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I would order from BestBuy. I just did this for an M2 and I knew that if there's any issues, I can just take it to the nearest store. They also price match, but you need to go in store or call a customer service line to do it. I just went in store. Less convenient, but less risky for larger purchases.

edit - best buy may not have everything you need but typically you can find a decent drive.



BestBuy or MicroCenter. NewEgg is good too, but it's pretty much like Amazon in the sense it's a marketplace for other stores.

The big issue is that there aren't a bunch of independent e-retailers to choose from. If you want to make it, you gotta make stores on Amazon, eBay, NewEgg, Etsy and Reverb (not all of course; depends on your products). I wrote an article about this recently:

https://battlepenguin.com/tech/the-death-of-the-mom-and-pop-...


Tiger Direct is a good option as well http://tigerdirect.com/


How's it been since their buyout? I stayed away for a few years since.


I recently started going to BestBuy again. I'd stopped for a few years. I found that I enjoyed the experience of shopping there again.

The realization that the experience that changed was Amazon, not BestBuy was startling to me.


I find that Best Buy is good for prepackaged stuff: like a full laptop or a full desktop. In fact, Best Buy prices are competitive if you're buying those kinds of items.

Best Buy sometimes has GPUs or SSDs at good prices, but its less common. I still price-compare at Best Buy because of that small chance that they win in the price wars, but my #1 goto is still Microcenter (or Newegg if from online).


Cables however is outright offensive; they operate like an airport - everything is $25 to $40


I dunno. I'd rather spend $25 on an unnecessarily expensive cable than get a $10 cable that blows up my $1000 laptop: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2XDBFUD9CTN2R/ref=cm_cr_rdp_p...

The fact of the matter is: Amazon's cables have such low-quality assurance on them, that they're untrustworthy now.

I think for cables specifically, Monoprice has created a good reputation and a good price. Unlike Amazon, who hides behind "marketplace sellers" and "comingling", Monoprice puts their own reputation on the line when they sell cables.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5458

Ultimately, if Amazon wants to be a "marketplace seller", they can. But Amazon needs to do a much better job combating fake-sellers, low-quality products. I'm not even anti-Chinese or whatever, I'm fine buying cheap Chinese stuff as long as there's some long-standing brand name that is willing to take the reputation hit if things go wrong. (Ex: why I'm fine buying cheap Chinese goods from Walmart, but not fine with buying cheap Chinese goods from Amazon. Walmart does step in and take responsibility)

Otherwise, its just Alibaba Russian roulette with your stuff. Maybe things work, maybe things don't, maybe things will blow up your laptop. Maybe the 18650 cell will blow up in your vaping device and give 3rd degree burns on your face. Or the 18650 cells will create a garage fire burning down your new scooter. Etc. etc.

The problem is the distinct lack of brands and accountability on Amazon. If a Monoprice or Best Buy cable destroyed laptops or caused fires, we'd all blame Monoprice or Best Buy. But if an Amazon item does the same, we somehow don't blame Amazon, but some indistinct unnamed entity.


I bought a Samsung Galaxy tablet from Best Buy's secondary (opened packaging or complete returns) inventory that has been absolutely flawless. I was never a tablet person ("if it doesn't fit in my pocket, I want a damn keyboard") but I've ended up using it every damn day.


Two things prevent me from using best buy (in Canada)

1. they too have a giant marketplace of who knows who

2. they require you to stay logged in to paypal if you want to use it for "convenience". The entire reason I use PP is to prevent sharing my payment data with yet another retailer and provide some isolation.

If I need something from them I just order to the store and pay then.




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