All Computer Accessories and Secrets to what to get and where to find it

Here are some of my secrets about how to go out and purchase with confidence all computer accessories. Often what scares people away when they look at all computer accessories is the fact that they must make certain they are buying the correct item because they cannot return it. I will teach you some of my little tricks like:

How to find places that let you return an item that isn’t compatible or that you are not perfectly happy with

How to get information about the product prior to purchase so you are certain you are getting what you want

7 Ways to tell if a piece of hardware is good or not without buying it:

1. Try to find a review for the item on consumer reports. Consumer reports is a non-profit organization who is dedicated to consumer advocacy. They have a group of qualified testers and put all items through rigorous testing before they endorse it or give it a rating of any sort. The only negative is they do not review all computer accessories they will only look at some of the more popular ones. You can get a subscription for $26 at www.consumerreports.org. Trust me it is worth it not only for getting computer stuff but anything. I have a subscription there myself.

Where to find information about nearly all computer accessories

2. Goto www.newegg.com and find out what percentage of people rated the item you are looking at the highest or second highest. If this number is pretty high (above 75% or so) it is probably a good item.

• Make certain the people rating it the lowest or next to lowest does not amount to more than 20% or so.

• Try to only purchase items with at least 10 reviews unless you simply must have it.

• Don’t let the low rating scare you. Remember there are people who are never happy no matter how good the item is. Also there are people who don’t use the item correctly, it breaks and they blame the item.

3.Always make certain the item can be returned and the terms of that return. As soon as you get the item test it out and make certain it runs fine. Usually even the best company has only a 30 day return policy. After that you are at the mercy of the manufacturer.

4.Make certain the item you are purchasing is from a reputable company that has been around for awhile. Although it may sound elitist I always choose items from companies I have heard of with a good reputation. You always know what you are getting and generally support for the items is much better. Smaller companies can go out of business or you can have difficulty finding drivers for them.

5.Buy locally. This is always my first option. You can even buy online and have it shipped to you and if there is a problem return it to the local store. The only problem is with a lot of specialty computer items the selection at Best Buy, Comp USA, Circuit City or Target is usually pretty thin.

6.Try going to a larger store where they will not quibble with you over whether or not you can return the item. Some of these stores have extremely lenient return policies.

7.There are only a few online sites which allow you to return items you have bought. Three that I know of are www.newegg.com , www.zipzoomfly.com and www.tigerdirect.com. As a result I am willing to pay a little more money to buy from them as they are all reputable sites.

5 things you should know before you buy something online

1. Is it a large site ? Generally large sites have more to loose so they will be more reputable, take better care of your credit card information, and be more likely to replace a broken item. I have been stung by smaller sites but never by a big site.

2. Does the site have a return policy ? I always look at that and am extremely hesitant if the site doesn’t have a return policy.

3.Does the site accept paypal ? If so use it. Paypal insures the business transactions are valid up to a certain amount if certain conditions apply. If the site fills those conditions and shafts you – you get your money back and the site incurs the wrath of paypal, which is not pretty. I always try to use paypal.

4.What would google do ? I usually do a google search on the site sometimes I will put in the name of the site and the word scam or "rip-off","rip off" to make certain it is not questionable. Even one hit and I am very skeptical.

5. Make certain your transaction is secure (you see a little lock at the bottom browser bar). If it is not leave the site no matter how good the deal seems.

Great Sites:

Reviews for all computer accessories:

Unbiased Reviews at Consumer Reports Tons of Review for Computer Accessories (Newegg.com) More Opinions but very few on some computer items

Sites with Local Computer Stores:

Best Buy Target

Places to get all computer accessories and hardware. These sites have virtually everything under the sun. They have good customer service as well as return policies.

Newegg.com Zipzoomfly.com Tigerdirect.com

Great Links to My Other Pages

From All Computer Accessories to FREE PC Tech Support

From All Computer Accessories to FREEBIES