Shop Online Or Wait In-Line For Your Notebook?

Welcome to the first edition of LAPTOP’s Smart Shopper column. I’m Meghan and I’ll be your host as we navigate the occasionally confusing and sometimes annoying world of tech shopping. Since it’s a hot topic lately, my first column will cover buying a laptop online versus buying it in a retail store. Personally, I love playing with products before I buy them. Go clothes shopping with me and I’ll touch every fabric I can. With notebooks, I like to take the keyboard and trackpad for a spin. If I’m going to spend hours working on the machine, I’d like to know how it feels first. One thing I’ve learned at LAPTOP, keyboards and touchpads are very user-specific. For instance, I’m not a big fan of island-style keyboards. I prefer keys with a little more bounce and travel than most island keyboards provide. To me, nothing sounds better than clickity-clacking keys. Plus, no matter how many pictures and measurements you read online, it’s hard to tell exactly how big and how heavy a laptop is until you see it in person. Staples bolts down their laptops in a cage-like contraption, all of BestBuy’s laptops are out in the open (secured with cable locks), making them easy to pick up and examine. So, if you see the laptop you want in a store and you’ve had a chance to take the keys for a spin and view the brightness of the display, why not just buy it there? You can take it home right away, set it up and be back on the Internet within an hour. It’s instant gratification at its best. Of course, you’ll still have to decline the store’s protection plan when the pushy salesman pushes it on you several times and by then they’ll probably have just sold the last one. But if not and it’s exactly the one you want, go for it. Ok, but have you ever seen the exact laptop you want in a store? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Laptops are one of the most configurable products you can buy and a piece of tech that you’ll likely use daily. Why shouldn’t you get exactly what you want? Even if you don’t know if whether to choose an ATI or an Nvidia graphics card, a little online research will reveal the answer. Sure, you can get a good system from any of the big-box stores that will handle most tasks, but if you’re picky or have OCD tendencies, the in-stock item probably isn’t *exactly* what you want. My preferred method for any major purchase, but especially a laptop, is to first research models online (I hear laptopmag.com is a good source), then go to a store to play with one, and then order it online. That way, I can upgrade to an SSD and a matte display. Plus, I love that I can choose the color of my laptop (which will never be pink). It’s a great way to build your dream system and then pick and choose the features you really need so that the system fits your wallet. In a crowded Best Buy, that just isn’t possible. If you can even get near the computer you’re interested in, chances are that it’s not the exact one you want and it’s even more likely that they won’t have it in the color you configured online. Shopping online gives me ample time to research different machines, compare models, figure out what features I want or don’t want, and compare prices. Another advantage of shopping online is the wider selection of brands available. Lenovo and Samsung computers aren’t widely available in brick and mortar stores. Prior to the emergence of netbooks, ASUS and MSI were almost never seen on a store shelf. Even now, they don’t carry the latest models. On a visit to Manhattan Best Buy this week, the most recent Eee PC available was the 1000H, a model we reviewed in June 2008. There have been at least half a dozen new Eee PCs released since then. In addition to not stocking the newest systems, retail shoppers will almost never see some of the sweetest systems that come through our office. The Toshiba Satellite P305D-S8900 and the Dell XPS Studio 16 both earned our Editors’ Choice designation, but you won’t see them on the shelf at Best Buy. You will, however, find them on bestbuy.com. See, even Best Buy is in favor of shopping online! Obviously, brick and mortar stores can’t stock every configuration of every computer so they rely on the mid- to low-priced notebooks that are most likely to be bought by Joe Consumer. It’s almost like McDonald’s -there are limited choices and if you want another package of sauce for your McNuggets, it’ll cost extra. When you’re shopping online, you have a vast array of choices. It’s like choosing from an entire neighborhood worth of restaurants instead of one or two fast food joints. So what’s the downside of ordering online? You have to wait for your laptop to arrive in the mail. If you have to sign for the package, you’ll have to be home when the delivery guy shows up, which is usually during the day, when, presumably, you’re not home. If you can receive packages at work, then this isn’t an issue. If you decide to return or exchange the laptop, you may have to pay return shipping. If you want a refund instead of an exchange, most online retailers charge the same 15% restocking fee as brick and mortar stores do. Finally, just as you wouldn’t buy anything from a shady looking store, you shouldn’t buy anything from a shady looking website. Amazon, Newegg, TigerDirect, Micro Center, CDW, Small Dog Electronics, Buy.com, PCMall, MacMall, SuperBiiz, and ZipZoomFly.com are among the reputable reputable. If the deal seems too good to be true or if multiple domain names seem to point to the same store, proceed with caution. Once again, a few minutes of Internet research on the Better Business Bureau’s web site will save you hassles later. Until next time, happy shopping! In the monthly Smart Shopper column, Meghan McDonough covers all aspects of tech buying: from finding the best deal to getting warranty service. A consummate shopper, Meghan loves hunting for the best product at the best price, especially when it comes to cell phone plans.