Comments on: Five PC Hardware Items You Shouldn’t Buy Online

By: william p kervin

william p kervin — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:34:40 +0000

I buy everything online, and have saved, saved. In 10 yrs. have had a DOA HD (maxtor) and some generic RAM. Things I look for are price matching, MIR’s, and good reviews. I used to insure, get special shipping etc.(all those little extras) but no longer, and save even more money (at my risk). I forgot to mention I mess around with computers for a hobby so probably buy more than the average person. If I only had one computer, I would buy it from a local store. I only bought one item in the states, which came UPS, took a 2 month, cost an arm and leg in extra fees on the shipping. Anyway I stick to Canada and the main store I deal with is great.

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:51:18 +0000

I actually bought my last monitor on bestbuy.com and picked it up at the store – $50 savings by purchasing online. So it can really pay to shop around.

By: Jester

Jester — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:52:29 +0000

I do not agree with the routers; especially for linksys. Most in-store retailers sell the wrt54g and gs but they do not sell the GL. If you want to use open source firmware like dd-wrt the GL is the best way to go as it does not use the cruddy vxworks chip.

I have also bought mice and monitors online and never had a problem. I do agree with keyboards as they are the most important ergonomical part of any desktop system. You really need to feel out a good keyboard that is comfortable with your typing style.

By: Drew

Drew — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:55:32 +0000

I agree with Martyn here.

Also, with regards mice and keyboards – you can still save money by purchasing online obviously. But if you want to check it out first and feel it to be sure you’re comfortable with it, then just go to the store first to do so.

LCD’s and sound systems though I would most likely get in store though. Mainly due to shipping costs when buying online. I was prepared to buy a Logitech 5.1 Surround Sound computer speaker package online due to the savings in cost, but when working out the difference plus shipping, purchasing from the store was the most logical solution.

Unless there is a huge difference in price and in the return policy between the online and the ‘brick and mortar’ stores, I still purchase online whatever I can (providing my staff discount doesn’t get me the item cheaper at work)

By: Martyn

Martyn — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:41:56 +0000

Bought online – routers, cabling, monitor etc not had a single problem, not even a single dead pixel. As long as you read customer reviews before u buy you’ll most likely get a good product.
So far i have never had to take any item that a have bought for my computer back. I did build it myself and sourced all components online except for mouse and keyboard, due to the ‘feel’ factor.

By: Steven Van Tilburg

Steven Van Tilburg — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:36:37 +0000

I agree with everything except the network gear. I’ve purchased a lot of network stuff over the years online. As with all purchases, a reputable retailer makes a big difference.

Not exactly PC related, but the thing I’ve had the biggest issue purchasing online is cell phones. Both times I’ve purchased cell phones online, I’ve had to exchange them because they were somehow defective.