Buying new laptop

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

I want to buy a new computer and would prefer to support a local business if the price is right. I won't go to Best Buy after a previous terrible experience buying a computer there. Any recommendations or should I just order online?

Comments

[thespian.livejournal.com]

Microcenter. Not local, but they've done well by me, and been very affordable; my most recent laptop from them, a refurb (here on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003HFFXNE/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002TYCFEO&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1N8PDRYRXBT3JYMRG1JM)) cost me a whopping $280 with tax.

(I should edit that: the location is just down, 5 minutes outside of Central Square, They're a chain, but the location is locally owned, a franchise rather than a corp store)

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

I second the endorsement for MicroCenter. According to my techie friend who is building my new computer, their prices are better than online retails like NewEgg and they do not charge shipping.*

I am very pleased with the NetBook I bought there this spring. Their staff was helpful, and were willing to take "No" for an answer after they tried to sell me Norton and I replied that I use another anti-virus.

*Disclaimer: I do not know much about computer hardware.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

heh. my convo went:

"Would you like to buy Microsoft Office? We have a very good tie-in deal."

"No, I use Open Office, thanks."

"Ok, would you be interested in Norton-"

"No, I use Avast!."

and he grinned, and said, "Oh, you're one of those."

:-)

[apricot3.livejournal.com]

i'm going to have to be the -1 microcenter voice here... they actually made me Cry. seriously, i'm not that kind of loser but i went there and stood in the help line for HOURS over the course of 4 different evenings...... and in the end i had to call quits and not have a laptop :(

oh and also i got something there once that had a rebate offer and then i got a letter in the mail saying that the rebate company had closed and i would hear back and i never did. i called once and twice during the computer fiasco brought in the letter to show to management and i NEVER got my $15, it's been over a year now.

i searched for months, waiting for holiday deals online and instores and finally they had a refurb that was perfect. but those only have like a 2wk return policy which scared me, so of course i tested everything i could to make sure nothing was wrong. and there were a few imperfect things going, but nothing major, so i brought it in and they were like yeaaah, that should be fixed, here have another one. so YAY they had a second refurb, i skip home happy and the next night the trackpad locks up for a half hour even after restarting, which, um, is kind of important on laptops, to have a movable pointer. they refuse to believe me or fix it or even really Listen at all, so i went home with it and found another, even Better refurb laptop online and order it for pick up in the store and get there to hear that they can't find it and had canceled my order, so they switch out the refurb Again- later i realize it was the first i had because they hadn't bothered to do a wipe install after i'd had it for a week (kinda scary). but then i still see that better laptop online, so i try again and the order says processed and i go there, and they tell me it's all a lie and the computer doesn't exist and they have no idea why i can find it online, too bad, so sad, no we promise that wasn't the first laptop you had that we didn't even try to fix but were just going to resell to someone else because the small problems weren't worth the effort (the cd drive was literally in crooked and made awful noises). so they get me to downgrade to a whole other machine, which was really stupid of me to have not stopped there, but when i get home, but i thought maybe that whole line of models were just lame, except then this laptop Won't even Start, it's a total blue screen of death and i couldn't watch Lost online- which i had missed from standing in their stupid line- and that's when i had to realize that as far as refurbs from microcenter go, i'd rather kill my beloved cat than deal with them again. and they totally were dicks about giving me my money back and not going home without something which isn't what i wanted to do either.
had they at least had a kinder policy on returning refurbs, or cared, maybe i wouldn't have been so insistent on it working 100% efficiently, but that's a month of rent that i can't afford so it was a big deal for me. and then a month later my desktop Totally Died and all was lost, which i would've saved had they not been so rude and had their tech support just fixed simple shit.

i realize this is a long comment, and nobody cares, but it was a painful ordeal and it made me so so sad because i had loved microcenter and now i'm still dealing with a pathetic hand me down :(
it was mostly their total lack of giving any semblance of a shit, too. the guys on the floor are great if you get a smart one, but the customer service people clearly hate their lives and the lives of others, and nobody is happy from that.

however- if you get a non-refurb from them, i'm sure it'd be super awesome, i just have the worst retail luck evar, especially in dealing with expensive items like this... and my month-old overpriced eye glasses which now have had these weird specks on them all week that i can't remove *sigh*

good luck!

[turil.livejournal.com]

I still tend to buy stuff from them, lacking much of a choice. But years ago a boyfriend of mine applied to work there and they wanted to do a drug test on him. Which is just lame, in my opinion.

Heck my boss at a computer place many years ago was a great boss, and ran a great computer business, and he wasn't just a drug user (pot) but actually sold pot too.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

I generally really enjoy MicroCenter. It's a non-local chain, but the associates are quite good, and these days I always go looking for "my guy" - they work on commission, and he's always taken good care of me, so.

That all having been said, I've also always been very happy with PC's for Everyone, who no longer have a brick-and-mortar store apparently, but who *are* local (not Davis, but Cambridge)

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

some of the associates are absolute morons as well, though I think they are reserved for the non-computer areas.

someone above mentioned their prices. it can be very hit or miss with components. some will be cheaper than the usual online spots (newegg, amazon, etc.), but others will be twice as much or more. particularly, things like cables and batteries and laptop sleeves--mainly accessories--are much much cheaper online usually.

it is a good store though, I bought a PC from them years ago that worked really well. I would just recommend some basic price comparisons before buying any add-ons.

[agharta75.livejournal.com]

That's kind of to be expected. When you need a cable or a battery you usually need it right now and will pay the price. And, if they're going to be selling 1 terabyte external enclosed hard drives for $80, they have to make the money somewhere ...

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying it's not to be expected, but to be careful not to just assume everything at microcenter is a good price.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

always sound advice, though I was talking about the price of my laptop, to someone who is buying a laptop, so we're likely on safe territory at this time.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

I don't think any of us are actually arguing, just bringing up random good points :)

I bought the basic macbook there for $800 ($1000 everywhere else), which I needed for a business trip, then promptly sold it for $800. (just to note, most apple products at microcenter are sold at list price, so if it's not on sale I would go to amazon or find a student to buy it at the apple store)

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

You don't specify, but I got my MacBook Pro from Computer Loft in Allston (http://www.computerloft.com/computerloft/Welcome.html) at a slight discount on the educational price.

[ed4444.livejournal.com]

Electronics is a pretty difficult thing for small local retailers to compete in. I would be surprised if you can even find a truly local place to buy a laptop.

The only thing that comes to mind is buying a used laptop at something like the MIT Swapfest. But that's not really what you asked for.

Your real options are chain stores vs online. You will almost certainly pay more at the chain stores.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

There is Angeltronics in Ball Sq( used to be in Davis ), he sometimes has laptops.

Not local, but. . .

[shana-lyons.livejournal.com]

I know this isn't what you're looking fore exactly, but I heartily suggest Costco. There's one in Everett. Costco adds a free second year to all manufacturer warranties on its laptops and televisions, which is more than worth the $50 membership fee for one year. (Or, even better, find a friend with a Costco card.) Even if you decide you want to order direct from HP, Dell, etc, if you start through the Costco site, they still double the warranty. They also have no questions asked 90 day returns and an excellent recycling program for your old machine through Gazelle that's totally free (they even pay for shipping) for members and can often get you a Costco card for your old machine.

I had a graphics card issue on an machine I bought direct through HP at around 18 months with my last laptop. I totally kicked myself for buying it direct when I found out Costco would have had it still under warranty. Anyway, just FYI on the warranty doubling.

[squirrelitude]

You can also order online from a small business -- it's local to *someone*! :-P

I got my Ubuntu pre-installed laptop from System76.com. Pretty good.

Good point there.

[litia2005.livejournal.com]

All small businesses are "local" to someone.