Best time to buy a laptop?

[baseballjones]

Well, you COULD assume that the companies will lower their prices in a price war when demand is high... but by the same token, when demand ISN'T so high, many laptop companies might reduce their prices to increase demand for their product.

When the demand curve shifts to the left (a reduction in demand), both quantity and price decrease.  If a company decides to sell their product at a price above the value determined by the market, there will be a deadweight loss. 

You are correct, if the supplier decided to sell their product a price below the value determined by the market value, the quantity demanded by the consumer would increase.  But there would still be a deadweight loss experienced by the supplier, therefore it is not favorable to do so. 

Making the basic assumptions of course. 

 

First off I agree with your overall point (IBM's are not the be all end all of notebooks), but your economics lesson is a bit flawed.  You must remember that you are assuming perfect information.  OK so lets assume really good information, prices are still sticky in the Short Run.  There are a few other flaws with your reasoning, but I'm too tired to get into it.

Good arguement but flawed.

[MindTheGap76]

Since everyone is giving zpops hell over his support for IBMs, I'll back him up.  I work for Dell, they give me my paycheck every two weeks, and I'll still tell you to get an IBM.  While I don't have much experience with Toshiba's, Sony's, etc. I do know that IBMs are FAR superior to either Dell or HP/Compaq notebooks.  Internally, they are probably pretty comparable, but the build quality on the Dell's, HP's, and Compaq's just isn't there.

In this case, the saying that you get what you pay for is absolutely true.  The laptop industry is a highly competitive field - IBM could only charge more if their product warranted the extra cost.  Businesses are extremely bottom-line oriented, and yet IBM has (I believe) the #1 share in that market.  This is because companies have realized it is cheaper to pony up the extra cash for one IBM laptop than buy a cheaper Dell/HP product and have to pay for constant replacement/maintenance.

I would encourage you to consider your budget when spending, and decide whether you actually want the best laptop on the market or not.  If money is tight, or you don't care much about your computer, go ahead and purchase one of the cheaper competitors.  I'm not saying you're going to go wrong with this choice; however, that doesn't change the fact that IBM simply has the superior machines.  Trust me, I'm your local neighborhood computer geek.

[thinknpositive]

Well, you COULD assume that the companies will lower their prices in a price war when demand is high... but by the same token, when demand ISN'T so high, many laptop companies might reduce their prices to increase demand for their product.

When the demand curve shifts to the left (a reduction in demand), both quantity and price decrease.  If a company decides to sell their product at a price above the value determined by the market, there will be a deadweight loss. 

You are correct, if the supplier decided to sell their product a price below the value determined by the market value, the quantity demanded by the consumer would increase.  But there would still be a deadweight loss experienced by the supplier, therefore it is not favorable to do so. 

Making the basic assumptions of course. 

 

First off I agree with your overall point (IBM's are not the be all end all of notebooks), but your economics lesson is a bit flawed.  You must remember that you are assuming perfect information.  OK so lets assume really good information, prices are still sticky in the Short Run.  There are a few other flaws with your reasoning, but I'm too tired to get into it.

Good arguement but flawed.

Gee thanks.  I'm well aware of what assumptions I made.

[jacy85]

you know what's funny? whenever I check the price of a laptop through my school's (UG and grad) computer program with Dell/IBM/etc., I find that the supposed "discounted" price is more often than not MORE expensive than if I were to buy directly from Dell/IBM...

anyone else notice that?

I did notice that...my friend's going to UVA law in the Fall, and she just bought a Dell through the school, and her "discount" price was at least $500 more than the price I paid for my Dell laptop two months ago.  They're comparable computers, and her service plan is *slightly* better than mine, but I didn't think *slightly* was good enough to explain $500.

[sodashi]

I'm looking for a light laptop with at least a 14 inch screen...

My brother said not to buy a Dell laptop because everyone has problems with it after 2 years and he said his friend's dell melted on him... has anyone else had this unfortunate outcome with Dells?

[Sosua]

I like Toshiba because they paid me $500 dollars on a $1000 laptop with a supposedly defective disk drive (that I never once even tried).  Thank you class action lawsuits!

[baseballjones]

Well, you COULD assume that the companies will lower their prices in a price war when demand is high... but by the same token, when demand ISN'T so high, many laptop companies might reduce their prices to increase demand for their product.

When the demand curve shifts to the left (a reduction in demand), both quantity and price decrease.  If a company decides to sell their product at a price above the value determined by the market, there will be a deadweight loss. 

You are correct, if the supplier decided to sell their product a price below the value determined by the market value, the quantity demanded by the consumer would increase.  But there would still be a deadweight loss experienced by the supplier, therefore it is not favorable to do so. 

Making the basic assumptions of course. 

 

First off I agree with your overall point (IBM's are not the be all end all of notebooks), but your economics lesson is a bit flawed.  You must remember that you are assuming perfect information.  OK so lets assume really good information, prices are still sticky in the Short Run.  There are a few other flaws with your reasoning, but I'm too tired to get into it.

Good arguement but flawed.

Gee thanks.  I'm well aware of what assumptions I made.

Then why did you make an argument that didn't prove anything if you were aware of how limited your analysis was?  For example, you are assuming the company knows they will have a deadweight loss.  They will realize it only if they have perfect information or they will realize it after a significant lag to have good information.

You don't need to take a nasty tone.  If I'm misreading you then I apologize.

[Ginatio]

yes. my laptop for ug... originally i bought a dell inspiron something or other... and getting past the fact that it's a pretty cheaply made system (you can flex the case like cardboard), the thing melted after 3 days of use. apparently their batteries were defective and overheated the inside so everything fused together (basically reflowed all the soldered chips).

generally, i think their laptops are designed like *&^%. the laptop i had, for example, featured a fan on the opposite corner of the hard drive and processor, which generate the most heate in the laptop. these idiots had the fan cooling the modem, basically.

some people have told me the new dell m300 is pretty nice, but i get the impression all their other inspirons are still poor quality

I'm looking for a light laptop with at least a 14 inch screen...

My brother said not to buy a Dell laptop because everyone has problems with it after 2 years and he said his friend's dell melted on him... has anyone else had this unfortunate outcome with Dells?

[thinknpositive]

Well, you COULD assume that the companies will lower their prices in a price war when demand is high... but by the same token, when demand ISN'T so high, many laptop companies might reduce their prices to increase demand for their product.

When the demand curve shifts to the left (a reduction in demand), both quantity and price decrease.  If a company decides to sell their product at a price above the value determined by the market, there will be a deadweight loss. 

You are correct, if the supplier decided to sell their product a price below the value determined by the market value, the quantity demanded by the consumer would increase.  But there would still be a deadweight loss experienced by the supplier, therefore it is not favorable to do so. 

Making the basic assumptions of course. 

 

First off I agree with your overall point (IBM's are not the be all end all of notebooks), but your economics lesson is a bit flawed.  You must remember that you are assuming perfect information.  OK so lets assume really good information, prices are still sticky in the Short Run.  There are a few other flaws with your reasoning, but I'm too tired to get into it.

Good arguement but flawed.

Gee thanks.  I'm well aware of what assumptions I made.

Then why did you make an argument that didn't prove anything if you were aware of how limited your analysis was?  For example, you are assuming the company knows they will have a deadweight loss.  They will realize it only if they have perfect information or they will realize it after a significant lag to have good information.

You don't need to take a nasty tone.  If I'm misreading you then I apologize.

I'll drop it. I was tired/lazy.  My job sucks, I can't wait to quit. etc... still dwelling on my ex.  The list goes on and on. 

I do have a small dilemma though.  I am torn between getting an ultra-portable and a thin and light.  Any current law students or insightful pre-law students have any advice?  I can't decide if I want to make the obvious sacrfices and get an ultra-portable or go with a thin-and-light and deal with an extra pound or so. Also is battery life incredibly important?

[dsong02]

I do have a small dilemma though.  I am torn between getting an ultra-portable and a thin and light.  Any current law students or insightful pre-law students have any advice?  I can't decide if I want to make the obvious sacrfices and get an ultra-portable or go with a thin-and-light and deal with an extra pound or so. Also is battery life incredibly important?

im not a current law student but i play one on tv.

as for laptops, from what i hear from most 1Ls is that portability is key.  battery life is important too, but as long as the battery lasts longer than an hour, you should be fine because most of the areas where you will need the laptop will have plugs. 

i cant emphasize enough what ive been saying all along on laptops.

IBM

thats all you need to know.  theyre the best.  they last the longest.  they dont have overheating problems.  support is awesome.  top notch parts. 

go with the x40 or the x42.  light, thin, and portable.  plus, if you have to carry around extra batteries or a charger, then you will want something as light as possible.  i would not go with anything under 12" screen though...it makes it pretty tough to see if youre under that threshold.