Often Used, But With Caution....
Written: Aug 26 '01 (Updated Aug 26 '01)
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The Bottom Line
Always worthwhile to check their offerings and prices when shopping for Mac parts. Don't trust them when under time pressure or deadline, however, and cross-check their pricing.
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| Full Review |
In certain Apple Macintosh-centric online communities, most notably DealMac/DealChat ( the place to check for deals and pricing on Apple Macintosh systems, peripherals, and components. http://dealmac.com/), Other World Computing has almost a cult-like following.
I'm not one of them.....
As an inveterate tweaker, upgrader, and overall geek when it comes down to things Macintosh-ish, I buy stuff from them. I'd be foolish not to, as some but not all of their prices are outstanding, they routinely manage to obtain and resell Mac specialty parts that you won't find with anybody else (at least not without paying two or three times their price), and they're supportive of the Mac platform. But every time I place an order with them, I grasp at my sacred rubber chicken, mumble my private mantras. and generally hope against hope that my order is going to be completed, without some kind of irritation or annoyance, because in at least half of the dozen or so orders I've placed with them, there's been some kind of irritation or annoyance. It's not hideous or fatal things like being sent a carton full of radioactive one-nostrilled pig snouts instead of a SCSI drive, but things that make you grind your teeth and go [RRRGGGHH!], like:
* having items that are marked on their dynamically updated website as being "in-stock" actually being on back-order or being sold out.
* having orders delayed, without notice because of a secondary or minor part is not available (As an example, I ordered a SCSI card, which was supposed to come with an associated cable. Telephone contact confirmed the card was in stock at the time of the order. When I called two days later, to ask why I hadn't received the card I was told that when it came to packing, they found that they were out of cables, and so were delaying the shipment until the cables came in, "in the next day or two". When I told them to ship the card and follow up with the cable (I already had a pile of them) they did so. The cable followed a month later.....).
* having requests for alternate shipping addresses (rather than the standard one for my account) ignored.
To add to the irritation factor, when things do go wrong, their generally friendly customer service representatives either respond in (a) a passive aggressive fashion ("I'm really really sorry that happened, but there's nothing I can do about it now...."), or (b) by making promises which they won't follow through with (such as promising to ship overnight for a Saturday delivery, with the part actually being shipped for arrival on Tuesday). When additional followup calls are made or email messages are sent, complaints are dismissed as being a freakish, one in a thousand malfunction, and/or as being water under the bridge.
Site Useability/Buying Tip
(Added 08/26/01 - Good point, klueger!) The Other World Computing site is kind of an odd one. The entry point isn't very intuitive (the direct URL is http://eshop.macsales.com/). Once you're at the site, products are flat-listed in common, but not always particularly intuitive categories. Within the lists (which are generated by their back-end database) individual products may or may not have supplemental information available; information is limited and not always correct. The website "search" facility is singularly ineffective, rarely identifying all options available for a given product.
Worst of all, however, is OWC's multiple pricing scheme. By subscribing to their weekly emailings, or by following banner ads or comments made in popular Mac tuner/upgrader sites such as the above mentioned DealMac, xlr8yourmac, or macfixit, you can often find the same part being sold at a 10-20% "special" discount. With OWC it really pays to shop before buying.
Recommendation
When searching for Macintosh components such as PCI cards, disk drives, and memory make sure to include OWC in your search list, as some of their prices and available items are excellent. Prices need to be checked from a couple of different "angles" (site entry points), however. And if you're under time pressure or have a deadline to meet, you need to be very careful.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Location: San Francisco, California
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
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