Buying a laptop in the US

BlackIguana

Hello,

I'm travelling to the US soon and by coincidence, I also need a laptop.

Is there any reason NOT to take advantage of the cheaper prices (& currency advantages) of buying over there versus here.

I can't really think of any major ones but there is something nagging me saying that there might be something important I haven't thought of. I'm no IT boffin.

Thanks in advance.

ps - I'll be using the laptop for business and personal use, if that matters.

Tom Dunne

Warranty, warranty and warranty.

What happens if something goes wrong? What recourse do you have? Will you have to ship it back to the US, or can you get it fixed locally?

That's about the only thing to worry about.

majiktripp

If you happen to buy a Dell over there I think you can transfer the US warranty to an international one but you would need to look into it first...

cee_jay

majiktripp wrote:

If you happen to buy a Dell over there I think you can transfer the US warranty to an international one but you would need to look into it first...

Yup if its a Dell PC, you can transfer the US warranty on this site
Says it can take up to 48 hours - I have transferred a tag, and rang them straight away and it was fine.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

I was informed by a Dell rep that there are restrictions for non business customers. But sure, give Dell a ring and ask.

GuanYin

Don't bother with Dell. You can get a good HP or Acer for 3/4 the price of a Dell in the US.

I got a high end HP Pavillion for 600 dollars. The trick is to shop around.

The warrenties have an international repair option (usually via Fedex) if you can't transfer it.

Black Swan

If you buy Toshiba, the warranty is good anyplace in the world. No need to transfer anything. You can also extend the warranty up to an additional 3 years beyond the first year that comes with the machine.

If you consider buying a Toshiba, be sure to shop around. There are both retailers and wholesalers in the USA that have specials. I saved over $300 USD off Toshiba's online list price last February by buying from a large retailer within a 3 day window. And my rig is loaded with all the newest goodies.

rgiller

I'm in a similar situation to the OP and have two extra questions:

1) Would there be any problems with region locking of software? i.e. will Irish discs work on a US machine?

2) Are the internet connections compatible (cable and wireless)?

Sorry for the noobular nature of the questions. I want to make sure before I go ahead and spend €600...

Tom Dunne

rgiller wrote:

I'm in a similar situation to the OP and have two extra questions:

1) Would there be any problems with region locking of software? i.e. will Irish discs work on a US machine?

There's no such thing as "Irish discs" or "US discs". They all work to one standard - the operating system. The only time you will encounter this restriction is when using video DVDs. This of course, can be legally worked around.

rgiller wrote:

2) Are the internet connections compatible (cable and wireless)?

Again, network connections are network connections - they have no knowledge of what country you are in. A DSL connection is a DSL connection, same for wireless. The only minor thing you may encounter is that in the US they use channels 1-11 for Wifi, we use 1-13 (as far as I can remember). That's a minor matter that is again very easily overcome.

rgiller

Cheers Tom! Seems like if I can get one relatively cheaply over there, I may as well go for it.

Beelzebub

BestBuy had some good deals when I was over there about a month ago.
Check them out too.

Tom Dunne

On a related matter - watch out for these mail in rebates. The price you will see one the shelf is usually after rebate. Look for the small print for the actual price you will pay. You have to mail in a voucher to get money back. And you must have a US address to get the money.

I got caught by this a few times when buying gadgets.

Black Swan

tom dunne wrote:

On a related matter - watch out for these mail in rebates.

And make sure that you read ALL the fine print on the rebates before buying. Also the date of expiration for the rebate. Further, if you miss one tiny thing in the rebate requirements, more than likely you will miss out or get the run around.

dohouch

Got these links when I had a laptop problem. Couldn't believe the prices.
Acer Aspire AS3050-1150 NoteBook AMD Mobile Sempron 3500+ 14.1" Wide XGA 512MB 80GB 4200rpm DVD/CD-RW Combo ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 IGP - Retail $499.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115369

BlackIguana

Hello Lads,

Thanks for advice on this.

I bought a Toshiba Satellite 15.4 inch. With vista home premium. 2mb RAM and 160 gb harddrive. 1.83 ghz processer. For $849. That price is after a $200 mail in rebate. I got a friend over here (who has us address etc) to send that in.

Most expensive part was buying office package. I got office professional. $500 which I think is bloody expensive. I'm sure I could have got a better deal there but couldn't be done with the extra grief required. All the retail outlets (plus internet) seemed to have it at roughly the same price.

Toshiba 1 year warranty works internationally but you may have to cover shipping costs (probably do have to unless I can send it somewhere in the UK)...

Have to investigate changing it into a 3-year warranty & see how much it costs...

Thanks again. So far it's running like a dream.

Tom Dunne

BlackIguana wrote:

I bought a Toshiba Satellite 15.4 inch. With vista home premium. 2mb RAM and 160 gb harddrive. 1.83 ghz processer. For $849. That price is after a $200 mail in rebate. I got a friend over here (who has us address etc) to send that in.

:eek: Nice

maxitwist

ok, bit confused about the rebates, say if i wanted this laptop: http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?seg=HHO&poid=371266
and bought it online from that site, would i get it for $600 or would i have to add the $50 rebate on to it?

Tom Dunne

maxitwist wrote:

ok, bit confused about the rebates, say if i wanted this laptop: http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?seg=HHO&poid=371266
and bought it online from that site, would i get it for $600 or would i have to add the $50 rebate on to it?

Hmmm. That one seems to suggest there is no "mail in" part of the rebate, that you just pay the lower price.

I'd read the small print to be sure.