I have been home for over a week now, and I must say that I am having a good time here. However, I do have to do some chores while I'm here. One of note is computer shopping for my sister who starts her first year of college this fall. My father and I scoped out the deals different stores were offering and decided on one from CompUSA. It was the best one we found so far. Well, today was supposed to be the day we actually get the computer. Don't fret, we still bought it. But not from CompUSA. Let me explain further.
When we arrived at the store, we were greeted by the salesman who talked to us before. We were all set to go with the cheapest computer they had. Minutes later the salesman returned with news that the computer we wanted was not in stock and that a store in north miami (40 minutes away) had one left. They then offered us a slightly better computer for $70 dollars more. Also, they claimed that the printer we wanted (which already was going to cost us extra, but we planned for that) needs a cable (which we anticipated), a connection kit, and ink cartriges. I thought printers came with ink cartriges! The printer part alone was going to be an extra $130. So our orignial deal was going to be $700 for computer, printer, and printer cable boosted by $200. Out the door we went
My father then realised that we have not checked out BrandsmartUSA, So off we went. Luckily, that store was just across the street (and to the side a little). The computer they showed us was the same as the one in CompUSA (the more expensive one), but it had 10 more gigabytes of hard drive space. The price was also $50 less than CompUSA. The printer they had was more expensive, but it does come with a rebate and ink cartriges, like it's supposed to. We bought the computer and decided to come back for the printer. Our mission complete with happy results.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'll still shop at CompUSA. They do usually have the best deals and they are the only major retail chain that carries Apple products. In fact, while I was there, I bought a new optical mouse for my laptop. This whole ordeal sounded like a bait and switch ploy, which is very unlike the usuall business practice at CompUSA. I just hope it was a fluke and will never happen again.
Written 8/7/2001 by Chris Taylor