4 ms·

I've been to MS store only once last year to buy a laptop that was on sale. It was a good and pleasant buying experience and the staff was very friendly. Howev

I've been to MS store only once last year to buy a laptop that was on sale. It was a good and pleasant buying experience and the staff was very friendly. However, I noticed that there weren't a lot of variety of hardware on sale. I wish they had more computer stuff, like GPU, mechanical keyboards, motherboards, etc.... Imagine if they were like mini Micro-center, I'd bet they would've been a lot more popular than Apple store. The foot traffic alone would've given them some good will for MS, if that was their intent.

sylens 6y ago
This would have been a great direction for them to go in - but the desktop building market is pretty niche these days compared to the people in the market for a MacBook Air or similar alternative.
sleepybrett 6y ago
I feel like they can't really be sure that they can push that kind of 'partsy' inventory. USB stuff sure, but GPUs, MBs, ram etc... bitsy and complicated.
mdip 6y ago
> mini Micro-center There used to be variations of a lot of these all over the place. Some were exclusively software (Babbages), some had a mix (we had a local franchise called Computer Warehouse, often located in small strip-mall locations). I loved working at CompUSA (more like Microcenter; a little smaller than the Microcenter that is a half-mile from where I worked, also formerly two miles away from a Computer City). Retail computer hardware is basically gone these days except for small, independent, shops. I'm so glad I live 20 minutes from a Micro Center. I used to live about as far from a Microsoft store, too. :)
askafriend 6y ago
> Imagine if they were like mini Micro-center, Not to be rude, but this idea is out of touch. Basically no one would want this and the PC building market is impossibly tiny today. You'd get zero foot traffic. No one is building their own computers anymore and those that are, are serviced incredibly well by Amazon/Newegg/etc.
- noizejoy 6y ago
  Interestingly here in Canada, we have a smallish, but still growing retail chain catering to the DIY pc builder market, called Memory Express. They aren’t big box by any means, but I’ve been very happy to shop there. Better selection than Best Buy, better curation than Amazon.
- kcb 6y ago
  I think you're underestimating the size of the PC gaming market. And most PC gamers are building their own computers. I think what has really helped PC gaming in recent years is Twitch streamers who are predominantly playing on PC. The kids see this and eventually make the switch to PC. The PC building section at micro center is always packed with all sorts of people buying full parts for a gaming PC.

sylens 6y ago

This would have been a great direction for them to go in - but the desktop building market is pretty niche these days compared to the people in the market for a MacBook Air or similar alternative.

sleepybrett 6y ago

I feel like they can't really be sure that they can push that kind of 'partsy' inventory. USB stuff sure, but GPUs, MBs, ram etc... bitsy and complicated.

mdip 6y ago

> mini Micro-center There used to be variations of a lot of these all over the place. Some were exclusively software (Babbages), some had a mix (we had a local franchise called Computer Warehouse, often located in small strip-mall locations). I loved working at CompUSA (more like Microcenter; a little smaller than the Microcenter that is a half-mile from where I worked, also formerly two miles away from a Computer City). Retail computer hardware is basically gone these days except for small, independent, shops. I'm so glad I live 20 minutes from a Micro Center. I used to live about as far from a Microsoft store, too. :)

askafriend 6y ago

> Imagine if they were like mini Micro-center, Not to be rude, but this idea is out of touch. Basically no one would want this and the PC building market is impossibly tiny today. You'd get zero foot traffic. No one is building their own computers anymore and those that are, are serviced incredibly well by Amazon/Newegg/etc.

noizejoy 6y ago
Interestingly here in Canada, we have a smallish, but still growing retail chain catering to the DIY pc builder market, called Memory Express. They aren’t big box by any means, but I’ve been very happy to shop there. Better selection than Best Buy, better curation than Amazon.
kcb 6y ago
I think you're underestimating the size of the PC gaming market. And most PC gamers are building their own computers. I think what has really helped PC gaming in recent years is Twitch streamers who are predominantly playing on PC. The kids see this and eventually make the switch to PC. The PC building section at micro center is always packed with all sorts of people buying full parts for a gaming PC.