bad computer business in leb !!

hisham88

hey guys ! im posting this topic to warn any body whos trying to buy a PC or simply a part from lebanon !
i dont mean to make a bad image of lebanon but its just that in here every one takes advantage of the huge gap of prices between similar parts !

any one who wants to buy anything concerning computers post here so we can discuss them together and get help from hardware experts like my self :P haha or karim soubra !! we'll research it together and by that every one can learn a thing or two about hardware if interested !
thxxx , ur friend hisham !!

KingRhye

Ok.. but first, what are your qualifications ?

karim-soubra

i would be glad to help

samer

im posting this topic to warn any body whos trying to buy a PC or simply a part from lebanon !

yeah, let's boycott them and see how the economy improves :/

i dont mean to make a bad image of lebanon but its just that in here every one takes advantage of the huge gap of prices between similar parts !

if you're not wise enough to figure out their ripping you off, then you deserve it :O

hisham88

oh plz samer give me a break " if you're not wise enough to figure out their ripping you off, then you deserve it " why wud any one think that ?? not every one is a computer geek !!

plus i cant believe so many ppl got the wrong idea ! when i said beware of the theft i didnt mean boycott , i meant go research or discuss what ur gonna buy so u can know wat to tell him b4 u go the store ! thats wat i meant
for example : u cant go tell a guy i want a 40 " LCD ... if u do he'll be like ok sure gimme 3000 $ and heres ur LG LCD mabruk !! but if u researched it and knew that theres a 700 $ between the same TV but its SONY then he'll give u a sony for 3000 $ its a win win situation given that u have researched ur hardware first !! and btw its just an example !! KAPISH ??

hisham88

KingRhye wroteOk.. but first, what are your qualifications ?

KING i said we'll research all TOGETHER !! i didnt say u have to get permission from me ! :P anyways have a good day !! :)

KingRhye

Ok lol.. we'll do that, cheers man :)

hisham88

sure thxxx

rolf

Lebanon is pretty cheap for PC parts. If you compare it to europe it has nowadays gotten to the same price level, if not cheaper. Compared to the states, you have a price difference from 10% to 50% (roughly) depending on the parts, with the biggest price difference being in expensive, rare and high-tech parts such as high level graphic adapters. AMD are considered "rare" items, since there's not much demand on them :(. Entry level parts usually are in the 0%-20% price difference range, nothing that will kill you :)
I made this estimate by comparing prices with online shops in the US. But I have to say if you shop around in the US, you'll sometimes see special offers, usually involving a mail rebate, that are simply incredible

Anyways to anyone wanting to buy stuff here, I usually recommend the following IN ORDER :
-1st step: check www.pcandparts.com online
-2nd step: call compuworld (i have the number), they can give you good prices if you discuss the price with them. If they give you a good price (compare with pcandparts.com) and have what you want, then buy it from them. If not, you migh still try haggling on the price and asking them to order that part for you. There's nothing wrong with pcandparts, but I just like compuworld, because:
-You can talk with the boss (jack or williams) at any time, and they're always polite
-I know i can just bring back something that I bought the other day just because i changed my mind and they'll take it back no questions asked
-My company has a credit with them and they're pretty patient with check collection and never nag
-If you ask them they can order stuff for you
-They'll honour your warranty. You might even get a replacement the same day... Usually for printers and the such they'll want you to wait for them to send the printer for reparing, but if you nag and shout you can get a new replacement printer the same day... hopefully. it helps being a regular customer ;)

Anyway if you do the above you should be screw-proof. It's true that people get screwed pretty bad, a week ago a friend got charged USD 1600 for a computer that would have costed him USD 1000 on pcandparts. pffff! what can I do, he called me AFTERWARDS

hisham88

Asus A8NE nForce4 w/Sound+1GB Lan+Firewire costs 145 $ while you can buy it from other sites for 107 $ :S that is like 50% more expensive ...
i am sorry but i'd rather to stick to my american friends for shipping :P anyways take care guys ...

LebaneseChiphead

Okay, Here is my two cents worth: Computer parts have a shelf life if you like to call it that, what is the differnce between a computer that cost 100.00 and another one for 1000.00, it is like asking why a Caddillac is better than chevy, well they both have tires , steering wheels and motors? hence why a Caddillac is more expensive then ? okay it all boil down to the MTBF (mean time before failure) a hard drive that cost $20.00 have a MTBF of 100 hours of use, meanwhile a hard drive that cost $500.00 have a MTBF of 2000 hours of use and so on, I hope you got my drift here , another thing is watch for the Revision of the parts, because you definitly want the latest revision of any part.
Chips IMR

hisham88

are you saying that lebanon parts are better than parts in the U.S ? because if you are saying that you must be high on something ...
i'd say check out huge shipping sites like www.excaliberpc.com or www.newegg.com and then you can change your mind about lebanese parts ... thank you

rolf

hisham88 wroteAsus A8NE nForce4 w/Sound+1GB Lan+Firewire costs 145 $ while you can buy it from other sites for 107 $ :S that is like 50% more expensive ...
i am sorry but i'd rather to stick to my american friends for shipping :P anyways take care guys ...

Yeah, sorry, I should remove the "most" in my post (edited it). I did a little too much speculation.
BUT if you check prices of intel boards for example, they cost the same price here and in the US.
The key is how much demand the item will get. Items like "intel original" (I hate when they say that) boards and cpu and cheap ram will be mass-shipped to lebanon and hence can be sold at low prices, close (and sometimes lower) then those in the US. Items which will be imported in smaller quantities will see their price rise. The smaller the quantity the higher the price difference. AMD, despite their reputation for being cheap, will not be a good deal in lebanon because unfortunately they did not take foot in the Lebanese market and they are being imported in small quantities because people prefer "intel ORIGINAL" (ehh original, mesh te2lid, huh?)

LebaneseChiphead

What make that part at newegg better than the part the Abu staif sells at dowrah? is the part that abu staif is selling manufactured in Lebanon? or where are these part that neweagg sell manufactured at ?

Rolf, you got a point on the service issue , when the store is there locally you will get a lot better support and warranty than a mail order company.

Chips IMR

rolf

I think he meant that you get better deals in the US then here :)

hisham88

well first of all no parts here are as cheap as outside and i am 99 % sure ...
second of all , all i said FROM THE BEGINNING was in here ,lebanese stores ( most of them at least ) are not very honest :
ill give a 100th example : when a customer goes in the place and asks for a 256 MB RAM , the guy gives him the cheapest goddamn RAM on earth that has 100-100-100-100 latency ( example ) while there are rams with 2-2-2-3 latency that are costier ... not every one understands the difference between all sorts of RAM ... all i am asking from these people is that whenever they wanna buy something , any part related to computer , let him post a message here so we can all discuss what he really wants and give him all the advise he needs so he won't get ripped off ... PERIOD how did it come to coparing stores in the US and LEB ? :S its just that in here they are not customer friendly they're just pocket-friendly :P
peaceZzZ

hisham88

and yes rolf you always get better deals outside rather than here :)

karim-soubra

i liked the pocket friendly note

hisham88

what a comment !! :P

darkstar

Rolf post the number of compuworld.
Any ideas if they sell notebooks?
Thanks