Dell... respected by the common people, hated by the computer enthusiasts. I, unfortunately, don't fall into either computer category. I know a lot about computers, but don't use them to the extent where most of the stuff matters. I definately could not tell between a good motherboard and power supply as compared to a bad one. I do like to game, but not so much that I need to have EVERY top of the line part, such as memory, brand-name mobo's and brand name power supplies. I recently ordered a Dell (2 days ago), at an OUTSTANDING price. I was all set to go with IBUYPOWER.com, and at the last minute checked all the major vendor's deals to make sure I wasn't missing anything. See, I got $700 for my graduation present from my grandparents to go towards a computer monitor. I had planned on buying the Dell 18" Ultrasharp, even if I went with ibuypower. Anyways, I checked the Dell site one last time, and damn, they had $320 off that monitor. I was like wait... the means I have $320 more to spend towards something else? (My parents were paying for the thing and were looking to spend about 13-1500 on the whole unit, plus the $700 for monitor. Anyways, I configured a whole 8300 series and found that with... 4x dvd-rw drive, radeon 9800 PRO!, Audigy 2 (w/ free mp3 player, also used for 64meg storage), 512mb ram, 18 inch flat screen, and 2.8 (HT, 800 fsb), ALL FOR $2250 BUCKS including shipping. Now, picture this. Subtract the $700 from the grandparents... =1550... Subtract another $200 mail-in-rebate offered at the time = 1350! ... 1350 for all that stuff above?? CRAZY... Even ibuypower.com was nowhere NEAR that mark, even adding the additional monitor costs on both systems. Anyways, I haven't recieved my system yet, and have to wait a supposed 3 extra days for the monitor to ship, but I'll update on the shipping time and quality of parts.  
<UPDATE>  
Ordered Monday (Memorial Day), recieved Monday, a week later. Excellent service time and all parts included in good shape.

This review was modified by its author, dbombdarby, on 6/3/03 6:33 AM.

Bought a 21" monitor (Trinitron) for cheap money and with free-shipping. Ordered on Wednesday at noon and got it 2 days later.

Ordered on the 8th, like 10pm. The 9th came and the order had been shipped. Granted it was only a monitor but that was a lot quicker then I expected. The monitor arrived (ups screwed up and it took an extra day) in perfect shape and looks great. Got the DP2070SB-SK for $599.80 shipped to my door no tax. That was by far the best price you by over $80 to the nearest competitor.  
 
Will be doing buisiness again with Dell.

After I ordered the NEC 1560v 15" lcd monitor on the last day of one of Dell's specials for $242.74 after tax with free shipping, I remembered to check this site for feedback. I was a bit concerned to read all the negative comments, especially after I checked the status of the item and Dell's website said it was temporarily out of stock and the ESTIMATED shipping date was 5 days after I placed my order. This is in spite of Dell saying that the monitor "usually ships same day" when I ordered it. I was thinking that I was another person that was going to get the runaround. Thus I was pleasantly surprised to see the monitor on my porch two days after ordering. Dell did ship the same day as stated. Two thumbs up.

I was looking for the Canon Powershot S50 right when it came out all over online. Dell surprised me by turning out to be the cheapest one I could find, plus free shipping and no tax. I jumped on the offer and got the camera in less than a week. I was very satisfied.

Ordered Z-680 system. After a few snafus with shipping and such their customer service finally got things right.

This review was modified by its author, seeker010, on 5/10/03 10:19 PM.

Ordered a dell 1800fp from the small business divison, got it in 4 days, no dead pixels at all, couldnt be happier, it shipped 30mins after they accepted my card, highly recommended, and plan to do business with again

I ordered a Dell Axim X5 Handheld (Pocket PC) 400 MHZ around the time they were getting heavy orders for them. I guess I was one of the lucky one's - people were claiming 3, even 4 weeks turn-around time on these units - I got mine in 5 days. The unit arrived packaged safely and in working order. Over 2 months I've had it now, and been extremely satisfied.  
Tech support is another story. They sent me the wrong memory card with the unit, so I requested a different one. Very nice to deal with here (other than the 20 minute wait time) but you just tend to get frustrated with Dell. That's why I've gone with a smaller, more personalized comany for my next laptop - NEVER will I talk to an automated line or be on hold forever. (VoodooPC) Anyways, back to the Dell - Great unit, received the memory card after a month and the shipping company wanting $72.00 in freight on a 1oz. memory card. After the confusion wrapped up, I got the card, and have been extremely pleased with the unit. I do dread, however, having to talk to tech support for any reason, EVER.

Ordered a new 400mhz Axim with a wireless CF network adapter. Dell shipped it right away and it was in my hands within a week. Can't say all of my experiences with Dell were this nice but on this occasion they really came through.

I'm very pleased with my new Dell 8250 (2.53MHz, 120GB Hard drive, 4X DVD burner, etc) . While I expected a delay in shipping due to the ATI 9700 TX graphics card I ordered with the computer, the computer arrived four to six days earlier than I expected based on the estimate from Dell.  
 
I was able to follow my order online from prebuild to shipping.  
 
This is my fourth Dell computer (and I purchased one for my daughter. My first Dell was purchased in January 1986.

Dell built and shipped in a timely fashion. I have dell laptop from 1997 that still works today (runs slow though, but hey what do you expect from 6 year old technology?). My desktop Dimention P-III 350 MHz still works (over 3 years old). Great customer service, only had problem with a laptop cd-rom drive. Since it was under warranty I didn't have to pay for shipping or replacement cd-rom. But it was refurbished drive, hmm. Well it works, I don't mind. Only pet peeve is all the advertisement I get from them; mail, fax, email. They probably used all the profit from one computer to cover all that mailing and faxing, kind sad. I did tell them to stop sending but they still do, oh well, it's great reading material while you're waiting for the bus.

Wow, unbeatable price, unbelievable speed of delivery, and excellent build quality! I don't know how they can pull off a profit.  
3/31/2003: Order placed  
4/1/2003: System built  
4/2/2003: Order shipped  
4/4/2003: Order delivered.  
Way to go Dell!

Dell is emerging as one of my favorite retailers. They have had some great deals with stackable discounts and very few of the dreaded rebates.  
 
I got 2 sets of the Creative Labs Z-680 5.1 THX speakers for $248.50 apiece delivered overnight for free, a 38% discount off of retail.

I ordered the Logitech Z-680 speakers and a Samsung 48/24/48x CD-RW 16x DVD combo drive from Dell peripherals. Most of the time their prices aren't that great, but every once in a while they have awesome deals on certain items. I got both these items for far less than the cheapest reputable dealer listed on www.pricewatch.com.  
 
Soon after ordering I received a confirmation email and it was easy to activate the package tracking online. The orders took about 3-5 days for processing and arrived well packed shortly after. My credit card was not billed until the item shipped, as it should be.

Purchased the Sony DRU500A DVD burner. The item just came out so I expected the delays that occured. I would do business with them again.