I started buying computer from PC Avenue in 1995, shortly after PC Avenue opened.  I was invited to check it out by Ken Hough, a fellow BBS sysop, and I figured I'd give it a look.  I found that the people who have owned it up until recently were two very good folks - Rodney Butler, another sysop, and David Ray, one of the top technical minds in Columbia.

We had terrible trouble getting our computer supplier at the time to deliver on time.  Finally, after one set of five computers were delivered - four of which locked up within five minutes of use - Dejan, my boss at the time, said, "Let's give your friends a try."  With David Ray there, a man who I had grown to respect at his previous job, I was excited.

That was four years ago, and my experiences with PC Avenue have been wonderful.  I've purchased much of my home hardware from them, and probably over a hundred computers - if not two hundred - for my job at Storage Trust.  We've had our share of failures - but they've been taken care of promptly.  And PC Avenue has always been willing to go the extra mile.

A few examples:

PC Avenue has been good about letting us know when parts we like in our machines are becoming more difficult to find.  This gives us time to evaluate new parts.  (Of course, with David Ray doing the recommendations, we usually just go with what he says.)

During end-of-month, about a month after we started doing business with PC Avenue, Dejan's machine, the fast machine we did end-of-month with - died (it wasn't from PC Avenue).  Dejan asked to borrow a Pentium Motherboard - not purchase - BORROW.   They agreed - after all, it was end-of-month, and we had to get done.  When month-end was done, I asked Dejan if we could go ahead and purchase the motherboard - sort of as a "thank-you" back to PC Avenue.  Dejan agreed.

A young friend of mine needed to put together an inexpensive computer.   David Ray helped me by finding lower cost parts that were still of good quality.

Rodney and David made a great combination - Rodney the businessman and salesman and David the technician and installer.  While Rodney's rough demeanor could sometimes rub people the wrong way, David's softer touch generally smoothed out the bumps.   Rodney pushed the envelope in trying out new things, so there was rarely a time when PC Avenue wouldn't already know everything there was to know about the latest toy to hit the market.

Rodney Butler left PC Avenue, to be replaced by one of my co-workers, Monte Ellis, himself an excellent tech.  Shortly after that, Monte and David parted ways.  Since that time, PC Avenue hasn't been what it was, but David Ray still makes this the place that I look to first.

PC Avenue has a website at www.pc-avenue.com, and if you're looking for a computer, I recommend them highly.  They've always done right by me.

This page last updated 11/13/2006 .