Making the Purchase

As I told you last week, I planned to buy a laptop for my daughter for her high school graduation present.  Being who I am I have been researching all the models that fit my criteria at my local store.  The problem I ran into was that not all the details of each model were listed on line.  Some would say they have a DVD and CD burner while another would just say that it has a DVD burner.  I haven’t heard of having one without the other but then again, it doesn’t say it has the feature.  Maybe they make ones without CD burners and I just don’t know it.  I am going under the assumption that if it doesn’t list it as a feature, it is not on it.  Some said they had Bluetooth (again, what for?) and others don’t.  I don’t want to get to the store and have a salesman tell me a laptop has all these things and then come to find out it doesn’t.  Then certain ones promote specific graphic cards which I suppose are better while others don’t.  Some say they have cameras while others don’t mention it.  Don’t they all have cameras now?  I can’t assume that.  Were they the old batteries that ran down fast or the newer lithium-ion batteries?  Some said it and some didn’t.  I tried my method of listing them out on a piece of paper but it didn’t work.  They each listed different components they were bragging about which I assume were unique to their brand.  It was impossible to compare.  My frustration was at its peak.  I had spent hours each night trying to narrow down my choices and was back where I was a week ago.  Yesterday I took my wife and went into the store.  I asked to see the manager and told him what I wanted, my situation, and that I needed a salesman who knew what they were talking about.  I asked what gets returned the most.  He pointed them out and I took them off my list.  Then I started grilling the salesman.  It turns out; all of them do have cameras.  The graphics cards are virtually the same in each of the units.  They each have DVD/CD burners.  The processors are the same.  The batteries are all lithium-ion.  The screens are the same size.  They each had Bluetooth.  I narrowed in on one that was on the safe list when my wife said, “This one over here is red and has a red backlight for the keyboard.  That’s cool.  Then she can type when it’s dark.  We should get this one.”  There was just one problem.  It was one of the models the manager said was returned a lot.  So I asked the salivating salesman about the quality of the unit.  He said they sell so many of them that of course a few are going to be returned based on the sheer volume.  It’s just a percentage.  Overall he said it’s a good unit.  Then why did his boss tell me to stay away from it?  I reasoned with my wife but she agreed with the salesman and we were buying the warranty on it anyway.  I asked her 3 times and every time she voted for the red one.  I caved.  So now I am hoping I am in the percentage of happy customers who have bought this laptop.  It’s funny when you think about it.  After all my planning and hours reading reviews, the decision came down to a backlight and the color red.  I think I try too hard.