The Tech Thread (was "Buying tech stuff online")

[Alicat]

For a while I have wanted to get a small digital camera. So I do some online research. I go to camera stores a few times and touch and try the cameras. I narrow it down to two and decide on one. What's the deal with online stores who offer items significantly less than retail stores? They say it's "new." There is no tax and in most cases no shipping charge.
Are some deals too good to be true? Prices online range from $120-90 less than what I was looking at in person. Even more than that when you factor in no tax.

Any of you buy tech stuff online from vendors unknown to you? I even looked at cnet for reviews and many of the stores are "cnet certified." Urth, does that really add credibility? The store with the LOW price was Butterfly Photo out of New Jersey. Your personal experience or advice will be appreciated.

[Gazoo]

What's the deal with online stores who offer items significantly less than retail stores? They say it's "new." There is no tax and in most cases no shipping charge.
Are some deals too good to be true? Prices online range from $120-90 less than what I was looking at in person. Even more than that when you factor in no tax.

I attribute much of the difference to warehouse space being so much cheaper than retail space.  Just make sure any warranty comes from the original manufacturer rather than a third party.

[Alicat]

Ordered Monday night via Amazon, great price, and it just arrived this morning. That was with no expedited shipping. Happy Cat.  I searched deeper and found a site of horror stories about customer care and shipping from the NJ company I was thinking of ordering from. Amazon got the business as I trust them.

[urth]

Ordered Monday night via Amazon, great price, and it just arrived this morning. That was with no expedited shipping. Happy Cat.  I searched deeper and found a site of horror stories about customer care and shipping from the NJ company I was thinking of ordering from. Amazon got the business as I trust them.

My one caveat when ordering anything, particularly tech related, online is to make sure they have a liberal return policy, in case it arrives in tiny bits, or maybe turns into them a week after it arrives. But if you ordered from Amazon you should be OK--I think they stand behind their reseller-partners and will make good if there's any issues.

That said, I'd never buy something really fragile like a wide-screen TV online. Too much chance for breakage or damage in transit. And usually, once you've signed for it, it's yours, and if they do take it back, you're on the hook for the return shipping.

Before we went to England in May I shopped around for a bigger XD picture card for my camera, and the best deal was via an Amazon reseller in Jersey (why are they all in Jersey?) It was a good $30 less than anyplace else I found.

So what kind of camera did you get?

[Alicat]

Ordered Monday night via Amazon, great price, and it just arrived this morning. That was with no expedited shipping. Happy Cat.  I searched deeper and found a site of horror stories about customer care and shipping from the NJ company I was thinking of ordering from. Amazon got the business as I trust them.

My one caveat when ordering anything, particularly tech related, online is to make sure they have a liberal return policy, in case it arrives in tiny bits, or maybe turns into them a week after it arrives. But if you ordered from Amazon you should be OK--I think they stand behind their reseller-partners and will make good if there's any issues.

That said, I'd never buy something really fragile like a wide-screen TV online. Too much chance for breakage or damage in transit. And usually, once you've signed for it, it's yours, and if they do take it back, you're on the hook for the return shipping.

Before we went to England in May I shopped around for a bigger XD picture card for my camera, and the best deal was via an Amazon reseller in Jersey (why are they all in Jersey?) It was a good $30 less than anyplace else I found.

So what kind of camera did you get?

Casio Exilim 850. I was choosing Canon and got introduced to the Casio. I'm still waiting for the 2 gig card shipping from another reseller, coming USPS.

[ggould]

I'd never buy something really fragile like a wide-screen TV online. Too much chance for breakage or damage in transit. And usually, once you've signed for it, it's yours, and if they do take it back, you're on the hook for the return shipping.

Due to furniture restrictions, we're looking for a 26" flat screen TV (LCD) and wonder if you've come across these kind of beasts at CNET. Any advice is appreciated.

[urth]

I'd never buy something really fragile like a wide-screen TV online. Too much chance for breakage or damage in transit. And usually, once you've signed for it, it's yours, and if they do take it back, you're on the hook for the return shipping.

Due to furniture restrictions, we're looking for a 26" flat screen TV (LCD) and wonder if you've come across these kind of beasts at CNET. Any advice is appreciated.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-6475_7-0.html?filter=500963_11765569_&tag=dffl3_2

Also, for everything you never gave a crap about HDTV but now need to know:

http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5102926-1.html?tag=prmo1

Take an hour or so, read thru HDTV 101 and some of the other features on the above page, then go to Best Buy or Magnolia or even your local retailer and see what kind of a deal you can get.

[RGMike]

Well, I've finally decided to enter the 21st Century and get a cel phone -- Kaiser has employee-discount deals with Verizon, Sprint and AT&T/Cingular.  Verizon seems to be a slightly better deal (free phone and 32.79 monthly service) but the others are comparable. So what do you folks use and what do you recommend?

I'd like to get the phone before my trip to NYC next month.

[Alicat]

Well, I've finally decided to enter the 21st Century and get a cel phone -- Kaiser has employee-discount deals with Verizon, Sprint and AT&T/Cingular.  Verizon seems to be a slightly better deal (free phone and 32.79 monthly service) but the others are comparable. So what do you folks use and what do you recommend?

I'd like to get the phone before my trip to NYC next month.

I have Verizon. Never had any trouble. Pay about $40/mo for 450 minutes, unlimited long distance and nights after 9pm and weekends free/unlimited.
Bob has Cingulat/AT&T and he's good with that as it has rollover minutes.

[mshray]

Well, I've finally decided to enter the 21st Century and get a cel phone -- Kaiser has employee-discount deals with Verizon, Sprint and AT&T/Cingular.  Verizon seems to be a slightly better deal (free phone and 32.79 monthly service) but the others are comparable. So what do you folks use and what do you recommend?

I'd like to get the phone before my trip to NYC next month.

I have Verizon. Never had any trouble. Pay about $40/mo for 450 minutes, unlimited long distance and nights after 9pm and weekends free/unlimited.
Bob has Cingulat/AT&T and he's good with that as it has rollover minutes.

I have Verizon for the simple fact that it's the only carrier that works up in my neighborhood, but I had Sprint & Cingular in the past.  Nice thing  about Verizon is that all you minutes spent talking to other Verizon customers are free, so you can gab endlessly with Ali & me.  Cingular's rollover is nice, particularly if you have some months where you use a lot more minutes than others.

I hate to say this, but now you're joining the 20th century.  
Get a Blackberry or a Treo & you can join the 21st century!  :wink:  :lol:  :wink:  :lol:

[urth]

Well, I've finally decided to enter the 21st Century and get a cel phone -- Kaiser has employee-discount deals with Verizon, Sprint and AT&T/Cingular.  Verizon seems to be a slightly better deal (free phone and 32.79 monthly service) but the others are comparable. So what do you folks use and what do you recommend?

I'd like to get the phone before my trip to NYC next month.

I have Verizon. Never had any trouble. Pay about $40/mo for 450 minutes, unlimited long distance and nights after 9pm and weekends free/unlimited.
Bob has Cingulat/AT&T and he's good with that as it has rollover minutes.

I've had both over the last few years--I liked the call quality better on Verizon, but Cingular covers more rural areas (west Marin, etc) and they do have those rollover minutes. If you're mostly going to be using it in SF, I'd say Verizon, but you know best what kind of calling you'll be doing.

At the risk of again sounding like a shill for my employers, might I offer this:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Wireless/4520-7609_7-5537615-1.html?tag=dir

Also, if you don't think you will be using the 500+ minutes a month they give you, you might want to consider a pay-as-you-go plan (T-Mobile), where you pay for the minutes you use (or rather, you pay in advance for a block of minutes, then "top it up" again once those are nearly exhausted, as they do in the UK. Sometimes I think I'd have done better with that sort of plan.

At least it'll give you some things to think about that you might not have considered when making your decision.

[RGMike]

I hate to say this, but now you're joining the 20th century.  
Get a Blackberry or a Treo & you can join the 21st century!  :wink:  :lol:  :wink:  :lol:

Ha. One step at a time, bub.

Also on my list: A DVD player and high-speed internet at home (after I buy a new computer).

[Gazoo]

Well, I've finally decided to enter the 21st Century and get a cel phone -- Kaiser has employee-discount deals with Verizon, Sprint and AT&T/Cingular.  Verizon seems to be a slightly better deal (free phone and 32.79 monthly service) but the others are comparable. So what do you folks use and what do you recommend?

I'd like to get the phone before my trip to NYC next month.

I like the plan I have with Sprint PCS: unlimited nights/weekends and a tiered plan for day (included in monthly cost up to 300 minutes, then scales up if I use more than 300 day minutes in a month, which I only occasionally do).  I do find I'm texting a lot more these days.

[princessofcairo]

i was pretty happy with t-mobile, but i don't remember why. maybe it was the picture of zeta on my phone. i had unlimited eves and weekends, too. for somewhere around $50.

[RGMike]

i was pretty happy with t-mobile, but i don't remember why. maybe it was the picture of zeta on my phone. i had unlimited eves and weekends, too. for somewhere around $50.

Unlimited eves & weekends with CZJ for 50 simoleans?  Damn!  No wonder Michael Douglas is a sex addict...