Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!wuarchive!udel!burdvax!dave
From: dave@PRC.Unisys.COM (David Lee Matuszek)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Mail Order horror/hero stories
Keywords: see above
Message-ID: <17360@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM>
Date: 26 Apr 91 14:19:59 GMT
References: <1991Apr24.193220.19013@milton.u.washington.edu> <2535@lee.SEAS.UCLA.EDU>
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In article <2535@lee.SEAS.UCLA.EDU> weiss@watson.seas.ucla.edu (Michael Weiss) writes:

>In general, if you have a choice, MacConnection is almost always $3 less than
>MacWarehouse, and now MacConnection has 24hour ordering.  MacWarehouse has a
>slightly larger selection, so I go to MacConnection first, and then to
>MacWarehouse if MacConnection doesn't have it.
>
>Also, both have excellent return policies, and are extremely courteous about
>returns.

Some additional comments:

MacWarehouse is somewhat worse in terms of "truth in advertising."
They frequently offer a Power User's Tool Kit, advertised as "FREE!"
The fact is, however, that they charge $1.50 shipping and handling for
it.  This isn't unreasonable, except that they charge $3 s/h for any
order, no matter how many things you order at the same time, and this
is the ONLY item that you have to pay extra s/h for--if you ask for it
with any other order, they drop the disk in the same box and charge
$4.50 total s/h.

Also, MacWarehouse's $99 modem (I have one--works fine) is advertised
as coming with "customized" MacKnowledge communications software
("Everything You Need for $99!").  The "customization" is actually
severe brain damage:  you can't use it to upload or download files.
'Nuff said.

So why do I still use both MacWarehouse and MacConnection?  In a word,
catalogs.  MacConnection (which I otherwise prefer) has worthless
catalogs.  They're as big as MacWarehouse's, but they have about 1/3
as many things in them, they have less information about each thing,
and they are so poorly indexed that you have to work hard to find
anything in them.  (I have written to them about this, BTW.)
MacWarehouse's catalogs are well-organized, more complete, more
informative, and--also important--they send them out more often.


-- Dave Matuszek (dave@prc.unisys.com)  I don't speak for my employer. --
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|   When I was young, my family bought a color TV.  Our neigbors, who   |
| were poorer, had only a black-and-white set.  They bought a piece of  |
| cellophane, red on top, yellow in the middle, and blue on the bottom, |
| and taped it over their screen, so they could claim that they had a   |
| color TV, too.                                                        |
|   Now there's Windows 3.0.                                            |
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