Readers Robert and Madison are twins, so they should know better than anyone that multiple things that look exactly alike are not exactly the same. For example, they discovered on Dell’s small business website four identical versions of the exact same model of computer, but for different prices. How does that work, exactly?

They wrote:

In searching Dell Small Business’s laptop selection, we came across an oddity: Four completely identical Inspiron 17R laptops for four different prices. We don’t mean minor differences; they are EXACTLY alike. As evidence, we took a screenshot of the comparison page for the four laptops, which is attached as a PDF.

We can’t check their work because the Inspiron 17R isn’t available to order directly on the Small Business site anymore. You can order it from the Dell consumer site, where the different prices actually do represent different configurations.

Let this funny picture serve as a reminder that careful comparison shopping is key…even when the things you’re comparing at first seem exactly the same.

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