NewEgg.com; The Online Computer Superstore
Written: Apr 20 '04
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| Full Review |
Once upon a time there was a website—we’ll call it Egghead.com—that sold computers and computer parts at fairly reasonable prices. This was way before the likes of Best Buy, CompUSA, and Circuit City started selling their wares on-line dropping the profit margin out of the computer hardware biz. EggHead.com quietly went away in the late 1990’s, another victim, or so I thought, of the growing Dot.com bust. Imagine my surprise when heard that Egghead.com was now reconstituted and doing business as Newegg.com.
Background
My introduction to Newegg.com was innocent enough. I had outgrown the small 13BG hard drive in one of the servers I use at home to host my Active Domain. I needed room to install a few Enterprise class applications, so I started searching for a relatively inexpensive (under $75.00), 60GB – 80GB 7200 Rpm hard drive, manufactured by Seagate or Maxtor. I surfed my usual sites; Best Buy. Amazon.com, Buy.com, Circuit City, MicroHouse, CDW, and Mwave, but none had what I was looking for.
By chance I ran across a banner ad for Newegg.com, followed it, surfed for what I wanted and lo and behold I found several hard drives that fit my criteria and settled on one; a Maxtor 60GB 7200 Rpm, for $66.00, no tax, no shipping and handling!
My Experience
When I first surfed into the Newegg.com I was greeted by a highly glossed full color page of different “specials of the day” ranging from monitors and RAM, to CD-ROM drives and Laptop computers. At the top of the page, tabs directed me to the different categories of computer related hardware and software and even home electronics Newegg.com has to offer. All offering the same page layout and slick, large color display of products.
Searching for the particular hard drive I wanted to purchase seemed daunting at first, because there are no drop down boxes with brand names, nor easily searchable category listing. There is instead a search box in which can enter the Brand, Category Description (Detail View), and Description (Summary View). Since I knew I wanted either a Seagate or Maxtor hard drive, I searched by brand. Following the resulting pages I was able to find the drive I wanted, sorted on the (search result) page by price point, lowest to highest.
Along with the item a full or partial description is offered along with customer reviews of the product which may or may not prove useful depending on the length. Regardless of length however, a good feel for overall product performance can be gauged by the number of reviews submitted, and so I find the feature useful.
Ordering Process
Quick and painless is how I would describe the ordering process at Newegg.com. Add the item to your cart (or to the wish list), and then through a series of five steps, confirm the shipping method, opt for an extended warranty, create an account (if you do not already have one), verify shipping and billing addresses, enter credit card information etc.
Newegg.com offers one security feature not offered by many other sites; verification of the credit card CVV2 code, the last three numbers after the account number on the back of a credit card. And Newegg.com as a further security verification step, asks for the 800 number of the credit card issuer; nice touch. After this information is entered, your address is verified and an email sent to cement the purchase. Included in the email is a FedEx tracking number assigned the package, but I have found that it will not work for a day or two, until after the package is shipped. Nothing could be simpler.
Newegg.com accepts all major credit cards, checks, money order and strangely enough COD. International payments, and business P.O. (again strange), are not accepted.
And oh yes, free gifts are to be had. Newegg.com calls them Customer Appreciation Gifts; I call them right on time. At the bottom of some items the site sells is a clickable multi-colored gift box. Click on the box to reveal what you can choose free with your order. The Customer Appreciation Gift can range from a T-shirt (size selectable) to a set of blank CD-R’s, to Zodiac sign paper weights.
Shipping & Handling + Sales Tax
Following the Buy.com model, where select items are marked for free ground shipping, Newegg.com offers free FedEx Saver Shipping on a large number of items offered at the site. On other items the shipping and handling charge is clearly displayed taking all the guess work out of computing the final charge.
Orders shipped to California, Tennessee, and New Jersey, places where Newegg.com does business (warehousing operations would be my guess). Those individuals who live in the three aforementioned states and order products from Newegg.com will be charged sales tax based on the county of residence.
Newegg.com states that it will take one or two business days for your order to be verified and shipped. Once shipped, the package can be tracked on-line via Newegg.com Order Status, and my purchases always arrive on the day posted on the FedEx website, which is usually two to three days after it was shipped.
Customer Service
Believe it or not, there is an actual phone number one can call to reach Newegg.com customer service. One my latest order I neglected to selected a Customer Appreciation Gift. I called the customer service number and after waiting less then five minutes I was connected to a representative who was able to add the free gift to my order.
Conclusion
I have found a new place to order those essential computer parts in Newegg.com. It has for the most part replaced my old stalwarts Amazon.com, Mwave.com, and Buy.com when low price, selection, ease of ordering, and reliable shipping are a factor—and when are they not? That is not to say that I now use Newegg.comexclusively, but it defiantly my first choice when searching for those essential computer components I just can’t live without.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Computer Hard Drives, CD-Rom Drives
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About the Author
Member: Vincent
Location: Aurora, IL
Reviews written: 1516
Trusted by: 549 members
About Me: ...A Great Empire cannot be Conquered from Without until it first Destroys itself From Within...
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