Best deals for computers? College deals or vendors?

xiggi · 07-03-2007, 10:10 AM

Since we are in the midst of the "get ready for college" season, this may be a good time to comparing notes on finding the best deals on new computers for college. My sister has asked me to find the "best" deal and it is not very simple!

While it appears that some schools offer real bargains, it does not appear to be universal as some colleges (or their independent bookstores) can't give up on the nasty habit of taking their unsuspecting customers for a ride.

What is your experience with college deals or special deals offered directly by manufacturers?

NJ113 · 07-03-2007, 10:20 AM

My oldest just finished her second year and we bought a Dell laptop for her with a 3 year service plan. We're glad we bought the service plan because we had to use it for some problems. For our second one who will be starting college in the fall we purchased a laptop on sale from Office Depot. The laptops we purchased were in the 500-600 range. It was cheaper than buying it through the school. The retailers and manufacturers appear to have a "going back to school" season for computers and laptops, so look for these deals. The technology is also going through a transition, so the retailers and manufacturers will be unloading "older" models and that's where you can get some good deals. They may be older in terms of the technology, but perfectly suitable for a college student who is surfing the web and doing word processing and spreadsheets.

bluebayou · 07-03-2007, 10:25 AM

xiggi:

one has to comparison shop veerrry carefully to make sure that a online version from a vendor matches the college computer. One thing to particularly look at is the extended warranty which can add a few hundred dollars to the cost (well worth it, IMO for a college laptop), and which may automatically be included in the college price but is an option from a vendor. The other thing to think about is onsite support while at college. If most kids at the school have an HP or Mac for example, the school's tech support will be well versed in trouble-shooting those models and fixing them immediately. But, showing up with a new Vaio may require the student to obtain tech support direct from the manufacturer (taking several days). Another advantage to buy thru the school is that all network sw is preloaded, which makes it easier for the technically-challenged to be online immediately.

But, to answer your question, in my son's case, the college computer (for the exact same configured model) was slightly cheaper if for no other reason than the state had no sales tax.

edad · 07-03-2007, 10:38 AM

My D's school provides repair/replacement coverage, loaners, and tech support for models purchased through the school's discount purchase plan. Service plans are expensive at over $100/year. When you deal with an outside vendor, you can wait several days or weeks and do not get a loaner unit.

emeraldkity4 · 07-03-2007, 11:07 AM

Weve purchased directly from Apple via the education store website- often refurbished computers which have been warranteed identically to brand new ones, but at often hundreds of dollars off.
Also bought from smalldog- ditto.

I don't think freshman need top of the line computers- often if they have a decent one in high school that can take them one or two more years until they have a better idea of what they need, and technology changes fast enough that if they wait till junior year to buy a new computer, it should be able to take them several years out of college

ALWAYS- get an extended warranty with laptop
That said- I have found it faster to ship back to manufacturer when needed, than wait for a slot at local repair shop. Shipping to Apple and back took 3 days total, while the repair shop wouldn't allow me to make an appt. I had to just drop it off, and wait my turn.
One reason why I now prefer laptops-
But I haven't had to have anything fixed professionally for years- I can do the keyboard which is the only thing that has worn out.
Since they have had OS X it is amazingly stable.

newmassdad · 07-03-2007, 01:10 PM

I agree with Xiggi: Shop and compare.

Do be aware, though, that many universities are factory repair sites for the brands the U pushes. We bought a Dell for our D directly with a good coupon, and have avoided the hassle and cost of sending the machine to Dell twice now for warranty repairs. The U did it for no cost to us, and the turnaround was only a few days.

Another reason for sticking with U recommended brands and models is for support. If a lot of kids on the dorm floor have the same machine, chances are someone down the hall will know how to fix a lot of simpler problems.

It is interesting how some colleges do have super deals for some models.

But in every case, they will offer software via an educational site license. For example: Office XP Pro for $25!

hops_scout · 07-03-2007, 01:35 PM

I just bought a Dell laptop first of June and had gotten a two-year warranty on it. Got a call yesterday from Dell with an offer to extend the warranty and upgrade it for roughly $230. My warranty is now good through 2012 rather than 2009. And I got a $75 Dell coupon

Singersmom07 · 07-03-2007, 03:49 PM

The other thing to look at is software. At 3rd S's school, the school had purchased site licenses for all the Microsoft and a lot of other software and if you ordered through the school, that plus the school access software came loaded on the computer free. And when his hard drive crashed, the replacement from Dell showed up the next day with all the software already there, too. If you bought a computer separately you had to get in line at the school to get the software loaded. BTW we have the "covers everything" extended service plan and highly recommend it for notebooks.

xiggi · 07-03-2007, 04:24 PM

Quote:

It is interesting how some colleges do have super deals for some models.

But in every case, they will offer software via an educational site license. For example: Office XP Pro for $25!

Indeed, that is why I am trying to locate the best deal for hardware and software. It is amazing how it varies from one school to another. Harvard, for instance, offers a 43% discount on Lenovo/IBM computers, but Stanford is happy to sell a prices that seem to be higher than the regular prices available to anyone. This is not much different from what happens on the Claremont campus where some schools have amazing deals while others have ... nothing!

In the same vein, I do not think that the pricing for software at Stanford is as competitive as NMD's deal.

http://homepage.mac.com/stanfordbook...ftwarelist.htm

Quote:

Windows Vista Home Premium (Upgrade) 10385431 $89.99 X
Windows Vista Home Premium (Full) 10387956 $239.99 X
Windows Vista Business (Full) 10480273 $299.99 X
Windows Vista Ultimate (Full) 900046030 $399.00 X
Windows Vista Ultimate (Upgrade) 900046031 $259.95 X
Windows XP Pro (Upgrade) 8698487 $99.99 X
Windows XP Pro (Full) 8706728 $299.99 X
Office Home and Student 2007 10480270 $149.99 X
Office Standard 2007 10385460 $139.99 X
Office Professional 2007 10387880 $199.99 X
Office Ultimate 2007 10387877 $249.99 X
Office Project Standard 2007 10046840 $69.99 X
Office Project Professional 2007 10387969 $199.99 X
Office Visio Standard 2007 10046862 $69.99 X
Office Visio Professional 2007 10046861 $149.99 X
Visual Studio Standard 2005 9625736 $59.99 X
Office Professional 2003 8313844 $199.99 X
Office Student-Teacher 2003 8346448 $149.99 X

Interesting to say the least!

curiouser · 07-03-2007, 08:45 PM

I've done it both ways. Bought D's Mac through her school and after that experience, bought S's directly from the Mac store. Apple offers "education" discounts for college students and at least at both my kids' schools, there was no financial advantage to buying it from the school. I believe there's more opportunity for discounts with Windows based machines.

There was a delay getting her computer in after she ordered it and when she finally got it, had lots of problems.

Turned out her inital Mac was a lemon (yes, it can happen) and because the tech support people at her school weren't terribly knowledgeable about Macs, it took awhile for them to replace it. If I had bought it at a store, it would have been replaced immediately.

It ultimately all worked out--she and S both have Powerbooks and LOVE them. I made sure that with S we bought it early in the summer before he had to leave for school and that any issues with the computer could be learned BEFORE he left.

I think the advice shared here about support issues are important...

interesteddad · 07-04-2007, 01:00 AM

We've been very pleased with several purchases from Dell's refurb center, including a Latitude notebook. For the price of a new computer, you can get a signficantly upgraded model.

NJ113 · 07-05-2007, 01:06 PM

Refurbs are a good idea, but I've been disappointed with the reliability of Dell's equipment recently. We've had problems with our 2 year old desktop and laptop, while we've had two 7 year old Dell desktops that have been problem free.

momfromme · 07-05-2007, 03:01 PM

My college is no longer recommending Dells as they have found that the quality has decreased.

zebes · 07-05-2007, 03:05 PM

Lovely ... LOL, we just purchased a Dell computer from our son's university. We compared the same model on-line and found the university cheaper. He can do repairs on campus if needed.They also threw in an upgrade CD burner, 3 in 1 printer and a 3 year complete service/warranty package. His software that's required for his major was also significantly cheaper because of the student discount.

Zebes

entomom · 07-05-2007, 05:20 PM

Today I discovered an interesting difference in purchasing at different universities as well. UMichigan, where my D will be attending, only sells the basic model of their Mac laptops, you can't upgrade memory or HD. So, I tried at my local U and found that they have no problem getting the same upgrades that Apple offers (with the educational discount price).