there are new and refurbished x200s systems available for < 1000.00.

Cheers,
~tdr

 

My experience was double frustrating because I had originally ordered a new X301 through cpp and got a pretty good deal. I ordered the new one on the 19th. Then I discovered the outlet store and ordered an outlet model later that day, on the 19th. So on the 20th, I called and canceled the NEW one. Well the new one ended up shipping on the 21st and came today, the 24th. So much for the outlet being faster than new. So I went ahead and returned the new one thinking that the outlet one had to be here any day. Then when I called to check status only to find out that it was going to be another 7-10 days, aw man, talk about being disappointed. I figure I could re-order a new one and still have it before one from the outlet would ship. Even though I canceled the Outlet order, I'm thinking the same thing is going to happen and they are going to ship it anyway. At least if I have the cancellation request on file I can avoid the restocking fee if I return it, at least that's what the rep told me when I called to return the new one.

It's funny though because they didn't have a record of me calling to cancel the new one and asked if I had a cancellation number, which I didn't but they ultimately relented. When I called to cancel my outlet order I asked the rep for a cancellation number and she said they don't issue number or send email verifications but that she'll make sure it's "noted" in the file. Yeah right, that's what the last one said

So anyway...I'm sure if you're patient (unlike me) then a good deal can be had through the outlet store, but what a frustrating process when you expect things to be more efficient.

 

Well for "threedaysrest", that's how it should work. If my process went like that I'd have my X301 in my hands today and I'd be plenty happy about it instead of sitting here whining about it At least I have my T61p to console me.

 

I have looked at several X301's in the outlet. The pricing seems aggressive enough, particularly on the "refurbished" ones, but the 15% restocking charge is keeping me from pulling the trigger. I've ordered from the Dell outlet for years and am spoiled by their return policy. I don't want to buy a x301 and end up with a lemon that my only recourse is to fix it through support.

Can anyone comment on the quality of the refurbished x301's?

I would expect them to be essentially the same as brand new, yet it will cost me 15% if not and I don't want to accept it. I wish they had a 10 or 15 day return policy.

Comments?

 

Soooooo... The outlet is crap AND awesome, all at once. I just got my X200s. My order still shows as "in process" on their site, but I got the machine already.

First thing first - WHAT A MACHINE. I can't lay on thick enough praise. Light. Fast. Pretty. Gorgeous display. I got the 1440x900 x200s. 4GB ram, 5300, 1.86ghz core 2 duo, 128gb Samsung MLC SSD, etc.

Second, I got a 2GB turbocache module that wasn't listed on my parts lookup or the outlet. That's kind of awesome, although turbo memory is kinda bleh anyway. Everything else was the same.

It was listed as 'refurbished'... and carries a sticker to that regard, but I don't think it's ever been turned on. The keyboard had never been used, that's for sure. I'm happy I ordered from the outlet.

The one thing I have to debate now, and maybe Jon can comment - I have a 6 cell. I'm thinking about selling the 6 and getting a 3 and a 9. Can anyone comment?

 

What is the address of the lenovo outlet?

 

http://stores.channeladvisor.com/LenovoOutlet

 

LOL...srsly Lenovo, what's the deal with the outlet? Is it the partner that they have? Why don't they just do it directly from Lenovo.com?

I placed an order for 2 X200 notebooks last night.

Today I got one email confirmation with a link to the order status. I immediately check the order status.

Problem #1: I'm being charged tax for an order shipped to a no tax state.

Problem #2: Free bag part number is not listed on the order.

I then receive my second order email confirmation.

Problem #3: Second order email confirmation does not include the price, shipping address, or link to order status.

So I just alter the URL from the first order to use the order number for the second. I then check the order status.

Problem #4: 2nd order is also being charged tax for an order shipped to a no tax state

Problem #5: Price of the notebook is higher than when I placed the order

So now I decide to phone in and try to correct the problems so far.

Problem #6: First phone rep disconnects me after waiting on hold for 15 minutes (probably an accident)

I phone again and successfully tell a rep that I've been taxed on a tax-free order.

Problem #7: Non-USA based rep does not understand that some states do not have a sales tax. He tells me that the ordering system does not make tax errors and that the tax I am being charged is valid.

I attempt to help this rep understand that there is no sales tax for anyone in some states but he's not buying it. He talks to a supervisor who agrees with his assessment. Ultimately I insist that I speak to a supervisor or someone familiar with USA state sales taxes. I am transferred to a friendly supervisor with a Southern drawl. He sees that indeed the order is being shipped to a no sales tax state and that there should not be tax charged. But he doesn't know what to do about it. He gives me his direct phone number and says give him a day or two.

All this and my credit card hasn't even been charged yet. I hope this isn't the first in a long line of hassles. In all this took up about 1.5 hours (oh, plus the time it took to complain here )

 

So sad.... a great product with horrible execution!

Lenovo needs to hire Dell to run their outlet.

 

Jackboot,

Can you please post the url for order status? Just replace your order # with xxx's and I can plug my order # in.

Thanks!

 

I got my T61p refurbished from Lenovo Factory Outlet on eBay, and it looked like new when I got it, and it had no issues with quality whatsoever, and works as expected. I got a great deal on it too for $899 fully loaded with 4GB RAM, Verizon WWAN card, Wireless 'N' card and the whole works.

Only problem at first was they sent me the wrong CTO unit. It was almost right. Everything was right except it came with a DVD burner (mine wasn't supposed to have one), and it came with a 200GB HDD (mine was supposed to have a 100GB HDD), and it didn't come with the WWAN Verizon card nor did it have the 'N' Wireless card, and it came with 3GB RAM (that was right). BUT... They were very friendly, and when I told them I'm a technician of many sorts, and can swap parts, they offered to send me free, the WWAN Verizon card and antenna kit, they also sent me the Intel Wireless 'N' card, and they gave me a 2GB stick of RAM just for my trouble (for free) so I could upgrade to 4GB (so it would run in dual channel memory mode). So I wound up with a sweet deal, and I got the free extra gig of RAM and got a 200GB 7200rpm drive, and a DVD burner out of the deal for free. And I just sent back the A,B,G Wireless card and the 1GB stick of RAM back in the return envelope they gave me.

I am a very satisfied customer.

And since then, I have purchased on my own and installed a glossy LG/Philips LCD panel into it, and put the Samsung 64GB SSD main drive in it for the OS, and moved the 200GB HDD to an UltraBay Slim caddy and this thing ROCKS! I've never had so much laptop for so little.

 

Is this the official Lenovo outlet that is selling on ebay?
What is their ebay user ID? I looked through some ebay listings and I don't see them right off.

 

You will also need your customer number.

https://www.lenovoorders.com/orderstatus/

 

I think it's official. Here was the auction URL: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=370154744741

User ID: ibmfactoryoutlet

The parts came shipped from return address showing the name: Ebuy Electronics as the seller handling sales and servicing of these units.

This statement was on their auction as well:

"These Are Factory Sealed computers Some Are Excess New Products-Surplus Units That Are Still New, Duplicate Orders, Canceled Orders And Systems That Have Been Returned Because They Didn't Meet Customers Specific Needs And Some Are Discontinued Products In Perfect Working Condition they All come complete with all original accessories."

I just assume that they are the, or a authorized seller handling distribution for Lenovo, but I could be wrong. At any rate, the laptop was high quality, and even had the protector on the LCD face for shipping, had all the protective clear stickers on all the black clear windows on unit, there was not a scratch or fingerprint anywhere on the unit, and it came in a box that said Lenovo on it. The laptop itself had a shrinkwrap plastic bag around it and came shipped in the Lenovo box. My gut feeling was that it may not have been the factory shrinkwrap but if it was, they did a pretty good job of covering it up. Even on first boot, it reacted like it should on first boot. If it had been used before, I'd say they did a pretty good job of restoring everything back to stock. Perhaps they replaced all the plastic and stuff? I had it all apart when I put the WWAN card/antenna kit and glossy LCD panel on it and even the inside looked all factory and all the little tape strips that hold down cables and such looked like they'd never been off before. So I don't know the story, but I'm happy with the end result so far. They also say they have factory Lenovo warranty too.

 

Rather than try to have their incompetent reps fix my 2 incorrect orders (mentioned earlier) I just phoned and cancelled today. One of them is already cancelled and she said the other hasn't shipped yet but was in a packing stage and wasn't as easy to cancel. We'll see...

I ended up placing a new order just now. Even cheaper this time! I'm hoping that the order just goes through correctly this go round...

 

Well I finally got the email after placing my order for a x301 and it has an order number, but it doesn't contain my customer number!

I looked all over on the site, but can't find it. I emailed them back asking about it, but nothing yet.

I guess I'll just sit and wait. It had better be a DANG good lappy

 

Same here X301. I just got the email yesterday after placing my order on Tuesday. But, they said 7-10 business days to ship out.
Anyway, I bought the one with 128 SSD, DVD burner, 6 cells.

 

I took the plunge on a X300 refurb. Ordered Wednesday afternoon, order confirmation on Friday evening. Shipment confirmation on Saturday, though it isn't in UPS' system yet. (No, I don't expect UPS to pick up on the weekends.)

The link between their sales web interface and the packing/shipping operation appears to be manual because a typo was introduced into my name in the process. The address is correct, so that's what matters. I find it hard to believe that Lenovo doesn't have this all integrated, especially considering they have a third party running the Outlet site.

I will be interested to see what operating system the laptop comes with. The advertised specs showed Vista Business but looking up the serial number given on the order confirmation shows a XP Pro COA. I hope the recovery partition/DVDs will let me install Vista if it isn't installed already.

 

I ordered a x301 on Wednesday, got the confirmation email about 24 hours later but haven't heard anything else since.

Does the UPS shipment use your lenovo order number as the reference # on the shipment?

I hope mine ships soon.

 

Mine didn't use the Lenovo order number. I was in the same boat as you - got the email confirmation, then silence. By the time I called them, it was the SAME DAY my computer came, but the Rep on the phone couldn't even confirm a Tracking number or anything - everything worked out okay, but they have some serious communication issues, IMO.

If your experience is the same as mine, I hope you're happy opening your new computer tonight!

 

Doesn't the online order status show the shipment/tracking information? It is supposed to I think.

I received my 2 new order numbers today. I had to phone in to get the customer number they assigned to these so that I could check the status online. This time the prices and tax info are correct. Hopefully it all goes smooth from here. I got a killer deal IMO.

 

My experience with the Lenovo Outlet has come to a conclusion, and I'm about 90% satisfied. From order to ship was 3 business days and shipping was via UPS 3 day select (which is ground service on the east coast from NC.)

The refurb X300 almost met the specifications of the website listing, with the exception of Windows XP being on the machine instead of the advertised Windows Vista Business. There's no Vista COA on the machine and the only recovery option is the XP recovery partition. I'm going to see if I can get Vista restore discs through either the outlet or support as listed in another thread, but I just installed Windows 7 so it's a bit of a moot point now anyway. As a side note, the Windows 7 install was the easiest operating system install I've ever done. The install disc or Windows Update had working drivers for everything but the fingerprint reader.

The "refurbished" hardware looks new (battery shows 3 cycles) and there would be no way to tell otherwise had it not been for the refurb sticker on the bottom. One minor hardware issue is the tab key on the keyboard keeps falling off, so I called up support and they're shipping me a new keyboard. It was the most pleasant phone support experience I've had in a while, certainly helped by the fact the center was in Atlanta instead of Mumbai.

The free bag that came with the order is apparently made by Targus. It's not the bag I'd choose if I were shopping for one but it's not completely bulky. There is some subtle Thinkpad branding on it.

 

ElJay: good to hear about your positive experience. Since you are using 7 now, I'd suggest you pursue the Vista license right away in the event that you want to purchase an upgrade license for 7 in the near future. I don't think XP will be eligible for an upgrade license to 7 (but I'm not certain either).

As an aside, I wonder if Lenovo actually replaces the system's shell if there is any visible wear? I have yet to hear of anyone complain that they received a system that looked used in the slightest.

 

I just wanted to put in a plug for a happy experience with the Lenovo outlet.
I ordered a refurbished T-500 for a great price on April 10th. It arrived today (April 23) in perfect condition and with a extra 2gig turbo memory and an at&t cell card not included in the description on the outlet page. Cool thing with the outlet is you can run the serial numbers on the main lenovo site and see the real configuration before buying. Sometimes there are some nice errors in your favor Mine proved to be true and though I dont have use for either of them I was happy for the freebies. I placed my order on a Friday night and received a order confirmation from Lenovo on Monday evening. I received no further correspondance but I was able to call the phone number they list in the email and get my customer number and tracking number by the end of the week. It shipped one week from the day I ordered it. Lappy is in my hands 1 day short of 2 weeks from initial order. The outlet is no frills for customer service but still yields a utilitarian usefulness if you make some calls. The guys in India were all knowledgable and easy to understand. People rag on Indian service reps and I have had some hard to understand ones in the past with other companies but the two guys I spoke to were great and very helpful.

I got a T-500 with a P8600 processor, two gigs of ram on one stick (I am adding another myself) a 160 gig 7200 drive that is not anywhere as loud as some people on the forum make it out to be, a perfect WSXGA+ CCFL screen, fingerprint reader, dual video card, Intel 5100 wifi with no issues(It picks up routers I have never seen before in my neighborhood and hasnt dropped connection) 6 cell battery with no cycles, DVD burner, 2gig Turbo Memory and an At&t internal aircard for $875 before tax. It came out to $927 shipped. Its whisper quite with no inductor whine, cosmetic blemishes or loose anything. The complimentary laptop bag they send out is rather basic looking but I have no complaints with my experience. I made PDF's of the online description found at the outlet and of my purchase order request as recommended by others but thankfully had no use for them.

For a great price and the ability to verify the listing before buying, I dont think you can get a better value with a one year warranty than the outlet.

 

Where is the serial number? The description page only lists a part number like CA2242RF2

 

per instructions I found on the thinkpad forums site here: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=57171

the part number listed for the laptop contains the serial number. Drop the first three digits and the remainder is the serial number. The first three digits are the first 3 of 4 numbers that indicate the item number. On the lenovo parts lookup page you need the item number and the serial number to look up the computer being offered. I got the item number from Lenovo's main site by going through the configuration on a new lap top. In my case for a T500 with discrete graphics, the item number is 2081. My part number on the outlet page began with 208XXXXXXX. Drop the first three digits and the remainder is the serial number. Enter both the item number and the serial number in the parts lookup page and you can see how the machine was really spec'd when it was built.

When I ordered my laptop there were maybe a hundred Tseries laptops to choose from. There are only 10 or so now on the outlet site. They dump them on the site in bulk every couple of months so wait for more selection for killer deals.

 

i dont know why it wont work.
my laptop i ordered from the outlet has part number 744L3A3093.
i look this up, and nothing shows up.

 

It works fine if you follow the directions. Drop the first three digits off the part number given on the outlet website and the remainder is your serial number. The first three digits you dropped are the first three digits of your 4 digit item number. As I didnt know what computer you ordered, I just guessed the last number (it obviously has to be from 0 to 9). You need the item number and the serial number to do a parts lookup. I just did it for you below.
Your Item number is 7443 and your serial number is L3A3093

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/s...lts/partsLookupResults.vm&country=897&iws=off

 

so i had to have another number after the 744.
i didnt understand that part.
thanks

 

I can't find the type for the R61 from the CA7733RC9. I figured the serial is like 7733RC9

 

I'm having the same problem, noticed that there are 9 numbers or letters in the part number, not 10 as in the other part numbers. my part number is CA6457RF5 for a T61P. Thanks

 

Well I decided to take the outlet plunge as well. Wanted to get a decent laptop for my wife for mothers day and a great deal appeared on a Y530

Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo P8400
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
Screen: 15.4" WXGA (1280 X 800) TFT, W/ Camera
Memory: 4GB (2 X 2GB) PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory
Hard Drive: 320GB, 5400RPM Serial ATA 2.5" Drive
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer
Video Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9500M G

$530 w/ free shipping and free case

This setup is not even available now with the 9500, and would definetly be >$1000

Have not received the confirmation email even though I purchase on friday, when should I expect to receive it from your experience

 

I think its because they are just down in stock. The part numbers listed now are just place holders. You can see the item number is now comprised of the 3rd through 6th numbers but there is no serial number associated with it. When they put their next batch of outlet laptops online, they will have specific traceable part numbers. There were like 100 T series laptops about 3 weeks ago but they go fast. All of those had real traceable numbers.