Ok, I buckled and took a ride down to Fry’s this morning instead of getting any work done. In the back of my mind, I’ve been wanting to get a Sony DVD burner (especially after last weeks crash), so I told myself if it was a good price, I’d grab it.

The Good: Huge store. I got there at 9:15 AM, so there really weren’t any lines to speak of. The selection is absolutely massive - pretty much anything you’d want for your PC or home entertainment is there.

The Bad: It’s not really that close. Since it’s down in Renton and I’m up on the plateau, its a good 1/2 hr drive. Granted, it’s not that big of a deal, but if I need something quickly, I’ll just run to PCClub or Computer Stop. If I need something really specific that I know Fry’s has, I can run down there.

The Ugly (or why I walked out without a DVD Burner): Ok, what the hell is up with the sales people there? If you touch something, 4 people swarm you. If that wasn’t bad enough, I constantly felt like they were pushing to up sell to more expensive products. The Sony DVD burner was on sale for $279, and had a $30 rebate making it $249 - not a bad price (newegg.com has it for $259 before rebate). I was reading the back of the box, and the sales guy comes up to me. Here’s the conversation:

Him: You looking for a DVD burner?
Me: Thinking about it. Just checking out the Sony here, thanks for checking.
Him: You don’t want the Sony.
Me: Uh, why? It’s the highest rated burner out there, and supports a zillion formats.
Him: You want the TDK.
Me: Uh, why?
Him: Well, the Sony only works with the Sony software.
Me: That’s not true. I’ve used the drive before, and it works fine with Pinnacle and Nero.
Him: You want the TDK. It is like $30 more, but you can use it with any software.
Me: NO thank you, I’m looking at the Sony.
Him: You’ll be better off with the TDK.

At that point, I put the Sony back on the shelf and walked out. I’ll buy it from newegg.com, where I don’t have to deal with sales people.