I was driving to an event in Upstate New York the other day and we passed Woodbury Commons. For the uninitiated, this is an area that boasts over 200 outlet stores. For those unfamiliar with the concept, an outlet store is where a manufacturer sells their product directly to the public without a middle man and often at reduced prices. Even major chains that already have brick-and-mortar stores have outlets — there’s a mall near my house where a few major shops off-load last season’s stuff via outlet stores.
Note "Premium" before outlets? It's cheap... for designer stuff.
While usually brick-and-mortar affairs, some computer manufacturers have embraced the outlet model and taken it to the web. One of the companies to do the best job at this is Dell. While I confess to not always being their biggest fan, I think the Dell Outlet offers some of the best deals if you time it right. What do I mean? If you follow them on Twitter, @DellOutlet offers great coupon codes.
When I built my Dell Inspiron Mini 10v Hackintosh, I used a coupon code from Dell’s Twitter feed to buy an open-box model for a flat $200, which is a good $90 off.
This is OSXdaily's Hackintosh, not mine. Click for a guide.
Dell’s not the only company with an outlet though. Lenovo’s outlet offers free shipping, and while a lot less active on social media, they do have a Twitter feed.
HP’s outlet doesn’t offer much in the way of savings over a third party like Newegg or Tiger Direct and Apple has something of an outlet of sorts with their special deals section, but I find that third parties give a better deal there too. Don’t let the refurbished tag on some of these laptops scare you. If done by the manufacturer and coming with the original warranty, it’s basically the same as new.
Just like real outlets, online outlets are hit-and-miss. For example, you’re not going to find Inspiron Mini 10v netbooks on Dell any more (you may have luck over the phone). Lenovo doesn’t have a single Thinkpad model in stock today, but that could change tomorrow. With some patience, outlets can be a good way to save money on new or like-new tech.
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