Newegg Expands Into "Just About Everything"

Newegg is one of the more popular etailers for computer and technology products. In fact, according to Newegg, since launching in 2001, it's become the 10^th biggest Internet retailer in the entire U.S. Why stop at tech?

Newegg has opened up a new site, NeweggMall.com. Typical of most Internet launches nowadays, though perhaps not of etailer sites, the site has opened in beta form.

According to NeweggMall's About page:

Loyal Newegg fans have shown their appreciation by providing over 750,000 informative product reviews, making Newegg.com the place to buy IT and electronics online.

So now that Newegg’s been established as the ultimate online destination for all things electronic, we thought, "Why not do the same for every other type of product?" Enter NeweggMall.com, a new site that's the answer for everything else you need!

NeweggMall.com is our one-stop shop for general merchandise. Since Newegg.com has you covered on IT and electronics products, we'll provide you with all those other fairly necessary items like Apparel, Furniture, Auto Parts, Garden Supplies, and so on. We've screened and recruited hundreds of fantastic retailers--some of them even direct manufacturers!--to get you a wide selection of goods that are high-quality and price-conscious.

Think Amazon.com-ish, sorta. It doesn't look like NeweggMall.com sells / ships any products from its own warehouses. Instead it fronts for smaller stores and shipments take place from those stores. Examples would be "Gogglesandglasses" and "Artexpression."

Amazon does the same thing, but it also ships from its own warehouses, which is where I tend to buy. I only buy directly from Amazon.com for a few reasons: a) free shipping, b) easy return policy, c) no sales tax. Let's ignore the fact that in beta form the NeweggMall doesn't have a ton of items, yet.

NeweggMall's return policy depends on the store you buy from. Not that it's going to be that bad, but it's not no-questions asked and not consistent across the site. Sales tax? Even the regular Newegg store applies that, at least in my tax-heavy state of California. Of course, I do realize the so-called "Amazon Tax," if successful, will end that advantage.

But for now, thanks, but no thanks. Unless the price difference is pretty significant, I'll stick to Amazon.com.