Prices for computer software online and in store

[A31]

I went to my computer store today in Norwich (UK!) to buy a bluetooth dongle for my laptop (but actually ended up using in my main PC, see my "A31 project page" under "Pictures of your Thinkpads/Desk setup forums"). Now on eBay one of these dongels would have cost about £3.50 + about £1.00 for postage, but in the shop it was £14.00! Strange..I thought, but at least unlike the Bluetooth dongle I got off eBay in only September, this one ACTUALLY works!

Also noticed on Amazon you can buy an 8GB USB penstick for about £10.00, but in the computer shop it actually cost £19.00!

It's odd that prices on the web are often cheaper than in the shop!

[jronald]

I went to a local Office Supply store, because I really needed a 100 foot Cat5e cable.......at $70.00 I decided I did not need it that bad.
http://www.staples.com/Staples-100-CAT5 ... uct_631053
Here it is for $25.00
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... 704-85-780

Ron

[RealBlackStuff]

Web stores don't have the overhead of a brick-and-mortar store, so they can sell way cheaper.
If you want it NOW, and cannot wait a few days, you pay for the privilege of wear and tear on your shoes and/or car, waste of petrol (and parking maybe), loss of time, but hey! At least you got your item right now!

@jronald:
rather than lay ugly cable in your house, why not get ethernet over your electricity network?
I use these at home http://www.amazon.com/Actiontec-MegaPlu ... B000QGBC8C
and we have an internet phone and 3 PCs hooked up that way.
One unit goes from the router to an electrical outlet.
The others you plug in wherever there is another outlet in the house, then attach a short CAT-5 cable to the laptop/PC.
No messing!
I got mine a while ago with big MIR for $55.- per twin-pack.

[jronald]

When I had our home built almost 12 years ago, I made lots of "easy access" "holes". First and last, in the 12 years I have added wiring to the house, there is only 1 place I could not get to, where I wanted something. That said, I have no exposed ethernet cables anywhere (Wall to computer only). My wife and builder thought I was crazy, but so far so good!

Ron

[Unknown_K]

Bestbuy makes billions a year because they nail you on accessories like cables and whatnot (highly profitable), while they squeek out a few bucks on a big screen TV.

If you want to see a bigger mark up try hitting a small family owned local shop (if they still exist).

The sad thing is many of the smaller online stores will disapear in a decade because they cannot get inventory a cheap as the big mail order companies, and they also cannot get bulk shipping deals either. When the margins are very thin those small sellers will get squeezed out into very niche markets. I expect to see mega ebay stores for new items and a consolidated scrapper market selling used stuff on ebay. Even now I can get items direct from Hong Kong and China cheaper then the importer can mail me the same item from California (government subsidized shipping from overseas).