Comparison of swiss electronics shops

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
1
Just thought I'd share some of the experiences that I have experienced with some swiss electronics shops, both online, and retail. It would be great if you could share your info as well!

1000ordi (Geneva)

Retail/Online

Decent quality, reasonable prices, but I think the most useful thing is that they have lots of stock readily available at their location across from La Praille in Geneva. Very useful when you need to get a barcode reader very quickly.

Abbo Informatique (Geneva)

Horrible retail/Online

Avoid at all costs. Just trust me, avoid - especially since they rarely have the best price, and they constantly lie about their stock. Even though almost everything is marked as 'In Stock', I had to wait 3 weeks for something that they said I could pick up within a day or two. The boss over there has given up on the shop aspect of his business, focusing instead on IT services, real estate and stuff.

PCTOP/Prodimex (Geneva/Lausanne)

Retail/Online

Decent shop, I've bought lots of expensive things from them over the years. This was before I discovered toppreise.ch . Their online PC Configurator is quite useful, I use it to see what parts work with what. Prices are OK.

Conrad

??/Online

I have bought some stuff from them once, in another country, so I can't vouch for them in Switzerland. The shop I went to was super well stocked with things that usually take weeks to come from China. The prices certainly aren't great, however if you need some electronic components quick, they're great. Especially for things where warranty matters, or when it costs too much to ship from China.

Digitec

Retail/Online

This must be my favorite shop. They have the best prices most of the time, with lots of items in stock, not only ready to ship, but even ready to pick up from their retail locations (which are awesome by the way, heavily inspired by apple stores)! I've never had a single hitch with them, though their lausanne location needs a bit of repairing done on their door. Like the new egg of Switzerland. Only better .

Distrilec

??/Online

Yup. Pricey though.

InterDiscount

Retail

Worst prices in Switzerland for EVERYTHING apart from some USB memory sticks and very few HDD's: 30 CHF for a 64GB USB key or 109 CHF for a 2TH USB 3.0 HDD is pretty good right? There are also a few random, but good deals on some items, but you have to have a good eye. My best advice: avoid. Though if you 'accidentally' break your USB key every 6 months, you can get a free upgrade in the form of 2x the space .

melectronics

Retail/Limited online

Same as InterDiscount, but they sometimes have insane flat screen TV deals from time to time - they go very quick though, and you have to make sure you get an extended warranty unless you want to get screwed by the cheap capacitors used in TVs these days.

Microspot

??/Online

Eh... not great, but OK. Generally fine for getting cheap electronics if you don't mind waiting. Their 'crazy-deals' that they show on the side of their website is usually 10-15% more expensive than what other shops sell it for, so beware. Also, they lie about their stock - to the point where I bought a Wireless router that usually sells for 50 CHF for only 16 CHF there (shipped), and after waiting almost 2 months, I confronted them about it, after which they swiftly removed the article page from their website and replaced it with an identical one listing the product for much more. After hassling them for a long time, they sent it to me for the price I payed though. Ironically, several months later, they sold the same router for 20 CHF. And I bought it again...

Techmania

??/Online

Generally speaking, they're great: like digitec, they have their customer service working well, however they are a bit more professional and expensive in my opinion. My only experience with them was buying a 1.5TB HDD, and after the price hike, 68 CHF was an INSANE deal. Even though there were more than 1 available when I bought it, they informed me after a day or two that their supplier cannot supply this item at such a price. Instead, they wanted me to pay the price I would usually pay for a 2TB HDD. So clearly I was pissed. But then I told them that I needed it urgently, making it look like I was going to pay the difference. So unbelievably, they shipped it to me, and I never payed the extra 40 CHF in the end! My account was deleted afterwards though.

Ricardo.ch

Online

A tough cookie. The good deals get snatched up really quickly, or noobs make certain items cost too much. I tend to avoid it as much as I can, but sometimes I have no choice with items that I can't wait to get shipped from China. In that case, I've only been screwed by sellers selling from outside of Switzerland, in particular Germany. Some people there aren't very nice and selfish too, for example one time I won an overpriced PS2, but I didn't have the time to pay within the first 15 days. The guy was a dick, and even after I payed him 25 CHF to shut up, he still left me a bad reputation - the only one I ever got!

So yeah, I think I've summoned up quite nicely all of the local shops that I have used to buy things from. MediaMarkt isn't on the list, but they're practically the same as InterDiscount, with slightly better prices and more deals.

2
Nice summary and agree, I would add interdiscount are good to look at things then you buy them at digitec!

3
this is an excellent thread as i will be shopping around for a new TV, laptop and SLR camera for my partner, so good to know where to go.

4
If you are looking at DSLR cameras and in Zurich then Digifuchs are also very good value and often beat Digitec on certain models

5
Unfortunately, i'm based in Fribourg and was curious to know if its cheaper to still buy electronics in the UK, but things don't seem too bad here. So was going to head to mediamarkt as they seem quite cheap until i read your thread and discovered digitec. (i was looking at the canon 600d or 650d)

Thanks!

6
On digital cameras Switzerland will easily be cheaper then UK even after vat deductions! Digitec will post to your home for free using swiss post and you can probably orrganise insurance as I hve only ever collected expensive items in the store pickup

7
For DSLRs, there are a couple of good specialized shops that have good prices online. Best would be to check on Toppreise.ch. You must also make sure that the seller has several hundred ratings, and over a 5 in terms of reputation.

However, you must most definitely avoid Abbo Informatique - I bought a 650D there a month ago, only got it a week ago despite the fact that they said that I could come and pick it up within a day or two. Plus, they put the box from the DSLR into a huge box with minimal packaging, so it could have been easily damaged. Plus, they charge (illegally) 15 CHF extra for using credit cards.

8
Thanks for the advice.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you get the 650d for?

9
Somewhere in the region of 1150 CHF with 55-135 STM lens. Plus I got a 64GB SDXC Class 10 card for 60 CHF. In the end I think everything cost just over 220 CHF with them. But right now your best bet is to go to digitec, they have it for 1119 CHF shipped.

10
I have some experience with Arp. They had at one time an "order today, delivery tomorrow" promise. Last August, I ordered a workstation from them together with additional memory, extra hard disks and a graphics card (not supplied as standard). Anyway, it arrived spread over 2 weeks with each component being delivered from a different place using a different carrier, some insisting on a signature, others not. The worst was the graphics card. The supplier attempted to deliver it when I was not at home and I had to phone (several attempts, long long wait) to register so I could use their website to book a second delivery attempt. In all, a complete misery.

11
The Mediamarkt in Marin has a MUCH better selection than the Interdiscounts in Neuchatel. I have no comments on the other shops. Thanks for posting.

12
What are FNAC like? Just discovered them in Fribourg. Are they any good?

13

Not particularly cheap. Steg is another place to try here in Fribourg that can have good deals. It’s up near the area of the city where Media Markt is in the smaller shopping centre across the road from Interdiscount.

You just have to keep an eye out for the deals as they come around prit25. Sometimes Media Markt will be good for things, other times Interdiscount, another maybe M-electronics. At least you’re in a cheaper part of Switzerland for electronics; prices at the same stores in Lausanne, Geneva or Zurich will be higher than you’ll find here.

14
I'm actually still curious about their "Inter"Discount name ... online definition shows "in·ter verb /inˈtər/ 1. Place (a corpse) in a grave or tomb, typically with funeral rites - he was interred with the military honors due to him"

Although, when I first heard the name, it sounded like they don't have many discounts but only a few here and there which is actually true

A more fit name would rather be Lack-Of-Discount