Best Retailer to Buy a Laptop from for Price Protection

John Kimble on 23/08/2023 - 11:12
Last edited 23/08/2023 - 11:13

Hello,

It's been a while since I've looked for a laptop, but I'm on the hunt for one, so hoping for some tips.

Long shot…perhaps a stupid question, but is there a retailer that is known to drop prices/have sales regularly?

If this cannot be determined who would you buy a laptop from for the best deal?

  • Direct with the manufacturer eg HP, Dell, Acer, Asus etc
  • Mainstream retailers, eg Bing Lee, HN, Officeworks, JB, TGG
  • Local PC stores like AUS PC Market, MSY, Umart etc

Who would have the most laptops on display to see/play around with?

Wanting to buy one ASAP, but then be able to claim price protection on my Coles Mastercard. It must be an Australian retailer and price must drop within two years.

TIA,
DJK

Electrical & Electronics Computer Laptop

Comments

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 23/08/2023 - 11:23
    +1

    Can’t do amazon? Otherwise I would go officeworks

    • John Kimble on 23/08/2023 - 11:26

      Yeah, Amazon Australia is fine.

      I would like to go in store to see it in person before buying though.

      Eg this Acer Aspire 7 seems like a good deal? But maybe too chunky or not great build quality from reading reviews…

      • BewareOfThe Dog on 23/08/2023 - 12:28

        Acer also tend to be the cheapest to replace, a damaged LCD screen. Anywhere between $150 to $300 usually, depending on the screen. Apple, HP and Lenovo are usually at least double that.

        • Jimothy Wongingtons on 23/08/2023 - 12:48

          cant say for present day but i sold my fair share of acer laptops and dekstops back in the day - seemed great value for money.

  • geekcohen on 23/08/2023 - 11:27
    +2

    Either direct from the Manufacturer or a retailer. I would go with either JB or Officeworks. It all depends on what you need to use the laptop for and your budget.

    It must be an Australian retailer and price must drop within two years.

    Most laptop models don't stick around for two years, so for it to drop, it is usually a clearance. I doubt there would be anything that is two years old sitting on the shelf, processors move a lot in that time. There is almost a new generation Intel CPU every 12 months.

    • John Kimble on 23/08/2023 - 11:31

      Most laptop models don't stick around for two years, so for it to drop, it is usually a clearance.

      Yeah, I was thinking that might be the case. Cheers

      It all depends on what you need to use the laptop for and your budget.

      Right now I am mainly needing it for Word processing, but wanted to try and get something OK to try a future proof as much as possible…budget around $1k.

      The Acer is apparently $1400 down to $900, which I thought was a good deal if RRP is real.

      Could even go a chromebook I guess, but my experience with the Lenovo Duet wasn't great.

      • rumblytangara on 23/08/2023 - 13:40
        +2

        "Future proofing" laptops doesn't really work. A decent spec laptop will simply break, be broken, or be lost before it becomes obsolete if all you're doing is light Word work. Unless the future involves suddenly branching out into video editing, scientific modelling or gaming.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/08/2023 - 11:33
    +1

    I'm also looking for a laptop atm - Lenovo is preferred and will probably get it direct from them

    • geekcohen on 23/08/2023 - 12:00

      Strongly against Lenovo lately. Had 3 laptops with WiFi card failures and 1 comply die. I would look at something else other than Lenovo.

      • Gdsamp on 23/08/2023 - 12:17
        +1

        direct from lenovo is pretty good, also doesn't cost much to add an onsite warranty to deal with such issues. even better if you can getem edu discount

        • geekcohen on 23/08/2023 - 12:37

          Direct or not, still not keen and I personally wouldn't recommend. Most of the time it has failed just out of Warranty, so yes, renewing it is fine, but still a pain to send it off and be without it for 1 week or so.

      • [Deactivated] on 23/08/2023 - 12:57

        My work thinkpad is indestructible & yet here you are trying to cast dispersions upon my previously no-brainer purchase choice.

        • rumblytangara on 23/08/2023 - 13:33

          There's nuance between just "Lenovo" and a more specific "Thinkpad".

          I'd place a fair bit of trust in X and T series. Have no experience with the P series. Would not regard E or Yoga series to be any different from any other random brand.

          3 year onsite, worldwide warranty is a nice touch.

          iirc, Thinkpad is the only Lenovo sub-brand that hasn't been tainted with various semi-malware/security dodginess. I have no faith in non-Thinkpad Lenovo laptops.

          • [Deactivated] on 23/08/2023 - 13:40

            @rumblytangara:

            There's nuance between just "Lenovo" and a more specific "Thinkpad".

            What ?

            • rumblytangara on 23/08/2023 - 13:42
              +1

              @[Deactivated]: Lenovo make loads of non-Thinkpad models. They bought Thinkpad off IBM over a decade ago, and have done a reasonable job of maintaining the line as not-shit.

              On the other hand, stuff like the Yogas or Ideapads are just standard generic laptops. Probably (but I haven't bothered checking) with standard 1 year warranties. Had one of the early Yoga machines, it was a huge POS. Have handled literally hundreds of X and T series Thinkpads, and have been generally happy with them.

              (I'd be interested if @geekcohen's laptop failures were Thinkpads, or other Lenovo sub-brands.)

              • [Deactivated] on 23/08/2023 - 14:24

                @rumblytangara: Well, yes - I thought you had responded to the wrong comment.

  • Gdsamp on 23/08/2023 - 12:16
    +2

    would you not rather get a laptop that best suits your use case and buy if/hwhen it goes on sale rather than worrying if it gets discounted at some point

    • foxmulder on 23/08/2023 - 13:35
      +2

      2 years later is a long time to worry about price drops. Better make sure what you buy at the present best price or wait a little for better price then buy.

      • John Kimble on 23/08/2023 - 13:53

        Yes and no, I've recovered a lot of money on items within 2 years! Not laptops though, just various items.

  • mrkorrupt on 23/08/2023 - 15:44

    centrecom auburn if you want to get intimate
    if it doesnt need to be same retailer, then harvey norman / jb hifi etc if your only interest is price protection
    if looking for a good laptop get a good one and who cares when it comes down

    • [Deactivated] on 23/08/2023 - 16:30

      centrecom auburn if you want to get intimate

      Explain

      • mrkorrupt on 24/08/2023 - 20:14

        They laptop's out to touch and feel

        • [Deactivated] on 24/08/2023 - 20:42

          lol - so do the other retailers

          • John Kimble on 24/08/2023 - 21:06

            @[Deactivated]: I went to Bing Lee and OW and their laptops were kind of locked down to the table with these weird oblong bars around the screens, so you couldn't pick them up to get a could feel of the weight etc

            JB and HN were just on the tables (with the security cables attached).

            • [Deactivated] on 24/08/2023 - 21:11
              +1

              @John Kimble: Oh, I thought they were tethered so you cannot do a runner with it but not unpickapable.

              I always take note of how much the work laptop weighs & short-list ones that are lighter.

  • MeesusEff on 23/08/2023 - 16:06
    +1

    I always prefer to get from Amazon for PP as there will usually be someone selling it later on. Otherwise Officeworks since they do their thing to undercut prices. But you gotta watch out for their clearance otherwise it won't be listed anymore

  • John Kimble on 20/11/2023 - 00:44

    Just claimed price protection on the below, bought for $998, is now $798

    https://www.harveynorman.com.au/lenovo-yoga-slim-7-pro-evo-1…

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