NewEgg Price Rollercoaster

[SiliconJon]

Man, what is the freagin' deal! Can they not make up their minds on how much to charge for something!?!? Are they sellings thousands of every item every day, and getting that different of prices on their restock!?!

I.E. Just ordered a system to build for a customer. Had the quote together, and as always I tell them it's only good for 48hours, after which the price will be refigured. Well, 48 hours later, the price went up: 2500 barton up from $92 to $101, Asus nForce2 Deluxe up $3, Lite-On black combo drive mysteriously gone and other similar drive +$7...and a couple other minor increases. So, I have to explain to the customer the price increase, and they ok the go ahead on the system with the payment (computer prices going UP is not well taken). Well, I ordered all the parts yesterday, and luckily the Lite-On was magically back, but still up on the total a bit. Today I get my pricewatch email from NewEgg, and the CPU dropped back down.

Anyway, this is just plain annoying, NewEgg. What is the deal?

And anybody else notice they are suddenly shipping from NJ as well! Well, I hope they don't assimilate the practices I've experienced from other NJ VARs...

All in all, I do prefer NewEgg. But do they really need to play such havoc on their prices when a builder like me really relies on their prices for our quotes? Just a few bucks I can eat, but when prices on multiple items go up on an entire system order, it can be too much to swallow. I understand a sale, but that is not what's going on here. Just frustrated, that's all...seems every time the price shifts, it's not in my favor...bad timing or luck i guess

[RedFury]

Almost like buying gas, isn't it?

[ragtop]

Originally posted by RedFury
Almost like buying gas, isn't it?

Actually, its more like trading commodities on the options exchange. Computer parts are more or less commodity items, especially memory & CPU's. Not too long ago DDR memory was still expensive, but they were just about giving away PC133. All of a sudden PC133 is spiking up in price, and you can get PC2100 for next to nothing.

I guess the bottom line is that a low price reseller like Newegg has to keep adjusting prices to stay competitive while still maintaining their thin profit margin. The higher price retail outlets have a higher profit margin built in, so they can obviously absorb more price fluctuation and keep a more stable price.

[Telexen]

Supply and demand...familiar with it?

[consumertalks]

Originally posted by SiliconJon
Man, what is the freagin' deal! Can they not make up their minds on how much to charge for something!?!?

Why don't you just have the customer sign a document that states you have to call them if the actual price will exceed 10% of the estimate? This is the law in some (if not most) states with car dealerships and auto repair facilities. This way if the price goes up a few dollars you have a signed document from the customer saying it's ok.

Another way around it is to keep track of what you buy & sell for. If product "A" goes up $5 and you sell it for your quoted price (losing $5), simply sell it for $5 more the next you sell product "A" (gaining $5, making your total loss = 0). This way, both customers pay the quoted price.

This happened to me with a cheap stick of RAM recently.. and I mean cheap. I bought it for $14. Refund was market price - 15%. In the two weeks time it took me to return the defective stick to buyaib.com (NEVER shop there!!!!), the price dropped to $12. Not alot, but still frustrating. I think they don't sell much and drop the price on their top sellers the week after, knowing they'll come back.

[Omardeth]

Originally posted by RedFury
Almost like buying gas, isn't it?

hahahahah man ain't it sooooooooo true

[DPA]

CONSUMERTALKS: don't buy from buyaib <- man if that ain't the truth... lol, its like dealing with some thugs there, they're a rip

[Omardeth]

don't forget there are alot more good vendors out there than just newegg . don't get me wrong newegg gets alot of my money also . but look around on the net alittle you can find stuff cheaper than what newegg sells it for and get the same great service . places like www.svc.com www.iocombo.com www.directron.com www.dealsonic.com and many many others . so look around . it is easy to just go to newegg i agree . 20$ is 20$ . more profit for you equal tbone instead of chuck steak for dinner .

[SiliconJon]

Yes, I need a buffer..

[SiliconJon]

|)@/v\n the luck. Parts arrived today, and FedEx literally dropped it (or some sort of physical abuse anyway)! This is the second time they have damaged a case delivered to me in the last six months (at least, I figure it's fedex, tis possible one or both may have happened at NewEgg). This one was even worse than the last one: the front of the case had completely broken off, with all of it's secures broke. Totally screwed. Last time NewEgg shipped me a replacement overnight after I filed the damage claim with FedEx. This time, I have to send it back, but they tell me they will reimburse me for the shipping. That's par for the online purchasing course. Still think FedEx should cough up the return shipping until the two of them figure out who broke it, but that's not going to happen.

If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all! That gives FedEx a 94% track record with my shipments from NewEgg. Though the three they 'dropped' were a 4-day OVERNIGHT, and two damages. I would much rather have them a day late, but when they screw it up, they do it right! Though that reminds me, I have to go get the Logitech Z-340's, as their box looked like it fell out of the back of the truck while going down a freshly oiled road. The speakers looked ok at a glance, but better check'em before I go to FedEx tomorrow...

Somebody has been bowling with my packages!

Grrrrrrrrrrr