A Look Inside Newegg 327
An anonymous reader writes "AnandTech has an interesting look inside Newegg's 180,000 square foot facility. Effectively, they followed the path of an order after it was soon placed online. AnandTech was able to get a tour of their facilities before, but this is the first time they allowed them to publish any photos."
New Egg not one of my faves (Score:5, Interesting)
If I'm buying for work, I've got a list of approved vendors from the bean counters- *eye roll* and New Egg isn't nearly stuffy enough and hasn't bought any of the bean counters lunch often enough to make it on their list (just my best guess at how vendors are selected).
It's nice that they have wicked cool facility, but if you really want to see some supply chain stuff in action, visit Wal-mart. Now you can order any thing off the Walmart web site and have it delivered free to your local Walmart. Show me how those orders are processed, and as much as I hate Walmart, you'll definitely have my attention.
2 cents,
Queen B
Interesting (Score:2, Interesting)
Return policy (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Return policy /biased reviews (Score:1, Interesting)
Newegg will not do business with our school... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:hmmm (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Newegg will not do business with our school... (Score:3, Interesting)
I worked for a university, and I was was tasked with purchasing lots of tools when it was decided we needed to upgrade. I bought up over $350,000 dollars of welders and supplies, metal working equipment, machine tools (including a good sized 3 axis CNC mill, a small 5 axis mill
Two months later, when all of this stuff is going strong and we need consumables, I couldn't get anything from anywhere I dealt with previously. The university lost $200,000 worth of POs from various companies, and they companies didn't complain loudly, because quite frankly, we were a drop in the bucket compared to what they were used to. I'm sure the shit would have really hit the fan later... But I had enough of that position anyhow, and this was the last straw.
What I'm saying is that even though you might not have a hard time internally within your school, some companies take a very harsh stance when you go to purchase anything from them, simply because they have had hard times.
Re:New Egg not one of my faves (Score:3, Interesting)
It's surprising to me that there are so many places online to buy computer stuff that vary so widely in business practices... I remember well how some sites linked to by Pricewatch (such as BZ Boyz) would nickel and dime you to death on cpu/mobo combos, or infer that the quality of the components in the Pricewatch price that led you to their site in the first place were sub-standard and you should choose other (more expensive) options. Then places like Monarch Computer, who had few such shenanigans. It's so varied, but they all seem to stay in business.
I certainly can't say that Newegg has ever really treated me wrong, but still that last transaction left me feeling that if I wasn't paying attention I'd be sending PC Magazine some $$$ that I really didn't want to. I dunno, maybe it's a sweet deal and I just can't see it for what it is. Mostly, I just want to buy things at a fair price (not necessarily the cheapest) and have good service. I guess for the most part they've met that standard.
What ever happened to 2AM, $3 overnight shipping?? (Score:5, Interesting)
The first time I took advantage of this crazy fast, crazy cheap shipping was when I bought my Newton PDA in 1994. I remember placing my order around 11 PM and paying with the Newton the next morning just after breakfast. I think I ordered it from MicroWarehouse/MacWarehouse. This was many years before the dot-com boom, so I'm still a little baffled at how so many companies were able to update print 200+ page catalogs every month and still offer such awesome shipping.
As far as I can tell, this all ended around the time of the dot com bubble burst. What I don't really understand is why. Or why they didn't just up the shipping charge to $6 or downgrade to overnight instead of overnight-priority shipping. 4 PM the next day isn't a whole lot worse than 10 AM the next day.
I miss those days. Now it seems like NewEgg's 1 - 2 day order turnaround + freeish FedEx 3-day shpping is the best I can find in the same price ballpark. I can usually order from NewEgg on a Monday morning, opt for the Free to $5 shipping, and have the item by Thursday afternoon. Good but still nothing like the 8 hour delivery I experienced for most of the 1990s. Now with online ordering, better tracking/sorting, and greater package delivery competition you would think that $3 - $7 overnight shipping would still be a possibility. Or at the very least, give me back the 2AM cutoff again instead of this 5PM sillyness.
Re:Newegg is awesome (Score:1, Interesting)
I like Newegg's products selection and reliability, and the prices are okay (no good computer stores local to me), but not being able to combine shipping costs is crumby, and the shipping options stink.
mod parent up (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Newegg is awesome (Score:3, Interesting)
Do you also check that box on your tax form that says "donate $3 to the presidential campaign fund"? The suggestion is that it somehow affects your taxes, but of course it doesn't. You just pay an extra $3.
Coincidentally, that's pretty much all that checkbox is at Newegg either. They may as well label it "Check here to pay $3 more for your order." Try not checking it some time - you'll be surprised that your order still arrives just as quickly.
Re:New Egg not one of my faves (Score:3, Interesting)
Wal-Mart has over a hundred distribution centers and warehouses scattered across the nation; Newegg's warehouse is 180,000 square feet but the smallest Wal-Mart centers are over 400,000. Most of them are around 1.5 million and some are over 2 million.
Re:Return policy (Score:3, Interesting)
As for returns, just call them up and bitch, you'll get the return shipping credited to your account. Most motherboards have a note on them saying they're warranted through the manufacturer only, but I've still had them accept returns on two defective boards and even immediately ship out the replacement before I had shipped the bad board back (granted, they had my credit card number already, so it wasn't a real risk to them).
As an internet business, doing real phone support costs them enough that they will generally do anything within reason to get you to stop calling them, which generally means agreeing to your demands of a return equivalent to at a B&M store.
Re:New Egg not one of my faves (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't doubt this is true, and I would just like to add, this figure shocked me, check this out: [source [fastcompany.com] -- an interesting article itself, and just Google [google.com] for lots more cites.]
But just think about that! Wal-Mart buys 10% of everything China exports to the US.
Here is another perspective: [This is from a pbs.org source [pbs.org].]
Several warehousing problems. (Score:3, Interesting)
Product in the rack storage area above head height should be wrapped. I believe this is an OSHA requirement. Even if not, packaging can be damaged if it falls to the floor. And while the packaging is no doubt designed for impact resistance, no one wants the can of beans with the dent in it, nor the dented scratched up box, reagrdless of what's inside.
Garage bay doors should not be open unless they are blocked with security gates. This keeps people from falling off the dock as well as lowers the point of breach. The box recycler is also another point of interest. I wonder how many pieces of memeory end up in the crusher.
And while this may be an advertising ploy, no doubt someone at newegg will see this thread. Hopefully they improve upon their environment.
Re:New Egg not one of my faves (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:What ever happened to 2AM, $3 overnight shippin (Score:4, Interesting)
I hate when they won't just leave the package. I can understand if they'd like to get something in writing saying that they're not liable for the package once it is out of their hands, but let me fax them some standard form, which they can keep on file. No one in my house is ever home during business hours, and my wife's job doesn't allow personal packages to be sent to her work address, and my job has such over active security (everything has to be hand checked, and put through a metal detector/xray by security), that there are packages I wouldn't and can't have come to work.
Around here, UPS never just drops the package --except when it is an amazon super-saver (although fedex will most of the time), I will actually not shop at online stores who's shippers have given me the "will try again X# of times" slip --I'm simply not going to be home.
Re:Returned DOA hard drive no problems (Score:3, Interesting)
Compare to Fry's, Best Buy, Good Guys.
I will not shop at TigerDirect since the whole Mac OS X "Tiger" "I'm-an-attention-whore" lawsuit.
Re:Looks fishy to me. (Score:2, Interesting)
Newegg is the best company I have ever done business with. period. I have built several personal computers with them. I am to the point where I will buy from them even if I can get a product for 15% cheaper somewhere else. The number one thing that they have going is customer service. period. Sure, they are consistent. They prices are awesome, and the website is very helpful. But they have a hands down no questions asked return policy. I take advantage and it makes my life SO much easier. All of these cases below are from the same hardware purchase, and the same model of hardware.
I am on my fifth video card. For whatever reason, over the past year and a half my video cards haven't worked properly. Sometimes it was because I was dissatisfied with the performance. Maybe I fried it when installing on shag carpet. it doesn't matter. A year and a half later, and five cards later, I have not paid nothing more but shipping for replacements which are covered by manufacturers warranty.
I am on my third motherboard. I blew out one by putting the ram in backwards (note: WHAT? HOW DID YOU DO THAT! THEY ONLY FIT IN ONE WAY!. Thats what I thought. MAN! You wanna see fireworks? Try putting ram in the back of an Antec Aria case in a dark room. You hear a click and think its in. You think "That was a little tough to get in, but hey! it made a click!". Have you ever seen a northbridge chip explode?) Another one got hit by a power outage. I dont even have to lie to get an RMA. "Hey. My Motherboard smells like burnt plastic. I need a new one."
I am on my fifth ram stick. I bought two 512mb sticks, and I can't get them to play nice together when overclocking. I blamed bad memory sticks, but it may be other issues. They work great for stock speeds, but I needed more.
I have several other stories, but these are the most extreme over the last two years. Obviously I tend to tinker a bit more than a regular PC user, but newegg is my krutch. They have 100% of my business.
Re:Newegg quietly triples shipping charges (Score:2, Interesting)
FexEx 3day service takes 2 days to get here.
UPS 3day service takes 4 days to get here. And we are less then 50 miles from one of UPS's main hubs!!!
My first order with them was on 7/15/2002, my invoice list is 7 pages deep and I spend thousands of dollars per year at their store and this is the thanks I get!!!
Needless to say, I've been doing more business with other vendors.
Re:Return policy (Score:2, Interesting)
I ordered the wrong USB cables with an order about 3 weeks ago. I got the mini 4 pin connector on one end. It was my fault, I didn't look close enough.
I called and told them I wanted to exchange. They explained they didn't exchange, only refund and re-order. I told them that was fine. He said hold on while I get an RMA number. Then came back and said "just keep the cables".
$18 worth of product, not a lot of money, but this is indicitive of the support I've received from them over the years. They are the only company I order from now for parts. I've built my last 4 systems, bought 6 19" LCDs, and built 2 systems for my office mates. This ads up to several thousand dollars over many many orders, and I've never been anything but satisfied.
Re:Return policy (Score:3, Interesting)
So I email newegg on the behalf of my parents and tell them that I want to exchange for another model. They never reply. I decide to post a negative review of the drive to let others know the drive has problems. But as I am posting, I notice that the review policy basically says "no negative reviews, no reviews of defective items". WTF??? I post one anyway and weeks later, I get some lame appology and offer of a $25 gift certificate.
We are only talking about $35 dollars here, but it bothers me that newegg would do this to my parents. In the past I have spent thousands of dollars at newegg, but after this experience I will never shop there again. If negative reviews are not allowed, how will I know if I am buying a lemon? If I cannot be sure that newegg will allow me to return or exchange for another item, how do i know that I am not just flushing money down the toilet?