Shopping online goes hand in hand with gaming online. I have found the best prices on games and gaming gear online almost every time. Who wants to spend extra money when you don’t have to? Aside from saving money outright, you save gas, and most importantly your own time. Scouring the internet for legitimate sites with the lowest prices isn’t a great use of time. I am careful not to pass out my credit card to just any online site. I also use PayPal whenever possible, which is becoming more and more accepted across the internet. I have had one bad shopping experience in my decade plus of online shopping. That one experience wasn’t a game, and the problem was the quality of the product not the transaction. Online shopping has proven very safe for me. If you’re still worried about it, just use your credit card. You are legally not responsible for unauthorized charges to your credit card by U.S. law. I attribute my good shopping history in great part to where I shop. Some places are good, and a few are great. Here are my favorites, in no particular order.
Far and away the best place to buy things on the Internet. They have amazing prices and selection. They offer free shipping on any purchase over $25 which, let’s face it, isn’t hard in the online gaming Industry. They have over delivered to me on multiple occasions. I pre ordered a Blu-Ray from them, and when they lowered the price after it shipped, I was refunded the difference. I can’t even recall how many times a package has arrived before its scheduled arrival. They are also expanding their digital download offerings. This should be your first stop when shopping for anything. While they don’t always have the lowest price, they do 90% of the time. Theirs is the price to beat.
Newegg is a great place to shop. Its prices rival Amazons quite frequently. It is mainly a computer parts store, but has expanded quite a bit into electronics, games, and gaming gear as well. It’s been around quite a while too, and even accepts PayPal.
Origin is the Electronic Arts digital download platform. Generally for new games, and sometimes even older ones, you won’t find a better price. It also works like Steam as a platform to chat with friends and launch games from. That particular part is still a little buggy though, but I’m more than comfortable buying through it. This is where I bought Battlefield 3.
Bestbuy and Bestbuy.com prices are usually a little higher. However, I still recommend it under certain conditions. If it is a new game or product, everyone is likely to be selling at MSRP. In this case, Bestbuy should be your choice. You can earn Reward-zone points, which translate into real savings later. I got Guild Wars 2 for $20 off. They have a new digital download platform as well, but be careful. It can be a little buggy.
This is more of a diamond in the rough shopping experience. It’s more of a gaming gear shopping place. I bought my monitor from here, and it was the best price too. I have seen it beat Amazon too, but for the most part it sells at MSRP. Also a good place to look for computer components.
Wal Mart and Walmart.com will surprise you. You can buy Razer products off of Walmart.com! Who knew? They seem to do a lot of free shipping promotions too, which makes them competitive with Amazon. It’s always worth checking out, though I am not aware of any digital download service.
GameStop is a lot like Bestbuy in that they sell at MSRP. They do offer a digital download service, and their stores are everywhere. I have spent many opening game nights with my wife in a GameStop at a midnight launch event. These events have always been fun to go to.
I have the least experience with the Steam platform. My wife uses it often, and we have never had any problems. A lot of my online gaming friends use and recommend it as well. You can get some great prices on old games, or during their sales.
The Apple store seems to have the best quality apps overall. It also generally gets first crack at cross platform apps. There also seem to be more more of a focus on gaming too.