I visited the newest Micro Center in Santa Clara, and it’s amazing

When it comes to buying the latest and greatest smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs, and more, Americans have a pretty limited set of options for shopping in a physical retail store. Over the past 15 years, the number of stores focused exclusively on electronics has dwindled. Even Best Buy, the largest physical electronics retailer in the US, is struggling.

One retailer, though, is bucking the trend by not only surviving, but thriving. That retailer is Micro Center, a small-ish company that caters to hardcore tech geeks rather than the general tech consumer.

When I lived in New Haven, Connecticut (where I spent most of my life), my nearest Micro Center was in Brooklyn, New York, which was quite the hike. However, it was always a worthwhile trip, for reasons I’ll explain in a bit. When I moved to California’s North Bay area in 2022, though, I was dismayed to find only one Micro Center in the entire state: the location in Tustin, more than eight hours away.

Thankfully, the twenty-ninth Micro Center location just opened in Santa Clara, CA, a much more reasonable 90-minute drive from my house. On invitation from the company, I attended an early access opening of the store — and it was amazing.

If you’re a very old American, like me, you probably remember visiting a Radio Shack. In its heyday, it was one of the few places to get all manner of electronics and tech accessories, including hard-to-find items like uncommon batteries, unique adapters, and even soldering equipment. You probably also remember, though, that Radio Shack stores were cramped, disorganized, and staffed by unsupportive workers. Radio Shack went bankrupt in 2015.

Decades before Radio Shack folded, a few guys who worked for the company saw its problems early and knew they could fix them. They left their Radio Shack jobs and started Micro Center, determined to create a welcoming space catered directly to tech-savvy consumers. Today, in 2025, Micro Center is one of the most respected and lauded privately owned retailers in the US.

The secret sauce for Micro Center is made up of two pillars. The first, and most integral, is knowledgeable staff. If you’re a frequent reader of sites like Android Authority and have ever visited a Best Buy, you likely have experienced that company’s biggest problem, which is that you, the customer, know more about the tech than the employees. That’s not likely to be the case at Micro Center. Just like you and me, the people on staff in all its stores know their stuff. If you’ve never experienced it, I can assure you that it’s quite the thrill to ask a tech question during a purchase and have someone who actually knows what they’re talking about answer.

The second pillar of Micro Center’s success is that it understands and respects its customers. Rather than trying to appeal directly to the general tech consumer, Micro Center prioritizes being unabashedly nerdy. Yes, the general tech consumer — people who don’t live and breathe tech but still need to buy a phone, laptop, TV, etc. — are more than welcome in Micro Center stores. But people who are passionate about tech are what Micro Center focuses on, and everything it does — store layouts, product categories, service offerings, etc. — always keeps that consumer category in mind.

In other words, it’s a store created by tech nerds for tech nerds.

Since I work at Android Authority, you know I love smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and all the other things we regularly cover here. However, I’m into tech-related stuff that we rarely talk about. I built my own gaming PC, for example (4090 gang, represent). I also have a Plex server, am very into smart home tech, and dabble in flying drones. I’m also a content creator, so I have a growing collection of tools for that, including cameras, lights, microphones, and more.

Micro Center carries products related to all of these categories —  and much, much more. In addition to everything I’ve already mentioned, Micro Center also has TVs, computer monitors, laptops, 3D printers (and filament for those printers), repair tools, board games, mechanical keyboards — the list goes on and on. It is a paradise for anyone passionate about a tech-related hobby.

Regarding common tech categories, Micro Center has a distinct advantage in that it usually has a broader selection than most other stores. Just look at the laptop section of the Santa Clara store above. That is way more selection than you’ll see in any Best Buy, Costco, Target, etc.

For the less common categories, Micro Center is likely one of the very few physical retail stores to carry them. For example, in the US, it’s not easy to buy a Raspberry Pi without doing so online. However, Micro Center has them, along with tons of add-ons, kits, and STEM-related tools to use with one. Likewise, if your laptop battery dies and you need an immediate replacement, you’ll probably need to order online and wait for it to be shipped. At Micro Center, though, there’s a whole wall of batteries you can run in and grab and be back up and running in no time. Need the proper tools to do that repair? Micro Center has them, too. Don’t want to do the repair yourself? The service center is the first thing you see when you walk into the store, and it has an open-air design, so you can see the technicians doing their jobs.

All of this makes Micro Center convenient, but what really makes it a joyous experience is the physicality of it all.

When I was doing my most recent gaming PC build, I knew I wanted a new case. I have limited space in my small house, though, so it needed to fit within precise dimensions. Of course, I also wanted it to look cool and provide the necessary features. During this process, I did all this research — and the final purchase — online, and the first time I actually saw the case in person was when it arrived at my home. This works, but is certainly far from ideal.

At Micro Center, though, I could have seen and touched the case before purchasing it. What’s more, I could have compared the case to my current one to see the difference in size while also comparing it to cases from other brands. Given that very few physical retailers sell PC cases, Micro Center is one of the only places I could have gone to experience this.

That’s just one example, but there are literally dozens more. Where else can you go to clack on a dozen different keyboards from multiple manufacturers to figure out which one feels and sounds the best? Where else can you pick from over a thousand filament colors to get the precise look you want for your next 3D printing project? Where else can you compare 50 laptops to one another, touch twenty desk microphones, hold dozens of Android phones, and even sit in a racing sim rig to see what that feels like? You can do all of this and more at Micro Center.

Ultimately, the only real problem I have with Micro Center is that it’s not everywhere. The company has opened three stores in the past year, which is a lot, but it still seems like a tiny portion of Americans have one within a two-hour drive. After all, the company has been around for nearly 50 years, and this is only its twenty-ninth store!

I can only hope that this new Santa Clara location bolsters the company’s success, and it continues expanding to more areas. For myself, though, I’m already dreaming about my next tech purchase happening in person while I chat with a fellow tech geek about it. I’ve missed those days.