does anyone have the sony DRU500A in stock?

[msuiter]

i want to buy one because i need some more "business expenses" before the end of the year. anyone know a place that has them in stock to ship within the next couple of days?

[tazdevl]

I'm right there with you... it's either going to be a 500u or an Ipod (to transfer documents between client computers ).

[msuiter]

i wonder if sony under-estimated the demand for this drive? it's been the #1 or 2 searched item on pricegrabber for several months, with none of the good vendors being able to keep it in stock. if someone else comes out with a similar drive soon, i'm sure they could take a lot of the potential sony customers that have been waiting for this drive.

[tazdevl]

sounds like you haven't checked this yet... www. pricewatch.com

came across a couple places that have it in stock.

[mike_s104]

I've been burnt buy more then a few places listed on www.pricewatch.com in the past. I remember asking over the phone "is *** in stock?". every time they said it was and about 75% of the time it was not. I can't remember the places that tried to screw me. just trying to warn you before you place an order thinking the item is in stock and it's not. think about this:

if none of the major stores (BestBuy, Buy.com, Staples, Office Max, Circuit City, Dell, CompUSA) don't have it, why would other smaller companies have it?

I checked eBay. the ones that offer "buy now" are between $380 and $400. I guess it depends on how badly you want one how much you'll pay.

checking ww.pricewatch.com , there are two places I would stay away from:

1. www.myinfinity.com
2. www.cdrdvdrmedia.com

www.componentsdirect.com shows it in stock. I'd call before ordering and ask them to check if it is or not. if they say "yes" real quick, have them go get one and read some of the text on the box to you.

[thiscloud]

Try eCost.com. I ordered the external DRX-500UL even though it said the stock was "Call Us". I did call and they said it would be in on 11/29 (I called around the 20th). I placed the order anyway and it said it shipped on the 25th. It's going super slow ground so I am expecting it today or tomorrow. Total w/shipping was $398.

Right now for the DRU-500A, their price is $324.94 w/FREE shipping and no handling fee (they charge handling fees on most stuff annoyingly, but not on either the internal or external of this drive). You should probably call just to get an estimate of when they expect their stock to come in.

[tazdevl]

mike, the reason why the online stores might have it and the bigger one's don't relates to supply chain issues (port strike) and also the smaller companies might have better ties with Asian distributors.

Another site for you to check out if you weren't aware... (sounds like you weren't), I've used it for years. Folks like us are very vocal if we have a bad purchase or customer service experience with an online merchant.

www.resellerratings.com

I use it any time I think about purchasing from someone other than my two primary online companies.

Funny enough... the two out of the three companies you mentioned have shit ratings... cdrdvd is OK, but not in the range of a newegg or mwave.

Always check the store you buy from before you pull the trigger and always use your credit card. You can cancel the order... dispute rights favor the consumer with mail order and internet purchases.

[BuddhaTB]

Here are two companies that are very respectable, but only Mwave has the Sony DRU-500A in stock as of this post. Newegg is supposed to be getting more stock in on 12/16/2002. I have personally dealt with both Mwave and Newegg and have been very happy with their service.
Mwave.com
Newegg.com

[dmbfan36_23]

Bestbuy.com has them in stock