10.1. Tricks and Traps in Mail-Order Warranties
Reading mail-order warranties is an art in itself. A few tips:
Beware the deadly modifier "manufacturer's" on a warranty;
this means you have to go back to the equipment's original
manufacturer in case of problems and can't get satisfaction from the
mail-order house. Also, manufacturer's warranties run from the date
they ship; by the time the mail-order house
assembles and ships your system, it may have run out!
Watch for the equally deadly "We do not guarantee
compatibility". This gotcha on a component vendor's ad means you may
not be able to return, say, a video card that fails to work with your
motherboard.
Another dangerous phrase is "We reserve the right to substitute
equivalent items". This means that instead of getting the
high-quality name-brand parts advertised in the configuration you just
ordered, you may get those no-name parts from Upper Baluchistan
— theoretically equivalent according to the spec sheets, but
perhaps more likely to die the day after the warranty expires.
Substitution can be interpreted as "bait and switch", so most
vendors are scared of getting called on this. Very few will hold
their position if you press the matter.
Another red flag: "Only warranted in supported environments".
This may mean they won't honor a warranty on a non-DOS system at all,
or it may mean they'll insist on installing the Unix on disk
themselves.
One absolute show-stopper is the phrase "All sales are
final". This means you have no options if a
part doesn't work. Avoid any company with this policy.
10.2. Special Questions to Ask Mail-Order Vendors Before Buying
Does the vendor have the part or system presently in
stock? Mail order companies tend to run with very lean inventories;
if they don't have your item in stock, delivery may take longer.
Possibly much longer.
Does the vendor pay for shipping? What's the delivery
wait?
If you need to return your system, is there a
restocking fee? and will the vendor cover the return freight? Knowing
the restocking fee can be particularly important, as they make keep
you from getting real satisfaction on a bad major part. Avoid dealing
with anyone who quotes more than a 15% restocking fee — and it's
a good idea, if possible, to avoid any dealer who charges a restocking
fee at all.
Warranties are tricky. There are companies whose warranties are
invalidated by opening the case. Some of those companies sell
upgradeable systems, but only authorized service centers can do
upgrades without invalidating the warranty. Sometimes a system is
purchased with the warranty already invalidated. There are vendors
who buy minimal systems and upgrade them with cheap RAM and/or disk
drives. If the vendor is not an authorized service center, the
manufacturer's warranty is invalidated. The only recourse in case of
a problem is the vendor's warranty. So beware!
10.3. Payment Method
It's a good idea to pay with AmEx or Visa or MasterCard; that way you
can stop payment if you get a lemon, and may benefit from a
buyer-protection plan using the credit card company's clout (not all cards
offer buyer-protection plans, and some that do have restrictions which may
be applicable). However, watch for phrases like "Credit card
surcharges apply" or "All prices reflect 3% cash
discount" which mean you're going to get socked extra if you pay by
card.
Note that many credit-card companies have clauses in their
standard contracts forbidding such surcharges. You can (and should)
report such practices to your credit-card issuer. If you already paid
the surcharge, they will usually see to it that it is returned to you.
Credit-card companies will often stop dealing with businesses that
repeat such behavior.
10.4. Which Clone Vendors to Talk To
10.4.1. Some pans
Gateway: may also be a vendor to avoid.
Apparently their newer machines don't have parity bits in their
memories; memory is tested only on reboot. This is dubious design
even for DOS, and totally unacceptable for Unix.
10.4.2. Some picks
In early August 2001 I designed an `Ultimate Linux Box' with Gary
Sandine and John Pearson of Los Alamos
Computers; you can read all about it These
guys know what they are doing and are fun to work with. If you need a
high-end Linux workstation, or your laboratory needs a computer cluster,
talk with them.