NewEgg Review

Bottom-Line: I have found a permanent place to order those essential computer parts in NewEgg.com.

My introduction to Newegg.com was innocent enough.  I had outgrown the small 13BG hard drive in one of the servers I use at home to host my Windows 2000 Active Domain.  I needed room to install a few Enterprise class applications, so I started searching for a relatively inexpensive (under $75.00), 60GB - 80GB 7200 Rpm hard drive, manufactured by Seagate or Maxtor.  I surfed my usual sites; Best Buy. Amazon.com, Buy.com, Circuit City, MicroHouse, CDW, and Mwave, but none had what I was looking for.     

By chance I ran across a banner ad for NewEgg.com, followed it, surfed for what I wanted and lo and behold I found several hard drives that fit my criteria and settled on one; a Maxtor 60GB 7200 Rpm, for $66.00, no tax, no shipping and handling! 

My Viewpoint

When I first surfed into the NewEgg.com I was greeted by a highly glossed full color page of different "specials of the day" ranging from monitors and RAM, to CD-ROM drives and Laptop computers.  At the top of the page, tabs directed me to the different categories of computer related hardware and software and even home electronics NewEgg.com has to offer.  All offering the same page layout and slick, large color display of products. 

Searching for the particular hard drive I wanted to purchase seemed daunting at first, because there are no drop down boxes with brand names, nor easily searchable category listing.  There is instead a search box in which can enter the Brand, Category Description (Detail View), and Description (Summary View).  Since I knew I wanted either a Seagate or Maxtor hard drive, I searched by brand.  Following the resulting pages I was able to find the drive I wanted, sorted on the (search result) page by price point, lowest to highest.

Along with the item a full or partial description is offered along with customer reviews of the product which may or may not prove useful depending on the length.  Regardless of length however, a good feel for overall product performance can be gauged by the number of reviews submitted, and so I find the feature useful.           

Shipping & Handling + Sales Tax

Following the Buy.com model, NewEgg.com offers free FedEx Saver Shipping on a large number of items offered at the site.  On other items the shipping and handling charge is clearly displayed taking all the guess work out of computing the final charge.  The nominal charge is $2.99.    

Orders shipped to California, Tennessee, and New Jersey, places where NewEgg.com does business (warehousing operations would be my guess), will be charged sales tax based on the county of residence.  The rest of us can order tax free.

NewEgg.com states that it will take one or two business days for your order to be verified and shipped.  Once shipped, the package can be tracked on-line via Newegg.com Order Status, and my purchases always arrive on the day posted on the FedEx website, which is usually two to three days after it was shipped.

Believe it or not, there is an actual phone number one can call to reach NewEgg.com customer service.  One my latest order I neglected to selected a Customer Appreciation Gift.  I called the customer service number and after waiting less then five minutes I was connected to a representative who was able to add the free gift to my order.   

Payment is the through the standard means, but NewEgg.com also offers a Preferred Account through Bill-me-Later that has varying payback periods.  The one I've seem most often is (6) months no payment/no interest if you spend $500.00 or more.  I have taken advantage of this offer more than once, and it's a sweet deal.  Don't pay in the allotted time and of course six months of interest will be yours along with monthly payments. 

Concluding Viewpoint

I have found a permanent place to order those essential computer parts in NewEgg.com.  It supplements but doesn't replace my old stalwarts Amazon.com, Mwave.com, and Buy.com when low price, selection, ease of ordering, and reliable shipping are a factor-and when are they not?