Did I Make a Right Decision Geting a Surface Book 1st gen for $999?

• 

  smashed on 26/11/2017 - 20:52

  +1

  How long was it on demo for? Won't the battery be a decent way through its life expectancy already if it has been charged perpetually all this time?

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 26/11/2017 - 20:56

    for a few months atleast because i got my work surface book at previous work in april 2016 so i know they have been put for a while. still comes with 1year warrNty. looking at it, it is virtually brand new, i would be able to tell the difference so may be less.

    • 

      xuqi on 26/11/2017 - 23:07

      +1

      Download, install HWinfo64 and run it to check your battery life.\

      https://www.hwinfo.com/download.php

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  smuggler on 26/11/2017 - 21:11

  +2

  Yes. Good price

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  toristo on 26/11/2017 - 21:11

  +2

  Are you happy with it? Then yes, you made the right decision.

  If it was "too much" where would you have got it from cheaper with the same accessories/reliability/warranty/…? I'd guess even if you did get it a few bucks cheaper, you'd lose out somewhere else.

  Enjoy it for what it is. What's done is done.

• 

  dorothybloomfield on 26/11/2017 - 21:49

  +2

  I'd say you got a good deal … because you bought what you could see and touch, rather than something that would have been posted to you from God knows where. The best part is that you bought it from an Aussie supplier which means it has an Aussie MANUFACTURER'S warranty. If you had bought it from Amazon or wherever else online … you may have ended up with something that isn't from Australia, and doesn't have an Aussie warranty (whether it's an Apple or Samsung or whatever brand). Even though some companies (online) sell stuff that they claim HAS an Australian warranty … what they really mean is that the purchase is NOT covered by the MANUFACTURER … but by the seller … who will merely send it off to a repairman. YOUR purchase, in this case, fortunately, is covered by the manufacturer … NOT Harvey Norman.

  FYI … example … if you buy an iPhone from overseas, Apple, in Australia … will NOT cover the warranty. In fact, they will not even provide you with online support, etc.

  Honestly, I've heard some nightmare stories … the best advice I can give you, for big purchases, buy IN STORE … from a reputable seller.

  In your case, I'd say you got a good deal. It may have been a demo model, but it's not like it was at risk of falling to the ground. It was, most likely, secured to some demo area and simply sampled by customers. No biggie.

  You're good … good buy.

  I will say this though, Harvey Norman are good with price matching. If the other sellers that you found online were selling Australian stock … and they were a big, reputable seller … Harvey Normal would have price matched them (including shipping costs).

  I bought a Breville cake mixer with a RRP of $599 at Harvey Norman. I found it online at another Aussie retailer for $349. Harvey Normal matched the price.

  Anyway … good luck … enjoy your new purchase without fear.

  :)

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 26/11/2017 - 22:24

    yes true that. after buying the chuwis, and other chinese tablets. i was fedup of wasting money on crappy products looking through the paid review videos. playing around with the surface book for the evening and it feels great.

  • 

    Diji1 on 26/11/2017 - 22:42

    I'd say you got a good deal … because you bought what you could see and touch, rather than something that would have been posted to you from God knows where. The best part is that you bought it from an Aussie supplier which means it has an Aussie MANUFACTURER'S warranty. If you had bought it from Amazon or wherever else online … you may have ended up with something that isn't from Australia, and doesn't have an Aussie warranty (whether it's an Apple or Samsung or whatever brand). Even though some companies (online) sell stuff that they claim HAS an Australian warranty … what they really mean is that the purchase is NOT covered by the MANUFACTURER … but by the seller … who will merely send it off to a repairman. YOUR purchase, in this case, fortunately, is covered by the manufacturer … NOT Harvey Norman.

    If an item is sold in Australia it is covered by ACL making warranties both worthless and redundant.

    And it makes no sense to pay much more for local goods because you will pay more money than if you bought imported for less and replaced items if and when they require it.

    Spending more money is dumb.

    I will say this though, Harvey Norman are good with price matching. If the other sellers that you found online were selling Australian stock … and they were a big, reputable seller … Harvey Normal would have price matched them (including shipping costs).

    Seriously? HN good at price matching?

    …

    • 

      dorothybloomfield on 27/11/2017 - 00:16

      +1

      Not sure what you mean when you say,

      "If an item is sold in Australia it is covered by ACL making warranties both worthless and redundant."

      How does the ACL render warranties unnecessary and/or no longer needed? Are you suggesting that all warranties are worthless because the ACL has laws preceding them?

      And what has that got to do with what I said about warranties covering overseas purchases? There's no debate over the flimsiness of overseas warranties.

      As for Harvey Norman price matching. I can only go by my own experiences and they have price matched 4 items for me in the past. At one stage I spent half a day on the phone getting quotes for a television. I started out with a price of just of $7,000 … and negotiated a price, with HN for just under $4,000 … AND I got almost $700 in vouchers.

      Did the same for a camera … starting price was $1999 … shopped around, presented an emailed quote from an online retailer for less than $900 … and walked away with almost $200 worth of accessories to boot …

      And recently … bought an iPad for my daughter. They couldn't move much on the price, but I got 3 years extended warranty for 70% less and almost $300 worth of accessories (a keyboard, 2 covers, and speakers) for FREE. It may have had something to do with the end of financial year, but nevertheless … I thought it was their store policy to price match … ??

      HN is a franchise. I must say, not all franchisees are as accommodating.

      Also …

      I bought a Samsung phone from a large online store in Sydney. Within a week the screen turned yellow. I sent it back to them. After almost 2 weeks of emailing backwards and forwards from someone who clearly struggled with the English language, I was told that it was sent off for "repairs". I was told that I'd hear from them within a week to 10 days. Two weeks later I emailed again and was told that they'd look into it and get back to me. No response for yet another week. I emailed again, no answer for a further week and a half. I contacted OCBA and was instructed to write them a formal letter giving them 7 days to respond. They finally did … 1 day short of the 7 day deadline … and informed me that the phone was still being "repaired". I was so frustrated that I wrote them another email insisting they refund me or replace the phone. I sent them a quote from the ACCC's website to demonstrate their legal requirements …

      … the didn't reply for … yet another … 3 weeks!

      I finally got my phone … TEN WEEKS after I'd originally sent it in "under warranty".

      I then discovered, through online forums, etc … that they sent it BACK TO CHINA for "repair"!

      NEVER again!

      Just a word of warning … when buying anything from an online retailer … make sure that they have a contact number … rather than just a "ticket" system where you submit an email and wait for someone to email you back when they see fit … if at all!

    • 

      Quantumcat on 27/11/2017 - 08:35

      "And it makes no sense to pay much more for local goods because you will pay more money than if you bought imported for less and replaced items if and when they require it."

      You can do the maths though. If you are saving 10% buying overseas you are betting that there's going to be less than a 1/10 chance that it will develop problems within the ACL statutory warranty period. Going by forum posts about people trying to return phones to Gearbest etc this doesn't seem likely. Even if it is —- I would be happier personally going against the maths and knowing I won't have to deal with that headache, or lose all my data and have to shell out for a new phone.

      There's a reason people take out insurance - nearly every time they will end up spending more money in premiums than if they had just set up a savings account and paid for occasional medical things from there. Because it means they won't have to deal with the absolute nightmare of if they really needed the insurance and didn't have it. Same here - people may prefer to pay a little more and know they won't have to deal with that at all (buying new phone/losing data/dealing with sending away for repair and not hearing back for months). Although a few more people would opt for the no-insurance thing because having to buy a new phone is a bit less traumatic than needing surgery and having to go on a wait list or pay up tens (hundreds?) of thousands (like the butt fissure guy).

  • 

    eug on 27/11/2017 - 10:30

    +1

    The best part is that you bought it from an Aussie supplier which means it has an Aussie MANUFACTURER'S warranty.

    FWIW Microsoft's Surface warranty seems similar to iPhones - they may service a foreign one anyway. I bought a Surface 2 in Australia ages ago and brought it to the US where it started to crash constantly. I took it to a Microsoft Store, they had a look and said it's an international model so they can't replace it in-store, I have to call a number instead. I called the number, explained the problem, and they mailed out a replacement to my address in the US after confirming it's OK to send one with an American charger.

    YMMV of course.

• 

  gmail92 on 26/11/2017 - 22:16

  +2

  Enjoy it and don't look back ; no point looking back and wondering for the rest of your life what could have been.

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  Seraphin7 on 27/11/2017 - 08:56

  A bit late to be asking the question now isn't it?

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 27/11/2017 - 09:22

    Yeah was thinking of buyers remorse yesterday. Now all good, did a bit of sketching it is absolutely worth it. I also wanted hear opinions about pro vs book but never mind I am happy.

    • 

      jimbo jones on 18/12/2017 - 21:19

      what store was this?

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 18/12/2017 - 21:30

        hoppers