In keeping with the clean, thoughtful, professional nature of this site, I will try very hard to keep myself in line for the duration of this post.
OH DEAR SPOON IT HURTS...
Presently, in the Kendall/Miami area, CompUSA is the only store in existence with a reasonably large selection of computer hardware and software. This is the only reason I still shop there.
My worst tale of CompUSA horror has to do with a dearly departed CD-ROM drive. The drive was fairly inexpensive thanks to a rebate offer (more on these later). We purchased the drive for a computer we were building, hooked it up, saw that it worked, and proceeded to cut out the UPC barcode from the package to send in for the rebate offer. With the rebate in the mail, about two days later, the drive died while trying to install Win 98. (Thus saving the computer from the evils of Win 98...). At that time, we went back to CompUSA with the drive in its original packaging, minus UPC code, to attempt an exchange. The store would not accept a return due to the missing UPC, but would allow an exchange - IF - they had a similar drive in stock, which they did not. At that time, we were able to force the person at the customer service desk to phone other Miami-area CompUSA stores to check for a similar drive in stock (by refusing to shut up until she did!). A similar drive was found in stock at a store location approximately 10 miles away, which had 'disappeared' by the time we got there. We were, after about half an hour of speaking with the store's manager, able to get the drive exchanged for another, which was actually more expensive than the one we originally got (as they had run out of the one we originally purchased). While speaking with the manager, I watched one of the store's 'customer service' persons thoroughly destroy a customer's Hewlett-Packard inkjet printer they had brought in due to what seemed, from their description, to be a software problem. The customer-service person cheerfully forced the printer's carriage out of the cap assembly, with a few audible crunches, then handed the customer the cartridges, still alive and oozing with ink. Ouch.
Frequently, CompUSA will have products available that are sometimes even free after mail-in rebates. My advice: Avoid these rebates. Many times (ok, ALWAYS!), store displays and advertisements will direct you to the wrong product. The actual rebate forms are located on a large wall-mount rack in an area of the store *after* you have exited the checkout lanes, so you cannot check the product against the rebate form until you have already purchased it... at which time any returns may be subject to restocking fees (and the requisite wait in line). Sometimes they will not even have the rebate forms for a certain product, and they will not reorder them once they run out! The same holds true for most products that are on sale or have a rebate available... they will usually not have any in stock at the time that the sale begins, and will not reorder.
Strangely, the absolute best sale prices I've ever encountered were at CompUSA, when they discontinued sales of entire product lines! At one time in recent memory, I purchased a Logitech mouse for about $4 (normally $30) when they discontinued the ENTIRE LINE of Logitech devices, in favor of Microsoft's. Want a cheap Mac? Their selection of Apple hardware and software is beginning to dwindle... watch for the inevitable great final clearance.
I, of course, saved the best for last.
When you purchase something at CompUSA, there is a LARGE chance that you are
purchasing a returned item from the customer before you who couldn't get it
to work. Shrink wrap on the package is meaningless; most megastores have
their own shrink-wrap machine in the back room. Parts may be missing or
defective, and chances are that you will NOT be able to return anything once
opened without at least a restocking fee.
Before you shop at CompUSA, look elsewhere: You CAN probably do better.