It always seems to me that you get better deals by getting something from an onlie retailer. The manufacturer will most of the time offer the suggested retail price and then you look at some place that is selling the same item and they are offering it for less. It does however make sense to go with the manufacturer if you are going to custom order what you want , places like Dell and Toshiba coma to mind where they have a system builder option and you hand pick your components. If you are going stock then try to find and online store that sells the laptop and see what the prices are.