Crucial Technology

Full review
On occasion, I've needed to add memory to a computer, or to find which memory was appropriate for a device. Crucial.com has been a great resource. They offer a vast selection of computer and memory products, are very focused on this, very knowledgeable, have a well designed and easy to order website. The website can even scan your computer to tell you what is needed, personally I have security concerns about this, but it's a nice thing to offer. Additionally the site is easy to navigate even if you don't enable scripting on your browser (this refers to security settings on the browser, and may be of some interest to those who turn scripting off to better secure their PC's).

Customer service by phone is fantastic, the people you call know their products A-Z every time I've called (3 times). Once I got a feedback call after which they sent a free T-Shirt.

Often Crucial has discounts on various products, these seem to rotate. Shipping and tax is problematic (as in most states are charged sales tax, and usually you have to pay for shipping) depending on where you live. Many sites charge sales tax in a single state, and offer free or very low cost shipping. While shipping isn't bad from Crucial, you can tell they aren't trying to cut competition out on price, shipping, tax or anything but ease of order, service, certainty of functionality, dependability of shipment and lifetime very generous warranty.

Crucial generally provide product for major computer and electronic companies, they produce product under the name Micron . While they don't advertise this, as it's probably a violation of some clause in a contract, buying from Crucial is buying from the people who make the stuff. They make the memory and cards they sell.

The website does have a few limitations, generally they want to know what type of device you've got, and if you can answer regarding the vast list they have, you'll wind up with a menu of various sizes to choose from. However, if you want to use something different than they recommend, you'll find navigation a bit tricky. Thus the site is designed for point and shoot, I got this thing and need memory, what can I buy.

Prices tend not to be the lowest, unlike other sites, Crucial doesn't really try very hard to make a sale. Instead they are sort of the source to solve your problem, they always show some silly discount, but it's obviously not real. Everything they sell they make and everything is always sold below their list which nobody ever pays anyway.

Occasionally at one of the many bargain websites, you'll find a link for a Crucial "deal" which is great if it's for a product you need.

While I have ordered occasionally over a number of years from Crucial, my use for the site is more to see what specs they recommend, and to use the product price and description as a starting point. Invariably, especially over the past year or so, Crucial or Crucial like product can be purchased for less elsewhere (think for example that Dell uses Crucial memory, and often has sales which beat the pants off Crucials usual sale price).

It's worth ordering if something is a bit odd, obsolete, or you just want something guaranteed (the guarantee from Crucial is lifetime and it's pretty absolute, I've used it once without hassle from them). What you order, is what they send, and the site works very well. Confirmation, tracking, delivery all work as well as you could hope.

If you needed to get that 2GB SD card 3 days before Christmas for Uncle Joe's new camera, Crucial is the place to order it from. They'll deliver! However, if you've got a week or two to wait, or better a month or so, Dell, ECost, Gateway, CompGeeks or someone else will probably have it for sale at half the Crucial price (without the Crucial warranty, and with only a 99.9% chance it'll work instead of the 100% chance you'll get from Crucial). So order from Crucial if you positively need it, and positively need to know it'll work and be the right item.