Build your own PC at Walmart ?

[Parangles]

Just saw tonight on the local TV news here in FL that Walmart is now selling components to build your own PC. Has anybody been in and seen this ? Can you buy individual items, or is it a sort of 'choose which components you want and then we'll ship the complete(d) PC to you ' ?
What do you think the quality of the parts will be ?

[hobey19]

its more of the latter. they will have a bunch of parts and you can pick which ones you want in your system (i am basing this on the following: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/retail_wa...kxBHNlYwN0bQ--)

there has been some discussion over at slashdot that this may help the small servicing shop, because as of yet, there is no mention of whether or not wal-mart intends to support these pc's once they sell them

craig

[Strider]

The only thing that bothers me is that it might leave a person who builds a computer for the first time with a bad experience and will never bother to build another. An I find the article a little confusing, are they selling all the components necessary to build a computer or just a selected few components?

[Stuey]

As far as I've read in various articles over the past few days, Walmart is going to cell individual parts. So basically they're going to have CPUs, mem, cases, etc.

I don't think this will affect current retailers b/c Walmart seems to charge more for electronics and accessories than other brick and mortar stores. Also, walmart doesn't seem to sell the newest and greatest. They usually lag behind a little bit. Besides, there's only SO MUCH they can drop the price on components.

I think this is dangerous as it puts sensitive components in the hands of the naive.

[Khalil]

Wal-Mart makes me sick, I mean where is it going to end?
They want to get into selling anything and everything, this is so damaging to local small businesses.
Worst than that is all those consumers who go running to Wal-Mart thinking they gonna get a better deal, what about customer service when something does go wrong? Walmart never has any knowledgable staff, if you have a problem with an item there is no one to answer a question, all they can do is offer you a refund.
I would rather give my business to a local computer store that can help me with the items I have bought from them.
Generaly Wal-mart never offers quality, they offer cheap products.
My mother in law used to be a manager for them, some of their business practices leave very little to be desired.
I agree with Stuey83 this is a dangerous game Walmart is getting into.

[EzyStvy]

I just ordered two DVD burners and a video card from newegg. Wish I had ordered a day earlier and I might have gotten em Friday instead of this upcoming Monday.

If Walmart carriers the same or similar parts for the same or less price I'd buy from them in a heart beat.

[glc]

I've seen quality components at decent prices at Walmart. Seems to me they carry Linksys networking equipment. I don't see them as being any worse than CompUSA, Best Buy, Circuit City, or Fry's. I've also seen some REALLY good deals at Sam's Club.

If you need instant gratification, why not? They should be competitive with any other brick and mortars. Mom and Pop can only compete with superior service, if you need that, keep that in mind.

[Stuey]

Well, I just came back from Walmart. They've got a new computer "section" setup. I noticed a small selection of pre-built packages labeled as such. Then, next to it there was a bout 10 feet of wall space with a "build your own" heading.

Step 1: Choose your HP system.
Step 2: Choose your HP monitor.
Step 3: Choose your kb, mouse, and speakers.

*Disappointed*