Where do you purchase your hardware ... and why?

[dud]

I am currently typing this post as I wait (I am told) almost 30 minutes to chat with a Newegg CSR via online chat. I am working on my second build in as many months with many of the components being purchased at Newegg. It hasn't been easy and isn't nearly as fun as it used to be in the "good old days" to buy there. My complaints (some mild) include, but are not necessarily limited to: long wait times for help, rude CSRs, wild price fluctuations on parts, incoherent sale pricing, not complying with their price-match policy, etc.

Yet I still shop there ...

Was wondering where everyone else buys their stuff? I've tried Amazon (I love their Prime fast shipping) but tax usually dents the perceived "goodness" of the deal. All input is appreciated ...


Thanks!

 

[Yakk]

When prices are close I encourage my local brick & mortar computer store.

They know me and will usually closely match anything online, even best prices sometimes. I still have to pay the extra taxes buying locally, but on items like monitors where I will buy and even test them in store it's worth it for me. Buying high-end monitors is almost a gamble nowadays with bleed and dead pixels and testing in store has saved me much lost time and frustration.

I'll buy standard items on ncix and even newegg once in a while on a good deal.

 

[LTC8K6]

Newegg and Amazon. No stores near me that sell anything like computer components except Best Buy which is not very good and is 30 minutes away.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

There's a Microcenter near me. So unless it's more than a couple bucks cheaper on Amazon or Newegg, I'll shop there.

Or if it's something weird that MC doesn't carry.

I used to buy a lot more stuff on Newegg. I still occasionally do (I bought an SSD there last fall, iirc.) But pcpartpicker makes it too easy to cross-shop, and NE is competitive but rarely the best price, especially since I'm paying for Amazon Prime.

 

[UsandThem]

Usually Newegg (lowest price usually) or Amazon (better customer service and return policy). B&H Photo has reasonable prices as well, and some good sales.

I used Jet a few times for PC parts while they were offering a discount for new customers, but some of the 'partners' they use aren't good and have very bad B.B.B ratings. One of them sent my CPU Smartpost in only a plastic bag mailer, no padding. The box was beat up, but the CPU was fine. The other partner mailed a motherboard in a flat rate box with no padding. It arrived with a hole in the box and was DOA.

 

[Spydermag68]

Last year I used Microcenter and Newegg for my build.

MC had the motherboard I wanted and CPU plus $40 off if bought together. It was the lowest price and other places were out of i7-6700k CPUs. The guy was pushing me to get more stuff there but the prices were higher and I would have to pay tax on top of it.

For the rest I used newegg. When I went to get the other parts I need for my build the memory I wanted was OOS, but I placed my order anyways. Everything arrived on a Friday. I went back to newegg to check my order and if the memory was back in stock. Low and behold the power supply I ordered was on shell shocker deal of the day for $30 less. I called up NE and they gave me the discount in store credit that I applied to the memory I wanted.

 

[nerp]

My local computer store sells old hardware at old MSRP, mainly they fix old computers for people and have bins full of IDE cables and other random stuff if you're fixing something. I'm forced to either use Newegg, Amazon or drive three hours to Cambridge, MA and basically devote an entire day to buying something. With a family, that's not doable so Newegg or Amazon it is.

I prefer Newegg since it's easier to do specific searches, say a motherboard with x number ports, or a specific chipset. Amazon is much more difficult and you never nail EVERY product using keywords or categories. You can search for an hour and never find a product but someone on some forum will post a link to it and it's in stock.

I haven't had many issues with either. The reason: I'm on an epic streak of no RMAs required save one SanDisk SSD over the last 10 years. Everything has been great. My experience might be different if I needed to reach out to Newegg support. I suspect that if I did encounter any issues, I'd remind them to check my order history. Since the early 2000s, I've spent enough there to buy a couple cars. I actually added it up the other day and fell out of my chair.

I find they they seem to have nearly identical pricing as of late. I usually start with Newegg to nail down exact model #s and read reviews, which generally are better in terms of enthusiast perspective on hardware (Amazon is littered with 1-star reviews by people who bought the wrong or incompatible product).

I generally only buy from Amazon for reasons relating to stock (my new 1070 on the way, for example, out of stock at Newegg) or if I have gift cards piled up or something else. I always seem to end up with some cash there after a few holiday seasons.

 

[twinrider1]

I am fortunate to live where MicroCenter was born. I check their price first. Then I Google search the item and use their Shopping tab. Amazon or Newegg usually end up being the best online price, but sometimes it's a different online store; maybe a small place, or what used to just be camera places like Adorama and B&H that now sell a lot of other tech.

 

[Billb2]

There's eBay too.

 

[dud]

There's eBay too.

I've used ebay for almost 20 years but recently had a bad streak with stuff bought there. I had to ship back one thing, get a refund on another, and am about to leave a neutral on a third.

My experience with NE CS last night ended well but I had to fight them to get them to follow their own PM policy. All this after waiting almost an hour to chat.

 

[Puffnstuff]

When TigerDirect was still in business I would buy locally from them if they had it in stock otherwise it was Amazon or Newegg. Since Amazon has the superior return policy for prime members it usually won out. I do buy from MicroCenter when they've got an item I need on sale and they offer great value and service with reasonable shipping rates too. I got my Asus Transformer T100TAM and my HP Envy 34c from them when both were on sale and nobody could even come close to their prices.

 

[mnewsham]

Microcenter for CPU/Motherboard and sometimes cases.

Newegg/amazon (Whichever is cheapest) for most other things.

 

[Gunbuster]

Newegg because I appreciate the robust search features on the site. Fall back to Amazon or Microcenter if prices are better.

 

[Oyeve]

I live in NYC and would shop at J&R, but they closed down a few years ago. Now its mostly Newegg or Newegg Business. The Business is better IMO as I order through my jobs account and its always tax free and free shipping. Plus we have Platinum reward points which I use up. I use amazon in a pinch when it comes to odd things. I do miss J&R as I live nearby and it was always fun to browse the stores.

 

[piasabird]

Some deals can be had at stores like your local Micro Center. I just purchased a motherboard and CPU there and they discounted the motherboard by $30 dollars if I purchased a qualifying CPU.

One reason I purchased the motherboard and CPU at this store in the St Louis, MO area was that they had a high enough of a stock on the Item (10), that I was sure I was not getting a refurbished item. If I see an item on New Egg or Amazon and it says 2 left in stock, I tend to wonder if it was a return item. It makes me have less confidence in the retailer when I see the stock quantity is too low. I ended up getting a better deal and I also did not have to wait for delivery. Immediate Satisfaction has a value.

The Item I purchased was a Gigabyte GA-H110N Motherboard and an i-3 6100 combo. I ordered it online and it was ready to be picked up when I reached the store. I wanted this somewhat lower end product for a low-en build.

It is a quality product it just has fewer features on the motherboard. However, it had all 3, AGP(D-SUB), DVI-D and HDMI video ports on the motherboard. It is limited to 3 SATA ports on the motherboard. It is just Ideal for small compact Non-Gaming builds.

I purchased a Case, Thermaltake V1, cube Mini-ITX, from Newegg for $49. It said there was a $10 rebate, but when I got the Case and looked for the Rebate, I saw that the Date I purchased the case did not qualify for the rebate. I was not too upset about the Case, but I still could have have used an extra $10 dollars. I researched the case on YouTube so I was sure that it was the item that I wanted.

I really like YouTube as a source for videos about computer cases.

 

[SKORPI0]

B&M

Micro Center usually for Mobo/CPU combo. Fry's sometimes if/when there is something on sale. They are 5 miles from each other, about 25 miles from home. Staples/Office Depot usually with great clearance prices. TigerDirect a few years back since it was 1.5 miles away.

Online.

Usually Newegg/Amazon, but not exclusively. I've bought computer related hardware from Directron, FrozenCPU SVC, and others over the years.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I usually following the guy out of MC after advising them and the mugging them accordingly. Its the only way to get best pricing.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I usually following the guy out of MC after advising them and the mugging them accordingly. Its the only way to get best pricing.

That was you? Goddamit, I want my stuff back!

 

[dlerious]

Usually start with Newegg, it's easier to search and narrow things down, and the biggie is the specs. Amazon, if I have enough to get free shipping. B&H Photo when they have a sale on something I'm looking for. Performance PCs for watercooling.

 

[bryanl]

Mostly Fry's (store very close), Newegg, and Amazon, with eBay for misc components like cables because sometimes nobody comes close in price. Amazon is currently offering a $50 credit for signing up for their credit card. Fry's isn't what it used to be but still still offers great deals occasionally, provided you sign up for ads with discount codes, most recently a $44 AR MSI H97 PC Mate motherboard and $27 Pentium G3258.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Amazon when I need it in 2 days or less.

Newegg for selection, product descriptions, price, and fighting the good fight against patent trolls.

I don't bother with after-the-fact price matching or buying and returning working parts, which might be why I haven't had any problems with Newegg customer service.

 

[Blue_Max]

When prices are close I encourage my local brick & mortar computer store.

Agreed for one reason above all others: RETURNS. When it comes to defects, etc, nothing beats having a replacement in an hour rather than several days and a couple trips to the post office!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I use Newegg a lot, and I watch to see who, how and why customers are unhappy. I absolutely believe customer reviews arguing that they had "this or that problem" with the Egg, and RMA or any number of things, but I've never had any significant problem.

But I try to be shrewd.

I have a small datablse of resellers which I use: Egg (of course), Provantage, Directron, Ascendtech (an IT-asset-management company who refurbishes and re-sells), Sidewinder computers, Performance PCs, CoolerGuys, FrozenCPU, TigerDirect. Sometimes I search EBay and Amazon for parts and buy them there, but these are only a sample in my list.

I've discovered, on the matter of pricing, that the industry is sufficiently competitive enough that if Egg offers me a price on something for which I'll pay a sales-tax upfront, some other reseller which doesn't charge sales-tax will price their product to nearly equal what it would cost with the tax, knowing that the buyer will likely pay sales tax anyway to another reseller like Egg.

The only other immediate factor is the shipping charges.

Also, with Egg, if your credit is good, you can get their "Egg" credit card and pay no interest for either 6 months or a year on purchases exceeding either $250 or $500. I try and take advantage of this. But I also know that I might get a better price on this or that item if I buy elsewhere, with no such advantage.

But sometimes, when looking for something exotic, you have to buy it . . . . where you find it. And when you need some small item < $100, you're not going to wait until you can add it to a list totaling the "no-interest" thresholds.

Man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do.

 

[piasabird]

Get a cash back credit card if you shop on-line.

 

[Gunbuster]

Get a cash back credit card if you shop on-line.

FTFY: Get a card that does that and extended warranty. Put the dates/reciepts in your calendar. Profit. Amex.