The Microcenter Shopping Protocol - 3/26/20

3D Fabrication
1

I arrived a few minutes after 1pm and they are limiting the number of people in the store so an employee was taking names and would send a text if you wanted to sit in your car. He estimated my wait at 30 minutes and that was right on the spot. He said that it was still in the lunch hour rush and generally there is not a rush in mid afternoon.

The 3D filament wall which is generally full had a lot of empty slots. Be careful to check diameter as there is a lot of 2.?mm mixed in with 1.75.

There is a purchase limit of five boxes of filament and I saw several people with that amount.

Hours are reduced and they close at 7pm.

Happy hoarding!

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2

Thanks for this I intended to stop by but might make it an early one if I do.

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3

They doing a sale or something?

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4

I don’t know if there is a sale. I just wanted to get in, buy filament and get out.

I forgot to mention that there was a sign for no cash transactions.

Given the dynamic nature of quarantine rules and enforcement, it would be well to check the web or call before going. Good luck!

5

Well good, they can give me the cash if they don’t want it. :smile:

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6

Uh yeah, that sign is not enforceable.
But you could be required to provide “exact change”

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7

Generally I agree, Doug, but given the current circumstances, there are a lot of things that would otherwise be extralegal that we’re just letting slide.

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8

Businesses are not required to accept cash. Cash is required to be accepted for debts, but not for purchasing goods and services.

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9

Just don’t tell them how much to give you. Past few times I have tried to give their cashiers odd numbers to get even bills back (ie total $ 16.43, so I give 21.45) they told me they can’t do that… :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

10

It’s been standard policy at most stores for a while now, they’re trying to avoid change raising scams.

Most people don’t use cash these days anyway, which means the employees have less and less experience actually making change and thus more room to be exploited by that type of scam.

11

Granted its been around 20y since I worked a register but you type in the amount they hand you and it tells you the change on the screen.

12

I went to MicroCenter yesterday to replace a busted headset, and they have it down.

  1. Scan QR code to get website to enter in name and e-mail, which sets your place in line.
  2. Wait in car, outside in line with designated separation zones, or similar.
  3. Get text or email when time arrives, check into store.
  4. Be greeted just inside door, instructed on keeping social distance, and asked/told to use hand sanitizing station before going any further into store.
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13

I know I have to be quick to give them the change, or they’ll just type in the bill, and then they can’t figure the correct change.

My first job was working as a carhop, back when all you had was a coin dispenser and your brain…

14

The issue is they offer credit, and while not publicly traded, they have accepted cash since 1979. Their store only sign would break corporate policy.

16

Precious little commercial trade happens without the presence of both power and comms with The Great Link

18

You can use cash to buy a prepaid visa gift card then use that to buy what you need. It is privacy once removed.

20

Depends on where you live. In New York it’s illegal to refuse cash as of January this year. Their reasoning is that cashless businesses discriminate against poorer people who don’t have bank accounts, smart phones, etc. A pandemic is probably the best reason I’ve seen for not accepting cash though.

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21

The PLA truck just arrived!

I’ve been watching the online search for availability of PLA at the Dallas store and it has been sad. Today there is a great increase with 10+ rolls available for many colors.

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22

I returned to Microcenter today for the first time in quite a while. They have opened up a long shelf with static displays of nine 3D printers from$150 to $3k.

The online search does not show PLA+ in the colors I wanted but there is a lot of it on the shelves.

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23

Make sure you have the store set to “Dallas” and not “Online Web Store” to get accurate inventory and search results.

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