We have one in the Dallas area. I’m pretty sure my son single handedly kept that store open when he was in high school! Seriously, to Matthew’s point below-that store is located in what is known locally as the tech corridor, meaning there is a high concentration of computer enthusiasts in the 20 mile radius around that store.
I relied primarily on Micro Center to build my PC. It's a very good example of how to have thriving brick and mortar retail: with so few stores, I bet they never go into a new market without a lot of research, I bet they never take on a lot of debt. Also, by appealing to a core group of enthusiasts who do thinks like build computers, it means they have to have a staff of knowledgable enthusiasts themselves, which provides more value for customers who aren't as knowledgable. Another advantage is their niche: computer parts are both expensive and fragile and it can be a crapshoot relying on an ordinary shipper to deliver them in working condition. If you're going to spend $300 on a CPU and $1000 on a GPU, you want them to work out of the box. Lastly, they have a lot of trust. I'm sure that before they bring in a new product they make sure that the supplier is trustworthy, which Amazon doesn't always do. Linus Tech Tips recently had a video about scammers putting low capacity MicroSD cards in external hard drive enclosures and selling them as very low priced 2TB external hard drives. Probably not going to find those at MicroCenter.
I’ve been fortunate enough to live near Micro Centers all of my life- in Ohio, Kansas City, and Boston, although I haven’t been to one in years (possibly decades). I loved testing software there as a kid and bought my first iPod there. Glad they survive!
We have one in the Dallas area. I’m pretty sure my son single handedly kept that store open when he was in high school! Seriously, to Matthew’s point below-that store is located in what is known locally as the tech corridor, meaning there is a high concentration of computer enthusiasts in the 20 mile radius around that store.
I relied primarily on Micro Center to build my PC. It's a very good example of how to have thriving brick and mortar retail: with so few stores, I bet they never go into a new market without a lot of research, I bet they never take on a lot of debt. Also, by appealing to a core group of enthusiasts who do thinks like build computers, it means they have to have a staff of knowledgable enthusiasts themselves, which provides more value for customers who aren't as knowledgable. Another advantage is their niche: computer parts are both expensive and fragile and it can be a crapshoot relying on an ordinary shipper to deliver them in working condition. If you're going to spend $300 on a CPU and $1000 on a GPU, you want them to work out of the box. Lastly, they have a lot of trust. I'm sure that before they bring in a new product they make sure that the supplier is trustworthy, which Amazon doesn't always do. Linus Tech Tips recently had a video about scammers putting low capacity MicroSD cards in external hard drive enclosures and selling them as very low priced 2TB external hard drives. Probably not going to find those at MicroCenter.
I’ve been fortunate enough to live near Micro Centers all of my life- in Ohio, Kansas City, and Boston, although I haven’t been to one in years (possibly decades). I loved testing software there as a kid and bought my first iPod there. Glad they survive!
I go the one just north of NYC in Yonkers. Best place to buy CPUs and hard drives still