It seems the 20% Paypal offer is no longer available at HP's site. I just tried to checkout and it disappeared (was there when i configured initially yesterday).

Called HP Support. Stated that build date for the tx1000z I ordered is December 6 and I should receive it by the 13th or 14th of December...

Paypal just sucks! Why don't they take the instant $ off just like GCO? They advertise the promotion is good until 12/10, but such promotion has already ended for many merchants such as Newegg, Dell, Toysrus, and now HP, without notice. People placed orders with the merchants who have already ended this Paypal promotion will NOT receive their CashBack, and they won't know until 01/31/08 when they don't see the expected credit on their Paypal accounts. To me this is some kinda trick to trap people in, confuse people to pay with Paypal, or if not, a poor marketing scheme.

Is this a good deal/configuration? Can someone recommend anything better? I really want a 17" screen and more than just a basic notebook...

HP Pavilion dv9500z customizable Notebook PC
CC958AV
– Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit) for ONLY $99!!
– AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-64 (2.2 GHz, 512KB+512KB L2 Cache )
– 17.0" WXGA+ High-Definition Ultra HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1440 x 900)
– 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
– 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
– FREE Upgrade to HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone!!
– FREE Upgrade to 802.11a/b/g/n (draft 802.11n) WLAN and Bluetooth from Wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g/n!!
– 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
– FREE Upgrade to LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support!!
– $30 OFF HP ExpressCard Digital/Analog TV Tuner!!
– High Capacity 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
– Microsoft(R) Works 8.0
– HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
$1,706.99 1 $1,706.99

We have compared the coupon submitted to the available instant savings and applied the best offer. Promotion rules allow only the coupon or instant savings to be applied to any item.

Coupon –$512.10
Order subtotal $1,194.89

Free shipping
Your order qualifies for free Standard 5-7 Business Days shipping. Shipping
( Standard 5-7 Business Days )
FREE
Estimated tax $83.65
Grand total $1,278.54

I have it in my cart and linked with FC so that should be another 5% off.

Was the intel cheaper overall than the AMD?

It seems like when you compare the processor performance, the Intel is actually a better deal. So, you can go with less processor on the Intel and get the same speed as the faster processor on the AMD. I checked out cpubenchmark.net for guidelines on processor comparisons...

tazmania99 said:Paypal just sucks! Why don't they take the instant $ off just like GCO? They advertise the promotion is good until 12/10, but such promotion has already ended for many merchants such as Newegg, Dell, Toysrus, and now HP, without notice. People placed orders with the merchants who have already ended this Paypal promotion will NOT receive their CashBack, and they won't know until 01/31/08 when they don't see the expected credit on their Paypal accounts. To me this is some kinda trick to trap people in, confuse people to pay with Paypal, or if not, a poor marketing scheme.

Do you know exactly when they pulled HP today?
I ordered the dv2500t around 9:40AM and in fact clicked through from the paypal site around 9:30AM. It looked like it was available then (9:30). Where/when is this 50$ supposed to show up? Only in your account several months later? I took a printout of both their link showing HP 20%off with today's date and time as well as the Terms and Conditions which also listed HP.

If they claim the deal was active when you clicked through but disappeared in the 10-15 min it took you to build the laptop and check out, then they have a lawsuit on their hands. I have sent paypal an email asking when the 50$ will show up. If they refuse to tell me until Jan1, i think we should organize an online petition/separate forum seeking recourse in a joint lawsuit. This looks similar to the fiasco at New Egg the other day. Another deceptive thing paypal is doing is not updating the T&C on their site as they yank stores. Even now they list Dell and HP on the T&C. I have taken another print out of this as well, with the timestamp.

Other people should start printing out the paypal promo page just before ordering. That way the date and time is there to send to paypal in a joint letter/notice of intent of litigation.

TonyUW said:This is from the T&C:

4. Offer Period: Offer starts on November 26, 2007 at 12:00:01 am Pacific Time and is available for a limited time only. Offer is only available as long as the merchantÂ’s website indicates that the 20% Cash Back promotion is offered, but no later than December 10, 2007 11:59:59 pm Pacific Time.

Will HP be able to vouch for our orders that do qualify for the $50? Point 4 here makes it seem like it's up to the vendor how long they run this promotion.

Good question, my husband ordered his HP laptop yesterday and the 20% promo was still being advertised. It would of been nice when you purchased with Paypal that it put some sort of a note or indicator in your account that you got the deal and that it is pending till jan 08. It just seems really vague the way that it is set up, since there is no real way of knowing. Paypal can turn around and say the promo ended even though the vendor was still advertising the promotion..errr

linbed said:Anyone get an order confirmation email yet? I got the paypal email stating they took the money out of my account and an email from HP saying they will update me on order status when I first ordered but nothing else....
linbed, what date and time did you order? HP claims the paypal promo ended last night 11/28 but i know that when i ordered this morning the promo was still around

spoongirl said: It just seems really vague the way that it is set up, since there is no real way of knowing.

Have a look at this screenshot.
If you saw that during checkout, it means you will get the $50.