I worked at a Staples in high school (timeframe: 2005-2006). I never lied to a customer and I would have refused to had a manager suggested I do so (none ever did). I don’t doubt the story, though; some managers undoubtedly are somewhat lacking in scruples. It is, however, true that we were expected to try to get you to buy a bunch of extra stuff while you were there, because the store has pretty much no margin on computers (or, for that matter, printers and cameras). Warranty plans, anti-virus software (especially the Staples-branded anti-virus), etc. had fantastic margins, and so we tried to sell those wherever possible. Amazon (and Newegg and other online retailers) have the same problem, but they can make up for it in volume because they have lower overhead than the brick-and-mortars.
If you’re intent on buying from a store, then go to whichever of the above places is nearby, write down make and model numbers, then go home and research them on a site like Amazon or PCWorld to see what the reviews are, and then go buy.
I had a computer emergency of sorts a couple of years ago.
I needed a new computer immediately and there was a Best Buy nearby.
I went to the Best Buy web site and I found a computer that met my needs and was reasonably priced. I printed out the web page (and a second choice, just in case) and took it to Best Buy.
Now, I had heard the stories about how they pressure you to buy stuff you don’t need and about how they adulterate computers at the store by adding on all sorts of stuff you don’t need and charge you for the add-ons, meaning you have to pay more than the advertised price.
I walked into the store, went to the computer counter, handed the clerk my printout,
he looked it up in his computer, and went searching for it. It took him a few minutes to find it (he had to climb up and down a couple of ladders). They were also having some promotions where they threw in some free software with the purchase of the computer, so it took him a couple of minutes to find the DVDs with the software and to scan them and activate the codes. He rang me up, took my money, gave me my stuff, and told me to call him if I needed anything else.
Seriously, I was gritting my teeth expecting the worst. It was totally painless. The computer works fine.
I don’t know if this is typical. But after all the negative reviews, I have to give credit where credit is due. Best Buy was a great place to buy a computer that day.
If you have a particular retailer in mind, I suggest you first search their web site and pick a couple of computers in the leisure of your home and take the printouts to the store. In the unlikely event they have something in the store that’s not on the web site, you can always come home and investigate that, but otherwise, you are prepared to buy.
The Consumer Reports blog site has numerous articles of why Best Buy is never a choice for anything.
Don’t want to read all the replies to the thread and will not make any suggestions as to where the OP should buy, but doesn’t the end use of the computer make some difference as to where one might buy it? I mean if the OP wants a CAD station versus something to get online and respond to emails with is going to make a huge difference.
Yes, absolutely. The question is unanswerable in its current state. It’s also not really a GQ, but that’s not for me to decide.
Assuming that “computer” doesn’t mean “notebook,” your best bet is to do your research online, find your local Fry’s-type shop, buy the components you need, and screw the thing together on your kitchen table. It’s very easy if you research your components and don’t wear wool socks. You’ll save money and end up with exactly what you need. Ars Technica does a homebuilt system writeup every so often, so perhaps that’s a good place to start.
Otherwise you could just buy whatever prebuilt box has an Ivy Bridge processor (iX-3XXX) and enough graphics card to do what you need.
If the OP was a hobbyist or had special needs, sure. Otherwise it will work fine, assuming that the component maker didn’t sell Fry’s marginal stuff (leaving the good stuff for the OEMs,) the components didn’t get damaged in transit, and that everything works together in the desired configuration. The OP seems to be spending someone elses money, and given he has to ask the question he does, seems to be a poor candidate for putting something together.
I’ve worked in IC design and test and system design and test for 30 years, and can’t think of a single person I’ve worked with who builds his own. Maybe we’ve all seen way too many fail logs.
Interestingly enough, the articles on that site actually list how Best Buy is not such a good choice for anything but walking into the store, finding the box you want, paying for it, and leaving. Which is what the OP is actually looking to do. So, if Best Buy has the desired product at the desired price, it may well turn out to be the place to go.
But I’m right there with you–if you count on Best Buy for pretty much anything else, you’re taking your chances.
Yeah, I went into best buy one day after my laptop refused to turn on, and walked out with a laptop that was higher quality in every aspect except screen size than my previous laptop for 700 dollars less. Since my previous laptop lasted from summer of 07 to summer of 2012, and I bought from the same line, I feel pretty confident in my choice.
If you want a cheap desktop computer I’d suggest Micro-Warehouse. They always seem to have cheap computers coming of lease that are fine fro basic home or business use.
I’m quite often asked by friends this very question, leaving aside specs etc i always say go to a place that has a good returns policy and shifts lots of boxes. Places like that wont give you an argument if its defective they just change or refund. While PC world etc will argue or attempt to fix it (and never will fix it) And anywhere that comes the hard sell with Norton,walkout,its not a place to buy anything.
Which at Staples will mean “Format the drive and reinstall Windows.” Bye bye data!
The best place by a lot of accounts and surveys is your local independent computer shop. There you will be dealing with a businessman who will take the time to know you and treat you as an individual each time you come in. Develop a good relationship with one and you are likely to be much happier.
Techs at national retailers are technically incompetent. Their training consists mainly of how to sell you crap.
OTOH, I am IT professional and I just buy my computers from wherever I can get them. I don’t need support, I just need a box for a good price. I really just want to buy it like I would anything else and be in and out of he store in 10 minutes. Wal-Mart has a limited selection but their prices are good and the computers themselves are perfectly fine for 95% of people without specialty needs. Wholesale clubs are about the same. Staples can be fine as well.
I don’t know here the OP fits on the cost/support spectrum. People ask me what they should buy for home computers all the time. I just tell them to pick a weekly flyer and get a Dell or an HP in the $500 - $700 range. Those fit the vast majority of users and aren’t at the low-end so they will last for a while. Laptops are a more personal choice.
I used to build my own computers but it is really difficult to save money doing that on anything but an extreme high-end system now and it takes more time than most people want to admit. I don’t have whole weekends to screw around with it if anything goes wrong anymore so it is all pre-built for me even though I can fix anything.
If you want semi high-end, the best way to do that now is to buy a good standard package for about $700 and then just slap in a great video card and an solid state hard drive (20 minutes total) and you have an impressively performing computer for about $1000 or less.
Agreed, for the general case. And doubly so for the OP - the last thing they need to end up with is a pile of parts that doesn’t work - without having extra parts on hand to swap, they won’t know which component is defective, or if it was an error in putting everything together.
I’m not going to say “Go to store X” because for each store someone loves, someone else has had a horrid experience (and vice versa). Just check prices online at several chains, online stores like Dell, etc. to see how much you should expect to pay for a basic system, then go to a store in person and see if their prices are reasonable.
I tend to use Dell systems, as their business systems usually have decent components and good assembly quality. Though sometimes I do strange and unusual things to them after I buy them. I’ve also purchased “barebones” Dell chassis from eBay and completed the assembly myself - these seem to be minor scratch-and-dent systems that were discarded by Dell. Oddly, most of the sellers of these tend to be in Texas.
I even use Dell for most rackmount server applications, though for certain niche applications I do build from scratch. Pic 1 Pic 2. These tend to be interesting enough that they eventually turn into Tom’s Hardware articles.
First, most people will never need to bring their computer in. Second, even if you buy at a big store, if you have a problem out of warranty, you can still bring it into a small shop, which I agree will do a better job. I have nothing against them if the price is the same though.
Not just Staples. Some clown at Fry’s called me to get permission for this. “When the computer is overheating? Hell no!” I also heard them selling the person in front of me a disk backup for $100 or so.