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Purchasing from Europe
Hi all,
I would like to report on the purchasing experience from Europe.
I am a long-time linux user working in academia (Physics). My last laptop was a MacBook Pro 13'' (at the time, it was one of the few unix-based choices with SSD, good computing power, etc). Once I learned about Project Sputnik I found it very exciting, and decided that that would be my next laptop. So here is where the story begins.
Last Monday I place an order on the (German) Dell website, which for the developer's edition redirects you to the "company" order form. Fill everything in, including my company (in fact, University) name. Order is processed in a few hours, and the status is updated to "In Beiarbeitung", in progress, with expected delivery date in three weeks. A quick call to Dell customer care comforts me: the delivery should normally happen much earlier.
Four days later, I check on my order to find that it has been cancelled (no email notification whatsoever). After a long time on the phone(from one Dell department to another) I am told that the reason is that even if my credit card has approved the transaction, the billing address does not completely match the on the card, due to the extra line "University of...", which is automatically included when one purchases using the "company form". I place the same order once again, removing that line from the address.
Now the order is back to "in Progress", due on July 4th. In the meantime (presumably due to the new macbook air coming out, but that's my guess), Dell has lowered the price of the XPS13 dev.ed. on their website (on Thursday or Friday, if memory serves) and now completely removed the possibility of buying them online (at least in Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy). It should still be possible to buy them on the phone.
To recap, I am still quite confident that I will be happy with my XPS13, but I cannot help but wonder how many potential customers in Europe are put off by this purchasing process: it is lengthy, there is little certainty about prices and their fluctuations, and when something goes wrong there is little to no communication. This is particularly shocking if compared to how much more streamlined and fast is the process to buy e.g. a new MacBook Air, which is in many ways a direct competitor of the XPS13.
Hi kama4u,
that is good to hear. When I chatted (online) with a dell agent on Monday I was told that "they don't offer that model anymore". It appears that I talked with someone that was misinformed.
It appears that my XPS has been sent to UPS today, so you should expect to get yours in little less than two weeks from now, if everything works. It is actually quite weird that on the UPS website the laptop appears as
Shipped/Billed On: 20.06.2013
Delivered On: Tuesday, 27.12.2011 at 12:10
somewhere in Hamburg (mine should go to Berlin). That is, apparently UPS is so efficient that can deliver one and a half years before the package is given to them...
Hi alesfo,
today I just ordered an xps 13 dev.ed. directly from the german Dell shop.
It's still on their website, but without price and they ask to call for further info.
So I did and ask to send me an offer, I got it monday and order today.
To order I did talk personally on the phone and also ask when its planed to move the xps to haswell.
The answer was: "... in the end of this year."
I wonder if the new haswell chip will be such a pleasure. I heard that first production has an issue with USB when going to sleep and waking up while a stick is connected and file is opened.
Lower voltage, ok. Performance ~ + 5 %, hmm. Lower basic processor speed? Higher price!
I think I will be fine with the proofed quality of the existing i7. And wonder if I will get my xps13.
Hi alesfo,
this really sound a bit strange to me. So finally your xps is send and billed, but with inaccurate UPS date information. This agent on the chat was also not well informed. Seems like something is going on, maybe they like to modify the installed Ubuntu. I will report as my order is processed and delivered. Any way, it was very nice to read your reason to buy a xps 13 dev.ed. , because for me it's almost the same. I right now sell my MacBook Pro to buy this dell, because I hear about the project and like the idea a lot. But I'm actually new to Linux ....
DELL-Barton George
9 Technologist
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Posted June 20th, 2013 15:00
@kama4u, @alefso,
I just got back from vacation and it looks like there has been a glitch or two in various countries that caused some configs to drop from the sites. Im looking into to this to find more info.
Thanks for your support and your patience!
Hi Barton George,
thanks for diving in, hope your vacation was nice and restful.
I just receive the invoice with delivery date at or before 03.07.13.
Super, so looks like everything is working fine except the website.
So I'm excited to experience the new device with new OS... to me.
Hello to all,
I'm happy to report, that my xps 13 dev.edit. was delivered within short time and from first moment I was impressed by its build quality. Now after short time of use I also experience it's super performance and the joy to use it with Ubuntu. I'm still exploring the OS because it was new to me, but I'm absolutely happy with it. Great job Barton! You created with this combo one of the most nice devices at the market and I easily can let my MacBook Pro go.... without tears;)))!
Hi everyone,
I have received my XPS yesterday, which means that the whole order & delivery process has been a bit a bit slower (almost 4 weeks in total), e.g. compared to kama4u. This has to do with an unlucky combination of factors: a misunderstanding with the Dell financial department, a re-used tracking number from UPS, an error in reading the delivery address and finally me being away from home in the last few days.
Even if I understand that mine was a very particular set of circumstances, I imagine that the generic purchasing experience is still a far cry from "delivered in 24 hours" that some competitors boast. So perhaps there is room from improvement there.
Anyway, what matters in the end is the hard product i.e. the laptop itself, and I hope I will be able to report on that in the near future, after using my XPS for a while.
DELL-Barton George
9 Technologist
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537 Posts
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Posted July 5th, 2013 09:00
@alesfo Im sorry it took so long. Im interested in hearing what you think of the XPS 13 developer edition after youve had a chance to play with it for a bit.
alesfo
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Posted June 17th, 2013 01:00
Sorry to reply to myself, but I just got confirmation from Dell agents that Dell no longer sells the XPS13 dev. ed. (at least, in Germany and Italy). Did not yet manage to understand what is of my order (still "in progress").
They do not know whether anything else will replace it (but this is may be a question for Barton and the other devs).