I like to save money on a new PC as much as the next guy, but I’m not crazy at the strategy taken by many direct sellers these days–the one that involves there always being multiple sales and “instant rebates” and special offers and upgrade deals designed to get you to Buy Now! I’d much rather than pricing was less of a game and more of a straightforward transaction in which computer companies simply set reasonable everyday prices for their wares.

But even by normal standards, this offer from Dell that just arrived in my inbox is kinda silly. See if you can spot the absurdity:

Yup–Dell is trying to lure me to plunk down my money with a Special Offer of $4 off. Which, if you ask me, shouldn’t be dignified with an exclamation point. Even though it reflects just how cheap netbooks and other laptops have gotten: Back in the days when garden-variety notebooks went for $1500 and up, there wasn’t a soul on the planet who would have been tempted by a discount of four bucks. For a $400 machine, though, maybe such a price cut willl seal the deal in some cases–Dell obviously thinks so.

I wanted to do the math on what sort of discount $4 is percentage-wise, but it’s impossible: I don’t know whether to use the $503 price or the $399 one. Come to think of it, I  also can’t quite tell if the $4 discount is part of the $104 “Instant Savings,” or is in addition to it.

Which brings me back to my initial gripe here. Please, Dell…and everyone else who plays this game…just tell us how much the freakin’ computer costs?

 
4 Comments


Read more: Dell, PCs, Shopping