Dell Loses Battle over Misleading Customers

[HaZ]

If you have ever had to deal with the way Dell and Dell Financial Services handles financing, you probably already know where I am about to go with this.

Dell Loses Battle over Misleading Customers : Read more

 

[JonnyDough]

Dell has been misleading customers for years. I bought a Pentium III "gaming system" and it didn't even have an AGP slot. The spot where it should have been had the solder points but no plastic bracket to hold a card. Dell = sell you crap for as much as they can, and then back you with poor service in India.

 

[jhansonxi]

Selling a system with limited upgrade options isn't that uncommon, especially with business-class systems. While I would be surprised by a "gaming" system with only integrated video, the devil is in the specs and you need to be extra vigilant if you are going to be doing heavy gaming. If you are buying a "system" from a major vendor then you usually get a economy configuration with a warranty and tech support. If you want the best then you have to build it yourself but you are responsible for solving the technical problems.

Many of the Socket 370 era Dell systems used a modified board made by Intel with some parts removed to save costs. A more annoying problem was their tendency to use non-standard power supply connections which made upgrades impossible and replacements expensive. I don't think they do that any more.

 

[azxcvbnm321]

That's why I've always bought my systems from mom and pop stores. They've always been honest and I can customize my system AND pay less. There's no need to deal with a big company that will just put you on hold, if you have a problem with your mom and pop store purchase, you can just call them or go over there yourself and they'll handle things. Plus your system won't come loaded with advertising crap and run slow. Since vendors like Dell don't make their own components, there's no reason to buy from anyone but your local computer store.

Dell knows that most people who buy from them are not computer savvy. Otherwise they'd buy a customized system from a local store, I've never seen a lower price with a Dell computer vs. my local stores. So people who don't know anything about computers will buy from Dell and won't realize they're getting ripped off. Incredible that Jonnydough chose Dell, but I bet he's one of the few people who figured out that he didn't have an AGP slot. Most Dell customers would just start playing games and not understand why the games were running slow (or not even realize the slowness).

 

[JonnyDough]

Since then I've taught myself an incredible amount about PCs. I read tech sites on a daily basis. I am not the same dolt I was at the age of 20. That was nearly 10 years ago and I could be A+ certified now with a tiny bit of studying. It's just that after having an experience like that and becoming an educated consumer I can see how so many people are duped. All you have to do is go to any local store and find someone looking at buying a PC. They have no clue.