Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Where to buy a PC...Circuit City or Best Buy

Aug 2, 2005 4:40PM PDT

So after recently purchasing an HP d4100y, online at HPshopping.com, and having the motherboard go in less than 24hrs I am reluctant to buy another HP. If I do I've decided to buy one from a local retailer so if something like this happens again I don't have to deal with the wait and hassle of shipping it back.
Anyway, while browsing in this weeks Sunday paper I saw essentially the same computer I bought, except in a Gateway box, advertised at Circuit City and Best Buy for about $350 less and it came with a printer, an extra DVD drive and XP Media Center, rather than XP Home which was what I had in the HP I'm sending back.
My question is, is one store better than the other in regards to their return policy or any other aspects? What about their in-store extended service plans. Are they worth looking into? The computer I'm thinking about buying is the Gateway 835GM with a 17''LCD, and a Canon IP1500 printer for $999.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Gateways and emachines are not much better
Aug 2, 2005 4:44PM PDT

My brother's emachines t5026 dvd burner died in like two weeks. Emachines had good support though. And as i mentioned, i'm still satisfied with my compaq sa4000t, the mothebroard has dropped a lot in price over the last 8 months around. SO should the motherboard die, i won't think twice buying the replacement part. The only thing i'm worried about is data loss, but i make backups, so not much of a hassle.
Roger

- Collapse -
(NT) (NT) yes the 835gm is a great deal
Aug 2, 2005 4:44PM PDT
- Collapse -
re:
Aug 2, 2005 9:58PM PDT

These are both chain stores, and while they have a set policy, implementation will vary from store to store. I personaly have had better luck with Best Buy and Fry's on returns. If you look at these forums long enough it becomes apparent that all makers let a few bad machines slip out the door. I would not be afraid to buy another HP, but since there was mention in your last post that there may be a problem with the particular model you bought, I would at least look at a different one.

- Collapse -
i would go best buy
Aug 3, 2005 1:12AM PDT

like will said, you can return the pc if it has problems within 7 days (as of january when i bought my pc). personally, i never bought a pc from circuit city, all the pcs in the house are from bestbuy. no problems what so ever. i don't think you will be disapointed which ever you choose. if you do get the 835gm, it won't disapoint. mine is still running after all the stuff i replaced, near everything except cpu, ram, hdds, and ide drives, and gateway's tech chat is one of the nicest and easiest things to do, its free, and its avaible daily, so your covered by their support.

konny

- Collapse -
Gateway tech support
Aug 3, 2005 2:25AM PDT

Hey Konny,

Thanks for your input. Is Gateway's tech support also outsourced to India like Dell and HP or do you actually speak to someone right here in the US? At first, when I started reading the forums and people were complaining about Indian tech support I thought they were a bunch of racists. Now that I've had to do the same, and I'm no racist, I can understand their frustration because it can be difficult to understand someone with a strong accent, regardless of where he/she is from, especially over the phone.
When I was at Best Buy and they were pushing a Gateway pc they told me that Gateway's tech support "sucked". Of course they were trying to sell me the BB service plan so I don't know if thi statement held any truth.
I guess I'll have to do more research.

- Collapse -
well, they answered all my questions
Aug 3, 2005 5:12AM PDT

and it was an online support, not calling. the tech support chat is free and avaiable daily, so they are there when you need them. idont think they are from india, but idc as they answered my ?'s and typed everything in english.

the only question they didn't know how to answer was RAID. they were like what's raid? but that was just one person, the next person i talked to answered it.

yeah, best buy does push their stupid service plans but thats their job.

konny

- Collapse -
you can return the pc if it has problems within 7 days
Aug 3, 2005 4:01AM PDT

FYI,,, Fry's is 14 days for laptops and PCs. 30days for most everything else. John

- Collapse -
I favor BB, but the difference is slight
Aug 2, 2005 10:13PM PDT

Brick&mortor stores tend to be better to honor thier warranties if you follow the guidelines, usually within 15 days or less(read fine print) with no hassles. Otherwise the factory warranty kicks in and you're stuck again with maker's warranty. If you do buy an "extended warranty" most people I know had good responses, no matter what the store, BUT keep that paperwork handy. At least in Best Buy, maybe CC too, the system is tested for you and then handed reboxed to you, that way you knew it worked. One thing, if yuou need XP media center OS, get it, otherwise stay with plain XP.

tada -----Willy Happy

- Collapse -
Circuit City or Best Buy
Aug 3, 2005 2:12AM PDT

I worked at FRY's AND I STILL SHOP there. FRY's has the best policys and in store extened warrenty.
Ask about the policys at BB and CC before you buy to be sure.
Others are MicoCenter , but I don't know what is close to you.
For $999 you could build your own PC. John

- Collapse -
Fry's
Aug 3, 2005 9:41AM PDT

is where I bought my HP in May and I haven't found as good a deal since. Fry's undoubtedly has the best return policy I have ever seen with Best Buy a close 2nd.

- Collapse -
i think they're pretty close
Aug 3, 2005 4:49AM PDT

i usually only shop at best buy since i get about 3% back via the reward zone program. but my dad gave me a circuit city coupon so that's where i got my last machine. the only problem i see sometimes with the in store warranties is that if the computer is relatively new the warranty company will insist that you go back to the manufacturer for support. sometimes the manufacturer's extended plan is cheaper plus they can't exactly bounce you around to anyone else. i don't buy pc warranties because it's cheaper and faster for me to fix the machines myself

- Collapse -
CC
Aug 3, 2005 9:06AM PDT

While both are close, I like Circuit City because I have had no problems with them. Customer reviews on CC's website, which I'm dissapointed that Best Buy doesn't have.

I think the return policy is the same in both stores.

- Collapse -
I went Best Buy
Aug 3, 2005 9:29AM PDT

This is certainly a "Your Mileage May Vary" thing, but I recently bought a Gateway 835GM (w/ the 19" LCD). First off, I'm very happy with the computer so far. (Understand that I'm not a "power user/gamer," so adding video cards, etc., has not been an issue for me.) You DO have to burn your own recovery disks, but they provide the disks and simple instructions; it took about 35 minutes. The new system replaced my 6-year-old Gateway that is still perfectly good, just getting obsolete. I've never had to use Gateway tech support, so can't comment as to that.

I went to Best Buy (before the sale! Argh!) because it's convenient and I shop there a lot for small things (DVDs, Software, etc.). It's going to depend on your local store, but I was pleased with everyone I dealt with. I thought the Best Buy website said you had 14 days to return a computer purchased in store, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I just wanted to put in my 2 cents as a new owner of the system you're looking at.

- Collapse -
Interest free financing is great option
Aug 4, 2005 6:14AM PDT

BB would only give me 6 months interest free on Emachines T6520 and Samsung 930 monitor. Has to be a package to get better financing.
CC will give 24 months interest free. Looking at HP A1130N and HP F1905 monitor.
Can't beat the financing deal.