stv@qantel.UUCP (Steve Vance@ex2499) (10/01/84)
You can make use of the Comp-u-Store service without having to get any
new MasterCards or Visas. They offer their service as a stand-alone
enterprise. There are two ways to use it: (1) you call an 800 number,
and give the human the model number of the item you want to order, and
they tell you if they have it and how much it costs. You can place an
order giving them any MasterCard or Visa number. (2) you can call their
computer via Telenet, and scan the database directly yourself. Way (1)
costs about $20 a year membership, and way (2) costs about $25, plus 5
cents per minute (eves) airtime charges. You can also use method (2)
for no extra charge if you are a subscriber to The Source.
Comp-u-Store carries no inventory of anything. They keep track of
prices at several hundred discount places around the country, and pass
your order on to the one who is cheapest at the time.
I have bought several VCRs for friends from Comp-u-Store. They have
been in business for about 5 years. For consumer electronic equipment,
their prices are VERY good. Most of their suppliers are back east, so
you aren't charged sales tax. The only drawback is the amount of time
it takes to get something from them, which averages about 5 weeks. One
time, one of their distributors sold out of something just as I was
ordering it. It was finally shipped from a different distributor, ten
weeks after I ordered it. That was a long time to wait, but the person
I was buying it for got a $1500-list-price VCR for $795, which was $250
under the cheapest discounter in our area. All the other things I've
ordered have come in 4 to 6 weeks.
--
Steve Vance
{ucbvax,ihnp4,zehntel,onyx}!dual!qantel!stv
Qantel Corporation, Hayward, CAdsn@umcp-cs.UUCP (Dana S. Nau) (10/03/84)
>> From stv@qantel.UUCP (Steve Vance@ex2499) Wed Dec 31 19:00:00 1969 >> ... Most of their suppliers are back east, so >> you aren't charged sales tax. Does that include those of us who live in the east? By the way, the colloquialism "back east" is interesting. I have a cousin in California who refers to the East as "back east"--but both he and his parents were born and raised on the west coast, so it certainly isn't "back home" for any of them. Try saying "out east" and "back west" and notice how strange it sounds. -- Dana S. Nau CSNet: dsn@umcp-cs ARPA: dsn@maryland UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!dsn