Tech : You're not at Best Buy anymore.

This'll look like an ad, but it's not. Addison Electronique doesn't know I'm writing this, and so they sure didn't give me a dime for it. Addison Electronique is an electronics surplus store in north-eastern montreal. I'm sure there's an Addison-like store in your town, and if you're even remotely into electronics you should do your best to find such a store, it'll save you from bankrupcy.

First let's get the “bad” stuff out of the way. Huge chains such as Best Buy (Futureshop), or Walmart have ludicrous return policies. These policies are responsible for a lot of price hikes as bratty little customers exploit them. You don't get that at Addison. All sales are final. If something you buy doesn't work, take it back. If you get home and realize you're a moron who can't tell the difference between S-Video and RCA, then you're probably screwed.

Because of that it has prices that can't even begin to compare with major chains. I did a test-case with 5 items I bought last time I went to Addison. I went to both Futureshop.ca (the Canadian Best Buy) and RadioShack.ca to find comparable equipment. Note that all prices are in Canadian dollars.

First off is a standard 25 feet coaxial cable. I needed two of those and found very pro-like pre-built cables at Addison for 3.59$ each. I should add that you can buy cables and plugs at even lower costs if you're willing to build the cables yourself. For similar cables Futureshop charges 9.99$ (each) and Radioshack 11.99$ (each). That's about 2-3 times more for the same cables.

I then needed two coaxial splitters. I was told to go for 5-2300 mhz splitters as they're better for satellite/digital cable and Internet. Regular splitters stop at 900-1000 mhz. Addison charged me 3.99$ for each of the splitters. Futureshop.ca didn't even have splitters that went beyond 1000 mhz, and for their 900 mhz tops splitters they charge 19.99$ each. That's about five times the price at Addison for a lower-grade splitter. Radioshack did have splitters that went to 2300 mhz, in fact they went as high as 2400 mhz. However they also charge 19.99$ for each.

Next up is the S-video 4-way splitter switch. Addison had a neat-looking Recoton switch going for 17.99$. That switch had a cool frontal push-button design, not a positional switch like the cheaper models. It also had a headphone jack, which is a very nice addition. Futureshop had the exact same brand, same model, going for 59.99$, three times the price you'd pay at Addison. Radioshack doesn't have the same model, the closest match I found costs 49.99$. It doesn't boast a headphone jack but it does convert S-video signal to RCA and back, so in my book it's a bit better than the Recoton one, but definitely not 32$ better. I should also note that I found a cheaper 3-way positional switch at Addison that went for 7.99$, Radioshack has the exact same model for 29.99$.

I then needed a triple 6' RCA cable (Stereo audio + video). This one is tricky because cable quality vary alot. I paid 19.99$ at Addison for very thick gold-plated cables, I found similar cables at Radioshack for the same price, and Futureshop had cheaper-looking cables also for 19.99. The Addison cables I got look like they're the best quality. The cables themselves are very thick, thicker than both Radioshack's and Futureshop's.

Lastly I needed a coaxial flat cable for cornering. Addison sold me one for 1.29$. Futureshop had a slightly longer (2”-3”) one for 4.99$. I couldn't find any at Radioshack.

In the end, my Addison shopping spree cost me 54.43$ + tax. A similar trip to Futureshop would've cost 144.93$ + tax, while Radioshack would've charged me 133.94$ + tax without the coaxial cornering cable. So if you even remotely know what you're doing when it comes to electronics and you don't need the big chains' ridiculous return policies, visit Addison today and save a bundle.