Staples to Start Selling Dell Inspiron Laptops

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The rumors of Dell moving into retail more are materializing. Starting November 11th Staples will start selling the Inspiron 1521 and Inspiron 1721 AMD based notebooks along with other Dell goods.

Staples, the leading retail store for printing in the United States, will be the only office superstore to offer Dell products in retail stores and through its Web site. As part of its ongoing efforts to improve sales (and increase market share compared to rival HP), Dell’s relationship with Staples is the latest in a series of retail agreements aimed at reaching more customers worldwide.

The above Dell Inspiron 1721 will start to be sold at Staples in November

The initial products offered at Staples will include the AMD based Inspiron 1721 and Inspiron 1521 notebooks. The Inspiron 1521 is a 15.4&quot; screen AMD based mainstream notebook while the Inspiron 1721 is a larger 17&quot; screen desktop replacement. This is good news for consumers because they will now have more opportunity to actually go and checkout a Dell notebook before buying. In addition, some people just don't like buying online so Dell will be making their goods available to those still wary of cyberspace shopping.

In addition to the laptops the Dell Inspiron 530 desktops, Dell 948 and 926 all-in-one inkjet printers, Dell 1320c laser printer, Dell SE198WFP 19-inch widescreen flat panel LCD monitor, and the Dell E228WFP 22-inch widescreen flat panel LCD monitor will also be offered.

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Obviously this is a move on Dell's part to try and compete better with HP and Acer who have been quickly eating away the large lead Dell had in PC sales. Even though Dell swears up and down by its direct to order model as being a competitive advantage, that stubborness has proven to be a problem of late. More and more mainstream consumers have been buying laptops from places like Best Buy and Circuit City because they like to get a hands on look at a laptop before buying, or just prefer to get something right away. This move into Staples is probably a sign that Dell is changing its mind on how it sells products and we wouldn't be surprised if there are more announcements like this in the future.

 

I think this is a smart move. If not for actually purchasing it from a retail store but being able to physically touch the notebook before going home and ordering online.

 

I think it's a win win for Dell and consumers. It seems that brand pc's are always lower spec'd in the retail stores, although I'd always order online. Still it is a great way to see it up close and personal. Would be interesting to compare prices between the retail store, and an equally spec'd one online.

 

Dell finally takes a step in the right direction

 

they're getting smart, finally

 

>.> Dunno looks more like just one more reason not to buy a computer from staples.

 

really? I just think this is a good way to steal shelf space from acer

oh, and as for me buying Dell, the odds just got greater.

 

This is definitely a good thing for Dell. They'll get more more exposure and be put more in line to directly compete with HP. Dell is going to have to put a lot more work into the style of their laptops though. An HP definitely has a nicer look than a Dell sitting next to it.

I never shop at Staples anymore...they're really expensive and I hate rebates. There's nothing "easy" about them.

 

Is this Canadian Staples also?

 

IMHO, Dell is being forced to do this due to the increasing popularity of the notebook for mass consumption. It is playing catch up

Despite continuing improvement and information for online products, most people are still COMPELLED to shop at the store as they can feel and touch the actual hardware (plus some don't trust shipping, I am serious). That is why you see uninformed consumer calling their friends and families regarding specific model when they are about to buy a notebook at say BestBuy. LOL

Most are just buying it "for school" at the lowest price (very favorable for Acer). And as long as the price is good enuff and it pleases the eyes....they just buy it. Plus, the blue crew from BestBuy offers the best advice and gets NO COMMISSION...LOL

Dell probably picked Staples knowing that Staples has a better "pricing power" so it can afford to dole out the distribution fee as well. If they really wanted to sell A LOT and don't care about the distribution fee, they would have gone to a bigger chain like BestBuy or CircuitCity or WALMART. Not sure Staples can make a really huge dent but it's probably just a start for now.

 

I have to disagree ,

DELL going retail with B&M stores means they won't likely be able to offer the discounts you are used to in their direct store .

I find it hard to believe Staples will be willing to keep DELL hardware instore just so you guys would be able to stroll in , play with it abit and then go order it for less at DELLs website .

Add the Staples comission that will either cut in DELLs profits or more likely result in a higher price / lower value for you .

Lower prices is the only thing that is going for DELL and even thats not so sure lately as Acer & Toshiba are trailing with low price/high specs notebooks that are not as fugly .

So I think its yet another bad move by DELL .

On a side note , considering the bulky Inspirons/Vostros are the bread and butter of the company , I wouldn't pit them in stores againts the slicker competitors notebooks .