[kwlug-disc] Shopping Sites / Price Comparisons/Detectors [Was:Re: Video cables for a good home]

[unsolicited]

Interesting, thanks for the posts.

I guess part of the problem, and why I prefer canadacomputing, is I 
still like to hold the beastie in my hands before purchase. Even when 
I know darned well that I'm familiar enough with <thunk> that I don't 
need to, and that I gain nothing, warranty wise, by doing so. (They're 
really poor on warranty - over 90 days, you're back to the 
manufacturer, and shipping, anyways. I know a guy who will never buy 
there again because of this - he'd rather go to futureshop, et al, and 
be able to walk in anytime and get <stuff> done.) OTOH, for most stuff 
they're as cheap as anything, including K-W Surplus, factorydirect, 
and xscargo, and no shipping. Granted - they have to carry what you're 
interested in, for them to be a viable candidate in whatever you're 
interested in at that moment.

Similarly, for something like monoprice, I don't buy such stuff 
frequently enough to have a warm fuzzy feeling that I'm buying the 
correct <thing> to get where I'm trying to go - especially if I've no 
experience in that particular area, prior. And the bugaboo of <what if 
you're wrong>, and the unquantified hassle should that occur, rears 
its ugly head.

I sure take your point though, given a sufficiently large order, it's 
worth it.

So ... do you have enough beer to invite everyone to come over and 
help you renovate? You'd be doing a public service, of course - making 
everyone familiar with such products so that they, too, can order with 
confidence from monoprice? You're helping people save money ... and 
that's a good thing!


Disclaimer: this is an unpaid, non-political advertisement for ...

[zixiekat - please advise privately when the cheque is in the mail.]

zixiekat wrote, On 04/02/2011 11:03 AM:
> I have ordered network cables, wall plates, keystone jacks and
> quite a bit of other networking accessories from Monoprice. If you
> are buying 1 or 2 cables, then its not worth the shipping costs;
> however, I have not found a place that is cheaper when making a
> large order.
> 
> Had I gone to Home Depot or other local stores, I would easily have
> spent over $250. Including shipping, I only paid $80 at Monoprice.
> 
> If you are going to be doing a large project, consider Monoprice.
> As much as I prefer to shop local, I will not put out more than
> double the cost. Also, if anyone else is putting together an order,
> consider putting it all together and splitting the shipping. I will
> be making another order this summer, when I renovate my living
> room.
> 
> Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network. 
> Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de
> Bell.
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: John Van Ostrand
> <john at netdirect Date: Fri,
> 1 Apr 2011 15:57:36 To: KWLUG discussion<kwlug-disc at kwlug.org> 
> Re:
> [kwlug-disc] Shopping Sites / Price Comparisons/Detectors [Was: Re:
> Video cables for a good home]
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
>>> http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?p_id=2404
>> Hmm, don't need the cable, but never heard of monoprice before.
>> 
>> Canadian? (Which only matters due to border costs, shipping
>> costs, currency converting, etc.)
> 
> Monoprice is US and brokerage/taxes seem to be paid by them, which
> explains the high cost of shipping ($40-ish). They offer cheap
> cables and AV accessories, like cables of all kinds, media
> converters and adapters, HDTV mounting brackets, touch screen
> monitors, etc. If you need an HDMI cable you'll pay $60 in the
> store, but it's about $1.25 a foot from monoprice and you can get a
> variety of lengths from 1.5 feet to 100 feet. I loved reducing the
> clutter behind my components and I bought 25 foot cables ($30 each)
> and moved my components downstairs.
> 
>> Anyone got other favourite shopping sites? (Please note if
>> Canadian.)
>> 
>> As for me, I'll price check tigerdirect (3rd last resort), ncix,
>> and usually end up at canadacomputers in person. I'll check
>> futureshop and bestbuy is I have no other choice.
> 
> DealExtreme.com is a Hong Kong company that sells a variety of
> items including replacement parts for BlackBerries and iPods, and
> very dangerous lasers, but also shoes, hats and adult novelties.
> They seem to do consignment sales for a large number of
> manufacturers in China. Be very aware of build quality (read item
> reviews), be concerned about lead and cadmium content and be
> prepared for long delivery times (5 weeks). The shipping is free.
> Aside from the "burning lasers"  the coolest item is the natural
> bamboo keyboard and mouse. The keyboard buttons are actually made
> of bamboo (probably laminated.)
> 
> CellPhoneShop.net is where I picked up a load of cell phone
> accessories when I replaced all the Blackberries in my company. The
> pricing was amazing, like $2 screen protectors and $6 holsters.
> Also free shipping from Hong Kong. The delivery time was about a
> week though.