Would you buy a PC online?

[angelekesabe 1]

Hi fellows, 

 

I'm starting to build my pc or at least searching for the best parts.. 

I'm thinking on buying on amazon.co.uk since I live in Europe. Do you think it's safe to buy expensive material online? If so, is amazon any good on that? Anyone used it before or used another supplier online? 

 

Thank you.

[joona_ 30]

Yes it is safe. Of course depending on the place where you buy. If you are too afraid, I would suggest using PayPal for paying. I would also suggest on looking if you have any local component store which is operating online also. In Finland we have many computer stores which sell everything in internet. Living in Portugal, you can also order anywhere in the EU area easily without paying VAT.

[RWFeldman 159]

Been building computer since the early 80's. The last 4 or 5 yrs I have purchased most if not all my parts from Amazon. Next day shipping 3.99, cant go wrong and they are the #1 corporation in the world for customer satisfaction.  Other than Amazon, here in the states I use Newegg and Tiger Direct. I live 50 mi from any civilization so Online purchasing is about my only option.

[stephenbgs 169]

Amazon.co.uk is good and safe, however postage is not always callculated and thus price can be more then expected. I recently had to buy a drive belt for a motor on amazon.co.uk that cost 5.99 GBP but had to pay an additional 18.99 GBP in postage to ship to Ireland.

 

I had no choice but to buy the part due to the fact I could not find one near me.

 

Just keep postage cost in mind and you will do fine

[Guest]

I've been buying pc's online for decades, at least so it feels. The first time I did it, I bought all hardware I needed from various stores, getting everything wherever it was the cheapest and then I assembled it at home. I don't do this anymore, though. Not that things went wrong at that time but if things would have gone wrong, it would have been a PITA to find out WHAT piece of hardware exactly was causing trouble and WHOM I should contact for support... So later on I looked for the online store that had the cheapest averaged price and bought everything there. And my latest pc's I even had the online store assemble the whole lot which is the best things to do to get good support. Even when you buy everything at one store but assemble it yourself, you can get into trouble because they may say you screwed something up during install. So purely for my own peace of mind I now pick a store which 1. has all the hardware I want, 2. which has a good average price and 3. I let them assemble the computer. The only thing left to do for me is to enjoy my purchase. And if things go wrong the shop will have to take care of it.

 

Anyway... buying online is safe although I usually buy in online stores that are situated in my own country and of which I have read of heard good reports! I would never buy something from a store I've near heard from and of which I can't find good reports online.

 

Amazon is a trustworthy online shop but beware that sometimes you may be buying stuff from other shops which only show their stuff via Amazon, so be sure to check out who you REALLY are purchasing things from!

[newtie 540]

This has been my experience with online computer shopping.

 

Bought my first FSX PC from company A about five years ago. Arrived dead. Company would not send me a new one and required that I send the new unit back for repair. I was told to read the sales contract. Shipped it back for a refund and they charged me 10% and I had to pay for shipping. I was going to leave a poor review at an online rating site but decided not to as some posters said they received harassing phone calls after doing so.

 

Next purchase was a gaming computer from Costco. Computer exhibited intermittent problems from day one. Called vendor support, no answer (this was before Costco's Technical Support was initiated). Took unit back for a full refund.

 

Next, I assembled all parts from NewEgg and built my own. Not hard but time consuming and as poster mentioned above, I was sweating bullets waiting for the post beep.

 

Currently using a Jetline system and couldn't be happier. On my second year with this machine that I use everyday for everything. Not one problem. Yes, you pay, but as I get older, I've become a value guy. I've experienced tremendous value with this company and machine. Order, open box, set up and fly for years without issue. Break up that additional money and spread it over a few years and for me it's money well spent. See first paragraph above

 

My hard knock was be careful what you're buying from whom. Read your contract. As I found out from ratings of company A above (5 star), they don't mean a whole lot.

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Richiebacardi 1]

I've bought from ebuyer.com and had no issues whatsoever.

[HiFlyer 9,376]

I have always purchased from nearby computer shows (They happen weekly and I knew everyone there by name after a while) or if the show vendor's did not have some expensive new toy, I would grab it from Newegg, or once upon a time, CompUsa.

 

Over time I have settled on Newegg due to timely delivery, parts availability, price and their much complemented return policy and customer service.

 

Tiger Direct always seems just slightly pricier overall, for me.

[Flamin_Squirrel 71]

joona_, on 10 Mar 2013 - 12:46, said:

I would suggest using PayPal for paying.

NOOOO!

 

As secure transaction methods go, paypal is one of the worst. Use a credit card when you buy online, then you're protected.

[kevinh 409]

I would always buy laptops or PC components online (not a PC as I build my own).  I wouldn't head straight for Amazon though as you are never sure exactly who you are buying from.  I'll check Amazon for prices, but usually you can find the same thing cheaper elsewhere.  I usually buy from dedicated computer hardware suppliers, and often get free express delivery.

 

Online is the way to go in the UK.  The main retail outlets sell PC packages with poor specifications and staff give bad advice to less knowledgeable customers.  Some cities may have good local computer shops but these are rare.  I have one near me if I need a spare part in a hurry, but I wouldn't buy a computer from them, their system prices are too high.

[AlphaDawg141 71]

Although not the cheapest, cyberpowerpc.com offers a very good service. I've never actually used them but I've seen reviews and what not about them. I'm pretty sure they service Europe as well. All you do is select the options you want and on the final page there is a selection for shipping. Can't remember how much but it's probably not bad. The pc will cost a bit more, but there is a far lesser chance of the pc malfunctioning.

[UAE77L 153]

Of course it's safe. Just make sure the product you'r buying of Amazon says "Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available" . This means the product is dispatched directly from Amazon and not a third party online retailer because Amazon offers 30 day return policy.

[FIVE-BY-FIVE 453]

also don't forget DELL :good:   I bought 4 PC's in the past 5 years with ZERO PROBLEMS :drinks:

[UAE77L 153]

I suggest you build your own rig.... You'll save tons of money!

[joona_ 30]

NOOOO!

 

As secure transaction methods go, paypal is one of the worst. Use a credit card when you buy online, then you're protected.

 

I always pay directly by credit card or by credit card hrough PayPal. Besides, many online stores accept only PayPal (yea I've seen lots of them). But with PayPal you can even pay by credit card without registering for them.

 

Bought my first FSX PC from company A about five years ago. Arrived dead. Company would not send me a new one and required that I send the new unit back for repair. I was told to read the sales contract. Shipped it back for a refund and they charged me 10% and I had to pay for shipping. I was going to leave a poor review at an online rating site but decided not to as some posters said they received harassing phone calls after doing so.

 

I wouldn't order anything from a company, which would try to charge a single euro or dollar for repairing or even shipping during warranty period. Hell, actually here in Finland that wouldn't even be legal if they tried. The warranty specificaly is to let the seller or manufacturer to repair the product free of any charge (to the customer) during the warranty period and in some cases even after the warranty period has ended.

 

Also, after you get service like that, the worst you can do is not to tell everyone else about it. How else would people know of something like this if they only hear to good reviews..