COMPUTER SHOW??? SHOULD I????

[IbZa]

I am going to a computer show tomorrow (Sat.), and I am going to buy a case, power supply, keyboard, mouse, and bunch of cables, considering buying a vid. card there (ASUS V7700 Delux or Pure we'll see by the price). Now the question is, is it safe to buy at the comp. show, because I have heard that the reason the prices at the comp. show are so low is because the products maybe some what defective. The person who explained it to me said that when the product, motherboard for example, is manufactured it has to pass a quality test. If the product score 100% - 96% on a testing scale, it goes to retail stores and sold for higher prices, but when it scores 95% - 92% it goes to cheaper resellers for example a comp.show and sells for less, anything below 92% goes straight in the garbage can. You know it will still work, but how good, and for how long ??? If you have any info that can help me out, it would be greatly appreciated.

[Target]

Personally, I generally don't buy from computer shows for my "core" components (CPU's, Motherboards, RAM, etc). The reason is that if things do go bad, its harder to do a return. At least it seems easier to me if you have a vendor that you can get in contact with again, returning defective components would be a lot easier.

I do buy cheap speakers, mice, fans, etc. at the shows that I can afford to simply throw away when I get them home if they turn out to be defective.

As for the person that explained the low prices to you, it doesn't make sense to me. I mean, they could be right, but it just doesn't jive. Why would any manufacturer release products for shippment to retailers/wholesalers if they knew it wasn't 100%? They have to warranty it regardless of who buys it and where.....

I think that prices at computer shows are often lower because the majority of the merchandise is off-brand, or older stock. Some of it too is inventory buy-out/close-out stuff that other retailers sold cheaply to the show circuit, rather than continuing to stock it. There are obviously newer components at these shows as well, and their prices reflect what they are.

If you've never been to a show like this before, I'd say check it out. It will probably only cost you a couple bucks to get in at the door, and you can see for yourself if you think its worth it.

[barry glisson]

13 months ago I bought a case,cdrw,memory,cpu,fans video card,soundcard no problems so far and I saved around 300.00. Know your prices A lot of the stuff is not a bargain. You can get good prices on bare bones systems. Good luck and good shopping barry

[Maxwell T]

Actually IbZa, you're right, at least in part, about the "quality to price" issue for parts. The same principal applies throughout the industry. Take, for example, laptops. You see certain laptops, that from mfg to mfg, look identical but vary in price. Generally speaking companies like Dell, NEC, Gateway have extremely high quality standards for their components (sometimes you wouldn't know it though). Parts that work, but don't pass their QC tests, will wind up in the lower priced machines (Keeping in mind that there are only handful of factories making laptops, another reason for the similarities). I'm not actually saying a Dell is better than a WinBook, for instance, but this is one of the reasons for the variance in pricing.