I assumed Micro Center went out of business like Fry's[1] but I happened to drive by one of their locations[2] and was pleasantly surprised to see its parking lot full with folks going in and out of the store. I need to go back and relive my childhood memory of walking down the aisle seeing motherboards in the flesh.
Their location in southern Ohio is also always super busy. I've never had to stand in the checkout line for less than five minutes, and they always have at least half of the registers staffed.
It's a good business. One of what seems to be an ever-dwindling number of legitimately good businesses in the US. I think that's actually a huge part of the appeal.
Fry’s always seemed like they were way over their skis in expansion. There were… 4 fry’s in Dallas metro at one point, each of which was much larger than the single micro center.
Meanwhile, Microcenter seems very slow and deliberate with expanding. Likely much less risk.
Micro Center has always been an extremely well-run company that doesn’t resemble many of their failed competitors.
You’d be surprised at how many sections of the store are competitive with online pricing, and last I checked they do price match as long as it’s a live website and not a static screenshot or printout.
If you have one near you it’s the absolute best way to score a graphics card during shortages or at a new product launch at a reasonable price without dealing with scalpers and floods of customers trying to buy limited stock in websites. Just be willing to show up mildly early in the morning and that’s about it. They check ID to make sure you haven’t bought a card from them in the last 30 days to stop scalpers and only sell them in store.
Their 3D printing and maker supplies are also excellent especially considering it’s a real brick and mortar store. It’s pretty cool to be able to do things like buying a replacement hotend without waiting for a shipment and without paying a price premium.
Their store brand (Inland) SSDs are my go-to, they’re an anmazing price/performance value, and their Inland brand in general went from being a joke 20 years ago to being a serious competitor. Their Inland 3D printing filament brand is also very respectable.
That said, Micro Center isn’t going to beat Amazon on value with all the random 6 letter brands from China for various “cheap product where perceived quality is generally equivalent” products.
Since you’re bringing up nostalgia I will also point out that people who have been used to buying stuff on Amazon probably don’t realize that Best Buy is extremely competitive both online and in-store. People blow money on Amazon Prime when Best Buy will ship you lots of electronics overnight for free without a membership (or you can pick up the same day in store obviously). Best Buy is another company that’s extremely well-managed unlike a lot of its failing big box store brethren.
I have put together my own desktop gaming rigs for decades now, but some repairs on laptops are beyond what I'm willing to do. I've twice brought laptops to the near-ish Micro Center and both times had a great experience that was reasonably priced for the hinge/ screen repairs. I try to make an excuse every few months to travel down and peruse the store. I also like their selection of 3d filament.
I assumed Micro Center went out of business like Fry's[1] but I happened to drive by one of their locations[2] and was pleasantly surprised to see its parking lot full with folks going in and out of the store. I need to go back and relive my childhood memory of walking down the aisle seeing motherboards in the flesh.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fry%27s_Electronics
[2] https://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/tustin.aspx
Their location in southern Ohio is also always super busy. I've never had to stand in the checkout line for less than five minutes, and they always have at least half of the registers staffed.
It's a good business. One of what seems to be an ever-dwindling number of legitimately good businesses in the US. I think that's actually a huge part of the appeal.
Fry’s always seemed like they were way over their skis in expansion. There were… 4 fry’s in Dallas metro at one point, each of which was much larger than the single micro center.
Meanwhile, Microcenter seems very slow and deliberate with expanding. Likely much less risk.
The one in Chicago seems like it’s always busy.
I love going in there for the same nostalgic reason. It’s great to be able to go to a store and see a selection of computer parts.
Micro Center has always been an extremely well-run company that doesn’t resemble many of their failed competitors.
You’d be surprised at how many sections of the store are competitive with online pricing, and last I checked they do price match as long as it’s a live website and not a static screenshot or printout.
If you have one near you it’s the absolute best way to score a graphics card during shortages or at a new product launch at a reasonable price without dealing with scalpers and floods of customers trying to buy limited stock in websites. Just be willing to show up mildly early in the morning and that’s about it. They check ID to make sure you haven’t bought a card from them in the last 30 days to stop scalpers and only sell them in store.
Their 3D printing and maker supplies are also excellent especially considering it’s a real brick and mortar store. It’s pretty cool to be able to do things like buying a replacement hotend without waiting for a shipment and without paying a price premium.
Their store brand (Inland) SSDs are my go-to, they’re an anmazing price/performance value, and their Inland brand in general went from being a joke 20 years ago to being a serious competitor. Their Inland 3D printing filament brand is also very respectable.
That said, Micro Center isn’t going to beat Amazon on value with all the random 6 letter brands from China for various “cheap product where perceived quality is generally equivalent” products.
Since you’re bringing up nostalgia I will also point out that people who have been used to buying stuff on Amazon probably don’t realize that Best Buy is extremely competitive both online and in-store. People blow money on Amazon Prime when Best Buy will ship you lots of electronics overnight for free without a membership (or you can pick up the same day in store obviously). Best Buy is another company that’s extremely well-managed unlike a lot of its failing big box store brethren.
I have put together my own desktop gaming rigs for decades now, but some repairs on laptops are beyond what I'm willing to do. I've twice brought laptops to the near-ish Micro Center and both times had a great experience that was reasonably priced for the hinge/ screen repairs. I try to make an excuse every few months to travel down and peruse the store. I also like their selection of 3d filament.
Can't recommend them enough!