I am writing on this blog after a long time....And this time it is after a miserable deal in the process of buying some computer hardware. There is a column which is quite famous in the "Digit" magazine, called Agent 001. This is the experience of a bloke who goes around in Mumbai trying to buy some computer hardware. Well, i too did this and i must say even after doing some good work i got conned.
They say everything life throws at you makes you wiser if it doesn't kill you. So, here i am about 1000 bucks poorer and a million bucks wiser. In order to save my other friends from such disasters here is a short way how one should go about buying stuff for the computer.
There are a few basic rules which i failed to follow and ended up getting conned.
I mention them here.
i have written this post assuming that you are in "Bangalore"
1. Know what you want : This is the mother of all other steps. You need to know what exactly you want. Please do not leave out even minor details. E.g. Know the speed of the RAM you would like to buy and the type. Make is also something you can find out. For things like Motherboard, Processor go to the last details. I just knew that i needed a H55 chipset and a A6 processor.
What i did not know ? was that H55 chipset motherboards come from different vendors (ASRock, Biostar etc), A6 comes in different speeds and different cores.
2. What about non Standard things: There are somethings where not much literature is available online. i.e. ATX Cabinet. Here the best thing to do is just say that you need a Cabinet with 400 or 450 Watts power supply. However there is a catch and we will come to that.
3. Go to internal shops on SP Road : The shops on the inner side or the upper floors on SP road are forced to reduce the price a bit to attract the customers. However, some like "Miracle Computers" or "My Choice" should be avoided. Never go to anyone who says he will give you the best deal.
4. Never let them tell you : Never let the vendor tell you what is better than what you have decided to buy. That means you better do step (1) well and be confident. Take quotes from more than one vendor.
5. Play dirty: Show them the quote from other vendors and bargain down the price, however even before they finish the quote ensure that they are billing you for the components that you have asked for.
6. Never raise your voice: There will be a few who will try to talk you into a deal. The moment you feel that he is trying to sell you something you dont want or forcing a deal on you...Just walk out. (i didn't do this!!). It is ok...this is a dirty world and you have to bargain hard to make them give you what you want at the right price.
So here are some more last lines...
Common things you will hear is
1. Sir if you take this product it will not last.
2. There is no proper warrenty on this.
3. This combination may not work.
But if you do step (1) well, I am sure you will not regret.
Next is think hard to know what additional things you will need. Like powercords etc. This should be told even before you do the bargaining.
7. This is perhaps the second most important step. Go to Flipkart and check out the prices. They are your ballpark. However, best is go to some shops in the beginning and ask the prices individually ( for E.g. if you need a atx cabinet and 4Gb 833Mhz RAM, go to two shops and ask these prices separately. Coz you may find one vendor who will tell you that A particular ATX cabinet will not support the RAM etc.)
some good places to buy without a possiblity of bargaining much but not being super overcharged:
Golcha
Mohan Electronics
Places to avoid
1. Miracle computers
2. My choice
3. Balaji computers
4. Arihant computers
Note that you will get conned only on "Non Standard" products like ATX cabinet, UPS or powerstrip etc. Never buy them without knowing the base price using step 7. When you buy many things, these are the places where you get conned.
I for example paid about 1250 for something that costed about 600 bucks.
I wish you all the best for you hardware shopping. Hope you dont get screwed like i did.
They say everything life throws at you makes you wiser if it doesn't kill you. So, here i am about 1000 bucks poorer and a million bucks wiser. In order to save my other friends from such disasters here is a short way how one should go about buying stuff for the computer.
There are a few basic rules which i failed to follow and ended up getting conned.
I mention them here.
i have written this post assuming that you are in "Bangalore"
1. Know what you want : This is the mother of all other steps. You need to know what exactly you want. Please do not leave out even minor details. E.g. Know the speed of the RAM you would like to buy and the type. Make is also something you can find out. For things like Motherboard, Processor go to the last details. I just knew that i needed a H55 chipset and a A6 processor.
What i did not know ? was that H55 chipset motherboards come from different vendors (ASRock, Biostar etc), A6 comes in different speeds and different cores.
2. What about non Standard things: There are somethings where not much literature is available online. i.e. ATX Cabinet. Here the best thing to do is just say that you need a Cabinet with 400 or 450 Watts power supply. However there is a catch and we will come to that.
3. Go to internal shops on SP Road : The shops on the inner side or the upper floors on SP road are forced to reduce the price a bit to attract the customers. However, some like "Miracle Computers" or "My Choice" should be avoided. Never go to anyone who says he will give you the best deal.
4. Never let them tell you : Never let the vendor tell you what is better than what you have decided to buy. That means you better do step (1) well and be confident. Take quotes from more than one vendor.
5. Play dirty: Show them the quote from other vendors and bargain down the price, however even before they finish the quote ensure that they are billing you for the components that you have asked for.
6. Never raise your voice: There will be a few who will try to talk you into a deal. The moment you feel that he is trying to sell you something you dont want or forcing a deal on you...Just walk out. (i didn't do this!!). It is ok...this is a dirty world and you have to bargain hard to make them give you what you want at the right price.
So here are some more last lines...
Common things you will hear is
1. Sir if you take this product it will not last.
2. There is no proper warrenty on this.
3. This combination may not work.
But if you do step (1) well, I am sure you will not regret.
Next is think hard to know what additional things you will need. Like powercords etc. This should be told even before you do the bargaining.
7. This is perhaps the second most important step. Go to Flipkart and check out the prices. They are your ballpark. However, best is go to some shops in the beginning and ask the prices individually ( for E.g. if you need a atx cabinet and 4Gb 833Mhz RAM, go to two shops and ask these prices separately. Coz you may find one vendor who will tell you that A particular ATX cabinet will not support the RAM etc.)
some good places to buy without a possiblity of bargaining much but not being super overcharged:
Golcha
Mohan Electronics
Places to avoid
1. Miracle computers
2. My choice
3. Balaji computers
4. Arihant computers
Note that you will get conned only on "Non Standard" products like ATX cabinet, UPS or powerstrip etc. Never buy them without knowing the base price using step 7. When you buy many things, these are the places where you get conned.
I for example paid about 1250 for something that costed about 600 bucks.
I wish you all the best for you hardware shopping. Hope you dont get screwed like i did.
