Has newegg.com jumped the shark?

[Syrinx]

I went there the other day, briefly, to investigate dvd burners. I admit I wasn't very persistent, but it wasn't obvious to me how to find that category of product. Maybe DVD burners are obsolete technology for all I know.

I thought it sucked, but didn't think much about it.

But now I'm seeing commercials for the company on Fox News, mocking low-paid workers (toting mop buckets, and all).

(I'm not a fan of Fox News. In fact, I hate it. But I'm an incurable insomniac, and sometimes that's the only thing on that remotely interests me. And by interest me, I mean I love to hate it.)

Was New Egg recently acquired by some larger company? Or is their inner asshole just naturally emerging?

It used to be a great site for buying hardware at rock bottom prices. But now it seems now to be an overly-shiny, slow-to-load website that sucks.

What happened?

[hobbit709]

1. did you look under computer hardware?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007589+600003509&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=5&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

[struggle4progress]

2. I've done a lot of shopping there. If they're jerks, I'd like to know it, because I'd reconsider

Computer Hardware >> CD/DVD burners and media
http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=10&name=CD-DVD-Burners-Media

[BlueJazz]

3. I spend a LOT of money there each year (customer's parts)...if they are..

....pricks they've lost my business.

[whistler162]

4. Search box is your friend.or Computer Hardware tab and

select CD/DVD Burners & Media

[Syrinx]

5. Hey, everybody

Maybe I was wrong about this one.

Perhaps my search skills are rusty or something. Thanks for the links to the category of product I was looking for. I guess I was too hasty. Like I said, I didn't spend a lot of time on it. Just a quick glance.

I didn't like the ad I saw on TV, but maybe I made too big a deal of it.

Sorry if I raised a false alarm.

Not the first dud of a post I've made, and probably not the last. Unfortunately.

Thanks.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. I attempted a purchase from them once. I broke off placing the order and will NEVER buy from them.

I gave them a credit card number, expiration date, and security code.

The person on the phone wanted to know who owned my house.

Whaaaaaat?

Goodbye.

Click.

[struggle4progress]

7. I've never had any experience like that with them. But I've done all my shopping with them online.

My experiences have typically been good

Example. Once I somehow stupidly ordered a cpu that wouldn't fit my mobo: wrong socket. Their stated policy on cpus is that you can only return them if defective -- and only for a direct exchange. On top of that, their standard return policy for most other items is that you pay a restocking fee. I realized I'd ordered the wrong cpu before the part arrived, so I never opened the box: I just contacted them as soon as it arrived on my porch and said "oops! mea culpa!" They allowed me return it for a full refund, with no restocking fee; and although I did pay shipping back, that was offset by the fact that they immediately sent me a $20 giftcard as a thank-you -- for me screwing up, ordering the wrong part, and returning it!

[hobbit709]

11. Never had that experience with them.

They never asked me stupid questions.
Over the years I've probably spent at least $2000 with them ordering parts and never had anyone ask me a question like that.

[Syrinx]

15. that sounds extremely odd

It might make sense if you were making an order for ten million dollars of solid-state RAM. But I doubt you were. :)

[Betty88]

8. Love newegg

I have never had a problem with them. I love that for many of the small items I need, if I get the order in before noon, I will often have it at my door the next day regardless of the shipping option. I have used them for years they have good prices and I find the reviews very helpful when doing research before I buy.

[DaveJ]

9. Yes their commercial is insensitive

Implying that someone mopping floors must be too dumb to know anything about electronics:

Here it is on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtD_bvDYroM

As far as DVDs go, yeah I think they are pretty much obsolete. I never have a need for them. Movies, I download digitally. Storage, I have 2 free GB on DropBox.

[Syrinx]

10. what about stuff you want to archive?

2 GB isn't even half a DVD. I don't particularly trust "the cloud." Don't you want to have (relatively speaking) a "hard copy" of some of your stuff? On second thought, I don't trust "the cloud" at all. It's a stupid concept, to my way of thinking. You clog the internet "pipes" every time you want to access the data you already own, and pay for the bandwidth in the process. It's a conspiracy I tell you. :)

And despite the smiley, I'm not really kidding.

[Old and In the Way]

12. Actually, Dropbox is pretty cool.

I've got it on my work PC, home laptop, and android phone. It's like sharing a common folder between devices. It can be an easy way of sharing info with colleagues and family, too. I can transfer/update files between all 3 devices instantaneously. No more save to USB file downloads and transfer uploads. Even if you don't use it for permanent storage, the convenience of seamless file transfers is pretty slick.

[Syrinx]

16. sounds pretty neat

Thanks.

[DaveJ]

14. archiving stuff

Oh sorry I was just expressing my own approach. I actually assumed you had a good reason for using DVDs. In my case I really do not archive anything so I hadn't given it much thought.

DVDs do seem cheap and their lifespan is pretty good. Personally, I'd use a terabyte USB hard drive for a few years, then when flash memory gets cheaper use that. Your approach seems very straightforward though and it's also good. Sorry just hadn't considered archiving. The only issue you'll have is few people owning a DVD to play the media on in 5 years. I think USB will be around longer. But that's just my guess. Who knows.

[Syrinx]

17. I'd like to set up a redundant multi-hd raid system with high-quality surge protection

Maybe one day when I have a lot of extra time and money. :)

[DaveJ]

18. You would have that in the cloud

Trust the cloud. The could is friendly (j/k, I dunno maybe not).

[struggle4progress]

13. That's a crummy commercial. I think I'll write to tell them how much I dislike it.

The point they're trying to make (namely, that their user reviews are more helpful than lots of salemen you'll encounter) is valid, of course -- there are some grossly uniformed salesfolk out in the world:

a few weeks back, I contacted acer trying to figure out how to open up a netbook to replace the hdd with an ssd; acer gave me an 800 number for "per-pay" tech support, which turned out to be a gang that would help me solve "up to five problems in the coming year" for "only $150" -- and the saleman trying to sell me this "bargain" package had never heard of a "solid state drive"