Manhattan computer stores
 

I'm in New York at the end of the week to see how far my pounds go these days.

Where in Manhattan, preferably downtown or midtown, (I'm not going to have a car) am I likely to find reliable discount computer stores? Or is there a computer Mecca in another borough easily accessible by public transport?

This is certainly one well-known Mecca in Manhattan.

http://www.jr.com/templates/information/directions.tem

Other suggestions will no doubt follow.

By the way, you certainly would not want a car in Manhattan!

Bugger. Rub it in, will you?

Most geeks, myself included, shop online at say tigerdirect.com for the best prices, but if we have to go to a real store, probably CompUSA near the Time Warner building would fit the bill. CompUSA prices are nowhere as good as tigerdirect, but it's worth a visit.

We don't have anything like Fry's unfortunately (if we do, please let me in on it.)

You probably want to visit the B&H store (34th & 8th/9th) though - it's an all around photo/electronics shop, but has a minor computer section. I can stay there for hours.

Also, the 24/7 Apple store on the SE corner of Central Park. Busy even at midnight and I love that glass cube entrance.

Thank you both.

Tigerdirect's prices might be drooly, but they're stuck in a 19th century time warp when it comes to selling outside America: they don't take credit cards, and don't take orders through the website or by email. By the time you've paid to phone them and get the bank to wire them money (yup, they have just heard of the telegraph), it's cheaper to fly across - though not to stay, since even at today's exchange rates, New York hotels are no cheaper than London's.

So it's CompUSA and J+R.

But don't tell Her Majesty's customs officers.

J & R has a terrible return policy and the people that work in the computer department think they are doing God's work.

This is a shame. After 9/11, it was almost a patriotic duty to shop there but everytime, I or someome I knew went in, they would be trated poorly.

The folks at B & H are adults and knowledgable.

Sorry about tigerdirect. Any luck with say buy.com or egghead.com?

Also, I was mistaken. B&H doesn't have a *minor* computer section.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/catego...ter_Video.html

B&H doesn't have the best prices, but they have an amazing selection, that cool overhead delivery trolley thingamajig and people how know what they are talking about (mostly). Just don't schedule a trip there during a Jewish holiday though - they're closed. Saturdays too.

I was unfair to J+R about foreign sales.

Buy.com and egghead.com just won't sell computers abroad at all. And thinking about it, the reason J+R want cash upfront must be that, since many computer manufacturers don't offer warranties on US-bought machines used abroad, if I got a duff computer from them on a credit card, the credit card company would reimburse me by a chargeback to J+R.

Which J+R could never recover.

Why do comnputer companies limit warranties? To enforce country-specific pricing. And it's that country pricing that makes us dash to computer shops whenever we're in the US. It's HP and the rest we should blame, not poor old J+R.

So J+R: sorry to badmouth you unnecessarily.

Sometimes it has to do with, yes, security. It's illegal to sell certain kinds of software overseas. Microsoft Windows is one of them; the version you get in Europe or Asia has 64-bit encryption, while ours has the sooper-dooper 128-bit.

This makes absolutely zero difference to anyone in the real world, except when it comes time to install certain kinds of updates that mysteriously don't work.

It's quite common when buying computer stuff today to be asked if you intend to resell it overseas. There are special licenses involved, too, and some companies may just not want the hassle.

I strongly second the suggestion for B&H. New York is the world capital of dishonest camera and computer salesmen, but B&H are absolutely scrupulous. But yes, even their website is shut Saturdays and Jewish holy days.

Yes, those scammers. Example. One guy took out the ac adapter from whatever I was buying and tried to charge me extra for it. There's always the too good to be price to lure you in but the deal is non-existent.

B&H is one of my favorite electronics stores - and second to them is Adorama. They have incredible customer service. I buy all my camera equipment from one of those 2 companies (they have a web site, too - so you can see if they have what you might want....).

If you are just looking for a mass-market laptop, I'd actually suggest you skip Comp USA and go to Best Buy. The computer department sales people aren't great, but they're ok, and they have basic configurations of most major brands, not to mention good prices. There are Best Buy stores all over Manhattan.

I will stand behind J&R any day. They have excellent staff and prices, and their return policies are no more onerous than any other store's. Besides, if you're from the UK you won't be returning the computer anyway. J&R has a nice Apple department if you want to get a Mac, though the Apple Store is infinitely better.

J & R return policy, unless it has recently changed, is a store credit. No refund on in store purchases.

And the sales help are not quite uppity. I worked downtown for over 20 years and I found few fans of J & R in the palces I worked.

One issue to consider is whether you want to pay for an international warranty. Why not consider a Mac? Go the Apple store on Fifth ave. (open 24/7).

http://www.apple.com/retail/fifthavenue/gallery/

I would rather cut off my left leg than spend another dime at Best Buy. Whatever you do, don't let them have your email address for any reason whatsoever.

So how far did your pounds go, flanneruk?

Thank you all for your advice, but I have a dreadful confession to make.

My trip got slightly disorganised by real work that had to be done (on a crappy old laptop) while actually in New York. Comparison shopping for a replacement was a nightmare: the model numbers didn't correlate with what I'd researched at home, the salepeople kept on throwing irrelevances at me, and I was getting increasingly seriously short of time. Prices, assuming I fessed up to UK Customs and paid the (trivial) import duty and 17.5% VAT - for there is no way of explaining away how you come to have a beatup laptop with lots of software in your luggage, and a mint one next to it with no software, though the chances they'd stop me were close to zero - were about 30% lower than at home. Nice - but not worth the warranty problem.

To add to it, the one other minor toy on the list (a card scanner) didn't seem to be anywhere in Manhattan. Indeed, the surprising difficulty of finding a number of things in Manhattan will be the subject of a subsequent post.

So I just bought a few very minor things from the computer shops and saved my remaining time for a cultural comparison. One small observation though.

I did need a microSD card for my handheld, and popped into an "everything at discount prices" electrical place on 7th Ave at about 57th. There were so many of these clustered around, I assumed they'd keep each others' prices in check, and that life was too short to go round comparing prices on something so fungible. For 2 gig, they quoted me $149 which set off alarm bells: at Best Buy later than morning I got the same thing for $39.

Outside the third world, I've never had a shopkeeper start so loopily outside the reasonable settling price. In fact I can't remember when I last needed to negotiate with a shopkeeper on something so basic in an affluent country. Naive on their part, or are there nowNew York shopkeepers who think rich Britons will pay anything?

You did the right thing. Shopping in New York isn't like shopping in America. If you had wanted to, you could have spent the better part of an hour negotiating that price down as far as Best Buy.

Ah, so you got the seedy electronics store treatment firsthand. Now, you know what we mean and why we're so cynical. I think everyone should make that part of their NY "experience", but without getting ripped off.