Buying direct from amazon vs buying from a local electronics store

[Barbara1955]

Who knows what you might find in a B&M store this coming Black Friday!

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by rcentros

If it were me, I would just go with my "local electronics store" -- in my case Best Buy, right up the road.

Same here. Easier, faster etc. I don't think there's really any advantage to buying at Amazon unless the store has a poor return policy, but most places will usually give 30 days and you're also still covered by Amazon's warranty.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Who knows what you might find in a B&M store this coming Black Friday!

Mayhem!

[QuantumIguana]

I prefer to walk into the store and have it in my hands right away. I like registering it myself. I know some people prefer not to deal with stores, but I like getting out of the house now and then.

[duydangle]

Buy from amazon, its returning policy is very good.

[techiegirl]

I plan on buying it at a local store. If I don't like it, I'll just return it to the store. Like somebody else said, Amazon charges shipping for returns, if you just don't like it.

I'm in California, so there's no sales tax advantage with Amazon anymore.

[Mike L]

Until a few weeks ago, I was in the local store camp, but I'm having second thoughts.

If the price is the same - or nearly the same - I would prefer to walk into a store, see the product first hand, ask questions of the salesperson (admittedly not always a profitable task), and walk out with the product in my hand.

The reason I am changing my mind is my recent experience with a tablet computer that developed a fault after about a year. I took the product back to the store where I bought it. They sent it to the manufacturer. Three weeks went by and nothing happened. After another week, they told me it needed a new motherboard, and they were waiting to get a cost estimate for that. Another week later, they had received the estimate, and decided to have the item repaired, which could take at least another ten days.

At that point, I told them I had lost patience, and asked for a replacement, which they agreed to give me. But it took me five weeks to get to that point.

Now, compare that to another case, where I had bought a piece of luggage from Amazon. After a few weeks, the inner lining disintegrated. I phone Amazon to complain. They sent a replacement immediately, and it arrived the next day. And it was in a reusable container which they said I could use for returning the defective product. And I didn't need to arrange a courier because they let me drop it off at a convenience store within walking distance of my home.

Maybe I'm wrong to assume that Amazon will always beat a local shop in customer service, but my experience in these two cases suggests otherwise.

Mike

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by sparklemotion

Same here. Easier, faster etc. I don't think there's really any advantage to buying at Amazon unless the store has a poor return policy, but most places will usually give 30 days and you're also still covered by Amazon's warranty.

In the UK most places won't give you 30 days for electronic devices. In fact most places won't take them back at all unless they are faulty. We have more rights buying online compared to a store.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

In the UK most places won't give you 30 days for electronic devices. In fact most places won't take them back at all unless they are faulty.

I remember this being the case at most US retailers as well. They'd only take electronics back if they were faulty, or if the packaging was unopened. Perhaps some of the US retailers have changed?

[Readirect]

With Amazon Prime there is 2 day delivery with no shipping charge. Many times it is delivered the next day.

Is there an advantage in having an item delivered to you vs having to forage for it yourself. Yep.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Readirect

With Amazon Prime there is 2 day delivery with no shipping charge. Many times it is delivered the next day.

Is there an advantage in having an item delivered to you vs having to forage for it yourself. Yep.

In my case, the Best Buy is next to the grocery store I go to three or four times a week anyhow. If I lived in a rural area -- like I have for a big chunk of my life -- it wouldn't even be a contest, I would just order from Amazon. My Dad likes buying from Amazon now as he lives in a small town.

[HarryT]

I buy pretty much everything except food and clothes online these days.

[JoHunt]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I buy pretty much everything except food and clothes online these days.

Really OT but buying groceries online is wonderful I just love not having to trawl the shelves deciding what I want, putting the items in my cart, standing in line, bagging, shlepping, etc. I now only buy produce "in person" because I'm really fussy about my fruits and veggies.

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

In the UK most places won't give you 30 days for electronic devices. In fact most places won't take them back at all unless they are faulty. We have more rights buying online compared to a store.

Ah, I see. I was not aware of that. In the states I have never had an issue returning electronics quite easily, usually I've been given a month. Sometimes, depending on what it is, 2 weeks.