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Please, when posting a link to a laptop listing, make sure to include the price at time of posting. It helps.
Requesting help with a purchase? Please post here: https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=135662.msg2794782#msg2794782

Dell:
Precision - Very powerful desktop replacements - great warranty, ridiculously expensive - Usually overpriced or overkill

Latitude - Good Laptops - Great warranty! Highly recommended for any Business environment - Sometimes expensive.

Vostro  - Lower end Business Machines - Better Priced - still durable - Usually 1 Year warranty.

XPS - The nicer looking dell machines, Some are better than others...

Inspiron - YMMV Every model is different

(Plain) Insprion Series - Dells lowest end laptop
(R) Insprion Series - Perfect Home use, dependable, decent build quality, recommended
(Z) Insprion Series - A little slimmer than the R series, Some are Ultrabooks (Very often don't include Optical Drives)

HP:

Spectre - Top of the line personal (dragonfly is the top of the line for business) - lightest laptops, and beautiful!

Pavilion - YMMV (Some better than others)

Probook - Stable durable business systems - Usually a little on the heavy side.

Elitebook - Business Higher end systems, usually pretty expensive

ENVY - Used to be the HP sleek and nicer systems, they pretty much replaced most of the standard pavilions now and call them either ENVY or sleekbooks

Sleekbook - like it sounds slimmer line of laptops

Lenovo:

Thinkpad Series - Very Dependable Business Machine, Expensive (Not Pretty but Durable)

IdeaPad Series -

S Series
U Series - Usually the slimmer line Ultrabooks, Doesn't always include DVD Drive
Y Series - Nice machines with good specs and features (Cool Backlit Keyboards)
Z Series - Step up from the G Series, all around decent build, priced nicely, great home use laptop
G Series - Lower end

Samsung:

Series 3
Series 5
Series 7
Series 9 - The nicest, sleekest looking laptops I've seen in a long time - Can pass for a Macbook!!


HT: Dh Data Recovery & Name Changed


A great post by caliheat:
I believe that there are many factors when deciding what laptop to purchase.
1) What is your intended use and necessary features. e.g. light use vs. heavy use & optical drive, computer speed etc.
2) As mentioned several times in this thread, RAM itself is very easy to upgrade after you purchase.
3) Brand - IMHO this is pretty important as well - which do your prefer vs. which brand do people recommend.
4) Price - you should decide a price range that best suits your needs.
5) Operating System - Many people like myself prefer Windows 7 vs. 8.1, so this would be another consideration.
6) Warranty - does it include 1 year or more, cost for extending warranty.
7) Detailed Specs:
  Processor  - model and speed i3, i5, & i7 2.0 Ghz, 3.0 Ghz etc.
  RAM - This IMHO should be minimum 8GB, especially if running 8.1, however can be added easily.
  Hard Drive - SATA vs. SSD, the latter being much faster. SATA itself offers 5400 RPM vs. 7200 RPM again, the latter being faster.
  Screen Size - this is a personal preference as you can always attach a larger screen in an office setting.
  Battery & Weight - overall laptop weight preference & battery life.
  Graphics - Integrated graphics vs. dedicated graphics, e.g. Intel 4400 vs. Nvidia GTX etc.

In summary, you have to decide what are you priorities, what can be upgraded and what you are flexible on.



Excellent article about the differences between the Intel processor suffixes.

Excellent "Laptop Buying Guide" by @dailykasha, written for Black Friday 2021, updated for holidays 2023

Author Topic: Laptop Deals Master Thread  (Read 3288976 times)

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14420 on: February 07, 2024, 12:21:32 PM »
Wow, thanks for the detailed post! @mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14421 on: February 07, 2024, 02:35:10 PM »
Sure, maybe, but not today. Be more specific: touch matters or is a bonus? 2-in-1? minimum and maximum screen size? Does battery life matter? Pay extra for better build?

I would love touch, 2 in 1, and 13-14 inch range with decent battery. I would even pay extra for better build. Thanks in advance!
“Never underestimate the power of…stupidity”
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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14422 on: February 08, 2024, 03:07:58 AM »

I had written $800 as the lowest you could get a gram, but I think you're right the 17 doesn't really go below $1k


https://www.buydig.com/shop/product/LG17ZB90RKAAB6U1/LG-gram-17ZB90R-17-Lightweight-Laptop-Intel-i5-1340P-16GB-RAM512GB-SSD-Black
$800

i7 version for $50 amazon 3rd party https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6RVPHGG

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14423 on: February 08, 2024, 04:46:50 AM »
I would love touch, 2 in 1, and 13-14 inch range with decent battery. I would even pay extra for better build. Thanks in advance!
Oh, a waste you weren't more specific in your first post... this was $700 yesterday.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-galaxy-book2-pro-360-2-in-1-13-3-amoled-touch-screen-laptop-intel-12th-gen-evo-core-i7-16gb-ddr5-memory-512-gb-ssd-silver/6501579
I'll try to take a look around and post later.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14424 on: February 08, 2024, 11:50:06 AM »
Oh, a waste you weren't more specific in your first post... this was $700 yesterday.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-galaxy-book2-pro-360-2-in-1-13-3-amoled-touch-screen-laptop-intel-12th-gen-evo-core-i7-16gb-ddr5-memory-512-gb-ssd-silver/6501579
I'll try to take a look around and post later.
Thanks! I forgot to mention that I have some Amex Business Platinum cards and would be best to purchase at Dell.
“Never underestimate the power of…stupidity”
- Robert Heinlein

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14425 on: February 08, 2024, 12:52:49 PM »
I would love touch, 2 in 1, and 13-14 inch range with decent battery. I would even pay extra for better build. Thanks in advance!
There are a lot of choices - so I tried to eliminate and simplify. Hope that's okay.

Right now my budget portables for those who like well-built and battery life are:
14" https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/ConfigureView?langId=-1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&catEntryId=3074457345620970818&urlLangId=&quantity=1&color=natural%20silver
13" https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-pavilion-aero-laptop-13-be2047nr#techSpecs

If you want a 2-in-1, your budget option would be 14" https://www.costco.com/lenovo-flex-5-14%22-touchscreen-2-in-1-laptop----amd-ryzen-7-7730u---1200p---windows-11.product.4000138521.html

This is a far better computer but is only touch, not 2-in-1 (14.5"): https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-zenbook-14x-14-5-2-8k-oled-touch-laptop-intel-evo-platform-i7-13700h-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-inkwell-gray/6543526.p?skuId=6543526

If you like to live on the cutting edge, this has a Core Ultra 7 and more space, and weighs less, also touch but only 14" - https://www.costco.com/acer-swift-go-14%e2%80%9d-touchscreen-laptop-intel-evo-edition-powered-by-intel-core-ultra-7-processor-155h---lcd-1920-x-1200---windows-11.product.4000237600.html

Lastly, the only decent 13" 2-in-1 is this: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-6-2-in-1-13-3-wuxga-1920-x-1200-touch-laptop-ryzen-7-7730u-with-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-dark-teal/6533952.p?skuId=6533952
Or this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1754665-REG/hp_7p3c5ut_aba_13_3_probook_x360_435.html/specs
Or this really old model, so you take a huge cut on power that you don't need, but it is close to half the weight (it is called detachable, dunno): https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1780711-REG/dell_8j6mg_13_latitude_7320_detachable.html/specs

Hope this helps - have to run, so won't be answering questions until maybe Sunday, and all the prices might change. These are all great computers IMHO - even the cheap ones, though not sure about that last one - and you can't go wrong from this list (except that last one) unless sales end.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14426 on: February 08, 2024, 01:00:13 PM »
@DaasTora (In case you aren't actively waiting for me to respond - I don't want the deals to expire)
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14427 on: February 08, 2024, 02:04:52 PM »
There are a lot of choices - so I tried to eliminate and simplify. Hope that's okay.

Right now my budget portables for those who like well-built and battery life are:
14" https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/ConfigureView?langId=-1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&catEntryId=3074457345620970818&urlLangId=&quantity=1&color=natural%20silver
13" https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-pavilion-aero-laptop-13-be2047nr#techSpecs

If you want a 2-in-1, your budget option would be 14" https://www.costco.com/lenovo-flex-5-14%22-touchscreen-2-in-1-laptop----amd-ryzen-7-7730u---1200p---windows-11.product.4000138521.html

This is a far better computer but is only touch, not 2-in-1 (14.5"): https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-zenbook-14x-14-5-2-8k-oled-touch-laptop-intel-evo-platform-i7-13700h-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-inkwell-gray/6543526.p?skuId=6543526

If you like to live on the cutting edge, this has a Core Ultra 7 and more space, and weighs less, also touch but only 14" - https://www.costco.com/acer-swift-go-14%e2%80%9d-touchscreen-laptop-intel-evo-edition-powered-by-intel-core-ultra-7-processor-155h---lcd-1920-x-1200---windows-11.product.4000237600.html

Lastly, the only decent 13" 2-in-1 is this: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-6-2-in-1-13-3-wuxga-1920-x-1200-touch-laptop-ryzen-7-7730u-with-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-dark-teal/6533952.p?skuId=6533952
Or this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1754665-REG/hp_7p3c5ut_aba_13_3_probook_x360_435.html/specs
Or this really old model, so you take a huge cut on power that you don't need, but it is close to half the weight (it is called detachable, dunno): https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1780711-REG/dell_8j6mg_13_latitude_7320_detachable.html/specs

Hope this helps - have to run, so won't be answering questions until maybe Sunday, and all the prices might change. These are all great computers IMHO - even the cheap ones, though not sure about that last one - and you can't go wrong from this list (except that last one) unless sales end.
Thank you so much for the detailed post! I really appreciate it!
“Never underestimate the power of…stupidity”
- Robert Heinlein

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14428 on: February 08, 2024, 02:43:00 PM »


Please include prices, helps with keeping track of deals.  :)

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14429 on: February 08, 2024, 02:59:54 PM »
Please include prices, helps with keeping track of deals.  :)
Was in a hurry.
Long list I can copy/paste. Pick out the above options if you dare.
539   A: Pav14Plus   7540U 16/512
580   A: PavAero 13   7535U 16/256
600   B: VBk 14 2050   13500H 8/512 RTX 2050 320lbs
615   A: Flex 5 14   7730U 16/512 341lbs
672   A: Probook 445 G10 14"   7530U 8(upg)/256(upg) $70-3yrs
700   A: Insp 14 2-in-1 7xxx   1355U 16/TB 348lbs
700   A: ZBk 14X OLED TCH   13700H 16/512 Evo 348lbs
700   A: Insp 14 2-in-1 7xxx   1355U 16/TB 348lbs
715   A: Pav14Plus OLED   7840U 16/TB OLED 319lbs
750   A/B: Pav14Plus 2050   1355U 16/256 OLED RTX 2050
770   A/B: Pav14Plus 780M   7840U 16/512 OLED
789   A: Prestige 14 Evo   1280P 32/TB 360lbs
799   A: Slim 7 14 Touch   136oP 16/TB 313lbs
799   A: XPS 13   1250U 16/512 259lbs
800   A: Swift Go 14   1335U 16/512 287lbs
803   A: Probook 445 G10 14"   7730U 8(upg)/256(upg) $70-3yrs
810   A: Envy x360 14   1355U 16/512
815   A: Slim 7 14 Touch   1360P 16/TB 304lbs
850   B: Asp5 14 2050   1335U 16/512 2050 346lbs
865   A: Swift Go 14 tch EvoEd   155H 16/TB 291lbs TOUCH
866   A: Ebk 630 13" tch   1335U 8(upg)/256
899   B: VBk S15 A350M   13900H 16/TB A350M (4GB) 375lbs
900   A: Insp 14 2-in-1 7xxx   7730U 16/TB 348lbs
900   A: Yoga 6 13    7730U 16/512 3lbs
900   A: Yoga 7i 14 Evo   1335U 16/512 342lbs
940   A: Z13   6650U 16/256 263lbs
950   A: Pav14Plus Arc   125H 16/512 OLED: $50 / 155H: $1180 (with OLED)
950   A: Swift Go 14 tch   155H 16/TB 291lbs TOUCH
950   B: GalaxyBk3 156 A350M   1360P 16/512 A350M (4GB) 353lbs
950   A: Swift Go 14 tch   13700H 16/512 276lbs
970   A: PBk x360 13 G10   7530U 16/256 319lbs
990   A: T14 G3 AMD Tch   6650U 16/256 291lbs
997   A: Gram SS 156 OLED   1360P 16/512 ONLY C 218lbs
999   A: Slim 7 14 Touch   1360P 16/512 317lbs tch
1000   A: ZBk Flip 14 Evo   1340P 16/512 331lbs
1023   A: Latd 13 2-in-1 OLD   1180G7 16/256 ONLY C 1.7lbs
1050   A: Prestige 13 Evo   125H 16/512 OLED 228lbs
1069   A: T14 G3 AMD Tch   6850U 16/512 291lbs
1099   A: XPS 13 Plus   1360P 16/512 271lbs tch
1100   A: Dragonfly Pro 14   7736U 16/512
1100   A: Spectre 135   1355U 16/TB 3lbs
1100   A: Yoga 9i 14 OLED Evo   1360P 16/512 309lbs
1249   A: Dragonfly 135 tch   1335U 16/512
1297   B: Gram 17 3050   1360P 16/TB 3050 4GB 320lbs
1300   A: Prestige 13 Evo   155H 32/TB OLED WF7 218lbs
1350   B: SwX 145 OLED 4050   13700H 16/TB 4050 6GB 342lbs
1400   B: VBk Pro 156 4060   7940HS 32/TB 4060 397lbs
1497   B: Gram 16 3050(4)   1360P 32/2TB 3050 (4GB) 286lbs
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14430 on: February 11, 2024, 05:40:42 AM »
Please use this template when asking for laptop purchase help:
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=135662.msg2794782#msg2794782
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14431 on: February 11, 2024, 07:26:25 AM »
TUF Gaming 15.6", i7-12700H and RTX 4070, back at $1000 ($20 shipped) at Micro Center.
https://www.microcenter.com/product/676228/asus-tuf-156-fx507zi-f15i74070-gaming-laptop-computer-mecha-grey
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14432 on: February 11, 2024, 09:10:17 AM »
Please use this template when asking for laptop purchase help:
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=135662.msg2794782#msg2794782
maybe add this to the wiki

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14433 on: February 11, 2024, 03:16:57 PM »
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVDNQYXL
HP Pavilion Plus 14 inch Laptop, 2.8K OLED Display, 13th Generation Intel Core i7-1355U, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 Graphics
$799
Seems like a decent deal

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14434 on: February 12, 2024, 04:49:45 AM »
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVDNQYXL
HP Pavilion Plus 14 inch Laptop, 2.8K OLED Display, 13th Generation Intel Core i7-1355U, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 Graphics
$799
Seems like a decent deal
+1
Bear in mind that the graphics will be limited by the wattage (note they don't sell P-series processors with the dedicated graphics, which means they can't push more power to the processor at the expense of the graphics). Also note that the non-graphics version (Intel P, OLED screen) has a measly 5.5 hours of battery life. To be fair, this is more the fault of the OLED than the processor. So there may be better options out there - that is, options with as little power but excellent battery life, or at least options with better power being that you won't be getting the battery life.
They all agree that the screen is "gorgeous."
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14436 on: February 12, 2024, 08:03:41 PM »
Inspiron 15, 12th gen i3, $250, direct from Dell
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-15-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3520-laptop/nn3520gmxph
Wow! I just got the 512 SSD version of this based on your recommendation for $300, I would've definitely gotten the 256 SSD for $50 less (at the time the 256 was actually $30 more than the 512, go figure). I added another 8GB RAM card that I bought on Amazon for $20, this thing is now lightening fast for basic office work/programs.

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14437 on: February 13, 2024, 03:33:35 AM »
Re: Woot sale https://sellout.woot.com/offers/mystery-laptop-scratch-dent-2?ref=w_gw_dd_8

The price of $189 gets you a refurb scratch and dent 13-15" laptop with a minimum of an 8th gen i5 (quad core multithreaded), 8GB of upgradeable RAM, and 256GB SSD. Condition is scratch and dent.
Extrapolation: A computer this old is probably bulkier than you would expect for its size today. So even the 13" computer (received 25% of the time, if my math is right) will be bigger and bulkier than a 13", maybe even the size of a 14", and with battery life that is not guaranteed and was 7-8h at best in those times. Also, "25% of customers get a 9th gen i5 or newer:" the 9th gen was only high wattage and high core processors, and is always a great upgrade over any 8th gen processor. However, the 10th gen was garbage for a number of reasons and will usually be worse (though maybe not worse than 8th gen - depends if you get a U processor (upgraded 8th gen) or a G processor (brand new tech that they didn't implement very well).

Analysis: better than an eMMC-based computer by a wide margin, but if you can stretch your dollars a bit more, an 11th-13th gen i3 will take you much farther. Exception: if your needs are RAM-intensive and not processor-intensive, double-check that the 11th/12th/13th gen has upgradeable RAM. If not, you are better off with one of these computers, which you know you can upgrade straight to 32GB.
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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14438 on: February 13, 2024, 10:10:09 AM »
Re: Woot sale https://sellout.woot.com/offers/mystery-laptop-scratch-dent-2?ref=w_gw_dd_8

The price of $189 gets you a refurb scratch and dent 13-15" laptop with a minimum of an 8th gen i5 (quad core multithreaded), 8GB of upgradeable RAM, and 256GB SSD. Condition is scratch and dent.
Extrapolation: A computer this old is probably bulkier than you would expect for its size today. So even the 13" computer (received 25% of the time, if my math is right) will be bigger and bulkier than a 13", maybe even the size of a 14", and with battery life that is not guaranteed and was 7-8h at best in those times. Also, "25% of customers get a 9th gen i5 or newer:" the 9th gen was only high wattage and high core processors, and is always a great upgrade over any 8th gen processor. However, the 10th gen was garbage for a number of reasons and will usually be worse (though maybe not worse than 8th gen - depends if you get a U processor (upgraded 8th gen) or a G processor (brand new tech that they didn't implement very well).

Analysis: better than an eMMC-based computer by a wide margin, but if you can stretch your dollars a bit more, an 11th-13th gen i3 will take you much farther. Exception: if your needs are RAM-intensive and not processor-intensive, double-check that the 11th/12th/13th gen has upgradeable RAM. If not, you are better off with one of these computers, which you know you can upgrade straight to 32GB.
That's actually hilarious. Pretty original way of getting rid of a bunch of used computers.
I honestly cannot think of reason to get one over the new i3/8gb dell for $249, unless you are hoping to win the lottery and get one of the better models.
I mean, https://www.backmarket.com/en-us/p/hp-elitebook-840-g5-14-inch-core-i5-8-gb-ssd-256-gb/636212b6-ffb2-40b5-bcf4-2abb90aadeea#l=10 is $215 and is from the better builds, and has a FHD screen. And you know what you are getting.

What's the return policy, standard 30 days? Can buy on amex, if I don't like it, file for return protection after 30 days, hmmm... almost going to take the gamble myself

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14439 on: February 13, 2024, 11:05:03 AM »
That's actually hilarious. Pretty original way of getting rid of a bunch of used computers.
I honestly cannot think of reason to get one over the new i3/8gb dell for $249, unless you are hoping to win the lottery and get one of the better models.
I mean, https://www.backmarket.com/en-us/p/hp-elitebook-840-g5-14-inch-core-i5-8-gb-ssd-256-gb/636212b6-ffb2-40b5-bcf4-2abb90aadeea#l=10 is $215 and is from the better builds, and has a FHD screen. And you know what you are getting.

What's the return policy, standard 30 days? Can buy on amex, if I don't like it, file for return protection after 30 days, hmmm... almost going to take the gamble myself
You just thought yourself into a reason...
Honestly, as I said, for someone who for some reason needs 32GB of RAM, you'll come out ahead of most other options. Also very likely to get a much more solid build (ie the computers still functioning after all this time). Some options at the i3 level have soldered RAM. The other options go in and out of stock and also up and down in price.
IMHO it should have been $50 less. That would make it more compelling.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!