Newegg hatches IPO

In a sign that maybe the economy is turning around, Newegg, which has grown to be the second-largest online-only retailer in the United States and one with a specialty in IT parts and consumer electronics, is going public. Newegg was founded in 2001, and is aptly enough located in Industry, California. The company distributes …

[Robert Hill]

NewEgg == Customer Service

As an ages old NewEgg customer from when I lived in the US, I have to commend them for some of the best customer service and logistics of any retailer I have ever dealt with. Also a fantastic selection - scan.co.uk and dabs are pathetic on comparison. I am pretty sure that they started editing the customer reviews of products a number of years ago, but even so their customer feedback section is fantastic compared to most other tech retailers.

NewEgg rock....just wished they shipped to the UK, or at least had a branch here.

[thomas k.]

Newegg is the best!

I'm posting this on my new i7 box, built entirely from parts purchased from Newegg. (Well, except for the case - they have a limited selection of cases.) Great prices and fast delivery, as the article mentions. I live fairly close to them so, if I get my order in by 9:00am, I usually get my stuff the next day even with standard 3-day shipping.

[tuna 1]

Bummer...

I use and am thankful for Newegg. Too bad they're going to go "public" and degenerate into just another gouging mega-corp. At least there's still plenty of little fish in the net to choose from. Best start scouting now for a new go-to when they start down the path of unlimited quarterly growth and margins.

[James O'Brien]

Nice

Been using Newegg since pretty much day one and have to say Ive been happy with their service ever since. Never had a bad experience with them and they are always quick to RMA something if its in their warranty and hell even something that isnt if its only a week or so over sometimes. Hope they keep growing

[J 3]

I'm afraid...

I don't know how these things work, but I hope that does not mean the end of a great on line store. You know, when they have to satisfy shareholders more than they have to satisfy customers, things go downhill. I've bought quite a bunch of stuff from Newegg. Good prices and good service. Are prices gonna go up and service quality go down to make it be just another Best Buy/Circuit City/ fill-in-the-blank?

I hope I'm completely off the mark.

[wsm]

Going public?

It's the beginning of the end. Newegg has grown because of their unusually high level of customer service. Becoming managed by a board of directors will change all of that.

[Adam Azarchs]

I spend so much with them

Maybe soon I can get some back as dividends...

Seriously, they've done a very good job of encouraging customer loyalty amongst knowledgeable buyers. And they have a good selection and a well-designed website. They never lost focus the way Amazon did.

[Mal Adapted]

Knowledge base

Ha - I've bought enough gear from Newegg in the last 10 years to open my own parts depot. The best thing about the site is the comments from buyers. What a bunch of smart geeks 8^)! I learned how to build my own PC from them, and haven't bought a pre-built one since 1999. Thanks guys!

[Anonymous Coward]

Customer service is not just another operating cost "variable"

I remember when Buy.com was a bit smaller & had decent customer service. But, as many companies have done, they calculated that the effective elimination of customer service would increase gains. Because they have so much volume, they are able to ignore complaints of bad service, figuring that they would only lose an acceptable percentage of customers.

Their outsourced "customer service" completely disregards the customer as anything more than a transaction for Buy.com that must be completed or continued in the face of any errors or problems on their end. Their unspoken motto seems to be that "the customer is always wrong."

Hopefully, internet online retail is still a refuge for the fostering of business models that truly value and reward customers. In this long running era of "rightsizing" (gotta love that term . . .) and consolidation of companies to the point where virtual monopolies control consumers, the internet is large enough to support the concept that consumers can still vote with their "feet" when given choices.

I hope Newegg retains their integrity and excellent service. and does not become another Buy. Customer loyalty still matters (at least on the internet,) and people will leave if they are no longer treated well.