Warm: Best Buy notebook deal on HP ZE4210 - $749.99 (after rebates) ## Deal is Dead ##

[MrFurious55]

wje listed the ze4210 as having a DVD and CD reader,

but the BestBuy Website says the item has a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive

HP says it's DVD only. Assuming HP and the previous posts are correct, do you think BestBuy will do anything about the mis-statement, besides shirk it off, if I present it to them?



Item Description

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: MrFurious55
wje listed the ze4210 as having a DVD and CD reader,

but the BestBuy Website says the item has a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive

HP says it's DVD only. Assuming HP and the previous posts are correct, do you think BestBuy will do anything about the mis-statement, besides shirk it off, if I present it to them?



Item Description

I don't think Best Buy will do anything for you. However, like everything else, your mileage may vary. At the time I was purchasing my 4210, the sales person printed out the specs for me. I saw the notation in regards to the DVD/CDRW drive combo and asked about it when the laptop was being taken over to the tech counter so it could be inspected and powered up. The lead of that department grabbed a copy of the printout, made some notes on it and was going to forward it to their corporate office. He indicated that they get their specs directly from HP - so, it looks like HP may have provided the wrong specs to Best Buy. But, I would try to bargain with them a bit because of this incorrect information.

Since this laptop isn't my main computer, I'm not affected by it not having the CDRW drive. However, for others, this could be a big issue. But, I'll use the printout myself this coming Friday when I head over to their store to pick up my $100 gift card. They'll give me some song and dance about prior sales not being included on the deal. However, I'll whip out the sheet with the incorrect specs on it and point out that they are dishing out the wrong specs. My guess is that I won't have any issues with getting the gift card.

On a semi-related note, my wife told me to "slow down" this evening in regards to my deal shopping. During the past month, I acquired: Sony STR-DA4ES receiver, Panasonic DVD-RV32K player, (2) Maxtor 120 GB drives, (1) Maxtor 80 GB drive, HP ZE4210 notebook, 15" Dayton DVC subwoofer and many other goodies. Now, I need to pay off my portion on the old Visa this month. - Fortunately, the notebook was purchased with cash.

 

[MrFurious55]

$100 GC?
Was that part of the promotion, or a compensation for the different drive?
I'm a lousy arguer, (unlike my wife) and I also purchased the notebook online as the store never even had them stocked.

In your opinion, who and how would be the best to moan to about all this?
Thanks for your time, by the way.

 

[MrFurious55]

I saw the earlier thread about the GC, nevermind that question. Sorry

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: MrFurious55
I saw the earlier thread about the GC, nevermind that question. Sorry

OK.

n your opinion, who and how would be the best to moan to about all this?

I think it would be best to just take the print-outs to the store. Given your situation where you purchased the notebook from BestBuy.com, you might have a harder time, though. In my experience, the Best Buy B&M stores will take liberty to distance themselves from their on-line counterpart. About 6 weeks back, I tried like crazy to get the B&M store to price match the on-line site with the Maxtor 120 GB drives. I even had the printed receipt, but the manager said they wouldn't do it. In my case, I purchased the notebook from the store, so there might be a *slight* advantage there. Then again, with each of these situations, your mileage really varies - and comes down to the attitude of the person you are dealing with. At times, they'll be really flexible - and others, they'll fight with you like crazy. But, I think spending 5 minutes of your time and trying to get the gift card if you can get your hands on the coupon would be well worth your time. If they allow you to get it - great. If not, you're only out 5 minutes of your time.

To solidify your case even more, head over to Best Buy and have the salesperson print the specs out for you out of their system. The specs there will also clearly state DVD/CDRW for the drive. I know that data is there because I physically saw those printed pages. Again, this will make your case stronger - having both the on-line printed information and the information printed from the store. Get your high-lighter out and mark the specs up a little before heading over to the store so they can clearly see what you're tying to point out for them.

I'm not sure when BB takes inventory. However, I have a feeling the time is quickly approaching given the fact that they were offering additional discounts on their clearance and open box merchandise this past weekend. Best Buy might be a bit more flexible with the inventory approaching and they might cave in on your request because the last thing they want is one more "open box" laptop in their system during the inventory.

Best of luck!

 

[sellthekids]

my receipt

ok, so i am still confused how you got to $799.00 from $999.00 with a 10% discount.

$999.00
*
.010
-----------
$99.90 ~ $100.00

that was the deal i got --> opened box = 10% off list price = $100. that dropped my original price from $999.99 to $899.99. then you take away rebates of $150 and $100. then add tax.

total = $724.24

no biggie - still an awsome deal, but it might help for others if you can explain how you got $200 off from $999.99 to arrive at your pre-rebate price of $799.99

btw - they had taken the 10% off signs down from sunday to monday when i went...but just ask the computer section manager and he will hook you up with the open box special. i did just that by saying, "is that box open? do i get 10% off for open box items? i will buy that laptop right now, if so. thanks." all you gotta do is ask.

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: sellthekids
my receipt

ok, so i am still confused how you got to $799.00 from $999.00 with a 10% discount.

$999.00
*
.010
-----------
$99.90 ~ $100.00

that was the deal i got --> opened box = 10% off list price = $100. that dropped my original price from $999.99 to $899.99. then you take away rebates of $150 and $100. then add tax.

total = $724.24

no biggie - still an awsome deal, but it might help for others if you can explain how you got $200 off from $999.99 to arrive at your pre-rebate price of $799.99

btw - they had taken the 10% off signs down from sunday to monday when i went...but just ask the computer section manager and he will hook you up with the open box special. i did just that by saying, "is that box open? do i get 10% off for open box items? i will buy that laptop right now, if so. thanks." all you gotta do is ask.

I think you're confusing the situation. If you read the original post that I made, I have some comments under the "brag and moan" section of my post. Best Buy always has 10% off their "open box" items. On Saturday when I purchaed the notebook computer, there were *additional* signs in the store stating: "Take an additional 10% open boxed and clearance merchandise. Through: 1/5/2003." I pointed this out to the salesperson after I spotted the open box HP notebook computer. The salesperson then wrote me up the over-ride ticket for $799.99 - taking the *additional* 10% discount into account.

If you had puchased your open boxed HP notebook computer on Sunday, you would have qualified for this additional discount. However, you purchased on Monday - after the additional 10% off incentive expired.

Hopefully, I'm making my scenario clear enough. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. However, if I were you, I'd take a copy of my receipt to the store and see if they'll give you an additional $100 back.

 

[sellthekids]

yeah, re-reading it with the guys at work, that was what they thought might have happened.

i went to BB on sunday (was 1st in the door) but the one by my house was all out of them. the one by my office had three on monday...so not driving that hour cost me a steep $100....ouch!

well, my wife still loves this laptop (it's for her business) so at least i look like a winner in that aspect ;-)

thanks for all the info!

 

[dew042]

Originally posted by: wje

Originally posted by: dew042
i would be careful folks: tonight at best buy we had three straight ze4210 with probelms out of the box.

make sure you get the free setup done so you know its okay before you go home

dew.

Could you elaborate on the issues? Hardware issues? Software issues?

"delayed write error" on startup and it won't restore. we had three bad ones, but one this morning was fine. just make sure to do the free setup and verify the issue isn't there. better safe than sorry.

dew.

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: MrFurious55
wje listed the ze4210 as having a DVD and CD reader,

but the BestBuy Website says the item has a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive

HP says it's DVD only. Assuming HP and the previous posts are correct, do you think BestBuy will do anything about the mis-statement, besides shirk it off, if I present it to them?



Item Description

As a follow-up to the DVD/CDRW listing, I stopped by Best Buy today to get another print-out of the specs. The specs that they printed for me didn't match the specs that were printed last Saturday before I purchased the laptop. Now, their in-store printout states that no CDRW drive is present, only a DVD player. However, the last time I checked their Web site, the CDRW notation was still there. Clearly, this notebook doesn't have a CDRW drive.

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: wje

Originally posted by: MrFurious55
wje listed the ze4210 as having a DVD and CD reader,

but the BestBuy Website says the item has a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive

HP says it's DVD only. Assuming HP and the previous posts are correct, do you think BestBuy will do anything about the mis-statement, besides shirk it off, if I present it to them?



Item Description

As a follow-up to the DVD/CDRW listing, I stopped by Best Buy today to get another print-out of the specs. The specs that they printed for me didn't match the specs that were printed last Saturday before I purchased the laptop. Now, their in-store printout states that no CDRW drive is present, only a DVD player. However, the last time I checked their Web site, the CDRW notation was still there. Clearly, this notebook doesn't have a CDRW drive.

It looks like Best Buy cleaned up their specs on this laptop. Now, the Web site only indicates that there is a DVD player provided with it, not a DVD/CDRW combo drive. They must have had a lot of returns from people who were thinking that they were going to get a DVD/CDRW combo drive.