Microcenter vs. Fry's

[FreshPrince]

Ever since a Microcenter opened up near my office in '05, I've been luving it since! :heart:

There's a Fry's near by too but it's night and day when you compare the two.

Microcenter is always organized and professional looking while Fry's always look like a tornado had just gone by. Not to mention Microcenter has more hard to find "stuff"

 

[funkymatt]

voted Microcenter.

I agree Fry's is way too disorganized. and they sell returns. selling broken stuff FTL

 

[Audiotherapy]

frys seems to have better deals recently. i dont care as long as the price is right

 

[FreshPrince]

Originally posted by: audiotherapy
frys seems to have better deals recently. i dont care as long as the price is right

From Microcenter, I buy mostly parts and stuff that I need in a hurry for work. I rarely buy parts from Microcenter or Fry's for personal use...that's what Newegg and zzf are for

I didn't know Fry's resell returns...that is just bad.....

note to self: never buy from Fry's ever again!

 

[esun]

I highly prefer Fry's. They have a much larger selection and their prices are usually better. Plus, they carry miscellaneous electronics that are useful for side projects (e.g. ICs, discrete components, boards, etc.).

 

[BoberFett]

I live not far from the Microcenter in MN, and there prices always seem quite high. If you need something immediately it's the place to go, and sometimes they do have some decent deals. But as a general rule I won't buy anything more than cables and other odds and ends there. Their hardware prices are way too high.

 

[swtethan]

Originally posted by: FreshPrince

Originally posted by: audiotherapy
frys seems to have better deals recently. i dont care as long as the price is right

From Microcenter, I buy mostly parts and stuff that I need in a hurry for work. I rarely buy parts from Microcenter or Fry's for personal use...that's what Newegg and zzf are for

I didn't know Fry's resell returns...that is just bad.....

note to self: never buy from Fry's ever again!

yes they resell returns. they have a big yellow/orange *returned* tag on them with a lower price + a reason for return.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I have only been to one Fry's (in SeaTac WA), and it was beautiful and well-organized. I now live near a Microcenter (in St Louis Park MN), and it is vastly inferior IMO (though still much better than CompUSA or Best Buy). I actually bought my MacBook at Microcenter and helped my mom buy an iMac there, but the service leaves much to be desired - on weekends you have to hunt down a salesman and insist on service to get any help at all.

 

[maddogchen]

i've gotten some pretty good deals at microcenter. But thats from ads. If I want something that I don't see anywhere on sale, i usually go to fry's

 

[oogabooga]

Best buy is pure retail, lacks the real electronics/parts things like Fry's (and understandably so)
Fry's is like shopping a warehouse. It has stuff but they make ZERO effort at retail.

Microcenter is like Fry's stuff with a Best Buy retail mentality imo, unfortunately they pass on that retail mentality to the pricing. But Such is the cost of retail.

I NEVER shop at Fry's, I've just had too much trouble shopping from them. The one near where I live (Fountain Valley CA) is HORRIBLE. Their best deals in adds are always available only with returned goods. there are literally products in their store that are only available as returns. A lot of their new stuff is stuff that's priced as poorly as microcenter.
I have been to decent Fry's electronics (Sunnyvale, CA) but even then, that one was only really better since it was cleaner and everything wasn't some repackaged thing with an open box sticker. In my area if I NEED something then and there I'll go to Microcenter now, but otherwise I use online.

 

[ElFenix]

your microcenters must be much nicer than mine. fry's here is like what best buy should be, microcenter is like a giant mom and pop computer shop with crap everywhere and bad lighting.

 

[FreshPrince]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
your microcenters must be much nicer than mine. fry's here is like what best buy should be, microcenter is like a giant mom and pop computer shop with crap everywhere and bad lighting.

hmm...that's the complete opposite for me...

Fry's is crap all over the place and Microcenter is neat/clean and always with people standing by to help. I went to it today and 3 different sales people asked if I needed any help....

like oogabooga said, Microcenter feels like a best buy for me and Fry's feel like brands mart.