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Are the prices better than Amazon? I've never been to an electronics store that is doing better since 2000 except for the Apple Store, but I live in CA. Even Be

Are the prices better than Amazon? I've never been to an electronics store that is doing better since 2000 except for the Apple Store, but I live in CA. Even Best Buy in CA is empty and more expensive for the most part.

madengr 7y ago
Just lookup the item on your phone when shopping at Microcenter, then show the price to a sales person. They even have a sign saying they will price match Amazon and Walmart.
lozaning 7y ago
The prices, especially if you're going to buy a mobo and a CPU at the same time in a combo deal are frequently the lowest you can find. I also shy away from amazon for some computer components because of all the fake stuff Amazon is now filled with. At MC you're much more likely to get the actual real part you ordered.
- mailslot 7y ago
  I used to love opening things from Fry’s and discovering that it was an unmarked return & not the actual product at all. Sometimes: empty box.
jcranmer 7y ago
When I was last looking at prices, the prices were not better than what I found online... but they were not worse either.
volkl48 7y ago
Their sales/deals are often the lowest price going, particularly their combo deals. For non-sale stuff, they're usually in a competitive ballpark, although I wouldn't necessarily say cheaper, and I don't have to worry about counterfeits, or the "might be used/refurbed" roulette.
wenc 7y ago
Although I'm a Prime member, I would actually pay a slight premium to have the assurance that I'm not getting counterfeit merchandise on Amazon. I don't buy anything complex on Amazon anymore, just books and stuff that I don't care are fake.
chipotle_coyote 7y ago
I live in CA, too (Santa Clara), and in the last few years -- that's a very important qualifier! -- I've found Best Buy to be... pretty reasonable. It's certainly not empty, stocks are up to date, and their prices tend to be competitive not just with Fry's but with Amazon. A few years ago I bought a Mac-specific mechanical keyboard -- a Matias Tactile Pro 3 -- for a good $40 less than Matias's own online store would have charged, which IIRC was actually $10 less than Amazon's price. Also, as far as I know, Best Buy will do price-matching against Amazon, just like Fry's does, except with much less fuss about it. And Best Buy is way better about actually pricing their stuff competitively with Amazon to start with rather than hoping you just don't notice.

madengr 7y ago

Just lookup the item on your phone when shopping at Microcenter, then show the price to a sales person. They even have a sign saying they will price match Amazon and Walmart.

lozaning 7y ago

The prices, especially if you're going to buy a mobo and a CPU at the same time in a combo deal are frequently the lowest you can find. I also shy away from amazon for some computer components because of all the fake stuff Amazon is now filled with. At MC you're much more likely to get the actual real part you ordered.

mailslot 7y ago
I used to love opening things from Fry’s and discovering that it was an unmarked return & not the actual product at all. Sometimes: empty box.

jcranmer 7y ago

When I was last looking at prices, the prices were not better than what I found online... but they were not worse either.

volkl48 7y ago

Their sales/deals are often the lowest price going, particularly their combo deals. For non-sale stuff, they're usually in a competitive ballpark, although I wouldn't necessarily say cheaper, and I don't have to worry about counterfeits, or the "might be used/refurbed" roulette.

wenc 7y ago

Although I'm a Prime member, I would actually pay a slight premium to have the assurance that I'm not getting counterfeit merchandise on Amazon. I don't buy anything complex on Amazon anymore, just books and stuff that I don't care are fake.

chipotle_coyote 7y ago

I live in CA, too (Santa Clara), and in the last few years -- that's a very important qualifier! -- I've found Best Buy to be... pretty reasonable. It's certainly not empty, stocks are up to date, and their prices tend to be competitive not just with Fry's but with Amazon. A few years ago I bought a Mac-specific mechanical keyboard -- a Matias Tactile Pro 3 -- for a good $40 less than Matias's own online store would have charged, which IIRC was actually $10 less than Amazon's price. Also, as far as I know, Best Buy will do price-matching against Amazon, just like Fry's does, except with much less fuss about it. And Best Buy is way better about actually pricing their stuff competitively with Amazon to start with rather than hoping you just don't notice.