I'm DONE with Best Buy

[majpooper]

I stick with Newgg - like the prices - recently ordered a 2.5 120Gib SSD which came appropriately packaged - the down size is that it took over a week to get it.

Newegg used to be my go-to firm for computer parts but I gave up on them a few months ago. Customer service has been plummeting since Newegg was sold to Liaison Interactive, a Chinese Tech company. My last order was a nightmare of epic proportions to get straightened out. Also, Newegg is stocking less in their own stock and depending more on sketchy Marketplace vendors. There is no way I'm ever doing business with those morons again!

confused . . . . I am shocked and disappointed - I have been using NewEgg for years and never an issue. I had no idea NewEgg was sold to the Chinese or there were customer service issues - luckily I never had any issues.

Where do folks recommend shopping on-line for computer stuff?

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I stick with Newgg - like the prices - recently ordered a 2.5 120Gib SSD which came appropriately packaged - the down size is that it took over a week to get it.

Newegg used to be my go-to firm for computer parts but I gave up on them a few months ago. Customer service has been plummeting since Newegg was sold to Liaison Interactive, a Chinese Tech company. My last order was a nightmare of epic proportions to get straightened out. Also, Newegg is stocking less in their own stock and depending more on sketchy Marketplace vendors. There is no way I'm ever doing business with those morons again!

confused . . . . I am shocked and disappointed - I have been using NewEgg for years and never an issue. I had no idea NewEgg was sold to the Chinese or there were customer service issues - luckily I never had any issues.

Where do folks recommend shopping on-line for computer stuff?

I'm reduced to using Amazon much of the time now. I was boycotting them for a few years because they insisted on using their then fledgling delivery service which was unbelievably incompetent and their customer service reps were just as bad. Amazon has since cleaned up their delivery service's act. Amazon is still bad about being cheap with their packing materials. Also, Amazon is not always the low price leader for products so I always check to see if someone is selling a product I want elsewhere for a better price, faster shipping, longer warranty, etc. Amazon has had problems with counterfeit products and scalpers; scalpers have been especially bad during this pandemic.

B&H Photo Video is another source I have used although they are clear across the country from me and tend to be a bit pricier. Performance PCs is another one I have used although they are geared more for gaming computer parts. I've used them a lot for computer chassis and cable making parts.

I get some parts from FleaBay (eBay). Some of their vendors are pretty good; others are very bad. I recently bought some short type C USB cables from there that I hadn't been able to find elsewhere (btw, Yellow-Price, despite the unusual name, is a good brand of cable). FleaBay has also had problems with scalpers.

I avoid Chinese vendors like Covid-19 (especially the crooked, unauthorized arbitrageurs that abound on FleaBay), both because they are often unreliable and/or crooked, and all shipments from China can take one or two months to arrive but one I have used for oddball parts I couldn't find elsewhere is modDIY. They still can be flaky but they are better than most of them.

I also search the "interwebz" for individual parts that specialty vendors may carry. A lot of times, I put in generic search terms then view the image results to see if I can recognize what I'm looking for rather than have to open up every hit to see if it's what I want.

[Schultz]

Bigotry knows no bounds in some people. I thought it was hilarious that he put his logic failure on show:

Are you a mind reader?

[AZgl1800]

I stick with Newgg - like the prices - recently ordered a 2.5 120Gib SSD which came appropriately packaged - the down size is that it took over a week to get it.

Newegg used to be my go-to firm for computer parts but I gave up on them a few months ago. Customer service has been plummeting since Newegg was sold to Liaison Interactive, a Chinese Tech company. My last order was a nightmare of epic proportions to get straightened out. Also, Newegg is stocking less in their own stock and depending more on sketchy Marketplace vendors. There is no way I'm ever doing business with those morons again!

confused . . . . I am shocked and disappointed - I have been using NewEgg for years and never an issue. I had no idea NewEgg was sold to the Chinese or there were customer service issues - luckily I never had any issues.

Where do folks recommend shopping on-line for computer stuff?

Amazon has improved their Modus Operandi immensely in the last couple of years.
I now prefer it to any other vendor source, but only AFTER a comparison has been done with other Vendor's pricing on the item.....

Sometimes, eBay will give me a better price by "Half", you just never know.

BUT,
the fly in the ointment, is when you happen to get a faulty item, and need to return it.

with Amazon, there is no arguing as to who is "right" or "wrong", you just mark it returned and they pay for the return shipping and packaging.... all I do is drop it off at the UPS service counter and done.

as for NewEgg,
I have noticed a severe retraction in " Items in Stock ", and the small print stating it is offered by an outsourced vendor. That only happened to me once and I quit NewEgg.

I now use https://www.tigerdirect.com/ as they seem to have Special Deals that are lower priced than NewEgg or Amazon

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...I now use https://www.tigerdirect.com/ as they seem to have Special Deals that are lower priced than NewEgg or Amazon

I've never used Tiger Direct, mostly because they never had what I was looking for at the time but also because they have a slightly less than stellar reputation for customer service after the transaction (B&H has a similar reputation). Still, many people use them.

Another one I failed to mention is Micro Center. Again, I never found anything I wanted there (not to mention many of the items they stock are sold only in their stores) but many people use it.

Walmart is trying to give Amazon a run for its money and now carries many computer parts online. Sadly, I can't order from them because the idiot third party they use to vet purchasers flags my financial information (which works just fine everywhere else) and Walmart couldn't tell me specifically was wrong because no logs are kept. I had to file a Better Business Bureau complaint to get that last tidbit of info because their offshore customer "service" reps were so useless.

Edit: I forgot to mention ModMyMods. They sell a lot of cable making parts, water cooling parts, etc.

[Moonstone Man]

Bigotry knows no bounds in some people. I thought it was hilarious that he put his logic failure on show:

Are you a mind reader?

Yes. I also predict the future with extremely uncanny accuracy.

[GS3]

Styrofoam peanuts once saved my life! Well, I exaggerate a bit but not much.

A couple decades ago I was staying with my girlfriend for just some weeks in a small, almost empty apartment someone had lent us. We had a mattress on the floor, some bed sheets and not much more. The weather started to turn cold and, with only bed sheets, we were cold at night.

This was in a central office district and I found in the trash some big cardboard boxes with lots of Styrofoam peanuts and a box full of paper clamps.

We took the two bed sheets and made a huge bag by clamping them all around the edges with the paper clamps and we then filled the bag with Styrofoam peanuts and it made for a very effective and warm bed cover which we used while we were doing "indoor camping" as I call it.

In the same trash there were about half dozen large and heavy CRT monitors and I took two which I used for many years, but that is another story.

[RickyRaccoon]

Ehhh my fridge and TV are Insignia brand from BB, I can't complain too much, but I wouldn't let them work on a computer.

I used to use Amazon a lot- they've kinda ticked me off on general principles- mostly my hatred of Jeff Bezos- so I'm down to mostly EvilBay for components. Agreed on staying away from anything directly from China- I got a doctored flash drive or SD card from China once- rigged to report more memory than it really had- I order from China only when it's the only source; and something fairly uncomplicated, like the oddball ceiling fan switch I needed that nobody local carries.

Did NOT know that about Newegg- that finishes them off my list, although TBH the computer I'm typing this on, the Mb come from Newegg, and the first motherboard I bought for the build was a dud, AND they sent it FedEx: which means I watched it leave Newegg, travel overland to the same part of my state that I live in; get scanned in; go on to another state; pass me again to go to a large city in my state; then finally come to me, after having passed within 50 miles of me twice, taking a few extra days to do it. Just to turn out to be DOA. Every time someone ships me something from FedEx, I wonder what is going to happen to it.

Folks that ship Fedex get the stinkeye from me.

[majpooper]

I used to use Amazon a lot- they've kinda ticked me off on general principles- mostly my hatred of Jeff Bezos

I am kind of stuck with Amazon for convenience - just too much stuff I can't find locally I can get on Amazon plus Amazon Prime video has a lot of good streaming TV. And then there are the used books - both my wife and I are prolific readers so we get all our books from Amazon . . . . . well almost - when Jeffy B decided to start banning books I ordered a few books that I normally would have no interest in reading from Encounter Books - you know just to see what Amazon thought I shouldn't read. Banning books is really a problem that needs to be addressed.

Did NOT know that about Newegg- that finishes them off my list,

Same here - all my computer stuff including two Lenovo t430s are from Newegg - I never had a problem but then I never had to return anything. I got ripped off on Ebay twice so a little leery there but planning to give Tiger direct a try. Back to Amazon - my wife has had to return a few things to Amazon and she dropped them off somewhere (Wallmart ? ? ? ? some place like that) and they sent them back for her and she got the replacement pretty quick . . . . so there is that.

. . . . . they sent it FedEx: which means I watched it leave Newegg, travel overland to the same part of my state that I live in; get scanned in; go on to another state; pass me again to go to a large city in my state; then finally come to me, after having passed within 50 miles of me twice, taking a few extra days to do it.

A few years ago some guy who works for FedEx or UPS explained to me - or tried to - about algorithms and hubs and distribution blah blah blah . . . . . it really was a "what did he say" kind of thing.

[Portreve]

There are no domestic U.S. (or anywhere else) manufacturers for almost anything. There are domestic vendors, but that's it. It doesn't matter if we're talking the U.S., or Germany, or Japan, or anywhere else. Something like, what... 90% probably? ... of everything comes from China, with the exception of foodstuffs and maybe a few other ranges of product. The other 10% comes from almost exclusively other S.E. Asian countries, and the remaining percent or so comes from pretty much anywhere else. So, in that sense of it, I really don't care who's product I'm ordering.

There is a difference between Internationalism and international trade, and using arbitrage to jack up profit margins while at the same time shafting everyone they can. The former is rarely seen in today's world compared with the latter. I'm a strong proponent of the former, and a strong opponent of the latter. However, I don't wish to die and I don't wish to be relegated to some kind of extremist non-functional existence, so I go along with it.

That all said, I've had good luck with buying cabling from Monoprice. They also sell various types of hardware, but I can only speak to various types of USB and Ethernet cabling.

A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away...) I used to do all my ordering primarily through MacConnection, MacWarehouse, and MacMall. Of course, this was all in the days of mail order catalogs and calling up and ordering things over the phone. Generally, I would need to get a cashier's check because I didn't have a card they could take over the phone. Of course, with the rise of the Internet and e-commerce, the age of catalogs died, and eventually most of the mail order outfits either merged or simply died out.

I haven't bought anything through NewEgg (which used to be Egghead Computing) in ages, nor Tiger Direct. I used to buy a lot of things through CompUSA, but then they had the temerity to declare Chapter 11 and get bought out by Tiger Direct, which then had the further temerity to close those locations down several years later because, well... insufficient traffic.

Back in the 1990s and very early 2000s, I used to love building desktop (i.e. tower) systems. I had a lot of fun with that, and I'd built a bunch of AMD-based systems, ranging from a 133 MHz unit to one of their Athlon 1.4GHz (iirc) units. I even built a system using an Athlon 700 MHz unit, which (I dunno if anybody remembers this) came in this daughter-card like unit that plugged into a socket.

But, since I haven't really needed much in the way of computer parts in ages, and also because for most of that time I remained a primarily Mac-using guy, I haven't had a lot of need to get parts, except very sporadically.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...That all said, I've had good luck with buying cabling from Monoprice. They also sell various types of hardware, but I can only speak to various types of USB and Ethernet cabling...

I agree that Monoprice is a good source of cables and cable related items. I've had some problems with their choices of shipping carriers but, overall, I've also had good luck with them.

[old_noob]

Funny, the machine I'm currently typing on has the same SSD, but I was lucky enough to buy it in person.

#metoo, from Wal*Mart. It was my first SSD, to replace an HDD a few years ago. Now it's a backup disk, works great. Also got a cool PNY USB thumbdrive in a thick metal case.

I am using the HDD that the SSD replaced for backup; works great. I back up my wife's Windows machine daily onto an external drive we keep here. Her business is deeply intertwined with the household so all our tax and other critical info is kept there. The old laptop drive now lives in a drawer at work. Every weekend I bring it home and back up the Windows computer, then put it in my car, which is parked outside, not close to the house, so we have backup if we suffer fire, flood etc. Old hard drives are pretty handy.

[AZgl1800]

there used to be a Fry's Electronics in all of the major US cities. https://www.frys.com/
I bought my desktop from them in Phoenix, AZ back about 15 years ago..

I bought my previous ASUS thinbook from their store in Atlanta, Ga about 5 years ago.

they closed the one here in Tulsa, OK

I'm very rural, there are NO major stores within 300 miles of me anywhere.

So, my choices now are

• Amazon because of the wide selections and no-fault return policy
  eBay for selected items that are new from a high rated seller, and cheaper than Amazon
  Tiger Direct ( not used them for several years now )

Any more, I use SearchTempest.com to find what I want, and it is super easy to compare prices and quality

[AZgl1800]

I just looked at Fry's

After nearly 36 years in business as the one-stop-shop and online resource for high-tech professionals across nine states and 31 stores, Fry’s Electronics, Inc. has made the difficult decision to shut down its operations and close its business permanently as a result of changes in the retail industry and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

[Portreve]

I just looked at Fry's

After nearly 36 years in business as the one-stop-shop and online resource for high-tech professionals across nine states and 31 stores, Fry’s Electronics, Inc. has made the difficult decision to shut down its operations and close its business permanently as a result of changes in the retail industry and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yeah, I was just about to respond to your previous post when I saw this follow up. I read about that when it happened. As for them being in all major cities, that might be the case on the west side of the U.S., but there weren't any over on this side. Anyhow, that's just splitting hairs. CompUSA and Computer World are both gone, so all we have left, apart from the odd mom-n-pop computer store or, across some states, Micro Center, is pretty much just Best Buy.

[kenetics]

Tiger Direct used to have local stores here in Florida, until they got bought out and closed their stores. It used to be a great place to shop, with large inventories and sales on over stocked merchandise. I'm still using a Benq 22 inch monitor that was on sale for $99. I bought my kid's first computer there - it was the original model iMac.

I've used Tiger Direct in the past, but mostly use Amazon for their free shipping.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...I've used Tiger Direct in the past, but mostly use Amazon for their free shipping.

When you get down to the brass bananas, there is no such thing as free shipping. In the case of Amazon Prime, even if shipping would have cost you more than your Prime membership over the year, I guarantee that Jeff Bozos (sic) isn't making up the difference from the goodness of his heart; the cost of shipping has been factored into the cost of the product. I always get "free" shipping from Amazon by ordering enough to qualify for it without paying the yearly Prime ransom/extortion (I maintain a wish list of items I would like to get eventually but do not need right away to "pad" orders to qualify for "free" shipping).

When I'm price comparing, I don't worry about if the shipping is free or not. I look at the bottom line: product price + shipping + tax, etc. It makes more since to pay $5 for shipping a product that costs %40 from one vendor than the same product with free shipping that costs $50 from another vendor. I also don't assume Amazon is the low cost leader for everything. It's not unusual for me to find a product at another vendor that costs less overall, ships sooner or faster, has a longer warranty, and/or has proven to be more reliable, etc.

[kenetics]

Definitely, Amazon doesn't always have the best price, but their free shipping is fast (I live near a distribution center), and returns are easy. Another bonus for Prime members is their streaming service, which is fairly nice. So unless I find an item more than a few dollars cheaper, I go with Amazon.

There's a service, put out by my credit card company, that says it will find the best price for an item compared with Amazon's prices. However, I don't like their 'terms of service' which seems too invasive of one's privacy.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Definitely, Amazon doesn't always have the best price, but their free shipping is fast (I live near a distribution center), and returns are easy. Another bonus for Prime members is their streaming service, which is fairly nice...

Amazon shipping is fast only if you pay their extortion, aka Prime. Per Amazon, Amazon "prioritizes" the filling of orders, which is another way of saying they penalize non-Prime customers by delaying when they fill orders.

I'm not interested in other Prime "benefits and services".

[AZgl1800]

Amazon shipping is fast only if you pay their extortion, aka Prime. Per Amazon, Amazon "prioritizes" the filling of orders, which is another way of saying they penalize non-Prime customers by delaying when they fill orders.

I'm not interested in other Prime "benefits and services".

ummmm,
tain't so....

I do NOT have, nor will I ever pay for Prime.
and I get the same fast shipping as folks who pay for Prime.

Nearly always 2 days to my door, and I'm in a rural area next to the cows putting out methane in the air.

My biggest gripe, is I don't get the same drivers here all the time.
they are ignoring the delivery instructions and I find packages littered all over the place.

instructions: Leave in Car, do not put on the ground!!!!

the brown box truck, same driver who knows me, says hello, "how ya doing to day John? "