Being the "un-enlightened" consumer I was at the time, I made the obligatory trip to Radio Shack to buy a new one.
They had one universal adapter that came with about 8 different removal parts, one of which fit into the female slot on the side of the computer.
Reluctantly I handed over my $60.00, relieved that I would not have to order a new one through the mail. The replacement never really worked that good, the male adapter always falling off the universal cord that was attached. I was sure that eventually the male adapter would get lost, rendering the unit useless to me. Well, I never did lose the adapter but I didn't have to because one of the prongs that attached it to the universal cord broke off in less than a years time.
This past weekend, I went out to replace the adapter, empowered by my new commitment to support my local retailers. Hopeful, I stopped in to ..I was greeted by a very knowledgeable member of the staff (I think it was Rob) who told me he had just the thing for me. I was pleasantly surprised when he pulled out a real power supply (not a universal) that actually fit into my laptop without any crappy adapters (just like the original one that came with the computer. But I was blown away when he told me it would only cost $19.99! I came in fully prepared to pay another $60 to $70 dollars at least. Needless to say I was sure wishing I had gone to Computer Solutions 9 prior, because I am sure that I would still have the same $20 replacement adapter I would have bought then. My total savings would have been another $60 dollars had I only known!
The moral of the story? Local Independents are not always more expensive because they are smaller. In fact, because they are smaller, they frequently have a better and more exact inventory as I am learning. So here is a shout out to my new friends and neighbors at Computer Solutions of Keene. Thanks for saving me $40 bucks that I can now "invest" with another local merchant in Keene. I will be back, you can count on that.
"Even a Blind Squirrel Finds a Nut Once in a While!"
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