Our company bought a lot of PC hardware from Newegg in their first 5 or so years of business. Then there was an obvious change in attitude, service, delivery and integrity at Newegg as confirmed by many of the original Newegg customers.
Product reviews that were less than glowing were deleted - even those of products that the FTC later filed class action lawsuits against the company for due to product malfunction, defects in design and consumer fraud.
Newegg would regularly get channel CPU's a week or two before the mainstream consumer channel received their product and Newegg would inflate the prices $50 per CPU over the proper pricing. Then there was the "in-stock" confirmation of products and the "shipped" notices sent to customers when in fact the item WAS NOT IN STOCK and the item had NOT been shipped.
That was enough for our company to look elsewhere when many long time Newegg customers confirmed the same unscrupulous behavior. I'm sure that websites who generate ad revenue from Newegg are quite pleased to see Newegg's growth, even though it hasn't been a good experience for many Newegg customers. Big does NOT always equal Better, as Newegg has demonstrated time and time again. This won't change any fanboyz opinion, but at least people will know the facts and actual experiences of long time Newegg customers who left - and why they took their business to reputable e-tailers.
Interesting - really? Maybe if you work in a warehouse/logistics. I for one don't and found it incredibly boring. I skipped to the contest, found out I couldn't enter and wrote this.
Great to see their new facility in action.
Two things I do not like.
1) UPS shipments constantly get banged to hell. I cringe everytime I have a delicate order like a hard drive. Just received a bigger than normal shipment yesterday and the side of the box was a bit mangled with a hole at the top of the box. I have been saying UPS sucks for quite some time (years) due to the roughly handling of shipments.
2) Recently I have been getting a few orders that have the "crumbs" part of the packing peanuts. It is extremely annoying to have to pick up all the small peanut crumbs since they love to float around and stick to things.
I haven't read all the comments yet, but in response to the hard drive bubblewrap+peanut combo, that is good enough. Bubblewrap is a bit bouncy and the peanuts allow a good enough buffer (since they shift around). The main reason for DOA/damaged hard drives is due to UPS and their rough handling of shipments.
Changing the type of packing peanuts can mean a huge swing in shipping supply cost. Do you know how much more starch/biodegradeable peanuts cost compared to regular peanuts? I would probably be more economical to go with another type of shipping material.
Zipzoomfly is an ok company, but they made several dramatic changes kind of recently.
1) No more free shipping. I thought the free shipping would have been droppped earlier, but it was good while it lasted.
2) Customer service really really sucks compared to Newegg. Almost all of the ZZF customer service reps are pissed off at customers, extremely bored, do not care, or something else, but anyways they really sound "bland". I also wanted to return a shipment of memory (refused delivery) and they slapped me with a 15% restocking fee. At that time I ordered a lot from both ZZF and Newegg, and this was going to be my first return. Soon after that it was less orders from ZZF since I could not get my point across to the lacky working at ZZF.
Exactly the same problem here, and it has continued for the last couple of days.
----------------------
I'm unable to enter the contest... it always says "The text you entered for the image verIfication did Not match"...
I've tried several times over the last two days with different computers... who can we contact or how do we enter the contest???????????
I bought from ZipZoom. I have no pressing need to pay 7% more for an item when I can get it elsewhere cheaper. (they even had free shipping at ZZ when I bought my MB, CPU & memory)
Why couldn't the have been smart enough to goto Delaware and skip the sales tax completely.
And anyway, who wants to support a company that is in a pit like NJ?
Technically, if you don't pay the sales tax to your retailer, you are supposed to pay it instead to your state directly as a "use tax". In reality of course no one bothers, with certain exceptions.
I know from experience that, in CA, the DMV is smart enough to make sure you pay the use tax when you purchase a car out of state and go to register it in CA for the first time.
So basically ZZ lets you cheat on your taxes and Newegg doesn't. :P
The box maker must be crazy fast, but if it could tape up the bottom Joe Schmoe there wouldn't be getting carpel tunnel from taping up boxes all day. Quantity is the important factor I guess. Just seems a bit odd that the New Egg factory doesn't have a machine that tapes up boxes.
I noticed a red X on the The Picker page. Does that mean that nothing on that row is needed when filling a tote?
Minor typo on the index page, last paragraph first sentence:
everything i just -> everything is just
Yea that warehouse is a right near my house (less than a minute drive). It's been there for a while know. I always wanted to see what went on inside that white warehouse and now thanks to this article I know!
Does anyone have any idea where Newegg buys some of it's products from? Like.. let's take Intel processors as an example. Intel's published reports (and my sources from all the major authorized distributors confirm) that the price authorized distributors pay is equal to or greater than the price Newegg sells those same items for. In addition, the line from all the Intel people I've talked to is that they don't sell to Newegg directly, and they are trying to give as much incentive as they can for people to buy through authorized channels. Are they somehow able to keep the shelves stocked solely by buying things from overstocked or failing companies? Are some products a loss leader perhaps? I've never been able to find any answers to those questions. Some places are just completely gray market or are obviously making $20 or whatever on things (which works out fine when coupled with high volumes). But Newegg's prices are just unnatural. So what gives?
I know that atleast some of the product Newegg gets is from Ingram Micro (the largest electronics distributor in the US, if not the world).
The prices Intel tells you are "list" prices. Companies can charge whatever they want for product. Newegg has formulas and business models that say how much they can mark something up over what they pay dependent upon their volume and various other factors, while still remaining competetive. Newegg is a wholesaler. They're not a retailer or distributor. They're somewhere inbetween.
I was specifically referring to the prices Intel charges authorized distributors. These prices are published by Intel every time there's a change. The price most often discussed on the tech news sites is the price per 1000 units. However, the raw PDF released by Intel has other prices for other quantities. But whichever way you slice it, if Newegg has to buy through authorized channels, either they or the distributor have to be losing money. I can understand the distributors charging a little less per unit for large orders, but they can't charge less than they themselves paid for things (they are businesses after all, and not charities). And if Newegg isn't buying through authorized channels, then they ought not to be able to keep those items (especially the newest stuff) in stock consistently. And that's why it seems so weird. I should also note that I am not referring to most items that Newegg sells. Only some items fit into the "how can that price be possible?" category. Intel processors are one of those things.
Most if not all the expensive Intel processors sell on Newegg for well above the price per 1000 cost. Are the cheaper processors below their price per thousand?
I've seen them be less or more. It depends on the month. The current Intel prices on the Intel Investor Relations site show Newegg is anywhere from about $7 to $70 over distributor cost. On the most expensive stuff they might just be able to squeak by with a profit margin. But with the cheaper stuff I don't see how. The distributor (if that's where it came from) need to make a profit, and then Newegg offers free shipping. So, they might just break even or lose a little on those items. They may treat them as loss leaders. They don't actually make enough on them, but they are hoping you buy other things at the same time.
I don't know if that's correct that NewEgg gets their product from Ingram Micro, at least not in the way you appear to mean it.
Yes, some things that you order from NewEgg do drop-ship from an Ingram Micro warehouse. This is somewhat amusing in itself, since I can often buy the same item from NewEgg for less than I can from Ingram, yet either way the product comes from Ingram! NewEgg is not unique here though... many times when poking around online sites looking for product, they'll have a 'real time stock availability' thing... click that, and they list all of their 'warehouses' that just happen to all be in the same cities as Ingram's warehouses - bizarre coincidence, yes?
However, I do not think that the products that NewEgg carries in their own warehouses come through Ingram Micro first.
NewEgg is associated with ABS Computer as well. I've received product from NewEgg in the past that was originally shipped to ABS. Some OEM's may sell to ABS, which then diverts it to NewEgg. Grey market? Maybe, but a really light, almost pleasant shade of greay.
Newegg became much more expensive for me when they opened the Tennessee warehouse. I questioned them via email why they would put their distribution center in the state with the highest sales tax in the nation (nearly 10%). They said it was to serve me better. But honestly, I was getting orders quickly anyway, and ironically, most of the stuff I've ordered since then has come from other warehouses; mostly Edison and Whittier, CA. Since Tennessee is a long, narrow state and I'm near the eastern border, I'm only a couple of hundred miles or so closer to the Tennessee distribution center than to the Edison NJ warehouse.
Shame on AnandTech for promoting this Newegg contest, because the registration requirements are highly objectionable. I had intended to register for it, until I saw on the Newegg registration page that they wanted my date of birth. What the hell do they need my date of birth for?! Considering that date of birth is highly useful for identity theft, and that no site can truly guarantee data security, I think that for them to ask for date of birth is unreasonable, for me to give it to them would be stupid, and for AnandTech to promote such a contest is undesirable. Oh, sure, I could just make up a date (I often do), but they might require the winner to fax his driver's license, and then refuse to give me the prize if I did win, because of the discrepancy. They will eventually need, for IRS reporting, the social security numbers of the winners, but they DON'T need soc. #s or birthdates of contest entrants. Give up your private data without truly good reason, and you are giving up your privacy. Give up your privacy, and soon the 4th amendnent to the constitution will be meaningless. Soon thereafter we'll be living in a police state.
Your post is absolutely laughable...by all means, please feel free to not enter this voluntary contest if you feel that NewEgg might use your date of birth for nefarious purposes, and spare us your pompous, sensationalist rant about privacy fears.
This is (or used to be) a free country, and you are, of course, free to consider my post laughable. But I consider your naivete sad --- sad, most of all, for the future of this country. I'm old enough to remember when people still valued their privacy. Nowadays, they plaster their whole life on Facebook and MySpace, and egotistically think they've done something desirable. They haven't. And a corporation can, without good reason, ask for your private information, and you not only fork it over, you defend the request. It's all part of a greater pattern: accepting loss of privacy, with little understanding of the implications. Little by little, you and most other people accept the intrusions. And pretty soon, you accept that the government reads your email and listens to your phone calls without a warrant. It all seems normal, and natural, just the way things are. Well, let me clue you in: It may have become the norm, but it's not the way it used to be, and not the way the founders of this country (who fought for their freedom) envisioned it. And so, I'm going to repeat the question in my original post, so it doesn't get forgotten: What the hell do they need my birthdate for? (I'd like to hear a true answer from Newegg's CEO, but I won't hold my breath). Information is power. Power to manipulate your purchases, power to manipulate the political process. Governments and corporations know that, but a considerable portion of the population either doesn't know, or doesn't care (as long as they can get either their quad-core or Hollywood gossip fix).
That's true, but I don't think that's the reason in this case. According to their web site, Newegg is headquartered in City of Industry, California. Hewlett-Packard is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Same state. Right now, HP is running a contest; they ask entrants for name, email, and phone number, NOT BIRTH DATE. The HP contest rules do state that the contest is restricted to those 18 years of age or older, and that the WINNER will be required to submit an affidavit of eligibility. But they aren't collecting birthdates of contest ENTRANTS. That's a big difference, and let me reiterate: same state. I'm willing to give a corporation my birthdate if I WIN their contest. But Newegg is completely out of line to ask for birthdate of every ENTRANT.
I wish there would be a video to go along with it! I love the factory tour shows. It is neat to see how everything is actually done. Thanx for the look inside!
NJ has been shipping to me for years, this must be a new warehouse?
Mike
Only thing I can say bad is this - why dont they put peanuts in the box BEFORE adding your items, then again AFTER adding your items. I get boxes of thousands of dollars worth of parts that are sitting on the bottom of the box where they get the most abuse, with a ton of peanuts above them! Put some peanuts in the box before you add the merchandise!!! or at least a layer of bubble wrap - anything would be better than letting UPS throw the boxes around with no protection on the bottom.
As usual - i am dissapointed but hey - I am also glad in comparison to most other organizations running sweepstakes you are aware that there is a world outside the US borders.
I see now how they could ship a carton of Eeepc's to people instead of one :D
The system lights up and the carton is the same size as a laptop box, it must be a laptop ;)
That is a pretty schweet warehouse.
UPS vs. Fedex, hmm, I think UPS has got the infrastructure in place for this sort of operation (Fedex is not even close IIRC, remember what it was like when UPS went on strike? Fedex couldn't handle the volume.)
UPS has never "package smashed" any of my goods, from what I hear it is the middle of the country that is a Bermuda Triangle for UPS stuff, in CA I have no problem (and a lot of stuff I get from the east, it must be on a plane over the crappy hubs, or stay on the truck all the way to the West coast.)
Nice little write up on the Newegg operations in NJ. I never knew what a warehouse looked like inside after years of working in them! :p Still a nice piece showing the folks how the order is processed and be to appreciate the work and tech that comes with your order. Most of my time in warehouses everything was hand picked and counted. The only computer was the UPS machine for ship outs. I have never had a problem with Newegg when it came to my orders. I love using them. However what kills me is the sales tax since I am in New Jersey. 7% can be a deal killer for me when something I want to purchase is the same price as the egg. I would wait an extra day or two for the shipment on orders costing more than several hundred dollars. Also we have a Micro Center in the northern half of the state. That store is in an Urban Enterprise Zone so sales tax is 3.5%. As of late, several of my dollars have been there since MC has had better deals than NE plus with same day service and lower sales tax paid. Just like everyone else I paid my fair share of sales tax I would like to have a bit of relief from those taxes when I buy over the net.
While the standard 'foam' peanuts are made of polystyrene or polyurethane, they can be made of recycle plastic; and they are eminently reusable and recyclable. (i.e. they can be reused many times, and when they have deteriorated enough to no longer be usable, they can be recycled into plastic devices.
But for true environmental friendliness, some companies make packing peanuts that are made of sorghum or corn starch, both plant products that are 100% environmentally-friendly and biodegradable. The mail-order electronics company Crutchfield uses biodegradable packing peanuts. (I just put them in my compost bin, and they had dissolved within two days.)
New egg suck, I always read anandtech and made a user just to comment on this issue. I am a zipzoomfly buyer, bought there every computer I put and once I was changing my video card and I bought it from New egg becaus it was 20 dolars cheaper than in ZZF, it was and agp card that had a PCIE model too, I read the order 1000 times before hiting the buy button to make sure that i was buying the AGP one and a week later a PCIE card came shipped, after calling and explaining to 1000 persons of NE that the problem was their (they even had the order and it was for a AGP card) they said that if the card wasn't working they would change it for a new one but the sae model that beeing a PCIE. The people in customer support are robots just like the conveyor belts they have. I had to sell the card for much less and buy a card from ZZF. Im never buying again from NE no matter what.
Just wish Newegg and the others would do a better job of shipping to AK, HI, APO and FPO addresses (hint-Amazon can do it). For many things the USPS flat rate priority box is soooo much cheaper.
When I was in the navy and sitting off the coast of Chile, a buddy fried a motherboard (don't ask why our desktops were on the ship :P ) and ordered one from newegg, they had it to us in a week. I was impressed enough to give them my business ever since.
This is definitely one of the best tours I've seen. Neweggs facility looks extremely efficient and clean. I'm just really disappointed that the contest doesn't apply to NY. To bad they didn't explain why. :(
I remember my first purchase from Newegg in 2001 or so... it was an AMD Duron, I've never heard of the company before but I took a chance because a lot of positive feedback on the forums. I've spent about $40k there over the years (mostly builds for friends & family) and it's great to see how they've grown over the years.
"In Florida, New York and Rhode Island sponsors are required to register all sweepstakes where the total retail value of all the prizes is greater than $5,000. Florida and New York require the sponsor to bond the sweepstakes equal to the total value of the prizes. Once the winners are announced, a winners’ list must be provided to the state(s) in order to release the bond."
What is it with NY being so anal about these types of things. As if the Amazon tax wasn't enough. Added to my list of states to never move to, along with CA (with all the stuff I buy from eTailers, that state sales tax would hit me pretty hard...).
Seeing this huge warehouse with all the available inventory and the way everything is automated, I realize I should give up hope for Newegg in Canada. Canada's population (30 M) is less than California (36 M), the most populous US state. Not enough economies of scale in Canada.
Only missing from the pics is Anand running through the isles with Geoffrey singing the Toys R Us theme song. Ok maybe not, but thats what the tour reminded me of, those Toys R Us shopping spree commercials from years ago.
But ya the Edison warehouse has been great. I think I started getting shipments from there 6-12 months ago. Its much better than the Tennessee warehouse in terms of shipping speed and product selection. I remember there was still a pretty good chance of getting a shipment out of a CA warehouse due to limited stock in TN, but now everything, even more obscure items come out of NJ for me.
I had visions of those Toys R Us commercials as well. When I die, I wanna go to a Newegg warehouse.
Enjoyable read, I often wonder how they ship so fast even now when they've made the 'big-time' so-to-speak and ship even more stuff. My only gripe was when they switched from Fed-ex to UPS as their preferred carrier. I've worked at both places before and know what goes on behind the scenes at each, and have had some shady dealings with UPS as a customer.
For those who are cringing about bubble wrap and peanuts for OEM hard drives. Well, when I ordered a hard drive a few months ago the drive was shipped from the CA warehouse and they didn't use either packaging at all. Instead, they used special "wadded" heavy duty paper wrapping which is very sturdy and it arrived perfectly intact. Not sure why they didn't do this at all warehouses but it was perfect for the drives. Also very friendly to the environment.
I've ordered alot of items from NewEgg over the years and most of them usually come from NJ or CA warehouse since I live in northern CA.
I love your warehouse... but 2 things made me cringe in those pictures; the bubble wrap and the peanuts. I'm speaking of course about the way you ship OEM hard drives.
Newegg! You're a BILLION dollar company! Please invest in some foam or plastic hard drive carriers! It makes me sick to order an OEM hard drive and have it taped up in bubble wrap and thrown in a box with some peanuts. That's ridiculous.
I buy everything from you, but I am so unhappy with your hard drive shipping policies.
Why? Every hard drive I have bought from them has had a anti-static bag or plastic case from the manufacturer, the bubblewrap is just around that. Don't see any risk there, so long as you don't open the hard drive and drop it in the peanuts.
We are shunned from all NewEgg contests :(. Any give-away contests at NewEgg have always had New York exempted. Must be something in the state laws :-/.
Man, I was so hyped by that article and then reading about the sweepstakes. Then I read that Florida is exempt from the contest.... My heart has grown a small crack in it today.
to correct your "correction", the western border of Tennessee is the eastern shore of the Mississippe River. Tennessee is also directly west of North Carolina, which is an eastern coastal state..
Presumably he's being tongue-in-cheek, as in suggesting that anything west of the mississippi doesn't really matter, so therefore Tennessee IS the 'west coast'.
As 'true' west coaster, I can assure him that in actual fact, nothing east of the rockies really matters.
Actually I found their B2B system to be quite a headache to use, since it wasn't integrated with the regular order system; either had to call the rep, or put the products in a wish list, flag it shared, and then e-mail the list to the rep. I was glad to have it though, while it lasted. My rep almost always either waived shipping, or just charged $20 on an order that would have been upwards of $60 shipping.
I wonder what happened to all the B2B reps? Canned? I e-mailed my rep within minutes of getting the notice that they were shutting down the department, and I never got an answer.
Yeah, the "old" B2B wasn't the easiest, but [sadly!] it was still better than most my other options. I didn't find the Wish List -> Email route too horrible.
FYI, yes, nearly all the B2B reps were "let go". I only know because our rep was one of the few retained (and assigned different duties).
I don't vividly recall what was all in the public announcement and what we learned via email, but the "new and improved" B2B model was targeted to go online Q3 2008...
With their business model, they're smart not to take corporate POs as payment. Most companies stretch the payment terms like crazy. Net 30? You might get your money in 60 days. Net 60? Try 90. It's hell on cash flow.
Newegg has shipped stuff from NJ for years, from Edison NJ to be specific. I first started buying from them because I could get stuff shipped ground and it would show up the next day. Of course now they have there '3-day' shipping which takes 3-days even when its only going 50 miles, and costs 50% more!
Yes, for years NJ has had the quick deliver and the NJ taxes directly added to the bill. [Of course, we all add up those untaxed, out-of-state purchases and report them on our NJ-1040's, right?!]
Over the years, they've cut their delivery time from two days to one; or perhaps I'm just ordering earlier in the day? Anyway, yesterday's video-card order at 1PM is en route today... but it's STILL NOT HERE as of 10am! :P LOL
Seems like a very efficient system, I've always received my order within 2 days living here in State College, PA. Good prices, fast shipping, an easy to use website that has tons of search options, and also allowing users to leave reviews of the products they buy is what makes Newegg #1 in my book.
Yep I always get mine within 2 days. Usually it's only a day because newegg is a Ninja. If anything, I blame the commons staffing if I don't get it in time. ;)
Strange. I live in Illinois, about 15 minutes from St. Louis, and they always get my orders to me in 2-3 days (usually 2). I've never had to wait anywhere close to a week.
I couldn't help notice the 'slow moving parts' picture at the bottom of page 2. They look like 6800's, and won't be going anywhere for a while as the product is deactivated on the newegg site.
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CarVac - Thursday, February 26, 2009 - link
I live in the Metuchen, which is adjacent to this warehouse. Some stuff still takes 3 full days to arrive, though.Beenthere - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
Our company bought a lot of PC hardware from Newegg in their first 5 or so years of business. Then there was an obvious change in attitude, service, delivery and integrity at Newegg as confirmed by many of the original Newegg customers.Product reviews that were less than glowing were deleted - even those of products that the FTC later filed class action lawsuits against the company for due to product malfunction, defects in design and consumer fraud.
Newegg would regularly get channel CPU's a week or two before the mainstream consumer channel received their product and Newegg would inflate the prices $50 per CPU over the proper pricing. Then there was the "in-stock" confirmation of products and the "shipped" notices sent to customers when in fact the item WAS NOT IN STOCK and the item had NOT been shipped.
That was enough for our company to look elsewhere when many long time Newegg customers confirmed the same unscrupulous behavior. I'm sure that websites who generate ad revenue from Newegg are quite pleased to see Newegg's growth, even though it hasn't been a good experience for many Newegg customers. Big does NOT always equal Better, as Newegg has demonstrated time and time again. This won't change any fanboyz opinion, but at least people will know the facts and actual experiences of long time Newegg customers who left - and why they took their business to reputable e-tailers.
adrift02 - Sunday, May 25, 2008 - link
This type of article (supply/manufacturing side) doesn't seem to come very around often, but it's some interesting stuff!ryback - Monday, May 26, 2008 - link
Interesting - really? Maybe if you work in a warehouse/logistics. I for one don't and found it incredibly boring. I skipped to the contest, found out I couldn't enter and wrote this.Trikat - Saturday, May 24, 2008 - link
Great to see their new facility in action.Two things I do not like.
1) UPS shipments constantly get banged to hell. I cringe everytime I have a delicate order like a hard drive. Just received a bigger than normal shipment yesterday and the side of the box was a bit mangled with a hole at the top of the box. I have been saying UPS sucks for quite some time (years) due to the roughly handling of shipments.
2) Recently I have been getting a few orders that have the "crumbs" part of the packing peanuts. It is extremely annoying to have to pick up all the small peanut crumbs since they love to float around and stick to things.
I haven't read all the comments yet, but in response to the hard drive bubblewrap+peanut combo, that is good enough. Bubblewrap is a bit bouncy and the peanuts allow a good enough buffer (since they shift around). The main reason for DOA/damaged hard drives is due to UPS and their rough handling of shipments.
Changing the type of packing peanuts can mean a huge swing in shipping supply cost. Do you know how much more starch/biodegradeable peanuts cost compared to regular peanuts? I would probably be more economical to go with another type of shipping material.
Zipzoomfly is an ok company, but they made several dramatic changes kind of recently.
1) No more free shipping. I thought the free shipping would have been droppped earlier, but it was good while it lasted.
2) Customer service really really sucks compared to Newegg. Almost all of the ZZF customer service reps are pissed off at customers, extremely bored, do not care, or something else, but anyways they really sound "bland". I also wanted to return a shipment of memory (refused delivery) and they slapped me with a 15% restocking fee. At that time I ordered a lot from both ZZF and Newegg, and this was going to be my first return. Soon after that it was less orders from ZZF since I could not get my point across to the lacky working at ZZF.
teknomedic - Sunday, May 25, 2008 - link
I'm unable to enter the contest... it always says "The text you entered for the image verIfication did Not match"...I've tried several times over the last two days with different computers... who can we contact or how do we enter the contest???????????
moiaujapon - Monday, May 26, 2008 - link
Exactly the same problem here, and it has continued for the last couple of days.----------------------
I'm unable to enter the contest... it always says "The text you entered for the image verIfication did Not match"...
I've tried several times over the last two days with different computers... who can we contact or how do we enter the contest???????????
MOFD - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
Same deal with me - the image captcha routine is not working. I've tried under Firefox/Linux and IE/Windows, with no luck.Cbob - Friday, May 23, 2008 - link
I bought from ZipZoom. I have no pressing need to pay 7% more for an item when I can get it elsewhere cheaper. (they even had free shipping at ZZ when I bought my MB, CPU & memory)Why couldn't the have been smart enough to goto Delaware and skip the sales tax completely.
And anyway, who wants to support a company that is in a pit like NJ?
Kendokan - Sunday, May 25, 2008 - link
Technically, if you don't pay the sales tax to your retailer, you are supposed to pay it instead to your state directly as a "use tax". In reality of course no one bothers, with certain exceptions.I know from experience that, in CA, the DMV is smart enough to make sure you pay the use tax when you purchase a car out of state and go to register it in CA for the first time.
So basically ZZ lets you cheat on your taxes and Newegg doesn't. :P
DMasters - Friday, May 23, 2008 - link
Hard to enter a contest when the entry page doesn't work correctly.....Jynx980 - Friday, May 23, 2008 - link
The box maker must be crazy fast, but if it could tape up the bottom Joe Schmoe there wouldn't be getting carpel tunnel from taping up boxes all day. Quantity is the important factor I guess. Just seems a bit odd that the New Egg factory doesn't have a machine that tapes up boxes.I noticed a red X on the The Picker page. Does that mean that nothing on that row is needed when filling a tote?
Minor typo on the index page, last paragraph first sentence:
everything i just -> everything is just
wfarid - Thursday, May 22, 2008 - link
Yea that warehouse is a right near my house (less than a minute drive). It's been there for a while know. I always wanted to see what went on inside that white warehouse and now thanks to this article I know!Graviton - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
Does anyone have any idea where Newegg buys some of it's products from? Like.. let's take Intel processors as an example. Intel's published reports (and my sources from all the major authorized distributors confirm) that the price authorized distributors pay is equal to or greater than the price Newegg sells those same items for. In addition, the line from all the Intel people I've talked to is that they don't sell to Newegg directly, and they are trying to give as much incentive as they can for people to buy through authorized channels. Are they somehow able to keep the shelves stocked solely by buying things from overstocked or failing companies? Are some products a loss leader perhaps? I've never been able to find any answers to those questions. Some places are just completely gray market or are obviously making $20 or whatever on things (which works out fine when coupled with high volumes). But Newegg's prices are just unnatural. So what gives?drebo - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
I know that atleast some of the product Newegg gets is from Ingram Micro (the largest electronics distributor in the US, if not the world).The prices Intel tells you are "list" prices. Companies can charge whatever they want for product. Newegg has formulas and business models that say how much they can mark something up over what they pay dependent upon their volume and various other factors, while still remaining competetive. Newegg is a wholesaler. They're not a retailer or distributor. They're somewhere inbetween.
Graviton - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
I was specifically referring to the prices Intel charges authorized distributors. These prices are published by Intel every time there's a change. The price most often discussed on the tech news sites is the price per 1000 units. However, the raw PDF released by Intel has other prices for other quantities. But whichever way you slice it, if Newegg has to buy through authorized channels, either they or the distributor have to be losing money. I can understand the distributors charging a little less per unit for large orders, but they can't charge less than they themselves paid for things (they are businesses after all, and not charities). And if Newegg isn't buying through authorized channels, then they ought not to be able to keep those items (especially the newest stuff) in stock consistently. And that's why it seems so weird. I should also note that I am not referring to most items that Newegg sells. Only some items fit into the "how can that price be possible?" category. Intel processors are one of those things.strikeback03 - Thursday, May 22, 2008 - link
Most if not all the expensive Intel processors sell on Newegg for well above the price per 1000 cost. Are the cheaper processors below their price per thousand?Graviton - Thursday, May 22, 2008 - link
I've seen them be less or more. It depends on the month. The current Intel prices on the Intel Investor Relations site show Newegg is anywhere from about $7 to $70 over distributor cost. On the most expensive stuff they might just be able to squeak by with a profit margin. But with the cheaper stuff I don't see how. The distributor (if that's where it came from) need to make a profit, and then Newegg offers free shipping. So, they might just break even or lose a little on those items. They may treat them as loss leaders. They don't actually make enough on them, but they are hoping you buy other things at the same time.johnsonx - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
I don't know if that's correct that NewEgg gets their product from Ingram Micro, at least not in the way you appear to mean it.Yes, some things that you order from NewEgg do drop-ship from an Ingram Micro warehouse. This is somewhat amusing in itself, since I can often buy the same item from NewEgg for less than I can from Ingram, yet either way the product comes from Ingram! NewEgg is not unique here though... many times when poking around online sites looking for product, they'll have a 'real time stock availability' thing... click that, and they list all of their 'warehouses' that just happen to all be in the same cities as Ingram's warehouses - bizarre coincidence, yes?
However, I do not think that the products that NewEgg carries in their own warehouses come through Ingram Micro first.
NewEgg is associated with ABS Computer as well. I've received product from NewEgg in the past that was originally shipped to ABS. Some OEM's may sell to ABS, which then diverts it to NewEgg. Grey market? Maybe, but a really light, almost pleasant shade of greay.
RandalH - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
Newegg became much more expensive for me when they opened the Tennessee warehouse. I questioned them via email why they would put their distribution center in the state with the highest sales tax in the nation (nearly 10%). They said it was to serve me better. But honestly, I was getting orders quickly anyway, and ironically, most of the stuff I've ordered since then has come from other warehouses; mostly Edison and Whittier, CA. Since Tennessee is a long, narrow state and I'm near the eastern border, I'm only a couple of hundred miles or so closer to the Tennessee distribution center than to the Edison NJ warehouse.ValuePrivacy - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
Shame on AnandTech for promoting this Newegg contest, because the registration requirements are highly objectionable. I had intended to register for it, until I saw on the Newegg registration page that they wanted my date of birth. What the hell do they need my date of birth for?! Considering that date of birth is highly useful for identity theft, and that no site can truly guarantee data security, I think that for them to ask for date of birth is unreasonable, for me to give it to them would be stupid, and for AnandTech to promote such a contest is undesirable. Oh, sure, I could just make up a date (I often do), but they might require the winner to fax his driver's license, and then refuse to give me the prize if I did win, because of the discrepancy. They will eventually need, for IRS reporting, the social security numbers of the winners, but they DON'T need soc. #s or birthdates of contest entrants. Give up your private data without truly good reason, and you are giving up your privacy. Give up your privacy, and soon the 4th amendnent to the constitution will be meaningless. Soon thereafter we'll be living in a police state.AmberClad - Friday, May 23, 2008 - link
Your post is absolutely laughable...by all means, please feel free to not enter this voluntary contest if you feel that NewEgg might use your date of birth for nefarious purposes, and spare us your pompous, sensationalist rant about privacy fears.ValuePrivacy - Friday, May 23, 2008 - link
This is (or used to be) a free country, and you are, of course, free to consider my post laughable. But I consider your naivete sad --- sad, most of all, for the future of this country. I'm old enough to remember when people still valued their privacy. Nowadays, they plaster their whole life on Facebook and MySpace, and egotistically think they've done something desirable. They haven't. And a corporation can, without good reason, ask for your private information, and you not only fork it over, you defend the request. It's all part of a greater pattern: accepting loss of privacy, with little understanding of the implications. Little by little, you and most other people accept the intrusions. And pretty soon, you accept that the government reads your email and listens to your phone calls without a warrant. It all seems normal, and natural, just the way things are. Well, let me clue you in: It may have become the norm, but it's not the way it used to be, and not the way the founders of this country (who fought for their freedom) envisioned it. And so, I'm going to repeat the question in my original post, so it doesn't get forgotten: What the hell do they need my birthdate for? (I'd like to hear a true answer from Newegg's CEO, but I won't hold my breath). Information is power. Power to manipulate your purchases, power to manipulate the political process. Governments and corporations know that, but a considerable portion of the population either doesn't know, or doesn't care (as long as they can get either their quad-core or Hollywood gossip fix).strikeback03 - Thursday, May 22, 2008 - link
Plenty of states require contest entrants/winners to be over 18.ValuePrivacy - Thursday, May 22, 2008 - link
That's true, but I don't think that's the reason in this case. According to their web site, Newegg is headquartered in City of Industry, California. Hewlett-Packard is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Same state. Right now, HP is running a contest; they ask entrants for name, email, and phone number, NOT BIRTH DATE. The HP contest rules do state that the contest is restricted to those 18 years of age or older, and that the WINNER will be required to submit an affidavit of eligibility. But they aren't collecting birthdates of contest ENTRANTS. That's a big difference, and let me reiterate: same state. I'm willing to give a corporation my birthdate if I WIN their contest. But Newegg is completely out of line to ask for birthdate of every ENTRANT.irev210 - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
I love the NJ warehouse, shipments always make it to Boston in 1 business day.Smart move for a warehouse in NJ for us Boston/New York guys :)
rudder - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
Thanks to the warehouse in Tennessee... I get charged 10% sales tax on my Newegg orders ... :(KnightRid - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
I wish there would be a video to go along with it! I love the factory tour shows. It is neat to see how everything is actually done. Thanx for the look inside!NJ has been shipping to me for years, this must be a new warehouse?
Mike
Only thing I can say bad is this - why dont they put peanuts in the box BEFORE adding your items, then again AFTER adding your items. I get boxes of thousands of dollars worth of parts that are sitting on the bottom of the box where they get the most abuse, with a ton of peanuts above them! Put some peanuts in the box before you add the merchandise!!! or at least a layer of bubble wrap - anything would be better than letting UPS throw the boxes around with no protection on the bottom.
Frallan - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
As usual - i am dissapointed but hey - I am also glad in comparison to most other organizations running sweepstakes you are aware that there is a world outside the US borders.
Thx for trying :0)
/Frallan
nubie - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
I see now how they could ship a carton of Eeepc's to people instead of one :DThe system lights up and the carton is the same size as a laptop box, it must be a laptop ;)
That is a pretty schweet warehouse.
UPS vs. Fedex, hmm, I think UPS has got the infrastructure in place for this sort of operation (Fedex is not even close IIRC, remember what it was like when UPS went on strike? Fedex couldn't handle the volume.)
UPS has never "package smashed" any of my goods, from what I hear it is the middle of the country that is a Bermuda Triangle for UPS stuff, in CA I have no problem (and a lot of stuff I get from the east, it must be on a plane over the crappy hubs, or stay on the truck all the way to the West coast.)
GTaudiophile - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I live in DC. No contest for me :(I would love to see Newegg, a company that leads in so many ways, take a leadership role in terms of making their business more "green" friendly.
Add some solar panels to the roof of that warehouse, try to generate as much of their own power as possible.
Use eco-friendly packaging. Recycle as much as possible.
Encourage FedEx/UPS/USPS to pickup packages in natural gas vehicles.
Add some plants to the interior of the warehouse (the Ferrari factory has this).
Encourages their OEM partners to use more recyclable packaging.
What about use some Ecoflex Plastics from BASF?
Offer incentives/product discounts to employees who commute by bike or public transportation.
The list goes on and on. And every little bit helps.
Kendokan - Sunday, May 25, 2008 - link
A very low margin/very high volume business is not the ideal place to be a leader in environmental issues.Zoomer - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
You're going about this the wrong way.Add some plants and water features of the warehouse! Having good feng shui will ensure that Newegg grows and grows!
shaggy77 - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Hi,Nice little write up on the Newegg operations in NJ. I never knew what a warehouse looked like inside after years of working in them! :p Still a nice piece showing the folks how the order is processed and be to appreciate the work and tech that comes with your order. Most of my time in warehouses everything was hand picked and counted. The only computer was the UPS machine for ship outs. I have never had a problem with Newegg when it came to my orders. I love using them. However what kills me is the sales tax since I am in New Jersey. 7% can be a deal killer for me when something I want to purchase is the same price as the egg. I would wait an extra day or two for the shipment on orders costing more than several hundred dollars. Also we have a Micro Center in the northern half of the state. That store is in an Urban Enterprise Zone so sales tax is 3.5%. As of late, several of my dollars have been there since MC has had better deals than NE plus with same day service and lower sales tax paid. Just like everyone else I paid my fair share of sales tax I would like to have a bit of relief from those taxes when I buy over the net.
Anonymous Freak - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
While the standard 'foam' peanuts are made of polystyrene or polyurethane, they can be made of recycle plastic; and they are eminently reusable and recyclable. (i.e. they can be reused many times, and when they have deteriorated enough to no longer be usable, they can be recycled into plastic devices.But for true environmental friendliness, some companies make packing peanuts that are made of sorghum or corn starch, both plant products that are 100% environmentally-friendly and biodegradable. The mail-order electronics company Crutchfield uses biodegradable packing peanuts. (I just put them in my compost bin, and they had dissolved within two days.)
Frodo - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
New egg suck, I always read anandtech and made a user just to comment on this issue. I am a zipzoomfly buyer, bought there every computer I put and once I was changing my video card and I bought it from New egg becaus it was 20 dolars cheaper than in ZZF, it was and agp card that had a PCIE model too, I read the order 1000 times before hiting the buy button to make sure that i was buying the AGP one and a week later a PCIE card came shipped, after calling and explaining to 1000 persons of NE that the problem was their (they even had the order and it was for a AGP card) they said that if the card wasn't working they would change it for a new one but the sae model that beeing a PCIE. The people in customer support are robots just like the conveyor belts they have. I had to sell the card for much less and buy a card from ZZF. Im never buying again from NE no matter what.Baked - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I got a system that needs a CPU, hope I win something from newegg.Missing Ghost - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I still wish they will sell products to Canada!HotBBQ - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Why can't FL residents enter! Boooooo!!!xscott967 - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Just wish Newegg and the others would do a better job of shipping to AK, HI, APO and FPO addresses (hint-Amazon can do it). For many things the USPS flat rate priority box is soooo much cheaper.Screammit - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
When I was in the navy and sitting off the coast of Chile, a buddy fried a motherboard (don't ask why our desktops were on the ship :P ) and ordered one from newegg, they had it to us in a week. I was impressed enough to give them my business ever since.Aolish - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
This is definitely one of the best tours I've seen. Neweggs facility looks extremely efficient and clean. I'm just really disappointed that the contest doesn't apply to NY. To bad they didn't explain why. :(Yongsta - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I remember my first purchase from Newegg in 2001 or so... it was an AMD Duron, I've never heard of the company before but I took a chance because a lot of positive feedback on the forums. I've spent about $40k there over the years (mostly builds for friends & family) and it's great to see how they've grown over the years.Yongsta - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Good article but I think it's facility. ;)Yongsta - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
nm looks like it's fixed now.vijay333 - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
"In Florida, New York and Rhode Island sponsors are required to register all sweepstakes where the total retail value of all the prizes is greater than $5,000. Florida and New York require the sponsor to bond the sweepstakes equal to the total value of the prizes. Once the winners are announced, a winners’ list must be provided to the state(s) in order to release the bond."AmberClad - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
What is it with NY being so anal about these types of things. As if the Amazon tax wasn't enough. Added to my list of states to never move to, along with CA (with all the stuff I buy from eTailers, that state sales tax would hit me pretty hard...).BernardP - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Seeing this huge warehouse with all the available inventory and the way everything is automated, I realize I should give up hope for Newegg in Canada. Canada's population (30 M) is less than California (36 M), the most populous US state. Not enough economies of scale in Canada.chizow - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Only missing from the pics is Anand running through the isles with Geoffrey singing the Toys R Us theme song. Ok maybe not, but thats what the tour reminded me of, those Toys R Us shopping spree commercials from years ago.But ya the Edison warehouse has been great. I think I started getting shipments from there 6-12 months ago. Its much better than the Tennessee warehouse in terms of shipping speed and product selection. I remember there was still a pretty good chance of getting a shipment out of a CA warehouse due to limited stock in TN, but now everything, even more obscure items come out of NJ for me.
IcePickFreak - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I had visions of those Toys R Us commercials as well. When I die, I wanna go to a Newegg warehouse.Enjoyable read, I often wonder how they ship so fast even now when they've made the 'big-time' so-to-speak and ship even more stuff. My only gripe was when they switched from Fed-ex to UPS as their preferred carrier. I've worked at both places before and know what goes on behind the scenes at each, and have had some shady dealings with UPS as a customer.
Darkk - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
For those who are cringing about bubble wrap and peanuts for OEM hard drives. Well, when I ordered a hard drive a few months ago the drive was shipped from the CA warehouse and they didn't use either packaging at all. Instead, they used special "wadded" heavy duty paper wrapping which is very sturdy and it arrived perfectly intact. Not sure why they didn't do this at all warehouses but it was perfect for the drives. Also very friendly to the environment.I've ordered alot of items from NewEgg over the years and most of them usually come from NJ or CA warehouse since I live in northern CA.
Darkk
puffpio - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
you wouldn't happen to have a picture of the boxing machine? that thing looks like it boxes super fastpuffpio - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
err picture = videoMScrip - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I love your warehouse... but 2 things made me cringe in those pictures; the bubble wrap and the peanuts. I'm speaking of course about the way you ship OEM hard drives.Newegg! You're a BILLION dollar company! Please invest in some foam or plastic hard drive carriers! It makes me sick to order an OEM hard drive and have it taped up in bubble wrap and thrown in a box with some peanuts. That's ridiculous.
I buy everything from you, but I am so unhappy with your hard drive shipping policies.
strikeback03 - Thursday, May 22, 2008 - link
Why? Every hard drive I have bought from them has had a anti-static bag or plastic case from the manufacturer, the bubblewrap is just around that. Don't see any risk there, so long as you don't open the hard drive and drop it in the peanuts.m3rdpwr - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I did not know about the NJ depot.Usually I get my order in 3 days being in Mass.
My order last week arrived next day.
This would explain it!
-Mario
laixer - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I'm in NY and most of the stuff I have been ordering has come from NJ for a long time.I'm really disappointed that the contest is not open to New York residents.
H8ff0000 - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Same here, on both statements...Newegg is awesome, this contest is not. I'm curious why we are shun from the giveaway.
AmbroseAthan - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
We are shunned from all NewEgg contests :(. Any give-away contests at NewEgg have always had New York exempted. Must be something in the state laws :-/.Polynikes - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Another of many strikes against NY. I'm getting the hell out of this shitty state as soon as I graduate from RIT.zshift - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Man, I was so hyped by that article and then reading about the sweepstakes. Then I read that Florida is exempt from the contest.... My heart has grown a small crack in it today.neon - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
... it opened its first warehouse on the east coast in Tennessee.A slight correction - Tennessee is on the west coast of the Mississippi R.
NINaudio - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
to correct your "correction", the western border of Tennessee is the eastern shore of the Mississippe River. Tennessee is also directly west of North Carolina, which is an eastern coastal state..Not really sure where you get your maps from. =p
johnsonx - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Presumably he's being tongue-in-cheek, as in suggesting that anything west of the mississippi doesn't really matter, so therefore Tennessee IS the 'west coast'.As 'true' west coaster, I can assure him that in actual fact, nothing east of the rockies really matters.
Matt Campbell - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I can only see about 25 in the picture, but the numbers on the doors go up to 62. Even 25 lanes with multiple shipments per day is impressive!AmberClad - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I don't think all of those are for outbound customer order shipments...some of those might be for trucks carrying products into the warehouse.esandrs - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I just want NewEgg to get their B2B / Purchase Order system back up and running so I can give them my company's money, too!They're still the easiest vendor for me to purchase from, but without PO's I'm stuck ordering much of my hardware elsewhere [sniff].
johnsonx - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Actually I found their B2B system to be quite a headache to use, since it wasn't integrated with the regular order system; either had to call the rep, or put the products in a wish list, flag it shared, and then e-mail the list to the rep. I was glad to have it though, while it lasted. My rep almost always either waived shipping, or just charged $20 on an order that would have been upwards of $60 shipping.I wonder what happened to all the B2B reps? Canned? I e-mailed my rep within minutes of getting the notice that they were shutting down the department, and I never got an answer.
esandrs - Thursday, May 29, 2008 - link
Yeah, the "old" B2B wasn't the easiest, but [sadly!] it was still better than most my other options. I didn't find the Wish List -> Email route too horrible.FYI, yes, nearly all the B2B reps were "let go". I only know because our rep was one of the few retained (and assigned different duties).
I don't vividly recall what was all in the public announcement and what we learned via email, but the "new and improved" B2B model was targeted to go online Q3 2008...
donkeycrock - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
I second that, i love newegg, but the fact that they dont do business accounts makes me wonder. WTF are you insanely stupid.Kendokan - Sunday, May 25, 2008 - link
With their business model, they're smart not to take corporate POs as payment. Most companies stretch the payment terms like crazy. Net 30? You might get your money in 60 days. Net 60? Try 90. It's hell on cash flow.Jaguar36 - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Newegg has shipped stuff from NJ for years, from Edison NJ to be specific. I first started buying from them because I could get stuff shipped ground and it would show up the next day. Of course now they have there '3-day' shipping which takes 3-days even when its only going 50 miles, and costs 50% more!Basilisk - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
Yes, for years NJ has had the quick deliver and the NJ taxes directly added to the bill. [Of course, we all add up those untaxed, out-of-state purchases and report them on our NJ-1040's, right?!]Over the years, they've cut their delivery time from two days to one; or perhaps I'm just ordering earlier in the day? Anyway, yesterday's video-card order at 1PM is en route today... but it's STILL NOT HERE as of 10am! :P LOL
gigahertz20 - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Seems like a very efficient system, I've always received my order within 2 days living here in State College, PA. Good prices, fast shipping, an easy to use website that has tons of search options, and also allowing users to leave reviews of the products they buy is what makes Newegg #1 in my book.PCHAngover - Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - link
Yep I always get mine within 2 days. Usually it's only a day because newegg is a Ninja. If anything, I blame the commons staffing if I don't get it in time. ;)gipper - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
It seems to have slowed down lately for me. I live in STL, MO, and it was about 3 days from ordering. More recently, it's been more like a week.It's still great service, and the prices are unbeatable. I just have to plan a little further ahead these days.
KikassAssassin - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Strange. I live in Illinois, about 15 minutes from St. Louis, and they always get my orders to me in 2-3 days (usually 2). I've never had to wait anywhere close to a week.BigLan - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - link
Hopefully I'll be the lucky one!I couldn't help notice the 'slow moving parts' picture at the bottom of page 2. They look like 6800's, and won't be going anywhere for a while as the product is deactivated on the newegg site.