Alternatives to Frys?

> -----Original Message-----
> From: plug-discuss-admin@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
> [mailto:plug-discuss-admin@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us]On Behalf Of John
> Albee
> Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2001 3:44 PM
> To: PLUG
> Subject: Alternatives to Frys?
>
>
> Besides the "security" issues with the place, I am very
> dissapointed at the customer service or lack the of. I went
> there and purchased a LinkSys router(for my @home connection, I
> want to use my linux firewall as a test system). I should not
> have purchased that particular one considering that it had one of
> those returned, but checked and guranteed to work stickers on it,
> but I did. When I wored with it that night I found out that it
> was defective and a rep at LinkSys agreed so I went beck to Frys.
> While seeing if the "Customer Service" Manager to see if I
> could get a $10 dollar discount or store credit(considering
> prices of gas this seemed fair) off the exchange for a working
> router being that the sticker stated that they checked the
> product, I was basiclly told by her that they stick the stick on
> all returned items and put them back out. After knowing this I
> would prefer to find an alternative place to do my business and
> personal computer shopping. I wouldnt even mi!
> nd an online shop if they had detailed product descriptions and
> good prices.
>
----
I have a different perspective.

For the most part, Fry's pricing isn't any better than any others. You could
have gone to Circuit City and gotten the same for the same price.

Fry's has a very liberal return policy and it is clearly caveat emptor. They
indeed mark the previously sold and returned items. They also return stuff
to the shelves that is returned as defective without testing...only making a
cursory examination that everything is in the package. But that is the price
of dealing with a company that has a very liberal return policy. When you
learn this...you learn to look for the return tags and avoid them like the
plague.

The LinkSys internet routers are marginal quality.

You should be ashamed of buying one of these since you are 'linux' informed.
There is nothing that this LinkSys router can do that you can't easily
accomplish running Linux with 2 NIC's.

I shop Fry's because their pricing on 'bare boxes, and other parts, NIC's,
hard drives, CD-ROM drives' is good and their inventory levels are very
good. Some of their memory is pure crap.

Craig