Anand, did Newegg give you any insight into their refurbished product opteration? I'd be interested to know where the items come from (i.e. percentage from working returns and percentage from manufacturers) and how often they arrive at Newegg. I'b been buying refurbished parts from Newegg for years and I've found some brands that always come with full accessories and others that are hit and miss. Is there any rhyme or reason to know the accessory status of the item before you order?
To confirm what Anand explained, Newegg did not pay Anandtech for this article. Anand and Newegg just thought it would be nice to show a little bit of the Newegg operations.
It's completely a win-win situation. NewEgg gets advertising, costing them perhaps a lunch with Anand, several CPUs for a contest, and draws more consumers to their website. Anand gets a free meal, perhaps some free product, and draws more readers to his website with a contest. Now if that isn't capitalism, what is?
Thanks for the article - it's cool to read how NewEgg does its thing.
I've bought parts for 3 builds and some additional components from NewEgg and I've always been very happy with it all.
UPS el cheapo shipping usually takes 3-4 days to reach me but it's not THAT big a deal since that's still pretty quick.
The only thing that irritates me is that when I order parts for a complete PC they usually get shipped from 2+ locations - and it's painful to have every part for a new build EXCEPT the case, which arrives the next day. :)
What a way to start my day!! Read this article and was enlightened and impressed with the way an order progresses and how they get them to me so fast! As usual Anand~ good work and thank you!
Then I read all these bulls**t childish comments! I could go on for hours about what I'm thinking but all I really need to say is~ Anand has earned the respect of most of us because of his informative website and articles. I've gained most of my computer knowledge from his website since I first signed on in 1996. I really don't know what I would do without it. In my opinion, NewEgg owes some of its success to Anand and the exposure they gained in his forums. Particularly early on! I really don't mind if they paid Anand for the article, in fact, I hope they did! He earned it well before this article was ever written! A good part of these etailers profits are directly attributable to Anands website! With so many of us having the ability to share experiences, information and recommendations on this website they have benefited greatly! Keep it up Anand and I wish you continued success! My only recommendation would be to have the mods filter out the childish jerks that never seem to have anything productive to say about anything!
And jnmunsey, where do you come off with comments like that? What an idiot!
i used my work email addy for the contest. not like i'm going to win, but i hope that any email that could be sent makes it through my employers spam guard.
anyways, the pic of all of those CPUs just sitting there was awesome
I often wondered if the $50 million plus payout for AT site during the dotcom bubble that anand missed by just a few weeks has been made up for over the ensuing years. Hmmmmmmmmm.
Was it Sharkey that got $70 million or sumthin. LOL
Newegg got (in?)famous on Anandtech when they were the only one to sell the Radeon LE (Sapphire version imported from China, back in the day when all ATI was made by ATI themselves). It was far cheaper than the Made by ATI Radeon DDR. This got posted in Hot Deals forum and everyone was pleased with their fast and free shipping. They got in trouble, however, when people found out it was the LE (slower) version instead of the full Radeon DDR. There was a big uproar (I think the thread grew to 500 posts or so), and Newegg was forced to take in returns or offer price adjustments. This is also what started the cheap "refurbs" that newegg sells, which were just customer returns. This was probably also why Newegg started posting the core/memory speeds of graphics card they sell.
Heck yeah!!! I bought one of those Radeon LEs for cheap after the first debacle. I flashed the BIOS to a full Radeon. It gave me a top of the line $150 video card for $65!! Back then, top of the line as $150 :(.
Great Story, y'know we all wanted to know these things and you delivered on getting us Anands behind the scenes at a HUGE distributer and great company, NewEgg.com! Thanks for the awesome article, and OR COURSE the giveaways rock!
Am I the only one that looks at that setup and sees a couple handfuls of employees, because of all the automation, running a co that did 1.3 BILLION in sales last year! Sure its great that my orders are done speedily and accurately but I can't help think that some poor slobs working at Walmart, Foodlion, Best Buy could have had a decent paying warehouse job and Newegg still make a bundle. Maybe Im looking at it wrong...?
You're looking at it the wrong way. Instead of thinking about the low income, low skilled jobs lost in the warehouse, consider the high income, high skilled jobs gained in the sector that designs, sells, installs, and supports the automation.
Smart jobs for smart people is better for the economy than keeping people down at minimum wage in brain-deadening jobs. At least it is in my limited opinion.
quote: Newegg used to be a FedEx shop by default, however recently FedEx significantly raised their rates, which Newegg passes directly onto their customers.
So you *know that to be true? FedEx significantly raised their rates, and you know that Newegg passed it directly onto their customers?
That whole section should be bracketed with a "Newegg alleges that [...]" instead of throwing a "Newegg claims" in the middle of a paragraph.
Also, since Newegg claims they love Anandtech readers and follow what we say? Well, fix your damn web servers! You cleared $1.3B last year and you are still using the same 286 to run your website? You need to fire your web services dudes and bring in trained monkeys; they wouldn't do any better of a job (or worse) but the at-work hijinks would probably be hilarious.
I can't say how I stumbled onto Newegg's site back in 2001, they had really good prices back then, and they still do right now on many of their items. The reviews are pretty helpful too and I read them as well as "professional" reviews for anything that I buy. Professional reviews are great because they give all the technical information and comparisions. User reviews are great because they may give different persective, long term use, and a general understanding if a product is good or not if there are plenty of reviews. However, Newegg does reserve the right to screen reviews and exclude those that mention other competitors, prices, overclocking, etc. Kinda reminds me of China's Firewall policy on "offensive information", but that's a different topic...
I have to say though that I was disappointed when they made the switch from FedEx to UPS. Since I live in NYC, both of their pickup points are relatively near where I live. But I feel that FedEx just does a better job at handling packages. People have mentioned that they love UPS because they would leave their package on their doorstep/porch. That actually makes me feel uncomfortable because anyone can just walk by and take it. I live in an apartment build and I've seen quite a few UPS packages just sitting in front of the apartment door. What's gonna stop me from simply taking these packages except my conscious (Damn my conscious)? I don't want hundreds of dollars of merchandise just sitting in front of my door waiting to be taken away. Thankfully though in all the times UPS have tried to deliver packages to me, they never once left it in front of my door.
I can understand why FedEx do not simply leave packages out in the open. It's a matter of liability. Yeah, UPS may 'convienently' leave packages by the door/porch, but what happens if it gets stolen? Newegg's? No, I don't think so. UPS? Yes, 'cause they were dumb enough to leave out in the open. Now you gotta file a claims report, and you'll probably fight the charge on your credit card. The credit card company may successfully force Newegg to give you credit, but if this happens enough times Newegg may increase prices to cover such losses.
FedEx is great, but I hate FedEx Home delivery. I placed an order at Buy.com that offered free ground shipping using FedEx Home. Sounds great, but in the end it was a definite headache. FedEx Home do not deliver to a corporate business addresses (maybe the local mom & pop store) in NYC. After 3 missed deliveries between 9am and 5pm (hey, I gotta earn a living you know) I had to drag my ass from Manahattan, all the way into some obscure customer pickup depot in Brooklyn on a Saturday afternoon to get my package. Fortunately, it was small since I don't own a car.
I hope Newegg can renegotiate a contract with FedEx (and not use FedEx Home), but so far I personally can't complain their use of UPS at this point.
Hopefully I'll win that Athlon X2 contest since I'm about to build a new PC, but knowing my luck I might as well just order it from Newegg of course.
[quote]Hopefully I'll win that Athlon X2 contest since I'm about to build a new PC, but knowing my luck I might as well just order it from Newegg of course.[/quote]
Knowing our luck, one of the noobs that couldn't get the promo link to work in the first place is gonna win it. They'll get their shiny new X2 4600+, and wonder where it will fit inside their Dell XPS 400... /sigh
AnandTech does not accept any payment for any articles, period. The Newegg article is no exception. I just thought it'd be a cool look at the behind the scenes of one of the most popular and longest running tech etailers. I've toured Newegg in the past, but this time I got them to agree to letting us publish photos for everyone to see. I'm sure Newegg sees it as a PR opportunity, but for us it's simply something neat for the readership, that's all.
So you were not compensated at all for either an advertisement passed off as an article. Nor were you compensated for them using your celebrity status as a spokesperson in their new banner ads plastered all over your site.
I have trouble believing this, but if it is true it just means you were foolish not to negotiate for a suitable spokesperson fee.
Regardless, it's as blatant a conflict of interest as any, and you've lost any shred of credibility because of it. Things were already pretty iffy with paid forum stickies and random embedded article ad-linking, but this takes the cake. I've been reading since the 90s, but you've just lost all credibility in my eyes, and I'll be looking elsewhere for hardware news/discussion now.
I did not mean to imply that AT was paid for the article, just that it would not be a conflict of interest even had they been.
Many, many articles are printed for payment in this world every day. Credibility is lost when the reporting becomes biased, incomplete, or incorrect. Show me how reporting on the most liked and largest computer parts supplier in the U.S. creates bias for a site that tests the parts, not the delivery guy. (I believe that's blewboy.com. Not that I've ever been there. And my screen name is not Wun Hung Guy either.)
Heck, AT doesn't even order most of the parts they test, they are sent by the manufacturers.
You are not being reasonable. Would Anand have retained his credibility if he had coined an article on Coca-Cola's warehousing system? Think about it.
So why do you care? Creating an article showing the people who buy most of the stuff coming from the largest supplier can only be a good thing. I know when to order from Newegg and when not to. I can type in different addresses to Zipzoomfly (googlegear!) and Mwave to check prices. Why should any of us care if Anand got paid for this, this site is a business too, in case you didn't know. A payoff from Newegg for an article wouldn't be a conflict of interest for AT anyway!
Consider the fact that all high volume warehouses are run in a similar fashion and you might realize that the article was fun but worthless as advertisement. Few people out there are going to assume that all other suppliers box their stuff up in torch lit caves. This is more about a process than a company. Every manufacturer I have ever worked for had a similar warehousing system to get parts to the assembly areas.
Now get back on your ZipZoomFly forklift and get my order shipped out that I placed 3 days ago. Whiner.
Skimming through all the positive comments about this article, I'm feeling a bit left out. I seem to be having quite a bit of trouble getting the pictures to pull up on each page. Sometimes they eventually appear, but often I get nothing, even letting the browser window just sit open to the article for several minutes.
You guys aren't helping EA host the latest BF2 patch on your image file server are you? ;-)
I know a lot of our posts on reviews and articles are critical. It may make it seem like a thankless job sometimes (even if we are only offering constructive criticism, it can often seem like a personal attack). So I'm glad to be able to say I really enjoyed this article, from a techie perspective and as someone who has worked in a warehouse long ago and loves to see how far automation has come in distributing products. Documenting the whole thing and including pictures was a great thing.
Thanks for continuing to offer us quality articles, and thanks for additionally giving us the chance to win free stuff. Even when we don't say it, it is truly appreciated. And thank NewEgg for us, for offering themselves up for inspection.
Thanks Anand for the inside look at NewEgg!! I've always wondered how they got things out so fast, and now I know! :)
Seriously, NewEgg is a great retailer and I have shopped with them for years. UPS Ground from CA to my house was taking a week, but now with this new warehouse in TN, hopefully I will get things sooner!
Wow, I can remember the day when I thought Newegg was just some Egghead ripoff/spinoff company. Then I kept finding the lowest prices for stuff I wanted at their web site. To top that off, they never screwed up an order of mine, where other companies would screw them up (and still do screw them up) all the time. And then they had the user reviews, which were great before they were censored.
I'm an IT tech at a company with < 100 employees, small company. Been here for a number of years now, and people often come to me for computer advice. I can remember many years ago, someone came up to me asking about the new DVD burners back when they just came out. I refered him to the usual review sites, but I also took him to Newegg's web site, and showed him the user reviews. 10s and hundreds of reviews by people that actually bought the burner, and often ripped it to shreds, saying things like "Newegg rocks, they got this to me in 2 days, but this DVD burner sucks, sorry, get XXXX burner instead". We were both really impressed that Newegg would let those reviews stay, and it really helped him get the best burner for his money that he could. I'm sure he ended up ordering it from Newegg too since I put his computer together for him a couple months later.
So anyways, eventually we hired an Intern, and with the extra manpower, stopped buying pre-built computers. Now we get parts from Newegg, and I or the intern put them together. With total control over what goes in our computers, I must say we've had MUCH fewer part failures than what we used to get. That let us not hire more IT staff even though the company has doubled in size, I don't have crap parts failing all the time like I used to any more. Without Newegg being so reliable and inexpensive, it wouldn't have happened.
GJ Anand and Newegg the past 5 years. Hoping for another 5.
Dang the article has been posted on Slashdot. Luckily they didn't mention the contest. But still, I think my chances of winning have been seriously deminished. :(
This is my first post: I've perused your site but linked in today through Ben's Bargains, and I was fascinated by the Newegg story! I've purchased from those guys and they are, indeed excellent vendors. Having now "seen" their operation and read about their commitment to quality, they'll remain a first choice when I am shopping.
And you, Anand, have performed a real service by showing this to the web community. I'm only sorry that when I was in Los Angeles 2 weeks ago that I didn't happen upon the Newegg facility (hard to miss with the big sign on the front wall!!
I have been reading your articles fairly often because I am a web subscriber to CPU. I really do enjoy your writing. In this case I enjoyed it so much I had to join your site and tell you thank you for your excellent writing but especially for the Newegg warehouse article. I buy primarily from Newegg and I work in the warehouse at Carpet Bonanza in Zeeland MI. It is a different kind of warehouse but it is very intersting for me to see just how Newegg handles the product. Again, thenk you very much. Keep up the great writing and I look forward to more interaction with you in the future.
Wow Anand, how much are they paying you? Those are some seriously cool conveyors and bins, but this article reads like an advertisement or promotional campaign the whole way. Great detailed overview of the order process, nonetheless.
NewEgg has been an advertiser on Anandtech for quite a while - these advertisers help keep Anandtech running, so any advertisement is deserved. Regardless, it was an interesting article.
I love Newegg...been perfect so far and even sent me a thank you for being a customer letter with a free t-shirt, eVGA keychain, and Newegg sticker out of nowhere just because I placed a couple orders earlier in the year. Oh and as far as the UPS vs. Fedex debate, would you feel more comfortable if Fedex left your $500 CPU on your porch just because you are not home? Sure it is a pain but come on, it is worth the extra hassle to keep your gear out of harm's way.
quote: As we mentioned at the start of this article, Newegg's goal is to be able to have your shipment to you within 2 days of ordering it regardless of shipping method. It's not a guarantee, but rather an internal goal that they've been striving for ever since their inception.
Just ordered a Logitech G7 mouse on Sunday, arrived today (using UPS Ground). Great work Newegg!
I will always buy from Newegg, Unless it's a lot more expensive than somewhere else or not available from them. I always get my stuff fast. I get my stuff much faster now that they use UPS. Fedex used to hold my packages extra days until the last possible day to make it on time. I live in Massachusetts. There is a Newegg warehouse in New Jersey. Most of my stuff comes from NJ. With Fedex 3 day, I'd get the stuff exactly 3 days later. Fedex ground, forget about it. It would take seven days or more. I'd track the crap and Fedex would hold the stuff up in their warehouse in CT all the time. Sometimes the package from NJ would go to like Chicago then come back to the East Coast. Stupid crap all the time. With UPS, I get UPS ground and I get the stuff the next day. Everytime I order if it ships from NJ via UPS I get it the next day. Packages are always in great condition as well. Ups delivers to my area of town usually between 11 and Noon. Fedex comes at like 4:30PM. If no one is here to accept my package Fedex will leave me the stupid slip on my door. UPS almost always will just put it inside my porch. I avoid Fedex at all costs.
When FedEx holds your boxes with status "Package not due for Delivery", that seems to be based on how busy the driver's route is that day. On busy routes, they'll keep your box until the last possible day (and you can ill-afford to complain, you paid for 3-day shipping). They fill the truck with everything that must be delivered that day, and then if there's any room left the stuck in tomorrow's packages, the next days, etc.
For me, if I want something ASAP but don't want to pay for expeditied shipping, I'll have it shipped to my home address. Usually they deliver it as soon as they get it. If I have something sent to my office (which is probably where I need it), they sometimes hold it 1 or even 2 days.
Obviously this is going to be different for everyone, but that's how it works for me.
As to the whole UPS vs. FedEx debate, I agree that when the switch first occurred, UPS sucked. But on my more recent orders, UPS has been quicker and 'cleaner' than I had ever expected of FedEx.
I had stopped ordering from Newegg because of Fedex. I started ordering again when they added UPS. UPS drops it off if I'm not home but Fedex makes me drive to their building to pick-up the package for missed deliveries. About 90% of the time the Fedex driver didn't leave a notice behind so I wouldn't even know the package was waiting for me. I hate Fedex - for the inconvenience and for hiring losers.
I have had the same experience with FedEx. Their airport hub is 5 miles from my house, but a box will sit at the warehouse for 3 days until the actual "delivery date" is reached. Then it comes. This might be good for some people who don't expect to see it til then, but dang, seeing my stuff sitting in a warehouse for 3 days tees me off. By the way, my sister is one of the losers. She said they didn't leave notices for you because you are rude and your house smells. Fedex has a card you can fill out one time to tell them to always leave the box regardless of whether it requires signature or not. The delivery confirmation says "signature on file". UPS doesn't do that and I wish they did. USPS too.
UPS is MUCH slower than Fedex to my house. If I order something from the CA warehouse, it'll come next day even if I pick the 3 day selection! UPS will take a least a week if I pick the 3 day.
...then you should do a tour of some of the larger System Builders in the same neighborhood. Just as automated in many cases, but with assembly lines, burn-in stations and floor to ceiling with product.
Don't get any ideas though, since the rent-a-cops are packin' heat ;)
This was definitely one of the more enjoyable (perhaps original?) tech-related articles I've read in a long time. I've always been curious as to how newegg operated--and now, thanks to Anandtech, I know!
...is cheaper shipping to Alaska! That's one of the reasons I keep going back to Zip Zoom Fly - they offer "free" 2nd day shipping on many items, and while the offer isn't valid to AK for some reason, they *do* offer a $10 2nd day rate. Newegg's shipping calculations to AK always end up being quite high for few or single item orders, and they don't offer alternatives such as USPS. I know we're a small market, but a thousand here, a thousand there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money. ;)
Cool article, keep doing these! It's great to get a peek inside the tech industry, definitely something you don't have a chance to explore very often.
First off great article. Have never bought from Newegg before, but after reading about it here I feel assured that they're not some fly-by-night chop shop. As a potential customer the fact that my package will come with peanut styrofoam is a big negative. But if the price is right I guess I can live with it.
I'm not sure if NewEgg is using the biodegradable peanuts made from a corn starch base. When you finally do place an order, grab one of those peanuts and run it under some water to see if it disapears.
Always like to read about orgins. Maybe next time. I've never had a complaint with newegg but there are others "just as good" and cheaper too such as Mwave.com Zipzoomfly.com for example. What really sets newegg apart is thier fantastic database for customers to search for exactly the prodcuts they are looking for and once found get a set of wonderful 360 degree pictures of the product! Great job!
Wow, great article. I used to do recieving work and Newegg's setup really makes me want to work there, looks fun, scanning in all the new products and handling tech stuff all day. Looking at all the CPU and memory products laying about is enough to give any tech enthusiast a stiff one. Thanks for the article and the contest Anandtech.
Thanks Anand and NewEgg for the great pics and tour! As a long-time NewEgg customer, it was very intriguing to read the article and gaze at the pictures because I've always wondered how a place like that worked. =)
this looks sooooooooooooooo much like my f****g work - except that the items at newegg are approx. 10000000 times more interesting than what we deal with every day ;)
I worked on an aembly line putting together boxes for vent hoods to go in. That was the longest fucking week of my life. I wonder why the vent hood people didnt have the box-putter-together machine.
The last company I worked for used to be part of Mitsubishi, and you would be surprised how much cheaper our shipping was compare to you going to Kinko's yourself, it was almost 1/2 off.
I would imagine Newegg got a deal with UPS that makes it much cheaper than FedEx Ground.
Been a customer of theirs for years, pretty much since Egghead went under(remember them?). Service has always been great and they are the first place I reccomend to techs and resellers. Sure beats the old days of having to have a tax ID and account with a distributer.
Contest for AMD X2s.. excellent :)
And, there shouldn't be many entries outside of Anandtech, because the contest entry isn't open for a long time and because the link's broken. Noobs won't get it :)
Since no one was specific about location, seems the link to the contest on "The Secure Area" page wasn't fixed, although the entry later in the article is OK.
I clicked the link in the article, and the advertisement link on the left frame, and both worked just fine for me with FF. The ad opened a new window, the link changed pages. Also I haven't seen it mentioned yet guys, but I bet this article is already linked all over the net.
Anand and crew, how much is traffic up (or down) over normal since you posted this article?
quote: However FedEx Ground isn't as good as UPS ground
Sorry but what is that based off of??? I have used both for a LONG time between items that were basic small to large items such as engine heads I have ported or crankshafts and can say Fed-Ex ground has never been a problem for me or anybody else i know that ships a good deal. Even in the anandtech forums most swear by Fed-Ex ground way before UPS.
Also if Fed-Ex ground is the same price as UPS ground then why does Newegg not offer Fed-Ex ground?
If UPS ground is better, can somebody tell them that my laptop ram that I ordered two weeks ago(!) should be here by now. Not only did the shipment originate in New Jersey and miss Wisconsin instead landing in Phoenix (already late at this point), it was then rescheduled for delivery another 6 days later(!!).
So far it's been 14 days (counting weekends, so a little slack there). This wouldn't be so bad, but that I'm off work after some surgery and can't sit up long enough to use my desktop. So I'm stuck struggling with my new laptop that I got cheap since it has only 256 MB of ram. Try to play any game with integrated graphics and 256 MB using XP (Home in my case) - ain't pretty. Oh well, allegedly my additional 1 MB is coming sometime soon (unless it inexplicably ends up in Nova Scotia on its way back).
Im with you, FedEx Ground blows UPS Ground away in my book. I always fork over the extra couple bones to get FedEx Ground when I blow paychecks on newegg (fairly regularly) after a couple "experiments" when Newegg switched to UPS... Boxes always come quicker, and in much better shape.
I do like the OPTION of shipping with either, but for my dollar, im going with FedEx.
Ditto. I'll choose FedEx Ground over UPS Ground anytime. They've been more gentle on my packages, I've gotten far better customer service too. I'll gladly pay a buck extra per package to get FedEx Ground over UPS Ground.
As a FedEx employee, the info that NewEgg supplied you about a price hike was bogus. Fact is NewEgg received a substantial discount, but UPS decided to undercut FedEx, so NewEgg renegoitated their contract on a less volume. Last I heard from our Corporate Sales rep, Newegg finally realized their mistake (a huge amount of damage returns and missed/lost deliveries by UPS) and is trying to get their deal back with FedEx, good luck...
I agree, I have shopped Newegg for years, and I never once had any problem receiving my order extremely quickly until they switched to UPS. First time I ordered that was sent UPS took 2-3 days more, held up by shipping. Personally, I miss Fedex Ground.
I'm guessing that's based on Newegg's dealings with UPS. A shipping company better be competent if it wants to handle 25K orders a day. I guess Newegg has created a benchmark for making sure shipping companies are doing their job well (so has Amazon.com).
I've always loved Newegg since the beginning. Almost always within a couple bucks of the cheapest price and service has been great the few times I've had to contact them.
I just hope not too many of my shipments start comming out of the new TN warehouse, it takes longer to get to me than the stuff from NJ.
Leave the contest link broken! All the n00bs won't be able to figure out how to re-construct the correct URL and won't be able to enter! More chances for the rest of us.
I don't know if this is a local/ISP issue ro what, but I was on page 3 of this article and when I clicked on page 4 it just loaded the top and side Anandtech theme, no article. I retried it several times and no dice. Then I reloaded page 3 (which had loaded fine before) and I got the same problem. Then I reloaded the home page and it is no longer there either. :(
Having been a NewEgg customer for about three years now, it was nice to see some insight at how things go on behind the scenes (alot different than I expected). By the way, the larger image links are broken :/
The peanut guns are employed by security at the New Egg facility. They shoot about 15 peanuts in a tight grouping which leave painful welts for slacker employees and persons accused of theft.
I expected a little more automation. Of course, I work for a company that makes things like this (similar at least). Mostly we do automotive machines though.
But, there are a few factories in the world that are completely automated similar to this warehouse, but even more so.
Pallets can be tracked and moved to the exact part of the plant that the parts are needed, automatically loaded, and automatically assembled, including a multitude of safeguards for people, quality, machine production...
i cant order anything from newegg. because they like to take two weeks before they get ahold of me and by that time. im super pissed and i cancel the order. go to wal mart use my credit card there. wal mart takes it that day no problem and i get my stuff that day. just not a super computer like i wanted and ordered twice. and both times they did that crap to me. just wondering what you have to do for them to stop being a holes? to have them send out your stuff that you order. any help would be appreiciated thanks.
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122 Comments
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Minot - Monday, February 20, 2006 - link
Anand, did Newegg give you any insight into their refurbished product opteration? I'd be interested to know where the items come from (i.e. percentage from working returns and percentage from manufacturers) and how often they arrive at Newegg. I'b been buying refurbished parts from Newegg for years and I've found some brands that always come with full accessories and others that are hit and miss. Is there any rhyme or reason to know the accessory status of the item before you order?Great article! Keep it up! -MINOT-
JumpyBL - Monday, February 20, 2006 - link
Any winners yet?DAPUNISHER - Saturday, February 18, 2006 - link
It is Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for Computer enthusiasts :Pneweggvp - Friday, February 17, 2006 - link
To confirm what Anand explained, Newegg did not pay Anandtech for this article. Anand and Newegg just thought it would be nice to show a little bit of the Newegg operations.Newegg also has no affiliation with EggHead.
Hope this clears up a couple questions.
Best Regards,
NeweggVP.
andrep74 - Friday, February 17, 2006 - link
It's completely a win-win situation. NewEgg gets advertising, costing them perhaps a lunch with Anand, several CPUs for a contest, and draws more consumers to their website. Anand gets a free meal, perhaps some free product, and draws more readers to his website with a contest. Now if that isn't capitalism, what is?My kudos to them both...
PWNettle - Friday, February 17, 2006 - link
Thanks for the article - it's cool to read how NewEgg does its thing.I've bought parts for 3 builds and some additional components from NewEgg and I've always been very happy with it all.
UPS el cheapo shipping usually takes 3-4 days to reach me but it's not THAT big a deal since that's still pretty quick.
The only thing that irritates me is that when I order parts for a complete PC they usually get shipped from 2+ locations - and it's painful to have every part for a new build EXCEPT the case, which arrives the next day. :)
Davelo - Friday, February 17, 2006 - link
Is Newegg related to EggHead Software? Remember them?Glenn - Friday, February 17, 2006 - link
What a way to start my day!! Read this article and was enlightened and impressed with the way an order progresses and how they get them to me so fast! As usual Anand~ good work and thank you!Then I read all these bulls**t childish comments! I could go on for hours about what I'm thinking but all I really need to say is~ Anand has earned the respect of most of us because of his informative website and articles. I've gained most of my computer knowledge from his website since I first signed on in 1996. I really don't know what I would do without it. In my opinion, NewEgg owes some of its success to Anand and the exposure they gained in his forums. Particularly early on! I really don't mind if they paid Anand for the article, in fact, I hope they did! He earned it well before this article was ever written! A good part of these etailers profits are directly attributable to Anands website! With so many of us having the ability to share experiences, information and recommendations on this website they have benefited greatly! Keep it up Anand and I wish you continued success! My only recommendation would be to have the mods filter out the childish jerks that never seem to have anything productive to say about anything!
And jnmunsey, where do you come off with comments like that? What an idiot!
JBT - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - link
Man I wish I could spend just 5 minutes in there with a shopping cart...amish - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - link
i used my work email addy for the contest. not like i'm going to win, but i hope that any email that could be sent makes it through my employers spam guard.anyways, the pic of all of those CPUs just sitting there was awesome
Blondie - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - link
The article was very informative. Thank you so much for taking the time to bring it to us.Bozo Galora - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - link
wow, anand is all growed up.I often wondered if the $50 million plus payout for AT site during the dotcom bubble that anand missed by just a few weeks has been made up for over the ensuing years. Hmmmmmmmmm.
Was it Sharkey that got $70 million or sumthin. LOL
Phiro - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - link
99.9999999% of those dotcom bubble payouts were in stock, which 99.99999% of the time dropped tremendously in value before they could unload any.So 99.999999% of your $50M deals turns into $50k deals.
jnmunsey - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Hey man NewEgg ain't got no white employees.. Those racist bastards!jnmunsey - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
No wait I found 1 white guy in this pic from page 1 of the article.. The token white guy can be found here in the middle-left of the pichttp://images.anandtech.com/reviews/IT/InsideNeweg...">http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/IT/InsideNeweg...
andrep74 - Friday, February 17, 2006 - link
Yeah, have you ever read the requirements for getting a job there? You practically have to speak Chinese...yanman - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Anand, how about you use this chance to get NewEgg to offer international shipping for us poor aussies :)Schmide - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
but with all that technology. How come my browser never starts on page 1 in their hot deals section. It’s always page 3 or 4. LOL.Slaimus - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Newegg got (in?)famous on Anandtech when they were the only one to sell the Radeon LE (Sapphire version imported from China, back in the day when all ATI was made by ATI themselves). It was far cheaper than the Made by ATI Radeon DDR. This got posted in Hot Deals forum and everyone was pleased with their fast and free shipping. They got in trouble, however, when people found out it was the LE (slower) version instead of the full Radeon DDR. There was a big uproar (I think the thread grew to 500 posts or so), and Newegg was forced to take in returns or offer price adjustments. This is also what started the cheap "refurbs" that newegg sells, which were just customer returns. This was probably also why Newegg started posting the core/memory speeds of graphics card they sell.kmmatney - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Heck yeah!!! I bought one of those Radeon LEs for cheap after the first debacle. I flashed the BIOS to a full Radeon. It gave me a top of the line $150 video card for $65!! Back then, top of the line as $150 :(.OAKside24 - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Great Story, y'know we all wanted to know these things and you delivered on getting us Anands behind the scenes at a HUGE distributer and great company, NewEgg.com! Thanks for the awesome article, and OR COURSE the giveaways rock!samduhman - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Am I the only one that looks at that setup and sees a couple handfuls of employees, because of all the automation, running a co that did 1.3 BILLION in sales last year! Sure its great that my orders are done speedily and accurately but I can't help think that some poor slobs working at Walmart, Foodlion, Best Buy could have had a decent paying warehouse job and Newegg still make a bundle. Maybe Im looking at it wrong...?
Phiro - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
If you think menial jobs should be protected, then by all means make sure your kids make a career out of them.Until then, labor protectionism = bad evil evil.
eastvillager - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
You're looking at it the wrong way. Instead of thinking about the low income, low skilled jobs lost in the warehouse, consider the high income, high skilled jobs gained in the sector that designs, sells, installs, and supports the automation.Smart jobs for smart people is better for the economy than keeping people down at minimum wage in brain-deadening jobs. At least it is in my limited opinion.
Phiro - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
So you *know that to be true? FedEx significantly raised their rates, and you know that Newegg passed it directly onto their customers?
That whole section should be bracketed with a "Newegg alleges that [...]" instead of throwing a "Newegg claims" in the middle of a paragraph.
Also, since Newegg claims they love Anandtech readers and follow what we say? Well, fix your damn web servers! You cleared $1.3B last year and you are still using the same 286 to run your website? You need to fire your web services dudes and bring in trained monkeys; they wouldn't do any better of a job (or worse) but the at-work hijinks would probably be hilarious.
stupid - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
I can't say how I stumbled onto Newegg's site back in 2001, they had really good prices back then, and they still do right now on many of their items. The reviews are pretty helpful too and I read them as well as "professional" reviews for anything that I buy. Professional reviews are great because they give all the technical information and comparisions. User reviews are great because they may give different persective, long term use, and a general understanding if a product is good or not if there are plenty of reviews. However, Newegg does reserve the right to screen reviews and exclude those that mention other competitors, prices, overclocking, etc. Kinda reminds me of China's Firewall policy on "offensive information", but that's a different topic...I have to say though that I was disappointed when they made the switch from FedEx to UPS. Since I live in NYC, both of their pickup points are relatively near where I live. But I feel that FedEx just does a better job at handling packages. People have mentioned that they love UPS because they would leave their package on their doorstep/porch. That actually makes me feel uncomfortable because anyone can just walk by and take it. I live in an apartment build and I've seen quite a few UPS packages just sitting in front of the apartment door. What's gonna stop me from simply taking these packages except my conscious (Damn my conscious)? I don't want hundreds of dollars of merchandise just sitting in front of my door waiting to be taken away. Thankfully though in all the times UPS have tried to deliver packages to me, they never once left it in front of my door.
I can understand why FedEx do not simply leave packages out in the open. It's a matter of liability. Yeah, UPS may 'convienently' leave packages by the door/porch, but what happens if it gets stolen? Newegg's? No, I don't think so. UPS? Yes, 'cause they were dumb enough to leave out in the open. Now you gotta file a claims report, and you'll probably fight the charge on your credit card. The credit card company may successfully force Newegg to give you credit, but if this happens enough times Newegg may increase prices to cover such losses.
FedEx is great, but I hate FedEx Home delivery. I placed an order at Buy.com that offered free ground shipping using FedEx Home. Sounds great, but in the end it was a definite headache. FedEx Home do not deliver to a corporate business addresses (maybe the local mom & pop store) in NYC. After 3 missed deliveries between 9am and 5pm (hey, I gotta earn a living you know) I had to drag my ass from Manahattan, all the way into some obscure customer pickup depot in Brooklyn on a Saturday afternoon to get my package. Fortunately, it was small since I don't own a car.
I hope Newegg can renegotiate a contract with FedEx (and not use FedEx Home), but so far I personally can't complain their use of UPS at this point.
Hopefully I'll win that Athlon X2 contest since I'm about to build a new PC, but knowing my luck I might as well just order it from Newegg of course.
SpaceRanger - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
[quote]Hopefully I'll win that Athlon X2 contest since I'm about to build a new PC, but knowing my luck I might as well just order it from Newegg of course.[/quote]Knowing our luck, one of the noobs that couldn't get the promo link to work in the first place is gonna win it. They'll get their shiny new X2 4600+, and wonder where it will fit inside their Dell XPS 400... /sigh
Junkkyy - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
So how much did Newegg pay you for this advertisment? I sure hope it was a lot.Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
AnandTech does not accept any payment for any articles, period. The Newegg article is no exception. I just thought it'd be a cool look at the behind the scenes of one of the most popular and longest running tech etailers. I've toured Newegg in the past, but this time I got them to agree to letting us publish photos for everyone to see. I'm sure Newegg sees it as a PR opportunity, but for us it's simply something neat for the readership, that's all.Take care,
Anand
Junkkyy - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - link
So you were not compensated at all for either an advertisement passed off as an article. Nor were you compensated for them using your celebrity status as a spokesperson in their new banner ads plastered all over your site.I have trouble believing this, but if it is true it just means you were foolish not to negotiate for a suitable spokesperson fee.
Regardless, it's as blatant a conflict of interest as any, and you've lost any shred of credibility because of it. Things were already pretty iffy with paid forum stickies and random embedded article ad-linking, but this takes the cake. I've been reading since the 90s, but you've just lost all credibility in my eyes, and I'll be looking elsewhere for hardware news/discussion now.
bldckstark - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - link
I did not mean to imply that AT was paid for the article, just that it would not be a conflict of interest even had they been.Many, many articles are printed for payment in this world every day. Credibility is lost when the reporting becomes biased, incomplete, or incorrect. Show me how reporting on the most liked and largest computer parts supplier in the U.S. creates bias for a site that tests the parts, not the delivery guy. (I believe that's blewboy.com. Not that I've ever been there. And my screen name is not Wun Hung Guy either.)
Heck, AT doesn't even order most of the parts they test, they are sent by the manufacturers.
You are not being reasonable. Would Anand have retained his credibility if he had coined an article on Coca-Cola's warehousing system? Think about it.
bldckstark - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
So why do you care? Creating an article showing the people who buy most of the stuff coming from the largest supplier can only be a good thing. I know when to order from Newegg and when not to. I can type in different addresses to Zipzoomfly (googlegear!) and Mwave to check prices. Why should any of us care if Anand got paid for this, this site is a business too, in case you didn't know. A payoff from Newegg for an article wouldn't be a conflict of interest for AT anyway!Consider the fact that all high volume warehouses are run in a similar fashion and you might realize that the article was fun but worthless as advertisement. Few people out there are going to assume that all other suppliers box their stuff up in torch lit caves. This is more about a process than a company. Every manufacturer I have ever worked for had a similar warehousing system to get parts to the assembly areas.
Now get back on your ZipZoomFly forklift and get my order shipped out that I placed 3 days ago. Whiner.
rubikcube - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Where are all the oompa loompas?Spacecomber - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Skimming through all the positive comments about this article, I'm feeling a bit left out. I seem to be having quite a bit of trouble getting the pictures to pull up on each page. Sometimes they eventually appear, but often I get nothing, even letting the browser window just sit open to the article for several minutes.You guys aren't helping EA host the latest BF2 patch on your image file server are you? ;-)
LoneWolf15 - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
To all the guys at Anandtech,I know a lot of our posts on reviews and articles are critical. It may make it seem like a thankless job sometimes (even if we are only offering constructive criticism, it can often seem like a personal attack). So I'm glad to be able to say I really enjoyed this article, from a techie perspective and as someone who has worked in a warehouse long ago and loves to see how far automation has come in distributing products. Documenting the whole thing and including pictures was a great thing.
Thanks for continuing to offer us quality articles, and thanks for additionally giving us the chance to win free stuff. Even when we don't say it, it is truly appreciated. And thank NewEgg for us, for offering themselves up for inspection.
gibbsk - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Thanks Anand for the inside look at NewEgg!! I've always wondered how they got things out so fast, and now I know! :)Seriously, NewEgg is a great retailer and I have shopped with them for years. UPS Ground from CA to my house was taking a week, but now with this new warehouse in TN, hopefully I will get things sooner!
Keep up the good work Anandtech and NewEgg!!!
EODetroit - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Wow, I can remember the day when I thought Newegg was just some Egghead ripoff/spinoff company. Then I kept finding the lowest prices for stuff I wanted at their web site. To top that off, they never screwed up an order of mine, where other companies would screw them up (and still do screw them up) all the time. And then they had the user reviews, which were great before they were censored.I'm an IT tech at a company with < 100 employees, small company. Been here for a number of years now, and people often come to me for computer advice. I can remember many years ago, someone came up to me asking about the new DVD burners back when they just came out. I refered him to the usual review sites, but I also took him to Newegg's web site, and showed him the user reviews. 10s and hundreds of reviews by people that actually bought the burner, and often ripped it to shreds, saying things like "Newegg rocks, they got this to me in 2 days, but this DVD burner sucks, sorry, get XXXX burner instead". We were both really impressed that Newegg would let those reviews stay, and it really helped him get the best burner for his money that he could. I'm sure he ended up ordering it from Newegg too since I put his computer together for him a couple months later.
So anyways, eventually we hired an Intern, and with the extra manpower, stopped buying pre-built computers. Now we get parts from Newegg, and I or the intern put them together. With total control over what goes in our computers, I must say we've had MUCH fewer part failures than what we used to get. That let us not hire more IT staff even though the company has doubled in size, I don't have crap parts failing all the time like I used to any more. Without Newegg being so reliable and inexpensive, it wouldn't have happened.
GJ Anand and Newegg the past 5 years. Hoping for another 5.
huges84 - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Dang the article has been posted on Slashdot. Luckily they didn't mention the contest. But still, I think my chances of winning have been seriously deminished. :(Phiro - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
None of the pics show up for me now... Slashdot effect?yacoub - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
The only thing missing is how much discount NewEgg employees get and if they're hiring! ;)Very nice article.
aslaw - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
This is my first post: I've perused your site but linked in today through Ben's Bargains, and I was fascinated by the Newegg story! I've purchased from those guys and they are, indeed excellent vendors. Having now "seen" their operation and read about their commitment to quality, they'll remain a first choice when I am shopping.And you, Anand, have performed a real service by showing this to the web community. I'm only sorry that when I was in Los Angeles 2 weeks ago that I didn't happen upon the Newegg facility (hard to miss with the big sign on the front wall!!
Andy
Johnclarkiii - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
I have been reading your articles fairly often because I am a web subscriber to CPU. I really do enjoy your writing. In this case I enjoyed it so much I had to join your site and tell you thank you for your excellent writing but especially for the Newegg warehouse article. I buy primarily from Newegg and I work in the warehouse at Carpet Bonanza in Zeeland MI. It is a different kind of warehouse but it is very intersting for me to see just how Newegg handles the product. Again, thenk you very much. Keep up the great writing and I look forward to more interaction with you in the future.John
Wesleyrpg - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
hey....anandtech is a worldwide site, so why is the competition only for americans?not very diplomatic....us aussies get screwed over again. (grrr stupid xbox360 delay)
Ricardo - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Wow Anand, how much are they paying you? Those are some seriously cool conveyors and bins, but this article reads like an advertisement or promotional campaign the whole way. Great detailed overview of the order process, nonetheless.kmmatney - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
NewEgg has been an advertiser on Anandtech for quite a while - these advertisers help keep Anandtech running, so any advertisement is deserved. Regardless, it was an interesting article.Staples - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
I am surprised it took someone so long to mention that this is 100% pure advertisment.nomagic - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Newegg could be paying AnandTech, but who cares as long as it is a good read. This article is informative and interesting.krwilsonn - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
I love Newegg...been perfect so far and even sent me a thank you for being a customer letter with a free t-shirt, eVGA keychain, and Newegg sticker out of nowhere just because I placed a couple orders earlier in the year. Oh and as far as the UPS vs. Fedex debate, would you feel more comfortable if Fedex left your $500 CPU on your porch just because you are not home? Sure it is a pain but come on, it is worth the extra hassle to keep your gear out of harm's way.ohnnyj - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Just ordered a Logitech G7 mouse on Sunday, arrived today (using UPS Ground). Great work Newegg!
John
Harkonnen - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Canadians can't enter :(boo
*cries*
Einy0 - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
I will always buy from Newegg, Unless it's a lot more expensive than somewhere else or not available from them. I always get my stuff fast. I get my stuff much faster now that they use UPS. Fedex used to hold my packages extra days until the last possible day to make it on time. I live in Massachusetts. There is a Newegg warehouse in New Jersey. Most of my stuff comes from NJ. With Fedex 3 day, I'd get the stuff exactly 3 days later. Fedex ground, forget about it. It would take seven days or more. I'd track the crap and Fedex would hold the stuff up in their warehouse in CT all the time. Sometimes the package from NJ would go to like Chicago then come back to the East Coast. Stupid crap all the time. With UPS, I get UPS ground and I get the stuff the next day. Everytime I order if it ships from NJ via UPS I get it the next day. Packages are always in great condition as well. Ups delivers to my area of town usually between 11 and Noon. Fedex comes at like 4:30PM. If no one is here to accept my package Fedex will leave me the stupid slip on my door. UPS almost always will just put it inside my porch. I avoid Fedex at all costs.johnsonx - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - link
When FedEx holds your boxes with status "Package not due for Delivery", that seems to be based on how busy the driver's route is that day. On busy routes, they'll keep your box until the last possible day (and you can ill-afford to complain, you paid for 3-day shipping). They fill the truck with everything that must be delivered that day, and then if there's any room left the stuck in tomorrow's packages, the next days, etc.For me, if I want something ASAP but don't want to pay for expeditied shipping, I'll have it shipped to my home address. Usually they deliver it as soon as they get it. If I have something sent to my office (which is probably where I need it), they sometimes hold it 1 or even 2 days.
Obviously this is going to be different for everyone, but that's how it works for me.
As to the whole UPS vs. FedEx debate, I agree that when the switch first occurred, UPS sucked. But on my more recent orders, UPS has been quicker and 'cleaner' than I had ever expected of FedEx.
WileCoyote - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
I had stopped ordering from Newegg because of Fedex. I started ordering again when they added UPS. UPS drops it off if I'm not home but Fedex makes me drive to their building to pick-up the package for missed deliveries. About 90% of the time the Fedex driver didn't leave a notice behind so I wouldn't even know the package was waiting for me. I hate Fedex - for the inconvenience and for hiring losers.bldckstark - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
I have had the same experience with FedEx. Their airport hub is 5 miles from my house, but a box will sit at the warehouse for 3 days until the actual "delivery date" is reached. Then it comes. This might be good for some people who don't expect to see it til then, but dang, seeing my stuff sitting in a warehouse for 3 days tees me off. By the way, my sister is one of the losers. She said they didn't leave notices for you because you are rude and your house smells. Fedex has a card you can fill out one time to tell them to always leave the box regardless of whether it requires signature or not. The delivery confirmation says "signature on file". UPS doesn't do that and I wish they did. USPS too.bob661 - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
UPS is MUCH slower than Fedex to my house. If I order something from the CA warehouse, it'll come next day even if I pick the 3 day selection! UPS will take a least a week if I pick the 3 day.dev0lution - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
...then you should do a tour of some of the larger System Builders in the same neighborhood. Just as automated in many cases, but with assembly lines, burn-in stations and floor to ceiling with product.Don't get any ideas though, since the rent-a-cops are packin' heat ;)
skyyspam - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
This was definitely one of the more enjoyable (perhaps original?) tech-related articles I've read in a long time. I've always been curious as to how newegg operated--and now, thanks to Anandtech, I know!Slash3 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
...is cheaper shipping to Alaska! That's one of the reasons I keep going back to Zip Zoom Fly - they offer "free" 2nd day shipping on many items, and while the offer isn't valid to AK for some reason, they *do* offer a $10 2nd day rate. Newegg's shipping calculations to AK always end up being quite high for few or single item orders, and they don't offer alternatives such as USPS. I know we're a small market, but a thousand here, a thousand there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money. ;)Cool article, keep doing these! It's great to get a peek inside the tech industry, definitely something you don't have a chance to explore very often.
Marthisdil - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Almost every place I've looked, it's cheaper for me to have stuff shipped ot me via FedEx ground than via UPS Ground =/Regs - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
In one of their warehouses like they did with kbtoys back in the day?Wooo weee. Give me a cart and ill tare up that ware house in seconds.
Postoasted - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
First off great article. Have never bought from Newegg before, but after reading about it here I feel assured that they're not some fly-by-night chop shop. As a potential customer the fact that my package will come with peanut styrofoam is a big negative. But if the price is right I guess I can live with it.allometry - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
I'm not sure if NewEgg is using the biodegradable peanuts made from a corn starch base. When you finally do place an order, grab one of those peanuts and run it under some water to see if it disapears.plonk420 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
have you a solution as versitile as peanuts? i sure don'tplonk420 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
how soon until they pay off the setup and their prices can go down to what they were when they first started? i miss those days...lsman - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Not when they are expanding to like China and rest and have to pay for those. :Dshabby - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Looks like a basement operation to me, they sure fooled me....Zebo - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Always like to read about orgins. Maybe next time. I've never had a complaint with newegg but there are others "just as good" and cheaper too such as Mwave.com Zipzoomfly.com for example. What really sets newegg apart is thier fantastic database for customers to search for exactly the prodcuts they are looking for and once found get a set of wonderful 360 degree pictures of the product! Great job!Hondaman4ever - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
This is a good article for those Industrial Engineers, pretty interesting facility layout.JumpyBL - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Wow, great article. I used to do recieving work and Newegg's setup really makes me want to work there, looks fun, scanning in all the new products and handling tech stuff all day. Looking at all the CPU and memory products laying about is enough to give any tech enthusiast a stiff one. Thanks for the article and the contest Anandtech.thatsright - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
GREAT Article!!One of those rare AT article that held my attention 100%, and I read EVERY page.
jamesbond007 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Thanks Anand and NewEgg for the great pics and tour! As a long-time NewEgg customer, it was very intriguing to read the article and gaze at the pictures because I've always wondered how a place like that worked. =)Cheers!
~Travis W.
flexy - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
this looks sooooooooooooooo much like my f****g work - except that the items at newegg are approx. 10000000 times more interesting than what we deal with every day ;)bbomb - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
I worked on an aembly line putting together boxes for vent hoods to go in. That was the longest fucking week of my life. I wonder why the vent hood people didnt have the box-putter-together machine.PandaBear - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
The last company I worked for used to be part of Mitsubishi, and you would be surprised how much cheaper our shipping was compare to you going to Kinko's yourself, it was almost 1/2 off.I would imagine Newegg got a deal with UPS that makes it much cheaper than FedEx Ground.
Reflex - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Been a customer of theirs for years, pretty much since Egghead went under(remember them?). Service has always been great and they are the first place I reccomend to techs and resellers. Sure beats the old days of having to have a tax ID and account with a distributer.Powermoloch - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Thanks for the article Anand...really appreciate it. I didn't expect the warehouse to look like that !cw42 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
pics coulda been better, but AWESOME ARTICLE.Thanks newegg.
bob661 - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Pics looked good to me.StevenYoo - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
nice read.man, part of me really wants to win that CPU!
but the other part of me doesn't so I don't have to buy a new mobo, etc.
NeonAura - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Contest for AMD X2s.. excellent :)And, there shouldn't be many entries outside of Anandtech, because the contest entry isn't open for a long time and because the link's broken. Noobs won't get it :)
Kuroyama - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Since no one was specific about location, seems the link to the contest on "The Secure Area" page wasn't fixed, although the entry later in the article is OK.bigboxes - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
I had to use IE. I'd rather not have to use IE if at all possible.bldckstark - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
I clicked the link in the article, and the advertisement link on the left frame, and both worked just fine for me with FF. The ad opened a new window, the link changed pages. Also I haven't seen it mentioned yet guys, but I bet this article is already linked all over the net.Anand and crew, how much is traffic up (or down) over normal since you posted this article?
allometry - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
I would check your FF install. I'm using 1.5 and had no issues signing up...Marlin1975 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Sorry but what is that based off of??? I have used both for a LONG time between items that were basic small to large items such as engine heads I have ported or crankshafts and can say Fed-Ex ground has never been a problem for me or anybody else i know that ships a good deal. Even in the anandtech forums most swear by Fed-Ex ground way before UPS.
Also if Fed-Ex ground is the same price as UPS ground then why does Newegg not offer Fed-Ex ground?
superkdogg - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
If UPS ground is better, can somebody tell them that my laptop ram that I ordered two weeks ago(!) should be here by now. Not only did the shipment originate in New Jersey and miss Wisconsin instead landing in Phoenix (already late at this point), it was then rescheduled for delivery another 6 days later(!!).So far it's been 14 days (counting weekends, so a little slack there). This wouldn't be so bad, but that I'm off work after some surgery and can't sit up long enough to use my desktop. So I'm stuck struggling with my new laptop that I got cheap since it has only 256 MB of ram. Try to play any game with integrated graphics and 256 MB using XP (Home in my case) - ain't pretty. Oh well, allegedly my additional 1 MB is coming sometime soon (unless it inexplicably ends up in Nova Scotia on its way back).
superkdogg - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Oops. Obviously 1 MB wouldn't make much difference. 1 GB would.Cygni - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Im with you, FedEx Ground blows UPS Ground away in my book. I always fork over the extra couple bones to get FedEx Ground when I blow paychecks on newegg (fairly regularly) after a couple "experiments" when Newegg switched to UPS... Boxes always come quicker, and in much better shape.I do like the OPTION of shipping with either, but for my dollar, im going with FedEx.
LoneWolf15 - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Ditto. I'll choose FedEx Ground over UPS Ground anytime. They've been more gentle on my packages, I've gotten far better customer service too. I'll gladly pay a buck extra per package to get FedEx Ground over UPS Ground.bob661 - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Yeah, UPS Ground blows ass.jims23211 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
As a FedEx employee, the info that NewEgg supplied you about a price hike was bogus. Fact is NewEgg received a substantial discount, but UPS decided to undercut FedEx, so NewEgg renegoitated their contract on a less volume. Last I heard from our Corporate Sales rep, Newegg finally realized their mistake (a huge amount of damage returns and missed/lost deliveries by UPS) and is trying to get their deal back with FedEx, good luck...Jim
NullSubroutine - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
aww poor fed ex, do they want a sucker? im sure its not just one sided to fex being innocent.yacoub - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
Considering FedEx is the better shipper to use most of the time...hergieburbur - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
I agree, I have shopped Newegg for years, and I never once had any problem receiving my order extremely quickly until they switched to UPS. First time I ordered that was sent UPS took 2-3 days more, held up by shipping. Personally, I miss Fedex Ground.overclockingoodness - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
I'm guessing that's based on Newegg's dealings with UPS. A shipping company better be competent if it wants to handle 25K orders a day. I guess Newegg has created a benchmark for making sure shipping companies are doing their job well (so has Amazon.com).jfunk - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
I've always loved Newegg since the beginning. Almost always within a couple bucks of the cheapest price and service has been great the few times I've had to contact them.I just hope not too many of my shipments start comming out of the new TN warehouse, it takes longer to get to me than the stuff from NJ.
overclockingoodness - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Yes, that's Anand in the picture. :)AndrewChang - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Hey Anand, that wouldn't happen to be you by any chance would it? Haha, Goodstuff...PClark99 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
the link to enter the contest is not working for me.DigitalFreak - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Leave the contest link broken! All the n00bs won't be able to figure out how to re-construct the correct URL and won't be able to enter! More chances for the rest of us.Mant - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
You are a tool.Id like to shoot you with that peanut gun...not really
MIKEMIKE - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
the link seems borked for me.Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Fixed :)Take care,
Anand
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Boo. :)Mant - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Yeah, PLEASE fix that link for the giveaway!DigitalFreak - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
If you can't figure out how to reconstruct the link, you can't enter. It's part of the contest.huges84 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
I don't know if this is a local/ISP issue ro what, but I was on page 3 of this article and when I clicked on page 4 it just loaded the top and side Anandtech theme, no article. I retried it several times and no dice. Then I reloaded page 3 (which had loaded fine before) and I got the same problem. Then I reloaded the home page and it is no longer there either. :(huges84 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
BTW when I try to access a page in the article it sends me here:http://search.anandtech.com/search?site=atweb_coll...">http://search.anandtech.com/search?site...om=%3CHO...
Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Sorry, it got pushed live before it was finished :) It's back up again.Take care,
Anand
segagenesis - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Having been a NewEgg customer for about three years now, it was nice to see some insight at how things go on behind the scenes (alot different than I expected). By the way, the larger image links are broken :/Rapsven - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
What's that for?peldor - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
I just want some stats.You know like megapeanuts/s.
Jynx980 - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - link
The peanut guns are employed by security at the New Egg facility. They shoot about 15 peanuts in a tight grouping which leave painful welts for slacker employees and persons accused of theft.Howard - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Strange.creathir - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Though Anand, use your sway to get them to GET RID OF PEANUTS!I would MUCH rather get those plastic bags of air than messy peanuts...
- Creathir
CheesePoofs - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Same here. Air bags are much cleaner and don't get everywhere like peanuts have a tendency to do.johnsonx - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - link
yeah, hate those peanuts. They're so hard to pick up if you happen to spill some.BUT, I bet peanuts are a good bit cheaper for such a high volume shipping operation. Do you want to pay more for bags of air?
F22 Raptor - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Nice in depth article and pitures, it was very interesting!I also entered the giveaway!
:)
Cygni - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
I have to say, im pretty impressed. I didnt expect that level of automation and technology. Guess i shouldnt be surprised. It IS newegg, afterall.gerf - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
I expected a little more automation. Of course, I work for a company that makes things like this (similar at least). Mostly we do automotive machines though.But, there are a few factories in the world that are completely automated similar to this warehouse, but even more so.
Pallets can be tracked and moved to the exact part of the plant that the parts are needed, automatically loaded, and automatically assembled, including a multitude of safeguards for people, quality, machine production...
Yeah, it's neat stuff.
gofor55 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
First post!dman122 - Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - link
i cant order anything from newegg. because they like to take two weeks before they get ahold of me and by that time. im super pissed and i cancel the order. go to wal mart use my credit card there. wal mart takes it that day no problem and i get my stuff that day. just not a super computer like i wanted and ordered twice. and both times they did that crap to me. just wondering what you have to do for them to stop being a holes? to have them send out your stuff that you order. any help would be appreiciated thanks.