Fry's Electronics

Bought a PC desktop tower and was pleasantly surprised to find a very knowledgeable salesperson. He was able to tell us the difference between different fans sizes and cooling systems (air or water), what to look out for and where to find accessories online. I have had some less-than-stellar experiences in the past but this one was very good.

Posted 06/21/09 | Report Abuse

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Be very careful while buying anything at this store. I had to pay them $25 transaction fee in order to return a faulty laptop batter which could hold charge for only 5 minutes. On top of that they only gave me the rest of the money as store credit (though I don't feel like every going back to a Fry's store). They even suggested me that I should have brought my laptop to the store so that I could test the battery before buying it.

Not a bad business model where you can make $25 for each bad product you sell. Must be better than the margin on a good product :(

Posted 01/20/09 | Report Abuse

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I am writing a review of Ventse Troev. First off, some background before discussing my dealings with Ventse: I brought my Dell laptop in June 20 because the computer wouldnt power up after I spilled water on the computer. (Yes, this was pretty stupid of me.) A technician, Chris, was able to get the computer to power up two days later. The next day, I picked up the computer. When I was working with the computer on June 23, the computer wouldnt get pass the login screen and I brought in the computer on Sunday. Kenneth, another technician, took a look at it, but couldnt fix it and the computer was then given to Ventse.
In June 2006, the laptop screen was broken and the laptop was used after that with an external monitor. AFTER Ventse worked on the computer, the connection to the external monitor did not work. He acknowledged that the computer did work with the external monitor the 1st time he used it, but did not work after that. I strongly suspect (though I dont have hard evidence) that he mishandled the computer which in turn caused the malfunction. I realize that this is a harsh accusation, but my gut tells me that Im right. (Tangible evidence which leads me to believe the malfunction was caused by Ventse: the computer worked every single time with the external monitor before Ventse used the computer (this function worked even after the water damage and Chris and Kenneth can attest to this). Ventse wouldnt look me in the eye when I asked him why the computer malfunctioned.) Its a possibility that the water damage from a few days before had something to do with it (a delayed effect). However, there has been no hard evidence brought by anybody to my attention that this was the case.
What infuriates me and further intensifies my belief that Ventse caused the malfunction is that he didnt take steps to solve the problem that was created while the computer was with him. (Without a functional external monitor, the laptop, in its current state, is practically useless and it is virtually impossible to do troubleshooting as to why the computer wont get the past the login screen.) Instead of trying to fix the larger problem, Ventse simply ran a virus scan and hard disk check and said there were viruses. This is not particularly informative since almost all computers have viruses. What I believe Ventse should have done is he should have first tried to solve the problem with the external monitor. I believe that Ventse REFUSED to make a genuine effort (i.e. for example, examine the VGA connection inside the computer) to solve the monitor problem. Ventses refusal came on Friday, FIVE days after I brought in the computer the 2nd time. I then considered getting a data backup (which normally costs $200) and asked for a discount given what had happened. Ventse had the audacity to refuse. A supervisor, Thien, was willing to do this for me after I explained what Ventse had done. I then asked Chris (the first technician) to solve the problem with the monitor. He tried, but was unable to fix the problem. I got the data backed up and I took my computer home and will try to get it fixed somewhere else.
My complaints with Ventse dont end with how he handled my laptop. First off, Ventse didnt care to inform me that the external monitor was malfunctioning. Only after I stopped by the repair place to check the status did he let me know. (I strongly believe he should have informed me of such a major development via phone.) Also, Ventse was very unfriendly towards me. He acted like he did me the biggest favor on earth by running a virus scan when the benefit of running a virus scan is several magnitudes less than the damage caused by not having a functional external monitor.
Another customer wanted the data on his disk to be backed up. Ventse told him that it would cost $200 and the customer asked if there were more reasonable alternatives. In a snakelike manner, the first alternative Ventse suggested cost $1400! After some prodding, Ventse acknowledged Best Buys. (I think he eventually realized that there might be other customers observing him.)
Unless my eyes were playing tricks on me, it seemed like Ventse had a management trainee sticker on his name tag. It perplexes me that Ventse is being considered for management.
I have lived in the Bay Area for practically my entire life (high school in Cupertino, undergrad at Berkeley, currently a grad student at Stanford). I have shopped at Frys for as long as I can remember. I have lots of friends and family in this area who shop at Frys. I have heard very few complaints about Frys Electronics from them. Until now, I personally have never had an issue with Frys from the salespeople to the technicians. In this instance, EVERY single technician aside from Ventse was courteous and expressed genuine concern at the fact my computer was not working. I hope Frys will fire Ventse.

Posted 06/30/07 | Report Abuse

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Fry's is one of those places that's 5 stars if you know what you want and 2/3 stars if you need help.

Fry's value lies in its large selection of electronics and component parts. Normal street prices are nothing special if you're just walking off the street to check them out. Where they excel is on their frequent sales, and in this case pricing can be excellent.

Their returns policy has been more liberal from their early days. I've not had any issues with returning anything in the last couple years whether I bought it cheaper elsewhere or I simply didn't want it. Just be sure to include complete undamaged packaging and receipt.

PROS: Plenty locations in Bay Area. Very competitive sale prices.
CONS: Tough to find knowledgable service unless you locate a manager.

Posted 11/12/06 | Report Abuse

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When I first moved out to the Bay Area, all my geek friends went on and on about Fry's and how great it was, and jumped at any chance to make a trip down here. I went once or twice, and it was an impressively large store that caters to geeks; for the electronics hobbyist, it definitely has a good selection, better than your average Radio Shack.

For a while, it seemed like their big thing was that they were cheap. Sure, you had to put up with horrific customer service, and quite often you'd find what you bought was actually an opened box, missing some things that were not returned, and then re-shrink-wrapped and sold (which I'm not even sure is *legal*), but they were cheap, and often it was worth the risk.

But that's not even true anymore. I've found better deals on unopened stuff at Best Buy than at Fry's -- and Fry's seems to not be stocking name brand computer hardware anymore, for whatever reason. So now I'm really not certain what the draw is.

They do occasionally have some good deals; they'll often do "overstock" sales, where you can get new video games or DVDs dirt cheap, but is that really such a big win?

At least parking is fairly plentiful.

PROS: Easy parking, good selection of harder-to-find parts, some good sales
CONS: Horrible customer service, no longer as competitively priced

Posted 08/18/06 | Report Abuse

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No matter how hard I try to avoid Fry's- every once in awhile I simply have to go there- and the lack of customer service, and poor selection drive me crazy and I swear I won't ever return!

Posted 05/15/06 | Report Abuse

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We no longer make electronics purchases at Fry's. On two occasions we were unable to return products that did not work up to par. On another purchase we were not able to redeem a $20 mail in rebate.

Posted 05/13/06 | Report Abuse

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If you are searching for help - don't go to Frys. What a bunch of nimrods. If you know exactly what you want but it's going to cost over $100, probably worth searching online.

But if you know exactly the $2 item you need, you can't find a better store.

Shall I tell you about the time I bought a hard drive there and found a different (and broken) drive in the resealed box? The upshot? I was essentially told I could not return the drive since it was different. See? I must have done it. A call to the manager and a threat to call the police managed some results. You'd think they'd have a database to figure out who their customers had been and the history. Nice work, Frys.

Posted 05/12/06 | Report Abuse

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Fry's is one of those stores in the Bay Area that you can not live without - but wish you could.

It has a wide variety of EVERYTHING electronic. Multiple vendors, wide range of prices to suite the variety.

Unfortunately, it often seems that I know the store layout and the exact location of where something is located before a sales assistant can figure out who or where they are....

Customer service is very poor. Command of the english language is also lacking which adds to the confusion and the technical uncertianty when advice is absolutely necessary.

PROS: Wide selection, decent pricing, good brand variety
CONS: Customer Service

Posted 05/06/06 | Report Abuse

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Fry's has a very good selection of electronic goods. The prices are competitive. Make sure to check out their specials. They often advertise in the Mercury news.

PROS: Good special buys
CONS: Parking

Posted 05/02/06 | Report Abuse

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Fry's Electronics is a great place to buy all your electronic needs from stereos, to gaming systems, to all your kitchen needs. and their stores are super big too. we can also "test-run" products before we actually buy them.it's great for comparing items and etc. their staff is knowledgeable and their store in neat and very organized so its easy to find what you're looking for. their prices are reasonable and they sell a variety of different brands there.

Posted 07/29/05 | Report Abuse

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If you know what you want or see a good deal in the paper, Fry's works. I wouldn't buy something expensive or complicated from them because I never feel that I can trust them. (I prefer to buy PCs online.) But where else can you get spare RAM, a can of pop and a set of ball bearings under one roof? It is a classic...One thing in their favor is their liberal return policy.

Posted 06/15/05 | Report Abuse

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The parking situation is a bit of a problem, but once you're in, the store itself is nice and big. Plus you get the "benefit" of the standard-issue Fry's "service"!

Posted 05/25/05 | Report Abuse

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Fry's Electronics is known as a geekk paradise. That's because it carries at least one of almost anything a techie could desire. But it's not the sort of store for someone who isn't technologically savvy, as it is also notorious for no customer service. If you know what you need, then this is the place to get it at a good price. If you require a lot of guidance, then....

Posted 04/18/05 | Report Abuse

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This place has great deals and offers for electronic things. I go here to buy my computer stuff and the service has always been good and friendly to me. Workers there are dressed appropriately, there are a lot of lines to keep it moving, the items are very easily located and I've never had a problem once ever returning something I wasn't satisfied with. They have offers every week on the papers and the also have a repair shop inside just in case your computer goes haywire on you.

PROS: easily located items, nice workers.
CONS: none.

Posted 04/01/05 | Report Abuse

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This Fry's Electronics is one of the original ones and has a cool western theme. It has changed a lot over the years from being an electronic parts store in the past, that was mainly frequented by computer geeks, to now mainly selling home appliances, consumer electronics, computers, and music, movies and video games. I always go here to look for CD' s because they have wide selection and seldom run out of stock on titles that are very popular, because they keep such a large stock on hand. They have some good deals on consumer electronics and home appliences if you watch the sales, but watch out for the Sales People themselves, they work on comission and it shows, good luck trying to get help in buying a non-pricey item, you pretty much get ignored.

Posted 03/07/05 | Report Abuse

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Small store sitting in a quiet Palo Alto street. Nothing special.

I heard they have recently expanded, maybe it's getting more attractive now.

Posted 11/05/04 | Report Abuse

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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