Local Staples has low stock-hesitant though

[maverickfan22]

First post!

I've been checking all day/every day at work the inventory at nearby Staples. Finally one shows "in stock" (not low stock). I'm tempted to ask them hold it and run by after work and buy it. Any chance this is perhaps one of the "2nd batch?" (if there is a newer/better batch at all).

If I knew it was going to be problem-free, I would buy it in a heartbeat. All of the negative threads have me concerned though.

Also with the Ipad Mini around the corner, if there are any problems with the N7 after buying, I knew I'd be telling myself (and my wife would be), should have waited for the new Ipad.

 

[fabiosan]

I've had zero problems with mine - you can always return it if there's an issue, especially if you buy it at an actual store. I wouldn't think twice about it....

 

[maverickfan22]

I've had zero problems with mine - you can always return it if there's an issue, especially if you buy it at an actual store. I wouldn't think twice about it....

Good to know! I may see if they can hold it. Wifey may kill me (one frugal woman I married). Anyone know if they have been holding these for people. I don't get off until 7 more hours. I know their stock won't last that long!

 

[natehoy]

Good to know! I may see if they can hold it. Wifey may kill me (one frugal woman I married). Anyone know if they have been holding these for people. I don't get off until 7 more hours. I know their stock won't last that long!

It probably depends on the store. Your best bet is to call the local store and see.

Sadly, all the Staples stores within 30 miles of me have "not sold at this store" and I'm not about to drive an hour and a half to the nearest one that does and lists "low stock".

EDIT: Funny, just checked again and a lot of ones that read "in stock" yesterday now list "not sold at this location", and a lot of the ones that used to read "not sold at this location" now read "in stock".

 

[Mthr1]

I have two 16GB tabletes from Staples.

I ordered one off their website on July 14 and it was supposed to be in store by July 20. Well, July 20 came and unit didn't arrive and was rescheduled to arrive at July 23.

Throughout the week prior, Staples didn't have any idea when they would get stock in and that all they were offering was pre-order for their customers.

On July 20, 3-4 local area Staples in Cleveland had "low stock", including the store that I had arranged to pick up my website ordered N7 from. Being impatient, and knowing that I could just return my pre-ordered one, I went ahead and bought one of the in-store units that were available on that day.

On the 23rd, my original unit came in and was called that I could come get it. I went ahead and got it and the plan was going be that I would keep one arnd return the other. Between the two of them, I was hoping that I would make out with one that was free of defects.

Well, I'm here to say that BOTH units are fine. Very little to no left side screen separation, even after high stress use. No dead pixels. No ghosting. No hazing. Everything on both units are fine and free of defects...so far.

Both, obviously, are Staples units.

My stores do not "hold" on hand units, but their availability engine on their website are accurate.

Staples have a 14 day, satisfaction guarantee on their technology items, No re-stocking fee on openend items. Very friendly.

Good Luck.

 

[maverickfan22]

EDIT: Funny, just checked again and a lot of ones that read "in stock" yesterday now list "not sold at this location", and a lot of the ones that used to read "not sold at this location" now read "in stock".

Are you going to try to pick one up? I still can't decide if I want to or not. I'm not familiar with Android at all Hopefully it wouldn't take that long to pick up. I'm used to Apple's ios, and I've always had good luck with their products. I worry about the whole "return process" as well.

Also, I wish I knew if Google was working on improving the quality of these. I guess I wouldn't mind waiting a month or two. Seeing videos on youtube of the "good ones" though just makes it hard to resist!

 

[maverickfan22]

Paulcle, thanks for sharing your experience with Staples! I'm probably just going to run by after work, and if they have any left, I'll buy one. If not, I'll know it wasn't meant to be

 

[natehoy]

I've been trying to decide. I have an HTC Thunderbolt as my primary phone, and an old Pantech Novel hacked with Android as my tablet. I was looking at either upgrading to a single device (Galaxy S3) with a slightly larger screen than the Thunderbolt, or upgrading to a 7" tablet in addition to my phone.

Given that both options cost the same money, and my Thunderbolt is a perfectly good phone, I'm leaning heavily toward getting a Nexus 7. Assuming, of course, that I can get the WAF(*) high enough.

(*) Wife Acceptance Factor.

 

[maverickfan22]

Given that both options cost the same money, and my Thunderbolt is a perfectly good phone, I'm leaning heavily toward getting a Nexus 7. Assuming, of course, that I can get the WAF(*) high enough.

(*) Wife Acceptance Factor.

I like that (WAF)! Funny how the wife just spend $200 for prepaying massages for the next couple months. In her defense, she did just give birth 2 months ago. I had absolutely no problem in her doing that. However, there's a problem if I pay $250 on a tablet

 

[natehoy]

. I'm used to Apple's ios, and I've always had good luck with their products.

Many moons ago, I won an Apple iPod Touch Gen 2 in a writing contest. Loved that thing. It's nothing I would ever have spent money on myself, and I thought it would just be a toy, but it turned out to be very useful. However, since I run Linux at home, having a dedicated virtual machine for Windows and a second copy of any music I wanted to put to my iPod was a hassle.

I still have it, and use it as a music player in the living room.

When my company took away our Blackberries and gave us the choice of iPhone 4 or Android, I chose Android. I was already deeply in the Googlesphere anyway, and I found typing on the small iPhone screen with my big meaty paws to be a continuous exercise in screaming frustration, and I liked the idea of a phone I that didn't require a computer to set up (iTunes activation).

Honestly, I like my Android devices better. Not that I dislike the iOS devices - far from it! But I like not being tied to iTunes, the ability to load different keyboards and launchers and such, and the sheer number of customization options.

At the moment, the Nexus 7 is the best bang for the buck if you're looking for a tablet as a toy. If you want to stay in the iOS space, you'll spend more than twice as much, admittedly for a device with a much larger screen, but I don't see that as an advantage really. 7-ish inches just seems like the perfect size for a media consumption device.

If the 400MHz processor, crappy resistive screen, and 256K of memory on my old Panditigal Novel I picked up for $20 at a yard sale wasn't so slow and limiting, I'd love the little thing. But it was a perfect $20 test bed to tell me that a 7-inch screen is what I really want. I can operate it single-handed when needed, it's easy to carry about, and it's quite comfortable to hold when reading a book. I don't see myself wanting a ten inch screen often for anything I'm likely to want to do.

 

[maverickfan22]

Thanks for the reply, natehoy. I'm also anxious to try something new (Android). However, I'm also wondering what this "Ipad mini" will be all about (supposedly 7.85"). I still haven't seen exactly how how much more customizable Android is than ios. What exactly can you do that you can't with ios?

 

[trayes77]

Picked mine up this past monday. Staples just received a new batch that morning. Went to go and pick up, the associate said that someone returned their device and offered 10 percent off. I checked the opened unit and the screen was lifted above the bezel on some parts. Associate said that the customer got that unit on launch day. I didnt bother with that unit, especially for 10 percent, known ing that it could be fixed and went for the new one fromt the latest batch. I opened it in the parking lot amd the screen was NOT raised, there was no light bleed, or washed out looking. Couldnt be happier. Dont know if they have improved their latest batch but it worked out for me.

 

[natehoy]

Thanks for the reply, natehoy. I'm also anxious to try something new (Android). However, I'm also wondering what this "Ipad mini" will be all about (supposedly 7.85"). I still haven't seen exactly how how much more customizable Android is than ios. What exactly can you do that you can't with ios?

Here's what I know I can do that I cannot do with my old iPod Touch. Keep in mind this is a Gen 2 and Apple stopped upgrading its OS a few releases back so some of this might have changed (as in Apple may have added these features).

1. I can mount my Android devices to any arbitrary computer as a mass storage device, allowing me to use my phone as a thumb drive and copy any file to/from it.
2. I can install a simple application to replace the stock keyboard with one of my choosing. Currently, I have the stock keyboard, Thumb Keyboard, and one that emulates a Graffiti input device like my beloved old PalmPilot.
3. I can replace the default launcher (I currently use GoLauncher, that allows me to change the number of icons on each screen and rotate the screen so I can run in landscape).
4. Adding ringtones and notifications is as simple as copying MP3 files to specific folders on my SD card.

 

[maverickfan22]

Good deal, thanks again natehoy and trayes77! Are the animated wallpapers hard to upload/use? Do they slow down the device any?

 

[Breezy Beach]

My staples just got one in that was returned by someone who bought it hours later! Open box yes but covered under warranty just like new. On my way to pick it up at the next town over!!! Yeah beitchez!!!

 

[Small_law]

I was in a Sam's Club yesterday near Niles, Ohio and they had four or so. I got mine at a Sam's near Cleveland. May be a good bet if you're looking for one.

 

[NickA]

I just picked mine up a couple hours ago at my local Staples. Website said "Low Stock". I went up there and they had 1 left so I got it.

 

[Ftspyder]

my local staples has 6 of them, thinking about stopping by after work, but i dont get out until 6 so they will probably be sold out

 

[maverickfan22]

Glad to hear more of you are getting some! Hope they are good units! Texted with the wife a few minutes ago, and she is not happy about my possible purchase. I sure hope it's worth it.

 

[maverickfan22]

So I just called them. They have 2 in stock, but they cannot hold them. I'm sure they will be gone by 7:00 :'(