Hey all, just curious to see where people buy computer hardware from, e.g cases, CPUs, GPUs, hardrives etc…
I've pretty much always purchased from PC Case Gear, I like their website layout and they have always been reliable with shipping and warranty claims.
Welp off to Harvey Norman we go.
im no boomer
Harvey does not sell hardware.. clearly you never build a box
@AS2035: Don't you mean hardware parts? Clearly you've never been on their website before because they do infact sells parts. Online only however.
@Clear: They sell parts instore at the Auburn store. Well they did before the pandemic, not sure about now.
@Trance N Dance: Do they offer PC building services too? I've noticed a lot of HN's have PC repair businesses incorporated within them.
@Clear: None that I noticed. But then I probably wasn't looking considering I know what HN are infamous for.
@Clear: I don't buy anything from HN.. I used to buy my hardware parts from a dedicated store that sold to corporations
My loyalty is with my wallet.
Whoops, you left out the /s
That site isnt that good imo, i usually check it then find cheaper elsewhere on my own
you gotta pay to be part of it, so the cheapest resellers aren't going to be there
Exactly, don't care where I get it, its the same product, wherever is the cheapest.
For me it's both price and long term reliability. I've been shopping at umart since probably around 2007, and don't feel like I need to worry about access and their long-term existence if something I buy has a problem down the line.
I like their website layout
Lol
LOOOL whats wrong with that, i find it intuitive. So many business have terrible websites that make purchasing from them a nightmare.
Quite often MSY has the cheapest prices. Shit website, but cheap prices. At the end of the day, my wallet cares more about cheaper prices than it does amazing GUI
Yeah totally agree, although it does give you some ease of mind when making a large purchase in my opinion.
I must be stupid, because I gave up buying from MSI more than once because I couldn’t figure out how to..
Shit website, but cheap prices
I’m convinced it’s part of their strategy, pretty much a noob filter. If you can’t navigate their rudimentary website(or parts.pdf) then they don’t really want you as their customer because they can’t be bothered with customer service, they just want to move product quickly.
Lol. Shit service moreso than just the website. Then again, could be Fluidtek's Fast Eddie service instead.. (if anyone remembers him until he became Logitech tycoon) haha.
haha, i dont know how anyone thought that was a good idea.
@DonkyWonky: Show some respect!
Parts.pdf has been a bargain hunter's baseline for prices since before most of the OzB userbase was born!
@Switchblade88: Reminds me of Computer Market magazine back in the day. I would buy it and read it cover to cover as a teenager, planning the ultimate builds. Nothing like paying for a catalogue of ads!
@Switchblade88: Yes along with extremely sub par customer service and after purchase support if and when things went wrong for warranty claims.
@DonkyWonky: It was a good idea back in the 90s when MSY started. Then nobody thought to change it in the last 25 years.
It hasn't changed in a decade…
Which isn't always a bad thing but I think it might be for them. I don't understand their delivery fees which has held me back from buying stuff.
I do agree with you as so many retailers stock so many different brands it can become impossible to compare prices without a spreadsheet…
They probably have the most detailed description but just use it to look at products. Then you shop around for better prices from other legitimate stores or even places that support PayPal cos they have great warranty for purchases. PLE is actually a great store and even ordered stock for me from the US which they don't even sell themselves. They just put what i wanted on the order form from the supplier and charged me wholesale. Even worked out cheaper than what it was selling in the US… kept me informed about delivery times throughout, thats good service!
I too like PLE. They are celebrating 30 years in the business now. And they are now price matching
@the Unforgiven: It's not a genuine price matching policy. Even if the identical item is available from an Australian store, they still use their discretion. I asked to price match an A4000 GPU available at Scorptec & Mwave and they wouldn't come close. Maybe others have had better luck.
i know even 20 yeas ago websites in other countries had better filtres, they might have good prices but if i cant find what i want to buy…
Fluidtek ✅
oh wow i just looked them up, i need a shower now.
dodgy eddie.
Eddie was good to me. This was in the latter stages of the business tho.
Poor guy..was just ahead of his time
Surprised he didn't think of going online only and gouge for shipping…
didn't he charge stupid amounts for shipping when he started logitechshop?
Can you elaborate? Bought some Logitech speakers from him/PM OW a long time ago!
what happened?
I never even heard of this place and its around the corner from my parents
Apparently he runs Logitech's Australian distribution now after signing up to them years ago. He lost interest in his Fluidtek shop and started to go down - they were the biggest competitors to MSY Auburn at the time for price and availability in the area. The shop was just opposite to Carlingford village and a few shops next to Bunnings - think it is repurposed now as some Sub-continental food joint. He used the shop as storage for his Logitech stock before closing up for good.
He's a bit of an arse.. put up a sign to say he will charge a $50 consulting fee if people ask him too many questions on the products he sells. He regularly yells at his customers to get out and find a better price elsewhere whenever "MSY" was bought up Lol. But he does have some mental illness (which he regularly discloses to people) and under medication to contain it (you will know when he didn't take!).
This guy was the soup nazi of computer stores…. brings back memories of almost 20 years….
I remember the boxes stacked in every smoked-filled room, and the long line of guys along the garden path. There was a store at Macquarie Centre called Discount Inn. I asked them to price match Fast Eddie and they just laughed.
haha you've got a good memory.
Fast Eddie told me Julia Gillard was worse than Saddam Hussein. All I wanted was some thermal grease.
IJK or MSY
Glaring omission from the poll. I find their website right up there with pccg for navigation and content.
Lol. I used to work for HN and can say none of HN staff would ever buy PC Parts from HN Store even with staff discounts.
Really?¿
Thought this was just a poll on website design and ease of UI.😇🙏
Read the title:
"Where Does Everyone Buy Computer Hardware from?"
Frequent discounts and price matches on Ebay / Amazon ;)
Not to mention free shipping with their memberships :P Handy on cases ;)
JW Computers
?JV computers
Minesweeper ®™ and Solitaire ®™ channel partner
Where are the mainstream retailers?
Who are you referring to?
probably JB hifi, Harvey Norman, Myer, etc.
ie Anywhere Apple products are sold.
but yeah, only decent option I see missing is PLE.
No one really buys Computer parts from those "mainstream retailers" - maybe whole laptops and prebuilt computers along with peripherals. But "Hardware" parts like CPUs, GPUs, Motherboards, RAM etc - are a rip off from those guys.
Apart from PLE, all the major ones are listed.
Where Does Everyone Buy Computer Hardware from?
A Computer Hardware store.
Which store?
I've pretty much always purchased from PC Case Gear
I stopped buying from them when they stopped allowing store pickups.
wasn't aware, don't have one locally anyway.
Yeah true. Unless you are purchasing multiple items their shipping cost blows out any savings for their cheaper pricings.
yeah I noticed that the other day.
a shame. I had used them for like 50% of my purchases since they were in Oakleigh.
You mean that little store front tight space where you had to crowd with many other customers? No thank you.
Paying excessing shipping costs? No thank you.
If i need something urgently - Umart or Scorptec
If not then amazon or ebay
Much of Amazon's stuff is shipped from the US, have 2 x 6 TB server drives here that failed almost effeminately, model fault and no warranty!
server drives here that failed almost effeminately
Damn these effeminate drives! When my server drives fail, I want them to fail like big randy macho man savage!
Be a man! Do the right thing!
Various. Latest purchases were a mix of Amazon (for internals) and Umart for peripherals. If I were wanting a case, it would be a bit of a toss up between PC Case Gear, Umart and Scorptec depending on what I wanted (I have weird tastes…)
Ebay plus is normally the best.
Reported as 'illegal/inappropriate'…
MSY… Just kidding ;P
Except a lot of the cheaper stores aren't included in their searches
Like?
Shopping Express
Cheapest + trustworthy balance. Pccasegear is usually safe, but also overpriced and shipping is a rip.
Haigreport.com makes eyes bleed worse than any of the aforementioned retailers.
PLE or MSY usually.
Although Amazon has recently been stepping up in a big way
Shoppingexpress has a nice website and is also cheap.
I just use https://au.pcpartpicker.com/ and buy from whoever's cheapest (avoiding newegg at all costs).
I like the customer service at msy, angry/non caring/doesnt want to be there asian guy all the way baby
I recently built my PC and thought centrecom prices were about as competitive as any other retailer. The instore service was quite friendly too.
The Sunshine guys are great. The click and collect Maribyrnong people seem odd 🤣
Multiple stores.
Can be either for convenience or price.
Centre.com, msy, eBay stores like Harris tech, or that other one with the red logo, or whom ever has the biggest % discount, sometimes pccasegear as they stock a bigger range (but more expensive and don't get me started on their shipping!)
The last three computers I bought were second hand.
For hard drives I typically buy them from anywhere that isn't Amazon.
Marketplace? Or refurb sellers?
megabuy
Umart having that many votes????
whoever is the cheapest