TigerDirect.com

Full review
Spare parts. Computer spare part; USB and network cables, spare mice, keyboards, laser printer & inkjet toner, and of course software, No modern office environment would not long survive without a reliable, reasonably priced source of such equipment. Time was CDW (Computer Discount Warehouse) was the place the corporate shopper frequented for almost all things computer. But times have changed. While CDW used to offer reasonable prices back in the day when their prices were the lowest on the web, they have grown so large that that happenstance is no longer true.

New sites have popped up over the years that offer—in some cases—significantly lower prices then CDW. Don’t get me wrong, CDW is still the place for large volume enterprise purchases, but for small (sub-100 quantity) acquisitions, TigerDirect.com has become (one) of the places I turn to first for fast, reliable, reasonably priced computer part.

The Site

The TigerDirect.com website has evolved over the year from a simple amateurish design to one that is high professional and teems with a plethora of computer buying choices. There are literally thousands of buying choices to choose from; they include, but are not limited to:

• Accessories
• Barebone Computer Kits
• Cables
• CD / CD-RW /DVD Players
• Computer components
• Computer Cases
• Desktop PC’s
• Digital Cameras
• Electronics
• Hard drives
• Input Devices
• Laptops / Notebooks
• Memory: Secure Media / Flash / DIMM
• Motherboards
• Networking Products: wired & wireless
• Printer Ink & Supplies
• Processors
• Servers
• Sound & Video cards

The TigerDirect.com website is logically laid out with tabs along the top to quickly access the top seven major categories:
• Computers
• Notebooks
• Monitors
• Printers
• Components
• Memory
• Barebones

Directly below the category tabs are links to Save on Overstock, Recertified Open Box Get Email Updates, and of course the ubiquitous Your Cart. Clicking on a category tab brings you to another page that allows you to search in a number of ways. At the top left hand side of the site you can further search the category via the In This Category box. For example under the Computer category, you can search by the following: Less the 1.5GHz, 1.6GHz – 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz – 2.9GHz, 3.0GHz and above, Gaming PCs, etc.

Ordering

Anyone familiar with shopping from an Internet site will of course be comfortable shopping at TigerDirect.com.

Payment

TigerDirect.com accepts all major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Carte Blanche, Diner's Club. The site accepts personal checks, Cashier's Checks, PayPal, the new Bill Me Later feature, money orders and wire transfers as well.

State sales tax is charged only when shipping to Florida, North Carolina, and Illinois where Tiger Direct owns and operates brick-and-mortar Outlet stores; i.e. the company is headquartered in Miami, FL and operates an Outlet store there; and has outlet stores in Naperville, IL (not far from where I live), in Raleigh, NC, and new Outlet store in Orland Park, IL.

Shipping & Handling

TigerDirect.com ships with UPS exclusively and this can turn out to be a pretty expensive proposition. For instance I recently ordered a very lightweight (under a pound) secure media card and the shipping charge was a hefty $8.24 for UPS Ground! That is steep; Amazon.com this isn’t which probably explains why I do not do my personal shopping here. Other rates were worse with UPS Second Day clocking in at $11.74, UPS Next Day elevating the cost to $19.56. Adding a $3.62 tax to my order ballooned an original $39.99 charge to $51.85. Can you say sticker shock?

Order tracking can be accomplished at the TigerDirect.com site, or via UPS tracking number at UPS’s web site, and delivery is usually pretty swift; within one or two days despite the fact that we always choose ground when ordering. To be fair, and honest, this is probably due to the very close proximity of TigerDirect.com’s regional warehouse and order fulfillment center that jus so happens to be co-located with their outlet store.

Conclusion

For the sheer number of items for sale TigerDirect.com is hard to beat. I have always been able to find what I wanted and in the quantity I wanted, and at a price I can live with. if your company is looking for a new supplier of computer parts look no further then the slick website at TigerDirect.com.