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View Full Version : Which computer retailer do you trust most?



lewisgoddard
December 9th, 2011, 05:08 PM
Trust being generic for trust in good quality, fair prices, warranties, after-sale support, etc.

haqking
December 9th, 2011, 05:11 PM
IBM/Lenovo for Laptops with me everytime for years.

Desktops i tend to build myself.

Servers then Dell/HP,IBM for standard rack based stuff.

Edit: So sorry just reread title and saw the poll. None of them ;-)

bluexrider
December 9th, 2011, 05:11 PM
I wouldn't look at the retailer as much as the brand reputation.

3Miro
December 9th, 2011, 05:21 PM
Quality doesn't depend on the retailer, but on the manufacturers. The same Intel CPU from BestBuy and TigerDirect is the same Intel CPU.

I don't trust anyone about prices and I don't think anyone "trusts" retailers in general. Especially on-line, people just go to multiple web-pages and compare prices.

Very few retailers provide warranty, at most they have a return policy, but that's not a warranty. Warranty comes from either the manufacturer or sometimes retailers sell third party warranty.

Retailers don't provide support.

Why is Apple on the same retailer list with TigerDirect? Apple is a manufacturer and sells only their own product. TigerDirect doesn't produce anything, they just sell other people' products.

Why is TigerDirect on the list without also including Newegg?

Why does this poll make no sense?

del_diablo
December 9th, 2011, 05:24 PM
Whoever is not willing to lie about the actual warranty would be the most trustworthy.
Why? Because EU warranty is by default 2 years, but in my country the laws say its 5, so a lot of companies lie about the warranty(or to be lawyerish: Use spesific words about service to make it sounds like its 2 years of warranty instead of some insignificant extra rights).

Linuxratty
December 9th, 2011, 05:25 PM
Actually,New Egg since I hate TDirect's rebates.

Next machine I buy will be from Zareason most likely.

http://zareason.com/shop/home.php

Lucradia
December 9th, 2011, 05:25 PM
Newegg / Lenovo.

cbanakis
December 9th, 2011, 05:28 PM
Newegg.com

Hands down.

Tiger direct is ok, but I like newegg much more.

Also, newegg does not have any locations in Illinois, so I don't need to pay the bloated Illinois sales tax, if I use newegg instead of tiger direct.

I'll still go to tiger in a pinch, but I prefer to only pay taxes 5 times, instead of 6.

(Federal Income Tax, State Income Tax, Property Tax, Tollways, Social Security Tax)
Sales tax is pushing it. :)

VanR
December 9th, 2011, 06:00 PM
Newegg for me.

lewisgoddard
December 9th, 2011, 06:09 PM
Quality doesn't depend on the retailer, but on the manufacturers. The same Intel CPU from BestBuy and TigerDirect is the same Intel CPU.

I don't trust anyone about prices and I don't think anyone "trusts" retailers in general. Especially on-line, people just go to multiple web-pages and compare prices.
Fair enough.


Very few retailers provide warranty, at most they have a return policy, but that's not a warranty. Warranty comes from either the manufacturer or sometimes retailers sell third party warranty.
I'm not familiar with USA legal aspects, in the UK practically everything comes with 1 Year Retail & Manufacturers Warranty, good to know though.


Retailers don't provide support.
In the UK plenty of retailers provide support services. None in the USA do?


Why is Apple on the same retailer list with TigerDirect? Apple is a manufacturer and sells only their own product. TigerDirect doesn't produce anything, they just sell other people' products.
Precisely, Apple sells their own product. Just because everything is in-house doesn't mean they're not a retailer.


Why is TigerDirect on the list without also including Newegg?
Again, being british, i'd never heard of Newegg.


Why does this poll make no sense?
Because i've never had to shop in america!

IWantFroyo
December 9th, 2011, 06:11 PM
I buy through Amazon.

3Miro
December 9th, 2011, 06:55 PM
I'm not familiar with USA legal aspects, in the UK practically everything comes with 1 Year Retail & Manufacturers Warranty, good to know though.

In the UK plenty of retailers provide support services. None in the USA do?

Precisely, Apple sells their own product. Just because everything is in-house doesn't mean they're not a retailer.

Now things make more sense to me.

The definitions of retailer and manufacturer can be blurry. How do you call it if I buy an Apple laptop from TigerDirect with an Intel CPU. For example, Dell doesn't "manufacture" their own computers, they buy parts from other companies and put them together, however, Dell does provide warranty and support since they do put an effort into the machine. Same for Apple.

This is going on even on a lower level, several years ago Foxconn was the biggest Motherboard manufacturer even though Foxconn Motherboards were not very common. Foxconn were simply producing low level components that others used. I had a Gigabyte Motherboard that had several Foxconn components (like the PS2 connector).

When I think about a retailer, I think about TigerDirect, they only sell other people's things, at most they do some packaging. If something is wrong you what they sell you, then you can usually return it (they sometimes charge a fee), but this is different from support or warranty.

I think that companies like Dell and Apple, that sell a final product machine should be in a different category from people that just sell part or other's machines (like TigerDirect). Those should also be separate from the manufacturers of individual components, sometimes you can get a laptop from Dell with 1 year warranty, but the HDD may have a separate 3 year warranty from Western Digital.

Basically I would have categories like:

TigerDirect, BestBuy - competing in fast shipping and good return policy.
Apple, Dell - competing in support and warranty.
Intel, AMD, Nvidia - competing in performance and quality of individual components.

Ultimately everyone competes in prices.



Again, being british, i'd never heard of Newegg.

Newegg is like TigerDirect and I would guess that they do more business in the USA than TigerDirect. I am surprised that TigerDirect has business in other countries and Newegg doesn't. Here is their web-page:

http://www.newegg.com/

although you probably can't buy anything from the UK.



Because i've never had to shop in america!
It makes sense to me now, however, I cannot vote as I never had to shop in the UK. I mostly buy computer stuff from newegg.

wolfen69
December 9th, 2011, 07:25 PM
The one thing newegg is good for even if you can't buy from them, is the for the reviews. It's invaluable if you want to know if something is linux compatible.

Frogs Hair
December 9th, 2011, 07:38 PM
Since I now build , Tiger Direct , New Egg , Comp USA , or whomever has the best price .

JDShu
December 9th, 2011, 08:16 PM
I buy through Amazon.

+1.

Amazon may be famous for its internal issues and maybe one day it'll bleed through, but right now Amazon's site and customer support is unparalleled.

drawkcab
December 9th, 2011, 08:48 PM
Newegg / Lenovo.

This. Newegg is pretty easy to deal with while Lenovo's thinkpads are a great product.

Buy a thinkpad from Newegg?

spcwingo
December 10th, 2011, 02:50 AM
My vote goes to Eight Virtues in Stone Mountain, GA.

http://www.eightvirtues.com

3Miro
December 10th, 2011, 04:51 AM
My vote goes to Eight Virtues in Stone Mountain, GA.

http://www.eightvirtues.com

http://www.eightvirtues.com/ev1681c.html

Couple of months ago I spend that much on a System76 machine and that one came with i7 second generation, Sandy Bridge graphics and 8GB of 1333 DD3 RAM. What am I missing about Eight Virtues' machine, their specs are much weaker.

Dlambert
December 10th, 2011, 06:10 AM
AMD all the way! And I build my computers.

Dlambert
December 10th, 2011, 06:12 AM
The one thing newegg is good for even if you can't buy from them, is the for the reviews. It's invaluable if you want to know if something is linux compatible.


+1 True dat

sammiev
December 10th, 2011, 06:16 AM
I wouldn't look at the retailer as much as the brand reputation.

+1 on the quote.

For me Toshiba Intel based have been great.

spcwingo
December 10th, 2011, 06:18 AM
http://www.eightvirtues.com/ev1681c.html

Couple of months ago I spend that much on a System76 machine and that one came with i7 second generation, Sandy Bridge graphics and 8GB of 1333 DD3 RAM. What am I missing about Eight Virtues' machine, their specs are much weaker.

They're local to me so I do a decent amount of business with them. I have NEVER had a sour deal with them. True, they are a bit pricey, but convenience and 100% positive dealings with them makes me a life-long loyal customer. BTW, I thought this thread was about trust, not prices. Hmmm.... :-k :lolflag:

3Miro
December 10th, 2011, 06:21 AM
They're local to me so I do a decent amount of business with them. I have NEVER had a sour deal with them. True, they are a bit pricey, but convenience and 100% positive dealings with them makes me a life-long loyal customer. BTW, I thought this thread was about trust, not prices. Hmmm.... :-k :lolflag:

The OP listed "fair prices" as one of his criteria, so I was wondering.

spcwingo
December 10th, 2011, 06:28 AM
The OP listed "fair prices" as one of his criteria, so I was wondering.

Wow, I completely missed that part. :oops: Although their prices are "fair"...just not great. ;)

Dlambert
December 10th, 2011, 06:33 AM
The OP listed "fair prices" as one of his criteria, so I was wondering.

I found that my local store (PCDirect) is about 10 dollars more than NewEgg, but if I need something now......

matt3839
December 10th, 2011, 06:37 AM
I prefer Newegg, but TigerDirect is also very good, and Amazon is awesome for ordering obscure/less current hardware.

As far as brands go, I judge on an individual basis, since I try to assemble my own desktop when I can, and I loathe the quality of most consumer-grade laptops nowadays. I am interested in buying a System76 laptop, though.

lisati
December 10th, 2011, 06:43 AM
Whichever local retailer has something that's potentially useful to me at a price I can afford usually does the trick for me. Having a limited budget tends to add a few constraints on what I buy.

I wouldn't mind if my newer laptop had a bit more horsepower, but it was nice being able to pay cash for it, so it will have to do.

pqwoerituytrueiwoq
December 10th, 2011, 11:29 PM
other: newegg
tend to favor asus (probably should try gigabite)/amd (price)/rosewill (commodity items eg fans/cases)

beastrace91
December 10th, 2011, 11:41 PM
Asus hands down.

~Jeff

73ckn797
December 11th, 2011, 12:05 AM
Micro Center in Marietta, Ga. Many brands, 2 Atlanta locations, usually good prices. They have everything for computers. Building a new box I can get everything needed. I can order online and have delivered or reserved for in-store pickup. They have been in Atlanta since the 80's and have stores across the U.S.

SirDrexl
December 11th, 2011, 12:11 AM
The one thing newegg is good for even if you can't buy from them, is the for the reviews. It's invaluable if you want to know if something is linux compatible.

I find the reviews very helpful for judging the general reliability of things like hard drives. It's not so much what they actually say, but rather how the votes are spread. If a drive has enough reviews (100 or more) and a significant enough percentage of them are 1-egg reviews, it tells me the drive has a higher than usual chance of failing. A 1-egg vote almost always means it was defective or it died quickly. Any drive can fail, and you won't find one that gets 0% unless there aren't enough reviews to draw a conclusion, but anything under 15% or so is good. Of course, many won't report back unless the drive is bad, so the actual chance of failure is still going to be lower. But, when you're trying to choose between different models, it helps minimize your risk.

nothingspecial
December 11th, 2011, 12:26 AM
I go to my local independent shop. I've been going there for years. I buy all my bits and pieces from him maybe (but rarely) a pound or two over the price I'd get elsewhere. But he knows me :) He knows I run linux and support others who do. So if I want something, he gets me something that will work. And if it doesn't he'll take it back.

And because I'm a regular customer, and keep going back, often I get a better price for the big things that I would elsewhere.

rewyllys
December 11th, 2011, 01:33 AM
. . . . Next machine I buy will be from Zareason most likely.

http://zareason.com/shop/home.php

That's my inclination too, for my next desktop.

For laptops, I favor Lenovo, because I'm too used to using their mid-keyboard red-button cursor control ever to abandon it.

cprofitt
December 11th, 2011, 01:44 AM
newegg.com

CryptAck
December 11th, 2011, 02:01 AM
Retailer: newegg.com
Processor Platform: Intel (as of late)
Memory: Corsair (favorite) or G Skill
Hard Drive: Seagate
Motherboards: ASUS
Video Cards: Nvidia (ASUS/EVGA)


This doesn't mean I wouldn't use other product vendors...MSi, Gigabyte, and others are very reliable as well.

LowSky
December 11th, 2011, 01:57 PM
Newegg for parts, bustbuy.com for electronics and laptops (cheaper in some cases even with taxes)

chrisbarnes1992
December 11th, 2011, 02:01 PM
I usually go for ebuyer.com for all of my computers parts etc. Very good value for money these days.

When its time for a new laptop its usually ebay, gumtree etc as for some reason i like changing laptops a lot.

Z_Cee
December 11th, 2011, 11:28 PM
Since Best Buy sells the most computers retail in my area, I would have to say Best Buy. The prices are lower and their warranty is better than the others.

As for working on computers, there is a local computer shop that does a job that is second to none "Perry Computer Services." The prices are right and the work is top-notch!

undecim
December 12th, 2011, 03:44 AM
I chose "Other" because there was no "Anywhere But Best Buy" option

73ckn797
December 12th, 2011, 03:46 AM
I chose "Other" because there was no "Anywhere But Best Buy" option
+1

Best buy sometimes can beat prices compared to my favorite, Micro Center, but the have a limited selection.

73ckn797
December 12th, 2011, 03:47 AM
Since Best Buy sells the most computers retail in my area, I would have to say Best Buy. The prices are lower and their warranty is better than the others.

As for working on computers, there is a local computer shop that does a job that is second to none "Perry Computer Services." The prices are right and the work is top-notch!
I that shop in Middle Georgia?

Spr0k3t
December 12th, 2011, 05:43 AM
I trust most computer retailers. Unless those retailers are biased towards Microsoft or Apple... then they have nothing of interest. Leaves me going with the small time mom and pop shops or the VAR groups which can offer whatever I'm looking for. I can essentially point out "I want ten computers from said brands and no licensing" and come out ahead of the game.

Of the retailers, apple I believe to be the worst. Do one thing with any of their products they do not expect you to do, and warranty is completely gone. It's fine if you install OSX on a macbook, windows on an imac, but throw Linux on it and you are treading a very thin line depending on who you talk to. Jailbreak a phone... you get excommunicated by the church of jobs himself (even if he is dead). Dare you mention anything to the customer service rep regarding a competing product and immediately the problem you are having has nothing to do with any apple products. Any problems found with an apple product, you are using it wrong or it's a design feature. The list of problems with apple is rather limitless if you ask me. Go read some of the locked threads about hardware or software problems at apple.

guyver_dio
December 12th, 2011, 06:20 AM
I didn't think you had anything to do with the retailer after purchase, usually anything else is dealt with the manufacturer or a contracted technicians.

Only thing I can say is all retailers are overpriced, when it comes to desktops I build my own.

Only other thing I would say is stay the hell away from dell. I was a contracted technician for a few brands like acer, dell and toshiba. Dell technical support is horrible, I've grown a hatred for them so much that if someone brought a dell device into my house I would smash it infront of there face then **** on it.