The purpose of this thread is for Digital Home members to review and relay their experience buying consumers electronics at the online retailer Memory Express.

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I have been buying computer components from ME for several years. Several sales reps at big box electronics retailers first told me about them, in fact. Their prices are very competitive and they stock many parts not available at typical chains.

Never ordering online, I can only attest for the retail outlets in Calgary. The staff are personable, knowledgeable but also very busy as the lines often go out the door -- particularly at the Macleod Trail store in SW Calgary. Parking is a major problem at Macleod store but they are moving to a bigger location soon. When you visit the retail locations, you'll find them spartan to say the least so your money isn't going into fancy infrastructure.

I've only returned one item, a processor that didn't fit my PC, but they took it back for full refund no questions asked.

Finally, I should mention ME is the only retailer that have taken my name for an out of stock item that actually did call when the item came in.

This is basically the only outlet I get any parts from anymore. The service is excellent, and the return policy is first-rate. Prices are comparable to any of the online retailers, but I happen to live in the city so I am lucky there. They will also put items on hold for you with a simple phone call, and will call when out-of-stock items come in that you have been waiting for.

I love shopping at ME. I know the prices will be the lowest around. Its not for the basic/beginner user though if your buying computer parts, because you just receive your parts in a static bag with no manual or drivers. But those can easily be obtained online.
Knowledgeable staff and a great selection.
My only complaint is they do not stock certain major brands. But that could be because they are more a wholesale type store.

Memory Express is excellent on all counts. Best prices and service.
Haven't ordered online because they have conveniently located stores in Calgary. They have almost always had the item I wanted in stock. And they do actually call whenever they receive a back-ordered item.

The best PC retailer in Alberta, BAR NONE.
It is one of the few places in Calgary where it is actually a treat to buy from.

I have spent $35000 on PC parts at this store in past 5 years and have never had a complaint. Staff is knowledgeable and eager to assist. Prices are hyper-competitive (except for their overpriced cables which I source from the USA).
They do ship out of province and their prices for shipping are reasonable.

I can not comment on their in house PCs or service, as we only use Dell products at our work, and I'm the on-site A+ Certified technician.

My no-so computer savvy wife received, friendly, knowledge level appropriate advice on buying PC speakers for a Birthday gift for me. She was impressed on their straight forward, competent advice.

Calgary Southwest store has moved to bigger and better digs in southeast and there is now ample parking. It isn't just a parts depot but a legitimate retail outlet. Service, selection and prices remain first rate.

I have spent a decent amount if money at ME over the past few years. I even brought a TV from them for a relative a couple of Christmases ago at a killer price. I find outside if sales ME can be more expensive than some of its rivals. For example one store in 5 minutes away for me but I find it easier to buy from another retailer in a different province who could get me the same product for maybe 25% less but with waiting for shipping. From my experience ME doesn't like to price match even though they advertise it.

For example when a popular US online retailer in the same industry came to Canada I went to ME to see I they would price match an AMD x4 CPU that ME were selling for $32 more at the time. The clerk called over the store manager who made the whole process an embarrassing experience for me. I had done my homework, I had previously emailed that morning the store with my intentions of coming by and what I wanted and received a prompt reply saying no problem. So I tell the store manager who gives a huff and puff and quietly curses under his breath. He moved the conversation to the side as the was a big line up in store. I guess he didn't want others getting the same idea, which was ok by me. I did explain I wanted to give the store an opportunity and that I would prefer to spend locally.

Basicaly he made it such an ordeal that he put me off regularly buying there. In my mind I thought I would give the store the option if they wanted my custom or not, because the whole process was drawn out it was very hard to see it as a positive.

I had 2 more similar experiences with an i7 930 processor which memory express had it stock on the day of release at $27 more than 2 other places but the benefit was I could pick it up that day. The other experience was with a GTX 460 graphics card a purchase for a relative on a new pc build I was doing for him. We priced up system and this was the only piece of equipment ME were willing to price match (they sold it for $20 more) then list of parts we went in with were priced at $1150 from competitors and ME's pricing was $1390. Suffice to say we would of been happy with more of a compromise but they basically did not give what they advertise in matching prices on their website. I told them I understood they have the option to refuse particulars but the point felt during the process and discussion it never felt like they actually wanted my business.

The only things I buy here now are really just cans of compressed air (saves issues with shipping) and I check their site out for occasional sales. They do have great boxing day / christmas eve sales though. That TV mentioned earlier in the post was picked up for $1400 in store day before it was selling for $2300 and was an LG 55" LED if I remember was an 8500 series. It seems like they save best discounts for big sales.

Overall mixed buying experience and customer service average to poor in both Edmonton stores for me. I do not mind sharing I was somewhat satisfied in the poll I just felt there is some room for inprovement in a few areas.

Several years ago, it seemed the sales staff knew what they were talking about; which was something that made it worthwhile to go there for. Now, not so much.

- When my father went to get a new AVR, the rep indicated he needed special speaker cables & connectors to plug into the round connectors on the AVR (my father was used to the spring-clip connectors). Luckily he called me from the store and I informed him he didn't need anything fancy. (Note this wasn't a case of "Buy a Monster cables").

- When I needed new HDMI cables, I went to one of the other stores in Calgary and grabbed what I thought were the right ones. I walked up to the sales counter with my cables and asked the rep if these were the correct ones to connect a Blu-Ray player to a TV and he said they were (I specifically mentioned if these were the full-size HDMI ports). Sure enough, when I got home I discovered I bought cables with mini-HDMI ports on both sides. OK, my bad for not being knowledgeable in the first place (just starting to buy my HT gear), but after clearly saying which cable I needed, the sales rep shouldn't have sold me the wrong one.

Overall, it appears my theory of their service going downhill once they branched off into home electronics proved to be accurate (from my experiences). I know profit margins on computers are horrible (which is what probably prompted them to expand in the first place), but in doing so they moved away from what made them worthwhile to me (competitive prices and knowledgeable staff).

I've been very happy with MemEx, I've been a customer of theirs since 1998 and they put those yellow two-page ads in The Computer Paper.

I usually split my patronage between MemEx and NCIX, and the only area that MemEx has disappointed me was when I tried to do a price beat on a NCIX price. They wouldn't do it (on a Hauppauge 2250 tuner card) in 2009 because the tuner card at NCIX has a limit of 5 per customer, even though I only wanted two. For these reasons I found MemEx very disingenuous on their price beat policy, much like Future Shop/Staples/BestBuy, having all sorts of fine print to stop people from being able to successfully use it. I've found NCIX to be much better for beating a competitors price.

Still, MemEx is local and NCIX isn't, so I buy from MemEx when I need something right away.

I purchased "Samsung SCX-4828FN Laser Multifunction Printer, Copier, Scanner & Fax w/ Ethernet" yesterday. ($218 with taxes ).After spending two hours I finally got the toner in. However printer kept displaying "insert toner message". I called memoryexpress about the issue, customer service told he may take a look for me. Anyway I drove back and gave printer custom rep., after five minutes he came back told me "I installed a wrong toner". I explained them whatever was included in the box I installed. Anyway customer service started blaming that now I caused a physical damage to the printer by installing a wrong toner, and I must deal with Samsung directly.
I needed a printer asap, I asked he loan a replacement for two days, and I am willing to leave id and deposit. The Answer was "no".

Memoryexpress Customer service = blame a customer

However I was offered to purchase another printer from them...( no thank you very much ).
I ended up going to staples and buying another printer (HP)
I am posting this message to let everyone how bad customer service is at memoryexpress. Hopefully something good will come out of this.....

Store Location: NE, Calgary

I mostly shop at NCIX but I've also used Memory Express since I used to live in Calgary, great city, go Flames go. Both places I have to rely on shipping but I've found both very good to deal with. Memory Express offers free shipping which is great and before they opened their Richmond, BC store I could avoid paying PST also. After research, I look around for sales of the product I want and often ME can give me the best deal. They advertise price matching but I've never been able to find that option when buying online while NCIX has the option as you are going through the checkout. All in all I give ME a thumbs up.

i have purchased several things from ME ranging from monitors to Mac memory to HDMI cables. i had one bad experience that I will not bother detailing here. what is important is that I did send an email to the company expressing my discontent and was responded to by two owners within two days. needless to say I do not hesitate to continue giving ME my business.

I purchased a new desktop from ME. and was very dissatisfied when I discovered that I was given an OEM copy of windows 7, after I specifically told the salesman I wanted a copy that I could use the next time I bought a new computer. I was assured that it was in the box.. "ready to go". Obviously the salesman didn't even know the difference between "OEM" and purchased copy. To tell the truth, neither did I at the time but was told by a computer friend what a rip off OEM is and to ask for my own copy (accepting that its a few bucks more) .. Boy was he right. now that I have a problem with the software , microsoft offers no support because it is "oem", (whoever provides it is supposed to offer support) and when I contacted ME, the tech guy "Rog", was very rude and basically inferred that I was entering the command prompts wrong(and online fix that doesn't work) . I was simply told I'd have to bring the computer in and that there was nothing else he could do for me. While this may be true, I feel that I wouldn't have the problem in the first place if I'd been given the software that I'd asked for .. I'd at least have online support from microsoft. My complaint is that I had a bad salesman and a rude tech guy.. Now I'm stuck with the consequence.

I've been a customer for longer than I can remember, at least 2 moves of the south Calgary location. I'd hate to tally up how much I've spent there over the years...
Nothing but great service from them. Lately they're getting more into home theatre, and cameras, but it hasn't detracted from the computer side of things which is why I go there. Prices are usually the best in town, though can still find better on-line from the U.S. especially on cables. 2 thumbs up!

Price: Reasonable to excellent for computers/parts, usually a little overpriced on home theater stuff, although they will price match (they have for me).

Strength: Knowledgeable. They are usually enthusiasts behind the counter who often share their own experiences with you and are willing to tell you whether or not all the parts you are purchasing are likely to work together. Some of their computer sales people have been there along time.

They also help you out to your car with the stuff when you have lots of parts, or a big item.

Returns in their time window have been a breeze, haven't tried outside their window.

Weakness: Sale items can sell fast. So often are sold out by the time you see the offer on the website. Limited selections in non-computer items.

They have been really good for me

If you don't want to read my whole experience basically don't buy IPR as they are able to use their discretion on what is a replacement. And it wont benefit you.

I purchased a TV at 5pm on 7/15/2012. I also purchased your IPR plan for an additional $319.99 as I was told that although it cost quite a bit it would remove a lot of the hassle in case something went wrong. I was told that if my TV failed and couldn’t be repaired in 3-5 days I would receive a tv that had equivalent or better specifications then the one I already owned.

I hooked my TV up and after watching a few movies it stopped working on 8/2/2012. I called memory express on 8/3/2012 and explained the problem to them. I opened a service call with sharp and brought the TV down to Memory Express on 8/3/2012. They could not diagnose the problem and I picked the TV up on 8/4/2012. I set the TV back up on 8/6/2012 watched one movie and had the TV fail again. I called Sharp up and they informed me that they believed it was a main board failure. After talking to Memory Express we came to the agreement that an authorized sharp repair man would come and confirm if the TV was defective. The repairman came and confirmed that parts would need to be ordered and the TV would not be working for some time.

I brought the TV down to Memory Express and was told that I could have a TV that was equivalent. I asked what model. They told me that it was a Samsung instead of the Sharp that I bought. I wondered why this was as my exact model of TV with very close specifications was currently held in Memory express inventory. I explained that I had purchased Sharp specific peripherals that would only work with sharp and that in my opinion Sharp was better than Samsung. I was told that was just my opinion and didn’t matter. I tried to explain that I specifically bought a model with Quattron (4 pixel colors as opposed to Samsung’s 3 pixel colors) as it gave a brighter 3D image. I was told that this specification didn’t need to be met by Memory Expresses IPR program witch states equal or better specifications. I also noted that the replacement TV had a specification of 120HZ and my original TV was 240HZ. I tried to explain that there seems to be a big price difference between the 120HZ and 240HZ TVs. I was told that this is just a made up number for marketing and doesn’t really matter. So this was also another specification that would be a severe downgrade. I also noticed that the new TV only had 3 HDMI inputs when my original TV had 4. Having to swap out a cable every time I wanted to switch between my bluray player and laptop sure seemed like a huge inconvenience. Once again this was another specification that didn’t need to be met by IPR.

I was starting to get pretty frustrated and asked since you don’t have my model in stock anymore why can’t you just give me this year’s model from the same manufacture with the same specs. I was told that although that was the new model with the same frame and very close specs that Memory Express couldn’t just hand out new TVs because they would go out of business.

I am very unhappy with the service I received. I believe I was either sold the IPR plan under false circumstances or that I am not being properly taken care of by the store manager. Specific details below.

TV I bought: LC-60LE835U
TV They wanted to give me in replacement: UN60ES6500
Specs that are not up to standard with the original TV:
Hertz: 120 instead of 240
Pixel colors: 3 instead of 4
HDMI inputs: 3 instead of 4
Sharps direct replacement for original TV: LC60C8470U
Manager that I dealt with: Peter Lietz

I have purchased 2 full computer's worth of parts from them useing there price match policy and can say its the easiest site to do your price matching with.

you just punch in the price and a link to the item your pming against.

When theres a discrepency they call you. And calling them is always almost instant service times.

Ive had to RMA 1 set of ram with them and it went fine minus having to pay shipping to them.

so an A++ by me.

I also give them a socre of A++. They are always really helpful when I go in there. THey have excellent prices, and I also find it easy to price match with them.