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Comment by mh- | Hacker News Reader

I'm curious where you live. Anecdotally, this is the opposite to the experience of everyone I know.

In many cities in the US, there's Microcenter, where you can walk out with every part you need. We also still have smaller stores that can build clones for you/hand you the boxes, but they don't quite have the same variety of parts.

Microcenter is one of the very few local DIY stores remaining. Best Buy has some stuff like hard drives but, even in the Boston area, I can't think of many other examples at this point.

Of course, you have Newegg and other online stores.

In some cities. I happen to be from one of them. Now I live in a far bigger city (Los Angeles) and the closest Microcenter is 2 hours away. Worse with traffic on a Tuesday afternoon. They’re only in a handful of states, sadly. There are not many places that offer a reasonable selection of boards that are close. Fry’s was the last bastion for many folks. Best Buy sometimes has a few options. But today is a far cry from the days of Circuit City, Computer City, CompUSA, RadioShack… not to mention dozens of mom & pop stores. Online is the main way nowadays.

> I'm curious where you live. Anecdotally, this is the opposite to the experience of everyone I know.

Actually, his experience is the standard PC enthusiast experience for the vast majority of DIY'ers in many nations. And is now subject to threat if businesses catering to consumers shut-down.

> Actually, his experience is the standard PC enthusiast experience for the vast majority of DIY'ers in many nations.

I have to genuinely question this. I haven't heard of anyone I know buying PC components at a physical store in like 20 years, and I know people from various nations.

Last local walking distance shop closed earlier this year (city in Germany). Used to go there for parts needed on short notice: mouse, cables etc. Not sure if there are many left now in this city that stock components like motherboards, gfx cards or RAM.

Aren't mediamarkt still selling computer parts in Germany? Maybe not ram and mother boards but in my city in Spain Mediamarkt still sell all the peripherals, some internal drives and cabling at the very least.

> Used to go there for parts needed on short notice

Which is why they shut down - the addressable market of people having an emergency need for an item from a limited selection of electronics isn't that big, and that's becoming the only market.

It's not your fault that you don't want to pay over the odds for everything when you're not in a rush, and it's not their fault they need to pay commercial rent, utilities, payroll, insurance and all the other overheads.

But the outcome is simply that staffed local physical shops have a lower efficiency ceiling in terms of getting items to customers.

I've bought memory (16 GB DDR4), storage (2 TB NVMe), and various peripherals from BestBuy within the last five years.

I am guessing you purely stick to the mobile-phone/corpo-laptop crowd then ? Finding PC enthusiasts should not be that difficult. They are legions of them all over the world - not just in the developed nations.

Even normal folks upgrade RAM. My aunt did so last year for her old desktop PC. PC components are available in the local computer hardware market of any nation. (Though admittedly, most people buy parts online nowadays and local hardware markets are shutting down)

> I am guessing you purely stick to the mobile-phone/corpo-laptop crowd then ? Finding PC enthusiasts should not be that difficult. They are legions of them all over the world - not just in the developed nations.

No. I'm a PC enthusiast myself, as are most of those people I know. I run an online (PC) gaming community.

> (Though admittedly most people nowadays just buy online and local hardware markets are shutting down)

Literally what I was saying.

Then I misunderstood what you were saying. PC community has actually increased over last few years as people have become dissatisfied with the big-2 consoles.

I was questioning the assertion that a vast majority of gamers buy their components from physical stores as opposed to ordering online.

Yes, this is the sad trend excepting for some markets that circumvent paying tax or the markets in the manufacturing cities.

I'm in Melbourne, I can ride my bike a few kilometers and buy standard PC parts. Not everyone here lives that close to a store, but there are multiple established chains with stores all over the metropolitan area. Even so these stores probably do the bulk of business in online sales.

I recently discovered Scorptec has a "total spend" under Account => Order History. Horrifying! Ublock to the rescue, ##.total-amount.card-title.

There are still physical stores in most cities so I guess they are still selling if they aren't out of business. They cater for a more enthusiast/gaming oriented population than in the past but still.

You have to take into account that same day delivery from amazon and the likes is only a real thing in the USA. Most other markets do not have the same service, even with accounts such as Amazon Prime. There is only one online store I know that is providing same day delivery in my area in Spain and it is a physical (and rather expensive) chain, El Corte Inglés.

Not having same day delivery isn't really a dealbreaker for most people. Most people aren't like, "I need to upgrade my computer RIGHT NOW"

And it is available in other countries.

I usually buy my cables there since the price difference for brand cables is negligible and I like to have my cable actually do the rated specs. Full pc parts no, but then again I usually buy niche parts not widely available. I usually go to the small repair shop first, and if they don't have any to the big brand. Small shop is a bit more expensive but the guy can order specialized small parts (printer memory module comes to mind) if you ask nicely and even directed you to other shops. Medium sized 100k+ city in NW Europe.

California had Fry's until a few years ago. Once they went under it basically ended the local market.

I'd love to see more market-style parts locations a la Huaqiang or Akiahabara

A couple of years ago, one rainy Saturday morning, I woke up with a devastating hangover and nothing else to do - so I decided to build myself a PC, like in good old days. Turned out it wasn't at all difficult to find a local store; only two-three hours later I was already driving home with all these sexy looking boxes filled with hardware. That was in Sweden.

Anecdata != data.

That MicroCenter continues to exist tells me that there's at least enough people shopping for parts in meatspace that there's net revenue to be had.

Microcenter has a total of 29 stores across the US. Yankee Candle has almost 10x as many locations (240).

Yes, Microcenter "exists", but primarily through selective cultivation of their locations. From a pure market footprint perspective, they are outclassed by a candle company, and many other niche businesses.

I guess I really wasn't clear enough.

At no point was I entirely denying that some people go to physical stores to buy components. I was just countering the idea that a majority of people do so, as opposed to ordering online.

I can do this in in Tokyo, and even small town Netherlands. Though in the last I’ll only have a choice between two different crappy mouses.

I think that is the main difference: choice

30 years ago you would buy what was available locally, possibly you could obtain from the shop owner that he orders a part from his distributor's catalog and that was it. And we weren't giving it much second thought.

Now when we know we can obtain any brand or any model online we are much more picky about our component choices. I know for me it is the same in other areas I am knowledgeable like bicycle parts. Regardless of the price more often than not the local bike shop doesn't have the exact tire model I want so if I am not in a hurry I order online. I wasn't unhappy buying whatever was available back in the days as it was just not a possibility and I had less knowledge about what was available, even when receiving magazines every month. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.

I'm not the parent poster, but in my experience it depends on the location. I live in the Bay Area. We had Fry's Electronics before it closed, and when Fry's closed I shifted to Central Computers. We finally have a Micro Center in Santa Clara now! I find Central Computers and Micro Center to have reasonable prices that are competitive with online stores. However, it can sometimes be a difficult drive through traffic getting to these stores, and so it's often more convenient for me to order something online. I've had nothing but good experiences shopping from Newegg.

When I was an undergrad at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 20 years ago, I relied heavily on Newegg, since there were no large electronics stores in San Luis Obispo back then for computer enthusiasts. Best Buy today has come a long way and is now a great place for PC enthusiasts, but this wasn't the case 20 years ago; it had much more of a consumer electronics focus back then. Four years ago I was visiting Cal Poly friends in Santa Maria; we were building my PC together. I bought the wrong power supply online, and so we ended up going to Best Buy in Santa Maria, where I was able to find the correct power supply for a good price!

Even with Best Buy's improved selection, nothing beats Micro Center in either Silicon Valley or Irvine, but if you're in neither location and Best Buy doesn't stock what you need, then you have to order online.

As much as I love Micro Center, though, nothing beats Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara, Tokyo. That store is electronics heaven, at least for new components. For used components, I peruse Akihabara's alleys, which are filled with small shops specializing in used and retro gear.

In the small-town bits of Ohio I've lived in for most of my life, computer stores come and go from time to time. There used to be more of them but they still exist.

The one that my first PC came from (in 1988) was open for something like 20 years. Another that still remains has been there for 33 years.

Plus, I mean: Best Buy stocks some PC parts. So does Wal-Mart. They're not "local," but they're nearby and they have stuff.

I have complete confidence that I could leave the house in the morning with nothing but some cash, and come home with enough parts to build a performant and modern PC from ~scratch in about an hour or two -- including travel.

And that's Ohio -- it's flyover country, full of corn fields and cowpies.

Microcenter is headquartered here in Ohio. Arguably the best PC focused "brick and mortar" store still in existence. I feel like I stepped back into my childhood every time I go into one of their stores

Yes. Microcenter was founded in Columbus, Ohio -- IIRC as a shop on High Street most of a lifetime ago. The present headquarters are, IIRC, just up the road in Hilliard. They maintain an excellent and enormous retail store in the area. There is an amazing (and not at all cheap) Greek restaurant across the street.

But after I drive to Microcenter and shop there and drive back, I'm fuckin' tired. I won't want to build a PC when I get home. I'll want to think about either getting a pizza or going to bed, and the bed will probably win.

So usually, I don't shop at Microcenter at all. I adore that place (and yeah, I'm impressionable: Keeping Raspberry Pi Zero W's in stock at every checkout register and selling them for $5 made an impression on me), but it's just too far away from where I live.

What usually happens instead, despite still having much more local alternatives, is this: I order the stuff. It shows up on my porch a day or two later. I build it at my leisure.

Didn't realize they used to be downtown. That was before my time. Happy Greek right? Too bad that closed about a year ago. Great food.

There's a Vietnamese place right next to Microcenter on bethel that has some killer BBQ pork fried rice though. That's usually my excuse to go.

Yes. According to my understanding of the lore: Microcenter was once just a small computer shop on High Street. A little mom-and-pop place -- you've probably been to one at some point. It got bigger. (That was all before my time, too.)

The Greek place that stands out so favorably in my memory is Lashish the Greek. It's right across Bethel from Microcenter, in the strip mall behind the McDonald's. Looks like it's still running. I should stop in there again sometime.

Last time I was there it was empty except for us and the owner. Friendly dude. He stopped at our table after we had some time to finish eating and we chatted about food, food quality, and the Gipsy Kings album that he was playing.

Thanks for the tip! I'll check out Lashish next time I'm up there.

So many great ethnic restaurants in between Henderson and Bethel.

It's a quite wonderful area to empty one's pocketbook. I really do miss living near(ish) to there.

Lots of memories, and all of them are good.

(Including that one time when a buddy and I bought a used 3D printer out of the trunk of a fellow geek's sedan, in cash, in the Microcenter parking lot. We actually went to Microcenter looking to buy a resin printer, and we definitely succeeded -- just not in the manner in which we had expected to succeed. That's been a solid little machine for a few years now and was precisely as it was described.)

Not OP. But Microcenter is in many US cities and prides itself on 18 minute pickup. I buy most of my tech that way.

I love Microcenter. Built my current gaming rig with all parts purchased there. It's been about 8 years, so not sure if they still operate this way... but when I built my PC, I:

- Went online, ordered everything for pickup (didn't pay yet)

- Drove there, they had it all bagged and ready

- I showed them online prices for some of the parts

- For the ones they could verify (I think it was all of them) by going to the website and checking, they matched the prices

- Then I paid and took my stuff home

I also got my M1 MBP there (it was 25% off when the M2 models came out).

Please, if you have a Microcenter near you, give them your business. I don't want them to go away. Once all this memory madness dies down, I'm going to go there to build a new gaming rig.

I'm not the same person, but I live in Denver and I go to a store to buy my components. We have a Micro Center here and I enjoy having a physical location I can go to, so I make sure to give them my patronage when I purchase stuff.

In Canada, BC's lower mainland (and parts of Ontario, Alberta, and a few others I can't speak of first-hand) have both Memory Express and Canada Computers. We used to have NCIX as well, though they've left (at least) BC

I think NCIX left the realm of the living entirely

You're right, per Wikipedia. I guess I saw an old sign or something on a trip through Ontario (or it was just a long day).

Best Buy sells PC parts and accessories nationally in their stores, even though the selection is not great.

I walked into a Central Computers the other day and was flabbergasted. I had never seen a Threadripper PRO or a 10G switch in a store before!

I live in Central NJ, which is pretty densely populated and surrounded by tech firms. The nearest MicroCenter to me is 35 miles away in Brooklyn.

rue montgallet still exists in Paris. Yes, very less than it used to be, but still there.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjj6uIIUT_0 gives a good idea of how it is now

Unfortunately, the aggregator website is basically no longer updated. So now you have to go door-to-door to check their prices. Also, with all the talk of counterfeits flooding Amazon and whatnot, I'm no longer that comfortable buying expensive stuff from random stores.

But, I guess, if you need a mouse right now and don't insist on the absolute best price, they're still there, yeah.

In practice, I live two streets away from there and yet I do all my shopping online (not that I buy that many parts anymore).

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