What do you think are the “must-know” resources for purchasing things online? I mean, where can you generally find the best deals? I’d love to get more ideas, as everytime I find out about a new one, it makes me that much more eager to buy things online.
To give you an idea of what I mean:
When I first heard about Pricewatch, I was amazed at what an incredible resource it is for buying computer parts. Of course I was even more excited to learn of ResellerRatings (sadly, several purchases later). Eventually, I discovered Newegg, who seems to have this whole e-sales thing down to a science.
Just today, I saw Overstock mentioned in a thread. They seem to have some very good deals. Of course Ebay should get an honorable mention. And undoubtedly everyone should know about Amazon.
Any you’d like to add? Let’s say you decide you want to buy something. Where are the first places you check?
[sub]Well after coming up with this great idea for a thread, I just realized that I guess it borders on blatant advertisement. As I’m aware this is hightly frowned upon here, I’d like to preempively beg forgiveness if this thread should be closed, locked, or otherwise deemed inappropriate. But my hope is that people will respond with such widely accepted sites, that they could be considered common knowledge. I guess along the lines of telling someone to do a search with Google. It’s such the standard here that it could hardly be considered a plug. [/sub]
This simple service permits both wideband shopping (be it lasers or vinyl LP albums) and price comparison assisted by photo inserts. I find it hard to beat. Thomas Register
For industrial products and services, this one massive library is unmatched and unrivaled. Wire cloth? No problem. Obscure metric plumbing fittings? Done and done! Ultrasonic welders? Piece of cake! Evaporative hearth crucibles? Right there. With the CD available, it represents one of the corporate purchasing agent’s best friends. Nearly every major company in America has always possessed a complete multi-volume set of these books for the last several decades. They represent one-stop shopping for the hardest to find goods, suppliers and service providers. uBid
A good consumer electronics online auction site to compare **eBay ** prices. Grainger
High priced but well stocked. Assemblies and components used in a lot of industrial, vehicle and commercial applications. From cafeteria tables out to sump pumps, they usually have them in stock at a location within miles of any major city center. Their online site is a complete pain in the @ss. Please refer to McMaster Carr for the killer site. Google
Learn to love it. Find anything you ever dreamed of if you know how to search. Few items can elude my concerted efforts at this site. I can count my disappointments on one hand. Toolbar must. McMaster Carr
This is the cat’s pajamas of industrial suppliers. They are also not cheap. They just happen to ship every single order by 24 hour overnight express, no matter what. You want it? You got it! No questions asked and their website is a dream to navigate. Everything Grainger has but more clickable and dependable.
They give several prices and most importantly they have reviews from people who actually bought that particular brand of product so you know whether that cheap device or product is actually worth whatver they are charging for it
In the same realm as Epinions, is PC Game Review and Computing Review. If Epinions doesn’t have any reviews, I will generally check these places.
Oh and how could we forget Tom’s Hardware Guide, which I reckon is the definitive knowledge base on all things computer. A great place to go before you buy any computer hardware.