Photos: New Phoenix Microcenter is a 'tech-heaven' for geeks
phoenixnewtimes.com
phoenixnewtimes.com
[0] https://www.kjzz.org/business/2025-08-27/fans-of-phoenix-fry...
Sadly the only theme I remember from its waning days were the many buckets to capture rainwater; clearly they were struggling to afford to stay open.
https://www.liquisearch.com/frys_electronics/history/store_t...
The Burbank Fry's UFO was definitely noticable.
https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/to-all-the-frys-i-loved-befor...
I remember as a teenager we would go on "road trips" to Microcenter - 25 minute drive tops and since none of us had any money we would just try and get someone to spend their paycheck on a new GPU or something so we could get second hand excitement from a purchase. It was also the first and only place I've ever seen BAWLS energy drinks.
It was also great that it was basically attached to the rail line. Such a better development pattern for business and moving people than airlines and airports.
Or Gateway Electronics in St Louis
Got the free mug out of it too! I wonder if the mugs will become valuable collectibles in the future.
For me, big box stores just mean markups + staff that know less than most tech reviewers on YouTube. All in an introvert's nightmare. What's the upside?
They weren't saying that it wasn't OK - they were just asking for an explanation from someone for whom it _was_ built
there’s just something about the in store experience that’s different than online.
Microcenter is also known for having better prices than online retailers, but they don’t ship for many items
Thanks.
Except (?) that it's not like you can do more than look at shrink-wrapped boxes.
Even record stores generally let you play albums on a private turntable before you buy them.
It's just so weird to me that someone looking to buy a significant component for their desktop machine or whatever wouldn't do loads of research first. Buying a GPU, for example, during window shopping seems almost unhinged. But everyone's experience is different, and that's a good thing.
There's nothing stopping people from doing all of their Youtube research then walking into their Microcenter and buying it in person.
Its not like PC gamers who often use online stores have just forgotten to do any prior research when buying in store as opposed to online. So yeah I would do loads of research, then I'd go instore and buy it and look at what else they have on offer.
Speaking as an Australian, to me it would be a dream to be able to drive to a place like that and getting those things in store as opposed to ordering online then waiting days or sometimes weeks for delivery.
There is also the factor of being able to see the item in person, and perhaps hold it in your hands, might not be very relevant for something like RAM sticks, but it certainly is for something like a gaming controller for example.
At least record stores let you listen to an album on headphones before you buy it.
Still, I appreciate your perspective. Different strokes for different folks.
There's a lot of products there you can inspect in a way that online just doesn't do.
Love or hate window shopping, the nature of shopping for fashion lends itself far more to in-person evaluation. Every item is slightly different, and so is every person wearing them. This is why you can try on clothes in the store!
Crate digging for vinyl is similar. There's a real joy of discovery, and turntables with headphones for auditioning purchases.
I have a hard time picturing the same dynamic with identical shrink-wrapped boxes.
"Why go to a fine restaurant when you can just stick something in the microwave? Why go to the park and fly a kite when you can just pop a pill?" - Kramer, Seinfeld
If you're buying a shrink-wrapped GPU, then I think you're romanticizing what a big box store adds to that transaction.
And yes, I am romanticizing in-person experiences and interactions over the insistence that more and more things in life are best experienced through a phone or computer.
I don't expect to establish friendships while shopping. It's never even occurred to me.
I have never "established a friendship" while shopping, at least not that I can recall. But I have gone to a store with a friend as a social activity to browse for goods together. Pretty common experience from what I have seen.
It’s more a best buy than fry’s electronics.
We had a recently opened one here in the Bay Area — I went there once, having heard good things. Never again. It’s a bullshit emporium.
Also: they're always packed on the weekends. There is definitely demand for a brick and mortar store that focuses on tech/geek hobbies.
Here in Canada, the BambuLab stuff seems to ship from local-ish warehouses... but I get it. Tariffs might also be a factor in this.
Amazon is a reprehensible company that I absolutely order from 3-4 times a week. That 15 minute drive requires a 15 minute drive back, plus a car + insurance + gas. It's 8:59pm local as I type this. If I need a thumb drive, I can order one that will be here by noon tomorrow with free shipping.
TL;DR that hour of your time plus driving surely cancels out any potential savings.
I guess it's good to have options, and late stage capitalism is happy to give them to us.
H2D looks like an amazing printer. I have a P1P and it's great for my needs, but the Bambu stuff is just on a different level from the others I've tried.
Microcenter has enough swag to get their own exclusive CPU SKUs from AMD.
For me, its seeing cases in person and being able to see how they compare for size rather than trying to estimate online.
As someone in Australia where we have pretty poor computer electronics stores for PC parts, this place is like heaven on earth.
To you its an introverts nightmare, but clearly for many geeks its not who are lining up.
I generally think of myself as immune to impulse/window shopping, but if I walked by a Fractal North case for the first time, I would prove myself wrong.
I genuinely despise Amazon as a company, but factually I can order something by 9pm and pick it up from my doorstep after I sleep in.
I honestly don't think either approach is particularly great for the planet or our humanity, but Prime is popular for a good reason.
My point is to highlight for the original commenter that whilst buying online is incredibly useful, has more variety and in some a number of cases is cheaper due to being able to shop around. Having a central store like a Micro center has enormous value, there's not many of them around.
For me in Australia, I certainly cannot order something at 9pm and have it at my doorstep in the morning. Nor do we have any places like Microcenter with such variety. Genuinely if I wanted to go into a store to check the size of a particular PC case, I can't do that because there aren't any around and I live in a state capital city.
But seriously, online shipping takes longer than driving over to the store and picking the thing up. It's not just being impatient, but sometimes eg your headphones break but you have an important meeting coming up soon.
The other one is, Amazon, especially, the pictures lie about the object's size after shipping. Especially for. a TVs. Sure you can use a measuring tape, but some people really do just want to see it in person to get a proper feel for how big something is.
Then there's laptops to try out how the keyboard does.
The biggest Gulf of the continent is pretty big though, so that might not help you much
Where else would you be buying equivalents online anyway?
It's also great for items likely to be scalped. It doesn't guarantee they'll have stock, but it sure is easier to beat scalpers to checking the store that day than bots to an online cart. I even got a Switch 2 bundle the day after launch at MSRP while there for something else. Edit: shit, prices are worse all around now. Glad I didn't wait :D.