Are there no microcenters in california
Not in the SF Bay Area. Last one around here closed like 15 years ago.
I went to check their twitter and beg them to come to Norcal
it’s already exploding with requests lol
I remember going to Fry’s Fountain Valley on the evening of November 4, 2004 and being greeted with a line that was already 3/4 of the way around the building to pick up World of Warcraft on launch night and get my copy signed by the devs. This is truly a sad day for the history of Fry’s and launch night WoW players.
Fry’s Electronics will absolutely be missed!
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I got original -> Wrath from them probably.
I think by the time Cataclysm came out I just got the online purchase.
Recently the MC in SoCal has been a crudshow. People camping out to get a chance at current gen gpu and AMD CPUs. Your wait can be anywhere between 30min to 3hours just to get in.
I just needed a motherboard to complete a friends build and we just ended up buying something else on amazon cause the wait was so long even for pick up.
You know Best Buy actually has a decent selection of online parts, many of which are available in-store.
They may not have the same amount or even close to Amazon or Newegg, but if I wanted to right now I could go on the app and get a decent mobo and cpu within 1 hour curbside pickup.
Also very competitive prices.
The microcenter in houston has a wait list time too, I had to scan this code with my phone on this paper they gave us to sign in for a waiting list and i had to wait in the car till I got a text message saying it’s my turn to go in now
This was like some time in September last year
Same here actually, now that I just checked.
I guess people don’t generally think of Best Buy as a place to get parts.
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Yeah they have parts but it’s not typically a good variety, I’d like to have a wide selection of video cards in front of me if I was buying a gpu
Oh, I love best buy as of late but if its not available same day I just go with amazon assuming its available cause 5% cash back lol.
I never got a text to even get into the Microcenter and I signed up at what…11am? 1 hour after the store opened. And the instore pick up, I didn’t get a response until about 30min before closing.
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I miss having best buys gamers club membership, I had a really good discount when I bought my BfA collectors edition from them
Wish they never got rid of it
The 5% is hard to say no to. It piles up quickly, over the course of 4-ish years I’ve gotten several hundred dollars out of it.
Same, but if you want it in an hour it’s hard to beat still to do Best Buy.
They also do rewards systems, if not quite as good. I’ve earned several $10 gift cards with them.
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Unless you know an amazon warehouse you thats being built near by you
They have two near me, a distribution center and a fulfilment center. Ever since they opened up I been getting same day delivery options for some computer parts I ordered lately
Pretty sweet benefit imo
I can often get things same day through amazon - but sometimes there’s a more tangible feeling of going to get it myself.
It’s also nice to have options to get parts. Basically if I need a PC within a day or two, I could use a combination of Amazon/Best Buy and be pretty good to go.
Well in normal times anyway, not counting GPU shenanigans.
How does Best Buy, Amazon, even Walmart thrive while Frys goes under… It’s a private company… this doesn’t seem right, especially given it was ‘sudden’ closing.
I think something more sinister is going on… since it’s private we will NEVER know the truth but with so many companies that have electronics, people can’t keep stuff in stock and Frys can’t remain afloat… this screams some fraud going on or investigation by Justice department… this isn’t a NORMAL ‘we closed due to lack of business’… there is NO WAY they couldn’t stay running there is WAY too much demand right now.
I also think they were involved in some Covid Relief and they took money when they should not like so many other companies.
My guess they took the money and RAN! They left the country before it can be official they would be put in prison…
I am very fortunate… we have 2 Microcenters, a plethora of Best Buy in addition to some smaller Computer shops that compete with Amazon… I don’t have ANY use for Amazon… I can get better deals with local companies, so I don’t need overnight I can simply go get it myself…
I think in all the years Amazon has been in business I may have ordered once maybe twice… I prefer Best Buy. Microcenter is great for service and deals on accessories
From what I can gather, Fry’s was pretty badly mismanaged. As an example, when they closed their point of sales systems were still DOS-based relics, which meant that cashiers needed special training (most other stores use newer UI-based systems by the early 2000s). Their online site was also firmly stuck in 2003, and now I’m reading that they had a tendency to get on the bad side of manufacturers — Samsung even banned Fry’s from selling their stuff because at one point Fry’s didn’t pay for the Samsung products they sold, which spiraled out and tarnished Fry’s reputation with other manufacturers.
So it’s a combo of a couple fundamental errors and many smaller papercuts. Amazon and Best Buy aren’t exactly shining examples but they get the basics correct enough to keep the boat floating.
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I can attest to this,
Our store was living off of mainly TV sales and home tech installers.
Price matching was only in stores and their online prices were not competitive in the least minus that time they covered taxes.
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