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Where do you buy your hardware?

Where do you buy your hardware?

  • Online

    Votes: 10,377 79.5%

  • In retail stores

    Votes: 1,745 13.4%

  • Check out in retail, then buy online

    Votes: 930 7.1%
  • Total voters
    13,052
  • Poll closed .
most parts from online except cases, PSU sometimes and fans,
cases is the heaviest and biggest part so the shipment price are expiensive so i always bought it from local stores
 
As a Canadian one of my favourite Online shops is actually Groovesland in Germany. They are the cheapest way to buy Water cooling parts but they use DHL and that company has more fees than you can shake a stick at. Neither will they deliver your product until you pay as well. It is still cheaper than ordering from Alphacool or EK directly or any of their North American distros. Byiski just takes too long from China.
 
Best Buy is handy but rarely is help. I do buy online at my store too and usually get free shipping. Sometimes they even have a better price.
I have bought online at MicroCenter in Dallas and drove there to pick up my parts. They too had a better price at the time. Fry's left the area a few years ago. My local computer store closed too. Was it CompuCenter? Seems like it was a part of TigerDirect?
 
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Ebay. I still like Asus mainboards but buying them new is too dangerous. So Ebay auction it is.

Other parts come from Amazon and Newegg or sometimes manufacturers' own online shops.
 
Once again I did not vote in this TPU poll since there is no correct poll option (I do both).

Sometimes I use the regular online retailers: Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy, Apple.com, etc. Sometimes I use bricks-and-mortar retailers: Apple retail stores, a mom-and-pop PC store, retail Best Buy stores, the now defunct Frys Electronics, etc.

There are certain items that I only buy in physical stores. 3.5" HDDs are one and I grab an external enclosure at the same time. Sometimes I've purchased SSDs at bricks-and-mortar.

The bricks-and-mortar electronics stores in Japan are awesome: Bic, Yodobashi, Donqui and all of those miscellaneous retailers in Akihabara, etc. It's worth walking around some of these stores, there are tons of products that aren't marketed in the USA or Europe. Hell, there are things that I've imagined that make total sense once I've seen them.

One thing for sure, iPhone cases in Japan blow doors on the offerings here in the USA, especially on price. I typically buy thin clear cases around 1000 ¥ (about $6.50). Equivalent cases in the USA are around $20+, stupidly overpriced. There are tons of little things like cables, chargers, peripherals, and more where buying in Japan is way better than Big A, FleaBay or AliExpress.

Hell, I have no problem buying miscellaneous tech goodies at 100 ¥ stores (dollar stores) like Daiso in Japan.

Japan is the place to buy things for a travel kit. Those guys know how to make things small and compact. My bag is properly kitted out with a bunch of this stuff.

There are other things I'll only buy in Japanese bricks-and-mortar stores these days, like rechargeable AA and AAA batteries. I buy Panasonic rechargeables in Japan which are basically Eneloops without the Eneloop branding and pricing.

I have also never paid full retail for a copy of Windows. The local mom-and-pop PC store has sold OEM copies for the past 25+ years if you buy a primary PC component (CPU, GPU, power supply, motherboard, case, drive, etc.). These days I'll just buy a bulk key online but I continue to buy stuff from the mom-and-pop store.

Likewise home theater equipment has been a mix of both online and bricks-and-mortar. When I was shopping for an LG C2 55" OLED television, I also checked out a local television retailer who ended up being the lowest price of anyone. They even had a deal to slash $100 if I brought in an old TV set (which I did, a crummy little 21" television gathering dust). A/V receivers, speakers, etc. Half online, half physical retail.

Even for big ticket items like computers and phones, it's a pretty even mix of online and bricks-and-mortar.

One thing I noticed is that sometimes a bricks-and-mortar store will still stock a discontinued item after online availability has evaporated. Most recently I picked up a discounted EOL Arctic Liquid Freezer II 120mm AIO after general availability at online stores had dried up and the only items available online were from independent sellers engaged in heavy price gouging. And yet there was one sitting on the shelf of my favorite local B&M store in the color I wanted.

If you do all of your tech buying online, you are certainly going to limit product selection and availability. And sometimes pricing in certain cases.
 
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It's like a 70/30 split for me favoring online. Sometimes it's just way more convenient to grab something from the store and not worry about shipping or the hassle of an online return if it doesn't work out for whatever reason.
 
Both at times. If local retail has inventory for what I want at a good price, I'll pick it up there. If there's no local inventory or if online has a significantly better price, I'll source from online.
 
I mostly buy online now (Amazon, Newegg, B&H) because I live nowhere near a Microcenter (was the same story when I lived in California, but since I was in the Bay Area, I had Central Computers at least) and I've had bad experiences with Best Buy (looking at you, Geek Squad)
 
I would assume that the only people who buy hardware in person are Americans who live close to a Microcenter.
 
Where I live there is no point in checking retail stores. There was a store I usually frequented because if I had problem I could bring back the faulty hardware and they could then deal with the RMA process from there. They were more expensive than online stores. But they changed their policy that I need to contact the service myself, repack, wait for courier, etc. I don't have time for that because of family and work. So there is absolutely no point for me to frequent the retail store anymore.
 
Anywhere I can :)

In all seriousness though Both and including secondhand markets like MP and eBay.
 
I personally think there should have been another option because I buy from both. If I need something in a hurry, I buy from a retail store, but if its something I am planning, then I will buy online.
 
I buy all my computer hardwares etc from scan.co.uk, they supplied me with my 3XS computer (3 years) which has never failed me which i think is a great advert for their company.
 
Count von Schwalbe said:
Microcenter is nice but bear in mind they don't have that many stores. I could drive from Budapest to anywhere in Hungary in less time than it takes for me to get to my "local" Microcenter.

Other than that, the choices are Best Buy or Walmart, pretty much. Generally I might impulse buy a SSD or maybe a RAM kit from these, but the prices and selection for big-ticket items or even things like PSUs and Cases are pretty dismal. So online it is. Newegg, Amazon, Best Buy online, and B&H are almost always cheaper than buying in store anyways.
Click to expand...

So...it was a toss-up for you between Georgia and Delaware before, right? There is one that recently opened in southern Charlotte, NC...which is about a six hour drive each way. Still shorter than getting out of Atlanta...given the two hour penalty in drive times for being anywhere near the city at anything resembling a reasonable time.

Joking aside, I rejoiced when the Charlotte store opened. It was well within driving distance without making it a day trip, and their recent opening event was...OK. It was funny to pick-up a BD drive barebones, and have the clerk look at me like I stole something...before scanning the code and realizing they actually do sell bare drives in nothing more than a sleeve. I also loved buying from the store in St. Louis Park when I was travelling to MN for business...because I still remember fondly fitting up everything I needed for a loop and being able to make sure it all fit before spending a dime. Their selection did suck a bit...but this was in the Sandybridge era.

That said, most purchases were from Newegg. They went down the plug hole when their model changed from slight premium cost for excellent services to a middleman who sells furniture (and believe me, don't buy that from them...or whatever third party slimed their way into being a seller on the site). CompUSA was bought out by TigerDirect and was supposed to introduce online shopping...but they just killed their Florida based brick and mortar stores by being a bad experience. I'm now about 50-50 between the bad Newegg and Amazon...because both deliver even if they're not really anything special anymore.


The alternative that's nearest is Best Buy...and they flat out suck. Price premiums on nearly everything, employees who want to sell you whatever is at the highest end of your budget, and selling you warranties that literally evaporate the second you aren't covered by a manufacturer warranty mean that all that is left is media...and "I need it right this minute." The former is being phased out and the later is now basically Walmart. Sigh. I remember walking through aisles of games and media, going to Best Buy to get that CD that nobody else had, and now their refrigerator section has replaced the media. Why not be a bad Home Depot along with a mediocre Best Buy (said nobody in their right mind ever)?
 
Actually, the Georgia store is on the north side of Atlanta, which isn't too bad. It takes 4 hours to get there and 3 hours to cross Atlanta from there, in non rush hour traffic.
 
I have been shopping at Microcenter for the last 15 years or so now. I will get the occasional one-off item from Amazon or Newegg, but I keep to my local store. My store is about a 15-minute drive for me.
 
Member from the EU should only order stuff from the internet, even if they checking out in the shop locally.
To have the option for the quick return if something is bad.
 
AusWolf said:
I would assume that the only people who buy hardware in person are Americans who live close to a Microcenter.
Click to expand...
Canada Computers can have some good deals if you go into the Store.
 
Online.

But there's a missing poll option for dumpster dive. My current laptops and my gaming Optiplex at work are all e-waste recovery.
 
I voted online, but it's about 90% online/10% retail by $ amount.
 
From online or second hand from friends. On some rare cases I visit a retail shop as one online store has a local store nearby.
 
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