Some vendors, such as Dell, have a price-adjustment program, but others, like Gateway, do not. And some rules are standard. For example, you're eligible for a refund only when the price cut applies to exactly the same model and configuration as the item you purchased. It's up to you to keep tabs on reduced prices and contact the manufacturer for a refund. Special promotions are excluded, and if the new, cheaper version of the system has a different component or extra features, you're stuck with the original, higher price.
Policies vary among companies and stores.
Retailers such as Circuit City and CompUSA will consider price adjustments even if the lower price is at a competing store. And Circuit City will credit 110 percent of the difference. Direct-PC vendor Quantex appears to be out of business. Letter of the Month I bought an HP Pavilion 8754C with Windows Me preinstalled. I want to load my other computer's version of Microsoft Office 97, but an error message pops up when I try to install the program.