6540 Franz Warner Parkway, Whitsett, NC 27377
Date: Saturday, June 13
Time: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Who: Everyone is welcome, including the general public
Forms of payment: Cash and credit cards (No checks)

6/1/2009 5:21:40 PM

what are we talking is in there?

6/1/2009 5:57:59 PM

what are we talking is in there?

6/1/2009 6:25:53 PM

pretty much stuff from every line, ideapad, thinkpad, thinkstations, accessories, etc.

6/1/2009 6:53:25 PM

Is the equipment discounted? If so, are the discounts significant?

6/1/2009 6:56:38 PM

Discounts are fairly significant on ThinkPad line of products. But, you gotta get in there early. Can't wait until the end of the day to go. I got a highly spec'd R60 at the last warehouse sale for $400 flat, no tax, nothing. $400 cash, signed a waiver, and I was out the door. Came with the regular 1 year warranty too.

Consumer stuff wasn't discounted much though. Only like $100 off... could've got that at Tigerdirect.

Take into account the time and gas money to drive all the way there, it's not that big of a discount. The more you plan on spending, the more savings you may get. If you just want like a monitor, I don't suggest you go.

[Edited on June 1, 2009 at 7:21 PM. Reason : mediocre discounts]

6/1/2009 7:19:26 PM

^thanks for that post sir

6/1/2009 7:23:19 PM

I went to the last round of this. One thing to keep in mind is that almost everything there was refurbished.

It was explained to me that most of the stuff was only "technically" refurbished, and not like used and then returned, but still it's something to keep in mind.

One of the workers there told me it was all stuff they couldn't sell as new for one reason or another, and it all looked like NIB stuff except for all the boxes had the repackaged special colored tape on them. Lots and lots of special built, pre-made laptops and desktops that were built and then had the order canceled.

6/2/2009 4:36:31 AM

Come to think of it, it was actually an R61, not R60... if that matters any.

6/2/2009 9:16:21 AM

^^ correct, most of it will be whats called "redistributed" Meaning they will be configured/built machines that were ordered and then the orders were canceled.

stuff like monitors and the non-configurable machines will probably all be new though. They're trying to sell off stock before new products are launched.

6/2/2009 9:27:13 AM

Just got the full product list of whats available Saturday. If anybody was shopping around and has anything in particular that they'd be interested in I can see if its on the list and quote you a price.

PM me with your specs, be as specific as possible.

6/11/2009 11:51:27 AM

Lenovo Warehouse sale list:

http://www.filesavr.com/06-13-09salepricingsheet

This is what they will be offering at the sale this weekend if you actually make it out there. Hope this helps those who are planning on going.

6/11/2009 11:54:31 AM

even better.

6/11/2009 12:15:23 PM

Dang. I was considering buying a laptop sometime later this year, but if I can get a T-series thinkpad for under $500, I might have to jump on this.

By "get in there early" do you mean "show up at 7:30 and wait for the doors to open", or "get there before 10"?

6/11/2009 1:38:34 PM

Quote :

"X61 Tablet 7762WT2 2 $742 "

6/11/2009 2:20:20 PM

Very tempting but the place is so far away, the gas prices might make it even or very close to ebay's. Wish it was closer. except for the refurbs with seem to have larger discounts.

[Edited on June 11, 2009 at 2:35 PM. Reason : .]

6/11/2009 2:29:40 PM

This is where living in Durham comes in handy, it's only ~45 miles for me. Even with my car's lousy 21 MPG highway, it's still less than $15 in gas. The time commitment of having to get up at a ridiculous hour on Saturday would be a bigger annoyance to me.

A refurb T400 for under 400 bills might be enticement enough...

6/11/2009 2:40:02 PM

Is there a limit of how many one can buy?

6/11/2009 2:57:19 PM

No limit... that's the hard part. Most people who are in line before the doors open buy like 10 systems each. It's ridiculous. Last time I got there 2 hours after doors opened and there was nothing left. They make you sign a waiver saying you won't resell it, but here ain't no way they're gonna track you if you e-bay or craigslist 'em.

[Edited on June 11, 2009 at 4:52 PM. Reason : meh]

6/11/2009 4:51:21 PM

i was afraid of that. kinda don't want to go because of the no limit. 3 laptop limit would have been nice.

6/11/2009 6:19:37 PM

I've never been to one of these things before... if I really, really want a certain system (or rather, a certain kind of system, so there'd be like 4 or 5 total machines to choose from), what time should I get there to get a good spot in line? Two hours ahead?

6/12/2009 9:33:08 AM

probably, earlier the better.

6/12/2009 12:22:19 PM

shit i'd be there at like 4am is if i was gonna go..might as well get in the front of the line if youre gonna do it

6/12/2009 12:24:27 PM

How much does the front of the line matter though? Is this something where they let in a few people at a time? Or once the doors open is it a free-for-all?

6/12/2009 12:47:29 PM

How often do these sales happen? I can't make it to this one.

6/12/2009 2:07:51 PM

Quote :

"How much does the front of the line matter though? Is this something where they let in a few people at a time? Or once the doors open is it a free-for-all?"

Last time I was there, We got there about 10 minutes 'til 8 and there were half a dozen people standing around the doors waiting for them to open. By 8:00 there were probably 20 people total, and they opened the doors and let us all stand in the waiting area. Then about 10 minutes later they moved us all to the cafeteria/break room area. By this time there were about 50 people. Then after 5-10 minutes in the break room they allowed the first group of 10-15 people to go into the warehouse. After that it seemed like they allowed another group of ~10 people to go in every 5-10 minutes or so. Honestly, I didn't see any sort of mad rush where everyone was buying 10 of everything. There may have been a couple of people that bought something, but it wasn't the madhouse that has been described. We browsed around for half an hour or so, talked to a couple of employees about this and that, and ended up leaving. For the most part there was still the same stuff available when we left at ~9:00 then there was when we got there. From what I was told, the day before the employees got to do their shopping, and they get an even bigger discount than the regular public, so that's the one you want to be in on. But anyone showing up to the public event at 4am is gonna feel retarded when they can show up at 5 'til 8 and get in at the exact same time.

6/12/2009 3:59:33 PM

Quote :

"From what I was told, the day before the employees got to do their shopping"

Meaning they get to pick from the same set of merchandise as the general public? That almost makes me question bothering with this, since surely the stuff I have my eyes on will already be gone before tomorrow.

6/12/2009 4:29:51 PM

I can't really see anything else on the warranty/etc other than the 1 year. I assume all units are working and come with chargers/manuals/usual factory shit?

6/12/2009 11:39:54 PM

FIELD TRIP!!! Anyone else going?

6/13/2009 7:03:32 AM

Almost 100 people in line already. Got here a little after 7 and am 70th on the sign up sheet.

6/13/2009 7:28:16 AM

Quote :

"when they can show up at 5 'til 8 and get in at the exact same time."

Epoch wrong.

[Edited on June 13, 2009 at 10:02 AM. Reason : .]

6/13/2009 10:02:14 AM

there was no employee only sale before the general one this time unless it was for employees at the warehouse only.


what sucks about the system they use of letting in 10-15 people at a time is there is no time limit. Those people can just walk around aimlessly until enough leave for them to let other people in. They need to limit it to like 5-10 min. Then people will come with something in mind, look for it, buy it, and get out.

6/13/2009 10:18:31 AM

OK, so I just got back, and I'm not sure if the advice given was intentionally misleading or the guy just went to a TOTALLY different sale or what.

I got there at 7 and was 64th in line. By 8 there was at least 150 lined up. They let us in pretty quick and I got into the warehouse by 8:15 or so. The problem was the refurb line wasn't moving because there were so many dickheads buying 20 systems at a time. Lenovo clearly turns a blind eye to reselling. The guy next to me was a Lenovo employee and he told me that they don't do early private sales, BTW. He was also incredibly pissed off about Lenovo not giving a shit about resellers and I don't blame him. Lenovo is obviously losing out on tons of money by selling these laptops for 70% off.

Anyway... by sheer luck I ended up with basically what I wanted:

W500
C2D T9400 2.53Ghz, 6MB L2, 1066Mhz FSB
3GB PC3-8500
1680x1050, 512MB dedicated video (was hoping for a machine with 1920x1200, close enough).
160GB 5400RPM HD (bleh, bought a new drive)

All for $450. Right now that thing configures for about $1400, so not a bad deal. I also did an impulse buy of an HP Laserjet 1600 color laser printer for $50 as a father's day present.

So for anyone considering doing this in the future... COME EARLY.

6/13/2009 10:41:49 AM

wish i would have went

ah well. how often are these things?

6/13/2009 11:19:12 AM

Just got back a few minutes ago with Sonia and Id. They each got a T61 notebook, MTM 7661-WX4 for $474.00 each, list price $1,185.00. I copped one of those A57 desktops, MTM 9702D1U. All desktops got discounted $50.00 while I was in line, so I walked out with it for just $276.00. Holla.

6/13/2009 12:40:05 PM

I went this morning as well, was 94th on the list. I picked up a x61, I was hoping to get a x200, but those pricks buying up 25 at once got all of them. But yea, I wish I would have gotten there a little earlier to get ahead of them. My dad ended up getting the last A57 desktop, he was originally trying to get a t500, but all the good ones were gone already. Both were good deals, but not exactly what we were hoping for.

6/13/2009 1:26:45 PM

How often do they have these things? Just once a year?

6/13/2009 1:27:39 PM

I was there as well, got there 7:30 as the 83rd in line. I was hoping to pick up a CTO (configured to order but cancelled or something) T61p for $240, but as mentioned, there were families of people standing at the front of the line filling up cart after cart while those of us standing further back were hopelessly watching our laptops disappear. The Lenovo people handing them out didn't give a shit. From what I hear, the idiots at the front of the line came at midnight. It was just like going to black friday.

I managed to get a brand new T61p for $560, great specs on paper but Vista Home Basic (WTF?) that I'll probably end up installing Windows 7 or Linux over.

[Edited on June 13, 2009 at 2:46 PM. Reason : ]

6/13/2009 2:42:44 PM

Yeah they really need to do something about the resellers. The guy next to me was a Lenovo employee (and since there was no private sale he had to wait like the rest of us schmucks) and he made a great point that Lenovo is really fucking themselves by selling laptops for 70% off that are going to get resold for 20-30% off. Why not sell them at that price anyway? They're just letting those dickheads get the extra money.

I wish they would've done a "per person" limit but of course all those assholes would do is just get a bunch of their buddies to help buy them up.

6/13/2009 2:48:35 PM

Quote :

"How often do they have these things? Just once a year? "

also.. if anyone got a tablet and wants to sell it please let me know. i really wish i would have went.

6/13/2009 3:50:54 PM

Trust me, if you didn't get there in the middle of the night you wouldn't have gotten a tablet.

If you want to buy one, hit up eBay and/or Craigslist. The assholes who bought up all the inventory surely have their postings up by now.

6/13/2009 3:56:38 PM

yeah i would have gotten there at like 4am if i had went.. can't find any on craigslist

ah well

6/13/2009 4:10:34 PM

Damn. Sounds like they did a much better job of getting the word out for this one. It wasn't like that at all last time.

6/13/2009 5:00:35 PM

Apparently the employees who work the sale get first dibs in the morning. I was after a CTO Desktop but one of the workers told me that the one I wanted was long gone before the public even got to it. The CTO line seemed a little ridiculous and I'm not sure it moved the entire time I was there. Still got a good deal on another desktop, just had to fork out an extra 50 dollars or so.

6/13/2009 6:02:44 PM

Quote :

"http://raleigh.craigslist.org/sys/1220529836.html"

lol

Quote :

"Condition: refurbished, "

[Edited on June 14, 2009 at 11:44 AM. Reason : asdf]

6/14/2009 11:37:21 AM

Damn, they paid $459 for that computer, and are selling it for $800.

6/14/2009 1:57:51 PM

yeah..really wish i would have went and maxed out a few credit cards. pretty sure i could have almost doubled my money

6/14/2009 2:00:43 PM