Comments on: Circuit City Wouldn’t Allow Me to Buy the Computer I Wanted

By: Cyndy

Cyndy — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 20:13:35 +0000

you should look into the Special Edition HP Pavilion dv6125se Entertainment Notebook PC of the HP Pavillion dv6000 series, it is the best

By: Flexo

Flexo — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:21:40 +0000

Tina: If the customer is obviously not going to buy the service plan, the salesperson shouldn’t keep pressuring. It’s a waste of time. Offer the plan, describe the benefits if the customer is unfamiliar, but don’t harass.

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 10:33:20 +0000

Rick, I understand how you feel about offering everything the guy did at best buy, but the fact is he really has no choice. I work at best buy, in car audio and that is part of what our job is. Believe me you woundn’t believe how many people you have come back because something happens to their computer, and well they cannot do anything about it because they don’t have a service plan, or anything like that. Our jobs there pretty much depend on that. You were saying it was bad customer service, but the store tells us we are cheating a customer if we dont offer the “complete solution.” Blah, I sound brainwashed dont I.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 02:52:06 +0000

I had the exact same situation with the same exact laptop and the exact same store (maybe different location). I also was offered to get it shipped, I needed it right away so I would have to pay overnight shipping too. Why do they have it on display to never have the PC you want?

By: Flexo

Flexo — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:59:20 +0000

Jeremy,

I’ll check up on the Dell — I didn’t look at their website in the last few weeks after originally seeing their prices were much higher than anyone else’s. The number pad isn’t the deciding factor, I’m looking mainly at the RAM, processor to an extent, and resolution.

All right, I just checked. Configured similarly to the HP (ie., using quality parts like NVIDIA rather than ATI Mobility, 2GB DDR SDRAM at 667 MHz instead of 1GB at 500 MHz), it’s several hundred dollars more than the HP. The price difference is probably due to Dell’s WUXGA vs. HP’s WSXGA+.

I prefer the quality parts because I’m already familiar with the problems with ATI Mobility and I do want the computer to last five years.

I’ll wait. I would have liked to have one before leaving for California over Thanksgiving. I’m not going to pay $2,500… $1,500 to $2,000 should get me the system I want, but I just might have to wait a few more weeks.

My company offers a small discount for Dell products, but ebates has similar discounts for HP and other manufacturers and retailers…

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:40:55 +0000

You listed your requiements and I posted a laptop that was very close to meeting them (everything but the integrated 10 key) that cose $1312. If you want to spend a couple hundred extra for the HP to get the integrated 10 key I understand that. But the $2500 number is a little silly, given the stated requirements.

I completely understand not pinching every penny. Quality gear is worth paying for, but you shouldn’t overpay either.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 15:34:46 +0000

The preconfigured 9040us has WXGA+ resolution according to hp.com, so I'd have to configure one to include the WUXGA. The higher resolution does increase the cost, but the rest of the stats on the preconfigured model are great.

By: Sydney

Sydney — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 15:06:33 +0000

the hpdv9040us has 240 gb space and is $1649 after a fifty dollar rebate for the last person’s comment who asked about pricing. It comes with every conceivable bell and whistle including a free upgrade to VISTA when it’s released. It includes built in webcam, microphone, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB RAM, 17Ã¢â‚¬Â? WUXGA display, built in wifi, tv tuner, anything you could possibly ever want. (you can check me on the details at hp’s website to make sure I got everything right) If you TRIED to build all of that into a Dell you’d be spending three thousand. So I think this is an EXCELLENT bargain for the money. you can find all of the info and order it on hp’s website since it hasn’t been released yet for circuit city and the other stores apparently. Anyway, I just ordered mine. Crossing my fingers. Oh, I forgot to mention. It has the same glossy black hp finish as the 9030/35 which is really cool and slick looking. As a female businessperson, that stuff is important to me too ;)

By: Sydney

Sydney — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 14:57:26 +0000

Why dont you just order the 9040 directly from hp? its the same price as it will be at circut city WHEN THEY FINALLY GET IT and its ready to ship NOW. Thats what I’m doing. I had the same experience with no joy from circuit city AND best buy. I tried to buy the 9030 from circuit city – sold out, and the 9035 from best buy – sold out.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 14:23:50 +0000

“$2500 for a laptop? And this is a site about personal finance??”

Different people have different needs. You even say so yourself. If I don’t compromise on WUXGA resolution, it can easiy cost that much.

I don’t write about saving every possible penny like you might see on other personal finance blogs because that’s not my philosophy…

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:33:25 +0000

Good lord – $2500 for a laptop? And this is a site about personal finance??

Right now can get a Dell e1705 w/core 2 duo @ 2gig, 2gig ram, 120gb hd, 8x cd/dvd writer, integrated wireless & bluetooth, 17″ wuxga, upgraded 80w battery for $1312

Add an external keypad for 10 key and you’re set for well under budget. Don’t compromise on the resolution – if you’re going 17″ you’ll want WUXGA on the monitor. WXGA is marginal for 15″ IMHO, and unaccaptable at 17″

By: Free Money Finance

Free Money Finance — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:21:20 +0000

Star Money Articles for the Week of Oct. 23…

Here are interesting posts and news this week from the MoneyBlogNetwork members and beyond: AllFinancialMatters wants to know who pays $300 for a purse. MightyBargainHunter is working on setting financial goals. Five Cent Nickel offers thoughts on chec…

By: Valerie

Valerie — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:23:22 +0000

Did you actually check with Circuit City.com? Usually they will ship to the local store, with no shipping charges to you. I’ve bought several things that way.

By: Chris Ross

Chris Ross — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 15:36:39 +0000

I just bought a dv6125se at Best Buy – not the model for you (15″, no numeric) but what I saw when researching was that Best Buy had some of the same models as Circuit City, but was selling them at Circuit City’s after-rebate price without rebate.

You can also look at Amazon. the dv9040 you mentioned is 1699 before rebate. 1524 after. No tax, no shipping.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 14:44:29 +0000

IMHO, the big-box electronics stores are great for trying out different manufacturers/models. Then I order directly from the manufacturer so I can configure exactly what I want.

Last year I ordered a laptop from Lenovo (formerly IBM) and went the custom configuration route. They also offer pre-packaged configurations (like what you find in a store) for those who are in a hurry. There’s usually an online deal going, too. Sometimes pre-packaged is more economical but only if one meets your exact requirements. My stuff arrived in about 3 weeks.

I’ve been totally impressed with Lenovo’s service, and have taken full advantage of the warranty to learn more about the OS. They partner with local hardware companies for service, and their partner replaced my sticky CD/DVD drive with no hassles (other than leaving it for a week).

By: JLP at AllFinancialMatters

JLP at AllFinancialMatters — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 03:54:32 +0000

I bought an HP Pavilion dv8000 on June 1 and have been pretty happy with it. I’m pretty sure you’ll like HP.

By: Don Rena

Don Rena — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 01:08:32 +0000

You should get a Dell laptop, i had an HP whose screen went dead after two months and the customer service really sucks i was not able to get any replacement parts. The only option they gave me was to buy another computer

Decided to throw it in the trash bought a Dell great system, latest technology on it, tough and service i have received is excellent.

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 17:04:52 +0000

Best Buy has the model you’re looking for.

By: 2million

2million — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 13:25:31 +0000

Wow I am running a 5 year old (refurbished when i bought it) 850Mhz machine which I upgraded to WinXP. Maybe that would explain why I can’t seem to get all my work done. I have been thinking about it for years…but there has always been something else on my priority list to get purchased 1st.

By: Anas

Anas — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 08:56:32 +0000

Trying going with dell. I always use http://www.dealsoveramerica.com

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 05:23:01 +0000

Dude, that thing looks like a beast! 17″! I’m trying to find one that’s 4 lbs and has 4+ hours battery life for under $1200.

By: Special Ed

Special Ed — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 23:27:46 +0000

You might want to look at http://www.powernotebooks.com. They have a 10/10 rating on resellerratings.com. They have excellent products and customer service.

By: samerwriter

samerwriter — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:55:31 +0000

Remember that you can always load Windows onto your Mac, either with parallels (as someone else mentioned) or natively, if you don’t need to run both Mac and Windows software at the same time.

I’ve been waiting for the Core 2 Duo to be available in the MacBook. Now I’m just trying to figure out what configuration to get!

By: Flexo

Flexo — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:45:58 +0000

When it comes to switching to Mac, something which I have considered, it’s the software issue I’m concerned about. I’d like for my Windows Mobile 5.0-powered iPAQ to sync with iCalendar or some other productivity/office software.

I’d also like not to *pay* for software, which I may or may not have done since (or before) registering WWIV for $25 in 1991.

By: F. D. Bryant III

F. D. Bryant III — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:43:15 +0000

I would recommend try looking outside the brand names. I personally buy notebooks through http://www.discountlaptops.com. They sell laptops directly from the guys who make the brand names. I buy Sager Notebooks (http://www.sagernotebooks.com) and I am pretty sure you can get all that you are looking for with perhaps more within your budget.

An important factor to consider when buying a laptop is the service behind it. Especially if you are not technically inclinded and even if you are technically inclined. We all know what the brand name reputations are and I all can say is that the support I’ve received from Sager and Discount Laptops has been equal if not better than that.