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#1
08-02-2005, 04:15 PM
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Getting cheap stuff from Dell
This was originally posted not too long ago on a fairly popular computer hardware forum. It was originally taken down at the request of the OP because I believe Dell started to get onto him. Anyways, seeing how so many people buy stuff from Dell here I thought it might be of some use. It was supposedly written by an ex-Dell sales rep.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Alright, I’m going to make good on what I promised earlier. Here is the deal: In order to explain how to get the best deal from dell, you must take into consideration six main points. 1. Social engineering is required for this to work 2. A Dell Rep must sell a certain amount of stuff per day in order to meet their quota – otherwise they get fired. 3. A Dell rep has the ability, and authority, to discount items above and beyond the website price. 4. Dell reps are paid on a salary structure, plus commission. This is the most important factor, because you will use this information to get the best deal. 5. Dell branded items have what is called “inflated margin”. This means a Dell rep can sell you a 2005fpw at cost, because he still benefits from the sell of the item, some will be reluctant to do this – Margin (the amount of money dell makes from a sell) is one of the ways the performance of a dell rep is measured, However, if you find a rep that won’t give you your best deal, hang up, and call back in, it might take a few try’s, but it can save you hundreds….. 6. Non-Dell Branded items don’t have nearly as much “margin” built into the price, but some do, some items like video cards, have HUGE margins, meaning reps can discount Geforce 7800GTX’s 20% all day long, and still have positive margin for the sell………..this isn’t true of every non-dell item, some have hardly any margin at all, and reps can’t do much on the price front… In order to convince a Dell rep to give you that incredible deal, you need to make it worth his/her time. The way you do this, is express you interest in items that you have no intention of buying; this leads the Dell rep to believe that if he gives you a good deal now, you might buy a big item later, which will help him/her to meet their quota. (This isn’t the only way to go about getting the rep to give you his/her best deal, but it worked for me, if someone told me they were going to buy plasma, I had no problem selling them a monitor at base price – The Basic idea is get on the reps good side, make him laugh, tell a joke, whatever floats your boat –These people live very boring lives in there tiny cubicles, trust me, it gets real boring sometimes……) Dell has two main divisions, with hundreds of sub divisions, the two primary divisions are of course Dell Home, and Dell Small Business. Dell S&P (Software and peripherals) has a lot more flexibility in their pricing structure, as a general rule of thumb, try and deal with them; they can get you the best deal. It does not matter if you don’t own a company, tell them you do, they don’t validate any company info you give them. Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT tell them this will be for personal use. They will transfer you. Business use only. It’s important to remember that the amount of a discount that a rep can give you does vary day by day, with new pricing matrix information coming out every Thursday, meaning, last week if they could only do 10%, they may be able to do 20% now, it just depends….I’ve still got friends at Dell, I’m going to try and provide the [H] with inside pricing structure every week, maybe we can get a sticky going for that with limited user access for the [H] so the whole enthusiast community doesn’t see it? Tomorrow I will provide the [H] with solid numbers on specific items, and the BEST deal that can be had, that way you can call in, and if the rep won’t sell it to you at that price, you know you can do better, so you can hang-up and try again. Here are some real world price points to give you an example of what a dell representative is capable of doing as far as discounts go, these prices do not include tax, which depends on your location, so it varies. I never got to see Dells true cost, but I assure you, it’s sick how much money they make off of Dell branded items, especially when poor bastards buy Dell’s stuff off of their website. 2405FPW – MSRP $1199, Online 959.20, 20% Rep Discount $767.36, 30% Rep Discount $671.44 2005FPW – MSRP $699, Online 489.30, 20% Rep Discount $391.44, 30% Rep Discount $342.51 Dell 42” Plasma W4200 – MSRP $2999, Online $2699, 20% Rep Discount $2159.20 Three weeks ago, the pricing matrix (The “Guidelines” a Dell rep has to work with when issuing a discount) allowed us to go to 30% on a number of items, including the 2005fpw and 2405fpw. The week before I quit, we could only go to 20% on the same things. In other words, it does vary when a Rep can give discounts – But that is in no way associated to coupons or discount codes. It’s also important to know that coupon codes, and discounts won’t work in conjunction with any of the tactics I’ve discussed here, In order to get a rep to sell you stuff at his/her discount prices, he has got to maintain a positive margin, meaning, dell MUST make something from the sell, even if its only a few dollars off of that 2405, they still made a few bucks from the sell. Whew – I hope that gives you all a general idea of what’s going on, there is a LOT more to discuss, and I’ll be updating this thread with new info from time to time, look for big updates over the next few days, but for right now I’m tired of typing…..any questions? Oh, and one more thing – When you call in, be nice, even if the rep won’t give you that deal. I’ve had to deal with so many assholes it’s pathetic – and make sure you validate the item number you’re buying; most of the reps don’t know what the hell they are talking about…. 
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#5
08-03-2005, 12:06 AM
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Re: Getting cheap stuff from Dell
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Thanks for posting this info. [/ QUOTE ] [/ QUOTE ]
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