Inventory problems at dell? arstechnica.com
Ars doesn't typically cover the online coupon phenomenon, but this little gem is too interesting to pass up. Coincidence or not, the hot topic in IRC today is not the new iBooks, but rather a Dell coupon that anyone can use to get a whopping $750 off certain Inspiron Laptops costing at least $1500. That's right. You can get a $1,500 laptop for half price.
The online-only coupon code first published by GotApex (ZD5$P0NS954P16) has worked throughout the day for almost all Inspiron laptops, but during the course of writing this story, the coupon code ceased working on a few models. Curiously, it still works on the thin 600m model, the XPS gaming model, and the 5160, when accessed through Dell Home. If you're in the market for a Dell laptop, now may be the time to get one. And by now, I mean as soon as humanly possible. I don't expect them to be valid for much longer.
Coupon codes such as these are usually used either for special deals for specific communities (say, a company scores a special deal with Dell), or as an "underground" way of clearing inventory. Since the code has been working all day, its safe to say that Dell is using it for inventory clearance. Otherwise, it makes little sense for them to have disabled the code only for certain product lines as opposed to them all. Additionally, GotApex was sent the code by Dell, so it's all on the up and up, as they say. |