Ordering a Lenovo ThinkPad - 4 weeks...

[Liverpool Lou]

On 7/22/2021 at 12:48 AM, biwog said:

Do you have a link for the zero-rated import duty? I need to convince someone to order from Germany.

The Customs Dept website or it's English-speaking call centre will confirm duty rates

[Liverpool Lou]

15 hours ago, asiam110 said:

21 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

They do not have the authority to scam the public by charging what they want and it is ridiculous to suggest that they do.

Guess this refers to immigration too?

Guess what you want but it will always only be a pointless and irrelevant guess.   

[HAPPYNUFF]

You want a Lenovo product?????      My  6  month old  Lenovo laptop has been back 4 times for repair so far,, the costs of which have exceeded the original purchase price..   When I asked the retailer about the warranty, I received the usual blank stare.   I am now collecting empty bottles to cash in to buy myself a nice axe, Im going to make the next  repairs myself.

[phetphet]

I think it may be due to the supply network restrictions due to Covid.

 

I looked on www.invadeit.co.th (always reliable), and lots of Lenovo laptops are showing as unavailable.

[Eindhoven]

Just now, HAPPYNUFF said:

You want a Lenovo product?????      My  6  month old  Lenovo laptop has been back 4 times for repair so far,, the costs of which have exceeded the original purchase price..   When I asked the retailer about the warranty, I received the usual blank stare.   I am now collecting empty bottles to cash in to buy myself a nice axe, Im going to make the next  repairs myself.

Why would you waste time with the retailer when you can register the warranty directly with Lenovo and get the repairs done under warranty?

I registered my warranty and extended it to 3 years on-site. So I don't even have to leave my home to get it fixed(if necessary). Spent approx.2000 baht on the extension.

 

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/th/en/warrantylookup#/

 

[Eindhoven]

5 minutes ago, HAPPYNUFF said:

You want a Lenovo product?????      My  6  month old  Lenovo laptop has been back 4 times for repair so far,, the costs of which have exceeded the original purchase price..   When I asked the retailer about the warranty, I received the usual blank stare.   I am now collecting empty bottles to cash in to buy myself a nice axe, Im going to make the next  repairs myself.

Though I might add that if you have allowed the repairs to be done outside an official service centre, you might have already voided your warranty. 

[Liverpool Lou]

14 hours ago, fdsa said:

BTW i've just recalled - DHL also likes to add the "customs tax service" around $20 for their "assistance" with paying the import tax while the Thailand Post does not ask for that extra payment.

What you're referring to is their "disbursement charge", I think is how they refer to it, and it is a small additional charge they are authorised to make. 

[fdsa]

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Guess what you want but it will always only be a pointless and irrelevant guess.   

this applies to your theoretical considerations too BTW.

[Liverpool Lou]

58 minutes ago, fdsa said:

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Guess what you want but it will always only be a pointless and irrelevant guess.   

this applies to your theoretical considerations too BTW.

None of my comments on this thread are "theoretical considerations", they are all factual.

[asiam110]

10 hours ago, HAPPYNUFF said:

You want a Lenovo product?????      My  6  month old  Lenovo laptop has been back 4 times for repair so far,, the costs of which have exceeded the original purchase price..   When I asked the retailer about the warranty, I received the usual blank stare.   I am now collecting empty bottles to cash in to buy myself a nice axe, Im going to make the next  repairs myself.

Lenovo range is large. On the lower end they compete with Acer - think complete plastic <deleted> - totally expect to last a few weeks.

 

ThinkPad is a subset that reflects quality, im sure they have different support protocols too. Not the best advertisement for the brand though when they knock out 20,000baht laptops and 4000 tablets that fail weeks later..

 

[metisdead]

A totally off topic post about a murder last night in Thailand has been removed. 

[mtls2005]

On 7/22/2021 at 1:19 PM, mtls2005 said:

There is also a "Ready for Delivery" red-tag at the top of the main page, then choose ThinkPad, seeing 8 models available with 5 - 8 business day shipping, including two T14 models.

Seeing nine models now. These change frequently as do the prices.

 

Hefty discounts.

 

I should pull the trigger.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

Seeing nine models now. These change frequently as do the prices.

 

Hefty discounts.

 

I should pull the trigger.

Go Ahead, Make my day!

 

 

[mtls2005]

On 7/24/2021 at 9:44 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Go Ahead, Make my day!

 

You made my day.

 

I pulled the trigger and replaced my ancient ThinkPad.

 

Thank you very much for starting this thread, which prompted me to do the research, and get a new notebook.

 

 

[mtls2005]

Thinkpad, config ordered was in the "delivery within 5 - 8 business days" category,  ordered 26 July, evening, shipped 28 July (from Singapore), delivered today (2 August AM).

 

Effortless.

 

(The Blue Shop does have units available for same-day delivery, their prices are decent, not quite as low as the heavily-discounted prices on the TH site.)

 

https://blueshop2u.com/shop/63_77_80

 

(Thinkpad use to be an IBM brand, IBM was known as Big Blue back in the day - Big company, blue 8-bar logo.)

 

Again, much thanks to the OP for starting this thread.

 

 

 

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

Thinkpad, config ordered was in the "delivery within 5 - 8 business days" category,  ordered 26 July, evening, shipped 28 July (from Singapore), delivered today (2 August AM).

 

Effortless.

 

(The Blue Shop does have units available for same-day delivery, their prices are decent, not quite as low as the heavily-discounted prices on the TH site.)

 

https://blueshop2u.com/shop/63_77_80

 

(Thinkpad use to be an IBM brand, IBM was known as Big Blue back in the day - Big company, blue 8-bar logo.)

 

Again, much thanks to the OP for starting this thread.

Thanks

 

For anybody who is interested please be very careful. BlueShop has ThinkPads in stock and on the first view they look similar but some are significantly different.

I.e. there is one ThinkPad model which is available with 8GB RAM or with 16GB. On the first view one might think: No problem, I can just add some RAM. No, not exactly. Those models come with 8GB soldered to the motherboard or 16GB soldered to the motherboard and then an extra RAM slot. If someone buys the 8GB model future upgrades are limited. And there might be similar problems like that. Be careful! 

 

For the record: Over the years I bought a couple of ThinkPads from BlueShop and I never had any problems. Just the current situation is not normal.

[fdsa]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I.e. there is one ThinkPad model which is available with 8GB RAM or with 16GB. On the first view one might think: No problem, I can just add some RAM. No, not exactly. Those models come with 8GB soldered to the motherboard or 16GB soldered to the motherboard and then an extra RAM slot. If someone buys the 8GB model future upgrades are limited. And there might be similar problems like that. Be careful! 

unfortunately Thinkpad is not a synonym for "quality" anymore. The last considerable model is five years old X270.

[topt]

2 hours ago, fdsa said:

unfortunately Thinkpad is not a synonym for "quality" anymore. The last considerable model is five years old X270.

Genuine question - what would your recommendation be for a "quality" laptop equivalent today?

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, fdsa said:

unfortunately Thinkpad is not a synonym for "quality" anymore. The last considerable model is five years old X270.

In my experience ThinkPads are still quality - at least the models which I bought.

Too many people think Lenovo = ThinkPad. No! Lenovo offers quality ThinkPad and lots of <censored>.

 

About the ThinkPads: I think some of them have warranty only in Thailand and some have international warranty. I don't know if there are quality differences or if there are other reasons. Until now I only bough ThinkPads which have international warranty because that is what I and my clients want.

 

[fdsa]

3 hours ago, topt said:

Genuine question - what would your recommendation be for a "quality" laptop equivalent today?

I don't know any but can say for sure that soldered RAM is not a sign of quality.

Anyway among all the laptop brands I owned the longest survivors (5+ years) were Clevo and Thinkpad (and I still use them), so when they die I'll replace them with the same brands.

[OneMoreFarang]

9 hours ago, fdsa said:

I don't know any but can say for sure that soldered RAM is not a sign of quality.

Anyway among all the laptop brands I owned the longest survivors (5+ years) were Clevo and Thinkpad (and I still use them), so when they die I'll replace them with the same brands.

Soldered RAM itself has nothing to do with quality. If people want to add RAM right away or later then they need to have one or more RAM slots. But I am sure many users never add more RAM. For them soldered RAM is no problem.

 

And some notebooks have both. Soldered RAM and at least one slot for a later upgrade. Perfect.

[Henryford]

My Lenovo broke down after a year. Wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

[topt]

12 hours ago, fdsa said:

Clevo

Interesting. Not come across them before. Thanks

[OneMoreFarang]

19 minutes ago, Henryford said:

My Lenovo broke down after a year. Wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

Was it a ThinkPad?

Lenovo <= ThinkPad

[fdsa]

3 hours ago, Henryford said:

My Lenovo broke down after a year. Wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

My Lenovo broke down after two years. My Thinkpad still works after 5+ years.

[mtls2005]

Very happy with my purchase. My old T410 was a bit long in the tooth, even though I had added memory, SSD, and a new battery. Had ~ 3 ThinkPads before that, mostly via work.

 

I'm aware of the brand transition to Lenovo, soldered memory, etc. Watched a fair amount of reviews on YouTube. But for the price I couldn't pass it up - I'm USD based but paid for the unit in THB. ($1,250 for me all in, same SKU in the U.S. is $1,500 plus I'd have to pay 6.25% sales tax).

 

Everything from the purchase experience, shipment/delivery (UPS from Singapore to Shenzhen to Thailand), unboxing and set-up has been a very pleasant experience. Although phone-activating MS Office was an interesting experience.

 

Gotta love that new PC smell.

 

I'm so lucky the OP started this thread. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by mtls2005

[fdsa]

On 8/3/2021 at 6:14 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Soldered RAM itself has nothing to do with quality. If people want to add RAM right away or later then they need to have one or more RAM slots. But I am sure many users never add more RAM. For them soldered RAM is no problem.

Soldered RAM means cutting corners and lowering the costs, which in turn means a low quality product.

Also how would I replace a shítty Kingston or whatever modules the manufacturer chose to solder? I've once had a laptop where manufacturer soldered a shítty eMMC chip which caused problems to many customers, like low performance or total system freeze, and the only solution was to replace the chip to another model or replace the laptop at a whole.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, fdsa said:

Soldered RAM means cutting corners and lowering the costs, which in turn means a low quality product.

Also how would I replace a shítty Kingston or whatever modules the manufacturer chose to solder? I've once had a laptop where manufacturer soldered a shítty eMMC chip which caused problems to many customers, like low performance or total system freeze, and the only solution was to replace the chip to another model or replace the laptop at a whole.

 

With your expertise knowledge you better design and build your own notebook. I am sure it will be a lot better than all those commercially available products. ???? 

[Mac Mickmanus]

On 8/3/2021 at 9:07 AM, Henryford said:

My Lenovo broke down after a year. Wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

My Lenovo laptop completely died after 1 year and two weeks and he guarantee was for one year .

   I took it to a computer repair shop and inside was an "all in one" type computer .

   The motherboard had died and it all needed to be replaced , it seemed like playing Candy Crush on that computer was too much for it , as it heated up, began purring , and just died

   

[fdsa]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

With your expertise knowledge you better design and build your own notebook. I am sure it will be a lot better than all those commercially available products. ???? 

I've actually made a concept design of "the best travel laptop" several years ago without all the nuisances found in major brands and everyone I showed it told me it's better than their laptop and they would buy one.

Unfortunately I was limited on funds then (below 100K USD total) and with these low funds all OEM/ODM manufacturers I contacted just laughed or never replied to emails. Also got scammed with electronic design company - the guy I've paid for motherboard just disappeared and left me with useless papers and without money.

Nevertheless I still want to make my own notebook, at least now I know that it requires not less than a few millions USD (and a personal presense in Shenzhen/Singapore/wherever it will be made, with the total personal control LOL)

Edited August 5, 2021 by fdsa