• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

dell outlet

C

chipy

Golden Member
i'm thinking of ordering a refurbished laptop from dell outlet. this particular one, like many of the others listed, has "scratch and dent"... not sure to what extent though.

does anyone have experience buying laptops from dell outlet? how bad are the scratch and dents?

tia - chipy
 
there is one guy who posts here.. i forget his name, but he has bought like 800+ from the dell outlet for his company
 
Originally posted by: clandren
there is one guy who posts here.. i forget his name, but he has bought like 800+ from the dell outlet for his company
Click to expand...

its bamacre. maybe he knows a good place to check for coupons on such, but hot deals here, as well as various deal sites, often keep up with them as well.

hell, some people were scoring mini 9's for about $200 and $250 recently from the outlet with a coupon. wish i had cash to get in on that :-/

i would guess scratch and dent could mean anything from a minor scuff to something fairly noticeable. keep in mind, the inventory there is *always* shifting so you may not see that exact system later.
 
From the Dell Outlet site:

Certified Refurbished PCs are laptops and desktops that have been returned to Dell, put through the production process, and then again retested to ensure they meet all original factory specifications. Certified Refurbished systems may have some observable cosmetic blemishes, but they will not affect performance.

Previously Ordered New computers are PCs that were shipped out to a customer who opened the box, but decided to return the system without ever using it. All of these computers have undergone testing and repackaging by Dell Outlet. Previously Ordered New systems do not have any cosmetic damages.

Scratch and Dent products are systems with considerable cosmetic blemishes that do not affect performance. They are a great way to save money while still enjoying Dell Outlet's rigorous rebuilding and testing process. Scratch and Dent computers will not have scratches or pits on the screen, missing or illegible letters on the keyboard, or damage to the touchpad or palmrest.
Click to expand...
As others have mentioned, bamacre would probably be the guy you'd want to contact if you want more specific info. I think he's done a lot of business through the Dell Outlet.
 
Originally posted by: xSauronx
hell, some people were scoring mini 9's for about $200 and $250 recently from the outlet with a coupon. wish i had cash to get in on that :-/
Click to expand...

I was looking at that when it was posted. The best deals may only last 10 seconds or less before someone else buys them.
 
Dell has a gazillion pc's in stock and in the supply line, the stuff that falls out of the supply chain or is returned ends up in the Dell Outlet, it's 99% of the time in perfect condition.

I just ordered a fairly well optioned Mini 9 from there, should arrive tomorrow or so.

I wouldn't worry about it's condition, they have the full warranty too.

BTW, Ben can usually be found here: http://www.tfnn.net/forum/index.php?board=1.0 username "toker"
 
well i had bought a xps 730 from the dell outlet and the had to replace both videos cards. because i kept on getting a blue screen. bamacre told to go there but he said he had not had a bad one in a while. I guess it's just luck or you can just fix the problem your self if there is any.
 
I have purchased 3 personally, two 1720s and a Mini 9. I have only had one issue that was resolved quickly (bad RAM).
 
Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Originally posted by: xSauronx
hell, some people were scoring mini 9's for about $200 and $250 recently from the outlet with a coupon. wish i had cash to get in on that :-/
Click to expand...

I was looking at that when it was posted. The best deals may only last 10 seconds or less before someone else buys them.
Click to expand...

The best deals are probably never seen by 99.9% of people. I'm quite sure some people are still using scripts.


Scratch and Dents are a gamble. You could get a perfect looking system, or a something with a big dent in it. I don't buy them.

As for Cert Refurb's and Prev Ordered New, not a difference 95% of the time.

Coupon codes...

15% off any Dell Precision Workstation
(some laptops there)
Q$GCPJW5JXR01F

20% off any Outlet Latitude or tablet PC
FL$F$969RZ7PLT

Both expire on 1/19 I believe.

The Latitudes (and Precisions) are very nice, as most, if not all, models come standard with a 3 year warranty instead of 1 year. Very good to have for a laptop.
 
Originally posted by: bamacre
20% off any Outlet Latitude or tablet PC
FL$F$969RZ7PLT

Both expire on 1/19 I believe.

The Latitudes (and Precisions) are very nice, as most, if not all, models come standard with a 3 year warranty instead of 1 year. Very good to have for a laptop.
Click to expand...

I bought a XPS M1330 off Dell Outlet. 2.4GHz, Nvidia 8400M GS, LED backlighting, 320GB hard drive for $791 after coupon. It was certified refurbed and aside from some sticker residues on the side of the machine and the missing carrying pouch and CD wallet, you couldn't tell that it was touched by anyone.

The Lat E6400's look so sexy...2.8GHz C2D, LED backlighting, new rev. Quadro chips for <$1000...I'd bite if I didn't get this M1330 already.

On the other hand, would somebody be interested to take this M1330 off me? 😀
 
Originally posted by: bamacre
Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Originally posted by: xSauronx
hell, some people were scoring mini 9's for about $200 and $250 recently from the outlet with a coupon. wish i had cash to get in on that :-/
Click to expand...

I was looking at that when it was posted. The best deals may only last 10 seconds or less before someone else buys them.
Click to expand...

The best deals are probably never seen by 99.9% of people. I'm quite sure some people are still using scripts.


Scratch and Dents are a gamble. You could get a perfect looking system, or a something with a big dent in it. I don't buy them.

As for Cert Refurb's and Prev Ordered New, not a difference 95% of the time.

Coupon codes...

15% off any Dell Precision Workstation
(some laptops there)
Q$GCPJW5JXR01F

20% off any Outlet Latitude or tablet PC
FL$F$969RZ7PLT

Both expire on 1/19 I believe.

The Latitudes (and Precisions) are very nice, as most, if not all, models come standard with a 3 year warranty instead of 1 year. Very good to have for a laptop.
Click to expand...

is there anywhere specific to keep an eye out for coupons and such, or a dell newsletter to sign up for? I expect to shop at the outlet soon, but more like in a month, if i can find another good deal on a mini 9.

I also want a quad system...but i dont know if anything other than a poweredge server can take 8gb of ram, do you? 🙂
 
Originally posted by: xSauronx
Originally posted by: bamacre
Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Originally posted by: xSauronx
hell, some people were scoring mini 9's for about $200 and $250 recently from the outlet with a coupon. wish i had cash to get in on that :-/
Click to expand...

I was looking at that when it was posted. The best deals may only last 10 seconds or less before someone else buys them.
Click to expand...

The best deals are probably never seen by 99.9% of people. I'm quite sure some people are still using scripts.


Scratch and Dents are a gamble. You could get a perfect looking system, or a something with a big dent in it. I don't buy them.

As for Cert Refurb's and Prev Ordered New, not a difference 95% of the time.

Coupon codes...

15% off any Dell Precision Workstation
(some laptops there)
Q$GCPJW5JXR01F

20% off any Outlet Latitude or tablet PC
FL$F$969RZ7PLT

Both expire on 1/19 I believe.

The Latitudes (and Precisions) are very nice, as most, if not all, models come standard with a 3 year warranty instead of 1 year. Very good to have for a laptop.
Click to expand...

is there anywhere specific to keep an eye out for coupons and such, or a dell newsletter to sign up for? I expect to shop at the outlet soon, but more like in a month, if i can find another good deal on a mini 9.

I also want a quad system...but i dont know if anything other than a poweredge server can take 8gb of ram, do you? 🙂
Click to expand...

Sign up for their Outlet email alerts. Every 6 weeks or so they send out codes. I got my Dell Mini 9 for around $250 fully loaded. I also got both 1720s for less than $1,000 combined.
 
Yup, sign up for their email alerts.

Also...
http://benscoupons.com/merchan...6/Dell-Outlet-Coupons/

As for systems that will run 8GB, there are plenty. Some Inspiron 530's (when ordered with a quad core cpu), Inspiron 518, Studio 540, and on the higher-end, the XPS 420, 630 and probably the 730.

You can run 16GB (4x4GB) in the Precision T3400, and the Studio 540. I haven't tested it, but the Optiplex 960 Mini-Tower will probably run 16GB as well. I'm still having trouble finding 4GB single modules for a decent price.
 
I swear by Dell refurbs. You have to watch the model and the timing though, because depending on the model you sometimes get as good a deal on new units with coupons; this is especially true of the consumer lines (Dimension, Inspriron, XPS). Also it really depends on the configuration.

On the other hand, with the business lines (Optiplex, Latitude, Precision) is where you can make out like a bandit. You can save some serious coin, *AND* you get the 3-year warranty standard.

From the Outlet I've bought the following over the years:

Dimension 3500 desktop. Several years ago, looked brand new; since sold.

5100cn color laser printer. This thing is a BEAST. 85 pounds, built-in duplexer (2-sided printing), 12-13 pages per minute in color, 25 pages per minute in black. Hands down beats the HP pieces of crap we have here at work. At the time it was a phenomenal deal, roughly half the cost of a new one (paid a little over $400, new price was about $900). When I got it the page counter showed that fewer than 200 pages had been printed on the unit. Still going strong. Love the damned thing.

Latitude E6400. Bought a month ago with a 15% coupon. P8600, 2GB RAM, 9-cell battery, backlit keyboard, 160GB hard drive, 1440x900 LED screen. After tax it ended up at $695 shipped, which is about half price. Again, looks brand spanking new. Since this model is brand new (only been out since September), now is the perfect time to buy one, since the unit can be at most 4 months old. No chance it's been languishing in inventory or was used heavily prior to your acquiring it. P.S. I dropped in a 4GB RAM kit and replaced the HD with an SSD and this machine is speedier than any desktop I have at work. Great screen, light, and 6-8 hour battery life. SexyBeast. 😉

XPS 630i. Just received 3 days ago. Q9550 CPU (2.83 Ghz, 12MB cache), 4GB RAM, 750GB hard drive, Vista Home Premium 64-bit, dual Radeon 4850 Crossfire. $1,100 shipped. I was looking to upgrade from my XPS 410 and am doing some things with SSDs, but didn't want to take the time to research and build an entire new unit from scratch, so this seemed like a good route. When I inquired on another board about a system build with similar specs, it was only going to be $50-100 cheaper, and I don't have to mess with the core build. Good starting point to then swap in components and tweak. The case itself is sleek and very well put together. Dell's getting better on the usability of their cases at the high end. System is very speedy, although I haven't done any tweaking yet. Put in an 8GB RAM kit from Newegg and last night replaced the 750 GB drive with a pair of Intel X25-M SSDs in RAID 0. Power off to desktop fully booted in under 30 seconds (and that includes 4-5 seconds pause at the RAID manager in case you want to enter). 750GB drive will become my data drive.

Enough blathering on my part. At any rate, I have never had any problem with units from the Dell Outlet. Same warranty as new systems and a 21-day return privilege. How can you go wrong?
 
Originally posted by: bamacre
Yup, sign up for their email alerts.

Also...
http://benscoupons.com/merchan...6/Dell-Outlet-Coupons/

As for systems that will run 8GB, there are plenty. Some Inspiron 530's (when ordered with a quad core cpu), Inspiron 518, Studio 540, and on the higher-end, the XPS 420, 630 and probably the 730.

You can run 16GB (4x4GB) in the Precision T3400, and the Studio 540. I haven't tested it, but the Optiplex 960 Mini-Tower will probably run 16GB as well. I'm still having trouble finding 4GB single modules for a decent price.
Click to expand...

awesome, thanks for the info. 🙂
 
I've bought two Inspiron 531 towers from the Outlet Store that were listed as Scratch and Dent. This was in November 2007 and they are still running fine. Still haven't found any scratches on them, their cases seem to be flawless.
 
Got (2) Dell towers from the Outlet store back in November of '06 - they're both still running great. 🙂 Pay attention though to their sales as they occasionally goof and have lower prices on their main site than thru the outlet.
 
scored a newer (Previously Ordered New) mini 9 for $303 from the outlet a few days ago: black, 16GB, 1.3MP cam, Windows XP, 802.11 card, 1GB mem. I just kept refreshing every 30 minutes to see if anything came up. i'm happy with it.
 
I bought a certified refurbished inspiron 600m (I think that's it) about 5 years ago. I gave it to my mom and it's still running great. I bought a scratch and dent inspiron e521 tower 1.5 years ago. I never could find the scratches, though I didn't look that hard. It runs very well.

But, you know what really annoys me about dell outlet? You can't search or sort by screen resolution. So, looking for a laptop wiht at least wxga+ is a major pain in the ass.
 
I just got my Inspiron 13 from the Dell Outlet, and it looks great. Got Windows 7 installed, and everything seems to be working fine. Nice way to save $150+, and at $550 the cheapest 13" laptop I could find.
 
Originally posted by: jEnus
Does anyone still have or know where I can get a dell outlet coupon?
Click to expand...

bamacre posted a link in this thread to a site that keeps up with the outlet coupons...you should probably check there 😉
 
Originally posted by: xSauronx
Originally posted by: jEnus
Does anyone still have or know where I can get a dell outlet coupon?
Click to expand...

bamacre posted a link in this thread to a site that keeps up with the outlet coupons...you should probably check there 😉
Click to expand...

Thank you - I missed his post.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top