U.S.A vs. Europe - DVD Burners off the shelf

[hech54]

Having just got back from America...and having been there for a month....I can safely say that Europe has America thoroughly beat as far as retail DVD Burner availability goes.
Best Buy, Circuit City and others had little or no selection on their shelves. What little they had were overpriced big-name models and one moderately priced no-name model.
I walk into MediaMarkt here in Germany....and I'm confronted with a 16X DL LiteOn for €69....amazing.
America has blank DVD media out the ass but nothing decently priced to burn them with...everything I saw were overpriced Sony's and some Memorsux.
I actually saw an old 4X burner at Mediaplay....priced at $119....no shit. Mediaplay sucks but damn....take the markdown, take the hit and get rid of that old junk....jeez...

[Jeremiah58]

You are forgetting one thing, though.
Europe is much larger than Deutschland, just as Best Buy or Circuit City does not represent the USA market.

[junkmalle]

Americans don't buy dvd burners at retail outlets:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-959

16X DL LiteOn: US$60

[hech54]

According to Forbes Magazine...Best Buy is #1 and Circuit City is now #3 in retail electronics sales:

Thanks to an ambitious strategy of upping the pace of new store construction in the face of a soft retail scene -- plus a concerted effort to expand and refine its CE assortment -- Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ) has unseated Circuit City as the nation's No. 2 seller of consumer electronics.

The world's largest retailer -- and corporation -- grew its CE business by just under 13% last year to $14.1 billion, while Circuit City (nyse: CC - news - people ) -- still trying to hit its stride amid store revamps and new merchandising and marketing initiatives -- didn't keep pace. Indeed, sales for the new No. 3 CE merchant rose a modest 4.6% last year to $9.9 billion, trailing the Top 100 average.

Also feeling the heat is still-reigning champ Best Buy, which has publicly cited Wal-Mart as its biggest competitive threat. The company managed to expand its lead over The House That Sam Built by ramping up sales 14.4% at its flagship stores to $16.7 billion last year. But it is also adapting new defensive measures such as aiming its assortment higher (witness new brand additions Mitsubishi and Klipsch) and direct sourcing from Asia, a la Wal-Mart.

Please don't spout stupidity about my native country(USA) and the place I've been living for over 2 years(Germany) when you probably have not lived in either place jeremiah....thank you.

[hech54]

Americans don't buy dvd burners at retail outlets:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-959

16X DL LiteOn: US$60

I want my new DVD Burner NOW.....
I like getting stuff in the mail too but I would not mind paying a little more to have it available on the shelf to take home NOW....I still shop retail more than online....

[junkmalle]

Americans don't buy dvd burners at retail outlets:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-959

16X DL LiteOn: US$60

I want my new DVD Burner NOW.....
I like getting stuff in the mail too but I would not mind paying a little more to have it available on the shelf to take home NOW....I still shop retail more than online....

If I order from NewEgg before noon I usually get stuff the next day -- with ground shipping. Of course I live less than 100 miles away!

[Jeremiah58]

Please don't spout stupidity about my native country(USA) and the place I've been living for over 2 years(Germany) when you probably have not lived in either place jeremiah....thank you.

Oh, sorry Sir Master Sir .
Forgive me Sir Master Sir.
What have you just said about probability of stupidity....no,no, I mean stupidity of probability...
Excuse me Sir Master Sir, seems just to deep for me...

[MOVIEGEEK]

Informed shoppers know not to buy computer hardware at B&M stores,it's the uninformed(or ignorant) who shop at BestBuy,etc.You can save alot of money buying online here in the US.
I used to buy media online but now I wait for sales at B&M stores.

[hech54]

I'm just shocked that I can buy the same Liteon drive mentioned above in a retail store(Mediamarkt - Germany's version of Best Buy) here in Germany when it is basically only available online in the U.S....for almost the exact same price as NewEgg.
Buying online is not the only game in town on either side of the pond. I chose to buy my media online simply because you can't purchase TY or Ritek media in a store like Best Buy or Mediamarkt.

[samijubal]

It's not the same price when you consider that your money is worth over 25% more than ours, that makes it a quite a bit more expensive.

[steve2713]

Wal-mart has always carried alot of liteon drives, for good prices too. And two of my burners I bought at Office Max, both being free after rebate - that's a pretty good price.

Most smart shoppers wouldn't go to Circuit City, ESPECIALLY not Worst Buy, to buy a DVD burner. I agree their choices are usually not the best and they are overpriced.

[rhegedus]

Maybe things are different in Germany than in the UK.

Compare your prices to our biggest walk in PC store, PC World.

I saved over £400 when I bought a Toshiba laptop in Circuit City (£800) when compared to the PC World (£1200) price.

[hech54]

There is just a MUCH better selection here in retail shops than in the U.S.....and at internet comparable prices. Just walking down the aisle you can find LG, Liteon, HP, Memorex, Sony, Philips and maybe even a Medion or Cyberhome DVD Burner on the shelf ready to take home.
That and damn near every PC...even the cheap Celeron(and lower) based ones come with DVD Burners....most being D/L burners too.
It's very strange....at least to me.

[Quantum]

For the most part the best deals on writers have always been online through places like NewEgg. I generally buy most computer hardware online unless a retail store has it locally on sale. That way I avoid paying taxes on the big purchases. Shipping fees are either minimal to free and pales in comparison to the taxes on local purchases. Most B&M stores are moving away from outright sales and into the rebate/sale promotions. No thank you.

Media prices are great, like you identified. Any given week you will find a major chain retailer offering quality media (TY, Maxell, Sony made in japan) for 40 cents a disc or less.

[thomseye]

You should have stayed in the US longer and visited stores like CompUSA... has everything and cheaper than Best Buy and Curcuit City.

Best Buy and Circuit City are not "PC Stores"... they sell refrigerators and telephones too.

Trust me... we here int he US have quite a selection of pc hardware. My friend just bought a plextore DVD-DL from Best Buy. I myself bought a Yamaha and I have a sister who bought a lite-on from Staples.

If you gave me some cash and and hour i'm sure I could find 15 different burners from different companies (although most are just re-badged).

This is a silly argument anyway... "we have more burners than you" .... ugh... come to terms.

peace

[budz]

Newegg.com is the preferred online retailer here in the USA. Second for me is COMPUSA because they price match other stores without any problems. But then again I live in Hawaii where computer components are a bit more expensive than our mainland counter parts. So Newegg.com prices for dvd burners are very reasonable even with the expensive shipping costs to Hawaii the price is cheaper than retailer COMPUSA & CIRCUIT CITY. must my 2 cents.

[hech54]

You should have stayed in the US longer and visited stores like CompUSA... has everything and cheaper than Best Buy and Curcuit City.

I tried CompUSA. I really like them though my family HATES them because of their return policy...but anyhow...all CompUSA had was a few high priced Sony burners. I was quite disappointed in them this time back to the U.S. I normally go there to be impressed by new "toys"....expecting to find burners in every price range....but with no luck.
There is also another store here in Germany where you can walk in and build your own PC from the case on up. They have very nice quality stuff as well. You can pick your MB, processor, etc etc and take it with you or have them build it for you. I wish I could remember the name of the place....they have quite a few of these stores throughout Germany and we have one here in my little town.
Gotta brush up on my German before I go there though...