G
Grumble
YKhan said:
Is that supposed to be journalism, or is it just some random blog?
G
George Macdonald
Why would one go to Lenovo direct sales for a notebook? - even IBM's direct
sales were always mostly 1-2 weeks delivery. Just go to NewEgg or CDW and
you can have a Thinkpad P-M 1.7 or 1.8 the next day. In a recent
emergency, I had one in my hands about 15hrs after ordering on-line at CDW
- price was just a few $$ higher than the IBM site... less than the sales
tax.
R
Robert Myers
Aw, c'mon. News hacks gotta eat, too. Without rumor and speculation,
where would The Inquirer be?
RM
G
Gary L.
Sage advice. I had pretty good luck with IBM direct sales in the past
but Lenovo was taking forever to get me a new T42. Lenovo definitely
has some problems at present in shipping products. Everything seems to
be out of stock with an indefinite wait.
Since my old T21 was failing and I needed a new system, I cancelled
the Lenovo order and bought from Newegg instead. I received the
ThinkPad (identical model to what I ordered from Lenovo) exactly 29
hours after ordering it. With FedEx 2nd day service, it came out to a
few dollars less than the Lenovo price, but I missed out on the free
Port Replicator that Lenovo was offering. Since I already have a Dock
II and extra power adapters, it wasn't a big loss. CDW and
Computers4sure also had the same model in stock for just a few dollars
more.
BTW, what is this "Thinkbook" mentioned at the end of the Inquirer
article? A cross between a ThinkPad and a PowerBook?? Perhaps a Mac
portable with an Intel processor, or a ThinkPad with a PowerPC
processor (like the still-born "Personal Power" systems)? Or just a
poor excuse for a journalist that can't even get the product names
correct in his concocted story.
G
George Macdonald
My experience with IBM direct was so-so: one tolerable and the other got
into a whole mess of double billing.
On the subject of NewEgg, I just noticed during an ordering session
yesterday that the shipping charges seem to be creeping up, e.g. $5.50 for
a mouse... higher than some of the mice.
That's ridiculous - I'll popdown to CompUSA or Best Buy and pick up mouse & keyboard I know I like.
I'm getting quite confused by some of the stuff going on at NewEgg just now
and I hope it's not the start of the (inevitable) rot setting in. While my
recent experience, in buying a Samsung 920T 19" LCD, was extremely
pleasant, it almost seemed like someone made a major blunder: this monitor
lists for $730. and at most on-line vendors it can be had for $600. +/- a
few $$. NewEgg was selling it for $419. and it's now out of stock - that
really seems like a mistake rather than just aggressive pricing.
What I read from it is that for AMD CPUs they're going to use the brand
name Thinkbook - hope it's not bowing to Intel pressure to target the "home
market" with AMD and leave the business-oriented Thinkpads as Intel only.
There have also been rumors for a while of an IBM Thinkbook which would run
the Mac OS - dunno where it fits in there.
G
Gary L.
On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 19:38:58 -0400, George Macdonald
[snip]
Shipping costs in general have been on the rise. When the seller pays
the shipping you don't really notice, but Newegg does charge for
shipping. It simply has to be factored into the deal. Driving to the
store involves costs as well, including gas and the value of your time
spent driving.
[snip]
Perhaps I was too quick to criticize the author of the article, based
on the questionable comments about Dell buying all the CPUs. The
licensing of the "ThinkPad" name by IBM may carry some restrictions.
And an appeal to the home user that IBM had turned away is not a bad
marketing strategy for Lenovo. A "ThinkBook" line with less expensive
AMD CPUs and marketed to home users and college students (like the
Apple iBook and the old ThinkPad i series) doesn't seem too
far-fetched.
If the rumors about Apple's switch to Intel processors is true, then
perhaps the Mac OS will be available for any PC. Given Mr. Job's prior
disapproval of the Mac clones, I doubt that Apple will market a
version of Mac OS that will run on anything other than an Apple
system. But perhaps time and dwindling market share have changed
Apple's position.
[snip]
On the subject of NewEgg, I just noticed during an ordering session
yesterday that the shipping charges seem to be creeping up, e.g. $5.50 for
a mouse... higher than some of the mice.
down to CompUSA or Best Buy and pick up mouse & keyboard I know I like.
Shipping costs in general have been on the rise. When the seller pays
the shipping you don't really notice, but Newegg does charge for
shipping. It simply has to be factored into the deal. Driving to the
store involves costs as well, including gas and the value of your time
spent driving.
[snip]
Perhaps I was too quick to criticize the author of the article, based
on the questionable comments about Dell buying all the CPUs. The
licensing of the "ThinkPad" name by IBM may carry some restrictions.
And an appeal to the home user that IBM had turned away is not a bad
marketing strategy for Lenovo. A "ThinkBook" line with less expensive
AMD CPUs and marketed to home users and college students (like the
Apple iBook and the old ThinkPad i series) doesn't seem too
far-fetched.
If the rumors about Apple's switch to Intel processors is true, then
perhaps the Mac OS will be available for any PC. Given Mr. Job's prior
disapproval of the Mac clones, I doubt that Apple will market a
version of Mac OS that will run on anything other than an Apple
system. But perhaps time and dwindling market share have changed
Apple's position.
Y
Yousuf Khan
Gary said:
If Lenovo is going to make this IBM acquisition work for it, it's going
to have to push for sales in the consumer market. It can't just stay in
the corporate market forever. So it's likely we'll start seeing IBM's in
the BestBuys and Futureshops and CircuitCities again.
Lenovo has a big relationship with AMD in the Chinese market, where
pricewars tend to have even Dell hurting. Some of these manufacturers
can only get to their desired pricepoints by going with AMD and VIA
processors.
It might well be that Apple wants a bigger market for its MacOS, so it
might not just limit sales of MacOS to its own computers.
Yousuf Khan
G
George Macdonald
On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 19:38:58 -0400, George Macdonald
[snip]
On the subject of NewEgg, I just noticed during an ordering session
yesterday that the shipping charges seem to be creeping up, e.g. $5.50 for
a mouse... higher than some of the mice.
down to CompUSA or Best Buy and pick up mouse & keyboard I know I like.
Shipping costs in general have been on the rise. When the seller pays
the shipping you don't really notice, but Newegg does charge for
shipping. It simply has to be factored into the deal. Driving to the
store involves costs as well, including gas and the value of your time
spent driving.
Well $5.+ for shipping a mouse is a wee bit high - no?
What's reallyrising here, I believe, is the handling part of "S+H". When a mouse is
shipped with other items, like mbrd, HDD, DVD, keyboard etc. the cost of
shipping for the mouse is essentially zero. Some vendors claim to adjust
for this and charge only for actual shipping cost but there's always
"handling" which makes it difficult to really see actual shipping charges.
I know that I found NewEgg S+H on the low side when I started using them
vs. my previous vendors. Maybe it's time to do a fresh comparison.
Yeah well I'm coming from the opposite angle here: I'd like to see a
Think(thingy) of the quality of a Thinkpad but with an Athlon64-M for
business use.
K
keith
On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 19:38:58 -0400, George Macdonald
[snip]
On the subject of NewEgg, I just noticed during an ordering session
yesterday that the shipping charges seem to be creeping up, e.g. $5.50 for
a mouse... higher than some of the mice.
down to CompUSA or Best Buy and pick up mouse & keyboard I know I like.
Shipping costs in general have been on the rise. When the seller pays
the shipping you don't really notice, but Newegg does charge for
shipping. It simply has to be factored into the deal. Driving to the
store involves costs as well, including gas and the value of your time
spent driving.
Well $5.+ for shipping a mouse is a wee bit high - no?
rising here, I believe, is the handling part of "S+H". When a mouse is
shipped with other items, like mbrd, HDD, DVD, keyboard etc. the cost of
shipping for the mouse is essentially zero. Some vendors claim to adjust
for this and charge only for actual shipping cost but there's always
"handling" which makes it difficult to really see actual shipping charges.
I was rather off-put by their $5 shipping charges on $5 round IDE cables,
so I posted a bitch here (IIRC). The next day I got an email refunding
$5 (for the second cable) to my CC. Coincidence? ;-)
I've been thinking the same. I really do like their service though.
Office Depot, OTOH... What a loser company!
G
George Macdonald
On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 19:38:58 -0400, George Macdonald
[snip]
On the subject of NewEgg, I just noticed during an ordering session
yesterday that the shipping charges seem to be creeping up, e.g. $5.50 for
a mouse... higher than some of the mice.
down to CompUSA or Best Buy and pick up mouse & keyboard I know I like.
Shipping costs in general have been on the rise. When the seller pays
the shipping you don't really notice, but Newegg does charge for
shipping. It simply has to be factored into the deal. Driving to the
store involves costs as well, including gas and the value of your time
spent driving.
Well $5.+ for shipping a mouse is a wee bit high - no?
rising here, I believe, is the handling part of "S+H". When a mouse is
shipped with other items, like mbrd, HDD, DVD, keyboard etc. the cost of
shipping for the mouse is essentially zero. Some vendors claim to adjust
for this and charge only for actual shipping cost but there's always
"handling" which makes it difficult to really see actual shipping charges.
I was rather off-put by their $5 shipping charges on $5 round IDE cables,
so I posted a bitch here (IIRC). The next day I got an email refunding
$5 (for the second cable) to my CC. Coincidence? ;-)
Ya think they lurk in here maybe?
Maybe we're just spoiled by NewEgg's eficiency and need a lesson in how bad
it can get.
They *do* appear to run their own warehouses and so cancontrol what goes out; I do recall previous vendors' drop-ships from gawd
knows where and missing parts... e.g. a PIII mbrd with no retention
mechanism. Those kinds of things can certainly be difficult to sort out.
I nominate CompUSA as in the same league as Home/Office Despot. I dunno
why I bother to go there anymore - I always come away empty handed for the
simplest items, whether because of price gouging or "sold out".
G
Gary L.
I happened to look at their notebook pages this morning and the
shipping charge for almost all of the notebooks has dropped to $1.99
for FedEx standard. Another coincidence?
K
keith
On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 19:38:58 -0400, George Macdonald
[snip]
On the subject of NewEgg, I just noticed during an ordering session
yesterday that the shipping charges seem to be creeping up, e.g. $5.50 for
a mouse... higher than some of the mice.
down to CompUSA or Best Buy and pick up mouse & keyboard I know I like.
Shipping costs in general have been on the rise. When the seller pays
the shipping you don't really notice, but Newegg does charge for
shipping. It simply has to be factored into the deal. Driving to the
store involves costs as well, including gas and the value of your time
spent driving.
Well $5.+ for shipping a mouse is a wee bit high - no?
rising here, I believe, is the handling part of "S+H". When a mouse is
shipped with other items, like mbrd, HDD, DVD, keyboard etc. the cost of
shipping for the mouse is essentially zero. Some vendors claim to adjust
for this and charge only for actual shipping cost but there's always
"handling" which makes it difficult to really see actual shipping charges.
I was rather off-put by their $5 shipping charges on $5 round IDE cables,
so I posted a bitch here (IIRC). The next day I got an email refunding
$5 (for the second cable) to my CC. Coincidence? ;-)
Ya think they lurk in here maybe?
....never know. I think If I were in the biz, I'd do some google searches
for my name. This happened pretty quick though, but I've never heard that
anyone else got such a credit. Felg just sent me a bitch-mail about how
fast they deliver, and at what cost.
Maybe we're just spoiled by NewEgg's eficiency and need a lesson in how
bad it can get.
That is certainly a fact. I still like doing business with them, but one
must understand the "hidden" costs.
Harbor Freight has the opposite model. Their shipping is based off the
order cost even though the stuff may be of wildly different weights and
shipped at different times. OTOH, their shipping department is slower
than spring around here and much of the stuff is crap. ;-)
Indeed! When I built a system for a frind last summer they shorted me a
CDROM audio cable and a CDROM for the burner. I sent them a note and the
stuff was on my doorstep in less than 48 hours. No charge. You really
can't beat their service. If I have to pay for it, it just gets figured
into the buy descision.
I rather like Home Despot. Well, it's the only place to buy anything
here. The "hardware" stores are useless. WalMart has a better
inventory of such things, but the only thing I buy there is ammo. ;-)
The Office Despot thing was recent. There was a .22mm 19"
flat-screen monitor for sale for $34, after rebate (but free shipping). I
told a few others about it. They ordered one the next day and received
it within two days. According to the OD website, mine was also
shipped "via third party", but they don't give tracking numbers. Two weeks
later I get a call telling me that they're "almost out of stock", and do I
want to order something else. At least they didn't charge my card. I
don't like suppliers that are out of control.
K
keith
Likely. I bought a Zalman cooler a month or so ago. I ended up with the
one with the silly blue LED because it had free shipping. The same thamn
ding without, cost more. They do "juggle" inventory with incentives.
Iv'e seen a few "free shipping" weeks too.
G
George Macdonald
Yeah well one does hope that there's someone "in charge" who is not too
shagged out from stuffing packages to be able to reconnoiter for real
feedback. I get the feeling that NewEgg's S&H cost has risen a touch
recently but compared with others, like MWave, the bottom line is still
substantially lower. Then you have to count the err, vagaries of UPS
ground which is likely come into play with many others.
I dunno - IMO you can't beat a *good* hardware store; the trouble with
"Depots", Lowes et.al. is that, even if you know the exact name of the
thing you want, if the assistant doesn't, you have to go on a walk-about...
and hope you stumble on it.
K
keith
UPS ground is only exceeded in stupidity by DHL/Airborne. I bought a
DVR/DVD writer a few months back that took a tour of the eastern US. It
started in Newark, NJ, then to somewhere in Alabama, Tennesee, Illinois
(both sothern and northern), to Boston, then to VT. THoguh the same sor
of thing happened to the Panasonic VCR I bought a few weeks back (shipped
via UPS).
I do like New Eggs service. I've bought a bit of stuff from them and when
it wasn't right they made it right *quickly*. That's worth something, and
it's not a lot (that one has to pay). It still is a PITA to spend $5 to
ship a $5 item, worst to pay n*$5 for n that come in the same damned box.
NO question. We had to *real* HW stores when I lived in NY. They
wouldn't know a deli from a cucumber here either though. Yeah, all the
"lumber yards" went out of business after Home Despot opened. ...good
riddance! They were *way* overpriced (twice HD) and had crap to sell. By
comparison HD is king. The Lowes is being stopped by the
anti-growth greenies from out-of-state. Competition would be good.
Sorta. Though the people in the HD here are often retired
construction-critters. They know what's going on and will discuss
alternate ways to skin the cat. Saturday afternoon isn't a good time to
play 20 questions though. Let me put it another (and perhpas more OT
way, if there were a computer store around as good as HD is here, I'd buy
a lot less on the Internet. Since the best there is, is BestBuy...