Computer fairs

Minibiker · 26 Jul 2017 at 21:17

Hi all

My wife has been told there is a computer fair in our area this weekend and thinks I should maybe take a look see what they got... I'm a bit weiry of going to these types of things and spending money because I just get a feeling something's going to go wrong... They say on their Facebook page "why pay high street prices" which straight away makes me wonder... has anyone experienced a computer fair..

!bluetonic! · 26 Jul 2017 at 21:20

I used to go to computer fairs all the time, but this was 17 or so years ago. Before computer auction sites.

Where is it fellow Swindonian?

The ones I used to go to had dodgy rips of the latest movies. But I did get some good computer cases, monitors and peripherals over the years.

paradigm · 26 Jul 2017 at 21:22

Back in the late 90s and early 2000s I used to frequent computer fairs, but these days they are typically a mix of overpriced tat ("gadgets"), mobile phone accessories, and the odd overpriced computer components stall, you might get lucky with second hand bits too, but I doubt it!

!bluetonic! · 26 Jul 2017 at 21:22

No problems, I've found it and I'm away on Saturday..

Sliver · 26 Jul 2017 at 21:28

I went to one some years back and purchased a hard drive. It was fine and is still working today. My purchase was an OEM deal so I saved money.

Minibiker · 26 Jul 2017 at 21:29

!bluetonic! said:
I used to go to computer fairs all the time, but this was 17 or so years ago. Before computer auction sites.

Where is it fellow Swindonian?

The ones I used to go to had dodgy rips of the latest movies. But I did get some good computer cases, monitors and peripherals over the years.

Ahhh another Swindon member

New college, Shame you can't make.. could've had a nose about with me

paradigm said:
Back in the late 90s and early 2000s I used to frequent computer fairs, but these days they are typically a mix of overpriced tat ("gadgets"), mobile phone accessories, and the odd overpriced computer components stall, you might get lucky with second hand bits too, but I doubt it!

Yeah it does say on their page mobile phones and gadgets... I'm tempted to take a stroll over and see if they have got such 'Bargains' as they say... I suppose its good I have some idea of what a good price is because of being a member here.

Scottland · 26 Jul 2017 at 21:52

Ah, I used to buy all sorts from fairs - this was before I got a switch card and ordering on the internet wasn't really a thing. I remember buying a 2mb upgrade for my S3 graphics card from a fair.

I can imagine them being full of tat these days however.

LewisRaz · 26 Jul 2017 at 21:59

Used to go every month as a teenager... like 2000 haha. Even then it was mostly just blank CDs and random tat with a few decent stalls for parts. Was the best place before internet shops took off. Dont think I would bother nowadays, nobody is going to reliably beat online prices.

timmeh · 26 Jul 2017 at 21:59

I used to go all the time some 15+ years ago and it seemed like you could get some pretty good deals. I went to a big one in Manchester a few years ago and it was, as someone above said, all tat and overpriced computer parts

Caged · 26 Jul 2017 at 22:03

Computer fairs are the worst that direct-from-China eBay sales have to offer, arranged on tables in a boring location. Sometimes there's second-hand laptops or Apple gear on offer for 50% above what it's worth.

Captain · 26 Jul 2017 at 22:05

Used to go to the computer fair in Birmingham, in the old motorbike museum.

Prices were maybe 5% lower than online but haven't been for 3 years.

May have changed a lot.

malachi · 26 Jul 2017 at 22:09

Clov!s said:
Used to go to the computer fair in Birmingham, in the old motorbike museum.

Prices were maybe 5% lower than online but haven't been for 3 years.

May have changed a lot.

I went last year, cheaper to go online. When you take into the cost of entry and it was massively reduced in stands.

shauncr91 · 26 Jul 2017 at 22:17

My first PC was built with a mishmash of bits from local computer fairs in the early 2000's. They used to be good as you could normally haggle a fair bit of discount and get some good deals on unboxed stuff such as GPU's.

These days as said above it tends to just be pointless crap with one or two stalls selling proper computer stuff for not much less than the big brands. Who's going to buy a 1080 for £20 less than OcUK from some random bloke you may never see again if it goes wrong?

Malevolence · 26 Jul 2017 at 22:22

Used to go to the one at Trentham Gardens all the time. Built many a Frankenstein PC from parts picked up for next to nothing.

sityeuropa · 26 Jul 2017 at 23:15

Before auction sites and online stores computer fairs were great. Good memories from them.

UTmaniac · 27 Jul 2017 at 00:28

Is it just me that reads the thread title and pictures PCs cheating on each other?

hyperseven · 27 Jul 2017 at 00:51

timmeh said:
I used to go all the time some 15+ years ago and it seemed like you could get some pretty good deals. I went to a big one in Manchester a few years ago and it was, as someone above said, all tat and overpriced computer parts

Was it Bowlers?

Used to get all sorts of illicit tech from that place.

Rotty · 27 Jul 2017 at 01:59

Used to be full of scruffy dossers buying blank CDs by the thousand, all for legitimate means no doubt

timmeh · 27 Jul 2017 at 05:07

hyperseven said:
Was it Bowlers?

Used to get all sorts of illicit tech from that place.

Yeah that's the one

Glanza · 27 Jul 2017 at 09:09

Used to spend many a weekend at the massive computer fair in Manchester though I can't remember the name of it

this was the early 00's and you could get some massive savings if you didn't ask why it was so cheap.

Now days I'd imagine it's mainly tat for phones and tablets instead of PC hardware.