Went to my first computer show yesterday

[thekingofpain]

ive never gone to one and was I surprised, GREAT place to purchase components, (not sure if id by a cpu or m/b from one) just overall WAY cheaper then what im used to, some items were 50% less then im used seeing them, I bought a "Supercase" full tower with 4 fans and an AMD approved 300p/s for 49$, 30g ata66 7200 Maxtor hdd's were 88$, Kingston PC133 128's for 75$, Sony floppy drives 8$, 52x CD's 22$, cables and small stuff REAL cheap, (ata66 drive cables 1$, paid 20$ for one in an emergency last week) 25' molded Cat5 3$, blah blah blah needless to say, it was an eyeopening experience that I would recommend...
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[socalgal]

Yes, they can be a great way to get deals!

But one must exercise caution, as well. I've found that some items can be substandard, so be careful and know your stuff. For example, I purchased from a vendor at the Reseda show a Western Digital drive that was on the WD recall list... and sure enough after two months the drive went south and I had to RMA it.

I also check to make sure the vendor is fairly local and check my receipt and their return policies should I need to return an item.

CSUN's shows are pretty well-regulated as to the integrity of the vendors there, as well. Most are fairly local vendors as well should problems crop up.

Alot of these vendors are at both the Reseda and CSUN shows, and if there's a problem you can usually return the item to them at the next show.

Maybe I'll run into you one of these days, KoP, since I know what you look like from your pic in the 'Who's in your SysOpt Community' thread http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif lol

[thekingofpain]

Yeah id say the Reseda show is the same traveling show thats in this area, (I went to the Buena Park one) seemed like all the major sellers were connected to a storefront and had handwritten receipts with their address etc on em, I could see where you would indeed have to be careful/knowledgable when purchasing a major component...(I did notice returns being made) for some reason I thought there was gonna be people selling used junk, but it was all new stuff... heres the schedule link if yer in the area and like me didnt know about it... http://www.lacomputerfair.com/

[socalgal]

Thanks for the link, King! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

Haven't tried the Buena Park or Pomona ones yet - but then haven't seen the need to drive when I've a nearby choice every weekend - and then there's always Fry's 2 miles away when I'm really in a bind! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif lol