newegg, yep the online retailer. newegg is my favorite online retailer, I have used them since graduate school (and that was a long time ago). They have a fine BBB rating, but for me I respect them because - The price is always reasonable. Sometimes they are not the lowest, although they often are. But unlike Amazon they are NEVER the highest. Sure Amazon has everything, but some times at twice to four time the price you would pay elsewhere.
- The shipping is crazy good, especially if you are on the East Coast (Midwest will be a little slower). For example I ordered a replacement fan for my computer on 12/17 and it came 12/18. As other people have commented (on the newegg site) the shipment sometimes arrives before the tracking confirmation.
- They are fair. One thing that had kept me from blogging about newegg is that I am a very careful shopper. Until this year I had not needed to return anything. While it is impressive to provide excellent sales service, excellent return service is even more impressive.
- They have a nice service where you can have them notify you if the price drops or shipping is free.
- They quite often have a product in each class with free shipping (cables seem to be an exception). For instance the $7.50 120mm case fan had free shipping!
So despite what a few people have said newegg is an excellent online retailer. In this day and age where there are scams and other problems it is important to have a company you trust. Plus, if you want to know if you are getting a good price compare it to the newegg price.
Speaking of good return and customer service, the pinnacle of this has to be Proporta. I had a crystal case I bought from them. It is available from several merchants, even US ones. However, Proporta had very few complaints and cheaper shipping (despite being in the UK). It protected my Palm well, but eventually broke. Despite the fact it broke from a fall they offered to replace it. Further, since it was discontinued they let me upgrade to a more expensive case. Now that is good old fashion customer service, those from Chicago may remember the retailer Marshall Fields as having similarly excellent service. Add to this Proporta seems to always produce good stuff, and they don't (like most US firms) charge an arm and leg for accessories. For example take the Ted Baker Six pack (which I deeply regret not getting) http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4126&t_mode=des. Compared to what Radio Shack (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2767656) sells it is a little more expensive. However, the Proporta version has a 3400mah battery compared to 2100mah (in the same package size). The Proporta is beautiful, the Radio shack not so much. Finally, and what I love most about outside the US companies they charge ~$2 for the device heads. For the Radio Shack/ Lenmar you pay ~$6 per head (if you can find them, I can't any more). Also, despite the apparent similarity they don't have interchangeable heads.
Finally, we come to Limoliner (http://www.limoliner.com/). Unlike the rolly polly Fung Wah Bus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fung_Wah_Bus_Transportation_Inc.) Limoliner competes in price with Amtrak (not the Acela http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Vertical_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1080772074490&ssid=134). However, Limoliner offers faster service (usually), much better food (which is included), and slow but usable Internet. Now sure if we subsidized trains better Amtrak could blow them away. But we don't and a bus still beats driving a single car for the environment. So for filling a niche in a good way we have to give props to the Limoliner.
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