Computer Purchase -- Best Buy or Direct From Dell

[4Q Basket Case]

Decided on a new laptop -- thanks to all who offered suggestions.

I'll get more machine than I need, with the idea that it'll suit me for several years.

Last question: Any thoughts on buying from Best Buy vs. direct from Dell?

Particularly curious about the pros and cons of service -- Dell Premium or Geek Squad.

That part is particularly important to me, as I am not savvy enough to reliably diagnose and fix problems on my own.

 

[jthomas666]

1. Best Buy is overpriced.
2. Their service planes are ridiculously overpriced.
3. Sales associates don't know that much about the products.
4. If you work with Dell, they will usually give you some sort of additional discount--teacher, retired, that sort of thing.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

It's a desktop but I bought a Dell recently from Costco. They had it on sale for around $500 cheaper than one built to the same specs on the Dell site. I'd look at different sources...

 

[cbi1972]

It's a desktop but I bought a Dell recently from Costco. They had it on sale for around $500 cheaper than one built to the same specs on the Dell site. I'd look at different sources...

Costco Concierge Services
Costco also offers free tech support, 2 years of extended warranty, and returns within 90 days.
Pretty hard to beat.

 

[Bazza]

I have bought directly from Dell before and thankfully never needed any tech support from them because:

1. Forums such as this one that are populated with quite a few tech savvy folks
2. A few good friends of mine I could always bounce questions off of
3. You Tube - which is LOADED with tutorials on how to resolve tech issues

BTW - the last PC I bought is a NUC and came from Newegg (refurbished) :wink:

 

[Jon]

Decided on a new laptop -- thanks to all who offered suggestions.

I'll get more machine than I need, with the idea that it'll suit me for several years.

Last question: Any thoughts on buying from Best Buy vs. direct from Dell?

Particularly curious about the pros and cons of service -- Dell Premium or Geek Squad.

That part is particularly important to me, as I am not savvy enough to reliably diagnose and fix problems on my own.

Geek Squad is running searches for the FBI as an end run around the 4th amendment

"[T]he FBI's Geek Squad informants should plainly qualify as agents of the government," EFF wrote in May. "The records disclosed thus far indicate that FBI agents paid Geek Squad informants to conduct these wide-ranging searches of customers' devices, suggesting that officials both knew about the searches and directed the informants to conduct them. The payments Geek Squad informants received also demonstrate that they conducted the searches with the intent to assist the FBI."

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo...est-buys-geek-squad-to-flag-child-pornography

 

[92tide]

we updated our office machines last summer and purchased them directly from dell. ordering what we needed was very simple and service wise, they have been extremely helpful in resolving any issues we had (not many, but we are too small to have an i.t. person so have to do everything ourselves).

 

[92tide]

Geek Squad is running searches for the FBI as an end run around the 4th amendment



https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo...est-buys-geek-squad-to-flag-child-pornography

i knew there was a reason i didn't trust those dorks