Watch out for Dell "deals."

[cardspeak]

Dell is currently running a "special" wherein you get up to a $500 rebate on desktops. I had priced an XPS Gen4 system in mid-April, went on vacation, decided to wait a little for prices to come down, especially because Gen4 is no longer their top end system (Gen5 is out) and what with the new dual-core processors, etc. I noticed this "deal" and was reactivated. I priced out the same system and surprise, it was $1000 more than it was in April. I called Dell and asked, "Uh, it seems like you guys simply raised the price $1000 so you could offer a $500 discount (mail in rebate no less), right?" Dell's response, essentially was, "Uh...yes." I thanked him for the honesty and hung up.

I suspect my timing was bad; it must be the beginning of their quarter. But I wanted to give folks a heads-up as to the trickery. Caveat Emptor.

[sumdumguy]

Dell (Canada) at least, is one of the biggest offenders of fair marketing practice. But, their lawyers know what they're doing and keep them just a tiny bit short of breaking consumer protection laws. Legal? Yes. Ethical? Absolutely not!

[slavic]

I worked with Dell MLP in the US for many, many years. I can only remember one time that component prices actually went up in price. That was ram because of an extreme shortage in the market and I believe it was after the Kobe earthquake. Now promotions, discounts, and other such like items go away all the time, but just a retail price increase I find hard to believe. Their competition would eat them alive.

Just my .02

[StacysMom]

Just be sure to compare the bottom line price to that of other compaies. Regardless of gimics, the bottom line doesnt line and Dell seems to be more than competitive with their pricing.