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The Almighty Buck Hardware IT

Same Part, Same Supplier, Different Prices 412

Posted by timothy from the guess-which-way-they'd-go-if-equal dept.
linuxwrangler writes "Infoworld's "Notes From The Field column this week includes a comment from a reader who found that Dell listed several different prices for the same part. Intrigued, I grabbed the first part number I found (a 512MB memory module #A0193405) and found that the list price is $289.99 which the price offered to "large businesses". Meanwhile, the GSA/DOD contract price is $266.21 while "home users" find the list-price discounted to $275.49 and "small businesses" fare even better with a $246.49 price. InfoWorld contacted Dell who responded, "Each segment sets its own pricing, and consumers are free to pick the one that's cheapest." Buyer beware."
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Same Part, Same Supplier, Different Prices More

Same Part, Same Supplier, Different Prices

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  • Marketing vs IT (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fembots ( 753724 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:51PM (#11601005) Homepage
    Different pricing strategy is not wrong, but allowing anyone to buy from any section is not so smart. And I can't believe they are actually expecting customers to help themselves, instead of building a site that is smart enough to provide useful information.

    I wonder why isn't Dell doing something to control the purchase upon "Add To Cart"? Something like:

    "This item is only available to our spend-like-no-tomorrow customers, please enter SLNT code now to add to cart, or select an alternative item from the following..."

    Maybe it's a miscommunication between marketing and IT department?

    • Re:Marketing vs IT (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Rei ( 128717 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:56PM (#11601077) Homepage
      It's actually smart marketting. They can make a profit on the low end cost, but if they feel they can make more off of certain customers, they will.

      My contacts, for example, are marketted as daily wear. However, they're the exact same contacts that the manufacturer sells as their multi-use contacts, just in a different box. For people willing to pay for the "multi-use" contacts, the company simply makes extra money. It doesn't hurt them any.
      • define daily use vs. multi-use. to me daily use means you wear them once and throw them away. multi-use, you wear them for a week or 2 or maybe a month and then throw them out.

        mine are 2 weeks. i can wear them longer if i so choose, and sometimes i do if i forget to switch them or if a new shipment is late.

        however... you're wrong in saying multi-use contacts cost more. maybe they do per pair, but if you actually do what's told, your daily use ones cost more. and at least with mine, if i wear mine for

      • Re:Marketing vs IT (Score:3, Informative)

        by Pharmboy ( 216950 )
        Actually, Dell has been doing this on systems for years, which is why I have always bought ANYTHING from them via small business. (my experience has shows that sm. biz is always cheaper anyway)

        Don't mean to be cocky, but this isn't really news is it? I can't possibly be the only one that knew they have been doing this for years.

      • Re:Marketing vs IT (Score:5, Interesting)

        by siliconjunkie ( 413706 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @06:42PM (#11602128)
        My contacts, for example, are marketted as daily wear. However, they're the exact same contacts that the manufacturer sells as their multi-use contacts, just in a different box. For people willing to pay for the "multi-use" contacts, the company simply makes extra money. It doesn't hurt them any.

        The thing you need to be careful of is the "invisible stuff" you buy when purchasing a product. like: licences, warranties, etc...

        For example, if I buy a processor from Intel in the Intel branded box, I get a warranty. If I buy the *same* processor in an "OEM" box at a discounted rate, no warranty.

        This is just one example, but also consider this: You buy these "daily wear" contacts, and they have their usage guidelines printed on the side of the box. The "Multi-use" contacts may allow for the contacts to be worn under certain circumstances that differ from the "daily wear". Now, you, as consumer, save a few bucks on the "same" contacts, but use the "daily wear" in a manner than is inconsistent with their labeling and you go blind one day. You can bet your ass that the contact lens maker is going to claim that you were indeed "using their product in a manner that is inconsistent with the packaging" when you attempt to be compensated for damage to your eyes due to their product.

        Just some food for thought (IANAL, however).

    • Re:Marketing vs IT (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Bill Wong ( 583178 )
      I've known about this for a few years now, and I've always bought as a "Small Business", regardless of the resulting use of the hardware, just because it was often 10~20% cheaper.
      • Not always, just most of the time. If you're buying a system *with* a monitor, you'll probably do better on the home/soho site. Without, start on the Small Business site. I often end up checking both, but sometimes it's a bitch trying to build identical systems.

        I find Dell's quality to be generally acceptable, but it's a real PITA trying to get a decent price on exactly the system/service features I want without them suddenly adding in crap I don't want/need. Given a reasonable alternative (and, no, I don

      • Re:Marketing vs IT (Score:3, Informative)

        by Xzzy ( 111297 )
        Small Business section also makes available some great low end poweredge machines, with no windows tax. Great machines, usually from $274 to $500.

        They update their deals once weekly.. keep an eye on it until they offer something you can't resist, get a good deal.

    • Re:Marketing vs IT (Score:3, Insightful)

      by null etc. ( 524767 )
      One of the reasons that I've never trusted Dell is that they have "discounts" that rotate on a weekly basis. Today, this laptop might be 10% off, tomorrow, it might be 20% off, and the next week, there might not be any discount. And Dell customer service representatives are very strict about only honoring the discounts that appear that day, regardless of when you bought the product, whether you had a coupon, or when you want to upgrade.

      My friend was told by a customer service representative to "wait unti

      • Re:Marketing vs IT (Score:3, Insightful)

        by nolife ( 233813 )
        So you would feel Dell more trustworthy if they just had the higher price and left it at that? I do not see the connection to trust. I am sorry about your fear of the price potentially going down but that is retail baby. Sears puts things sale, CompUsa, Bestbuy, a car dealer, airlines, and grocery stores. No difference at all. None of those stores will offer the unit for the previous lower price after the sale is over either. About a drop after the fact? Check the winter coat rack at JcPenny next tim

        • Re:Marketing vs IT (Score:3, Insightful)

          by null etc. ( 524767 )
          So you would feel Dell more trustworthy if they just had the higher price and left it at that?

          Yes, actually. I'll lay it out real simple for you. Let's look at a few facts:

          1. Dell's discounts rotate from 0% to 20%, within two weeks.
          2. Thus, there a few possible types of consumers:
            • Slightly profitable consumers who buy a computer at maximum discount.
            • Moderately profitable consumers who buy a computer at a midlevel discount.
            • Hightly profitable consumers who buy a computer at no discount.
          3. Furthermore, th

  • Gotta love Dell! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by chris09876 ( 643289 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:52PM (#11601012)
    That's just hilarious. I can't say I'm surprised... I've never liked Dell. They have a lot of shady practices, and it doesn't seem like they're convinced with offering the best value on hardware. Their support plans might be nice (and I'd assume that's why lots of schools/gov'ts use Dell), but that's not what I need. Heh.. dell...

    • Re:Gotta love Dell! (Score:4, Informative)

      by iLL_L0gic ( 607165 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:12PM (#11601272)
      Support plans might be nice? I don't know if you've had any experience from Dell, but unless your school has a few teachers from Bangalore India, I don't think you'll love the support options. For those of you that get frustrated with waiting for a half hour to talk to some grabass from India that wants you to reformat your computer, here's a few catch phrases you can study up on while you wait. chuutya = asshole tum chuutya ho = you're an asshole. gaand = ass hijda = transvestite kuttiya = bitch lund = dick lund choos = suck my dick Have fun, and keep it safe! :)
    • You think this is bad? Look up a 18 gig scsi drive for a "cisco" server (about 1500$)

      BTW it will come direct from HP.


    • it doesn't seem like they're convinced with offering the best value on hardware.

      They're a business, just like any other business they want to maximize profits.
    • "Dell" is "Hell" mispelled. Take my word for it.

  • My Life is Dilbert (Score:5, Interesting)

    by RicJohnson ( 649243 ) * on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:52PM (#11601016) Homepage Journal
    This is nothing. Dell always has sold to the business market for more.
    I found this out years ago when I had to upgrade 300+ computers. I went on to their site, found the best price for the most power, and then called up for the best bulk price
    The system I picked was the Dimension, with the latest tech. But the salesman wanted me to buy the 'business optimized' OptiPlex. I pointed out that each unit was MUCH more expensive for the same power, he tried to sell me that new technology was not good for business - I should use 'proven' hardware (i.e. 1 year old chips at top prices).
    I told him no thanks, please give me a price on 300+ Dimensions as I specified them.
    He did give me a price, but when I went to my boss to get the check, I found out that the salesguy called him and told him to but the OptiPlex! Then my PHB believed the vendor, and I eventually got fired cuz I would not support them. (The drivers for the network card would not support the latest Windows)

    • Re:My Life is Dilbert (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AviLazar ( 741826 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:58PM (#11601111) Journal
      Well sorry about the loss of your job...but if your boss disagrees with you and decides to go the other route ---telling him that you will not support his choice is a surefire way to get yourself fired.

      Your former boss may have made a bad call - but as his employee you gotta deal with it and when shit hits the fan, he will get in trouble for making the bad call....but by not being a "team player" you open yourself to a world of hurtin (i.e. losing your job)...unless that is what you wanted.

      • Re:My Life is Dilbert (Score:4, Insightful)

        by NigelJohnstone ( 242811 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:02PM (#11601169)
        You can see his point though, if the drivers for the Network card don't work, no amount of pandering to the PHB will undo that bad decision.

        • You can see his point though, if the drivers for the Network card don't work, no amount of pandering to the PHB will undo that bad decision.

          Hopefully, he would order just one machine and put it in a test environment, before buying up 300 machines.

          Then, the test environment would clearly show that the version of windows used by the company does not work with the network card.

          Test Condition: Connect Dell Optiplex to our network with standard company software (Windows Version XX, etc)
          Result: Failed.
          Reaso
          • But this is the new Dell/Windows universe where such things are not necessary since Wintel solutions always work perfectly, and the habits of old Unix administrators are just not necessary, so shave that beard, and sit down.
        • You can see his point though, if the drivers for the Network card don't work, no amount of pandering to the PHB will undo that bad decision.

          You have to question the poster though. He's claiming the network card on the Optiplex wont support the current version of Windows. This just plain sounds wrong.

          It's kind of the equivilent to saying he bought a Ford and it won't turn left, only right. It's technically possible, but very improbable.

          Did he even try Dell's web site for latest driver? If he didn't,
          • I've seen this sort of thing before. Not out of Dell, but out of HP. HP sold two series of machines. Don't ask me the line of computer, this was approximately 5-6 years ago. They sold two computers that we're fundamentally the same. One came pre-done with Win98, the other with NT4.0 or W2K. We picked up the two machines with Win98 with the intention of installing NT4 on them (the price difference was bigger the buying retail NT licenses). At the time, HP was installing plenty of equipment they made/d
      • So what you're saying is that he should have written network drivers to make the nic work with the version of windows that they use? I think he used the wrong word in there; he said he would not support them, it is more accurate to say he COULD not support them, since the NIC wouldn't work. (sounds a little funny to me, maybe dell didn't provide a driver, but I bet there was a driver out there somewhere. dell rarely uses exotic hardware.)
        • There is a difference between couldn't and wouldn't....hopefully he will clarify. I know many people who get uppity about things and tell their boss they refuse to do something - when its their boss telling them to do it...now if there is an ethical issue at hand thats OK, but if we are not talking ethics then well...

          I once told my boss that doing something in a specific way was annoying and a waste of time. He asked me if that meant I wouldn't do it. I told him that it meant no such thing - I would d
          • The story seems odd in other ways. I mean the rep calling your boss? How did the rep get the information on who to call?

            Your hypothetical response seems to be pretty decently measured. Apart from a possible ethics or overtime issue, I don't tell my boss what I will and won't do, I'll tell him what I think is the best way to do it, but the final call on what to do is his call, not mine.
      • but by not being a "team player" you open yourself to a world of hurtin (i.e. losing your job)...unless that is what you wanted.

        Teamwork on jobsites is vastly overrated. Most of the time, your teammates are assholes. And if your temmates aren't assholes, you are.

        Either way, it never works.
        • Well i guess you have had a run of bad luck... i have had many positive experiences, and few negative ones. Teamwork is not overrated - working well together is great...now HR talking about teamwork is overrated as their idea of "Teamwork" involves you not getting a raise, working 65 hours a week and then paying your boss for the priveledge of working ;)

          Being a "team player" really means nodding your head to your boss so you keep your job and getting paid. Now if someone says "what if he didn't want to

        • Re:My Life is Dilbert (Score:4, Insightful)

          by DrCode ( 95839 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @06:40PM (#11602112)
          My experience is that teamwork is great; but the people who talk the most about being a "team player" are usually the ones you don't want to work with.

      • Re:My Life is Dilbert (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Rinikusu ( 28164 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:31PM (#11601492)
        It really does depend on the situation as a whole. If my boss told me to procure new units based on whatever criteria set by whomever, and that I was responsible for said purchase, and then the boss OVERRIDES my decision without prior discussion with me (but is more than glad to discuss it with the vendor...), then I'd say you've got more serious problems at hand. You're being set-up for failure, you can't make the right decisions because someone else is going to change your decision, but ultimately they'll make the blame stick on you if the shit hits the fan. You can't be a "team player" if the coach doesn't put you in the game unless he needs someone to blame...

    • Re:My Life is Dilbert (Score:5, Informative)

      by riptide_dot ( 759229 ) * on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:04PM (#11601198)
      The system I picked was the Dimension, with the latest tech. But the salesman wanted me to buy the 'business optimized' OptiPlex. I pointed out that each unit was MUCH more expensive for the same power, he tried to sell me that new technology was not good for business - I should use 'proven' hardware (i.e. 1 year old chips at top prices).

      First, let me say that I'm not a Dell rep and I couldn't care less where people buy their computers.

      However, there is such a thing as a "business optimized" PC, and I can see the value in a business paying a premium for them. Speaking as as a person who has been charge of those who support the hardware on these things, a "business optimized" PC means a PC line whose hardware components don't change very often. I wouldn't necessarily buy into the argument that I need "proven" hardware, but having a line of PCs that don't change their overall component structure can be a very good thing in terms of supportability.

  • And so? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by YankeeInExile ( 577704 ) * on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:52PM (#11601024) Homepage Journal

    It's called Channel Marketing/Pricing and it's been around for years.

    If it takes me an hour of research to save $10 I have lost much more than I've gained.

    • >If it takes me an hour of research to save $10 I have lost much more than I've gained.

      ...only if you did such research/ordering while working.

      • maybe he's a business owner like me. we are always working so our time is always valuable.
        • maybe he's a business owner like me. we are always working so our time is always valuable.

          And so you are on /. why???

          Or your time is just too valuable to use the shift key?

          I've never met a business owner who did not care about getting the lowest price.

          Anyway, just to veer back on topic, the solution to Dells shell game is to just get your memory someplace like newegg. Problem solved.

    • Re:And so? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Tenebrious1 ( 530949 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:08PM (#11601229) Homepage
      If it takes me an hour of research to save $10 I have lost much more than I've gained.

      If you save $10 after an hour of searching, you're in the hole. If you're buying 20 of them for your office, then you've saved your company $2000. That's certainly worth your time (unless you're Bill Gates).

      I have two accounts, one at Dell Business and one at Dell Home. I buy from whichever suits my needs at the best price. I've been doing that for several years now, I can't believe this is really news...

    • saving 10$ on a dimm may not be good, but

      what if you plan on buying 300 of them tommorow?

  • Of course they market the same part with different prices. IT folks can gladly use 512 MB, while home users might be hesitant. That's one of the reasons, when I bought my 20" LCD from Dell, that I ordered as a "Small Business" customer instead of a "Home" user. In total, I saved about 25%, or $250 at the time.
    • That seems almost counter-intuitive from where I sit. I'd think that a home user would be less likely to splurge than a small business.

    • Re:Well DUH! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by bonch ( 38532 )
      Incidentally, this is one of the criticisms against the PC world made by Apple users. No hodge-podge of duplicate-priced parts from all over the place. Just order what you see at the Apple Store, customized if you want.

  • Hmmm... (Score:5, Funny)

    by mikeophile ( 647318 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:54PM (#11601049)
    Maybe internal competition will drive down their own prices.

  • nothing new (Score:3, Interesting)

    by AviLazar ( 741826 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:55PM (#11601057) Journal
    This is nothing new. (just to note we are discussing off the shelf price, not haggled prices through sales people) Dell (and other companies) always offer different prices to different organizations. There is the gov't groups, non-profits, small business, large business, consumer, students, etc...

    The company I work for buys all dell hardware (servers, desktops, laptops, monitors) - so we get a slight automatic discount on stuff (not that much really, techbargains can usually offer a better price).

    Sometimes, not always, being the big corporation won't get you the best off-the-shelf price. Also, many of times times (as it should be) companies have to input their EIN number to get the price (and usually tax discount)...students need to provide proof of their student status... same for other organizations.
  • .. not even from Dell. In fact, you don't even have to be that large, but if you are committing to buy a reasonable amount of kit, you can get discounts of 15% or more.

    See, that is why you actually need all these weird people in companies that don't program: Purchasing Managers do have a purpose ;)

  • Does it affect warranty and support? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Jeff DeMaagd ( 2015 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:56PM (#11601071) Homepage Journal
    I am wondering if it is like the extended warranty model the computer companies are using. You buy the consumer version of a computer, and you get 90 days or a year, small businesses maybe two years and large corporations a full three years. Parts bought through the corporate division might have a cross-ship arrangtement, but the consumer division might have a delay, where they wait to see the defective part before sending a replacement.

    This is all speculative though.

  • it's like a game. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by kevinx ( 790831 )
    my cousin will sit all day adding and removing components from the dell website. There are lots of hidden discounts to be gotten if you are persistant. You can make a PC for 800$ or make one with more ram and a bigger hard driver for $600. One time he even got 6 free palm zires and an axion.
  • ...every economy seat on an airplane is bought for the same price too.

  • Priceless (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dr. Zed ( 222961 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:57PM (#11601089)
    a 512MB memory module ... $289.99
    a 512MB memory module ... $266.21
    a 512MB memory module ... $275.49
    a 512MB memory module ... $246.49
    Not buying from Dell .... priceless.

    But seriously, it always pays to shop around. You just wouldn't expect to be shopping around from the same suppiler. :)
  • A lot of desktops are cheaper in the home user section than in the small business section.

  • Prices for different segments (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I work for a large direct marketer who competes with Dell.
    We set prices not only for different segments on any given part, but sometimes for specific customers. This practice has been done for years, and is a smart way of maximizing profit from different segments.

    Dell seems to be making a mistake by telling consumers they can buy at the cheapest price if they want.

    In the company I am in, if you sell to the wrong segment at too low a price, you (the sales rep) will loose out, becuase any lost GP (Gross Pr

  • In other news... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Waffle Iron ( 339739 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:58PM (#11601112)
    Can of pop from machine in front of supermarket = $1.00.

    Same can of pop from aisle inside the supermarket = 20 cents.

    • Cup of coffee in a hotel restaurant after your meal = £3.00

      Cup of coffee back in your room = £0 (complementary) + free pack of biscuits!

      (Just don't make it with the £2.50 bottle of mineral water)
    • "Can of pop from machine in front of supermarket" = Cold
      "Same can of pop from aisle inside the supermarket" = Probably not cold

  • Capitalist version of Marx slogan (Score:3, Insightful)

    by G4from128k ( 686170 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:58PM (#11601115)
    "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs!" -- Karl Marx

    If a segment can afford to pay more, Dell and other companies will find a way to get them to pay it. You find it in airline ticket prices (last minute, weekday travel fares catch business travellers), remodelling projects cost more in rich neighborhoods, sales people judge the buyer and set the price accordingly, etc.

    Is it really that different from a progressive tax system in which the rich pay more than the poor?

  • No Kidding Shipping (Score:5, Informative)

    by purduephotog ( 218304 ) <`moc.tibroni' `ta' `hcsrih'> on Monday February 07, 2005 @04:59PM (#11601127) Homepage Journal
    This is old hat to those lurk in deal forums. Dell Small Business has the best deals... but then they smack you with shipping. The same computer over in Dell Home has a higher price... and the coupon codes don't work.

    Accordingly FedEx apparently only charges Dell about 20$ to ship a computer. Ones that are damaged go to the dump. Dell charges 99$ shipping.

  • In some cases (certain items/products) you'll even find that the GSA "discount" prices are far higher (even approacing double) than the other prices.

    The "justification" for this is that the DOD requires the product to meet certain specifications for things such as "durability" or to have finer tolerances on certain performance attributes etc. So, since they are the ones causing the need for the "more costly" manufacturing process, they are the ones that foot the bill to make sure it meets their spec

  • Why are we still surprised about capitalism?! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anita Coney ( 648748 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:00PM (#11601138) Homepage
    The point of business is to make profits. That's exactly what Dell is doing. What's the problem?

  • Dell has been doing this for a long, long time. It hasn't been a big secret that about 90% of the time, you're best off (financially) buying things through the Small Business side of dell.com.

    High-end LCD monitors last year were seeing 25%-50% discounts on the Small Business pages. For the individual user, it makes sense (as usual) to shop around. Institutional customers are usually stuck with whatever prices their contracts are for -- the US Govt can't buy through small business, and your academic custome
  • back in the late 90's I worked at a body shop as a side job for a while. We got in a Dodge viper a guy had curbed.

    I was tasked with the job of locating and pricing the suspension parts we needed for this and another project, a small dodge pickup.

    Well, long story short.

    I found that the part numbers on the lower control arm on the truck and the viper were the same. But the Viper part cost $900, and the truck part cost $300.

    I was shocked, but I'm not surprised that electronics dealers would do the same

  • Anyone who thinks Dell is stupid is... wrong. (Score:3, Informative)

    by bigtallmofo ( 695287 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:03PM (#11601181)
    The comments of "Wow! That's hilariously dumb" are starting to come in already. Dell is not stupid. Keep an open mind to the fact that something that is counter-intuitive might still be the best way to do something.

    In this case, Dell is taking advantage of an inefficiency in the marketplace. Specifically that customers are honestly identifying themselves and they're offering the highest price they feel that particular type of customer will pay. Of course, this starts to break down when customer knowledge makes the marketplace more efficient, but the average person is not a Slashdot denizen or FatWallet (or similar site) checker.
  • We wanted to purchase a couple LCDs from Dell and we noticed that "consumer pricing" was cheaper than our "government pricing." So we ordered it from the consumer's site instead.

  • Pricing strategy for nerds. (Score:4, Informative)

    by shark72 ( 702619 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:05PM (#11601201)

    I'll join the chorus of folks who've pointed out that Dell has done this for, like, ever and that it's quite common in the industry. Best Buy, CompUSA and Circuit City each pay different prices to manufacturers and distributors for the same parts, too.

    By the way, Dell's pricing strategy is primarily the reason that the first question you're asked on the Dell home page [dell.com] when you begin shopping is not "how much do you want to spend?" but "where will you be using it?".

    At the large company for which I work, whenever we buy Dells, we simply have somebody buy them on a personal credit card and have them shipped to a home address.

  • The article talks about 256MB not 512MB (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Zed2K ( 313037 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:05PM (#11601206)
    Unless I'm looking in the wrong place the article actually talks about 256MB modules not 512, but anyways:

    "Depending on the link he followed, the 256MB SIMM cost either $88 (Small Business), $99 (Home & Home Office), or $110 (Medium & Large Business)."

    Why in the world anyone would ever buy memory from dell continues to confuse me. A 256MB dimm from crucial for a dimension 4600 runs 42.99. A 512 one runs 76.99.

    Why pay more than double from dell???
    • I could understand how a non-techie would feel comfort knowing that they only had to deal with one tech support number and warranty process.

      If some old grandma's computer takes a dump she's not going to want to track down some 3rd party's tech support number for an RMA - rather she'll call Dell who'll send a tech onsite to fix her box or she'll return her HP to CompUSA.

      Its somewhat like dealing with servers... I'd gladly pay extra (although probably not double) to have one common vendor for all of my serv
    • Why in the world anyone would ever buy memory from dell continues to confuse me.

      You haven't been in an institutionalized environment, then. Like, for example, a state government or college.

      We have buying departments. They go out and justify their existances by creating contracts with certain businesses for buying things. The upside for the business is they get a good lock (not 100%, but close) on the entire organization's business for that kind of product. The upside for the buying department is they jus

  • I've noticed this with Dell for a while now. Sometimes Dell will have different prices, sales, or coupons codes for the different stores. If you don't know of a particular discount from elsewhere, such as a coupon web site, you have to check EACH STORE. SEPARATELY.

    I take it that since this irks me, I must not be their targeted customer, so I plan to buy elsewhere.

  • Meanwhile, you can get the same memory from crucial.com for less than half that price, complete with a lifetime warranty...
  • And Bend over - how do you want it?

    Regular or Premium?

    RS

  • I have known this for years. My last 8 systems were 'small business' purchases [only one of them is a Dell, so its not just dell], and it is amazing how much you save sometimes. As long as you know what you want, and how much you want to pay for it, its all good. Also, sometimes you can get a better price just by using ye-olde telephone. Just ask them for a price on a system and read off all of the details that you just selected on the website, see what they say.

  • the real lesson is being missed here. (Score:3, Informative)

    by frovingslosh ( 582462 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:18PM (#11601345)
    fare even better with a $246.49 price

    $246.49 for 512 meg of memory in todat's market and the post can call this "fare even better" ? Hardly, it's a huge over charge for buying from Dell. Sadly, some Dell systems do require "special" memory, I had tried to help a girlfriend add memory to her Dell system a few years ago and we learmed that standard memory would not work in it. Dell used some memory with very strange clock requirements. Still, we were able to get the memory from any of several large memory suppliers for about half of what Dell wanted for it (although for significantly more than "standard" (and faster) memory would cost. The lesson is don't buy memory at all from Dell, and to avoid getting "locked in", don't buy at all from them.

  • Recently bought an iMac and went searching for RAM upgrades at crucial.com. Their PC3200 RAM was priced at about $76. When you use their RAM finder for the system you have, the "Apple Approved" memory was $86. But it was the same specs as the regular 3200.
    I called Crucial and asked the difference and they said there was not a difference to buy the cheaper stuff. A couple of days later I checked back and they were the same price.
  • I remember many years ago when I got a new phone installed in an apartment. I used to answer the phone with "Greetings" instead of "Hello". The phone company said that if I didn't answer the phone with "Hello", they would charge me the much higher business rate. Same service, but if they can find some angle to extort more money from you, they will.

    Now we live in an age where merchandising is an art form that revolves around the science of using peoples' laziness against them economically. Products are
  • ... and there were lots of tricks you could pull.

    Price up a laptop with more memory then standard in it and you get one price for the memory upgrade. Buy the laptop and order a seperate memory upgrade at the same time (and fit it yourself) and you will find the memory upgrade is much cheaper. Most I once saw was half price for the memory.

    Also, if you are buying in bulk and you wait until near the end of the quarter, the salesmen can be desperate for a deal to go in that quarter for their bonus. I managed
  • One of my friends was trying to spec out a Dell computer.

    He asked them for the price on the base unit.
    He asked how much it cost to add X amount of RAM.
    He asked him to take it off and asked them the base unit price again.

    That is when he noticed that the price had gone up. I guess teh time spent putting the memory in the board and then taking it out cost them something...

    Dell is the Wal-Mart of the PC world. When people stop being enarmored about the retail price and get a quality product you will probal
  • A few years ago, FoxStore's database suffered some severe corruption. Videos and DVDs were being sold for totally random amounts, around the $1 to $3 mark. Now, there are those who would argue that a Doctor Who double-set isn't worth much more than $3. I'm not one of them, and bought a few.

    (Some bought a few hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars worth of merchanise. Because the corruption was random, if you didn't like the prive, you reloaded the page.)

    Fox Store, at first, threatened not to honor the

  • I understand that in the UK consumer protection laws have provisions for returning mis-ordered goods, but that this right is not extended to business purchases. So, I guess that if a vendor believes a significant proportion of its goods will be returned by private buyers (for example because the goods do not live up to customer expectations) it seems reasonable for businesses to be offered a discount. Conversely, businesses often demand a higher standard of account management and are willing to pay over-t

  • This isn't shady at all (Score:4, Insightful)

    by gte910h ( 239582 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:34PM (#11601520) Homepage
    This is called "Market Segmentation".

    This is a good thing for companies to practice from a profit point of view. Its the process that makes the most money. It also means that people who can not afford to pay a higher price (e.g. students, the elderly) can get software/movie tickets at something they can afford.

    Joel Spolsky wrote about it here. [joelonsoftware.com]
  • While we're doing Cranky User columns, I wrote about this long ago:

    Pigeonholed! [ibm.com]

    I even used Dell as an example (either here or in the book I'm working on) of a company I won't buy from because I don't like being asked to pick a customer type before I can buy products.

    VINDICATED!

  • I work in education.. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Sime208 ( 709155 ) on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:39PM (#11601565)
    ..and found this out recently.

    The guy that deals with buying equipment called Dell up wanting some machines like what he'd bought his kids.

    For his kids, Dell charged 300gbp per box.

    For the school, they wanted around 30% more!

    Dell's excuse was really laughable. Something about "For schools, the computers can be further upgraded before purchasing so it gives you the option of upgrading at the point of sale.". They could be upgraded for home use too, so that didn't really wash.

  • Beware of customise options! (Score:3, Informative)

    by zero-one ( 79216 ) <jonwpayne@gmBOYSENail.com minus berry> on Monday February 07, 2005 @05:53PM (#11601706) Homepage
    One of Dell's fun tricks seems to be charging far more for parts when brought with a PC then they would do if purchased separately. For example, a 1905FP monitor from Dell's UK site costs £284.59 on its own (including tax and shipping). A random Dimension PC from the home and home office section includes a monitor in the price and has the option of upgrading to the 1950FP monitor for £339.58. It actually works out cheaper to get the bundled 17" monitor and buy the other nice LCD screen as well then to just buy the good screen with the PC.

    Once you've worked out you need to play the Dell website game to get the best prices from them, it is just adds an extra layer of hassle to buying PCs. Perhaps someone could make an app that scrapes their web pages looking for the best deals (e.g. is it best to start with a high spec PC and customise the components downwards or is it better to start with a low spec PC and add the bits you want).

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