Shopping For Your New Computer
How do I choose the best place to buy my computer?
When selecting the best place to shop for a computer, I would probably ask friends or associates where they've had good experiences. The computers themselves are all the same. You can go to ten different stores if you know the computer that you want. The guts of the computer is the same. What's going to set computer stores apart is the customer service you get: the knowledgeable staff and the service that you receive following that computer purchase. I would go with recommendations from a trusted source.
Where are the best places to do some research about computer stores?
To research computer stores you have to use the internet. Searching on the internet you can find manufacturers that have the best performance records in the industry. For example, Apple and Compact rank high up. To find computer stores in newspapers, you can look in the sports section of the LA Times, or any type of paper, and you will see ads all the time for computer stores. Computers are a really competitive industry so the pricing is not going to change that much. I would talk to the sales people in the stores. If you go to different stores, talk to the sales people and see if you feel comfortable. See if they are knowledgeable, if they know what you want, if they are actually asking you questions and not trying to sell something. Some stores work on commission, some don't, and you don't want someone who is trying to push a computer on you. I like dealing with computer stores where you can talk to people like us who repair machines so we have that standpoint, that experience, to let you know from a repair standpoint how good a machine is. The companies that sell the computer machines are going to hype everything up, but if you have someone who has actually worked on those machines, repaired those machines and knows the repair histories of it, you will be able to make a better decision.
If I have a tight budget, can I still get a good computer?
Definently. For under four hundred dollars you can buy complete systems nowadays including the CPU, the printer and the monitor. Of course, for $399 and up you're not going to get a heavy duty gaming or video editing machine, but for surfing the net or word processing you cant beat it.
Do most computer stores price match?
Generally, not on the computer systems because there's not really any margin on that, but where you can price match is with accessories or warranties, or basically the items that there's more margin so that the salespeople can be more flexible with that.
Should I know technical terms before buying a new computer?
It is very importatnt to know, especially when you are dealing with different stores. If you know the technology then someone can't sell you something that you don't need. There have been a lot of times where people come to me and say, "Yes, look at what I bought. They sold me this," and I have said, "Why did they sell you this? You don't need this for what you are doing. It's a nice system but you spent $1 more than you needed to." They don't know the computer terminology and sometimes get oversold on items they don't need. Therefore, yes, it is important to know technical terms.
Why should I invest in a more powerful computer than I need right now?
If you can buy a computer that is more advanced than what you need, you won't have such an obsolete computer, because technology moves so fast that as soon as you buy something it often seems obsolete. I have people not buying computers because they are afraid that if they buy something today, next week something is going to come out that is better. They are always waiting and never buying anything. If you do buy a computer, if you can buy as much as you can afford, than that computer will last a lot longer for you.
