<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I am trying to finalize on a laptop and after looking at the regular dell.com website and dell.com/kalamazoo, it seems the first is cheaper. Is that really possible? Why?</p>
<p>Also, is it possible that I'm not doing something right? I mean, how can that be possible?</p>
<p>I'm looking mainly at the Inspiron 14R, 15R and 17R laptops (and comparing between models and student discount vs regular). I want to spend about $550 - $650 on the laptop.</p>
<p>Any ideas?</p>
<p>The student discount might disqualify you for better discounts.</p>
<p>I remember a similar thing happening when I tried to use a 20% off coupon with Dell.</p>
<p>Never have I seen there be a student discount that was legitimately cheaper than what you can get elsewhere outside of Apple products.</p>
<p>Be carefull to look at the total cost of ownership (TCO), eg: post-purchase support, warranty. </p>
<p>In the Dell line, sometimes you can get the same configuration in a Vostro model and save a bit of money. See: [Dell</a> Vostro vs Inspiron](<a href=“Page Not Found (404) - CNET”>Page Not Found (404) - CNET)</p>
<p>Check with your school and see if they will provide on-site support for the model they recommended. This may factor into your decision.</p>
<p>If you or your parents are Costco members, look closely at the [deals</a> they have in store, not from web site which add on shipping](<a href=“http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?cat=56670&eCat=BC|84|56670&lang=en-US&whse=BC]deals”>http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?cat=56670&eCat=BC|84|56670&lang=en-US&whse=BC). When purchased with an American Express card, the warranty is often as good as 3 years (2 years from Costco + 1 year from Amex).</p>
<p>If you’re a Costco Executive member, you also get rebates of 2% on your purchases as well. Some Amex cards also have rebates amounts of about 1%.</p>
<p>Factor in taxes as well when before you make your final decision.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies! :)</p>
<p>Dell’s site for student discounts is DellUniversity.com, not the sites you tried. Go there for bigger discounts! For example, if you redeem the code F2JP12F17NX915 at this shortened link: <a href=“Computers, Monitors & Technology Solutions | Dell USA”>Computers, Monitors & Technology Solutions | Dell USA; , you’ll save $250 on certain systems!</p>
<p>Thanks! It looks like most of the prices are now same instead of higher. I’ll look at other laptops also.</p>