Shop around before you open your wallet

This is common sense, of course, but I was amazed at the profiteering some computer stores are up to.

I was looking for some CAT5E network cable to connect my media centre to my network, and enquired at a few stores. I was quoted R7.50 and R8.00/meter, and finally bought at another store for R3.00/meter. Granted, the first two prices were for stores inside a popular shopping mall, and the last is not. But charging 166% more than someone else for the same thing? I was even contemplating getting a wireless network adapter because it would have been cheaper than the cable at R8.00/meter!

Since then I found the name of a cable supplier which might even be cheaper than R3.00/meter. In case you are in Cape Town, look at Cape Cables.