Slashdot Log In
Which Vendors Do You Trust For PC Parts?
Posted by
Soulskill
on Sat Sep 06, 2008 04:06 AM
from the cheaper-is-usually-sketchier dept.
from the cheaper-is-usually-sketchier dept.
CaryTheSane writes "After six years, it's finally time for my old Pentium 4 to retire to web browsing duties, and I want a new gaming PC. I'd like to build my own this time, and I've scoped out most of the parts I want for a moderately high-end system. Which online vendors have you used before that you trust for parts? I've dealt with NewEgg, and I like them, but I live in Tennessee, a state in which they have a presence. Unfortunately, this means they have to hit me up for 9.5% sales tax. That really eats into my system build budget, so I'm looking for alternatives. I'd like to use the fewest number of vendors (preferably only one), so that all the parts arrive at the same time and I don't have one part's 30-day return policy run out while I'm waiting for parts from another vendor to show up. So, which reliable and economical parts vendors do you recommend?"
Conversely, are there any you'd recommend avoiding?
Related Stories
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Multiwave (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Multiwave (Score:4, Interesting)
Don't forget to look at some local stores - Sam's, Best Buy, OfficeMax, Staples, Office Depot, etc..
I used to buy from Monarch Computers in Georgia; shame they're not around any more.
Parent
Re:Multiwave (Score:4, Informative)
Locally I go to Micro Center (http://www.microcenter.com) but they have a very limited brick and mortar presence. Their prices are close to newegg's, but you can just take stuff back to the store if you have a problem. Returns are a big issue with me - I preferentially buy from newegg specifically because returns have never been an issue.
Parent
Re:Multiwave (Score:4, Informative)
Yeah, I picked up my last cpu/mobo combo for home at MicroCenter. It wasn't be best deal I ever got, but they did have nice things like OCZ ram in stock and a good selection of popular motherboards for sale.
I was impressed with their sales people. The lady didn't really have a whole lot to say about my selection except to show me where things were and mention ways to get discounts. It was a lot better than the pseudo-geek babble one has come to expect from places like CompUSA, where I'd be getting a PCI video card to go with my dual core gaming rig if I listen to them, along with $100 worth of extended protection plans if gullible enough to fall for it.
It was just a single experience, so I don't know if they are trained to spot geeks and not annoy them, or just have good hiring standards. Still, though, it was nice not to be told three-four times about the protection plans.
On the other hand, I do purchase those extended protection plans on things like laser mice where I know for a fact the contacts on the charger base, and built-in batteries will be hosed long before the plan is up. I'm on my third $70 mouse for the price of one, plus 10 bucks. The lesson there is to make sure any time you get one, you'll have a net gain from it. But I'd recommend steering clear of them on anything like monitors or components. Especially things like hard drives which already have very long manufacturer warranties.
Parent
Re:Multiwave (Score:5, Informative)
-bc
Parent
Re:Multiwave (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:Multiwave (Score:5, Funny)
No, MIR refers to parts that have been certified by the Russian space program for use in space station installations.
Parent
Re:Multiwave (Score:5, Informative)
Mwave has been good to me, the few times I ordered from them.
I purchase probably ~$3k a month in 'normal' stuff for a medium-sized business, and up to $10k for special projects. And I use this for purchsing for myself, which is quite a bit too, hehe.
If I am ordering a bunch of lower cost items ($100 or so), I immediately go to Newegg.com. Their search functionality is more robust than anywhere else, and their selection and prices are some of the best. And of course they actually treat their customers properly after the sale.
If it's a higher priced item, I hit up pricegrabber.com and see which of my 'preferred vendors' is the cheapest. That list mostly consists of:
PCNation.com
theNerds.net
techonweb.com
PCConnection.com
Two sites I usually hit up also are Provantage.com and ZipZoomFly.com...they don't usually appear in the Pricegrabber results, but often have some things cheap (Provantage is good specifically with laptop hard drives and printer maintenance kits for some reason I have not figured out.)
lagoom.com is worth checking out too, my Intel Q6600 for my gaming PC was purchased there...at that time, Newegg was $530, they were $485. (Yeah, those prices suck now, early adopter penalty). It arrived very fast and their site and service was quite professional.
My favorite place for ethernet cables is: www.deepsurplus.com (free Skittles with every order...how can you lose?)
A/V Cables: monoprice.com
Also, Amazon.com is usually good for a lot of things.
Parent
Re:OVERKILL dude (Score:4, Insightful)
Go for the cheapest CPU, and upgrade in 6months to something twice as fast.
I'll bet you didn't get a socket 939 board
Parent
As John Glenn said... (Score:5, Funny)
Tigerdirect - avoid (Score:5, Insightful)
Stay away from Tigerdirect. If they don't screw up your order, then they are as good as any other merchant who does not screw up your order. But, if anything goes wrong, they suck to deal with.
Furthermore, a couple of years ago they engaged in a ridiculously blatant 'carpet-bombing' of reseller-ratings - a site where they had an appropriate bad rating over a number of years of being rated. In like 6 months, the number of people who rated Tigerdirect increased more than 10x of all the previous years of rating, and all of these new 'people' gave the company uncharacteristically high marks.
Re:Tigerdirect - avoid (Score:5, Informative)
I second this motion. Tiger direct sucks ASS if ever your order gets screwed up. And it will, eventually.
How much is your time worth to you?
Parent
Re:Tigerdirect - avoid (Score:5, Interesting)
Third here.
This is some of the communication I had with them....it didn't get any better.
We sincerely apologize for the situation that you encountered. We just saw the comments that you left on Resellerratings.com. We are dismayed over your perception of our company, and the feedback you posted. We are dedicated to satisfying our customers, in hope of making them âoelifetimeâ customers. If you would, please respond with details of you latest situation, and how, within reason and the boundaries of our contracts, we could make TigerDirect a place of business for you again.
Sincerely,
XXX XXXXXXXX
Customer Service/Web Response
Most of the problems I have had with your company started with the purchase of this item:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3564505&sku=TSD-500AS5 [tigerdirect.com]
As you can see as the top of this product info it states:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB Hard Drive - 7200RPM, 32MB, SATA-300, OEM
The 32MB is the spec for this drive's cache. However, when I received the drive, it was labeled 16MB. I sent it back, again and again continuing to receive the wrong product. Finally in frustration, I stopped returning the drives, and settled for you had shipped me even though it wasn't what I purchased and of lesser value. I even opted to keep the two additional drives I had been sent to replace the last set, meaning I was paying for four, not two drives, that weren't what I ordered simply to get this behind me. I received a bill in the mail for these additional two drives and I called in and asked them to bill my credit card on file and was told they would do that.
At that point I thought the fiasco was over, but then just a couple of weeks ago I received another call stating my account had gone into collections. Finally after much time spend on the phone and speaking to customer service representatives and managers, I finally got some person to actually bill me for the product instead of just saying they were going to bill my card then send me to collections when they didn't follow through. On top of all that, I was billed something like $7.50 for late fees. That just bothers the hell of me since it was tigerdirect's own problem and inability to correctly process transactions that caused the dilemma.
The $7.50 or whatever really isn't the issue, I wouldn't even notice that was gone from my bank account. The issue is that this event in conjunction with several other problematic transactions, have left me with a large amount of doubt as to the honesty and integrity of your company for several reasons:
* You shipped me a different product than advertised
* Your representative's stated that the specs on the product I received were correct, as opposed to the specs listed in link above.
* If the above is true, then tigerdirect engaged in false advertising. Bait & Switch
* Your frontline representatives were incapable of resolving this matter in regards to both billing and sending the correct product.
* It is very time consuming to find someone capable of resolving problems. It is so time consuming it is easier to ignore problems related to tigerdirect rather than pursue them.
Like most consumer's, when given a choice between equal products, I'll chose the less expensive option. Once I have experienced quality transactions with a company, I'll continue doing business with them even if their price isn't always the best. That company will no longer be your company. In my mind, TigerDirect is now to internet sales what Best Buy is to a brick and mortar store.
Parent
Re:Tigerdirect - avoid (Score:5, Insightful)
I respect your opinion and your experience, but I've been a TigerDirect customer for years, and I've never been disappointed. My last 3 personal computers have all been Systemax PCs that I've ordered from Tiger.
I often hear awful tales about rebate issues regarding Tiger. I avoid refurb and rebate items for that reason - you never know what you're going to get. So I can't say whether or not they honor their rebates, or whether their refurb items suck ass. If you buy a refurb PC you might get a piece of shit, I don't know.
I have no affiliation with Tiger other than I'm a satisfied customer and I've been ordering everything from PCs to monitors to KVMs to storage, and I've never had a problem. As far as their PC offerings go, I can't speak to anything other than the Systemax line, but they've always been solid for me.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I've never had a problem.
So, you are basically confirming the original statement that if they don't screw up your order, then they are as good as any other merchant who does not screw up your order.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Though, in the last year I've switched to ZipZoomFly, mostly for the reason that their search engine is the most detailed around. It's much, much easier to find the part you're after. TigerDirect and ZipZoomFly are often neck and neck and rather competitiv
Online? (Score:5, Informative)
Looking for the right parts is important (Score:5, Insightful)
Looking for the best parts is not something futile, some may tell you "hey just go to Monkey-puters.com they sell everything packed you won't have any problem with winwisbutu 12.x" but it's not the case here.
The reality is that you are going to pay more for a low end system than if you buy OEM, but I suspect that you really don't care about that difference. You first have to check out thoroughly the different components, I myself have a system that is running since...well it's a PIV still running an AGP video card (was a good NVIDIA card so it's still useful for some casual gaming).
So check out the components, it's more important to put more in the Motherboard, less in the video card as you are going to change it in a one year time, so don't buy high end. CPU's are important too, check out the announces from the vendors (Intel, Amd) as usually new lines of processors send the prices down on existing CPU's.
and well otherwise I don't know about online vendors because I always went in a shop...when you custom build you always run into the risk of having components who are instable when packed together. It's a marginal risk nowadays but still...and it's easier to just get back in that small'ish shop (semi-pro shops in warehouses are best as they usually have the lowest prices and the highest geek ratio running them for the sake of spreading good systems out there) to get an exchange is easier than with online vendors who have that 30 days return policies/no scratch/...
Re:Looking for the right parts is important (Score:4, Informative)
You left out the single most important component of all: the PSU.
I saw a video once of two PSU's, one generic and one a reputable brand. Both were rated 500 watts. When the current was raised to 300, the generic burst into flames. They cut off the test at around 650: the brand name PSU was still plugging away.
You'll note I didn't specify the brand, and that's because it doesn't really matter. Any PSU whose manufacturer is willing to physically put their name on is going to be worlds better than the chinsy shit most people buy without thinking.
It's not even really about the flame-bursting, although that's always a concern. Shitty PSU's tend to skimp on the little expensive internal bits that cut down on AC oscillations and line noise. Very bad for components.
If that doesn't convince you, then consider that the extra heat the generic, shitty, half-pound ones generate has to come from somewhere: wasted electricity. A decent PSU runs cooler because it's more efficient. A good, high quality PSU will generally be above 80% efficient; generic ones are usually around 60%. Excess heat in the case aside, that's a big chunk off your power bill.
Get a sixty dollar power supply; my last power supply lasted me seven years without a hiccup, and I only replaced it because I wanted SATA and PCI-E hookups.
You'll save fifty bucks in electricity in that time quite easily, and it's a lot less likely to fry your components with excess heat or line noise.
Parent
Sales Tax? (Score:5, Interesting)
I love Newegg, you may also want to look at pricewatch.com
it may not be all from one vendor, but you may find a vendor who has everything you need.
Local shops. (Score:5, Informative)
Seriously. I know the guys that run the local shops fairly well. The prices are good, and if you have problems and you're not an arse about it, quite often you'll get even better value on the returns. For example, I bought a 200G drive a few years ago, which failed after six months. "Sorry", they said, "We can't replace that. We don't do them any more. You'll have to take this 250G instead." I suppose they have to keep their customers sweet if they want to keep their windows intact.
Just so long as you're not bothered about what else might be getting shipped over from India in big heavy boxes full of little light computers, it's probably the best way to do it.
Re:Local shops. (Score:5, Informative)
Quite.
I've worked for a local shop on two different occasions, and I can tell you that it would be well worth your while to see if there is one in your area with good prices and knowledgeable employees.
If you live in or even near a large city with a number of wholesalers, then you should be able to get prices that are fairly consistent with what you'd pay on-line, but if the shop is honorable (talk to the employees and this should become obvious before too long if you know what you're about and have already done pricing), then it could save you a lot of effort in ordering errors and the like. They will often have parts or builds they prefer, and may even want to build the system for you for an extra fee, but as the parent said, you'll find the *GOOD* places will work hard for their customers and even fix things long out of warranty. You might pay a little more overall than you would if you ordered parts from wherever the single best deal you can get on any item on-line, but it can really be well worth it.
The trick is, knowing and finding a good, honest and knowledgeable shop to work with. Don't alienate them by trying to get them to match every price on-line, but talking to them will let them know you know what you're looking for, and let you decide if they're the right place to work with.
You can always default to getting it all on-line or a part here or there locally, but if you order from any single place, be it Tiger or NewEgg or Best Buy or the local store, you're going to pay a little more. I'd suggest supporting a local business, if you can. As long as the price is reasonable, I assure you it's worth it in the long run. Hopefully you'll never have problems, but no matter where you buy a computer or parts, odds are you'll eventually have a problem, and chances are your local shop will support and treat you better than anywhere else.
Parent
A few... (Score:5, Informative)
As a fellow Tennessean, I'd first like to point out that Neweeg is still a great choice. I order from them regularly because:
1) They are usually still nearly the cheapest
2) They ship quick
3) If it ships from their TN center, I have it the next day
4) Their customer service ROCKS
5) Their website is the best of any I've used.
If I don't use them, I will use either mwave [mwave.com], ZipZoomFly [zipzoomfly.com], or (if you don't mind open-box items) Tech For Less [techforless.com] (just remember to leave a comment when ordering that you know wtf you are doing, else they will hold your order until they get ahold of you).
I've also used ProVantage [provantage.com] a time or two, but really only when they had a good deal.
My personal vendor (Score:5, Funny)
There is this guy I know who delevers everything I ask. Prices are good. It is just a bitch to drive down to the docks and for some odd reason he only takes cash in small bills in a brown paperbag.
He is a wise guy and explained that an insurance also would be great and he is right. I haven't been beaten up since I took that insurance. A good fellow, always talking about his family and such.
Trading Forums (Score:4, Informative)
The prices offered are almost always below what a store offers. Plus, if you decide to go with people selling used instead of new (both are available), you can get it at only a fraction of the cost.
I've been dealing with people from those forums for a couple years now, and they've saved me hundreds of dollars.
Security is the only real issue, since people can rip each other off... but as long as you trade with people that have a good (high) reputation, then you're normally safe. Moreover, a lot of products are sold with transferable manufacturers warranties on them, so you can buy safely, knowing that you're covered for a bit. I have yet to be ripped off after quite a number of full computer builds.
- John
Hole in the wall private shops (Score:5, Informative)
Every city has at least one or two. The best are the crack in the wall places with a guy in the back surrounded by parts.
Some of the items you'll buy will be a great deal, others maybe not, and yeah, you'll have to pay tax. --But you won't pay for shipping, (which, if you're buying lots of goodies, will probably cost a fair bit, though probably not 10% of the cost of a well-equipped new machine).
But nothing is nicer than being able to run out on a gut-feeling of inspiration and pick up a stack of parts that same afternoon. Speaking as a geek, I have to say that walking out of a shop with an OEM hard drive packaged in nothing but an anti-static bag is one of the best feelings in the world. --I realized on one of those occasions why my girlfriend loved shopping for clothes so much, and it was with a bit of wistfulness that I recognized I only shopped for computer bits once every few years, whereas for her cruising the used-clothing stores was a weekly fix. Comfort shopping is silly, but it's also human, so when you do end up spending a whack of money, it's nice to jump in and get right into it.
There are other advantages when you buy from a local, private vendor. If you change your mind about a part, or if a stick of memory is faulty or whatever, you can always go back and hash it out with the owner. Either he'll tell you what you did wrong, or replace the part, and he'll nearly always remember you. A human connection is great; you don't have to fill out impersonal forms and take a number or stay on hold or any of that lousy nonsense. You've got a guy right there who wants to help you, partly because he doesn't want to have to give your money back and partly because he's also a geek who instinctively wants stuff to work right. And sometimes you'll meet a really cool person where it's fun just to chat and trade opinions and such; more than once I've gone into a shop with a well-considered shopping list only to have the guy behind the counter say, "Oh, we don't have that mother board, but check it out! We do have this one; it works great and it costs less than the one on your list, plus it has this extra feature which is really cool! The manufacturer just put out the next model, so they're trying to sell off their previous one, which is why it's such a great deal." I've picked up some awesome hardware that way. So I'd say it's well worth the extra expense (if it even adds up to that much when you take shipping into account, and any unexpected in-house deals or whatever), to buy from small vendors.
I will say, however, that buying on-line does generate a sort of Christmas day feeling, where you get to wait in eager anticipation for stuff to arrive, plus you get to build exactly the system you want because you can be really specific about the parts. But I prefer the more adventurous side of going out to find parts yourself. I think it might satisfy some kind of latent hunter/gatherer gene inside us all.
By far, however, the absolute worst way to spend money on computer parts is to go to a big, corporate, well-lit box store where the guys have little name tags and same-color shirts. Ugh! --I mean, that's fine for laptops and big screens and such, but for hard drives and mother boards and video cards and bags of little screws? What a waste of an experience! I'd rather use an abacus than build a computer from parts obtained in a damned box store. Not to mention that it's nearly always a LOT more expensive that way. Nobody can beat them on price for big items which they order by the shipping palate, but for smaller parts. . , there's simply too many to choose from, so they stream-line their stock and charge you up the wazoo for them. And anyway box stores, you know, have no soul.
Anyway, I hope everything works out for. Enjoy!
-FL
Re:Hole in the wall private shops (Score:5, Informative)
Have you ever been to Microcenter? They're the only box store I'll buy parts from because their prices are reasonable and their return policies aren't barbaric. I'd never buy a pre-built system from them because their prices (for the pre-built systems, mind) are outrageous but they do have an excellent selection of parts (and books, and networking accessories), including slightly used hard drives and RAM. The staff is usually very knowledgeable (in comparison to say, Best Buy *shudders*) and they seem to actually enjoy working there. They also sell flash drives cheap as dirt. As for having no soul, hey even the little guy is in it for the money, or they'd do it for free. It's just business, you know?
The Microcenter I go to has a hole-in-the-wall parts place literally right next door, which is convenient because I'll usually go there if I can't find something at Microcenter, or I have a suspicious that the price is too high. The hole-in-the-wall place doesn't always have what I'm looking for and a lot of the time their stock is a mishmash of used and outdated parts, but it is fun to go bargain hunting there every now and then. Their pre-built systems are usually cheaper too, and they don't come laden with all kinds of crapware. I'm always surprised that the place manages to stay in business but they've apparently found a way to make a buck.
Don't get me wrong, it's obvious that you enjoy the experience of parts shopping, and I can completely relate to that. I think both the hole-in-the-wall parts shops and (some of) the big box places have their benefits and detriments, and a lot of it is personal preference.
Your post also reminded me that I've been meaning to pick up another hard drive, I might have to make a trip today :-D
Parent
The best shop is the one nearest your house... (Score:3, Insightful)
If something doesn't work out* you can go over there and deal with it personally. Isn't that worth 10% extra?
[*] And there's a fair chance it won't, no matter who you buy from.
A strange question... (Score:3, Insightful)
...especially considering that Slashdot is read world-wide, and (for example) us Europeans usually do not order from the US onliners (not just the different voltage, but postage and, especially, border taxes).
Me? I found a street dealer I trust. Pay about 10% more than online, but he's really worth it.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
...especially considering that Slashdot is read world-wide, and (for example) us Europeans usually do not order from the US onliners (not just the different voltage, but postage and, especially, border taxes).
You might be surprised to learn that even after taxes, most electronic-related items are significantly cheaper in the US. There tends to be a policy to price products equivalently in the number of dollars and euros. Right now, that works out to about a 42% premium for the privilege of paying in euros (and the UK gets it even worse with similar 1:1 pricing but a 76% premium for paying in pounds).
For example - typical song pricing on itunes is 0.99 euros in europe, but 0.99 cents in the USA.
newegg (Score:5, Informative)
... once you know, you newegg.
Start with items with lots of reviews, read the most critical first. 4. profit.
single vendor doesn't guarantee 1 shipment (Score:3, Insightful)
. I'd like to use the fewest number of vendors (preferably only one), so that all the parts arrive at the same time
This isn't necessarily true. the vendor may have some of the parts you want, but be waiting delivery on others. You could end up in one of two situations:
Niether is satisfactory IMHO. Go with several suppliers, either check their online stock from their website, or ask "can you ship these parts today?"
cyberpowerpc.com (Score:3, Informative)
I recently used these guys:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/ [cyberpowerpc.com]
I "discovered" the brand when shopping on Newegg, but didn't see the exact config I wanted. So I went directly to the vendor's website and found that their gaming systems were EXTREMELY mod friendly with a wide variety of choices for components. So I mixed and matched and had them test it prior to delivery. The end result was a pretty tricked out quad-core core2duo box with lots of RAM and fast video for WELL under US$1K.
Cheers,
Australia (Score:3, Informative)
I love UMART - umart.net.au (now ijk.com.au after a recent rebrand).
Their site is a tad ordinary, but they are everything you want in a vendor, they are CHEAP (not necessarily the super cheapest, but close enough to the mark not to matter), they will NEVER fork you over on refunds, go the extra distance to find that weird douverlacky and are prompt with their service.
I've used them extensively (about $100k for heaps of orders) both personally and professionally. They will sell you the bits, make suggestions if they don't quite work (like the mobo or ram is off), make the box for you if you're tight on time/skills - and do tidy work on it too (cables all neat, things tucked away, stickers put on, little touches)......
What I like is that they don't mind overclockers. I've pushed gear a bit too hard occasionally and they don't give you any shit about it.
They do a great job and I recommend them very highly. I'm not an employee or shill if you're thinking that, just a very highly satisfied multi time customer (and work admin/buyer/CTO)
Kingston for memory (Score:4, Informative)
As far as I know, the memory business is a giant scam. The high priced stuff like Kingston and some others have the least defects- thus are prime binned for a higher price, and the cheap stuff causes problems as soon as it is installed as it was sorted into bins that were under-spec. Memtest86 has consistently proven this to me.
You have to pay tax anyway (Score:4, Informative)
You still have to pay Use Tax even if you buy something out of state.
http://www.tennessee.gov/revenue/tntaxes/usetax.htm [tennessee.gov]
So, just buy from Newegg and make your life easier..
9.5 Tax in TN? (Score:4, Funny)
Unfortunately, this means they have to hit me up for 9.5% sales tax.
9.5 in TN? Holy crap you need to start voting democrat.
Newegg.com (Score:5, Informative)
I really cannot say enough good things about newegg.com.
I have been using them since 2001; my order history with newegg.com is over 20 pages long (at least) and I have ordered well over 200k worth of items from them. In all that time I have never had a problem. We're talking hundreds of orders. I have been through every conceivable situation - I have had to return things for refund or exchange, I have had to call them once and that call was handled very well.
Here are the general reasons why i think newegg.com is awesome:
1. Price (their prices will be as good or better than most other vendors, online or brick and mortar).
2. Shipping cost and shipping time: They have a lot of free shipping, and even when you are paying the prices are excellent - they generally ship things the same day you order, if not then then by the next days, always.
3. Stock, selection, and the technology behind their store and website - They have their own super high tech system for processing orders. I have seen video of how it works and it is very impressive - THey generally never make errors, their website is always up to date with what is and isn't in stock. I have never ordered something from them only to get a notice that it isn't in stock. It just doesn't happen becuse their site seems to be updated in real time.
4. Customer product reviews - you can get a great idea about particular products you may not know anything about by reading the customer reviews.
All in all I just can't think of any other retailer which I have dealt with that has their act more together than newegg and that has consistently flawless. I order personal stuff, I order stuff for the IT dept that I run, I order gifts and things for family and friends.
Don't just take my word for it - check out www.resellerratings.com for unbiased ratings of newegg.com and most other online stores. You will find that newegg consistently is on the top of their list of tens of thousands of stores. Generally with a score just below a perfect 10.
Re:How about Amazon... (Score:5, Informative)
We charge this 15% restocking fee for all returns for refund to encourage customers to purchase products they intend to keep. We offer RMA Replacement without any restocking fee to support customers who have received a defective product.
Insulting? More like them keeping their costs down so they can run their business better and provide a better service overall. Think much?
Parent
Re:Another great news item on Slashdot (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Another great news item on Slashdot (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't bitch, if you had something else to do other than reading this thread you would be doing it :-)
Besides, this kind of 'news' are to slashdot what a bad referee is to football: You hate him, but he gives you a (socially accepted) reason to yell.
Parent
Re:Local Store? (Score:5, Informative)
Of course nobody actually does that and most states don't get any of that use tax because people are effectively cheating on their taxes. Some states are getting more riled up about collecting tax than others, but most just don't care. Personally I think the government gets more than enough of my money anyway.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It is plainly an interstate sales tax
It's not, because it's not discriminatory against interstate commerce; it is an equalizer--all purchases are taxed, regardless of origin. It neither favors the home state nor disfavors the foreign state. Simultaneously, failure to do so significantly burdens local producers and merchants, who cannot compete because of the externality of the sales tax. This is of course creates a legitimate state interest in leveling the playing field.
if it were otherwise they'd charge it on sales-taxed items too
They do. It's called the sales tax.
So why do the courts let them get away with it?
Because it violates neither the law
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I didn't say it was bad as a matter of policy-- though it would seem to bring about a fair amount of double-taxation, which is in the interest of the state imposing the use tax in any case.
Re:Local Store? (Score:4, Informative)
Discrimination hasn't got a thing to do with it.
Please read up on the Dormant Commerce Clause. Burdening interstate commerce unfairly has everything to do with it.
based on a purchase I made in another state.
But you didn't make the purchase in another state. You made it right from home. Had you actually made the purchase out of state, you would have been obligated to pay that state's sales tax and would owe nothing to your home state. But you didn't pay tax in either state with your online purchase, when your purchase, had it been made in person in either state, would have been taxable.
Either is quite obviously illegal on the face of it.
Then you should have no trouble finding a case agreeing with you. Since, however, there is no such case, you're quite obviously incorrect.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Sales tax here ranges from 0% to ~10% (though certain items are subject to higher taxes, like hotels in D.C.), varying based on the location (not only different states, but different cities may have different sales tax rates), and sometimes based on the type of purchase (in some places, things like restaurant meals are taxed at a higher rate than retail/sundry purchases). The burden for collection is on the merchant in states where they have a business presence (office, warehouse, retail location).
Everywher
Re:Local Store? (Score:5, Informative)
But no doubt you HAVE heard of it, when ordering a product from another country.
Indeed I have. However, in Sweden, when I order things from "overseas", I still have to pay the Swedish sales tax on the imported goods. A lot of people forget this when they order things from the US. Everything looks much cheaper when you browse an american webstore, because we have a whooping 25% sales tax added to everything. There are of course a few nice companies that will write "gift" with a value of $0 on the customs declaration, but that's not really how it's supposed to work.
The fact that you are supposed to pay your own state sales tax even in the US make everything make sense to me though, and I completely understand that people are cheating with this and doesn't pay. Personally I'm a socialist and support our high taxes in Sweden, but I make sure to never miss out an opportunity to withhold as much taxes I can get away with.. Has more to do with personal greed than with any political ideology. :)
Parent
Re:Local Store? (Score:5, Insightful)
I think this is a pretty good summary of why absolute socialism (not what you have in sweden) doesn't work
Parent
Re:Local Store? (Score:5, Insightful)
And here we have the triumph of the capitalists in microcosm. If even those who call themselves Socialists will lie and cheat to avoid contributing to the common good, what hope then for Socialism?
Regarding the definition of 'overseas' for import purposes, by the way: the EU is a single market. Tax is not payable on anything you buy from another EU state, provided it is for your own use rather than for commercial resale. For some reason the British customs think there is still something called a 'personal allowance' which limits how much you can import, but this is not in fact the case; good luck convincing the bloke in Dover that your Transit van full of fags from Calais is entirely for your own use, though.
Parent
To Clarify (Score:5, Funny)
Parent