Buying a new desktop, can I negotiate for free stuff like you do with cars?

[onetiredmummy]

This is the first desktop I've ever bought, I had a friend who usually made them for me but he's travelling & my old one broke.

I just need the base unit, I have a monitor/keyboard/mouse etc but am a bit worried about strolling into PC World & being talked into one as I need to keep it as cheap as possible, under £300 cheap really. If I can get an OK one with keyboard & mouse then I will, I'm just thinking it would be cheaper without.

Then I thought I don't have a Microsoft Office disk anymore & Open Office doesn't open on Word so if I send docs to somebody they email me back saying they can't open/read them. I have Office on this laptop but with a new desktop this old slow laptop will be stored away as an emergency use one.

So basically, given that I want to buy a cheapo one but right at that moment in PC World, am I in any position to negotiate for any free stuff or possibly a Microsoft Office disk? Or will they just laugh at me for being a credulous fool :)

I would buy online from somewhere, not from PCW. Or a local store, somewhere that will custom build you what you want.

Some new systems come with Office as a trial. I think it may now be pay monthly... Look up Office365.

I can not imagine any store throwing in a free copy of MS Office. It simply costs too much!

I got my Office Suite from software for students. miles cheaper and legal.
I got my last two desktops from Dell who made them to match my spec and were tons cheaper than PC world etc who have bloody awful customer service ime.

King Office freeware version is supposed to be MS Office compatible, better so than OpenOffice. So perhaps consider using that. As with all applications like this, look through settings to see if you can set it to default save files as MS Office 2005 or 2007 depending on requirements of who is opening the file.

Have not used King Office myself yet, must download it when I am back home and have a good net connection (hotel connection is a bit slow).

My last two computers came from Tesco. Mind you they were laptops, not sure if they sell desktops. Maybe worth looking though, as you can just walk in, buy and take home without any hardsell.

I'm sure we did haggle over the cost of/amount of RAM when we got our original desk top. Since then we have had so many upgrades and new mother boards and bigger faster discs both in that machine, and two DH got stupidly cheep when work were throwing stuff out, that only the boxes are original.

I suspect it does no harm to ask, especially if you are getting a custom machine put together.

There's a good chance that whatever is wrong with your computer can be repaired for less than £300, so if you were happy with the performance then repairing could be an option (and if you weren't then repairing+upgrading could be).

OpenOffice files will open on word if you save as .doc instead of the .odt
If the other person doesn't need to edit it, you can also save as .pdf, which might preserve the appearance more.

May also be worth looking on Ebay, esp if you are happier with Windows XP or Win 7 than Win 8... Not long ago I found a system with XP for a client that was only £70. Guess it depends on what your friend built for you last time.