Buying a PC can be like buying a car.
You can go to a dealership armed with information, make an offer, and spend the better part of an afternoon bargaining back and forth. Or, you can just accept the sticker price and expensive add-ons and drive away.
While I almost envy people in the latter group _ no one gets insulted, there's no back and forth _ it's just not me.
Only through years of hard shopping was I able to find a car salesman who will reliably give me the best-available deal and doesn't push pricey options. He calls me every two years to see how I'm doing, I tell him what color I want, and, counting drive time, I have the keys to the car I want within a couple hours.
It'd be great to find a similar computer vendor, but I, like most consumers, am stuck with the car dealership-like big box stores and confusing websites that peddle PCs. Here's a recent experience I had with Dell:
I chose to communicate with a sales agent by chat. I knew exactly what kind of computer I wanted and asked the salesman for the best deal he could give me. After some haggling and checking with his supervisor, he offered me 2 percent off, but only if he could call me. Against my better judgment, I gave him my number, and in a flash he had me on the line.
"I can only give you 2 percent off if you buy premium tech support, and I can give you that for $119 for two years," he said.
I knew from experience that Dell's basic support is worthless. The techs are not knowledgeable, and if there's a hardware failure, the PC has to be mailed in. I told him he had to sharpen his pencil.
"That's the best I can do," he replied.
Undaunted, I had chats with two other salesmen.
Same thing: 2 percent off, but only if he could call me. Each time, the salesman offered premium tech support for $119 for two years _ and two years of accidental coverage for another $58.
Finally, on the fourth try, I got the salesman I'd been looking for.
By the way, the call was placed one hour before the day's end of business. Given that car salesmen have quotas to fill, I've found that getting a deal on a car is more likely at the end of the month. With PCs, it's the end of the day.
"We have one model on sale for 15 percent off," he told me via chat.
"What's the catch?" I asked.
"No catch," he said. "I'll call you, if you wish."
He introduced himself and promptly gave me the bottom-line price, which was indeed 15 percent less than the online price. And then it started:
Basic support, which came with the computer, included only hardware support, no software support. Mail-in turnaround would be at least two weeks. Premium support offered 24/7 techs and onsite service for $69 a year, $119 for two years.
"But you really should get accidental coverage, too," he added, before attempting to sell me a computer mouse, a carrying case, an external backup drive and the Microsoft Office software package.
The old mud flaps and fancy wax job routine. Per usual, I didn't buy it. At least not totally.
Realizing that the add-ons are the only way Dell and the salesman make any money on selling the discounted computer, I agreed to two years of premium support. The salesman sighed and asked for my credit card.
"Shipping is free, right?" I asked.
"Right," he said, sighing again.
I buy at least one computer each year but only when I can get a major discount.
When Amazon offers a one-day discount, I have a list of things I need and take advantage. When Best Buy had an iPad Air on sale in a four-hour flash deal, I pounced. Each holiday season, Apple has a one-day discount on its products.
Still, I have lots to learn about shopping. My daughter and her friends subscribe to websites that offer myriads of deals, steep discounts on airfare in particular.
While I consider myself skilled, I'm not always a careful shopper and, from time to time, do wind up paying full freight.
But when my better judgment overrides my excitement over the latest device, I find comfort in knowing there's a salesman out there somewhere hungry to meet his quota. That's true whether you're dealing in cars or computers.
