 |
 |
This is a common industry practice and it is one of the downsides of taking the MSU purchasing department out of the procurement process for departmental and/or student computers. Students assume that MSU is acting in their best interest by offering direct "deals" from computer vendors when the reality is often that they could get a better deal from other sources. My sense is that the MSU purchasing department should require computer vendors to bid for the right to have their systems recommended by the MSU Computer Store. The risk of being locked out of the university for 12 months would quickly stop the practice of over-pricing products that are targeted at a less than fully informed student/faculty/staff audience. -----Original Message----- From: MSU Network Administrators Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter J Murray Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 11:19 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MSUNAG] dell education pricing vs home/small bus Hello I'm starting to look at prices for possible next year purchases, and I wonder if this is right. For example, I'm pricing out a laptop (Inspiron 700m). Configured exactly the same (including warranties and such): Cstore pricing through Dell link: $1619.90 Home: $1388 Small Business: $1212 Higher Education through Dell.com: $1593.64 The only difference between the laptops configured is the price (and perhaps one or two minor differences that you can't configure out of the quotes). I'm feeling slighted. How are people purchasing equipment these days (Through the computer store, etc)? Is there anything you can do as a purchaser in a department to get better pricing? $407 is a significant chunk of change for 1 piece of equipment.