A Crisis of Options

I decided that everyone was right and when a laptop computer starts making such loud clattering noises that it wakes up the neighbors, it may be time to get something to replace it because it might not be around much longer. So I did all kinds of research and figured out that it would cost a lot more money to fix this thing than it's worth so then I looked into buying a new one and learned all about what I wanted and needed and who made what and had a good reputation and all that. The idea was of course that I wanted to get the most computer I could for the least money. That makes sense right?

This whole process though has been very frustrating for me. It's what I call a crisis of options. There are hundreds of companies out there that make laptop computers. Then for each company you've got several different models and then in each model there are tons of different configurations you can buy. It took me a while to figure out why the exact same model of computer had price ranges at the same store amounting to hundreds of dollars. So this was a lot to look at. I learned more about what I needed though and was able to narrow things down but still, I was faced with several hundred choices that met my basic criteria. How the hell does anyone make a decision about this stuff? It seems impossible and maybe throwing a dart at a board would be easier.

I was able to eliminate some brands because their service is rumored to be horrible or their machines break down a lot or are highly proprietary. That still left me with way too many choices. I then raised my standards a little bit and that eliminated more. I'm sure there are some choices I overlooked in all my elimination, especially if those choices weren't presented through the sites I was looking at which were Yahoo and Cnet, but I was able to narrow it down to three choices, then two, then finally one.

Now this is where I got thrown off track. I was still kind of hazy, I thought I was between two choices and I was going to go into the stores to try them out per one of the suggestions in the comments of my web log and I started talking to the guy and he suggested another model that seemed to have almost everything I wanted. Sure there were a couple of things that weren't perfectly what I wanted but the price was really good. I mean much cheaper than I was looking at before for similar things. So I jumped in and bought it right there.

That's not usually like me. On a big purchase like this I usually research the thing to death on the internet but maybe its coz I'm a girl or maybe he's just a great salesman but even though I didn't research prices on the internet to see if in fact I really was getting a great deal, Mr. Best Buy had me at hello and I jumped in with two feet.

When I got home though I didn't give the purchase a second thought. There was no rush to check alternative prices on the net for the same model. I was comfortable in my decision. Then I got a call from my bank. They said the security code on my credit card wasn't put in correctly for the transaction, they were calling in case it was a fraud attempt and said that they couldn't put the transaction through. The order was off and cancelled. Stick a fork in it, it's done!

At first I thought well, maybe I should just go back and order it again, but then I started to see it as an opportunity to do that research I failed to do before. So I started looking around and sure enough I could get the same model for $200 less online, especially since shipping was free and there were no sales taxes if I bought that way. Well gosh, color me stupid. I then looked more at the model and realized that the graphics processor probably wouldn't do what the guy in the store said it would. I read opinions from people who said they tried to play games like I would play and the computer ran them slow and couldn't handle them very well. Hmmm, well that just won't work for me, now will it.

So I went back to the original models I was contemplating before I was sidetracked at the store. Did more research and finally decided that the HP8430 sounded like a good computer for me. Small, light, good price, has all the hardware I need and I can play games on it. Cool beans. I found a good price on the internet, put in my info, ordered it before their cut off time of the day for shipment and life was good right? Apparently not.

See despite buying 3 laptops off the internet previously over the last few years, I didn't realize that buying a laptop on the internet was a more uncomfortable and stringent process than going through airport security with an I heart Al Queda t-shirt on. First I got a call that the order was on hold because they needed verbal verification. Okey fine. Everything good? Yes? Now the order will go out right? No! Next I get an email. The place needs me to fax or email from scans copies of my drivers license, the front and back of my credit card used, a form they wanted filled out and signed, a blood and urine sample and of course naming rights to my first born child should I ever have one.

I didn't even get that email till after their shipment cut off for the day so I figured well, I guess it'll be delayed by a day. I sent it all off, even the urine sample and figured okey, it'll go out the next day right? No! Apparently they refused to send it to my address. Wierd huh? I had to come up with a different address because they said that my addresss was too close to a commercial area. Have you ever heard such nonsense? So I guess they don't sell to businesses then. So I gave them a friend's address which obviously doesn't match the billing address so I'm confident they'll come back to me tommorow and give me more reasons why they can't sell me a product.

At this point I may or may not have a new computer by Monday. Good thing too because I'm not sure that this one I have now can make it that long based on the noises it's making and frankly, I'm pretty sure that hitting it every ten minutes really isn't an effective way to fix it.