The best places to buy a computer - includes related article on how to buy a computer - Buyers Guide

Home Office Computing, April, 1992 by Jack Nimersheim

Architect Paul Wright's home office is a monument to contradiction. Gaze out the window and you're immediately struck by the beauty and tranquility of Russell's Point, an eclectic cluster of residential homes and vacation cottages nestled int the shores of Indian Lake in east-central Ohio. To survey his pastoral surroundings, however, Wright must stand up and crane his neck to see past an electronic swamp--three computers, one laser printer, two monitors, three fluorescent desk lamps, and a formidable cluster of power cords and computer cables that help him coordinate the day-to-day activities of Dynamic Development, the library-consulting business Wright started three years ago.

"That," Wright says, pointing to the clear, blue water just beyond his office window, "is why I decided to move here. This," he continues, spreading his arms over the impressive array of computer equipment spread out on the dest before him, "ultimately made it possible. But what I didn't know about personal computers back in early 1989, when I started pulling together the equipment you see here, could have filled that lake to overflowing."

Wright's passage from computer ignorance to electronic productivity parallels a journey many people will undertake as they brave the path to setting up a home office. Hearing about his experiences--along with other advice on where and how to purchase a personal computer--may help you avoid some of the wrong turns Wright readily admits he made.

Although I'll concentrate on where to purchase a computer--and the pros and cons of each place--there are two questions you need to answer before you begin your computer shopping trip: What type of computer do you need? And how should you pay for it? So check out the box "Shopper's Horse Sense" for advice on the best ways to approach these decisions.

YOUR MAZE OF OPTIONS

To keep things relatively simple--or as simple as any discussion pertaining to personal computers can be--I've divided the variety of outlets where you can purchase computers into five fundamental categories: traditional computer stores, alternative channels (including discount houses and superstores), local vendors, mail-order firms, and direct-sales vendors.

1. Traditional computer stores. The first category includes any place that sells brandname computers--IBM, Macintosh, Compaq, Tandy, and so on--out of a storefront. As the name implies, this type of store sells computer products only, sometimes at a discount and other times closer to retail price. Included in this category would be chain stores or franchises such as ComputerLand, Entre Computer Centers, and Tandy's network of Radio Shack computer stores. In addition to these familiar names, most major cities contain several independently owned computer specialty stores, outlets that also sell brand-name systems but aren't connected to national operations. When it comes to carrying a wide range of brand names in one store, this is typically the strongest category of the five.

2. Alternative channels. Have you shopped at Sears, Kmart, or Circuit City lately? If not, you may be surprised at what you can find there. Display cases that once held car stereos and calculators now also contain computers. These retail chains are but a few examples in the somewhat amorphous category called alternative channels, which includes both discount stores that sell various kinds of electronic equipment (including stereos and VCRs) and classic mass merchandisers that sell all manner of consumer goods. This category also includes membership-club stores like Costco or WalMart's chain of Sam's Wholesale Club warehouse outlets that, in addition to their more traditional wares, now carry computer hardware.

A vital and growing subset in the alternative-channel category is superstores, a relatively recent development. There are two basic type of superstores: Some outlets, such as CompUSA, specialize in computer products only, while others, such as BizMart, sell all kinds of office products. Another example of a computer superstores is Micro Center, an Ohio-based chain with stores located in, among other places. Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio; Atlanta; and Washington, D.C. Other office-product superstores include the Staples chain, The Office Club, and Sears (wearing its Office Center hat). It many ways, superstores provide the same advantages to computer buyers that home-improvement centers like Centers Hardware and The Home Depot offer the home-repair person--that is, the ability to find everything you need for your projects under one roof. Also, among the alternative channels, you're more likely to find knowledgeable help at a superstore than at other discounters.

To further comlicate matters, some computer-only superstores are associated with companies that have already established their success in other sales channels. For example, CompuAdd, a well-known directsales vendor, now operates about 120 company-owned superstores. Like other superstores, each carries a full selection of software and brand-name peripherals--Hayes modems, Hewlett-Packard printers, and so forth--but, unlike the others, limits actual system choice to CompuAdd's own house-brand IBM-compatible computers.