Movies •Books •Music •Food •Tv Shows •Technology •Politics •Video Games •Parenting •Fashion •Green Living •more >

Lunch » Tags » Electronics » Reviews » Buying Consumer Electronics Online » User review

Buying Consumer Electronics Online

A guide to buying consumer electronics online

Edit Topic

< read all 2 reviews

A Guide to Buying Consumer Electronics Online... and finding great deals!

Mar 21, 2009

by dtruong

Rating:

Buying things online used to be a new and scary thing to lots of people. Now, it has become a favorite pass-time for most... thanks to sites like Ebay and Amazon breaking the ice and showing everyone that it can be a fun and safe way to shop.

I've been buying and selling things online since it's humble beginnings. I remember when Ebay had just started and being one of the first to register on it. In those early days, there was only one short page of items available, and I don't remember there being categories (seriously). I also remember when Amazon just started out and would actually give freebies (like travel mugs and T-shirts) to all their loyal customers as a thank you.

But even as widespread as online shopping has become, I feel like shopping for electronics for many, is still a somewhat scary ordeal. That's probably because electronics tend to cost a lot of money and are more prone to damage during shipping. Also, I feel like many people just don't know where to look online to buy their electronics. This is why I decided to write this guide (err... I mean review :)

Where to go to get your gadgets online:
There are numerous sites that us gadget freaks (geeks) have been buying our consumer electronics for ages. These places usually have amazing deals, are safe and secure, have regular free shipping deals and promos, have reviews and specifications listed on their products, and take all major credit cards. A lot of them even take Paypal or Google Check out for payment. They also will replace your order for free if it gets damaged or lost during shipping. Another great perk about buying stuff online is that you don't have to pay taxes (if the online store is not based in your state) Here are a few great sites that geeks have been shopping at for years:

www.newegg.com

Newegg is a great place to get all consumer electronics and these guys usually ship very fast. A great place to buy cameras, mp3 players, Gps units... you name it! Also, this is the absolute best place to get computer components like Dvd drives, Ram (memory), and Hard drives. If you like to build your own computers, this is the place to get the parts you'll need. Many of the items have been reviewed by techies.

www.buy.com

This is another great place to get all your general consumer electronics. They also carry lots of computer stuff. It's also a great place to buy Mp3 players, Cameras, Gps units, memory cards... etc

www.frys.com

If you've ever been to a "Fry's Electronics" store, than you can imagine the selection they have here. This is the online store-front of the brick and mortar place that us Nerds know and love. Their online search function could be better though.

www.dell.com

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. But the fact is that Dell doesn't just sell computers. They have branched out and now sell lots of electronics from all different brands. Just look under the "electronics and software" tab under "Products" on their home page and you'll see. Trust me, they have some great deals sometimes... especially on digital cameras for some reason.

www.amazon.com

Amazon became famous selling books online... now they're like the "wallyworld" of online shopping, lol. They have tons of electronics for very good prices. And the best thing is that any purchases over $25 gets you free shipping. This is also the best place to do online "window shopping" to do product research and price research since most items are reviewed... by people like us :)

Finding out about amazing deals online:
Now that we've covered "where" to get consumer electronics for a good price, you may be wondering how you would find out about amazing sales, discounts, or coupons to get even better deals. Well, there are actually whole websites devoted to alerting people to amazing deals online. However, keep in mind that sometimes you must act quickly to get these items before they are all bought out. News tends to travel pretty fast online :) Now I will let you in on two such websites that have been around for a long time and will help aid you in the quest to find killer deals online. Many of these sites are geared towards deals for consumer electronics, but you can pretty much find deals for anything under the sun :)

The only real negative thing about buying stuff online is having to wait a few days for your item to arrive at your doorstep. In general, you can expect your item to arrive within a weeks time. There are always options to ship quicker... if you're willing to pay a bit more for the shipping cost. I hope this guide was helpful and that you find the sites listed in it useful. I take no responsibility for you spending lots of money on consumer electronics after you read this guide... But at least you know you'll be getting stuff for a great price, and that's always a satisfying feeling :)

Words of Warning:
Keep in mind that not all online stores are created the same. The ones I listed here in the guide are tried and true... and thus, can be fully trusted. But there are some bad ones out there too. Be extremely weary of buying Cameras online from sites that you haven't heard of before. There are a lot of dishonest online Camera shops out there... I'm not quite sure why. I would recommend reading reviews on a certain website to "check it out" before you buy anything from them. Bad online stores don't take long before their bad reputation is known. So a simple search on their store name at a search engine usually gives you an idea about how much their customers love or hate them.

What did you think of this review?

Helpful

Thought-Provoking

Fun to Read

Well-Organized

Post a Comment

woopak_the_thrill March 24, 2009

great write up! I usually go with newegg.com when it comes to electronics. amazon I usually use for dvds and other stuff. Thanks!

show text editor

reply to this comment

Follow this review

devora March 22, 2009

Wow, thanks for compiling this great lists! I swear by newegg, Dell, and Amazon as well. I also like Costco. And I know what you mean about the camera e-stores. I've dealt with a dishonest one before and was sold a refurbished camera that I was told was new. I don't know what it is with those camera e-stores, but I ended up getting a decent one from newegg.

Just a side note: You can create bullet points in the text editor on top of where you type in a review, just to make your review look a little more tidy :)

show text editor

reply to this comment

Follow this review

More Buying Consumer Electronics On... reviews

review by lonphillips. April 03, 2009

As long as it's throughAmazon

I'm disabled, so the net is my shopping mall, but especially Amazon for anything to do with electronics. I know if I have a problem that there's someone there to resolve disputes.

Comments (2) Compliments (1)

see all Buying Consumer Electronics On... reviews (2)

About the reviewer

Duc Truong (dtruong)
Ranked #66

I'm a man with many hobbies. I work a full-time job in the field of 'Lyophilization' for a small Pharmacuetical company. It's a dream job because it gives me lots of days off to pursue … more