Quick question about buying pc parts

[nukeman8]

Hi, bit of a random question i thought of.

What are the benefits of buying all parts for a complete pc build for 1 single source compared to buying from multiple sources, ie buying from scan or buying 1 part scan, 1 part from ebuyer etc etc.

so far i come up with.
One source:
One point of contact if anything goes wrong.
loyalty towards the particular shop i suppose.
All i can come up with on this 1

Multiple sources:
Overall cheaper
Wide degree of choice, not tied down to the 1 shops stock.
All i can come up with this 1 aswell.

Any1 point out something i missed?

[DDY]

More suppliers for me means a higher probability something will go wrong with the order. It's a pretty small chance anything goes wrong but when I need an order urgently I always order from a single reputable supplier. Another reason is to keep the delivery price down, not always the case since one shop doesn't always have the lowest prices for some items.

Other than those reasons, there isn't a good reason to order from one etailer. If ordering from multiple etailers means considerable savings then that's the best option really.

[Salazaar]

If you're building from parts you'll only get technical help (RMAs and suchlike) on the individual components. It won't make much difference if you buy from one place or a few.

One thing to consider is that you'll pay shipping (or possibly not) on each order, so the more shops you buy from the more the shipping bill will come to.

[nukeman8]

2 points i hadnt considered.
shipping price would jump up a hell of a lot if you was buying parts for a whole pc from all over.
I suppose if you order from 1 company theres that 1 low chance of it going wrong.
order from 5 and theres that same low chance but chancing it 5 times instead of 1

[MSIC]

The converse can occasionally happen though - i've ordered from Scan before, and had to have the whole order on hold because one item was out of stock.
If you were to order an entire PC, and a USB stick was out of stock, you'd be a bit miffed at having to wait for the whole lot. (I didn't in my case, it's just an example).

The other point to bear in mind is that some stores will RMA a product directly themselves if it goes wrong, some will just be an intermediary and require you to RMA it back to the original manufacturer, so even if you do buy from one shop, you might still have to deal with more than one company if things go wrong.

[moogle]

One Source:
If anythings gone wrong you can RMA all the items back, ie PSU blows on your first build after switching on.

Limited to shops product range.

Delivered all in one go (Nothing annoying waiting for all your parts to arrive eh )


Multiple Sources:

Cheaper

Greater choice of products

Might pay quite a bit for deliveries. Me I limit myself to two retailers only to minimise this but I will go to a 3rd if I really need an item which is in neither of the top two.

Got to contact more people if things go wrong




Anyway even though multiple looks like it's the worse choice I always use two retailers or more seeing as I can't get some items from one another sometimes. But I do tend to get the main parts all from the same retailer so if something goes wrong it makes it easier to RMA. ie If I get the PSU from Scan, I'd make sure the motherboard, ram, cpu and graphics card is from them. Because most likely the PSU would be the main problem that will damage my components.

[Zsev]

I tend to only buy from multiple sites only if I absolutely need an item that isn't being sold in one particular site.

Otherwise I don't mind paying extra from my regular etailer, since a few quid more for excellent after sales service is something i can live with.

[Giraffe]

Bought everything from 1 place for this box (Scan) except the RAM - got that from Crucial - and it all worked OK.

About 4.5 years ago, did the same thing (OCUK then - and Crucial) and that was OK.

Might be luck!

[Technogeek]

As I buy lots of parts on a regular basis I try to stick to two online stores.
This keeps my options open for last minute changes in my order list.
I do not have time to do extensive shopping around and I like most things on next day delivery preferably free!

[Koolpc]

I am the same. I usually buy from 3 online stores. Cheapest all round gets my money but usually it is always Scan i buy from more than anyone else because of the prices and the superb support on here and via Email / Phone.