This article is not about the things we buy online but rather the traditional stores we use to buy our electronic stuff.

With electronics items, you can either go to a store that's specifically deals in electronics, an office supply store, or a department store.

In the United States, these are the choices we have (this is not a complete list but covers most of them):

Electronics specific

• Best Buy
• Radio Shack
• CompUSA 

Note on CompUSA: Yes, they still exist, but only in very particular areas as there are only 23 of them left, most of which are in Florida where PCMech is based.

Reasons to go to electronics stores:

• They will have electronic items on display that other stores don't have.
• Better choice of electronic items.
• Prices for most products are similar to what you can buy it for online.

Which do you think is the best of the above three electronics stores? Post a comment.

Office supply stores

• Staples
• Office Depot
• OfficeMax

Reasons to go to office supply stores:

• If nobody else has the inkjet cartridge specific for your printer, an office supply store most likely will.
• Less lines. Faster in and out.
• The parking lots for office supply stores always seem to be better for some strange reason? Hey, it's a perk. Less door dings is a good thing.

Which do you think is the best of the above three office supply stores? Post a comment.

Department stores

• Wal-Mart
• Target
• K-Mart

Reasons to go to department stores:

• Cheapest of the bunch.
• Stupidly easy no-questions-asked return policy if whatever you buy doesn't work.
• Whatever you want is almost always in stock and easy to get.

Which do you think is the best of the above three department stores? Post a comment.

Tell us what you think about the above choices, good or bad. If there's a store you'd like to mention not listed above, go right ahead. Make sure to note if it's regional or national. Your opinion will help out those who like to hear about store experiences for tech products.