Newegg – A Site I Learned Of Too Late
Well, be forewarned that this post will be a part review, part rant post, so please bear with me if I sound insane at times. lol
So I’m recently building a brand new, ultimate PC since my old one will probably be busted after its trip on the sea again. As a creature of habit, I headed to Fry’s Electronics, one of the largest electronic store that’s almost like an outlet. Think Costco for electronics.
So I went to Fry’s, and asked one of the associates at the computer components area to help me select the hardware for my pc. I told him specifically what I’m aiming for, a computer that will 1) run for at least 6 years, 2) uses Intel i7 CPU, 3) runs Vista 64-bit. He was quite nice and started selecting some hardwares for me, which I was grateful for, don’t get me wrong. Now, this happened over the Black Friday time, just to let y’all know. Also worth noting is that the sale person was very nice, staying with me from selecting the computer case all the way to the keyboard and mouse and the other accessories, so I was very grateful to him.
So I get home, all excited. We moved and then it took me a while until first week of December to start the installation process. Right away I found something wrong — There is a gum-like substance on the chip-side of my brand new CPU chip, and that the chip wouldn’t fit into the EVGA motherboard I bought. Baffled, I rechecked the motherboard just to make sure, and then called the EVGA support center. After giving them the model number, I was informed right away that the motherboard I purchased does notfit the i7 CPU chip. Granted, I didn’t double check before paying for the motherboard to see if the mobo is compatible for the i7, but hey, I trusted the guy who worked with all these things every single day (whereas the last computer I built was what, 4 years ago?). So naturally, I brought my mobo and my CPU back to Fry’s for a replacement.
After getting the store credit and a new CPU, I went into the store to look for a new mobo that is compatible with the i7. I was recommended then for a ASUS motherboard. Being that my previous computer of 4 years+ uses an ASUS board, and that it is a good company (and from Taiwan lol), naturally I would get the ASUS board even if it is about $50 more than the Intel board that admitted having known issues. However, at the time, the store I went to has no more ASUS mobo for i7, but there is another Fry’s with 12 of them. So I asked the same salesperson to order from the store that has 12 and gave him my phone number to call. With the promise that the board should not take more than a week to arrive, possibly within the next 2-3 days, I went home with the anticipation that the board should be here within a week.
So on and on I waited, and the week passed soon. Frustrated, I called again, and was told that they still have not gotten the board, and no other store has them right now. I asked if they ever put in a transfer for the mobo when I asked, and they said no, claiming that the mobo was sold too soon for them to do so. Yeah, right. Am I so naive as to believe that there are mobo mobs out there just waiting to grab them off the shelves in every store? So I continued to call every 2 or 3 days, until nearly three weeks passed by and I was given an answer by a frustrated salesperson (not the same one that helped me earlier, though) that “we don’t know when we’ll get them.” Um, you could have told me that EARLIER so I can seek out other revenue!! %)@*#%&)*!
While chatting with a friend on FFXI who happened to be a computer geek/master, he introduced me to the website, Newegg.com. Now, for those of you who -are- computer wiz, you probably already know this site and are probably thinking, “Why are you going to Fry’s when there’s Newegg, you dummy?” but at the time I didn’t know such site existed and how good it is. I looked up for the mobo I needed, and there it is, ready to ship. What’s more incredible is the price— The mobo is $30 cheaper than Fry’s. Astounded, I ordered one. Now, noted, that Newegg does charge sales tax for some states, particularly the ones they have warehouses in, and unfortunately, mine is one. They also do charge shipping, but there are times where they offer free shipping as well.
Within a week, I receive my mobo, and I was pleasantly surprised at the enormous amount of peanuts they put in to protect the mobo. I had to mention this because recently I noticed the lack of protection in some Amazon packaging, though they’ve only been slacking off with things that doesn’t require that much protection (such as books), but it’s still noticeable. So I started the installation, and finished it today.
As I’m installing it, my compy went haywire with a series of non-stop blue screens and restarting. Frightened (naturally), I jumped on FFXI to seek out my compy friend, and under his advise I did a series of testing and the blue screen went away. Then he asked me what kind of RAM I got, and informed me of the bad news — the RAM I got was incorrect for the machine I’m building. Instead of the Triple Channel one I should get, the Fry’s salesperson gave me the Dual Channel. Worse yet, since I’m running Vista (and please recall that I told the salesperson I am running Vista on this machine), 2GB is not enough, and I will need at least 6GB of RAM.
Frustrated, I went on Newegg to look up RAM, and found the shocking thing that sent me in a rage which prompted this post: The RAM I got, the Corsair DDR3 Dual Channel 2GB RAM, was selling on Newegg for $52.oo+tax. Worse yet, they have a rebate of $25.00 available, making the same item I got for $79.99 only $27.00. Now that just makes me outraged. I understand the difference between a physical retail store and a web retail store, and how a physical retail store costs more to run, but as a consumer, I’m sorry to say, but I don’t really care. For us, we want the cheapest price on the same item, isn’t it? And if I am paying a physical retail price, I would expect the customer service to be a heck of a lot better than an online shop. But, not only did I receive imperfect products, I also received poorly-made suggestions. The salt on the wound is the huge price difference between the items. Not to mention that the customer service at Fry’s isn’t up to par with other retail stores such as Best Buy or Circuit City (yes, I know Circuit City is going out of business, but I’m using them as comparison). So even though I acknowledge that there are faults at my end, namely 1) I did not double check the items before purchasing them regarding the mobos, and 2) I didn’t ask around about other possible shops regarding prices. But in my own defense on the second one, I’ve been shopping with Fry’s for the past, what, 10 years? It’s only natural that I would turn to where I trusted for so long.
Before I end the post, let me review Newegg real quick so this post isn’t completely about my frustration on Fry’s Electronics. lol Now take in mind that some of these reviews are from the friend who introduced me to Newegg, and he is a long-time customer with them. So even though I’ve only done one purchase (and doing the second as we speak) with them, I think I can give a fair review on the site. Newegg, like many large web-based merchants, have an easy navigation site layout. The site focuses more on computer-based hardwares and softwares, while still providing other electronics such as digital camera, cell phones and home appliances.
One of the remarkable thing on Newegg (price aside) is their searches. Newegg does a good job of making filters of every possible combination you can think of, from your normal brand, type, and price, to useful links (with my favorite word: Discount), interface, and other useful filters. In addition, when you clicked on a general filter, they show important details of each product in a clean, bullet-style way right there on the product display page. So you can quickly find what you need and see whether the item is compatible to your needs, item’s warranty if applicable, and Newegg’s return policy before you click on any items, a real time saver which I heart tremendously.
Another awesome aspect regarding Newegg is its community. I guess techies love to review on stuff they get their hands on, and you can see that most items on Newegg have at least double if not triple or quadruple digits of reviews, making decisions have never been easier. Of course, with any open communities, there are reviewers that are so good they should be employed by the magazines, and there are reviewers that you just want to smack them for their stupidity. But in general, Newegg’s reviews are well-written, honest, and detail; sometimes you can even find reviews in perfect grammar and spelling, which is always hard to come by in my opinion. Another incredible aspect, according to my friend, is that Newegg keeps in contact with all of the manufacturer that produces the items they sell, and if a user posts any negative comments on a product, Newegg will contact the manufacturer’s customer support and the manufacturer will get in touch with the user and tries to set things right. That means if you get turned down by the manufacturer, you post a nasty review, Newegg contacts the manufacturer and let them know of your grief, and the manufacturer will contact you somehow to offer a solution. Once your problem is solved, Newegg will ask you if it is, and then update your nasty review post to tell the world that your problem has been solved thanks to them. While it sounds like a painful and long process, it’s better than getting stuck with something that doesn’t work and having to spend more money on another product.
In conclusion, after all that ranting…. I’m officially disowning Fry’s. I will still shop there, from time to time, if they have a good discount on things and if it is cheaper than Newegg, but I’m adopting Newegg.com as it is now. It is my Amazon for electronics. I’m gonna check prices on Newegg whenever I buy anything electronics, and unless I visit Fry’s because of some dying reason, I’m not going to buy there as often as I did anymore. No offense to Fry’s, but I think I found a better place to go with my money.
