Consumer Report – June 2006
Stores I hardly ever visit anymore:
Best Buy - Quit going there after they stopped offering low prices and their CEO blasted “devil customers”. Probably haven’t stepped foot in the place for 2 years and haven’t missed it.
Circuit City – Unless it’s brand new, they won’t have it. Accessories to a year old camera or cell phone? “We have to order those.” Yep, I can too – usually for much less.
CompUSA – I once chased after their early-bird offerings, but didn’t feel like waking up at 2am to save $10 on an already overpriced harddrive. Better to buy from Newegg, Dealsonic, or other online vendors for whatever you need gear wise.
Shopping Malls – I’ve been in 2 of them in the past year and both are being overrun with hawkers hitting you up like sellers in a Middle Eastern bizarre – but the bizarre smells better and offers better food.
OfficeMAX/Office Depot – Junky and offering nothing that Staples offers. The former is way out of the way for me, and the latter is not long for the world IMHO.
Ebay - No bargains anymore – but plenty of scams with no Paypal protection for sellers. Otherwise all I’m doing is making money for the Bay while adding my email address to all the spambots that use Ebay as their private data warehouse.
Trader Joe’s - Infested with hippies and liberals – making it a hot spot for the Wife. Only fun if you are wearing this shirt or something like it.
Wal-Mart - Shoddy products from China perused by shoddy-looking conception products of incest? Uh, no thanks.
Wendys – Chili rumors ruined my appetite about a year ago. Dave’s spirit really has left that place.
Blockbuster - It’s been years – years since I’ve rented a movie from that category-killing outfit thanks to Gamefly and the local video store. In fact, the latter is endangered by NetFlicks if the Wife has her way. It’s time to get a real job, guys.
On my “watch list”:
Staples - Fewer bargains make this an “only if I really need something” destination. I used to like browsing the aisle for the odd bargains, but since they’re scarce there’s no point.
Target - The store uses subliminal lighting that makes its wares look cool until you leave. Then you realize that a) you didn’t need it, b) you paid too much for it and c) it looks like a piece of crap.
Sears – Craftsman tools (not the cheap Chinese junk they now sell) and Die-Hard batteries. There may be other departments in the store, but I don’t recall seeing them.
Shop-til-I-drop:
Home Depot - Full speed ahead. While the service sucks, there’s plenty for the eye and imagination here. If you need help, just grab one of the “how-to” books (not the HD ones – the “real” ones that show you how to handle real jobs).
Lowes - Second to Home Depot only because I don’t know the layout as well.
Barnes & Noble/Borders – Plenty to do/buy here, and you’ll never know what you’ll find in the bargain bin.
Newegg - Best deals on the planet for gear – without the rebate hassles. There is a sweet Pentium 805D just waiting to come to my home – if only I had a good excuse to order it.
Josh:
Yeah, I’m still waiting for a door to be installed at my house from Home Depot. I had to call them, plus drive to the store twice just to get this thing on the books. Not to mention, they had to come out and measure the door space, despite the fact I had already done so.
3 July 2008, 4:38 pmScott Kirwin:
Josh
2 years after writing this post…
Compusa is out of business.
Circuit City is circling the drain.
I haven’t been to Sears, Office Depot or Staples in over a year.
But…
3 July 2008, 9:39 pmI shop at Target weekly. I ate at Wendy’s today – but that restaurant has really seen better days. And I’m not big on Home Depot anymore.