Good & Bad places to buy from...

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Sun Apr 28, 2002 11:42 am

Let's list our buying experiences in this thread.

Please list only places that you have bought from, and include what you bought (if it was a lot, you can just say many things, etc..) and details involving the transaction, such as:

Did they charge you correctly,
Process & ship your order timely,
Did they provide confirmation and tracking numbers,
Any problems and did they resolve them,
How fast did you receive your order, anything damaged,
And any general comments on the company...

This type of thread can benefit all of us!

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Sun Apr 28, 2002 11:45 am

The following places all gave me a good buying experience.

http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/shop.asp
Good fans, cheap and quick shipping.

http://www.componentsdirect.com/
SCSI controllers... ***Does NOT Appear to be in business any longer, Feb. 2008***

http://atacom.com/
MoBo's, PSU's...

http://sidewindercomputers.com/
Has good braided metal cables, HSF, extremely fast delivery! Great place!

http://www.so-trickcomputers.com/Me...NT&Store_Code=S
Great stuff, extremely fast delivery! ***Does NOT Appear to be in business any longer, Feb. 2008***

http://www.newegg.com/
Several thousand dollars ordered from them, no problems.

http://onthegoaudio.com/
I ordered through ebay, they have the 5" LCD video monitors, (various small sizes of LCD monitors...) ***Does NOT Appear to be in business any longer, Feb. 2008***

http://umaxpc.com/store/default.php
SCSI terminators...

http://sharkacomputers.com/
Braided floppy cable...

http://www.sounddomain.com/
Split loom, glow white 1/2"

http://www.mushkin.com/cgi-bin/Mush...1020691/Catalog
Memory PC2700

http://nexfan.com/
HDD Coolers

http://www.directron.com/
HDD coolers...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would NOT recommend these ba$tards:
http://store.yahoo.com/buycaseonline/ <--- misleading & product switching, cheap stuff! (Dump Computers.com) They = Teh SuXors!

Company alias names:
buycase online
DumpComputers.com
Ranier Company
HardDrive.com
ThorTek Company

I ordered 3 each model# MF2100 Lian-Li Professional HDD Coolers, at $39.00 each totaling $117.00 and 2 each Silver Sony Floppy drives at $16.50, The grand total with shipping was $162.43, one night.

They charged my card immediately. The next morning, I clicked on the link to review what I had purchased the night before. The link to the coolers was a dead link... (I had clicked on this bookmarked link several times before I purchased.)
I could not find the model that I had ordered the night before, anywhere on their site.

I became suspicious and told Philip that either we ordered the last they had or they didn't have any.
Well, sure enough, half priced substitute HDD Coolers arrived a week or so later...

http://store.yahoo.com/buycaseonline/alhardrivcoo.html
They sent me 3 of these (only rated for up to 10,000 RPM hard drives) which cost $15.99 each.

(I have 2 Seagate Cheetahs 15,000 RPMs each and had ordered this model which is special for 15K HD's)
http://www.viewline.be/lianli/Coolinghd.htm

A big difference in quality and price. They never said a word. Of course "their" product model number now points to the cheaper model, and they do not have the Pro model on their site anymore...
I had researched this enough times to know which cooler I needed and ordered and would not have paid $39 each for $16 each, insufficient coolers...

Not to mention their "Silver Floppy Disk Drive" is just a bad paint job...

DumpComputers.com SUCKS!! Be very careful ordering through StoreYahoo, they could careless what happens as long as they get their cut...

loop2kil · Post by **loop2kil** » Sun Apr 28, 2002 1:48 pm

http://www.newegg.com - prolly the best i've used on the net

http://www.jazztechnology.com - they did rma a bad board without any problems. pretty good prices and the only complaint is they are slow.

used these like only one time but have no complaints about them:

http://www.mpcparts.com

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/componentauthority/

This is the only place that i will never use again as it took them 4 weeks to get me my sound card i ordered

http://www.computergeeks.com

Brk · Post by **Brk** » Sun Apr 28, 2002 2:20 pm

These places have been absolutely wonderful to deal with:

PC Mods
http://www.pcmods.com

I was looking for a Lian-Li PC-12 case for a few months but no one either had it in stock, or I would've had to buy it from overseas at a huge markup. PC Mods were sold out as well but e-mailed me when they'd gotten in a few for wholesale and reserved one for me for a very reasonable price. You can look at your order history at any time and they provide thorough information including tracking via your account page. They also ship very quickly and I've gotten all my orders within a couple of days (of course, PC Mods is in Texas and I'm in Oklahoma, but still!).

NewEgg
http://www.newegg.com

NewEgg has emerged as THE place I go to buy components. Their prices are always low and they communicate well with buyers. Recently I've had three MSI boards go bad on me and after submitting the problems to them they RMA'd all three without any trouble, even after I'd explained that I'd broken the P4 mounting bracket on one of them trying to get it off. They ship very quickly as well; with some stores, overnight shipping means two business days to process and then a couple more to get your item. But with NewEgg, their overnight shipping is exactly that -- you get it the next day, period. Like PC Mods, they have an account page for you that you can check your order status, etc. at any time. That's always a huge plus to me.

Gateway Accessory Store
http://www.necxdirect.com/hai/serve_pag ... guest_gate

It may be anathema to some, but I've done business with Gateway Accessory Store longer than anyone else, mainly since I bought an OEM PC back in 2000. In the past months I've purchased drives, video cards and several LCD monitors from them and have sent a few of the LCDs back when problems arose, like dead pixels or the like, and they've exchanged every one with no hassle; in fact, they a lot of times will send me prepaid return labels for more expensive items. Their prices aren't exactly competitive, but I use an MBNA credit account there that I pay off over time so I can use the credit cards for NewEgg and PC Mods!

They do from time to time have one-day-only deals on expensive items, and I bought my Samsung 181T monitor there for $899 not too long ago...the price has skyrocketed back up again, though.

LT-73 · Post by **LT-73** » Sun Apr 28, 2002 4:19 pm

Hey people !

I ordered my mobo (Ecs K7ama) and the cpu (Duron 1Ghz) from these guys:
http://www.BZBoyz.com
It was a bundled set for 99$ and the shipping was about 20$
They shipped it via priortymail and insured.
Their customer support is outstanding and i got my stuff in 2 days !
Lots of great stuff and their prices are great too.
And to tell u the truth it was actually my first time ordering online!

odog · Post by **odog** » Sun Apr 28, 2002 7:15 pm

newegg ,http://www.mwave.com ,http://www.tcwo.com

newegg, is great for cpu's and mobo's along with other stuff...

mwave, is great for about everything their shipping is much more resonable then newegg, and they have far more to choose from then most other(cough newegg)

tcwo has great prices on cpus and a once in a while their combos really kick ass... shipping is awesome $7 for up to 150 pounds UPS ground...

Jim · Post by **Jim** » Sun Apr 28, 2002 7:51 pm

The Good:

I'm new to Newegg , but I can't complain about much. I havn't had to RMA anything, but they are supposed to be very good in that department, which is good to know. Their prices are pretty damn low on most things, making it a good idea to check them first. My only complaint is the high shipping cost, with each seperate item adding to the total (sometimes as much as $10 or more for a damn card, or even a few bucks per fan).

I'd definately also add TCWO (not TWCO odog

) to my list. Many of their prices are "close to Newegg", and with the great shipping deal ($6.95 for any order up to 150lbs), often, their combined price (item + shipping) beats Newegg's. Everything that has arrived has worked, and my last order contained an extra floppy drive, which they told me to keep.

They also have this weird thing about putting Life Savers in each order...

While far from the "best" online store, there's a place in New York called Beyond Computer. They're far from the first place I'd turn to, but they've occasionally had good deals and I never had a problem with them.

3D Cool is another place in New York (Rochester) that I've had good experiences with. Their prices are kinda high, and like Newegg, their shipping can get out of hand, depending on what you buy. But they do offer a full lifetime replacement guarantee on what they sell (ie, their fans). Its nice to know that you can bring back a fan after it dies in five years and exchange it for a brand new one.

Surprisingly, Amazon can also be added to my list. If you happen to hit things "just right" (with coupons and deals), you can get a decent deal on certain items. My recent example is a new 19" Samsung monitor for just over $200 shipped, while many places carried it for ~$240 + shipping.

I almost forgot Crucial! (Thanks Bala). I bought some RAM when prices were SANE, and combined with the free shipping, it was definately a good deal. Don't forget to use the link through SG.

The Bad:

Best Buy. Their stores and their website will never see another penny from me, EVAR!

The Ugly:

Thankfully, I have never been scammed or had any major problems purchasing computer parts (or anything) online, so I can't exactly add anything here.

BaLa · Post by **BaLa** » Sun Apr 28, 2002 8:34 pm

http://www.Newegg.com
Newegg
several parts separately, and build a whole comp at a time..not much else to say as everybody else is praising them as well...

http://www.Googlegear.com
My parents bought a motherboard and a proc for me for Xmas from them..

http://www.Coolerguys.com
Fans, HDD Cooler

http://www.Crucial.com
Great RAM and GREAT Prices
Ordered over a gig total in RAM from them...

the Bad; fortunately I have not had any bad experiences so far in buying comp stuffs on-line

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 2:48 pm

Only two places that I buy from, besides Crucial for memory, but I'm talking about various parts here.

http://www.gamepc.com

Good for writeups, hardware purchases, premade custom systems. Fantastic support, not always the lowest prices, but good stuff and most importantly, good support to back them. I have bought a LOT of stuff from them, never sorry about it.

http://www.essencompu.com <===Cross off list...out of business

Great prices, fast shipping, I sometimes get misc hardware there.

cyberskye · Post by **cyberskye** » Tue Apr 30, 2002 11:58 am

Great idea - I have been looking for good alternatives to my regular haunts.

Thanks for the info!

Skye

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Wed May 01, 2002 12:51 pm

http://www.monitoroutlet.com

http://www.newegg.com

http://www.mwave.com

http://www.emscomputing.com

http://www.coolerguys.com

http://www.googlegear.com

http://www.crucial.com

http://www.plycon.com

http://www.buy.com (not great on prices but sometimes have good stuff. great shipping speed)

yay my list

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Wed May 01, 2002 1:22 pm

woot, while writing this i got my radeon 8500 128, ax-7(much smoother than my first) and 110cfm(yes 110 cfm 92mm delta fan

said the fan duct was in the shipment too but i assume that is in one of the other boxes that should be here tomorrow

64bit · Post by **64bit** » Mon May 06, 2002 5:10 pm

Originally posted by YeOldeStonecat
http://www.essencompu.com

Great prices, fast shipping, I sometimes get misc hardware there.

I agree. Have bought many things there and have had no problems. Shipping was very fast!

tHE_0ne · Post by **tHE_0ne** » Sun May 12, 2002 7:07 pm

I used

Casecooler.com

newegg.com

very good sites, fast shipping too

purecomedy · Post by **purecomedy** » Sun May 12, 2002 9:04 pm

How about good online stores that also ship to Canada. God it pisses me off, any terrorist in the world can get across the border but when it comes to getting computer parts over the border it's a steel curtain.

Susky · Post by **Susky** » Tue May 14, 2002 10:19 am

I just bought some stuff from buy.com. The price was pretty comparable, especially since they were offering free shipping. One of their warehouses is not too far away (I live in central PA).

I ordered 3 parts (some wireless components) yesterday afternoon. The first 2 of the 3 arrived at my door at 9:30 this morning. The other item is already in transit from Texas. That's really, REALLY quick shipping response.

I ordered some backup tapes from them a few months ago...and it was the same story. Ordered late in the day, and had the item delivered before lunch the next day.

FWIW...I have no connection with buy.com. I'm just a happy customer!

A_old · Post by **A_old** » Fri May 17, 2002 1:49 am

kommax.com sucks. don't buy there..first they send me laptop memory, they make me pay the return shipping..the ups box was mangled....every time i talk the guy, who bairly speaks english, talks way the hell too fast for me to understand, is a complete JERK, is not helpful...i send the stuff back..callto make sure i'm not going to be double billed and he gets mad once again.. i HATE that place and will never buy from them again.. i have my 512 kingmax pc2700 now.. and am happy with it..heh.. they sent me 60 bucks worth of memory where i'd ordered 180 worth.. sucks... if it were newegg, they would have been helpful, and sorry and said so..kommax..no way "ok send it and when we get it we'll send the ram"..it wasn't my mistake you should send it now and bill me if you don't get the laptop ram.. "fine." and will you pay for the shipping since it was YOUR mistake? "no." .. please call me with the tracking number ...no call..call them.. "[talking at ludicrous speed]324;l23j4l;kj234l;kj23l;4kj[/talking at ludicrous speed]" please slow down.. "NO SIR it's 23;l4j23;l4kj23l;4jkf;23jk4f" GRRR I hate them.. never order from kommax.com..order from newegg.. newegg.com = teh good

Rivas · Post by **Rivas** » Fri May 17, 2002 9:10 pm

I was buying from http://www.ncix.com HDD,RAM,P 4 CASE,floppy and keyboard.I payed for ups air and i got my package after 15 days ...this was 1st thing what dissapointed me.2nd thing was when i came home i opened box and inside was everything broken + i was missing 1 piece of ram and second one was almost broken.I couldnt believe it.So next day i did a "lil" trip i came to ncix computer store i asked where is costumer service and when i was there and i was explaining my problem i also brought box so they could see it was inproperly packed and everything was inside broken and i got 2 words : **** YOU.Well i couldnt believe it ,i was trying show them the ram ,that guy said the ram is ok,(i cant put it in my mobo because the ram is almost broken) and when i said what about that missing piece he said thats ok but we will investigate it.When i was leaving i asked him again if he is sure this is properly packed order (i was upset) he said **** you.Well i left the store pretty upset but what could i do.I'm just hoping ill get that bad piece of ram replaced and ill get that missing piece too.So if u guys wanna buy at http://www.ncix.com dont do it.You will save lots of troubles and headaches.

Ouiie · Post by **Ouiie** » Sat May 18, 2002 4:39 am

One other good one http://www.memman.com

shadrach · Post by **shadrach** » Wed Jun 05, 2002 12:26 pm

Another happy customer of NewEgg and Multiwave.

NewEgg's prices are typically lower, but their shipping seems a bit high. So depending on what/how much your ordering, check both out and take the cheapest.

I've ordered 2 rig's worth of parts from each company, and even sent some bad OEM parts back to mwave with ease.

SRF01 · Post by **SRF01** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 3:28 am

http://www.thinkgeek.com

I've ordered from them several different times. Very fast delivery even up here in Ottawa.

I ordered: a watch, CPU fan, Tshirts, PC light strips, leatherman wave and juice.

All were shipped that day in most cases and arrived at my door in 1 to 2 days! And didn't get stopped by customs!!

A_old · Post by **A_old** » Fri Jun 14, 2002 3:34 pm

http://www.newegg.com

these guys have THE BEST customer service i've ever seen. AMAZING.. FaNTABULOUS EVEN!! great w/ rmas and friendly responses via email (rofl this is almost like i'm selling them to u, just order somethin, you'll see what i mean.. their system tells u how far along ur package is..etc..WOWZERS!!

Benign · Post by **Benign** » Fri Jun 14, 2002 7:39 pm

^^I Must agree, I asked for an RMA via E-Mail, and a reply came within 20 minutes, verifying my RMA #..

I'd also reccomend:

http://www.mwave.com
http://www.directron.com
http://www.so-trickcomputers.com (cables definetly)

Most of the places I stay away from, are places selling stuff real cheap via pricewatch.. It usually ends up being some 3rd world country, cheap wannabe product.

test · Post by **test** » Sat Jun 15, 2002 6:23 pm

I have been very happy with TC Computers. They are not the lowest price, but they have backed my purchases fairly for 10 years. The staff will get answers if they are not certain on recomendations. They ship items as they get them, if not in stock. I have purchased over the 'net and over the phone. I have purchased accessories from several other suppliers for price purposes. Most are fair. I don't remember the name of the one or two that have bitten me.
I want customer service when I need it. I don't mind paying a little extra to get it.

terrancelam · Post by **terrancelam** » Sun Jun 16, 2002 4:59 pm

Well I thought I'd make a little post for those who live in Toronto and wanted to know where they should go to buy the computer components and what stores do what very well, here is a life of stores I like to frequent:

Canada Computer Electronics:
Location: On the southwest corner of Augusta and College
Niche Market: Computer Enthusiast Components and low pricing, usually good for people who know exactly what they want.
Let downs: Very very bad customer service and the staff know jack **** and are rowdy. RMAing is very difficult at best, so before you buy, make sure it's EXACTLY what you want or else be prepared to have a hard time.
Personal Notes: This place is great for the new and for the experienced enthusiast. They offer a wide array of components, but their tech staff sucks monkey and their sales staff are the scum of the earth, SCUM OF THE EARTH!! But if you know what you want or if you can't find at any of the other stores on college, then this is the place to go. BTW Treat the staff like the treat you, with a digusted look on your face, like you just steped on crap and that they are the crap you just stepped on.

BTW website is updated daily.
Website: http://www.canadacomputers.com
Phone Number: [416] 926 - 0107

Honson Computers
Location: Futher west on college, close to Spadina. There is a parking lot on the left of the store.
Niche Market: If you ever have a broken computer or need servicing, althought they charge a fair price for the work, they do the best repair work on all of college street. They have the most skilled and well informed tech staff. Also good RMA service, they also do networking consulting and wiring.
Let downs: Higher pricing on certain items and limited variety of components.
Personal Notes: Bought my first performance celeron 266 box here. Almost all my components have come from here, very good place to buy, as they offer competitive pricing on most components. Like the place a lot, very nice feel to the place, better then most stores. BTW their website isn't updated often.
Website: http://www.honson.com
Phone Number: [416] 967 - 9333

Filtech Computers
Location: South on the westside of Spadina
Niche Market: Low pricing and enthusiast crowd. They offer pricing compareble to Canada Computers. Friendly staff.
Let Downs: RMA service is very tough, not very good. Very limited stock of items, wait time is required for some items, as they will go down to their warehouse to go get it for you, so if wait time is a issue, then get it somewhere else.
Personal Notes: a good deal of people I know have bought stuff from here satisfied, but the RMA service is only so so and bordering on bad. They have friendly staff, they are al chinese, but they try their best to explain things to the customers. Website is update bi-monthly, not often enough.
Website: http://www.filtechcomputer.com

Roger's Computer
Location: A bit east on dundas (on the south side, same side as Mc Donalds), closest intersection is bathurst and dundas.
Niche Market: Pure mom and pop shop, but service is the main thing. Most thing like Abit boards and Samsung ram is available by order to them and they offer competitive pricing.
Personal Notes: I know the owner, very very nice guy, charges a very competitive price for all new components and can get most components by order, if you order on monday, parts are usually in on tuesday or wenesday. Also very good RMA service, if it's broken and in the warantee time limit, they will return it without the hassle of some college stores (but within reason, if it's burned or friend visibilly, then all stores say no to this.) Website isn't updated often, call in for availabillity.
Website: http://webhome.idirect.com/~roger761/home.htm
Phone Number: [416] 603 - 8333

IranianHobo · Post by **IranianHobo** » Thu Jun 20, 2002 10:45 pm

Package2you
http://www.package2you.com . They have great prices on some odds and end type products. If you are not very picky about what it is exactley that you are getting (I bought a keyboard originally made for a BarbeyPC just because it was the cheapest USB I could find, 3.29 to be exact) and don't need retail packaging I suggest you look through here.

Bastid · Post by **Bastid** » Sun Jul 07, 2002 5:52 am

http://www.amamax.com/ they were pretty kewl, got me Noblesse case when promised, reasonable on price, didnt have to mess with cus service, so no advise there... all round good exp i spose

E Man · Post by **E Man** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 12:54 pm

Do NOT buy from BuyAIB.com . They show one thing on their site, and once you order, they send you a cheap imitation. I've even heard stories of people who were given lower grade RAM than ordered. They offer some dirt cheap prices, but they make their money back on the 15% restocking fee they make you pay when you want to exchange an item that was wrong due to THEIR error. Not to mention shipping charges both ways.

If you look them up in the BBB, you'll see poor feedback as well. I've only heard bad things, and I just want to give a heads up to anyone who might consider buying from them.

A_old · Post by **A_old** » Mon Jul 15, 2002 12:27 pm

they shipped in 2 business days..looks good to me..they're kinda expensive on some stuff tho.

Bastid · Post by **Bastid** » Tue Jul 16, 2002 8:35 pm

ive been going to newegg since i posted that but i was just happy about the case and the speed so i felt the need to brag

Mutch · Post by **Mutch** » Sat Jul 20, 2002 2:06 am

http://www.mdg.ca

Horrible computers, worst tech support.. Had to take my computer back over ten times.. Still isnt working properly. They didnt install the Disk-drive right..

Never ever get a computer there.. Unless god comes out and commands it..

Worst place ever!!!!!

SixPackRT · Post by **SixPackRT** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 4:31 am

this place is great look up the company for feed back on how the
do business
www.resellerratings.com

E Man · Post by **E Man** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 7:23 pm

I like BizRate.com .

AMPLIFRIER · Post by **AMPLIFRIER** » Sun Jul 28, 2002 5:49 pm

NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!NEWEGG!!!!

bought several thousand dollars worth of stuff fro them.....even getting the DOA's taken care of was a totally painless experience.

th HP store seems to have it together as well.....i havent got it yet but i ordered a usb floppy drive for my laptop from them....ordered it friday around 3pm and got a tracking number for fedex that nite.....thats a smooth operationthere buddy!

AMP

knightmare · Post by **knightmare** » Tue Jul 30, 2002 7:38 pm

http://www.emscomputing.com got a nice deal on a 4 port router, fast shipping etc

[url]http://www.essencompu.com--[/url] great buy on new mobo, and lowest price on a 40 gig barracuda 7200rpm H/D,

bought a case and a 128mb radeon 8500 from http://www.directron.com they blew it, i got a 64 mb and the case was all f-up etc, hydraulic switch for front didnt work etc

clevelandtexas · Post by **clevelandtexas** » Fri Aug 09, 2002 5:07 pm

Newegg
Bzboyz
PCnomad
DV Century
BUYAIB

So far everything we've ordered from these have shown up on the expected date and was not broken. Since we've never had any need for a RMA I can't say anthing further.

TRILL · Post by **TRILL** » Wed Aug 14, 2002 12:23 am

NEWEGG seems to be taking longer to ship items lately. My last few orders have taking two days to ship.

MartialArtist12 · Post by **MartialArtist12** » Thu Aug 15, 2002 3:04 am

coolerguys.com

Brk · Post by **Brk** » Sun Sep 01, 2002 1:08 am

I have to add Sidewinder Computers to my list. Great communication and fast shipping. On my brother's behalf I'll suggest that everyone stay AWAY from SubZeroPC. They still have not responded to his e-mails about a missing part of an order...and it's been six weeks.

Rainbow · Post by **Rainbow** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 7:49 pm

Adamant.com

Have always had nothing but good luck with them and they ship Fast

SG Broadband Community

Good & Bad places to buy from...

Good & Bad places to buy from...

Buy.com

ncix

Note for Torontonians!

Good

add azzo.com to the good list

Re: add azzo.com to the good list

www.resellerratings.com/

a few of mine

My List