The painful RAM shortages being felt across the computing industry are soon coming to impact the corporate world. Dell is set to increase prices across all of its commercial laptop offerings on December 17, according to an internal report obtained by Business Insider. The price changes are coming exclusively to Dell's commercial business, selling machines to companies and corporate clients, at least for now.
Dell preps significant price hikes up to 30% for corporate products — company warns that ordering today for future delivery does not lock in current pricing
The price increases primarily target laptop and desktop models with higher amounts of RAM or SSD storage capacity, attributed to the critical RAM shortage being felt around the world due to AI hyperscalers. However, some professional monitors and GPU upgrades will also see higher price tags starting on the 17th. The affected Dell commercial portfolio will, on average, be 10-30% higher after the changes take effect.
Beginning this Wednesday, Dell Pro and Pro Max laptops and desktops with 32GB of RAM will become $130 to $230 more expensive. Computers with 128GB, Dell's highest offering, will see prices rise anywhere from $520 to $765 per device. Notebooks ordered with 1TB of internal SSD storage will become $55 to $135 more expensive.
Other price increases include monitors, a curious increase as monitors and displays do not contain RAM or NAND flash memory. Regardless, the Dell Pro 55 Plus 4K monitor is set to rise from $1,349 to $1,499 once the other price increases take effect. GPU prices in the commercial realm will also rise with the tide. Dell laptops with the Nvidia RTX Pro 500 Blackwell GPU 6GB will increase by $66, while stepping up to a 24GB Blackwell GPU will cost $530 more.
Swipe to scroll horizontally Product Lineup Price Increase Dell Pro, Pro Max with 32GB RAM $130 - $230 Dell Pro, Pro Max with 128GB RAM $520 - $765 Dell Pro, Pro Max Laptop with 1TB SSD $55 - $135 Dell Pro 55 Plus Monitor $150 AI Laptop with RTX Pro 500 6GB GPU $66 AI Laptop with RTX Pro 500 24GB GPU $530
The employee who leaked the price changes, who remains anonymous but verified by Business Insider, also shared that Dell's messaging to its commercial sellers has also changed with the price rise. Dell's commercial wing accounted for 85% of all client sales last year, so it has a strong interest in maintaining these numbers. However, it may become difficult to keep these metrics the same as we enter the new year.
Dell is reportedly advising its sellers to prioritize selling to the largest client accounts fast, warning clients that "ordering today will not lock in the current prices". Dell is also limiting the discounts it can offer clients, leaving even the largest corporate accounts without the traditional bulk discounts that may shield them from typical market volatility. The Dell employee also claims that Dell's profit margins across the board are shrinking amidst "unprecedented" market conditions.
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Confirmation of these corporate price increases comes less than a week after Dell was erroneously caught in the crossfire between Framework and Apple, when Framework's social media team was baited by a fake post claiming Dell was engaging in RAM price gouging at the consumer level. While Framework was wrong about a $550 RAM price increase three days ago, today's reports prove its X comments prophetic.
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