HP Home & Home Office Store Review

Hewlett-Packard’s Home & Home Office Store can be accessed directly at shopping.hp.com. The products offered here focus specifically on the needs of the home office.  Categories include:

• Laptops
• Desktops
• Carepack Services
• Printers
• Ink and toners
• Electronics
• Accessories

This enables people like me who operate their businesses out of their homes to shop for the items that will most likely be of interest to them instead of wasting their time browsing through products that are designed for use by larger enterprises. Most of the products carry the well-known HP logo, but there are also products by other manufacturers in some of the categories. For example, I found Bose headsets and speaker systems and TVs by Philips, Samsung and Vizio among the website’s offerings.

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What Makes HP Home and Home Office Stand Out? – Key Features and Benefits

I would buy computer equipment and accessories from shopping.hp.com for the following reasons:

• Hewlett-Packard is a large, internationally known company. This gives me confidence that the products I am purchasing are state-of-the-art.
   
• There is a demo provided for the HP computers and printers. The demos provide close-ups of the various aspects of the equipment, and I can click on one of the circles to get even more details on a particular element. I feel better informed about the various features of the item before I buy it.
   
• The website displays the customer rating along with the product description, and the full customer reviews are just a click away. I can read what other customers like and dislike about an item to help me decide if it’s right for me.
   
• The website has a live chat feature that is available from 7 A.M. to 2 A.M. EST, so I am able to have any lingering questions I might have answered quickly.

My favorite feature is the ability to compare items within the same product category side by side. This allows me to determine if the higher price that I might have to pay for one item over another is worth it, based on my review of the different specifications provided for each.

HP Home and Home Office Store Cons – Disadvantages

1. Although you’ll find products by other manufacturers in some of its product categories, you’ll find only HP computers and printers on shopping.hp.com. There might be a similar item from another manufacturer that is better suited for you.
    
2. The website is currently offering free return shipping as a holiday promotion. I think free return shipping should always be provided.

What Stores Might Be Better Than the HP Home and Home Office Store?

Key competitors of the HP Home and Home Office Store are:

• Office Depot
• OfficeMax
• Staples
• Walmart
• Shoplet.com

How Does HP Home and Home Office Store Compare To Similar Merchants?

I looked at a couple of other websites that are in direct competition with the HP Home and Home Office Store. The first was Office Depot.

HP vs Office Depot

Office Depot’s internet store has a much greater variety of products and services for the home business owner than you will find on shopping.hp.com. Not only does it carry computers, printers, and accessories from a number of manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard, Office Depot also has office furniture and an array of papers, notebooks, filing cabinets, and file folders that are necessary to keep a home office running smoothly.

The Office Depot website is just as easy to navigate as shopping.hp.com, and it also provides shoppers with the ability to compare models side by side like the Hewlett-Packard Home and Home Office site does. It does not have anything similar to the demo that HP provides for its products, though, and you cannot view the product in detail or from different angles. Office Depot provides free next business day shipping on domestic orders of $50 or more. The HP Home and Home Office website is currently offering free shipping on qualifying products. Both merchants have an international presence.

HP vs Office Max

The second merchant I investigated was OfficeMax. Like Office Depot, it carries a greater variety of products than the HP Home & Home Office Store does. Its website is also easy to navigate, and although it doesn’t have the demo feature that HP provides, it does allow you to view the items from multiple angles. It does not provide shoppers with the capability of comparing items within a product category, however. OfficeMax offers free shipping within the continental U.S. on most items if the order total exceeds $50. Otherwise, there is a $7.95 shipping charge assessed. Again, some items may incur additional shipping charges. OfficeMax does not ship to international destinations.

What Is the Cost at HP?

The prices vary greatly, even among products of the same line. For example the HP 2000z series laptops are priced at $349.99 (after an instant rebate) and higher, depending on what add-ons and upgrades, if any, the buyer chooses. The HP Pavilion Slimline s5t series desktops begin at $399.99. Some other prices I found on the website are:

• HP Officejet 4500 Wireless All-In-One Printer = $69.99 (after instant rebate)
• HP901 Black Officejet Ink Cartridge = $14.99
• Philips 19PFL3505D 19” 720p LCD TV – HDTV = $179.99
• HP S2031 20” Diagonal HD Widescreen LCD Monitor = $109.99 (reduced from $139.99)
• HP v220w 8 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive = $29.99

The website is currently offering free shipping on qualifying products and even free return shipping for a very limited time. Payments can be made using your Discover, Visa, Mastercard, or American Express cards. You can also make payment through PayPal or use the Bill Me Later option, which provides for no payments or interest for six months.

Returns must be made within 21 days and a return authorization number is required. The free return shipping mentioned above is a holiday promotion.

What Are Others Saying? Testimonials – Feedback – Comments

When I first read some of the customer reviews on two different external websites, I was stunned by the significantly different ratings. Then I looked at the dates of the reviews. The ones that gave shopping.hp.com high positive ratings were six to seven years old. The more recent reviews are largely negative. I read numerous accounts of credit cards being charged and the orders not being received and lengthy times on hold with customer service. One customer claimed to be on hold for over two hours!