Ask RiotACT: What happened to the computer fairs?

Two factors killed the computer fairs. First was the growth of online sales, as other commenters have described.
The other factor was the that the market evolved. The rate of computer hardware development slowed and pretty much reached maturation. No need to upgrade RAM, increase hard drive size etc as there was during the days of Windows Millennium and XP. The shift to i-Devices etc has also diminished the usage of desktop computers, which were the focus of the fairs.

MSY is good if you need something in a hurry but ebay offers prices that I have never seen at an Australian retailer. You can source computer parts directly from China delivered to my home with free postage.

Simply the computer fairs can’t compete on price.

gooterz said :

Masquara said :

dungfungus said :

Does anyone know where in Canberra u can buy a high end gaming computer ? Not after a “brand name” one. Would prefer to use a local based company or person – more so because of potential warranty claims. Was thinking of the Computer Fairs, but if they dont exist now, thats no good. Thanks.

I’m pretty sure MSY does builds… you give them the specs/ what you want it for and a decent budget and they will build it for you.
If not talk to the engineering/it/computer science students at ANU I’m positive that some of them would be willing to do it for you.

Thanks for the tip about MSY in Fyshwick. Have sent them a request.

Let us know how you go, and if 1 staff member doesn’t seem good, ask for the manager, he really knows his stuff.

Masquara said :

dungfungus said :

Does anyone know where in Canberra u can buy a high end gaming computer ? Not after a “brand name” one. Would prefer to use a local based company or person – more so because of potential warranty claims. Was thinking of the Computer Fairs, but if they dont exist now, thats no good. Thanks.

I’m pretty sure MSY does builds… you give them the specs/ what you want it for and a decent budget and they will build it for you.
If not talk to the engineering/it/computer science students at ANU I’m positive that some of them would be willing to do it for you.

Thanks for the tip about MSY in Fyshwick. Have sent them a request.

Ten years sounds about right. The dearth/death of retail computer parts shops in Canberra has progressed to the stage where there are very few players left, and ‘computer markets’ just aren’t anymore. I use stores like Umart (Queensland), Scorptec in Victoria, and PC Case Gear, and EBay. My latest computer mouse was 40% cheaper than JB Hifi’s price and delivered to my door the next day from Sydney. I would also like to ask if anyone has successfully bought computer gear from NewEgg in the USA since they started offering $AU prices and international shipping? I don’t miss the Computer Fairs one little bit.

dungfungus said :

Does anyone know where in Canberra u can buy a high end gaming computer ? Not after a “brand name” one. Would prefer to use a local based company or person – more so because of potential warranty claims. Was thinking of the Computer Fairs, but if they dont exist now, thats no good. Thanks.

I’m pretty sure MSY does builds… you give them the specs/ what you want it for and a decent budget and they will build it for you.
If not talk to the engineering/it/computer science students at ANU I’m positive that some of them would be willing to do it for you.

dungfungus said :

Does anyone know where in Canberra u can buy a high end gaming computer ? Not after a “brand name” one. Would prefer to use a local based company or person – more so because of potential warranty claims. Was thinking of the Computer Fairs, but if they dont exist now, thats no good. Thanks.

The only local places I trusted are all closed these days. Yours options are pretty much get MSY to build something for you, or my preferred option, get one of PC Case Gears pre-built systems, if you really don’t want to build it yourself.

Or I’ll help you spec it together and build it, and support it afterwards, for $50 if you want to do that. Msg me on here if interested. I’ve built dozens of pc’s over the years for myself and friends, and I worked at Harris Technology for 3.5 years in Fyshwick speccing systems for ppl and providing support, I know how to custom spec something to suit individual needs and budget. This is my current system if you’re interested: https://imgur.com/a/Nu9qE

Does anyone know where in Canberra u can buy a high end gaming computer ? Not after a “brand name” one. Would prefer to use a local based company or person – more so because of potential warranty claims. Was thinking of the Computer Fairs, but if they dont exist now, thats no good. Thanks.

Haven’t tried to go to one in over 10yrs either, not at all surprised they aren’t around anymore, it always was a setup for money laundering anyway with retail items being sold at 25% below cost (easy to check ebay prices yourself) and in many cases with the retail sticker price still on them showing how much they were bought for. Theres only one reason you sell new stock at less than cost, anyway, that was the only reason they were sustainable in the 1st place, money laundering.

If I need hardware these days either MSY in Fyshwick with great prices and great service, or for more exotic parts then PC Case Gear in Victoria with fast shipping. Haven’t even bothered with static ice for years either, its another relic of the past like computer fairs. MSY generally always have the lowest price anyway so need to static ice it.

I used to post here every week about the computer fairs and they were always chockers with stalls. The last one I went to was at the Tuggers basketball stadium three years ago and there were only three stalls there. My guess is that like all other retailing it has fallen victim to online trading via the Net. If you go onto eBay there are thousands of retailers from China and Hong Kong with dirt cheap goods in your mailbox within a few days.