A discount for buying two laptops?

February 15, 2008 11:38 AM

I want a laptop. So does my wife. Is there anywhere I can get an especially good deal for two laptops?

We don't have any requirements in particular. I do web programming, and light gaming, and she does mostly web surfing and office-type stuff. I'd like to be able to run Linux on mine, but as far as I know nowadays, pretty much every laptop can do that. Ultra-portables would be a plus, but it's far from necessary.

Basically, we want two average new laptops for as cheap as possible. Is there anywhere we can get a "buy one get one half off" deal or something?

posted by Plutor to computers & internet (8 comments total)

Buying two really doesn't really qualify you for a traditional volume discount; "buy one get one half off" would be quite a deal. However...

You may be able to score with a local retailer by going straight up: "I'm interested in two laptops, but I want an incentive to buy from you. What's your best deal?" At the very least, you may wind up with free schwag -- printer, iPod shuffle, etc.

Depending on your situation, there's also the Apple education discount and a corporate discount for Apple business partners.
posted by diastematic at 11:49 AM on February 15, 2008

If your quick and have an Office Depot near you, you can get this deal
posted by Country Dick Montana at 12:04 PM on February 15, 2008

Visit dealcatcher.com for laptop deals. When people at work ask me I usually tell them to go with the Dell Vostro 1400 or 1500. The price in competative and so far they seem okay. You can upgrade to a better videocard for 99 dollars for the gaming machine. The integrated graphics are not going to do 3D for gaming.
posted by damn dirty ape at 12:12 PM on February 15, 2008

Keep an eye on Dell's refurb site. I got an absolutely killer deal on a Vostro 1400 laptop (which I love by the way) on refurb. FYI, the refurbs are meticulously reviewed before going out the door and are good as new, if not better (having been, well, refurbished and guaranteed to work right).

Note that the refurb stock changes constantly, so if you spot a killer deal, take it. I waited several days before just the right combo of hardware/price came up for me, and then I bought it immediately. That also means that if you don't see anything to your liking this moment, check back in a couple days (or even hours); it'll be completely refreshed.

PS - the Vostro 1400 would be an excellent choice: 14" screen makes for a good balance between portability and screen real estate, and you can get a beefy system for not a lot of dough. Plus they're very durable; they feature magnesium alloy cases and mylar screen keyboards. In fact, I dropped my Vostro from 4 feet onto the street (concrete) a few weeks back, right on the spine, and it's absolutely fine. Some of the paint chipped on the corner and there's the slightest scuff, but that's it. It even woke up from Standby without a hitch :)
posted by sprocket87 at 1:08 PM on February 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Previously (recently) about Linux, if nothing else because people mention a few to avoid for Linux. (I wonder if you could bring an Ubuntu LiveCD into the store before buying? *grin*)
posted by fogster at 1:10 PM on February 15, 2008

Oh! A caveat for buying two, actually: watch out for rebates. Every rebate I've ever sent in for has a "One per household" caveat.

Of course, if you have friends / family who aren't taking part in the deal, you can cheat that way... Just do it in two separate transactions. But just be careful you don't buy two at once and send them in as one, unless you're really sure that the rebate terms will allow it. (Which is unlikely.)
posted by fogster at 1:14 PM on February 15, 2008

The Asus eee pc is so cheap it's like getting two for one.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 6:52 PM on February 15, 2008

Sounds like a bust, to me. I've seen one-off deals a-plenty, but I was hoping there'd be some special "two-for-a-great-price" deals out there somewhere. I'm vaguely considering a Eee, but it's just a little bit too much on the uber-small side for me. Maybe if I drag my feet, the 9.7-inch nextgen Eee will be out.

Thanks, all.
posted by Plutor at 5:40 AM on February 16, 2008