I have a client who needs to purchase over 14000 laptops. They need
7000 before the end of the year and 7000 in 2003.
They need lots of 1500 with the same exact specifications... which
means 1500 can have as an example a PII366-64MB RAM and be of the
brand dell and other 1500 can differ like PII400-128RAM and be compaq.
These are the specs we are looking for:
Pentium II 200-400Mhz - 64 Mb Ram - 2GB HD - 13"-15" TFT - CD ROM -
56K Modem
THey MUST have a 1 year WOLRDWIDE WARRANTY.
The cost should be around $350-$400 including the warranty and the
shipping per laptop... this is a very reasonable price considering we
are talking about a very large quantity so the discount should reflect
that.

I am not looking for a list of possible distributors that I will need
to contact myself to find out if they offer large quantities... I have
already called tons of places and no luck.
I want a list, doesn't matter if it's short, of distributors that DO
provide large quantities... perhaps you'll find one that can provide
3000 and another that provides 1500 etc... this would be acceptable as
well.

I'll ask the (obvious?) question...  Have you contacted some
manufacturers (Dell, Gateway, even some of the Taiwan makers,
etc.) directly?  I have (in the past) dealt direct and for an
order this big, the price point you mention should be easy to
meet, and I don't think they would mind an order that big.

I can see several obstacles to finding such a distributor.

a)You are talking about OLD laptops based on the specifications you
describe.

b)Which usually means second-hand or refurbished computers.

c)Which usually means either no warranty, or a maximum of 90-days in
most cases. Also, not often is the warranty on one of these units
worldwide.

d)Your price point, while probably fair, could be hard to meet given
the cost of shipping (depending on destination) and the cost of
maintaining such a large fleet of equipment of such age.

I wish you the best of luck in your quest, though.

I, too, will add that finding lots of 1500 identical used laptops will
be nearly impossible.  For your budget ($500 each)  you can nearly buy
a new laptop.  I have no contacts in the Far East, but other
researchers may be able to point you to a wholesaler or distributor
that can provide no-brand (or custom brand) laptops at your
pricepoint.

Good luck!