Ok, so I'm helping my friend shop at our local PC store to do some minor upgrades. And I get the urge to just go look at video cards for a moment. I find some old favorites. The X850XT, the 9800Pro, the 9600's, The 6600's, 6800's. I wrote a full price list for these... don't mess yourself reading it -------------------------------- GeCube X850XT 256MB PCI-e = $399.95 3D Prophet 9800Pro 256MB AGP = $449.99 Sapphire 9600Pro 128MB AGP = $145.99 Sapphire 9600XT 256MB AGP = $199.95 EVGA GeForce 6600GT 128MB PCI-e = $199.95 EVGA GeForce 6800GT 256MB PCI-e = $295.95 EVGA GeForce 6800 128MB PCI-e = $165.99 ---------------------------------- Ok... pick your jaws up yet? Is it just me or are all those prices very close to the original release date MSRP? Just recently I had picked up a brand-new Pentium 4 540 here for $30(some will recognize it as the base of my current intel). And I had seen an X850XT for $150. Is the shop owner smoking something? I've never see price raises like this in my life! Methinks he's not so informed as to current market price and is trying to make money... he's made a few thousand through me already
Local stores ALWAYS charge more for hardware than web sellers. Think about it. A web seller has a central warehouse and sells many thousands of items which they buy in bulk for lower prices. They take payments online. A local store has a smaller customer base, they have to pay rent, light, heat, staff paychecks, insurance, taxes, they pay more for the goods, they risk having unsold items, they have to handle cash, they have to close at night and on Sundays, etc etc etc. The items cost more but you can pick them up and take them home straight away and if they go wrong you can take them back and also you can often get free advice. It's just a fact of life.
thats why I love canada computers, is the only store with good prices in Canada. And they have great service. They still cant beat www.newegg.com, but the difference is usually only $5.00.
Notice my other comments. I have actually seen all of these card on the shelves at bargain basement prices. The prices have risen. The guy who runs the shop is a good friend of mine. I never asked him about the prices because that would be rude. But I think something's up. He's always had higher prices than my site of choice, newegg. But they've always been fair enough to be worth not waiting 4 days for shipping. I'm glad to help a local business
