It looks like the kind of laptop we want to get for the kid is not something stores carry, but we can order it on a manufacturer website. Either on Dell, Lenovo, or HP.
I’m nervous about doing this. Any tips, cautions?
If you order it through the manufacturer, you should be good. Although you may find one on a third party site for a couple hundred bucks less, I wouldnt risk it. Make sure that when buying it, you have some insurance. Some manufacturers wont even reimburse you if the laptop shows up on your doorstep shattered.
I cant remember the last time I bought a computer in a brick and mortar store, maybe 25 years ago?
You can have it shipped to your workplace if you have security concern.
They also are well packaged, and marked. Ive never had a problem with damage.
Bought from both manufacturer and authorized resellers.
Does Costco online sell what you need? Their return policy is more than generous, and you can return electronics purchased online at their warehouses, provided that the return is within 90 days.
We’ve bought ours online for years. We’ve had good luck with Dell, including troubleshooting calls if needed. My laptop is an HP, but bought at a better price through Amazon. D’s HP Chromebook is also from Amazon, without incident. Shop around for the best price-Amazon will show you comparisons to other models with similar options. I believe Dell does as well. There’s nothing to be worried about.
I’ve been checking Costco, but sadly no. I would like her to get a workstation type laptop with an Intel i7 chip and an Nvidia Quadro card.
We also bought directly from Dell. No issues. See if your employer has a relationship with Dell to get additional discounts.
DS bought his from Amazon. Arrived in 2 days, no problems with delivery. Had good return policy with Amazon. I’d be pretty confident with ordering from the vendor - just check return policy.
I have purchased multiple from Dell, and also Toshiba, and even a reseller (had Egg in the title(?) and others we knew had used them). Check to see if your place of employment or school has a discount available. They often do have corporate or school discounts.
I’ve purchased laptops only online from various sources. Amazon, Dell, NewEgg, TigerDirect. I’ve never had any problems with customer service but you do have to check the return policy. Several resellers have restocking fees and they can be hefty.
Check prices at the school. They may or may not be less expensive. I work at an university but never purchased through them.
If the model is available at the Microsoft store, get it there. Their Signature editions come with all the crap-ware removed. It is pure operating system with none of the Dell or HP or Lenovo garbage added on.
Also, what is your child going to be doing that you need a Quadro card? I initially thought my engineering son would need something like that, but after checking class requirements for the first couple years, he really didn’t need the horsepower of a Quadro. Even the upper level classes that might benefit from that kind of card had workstations available for the students to use.
To get a Dell without the garbage added on buy from their business website. http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/laptops You get different options than their consumer website also.
Other manufacturers probably have business websites too.
We’ve bought online with no issues at all. My S got his most recent laptop through a groupon deal and it is perfectly fine (and a great deal!).
An advantage to buying Dell directly on line is that they keep your configuration basically forever. If you need repair or a new hard drive they can deliver to match exactly what you had before. They will even reload the basic software. I had trouble with HP when they ony sent a totaly unformatted HD and I could not get their own software to load properly. They claimed they did not support software and were no help. So even though HD was covered by warranty, I had to pay to have it properly configured. When I had a prblemwith a Dell on the other hand they sent one that installed correctly immediately.
Our “computer guy” recommends buying Lenovo laptops. My husband works occasionally for a large engineering forensics company in Texas, and that’s the only brand of laptop they buy for their engineers. We bought my son one awhile back, and right now we’re waiting for another one to come for my husband.
I would also check out your credit card policy on warranty and returns, use card with the best protection. In my case is AmEx. They provide extended warranty and 90 days guaranteed return policy.
Thanks for all the suggestions & advice. Very helpful. Keep it coming.
Agree that Costco AmEx tech purchases with additional year or double warranty (whichever is less) is great, especially when buying a laptop. We gave used that CCard to buy a laptop at Costco and Office Depot. Both died during AmEx extended warranty and we got full refunds.
Will your child be taking her laptop to class? I have a workstation laptop with a graphics card and i7 as well as a 17" screen. I use it for mapping applications. It’s incredibly heavy. I hate toting it anywhere.
If she needs such a machine, may I suggest a smaller and hopefully lighter laptop and a large monitor? Or get the mega laptop but get a small surface or tablet to take to class.