After having a go at ebuyer...

[Alex]

...in my other thread, Ive decided to have one devoted to laughing at PC world, from whence I have just returned with a new printer. Some of my favourite spots:

Standard IDE cable ~£13. Ebuyer price for similar item: £0.78
LED Fans ~10. Ebuyer price for similar item: £1.47
Rounded IDE cable ~£15. Ebuyer price for similar item: £2.13
1.8m USB A-B cable ~£15. Ebuyer price for similar item: £0.48.

Would ebuyer please accept my humble apologies as I beg forgiveness for my earlier rant about them. PC world, you suck.

[Nimrod]

RAR !!!!

I really h8 PCWorld.

[daverobev]

A-B USB cables were more like £17, I thought...it SHOULD be illegal to charge that, for that, because there are people who don't know better. And, I'd LIKE to be able to go to a nationwide chain of computer stores and buy stuff there and then...not have to wait for stuff to be posted always.

[redneck]

lmao people who get ripped off at pcworld deserve to be ripped off for their stupidity.

oh hello first post, old account got deleted when you went down ages ago, just re-registered.

[shiato storm]

i wonder what sort of people they actually employ there...surely they know better to charge these utterly stupid prices for things?
It seems to me that its similar to Maplins - though in their defence they do do lots of other stuff so computeres are not their main source of profit but they too sell components at silly prices
e.g 80mm fan £10, 60-80mm fan adapter £6
now search on the internet and you could get both of those for a pinch over £5...

i also hate the way you get accosted by sales people blagging about this that and the other when clearly they know nothing:
"this has a Pentium 4 processor, sir"
"oh?"
"yes, it makes internet surfing much faster"
"hmmm...I see..."
"or how about this one sir, with built in graphics"
"really, thats cleaver"
"yes, and it uses the latest chip, the celeron..."

I think these people must live in mud huts somewhere near watford or something, they are appaling!! (p.s. if you're from watford and take offence, too bad)

internet buying - they don't have to pretty up any stores for you to walk round, only need a warehouse and a computer to recieve your order; simple. Oh yeah and more likely to emply people who know whats what (and not wear a purple shirt with a stupid name tag either)

[Class--]

My last visit to PCworld i was asking about a monitor and was told it did 50-60Hz when i asked what its max refresh rate was
btw thats the voltage badge he was reading it off at the back

Class

[Stringent]

Maybe we should go in and debate with them. I feel sorry for the average person who doesn't know anything and they get preyed upon into buiying something that isn't really that good and heavily overpriced. Then they look at me in disbelief when I say they have been done!

PC World only good for DIRE EMERGANCIES or games

[Silence]

Well, i used to work for Dixons (sister company to PC World), and I used to actually get told off by the boss every time i told nice customers to look elsewhere for things.

The thing is, i worked there for 3 years (while at school), and never had an training, but still knew more about practically everything in the store than those who had undergone training (except SLR cameras, i barely know anything about them!). I was the teen who all the older sellers called over to explain 'techy stuff' to customers, and then pushed away so that they could claim the commision, despite the fact that i was also on commision...

Working there gave me a bitter hatred for most managers, as well as self-important sellers, and customers who believe that they are always right, so in my Fight Club fuelled angst, i started to be brutally honest to anyone i served, if the customer was nice to me. The customers appreciated me for telling them that they could get the cables for a tenner less online, but management didn't...

Oh yeah, the average mark-up for cables in Dixons/Currys/PC World is about 600%...

[Angus]

Oh yeah, the average mark-up for cables in Dixons/Currys/PC World is about 600%...

As if you needed to tell us

[ToMmEh]

linksys router in PC world: £85
linksys router on ebuyer: £30

hmmmmm

and thats all i have to say about that

[Frosty]

Yuh salesmen are just lies, i remember when i was 13-14 with parents when buying a pc from Tiny (feels soul rotting away after mentioning that accursed name) ,I asked if it had an AGP slot with an agp card (was still 2 much of a n00b at that time 2 mention a specific 1) and he said yes , when i had a brain to know better i realised the pc infact had *struggles to bring words to lips out of disgrace* an Intel810.the evil integrated graphics.....but in the defence of bit dirty highstreet companies i noticed my logitech 5.1 speakers in Argos for £70, and i got mine 6 months ago for 75 from overclockers so some deals are ok.

(needs to go have shower to cleanse the stench of Tiny and Intel 810 off)

[Saracen]

I'm gonna defend PC World. No really, I am.

PC World is a different type of operation from eBuyer, and they have a completely different cost structure. For a start, they have all those expensive buildings to buy, and staff to pay.

Secondly, profits to pay for those buildings and staff have to come from somewhere. Margins on products bought online are TIGHT. If you had to pay for the staffing levels and capital costs of a PC World-type operation on a eBuyer type margin, you'd be broke in no time.

Also, eBuyer requires that you pretty-much KNOW what equipment, or components you want. Not everybody does. Almost by definition, if you know enough to find a place like Hexus, you know more than a large percentage of the population. Even if you don't know the answers to all your questions, you certainly know enough to know what questions to ask.

Then there's the comfort factor from being able to inspect your purchase before you buy it. Many people much prefer to be able to browse, flick switches and push buttons before they buy. You can't do that buying online - at least, not without visiting PC World (etc) first. THAT is a large part of the PC World operation.

Finally, there's immediacy of purchase. There are times when I've paid PC World prices for a cable because I need it NOW. Not tomorrow, not even in a couple of hours but right now. Availability is sometimes more important to me than price, and if it costs and extra £10 for the cable (and it often doesn't cost that much extra because I don't paying carriage charges from PC World), then so be it.

Having said all that, I don't buy much from PC World either. Books sometimes, a few games, and on RARE occasions a bit of minor hardware. But I'm still glad they are there.

[Steve]

Computer companies just won't hire me because I'm too damn clever. They can't teach me the "false truth" like they can unwitting people. Half the sales reps in places like PC World genuinely believe what they are telling you to be true - they know no better.

They also know that I'm too intelligent to be with them for any length of time - I'll be out of there when I can afford it.

Fortunately I have found a nice job working as a customer service representative. Not the most mentally stimulating job ever, but good pay and fair treatment. I start in Feb.