4.6. Computers and Electronics

 

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Abt is one of the largest independent retailers of consumer electronics and appliances in the US. In operation since 1936. Abt is a family owned business and has a 350,000 square foot facility in Glenview, IL, a suburb of Chicago. AbtElectronics.com features competitive prices, free shipping, hassle-free returns, no sales tax & award winning customer service.

Placing an order is very easy. A buyer can estimate the shipping costs on the first page of checkout. One only had to enter the information once. Additionally, there is a box which one could check to opt in to getting email advertisements from the store.

To sum it up it can be said that ABT Electronics had good prices and fast shipping.

 

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As a Fortune 500 company, and one of the US's leading providers of consumer electronics, Circuit City strives to offer value to investors, businesses and consumers. In 1999 Circuit City Stores, Inc. launches its E-Superstore, www.circuitcity.com, offers customers a wide selection of competitively priced consumer electronics and personal computers.

CircuitCity.com is a good website designed for online electronics superstore shopping. The site is well organized with a good search engine as well as a good checkout system.

The front page has an assortment of specials for the day or week. There is also four tabs across the top to take you to different departments as desired.

CircuitCity.com is a very well set up website with great (ZERO) shipping prices and average delivery times. If you find a good price on the site with rebates and want to get it, then go ahead and get it.

 

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HPshopping.com was launched in 1998 as HP's direct-to-consumer e-commerce store, and in 1999 became incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary. In 2002, Compaq's direct-to-consumer e-commerce store, CompaqAtHome, joined hpshopping.com, creating a comprehensive, one-stop, on-line store for HP and Compaq home and home-office products.

Isn't there a saying that all urls point to Rome? You can type www.hpshopping.com but other combos work as well. For example, if you type HP into your computer in almost any format or with any other words attached you will end up at the shopping site.

The site is best viewed at high speed internet as the web site has lots of graphic which may hamper the loading of the site on slower connections.

The site's selection is limited to certain manufacturer's products (HP and Compaq) so you won't find a huge range here - however there is still quite a bit to choose from.

Shopping and check out are easy enough. You can add items to a cart. There is a little box in the upper right hand corner of the screen that shows the cart, what you have selected and, most helpful, the shipping charges so far. Check out process requires only the minimum amount of information.

 

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Best Buy Co., Inc is North America's number-one specialty retailer of consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software and appliances.

Best Buy has over 780 stores in the US and Canada, with heavy concentrations in California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois. The company operates its stores under the retail banners Best Buy, Future Shop (in Canada), and Magnolia Audio Video (in Western US states).

BestBuy.com is a good website designed for online shopping. It is nicely laid out with great search features and good checkout system.

The BestBuy.com site is mostly blue with the Best Buy logo in the upper right corner. The center of the homepage is filled with specials for your viewing interest. Along the top of the screen are some tabs that you can use to find items of interest.

The weekly ad feature is great for finding bargain deals at this site. On the homepage in the upper left corner there is a selection that simply states 'WEEKLY AD'. Clicking on this tab will bring up another window with the current weekly ad. If you have never done this before, you will have to type in your local zip code to get the closest physical store's advertisement, as they do sometimes have local specials as well.

The Weekly Ad changes every Sunday Morning, and contains all sorts of items, from computer systems to appliances to software and music. It is generally 20-28 pages in length and has something for everyone. The site allows for free ground shipping.

 

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Gateway makes desktop and portable PCs and network servers for consumer and enterprise customers. The company also offers third-party peripherals including printers, as well as consumer electronics such as digital music players and plasma televisions. Its services include training, support, and financing. Gateway acquired rival eMachines in 2004. Following the acquisition Gateway overhauled its management team and closed its stores. It now sells directly by phone and through its Web site, and through PC retailers.