The Buying Game: Best and Worst Places to Shop for a PC

Buying at Retail: Uncharted Aisles

What's hot Drive to your nearest computer store and walk out with a PC.

What's not Service is often so-so, limited choice of brands and models at most chains.

Best for Shoppers who need a PC right away; those who want to try before they buy.

Before James Popko, a social worker in West Hollywood, California, was ready to buy a new PC, he spent weekend after weekend scouring the Sunday circulars until he found the right computer at the right price. And then, advertisement in hand, he headed to the nearby Circuit City. Not to window shop, but to buy.

Contrary to the popular image of retail PC shoppers, Popko wasn't looking for advice or technical assistance. He just wanted a good deal and a friendly salesperson who would get him in and out of the store in short order, with a reliable PC in tow. Most of the retail shoppers we spoke to expressed similar wishes.

But instant gratification may be the sole meaningful advantage of retail shopping. Over 70 percent of all retail shoppers said that finding a salesperson was easy. But once they got help, less than half the shoppers gave their salesperson a Very Good knowledge rating--compared to 69 percent of those who bought by telephone.

As for selection, 54 percent of retail buyers said they were Very Satisfied with the store's range of PCs, compared to 69 percent of Web shoppers and 79 percent of phone customers. At most chains, the selection is remarkably similar: Preconfigured, home-oriented systems from Compaq, EMachines, and HP dominate the shelves. The exception is Gateway Country, which sells only custom-built Gateway PCs.

The Big Six

Although you can buy a PC just about anywhere these days--from Wal-Mart to Costco, Sears to a local mom-and-pop shop--six national retailers dominated our survey results: Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Gateway Country, Office Depot, and Staples. Let's consider them in alphabetical order:

Best Buy: Between the competing sounds from the TV, audio, and video game departments, and the glare of the fluorescent lights, Best Buy isn't the best place to be if you feel a migraine coming on. And although more respondents bought from this retail chain than any other, they weren't enthusiastic about the service. Only 23 percent rated the knowledge of their salesperson as Very Good--the lowest (with CompUSA) for any store in this report. Courtesy marks were relatively low, too: Just 45 percent of respondents gave the sales staff a Very Good rating (compared with the 75 percent Very Good rating earned by Gateway Country sales staff).