Shopping for buy on a laptop

May 17, 2008 | By valmg |

I sold computers and computer products for more than ten years ago. I changed fields because I didn’t like the stress associated with sales. I find that my friends who aren’t computer savvy ask me what I think about what they’re buying before they purchase. I know a couple of people who just outright ask me what should I buy. Geri, one of the women I work with is one of those people. She wants to buy a laptop, but she doesn’t have a lot of money. She , like me, is not a fan of salespeople. Turns out she’s been oversold before. I told her I’d try to find her a good deal.

I found something in a circular in the newspaper last week for her to look at but when she got there it turned out to be one of those limited quantity bait and switch deals. Geri’s always on the go so she told me she’d like to make this purchase online from someone reputable, rather than keep having to go to the store to look for something that probably wouldn’t be there. I’m pleased to say today I found something that exactly fits her needs.

Geri doesn’t have a lot of money to spend. She juggles work and family and just bought a house in Florida. While she’s in Florida she wants to be able to use a computer for email to keep in touch with her family, as well as shopping and surfing the internet while she’s there. She’s told me a number of times that she’s got a Gateway at home and trusts the name. I set off on my mission this morning prepared to go to a number of websites including Buy.com, some manufacturers websites, a couple of deal sites and a couple of my old competitors sites.

When I got to this laptop listed in the weekly deals at Buy.com, I knew I’d found a model Geri needed to consider. First of all, it’s a Gateway, which I know she likes. It’s a Gateway T1616 notebook and it’s under 6 pounds, so it isn’t too heavy. The screen is a 14″ widescreen, which is esactly what she wants. It’s got a built in modem and built in wifi, as well as a built in videocam, so she’ll not only be able to email her family back here in Jersey but she’ll also be able to see them on the videocam. There’s a built in memory card reader that accomodates 5 types of media, so she’ll be able to upload pictures she takes to the 160gb hard drive for storage and to share with her family online. It’s got 1gb of memory which should be enough for surfing and emailing, but if she needs more it can be upgraded to up to 4gb of memory. She can even relax and watch a movie on the built in dvd player.

I phoned Geri a short while ago and we went online and went over the details of the laptop. When I told her I found it on Buy.com she said she’d heard of Buy.com but never shopped on it. She was amazed when she learned that the laptop was only $499. She couldn’t believe I’d found a laptop so affordable in stock. I did suggest that she pick up the Targus Notebook Optical Wireless Mouse that’s in the weekly deals for $10, as I thought she would like it better than the touchpad, as well as a Samsonite computer backpack to carry the laptop. She was thrilled when she got to the checkout screen and realized that everything would be shipped for free. Before we hung up Geri said she was bookmarking the site and would be checking there next time she was looking for a deal on something.

Another great deal found and problem solved thanks to Buy.com.