Why Best Buy is Going out of Business...Gradually

am i the only one who shops for TVs at best buy? their prices on small things suck but i usually can't find better deals on TVs anywhere.

the sales tax is a killer...normally I find their prices too high but the added sales tax completely kills it...like the article stated- most people just use Best Buy as a showroom and end up buying online through another retailer
 
What is this then?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=901908#tv




I'm a long time shopper at Amazon, this is one of the reason why you do not get a TV at Amazon. There are times when it's better to walk into a B&M store opposed to ordering online this is one of those reasons. Keep in mind if the TV you want is not eligible for white glove delivery and it broke during transit you're basically screwed. I'll pay a little more thank you for bigger ticket items. If you know when to shop for certain items the pricing is not bad at all.(ie: buying a TV after the super bowl). I don't see B&M stores going the way of the dodo anytime soon

That was for a TV purchased from a third-party seller on Amazon. Not Amazon themselves. I bought my Panny plasma straight from Amazon.

And to the guy that insists on seeing the picture on a TV in-store: any good HT geek will tell you that all of the TVs in the store come out of the box and are put up in torch mode : normally on Vivid or the like (pushing too much red) and with the brightness and contrast cranked up. Because people tend to instinctively like red & bright and it sells. And for SD content: edge enhancement (sharpness) which is probably way too high.

Good luck playing with all of the remotes turning even half of that stuff off, and without a calibration disc, you're not really going to understand the actual PQ of the TV. Just the out-of-the-box state of it doesn't tell you much of anything about the actual PQ of the TV.
 
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Another issue that I don't understand is why on earth does Best Buy need to have so many noises playing in the background?

It's absurd. Even if I were shopping for music, loud annoying music (let alone multiple types of music at the same time) don't help. Then add in the TVs, car audio and gaming sections and the whole place is just an audio clusterfuck. The end result is a headache. :|

10 minutes and I had to leave the NYC store. The chaos was too much.
 
And games are an insult, unless you're a Reward Zone member.

TLDR, they have shit for service in my local store... just like Borders did, down the street from it. If they go under, I won't be bothered by it.

Wait until you get some points built up and they want you to use them. They'll start robocalling you to remind you to come in to shop. That's an immediate dealbreaker for me especially since I pay by the minute for voice. Send me mail, email me, but don't freaking call, especially just to tell me that my coupons are about to expire!
 
I like the Best Buy stores around here in the San Antonio area. I usually only get movies from there. I will get a mouse, keyboard or a Hard drive from there. I have been turned off from getting oem drives online. Those boxes always seem to have the worst damages.

For BB I haven't had any problems getting help or getting bugged by the workers. And every since CompUSA and CC have shutdown, there is now where else in town that carries the same large selections. Only other places are Wallymart and Target. And around here hardly anyone uses Sears anymore.
We have no Fry's or MicroCenter. The closest one *Fry's* is a 1 1/2 hour drive to Austin, not including Austin's traffic. The others are in Houston, 3hr drive.

We do have a local computer store Altex. But there prices are like BB on some parts.
 
Its not just best buy. Many retail places work like this.

They don't care if employees know anything about the products in the store or even the products/services they want employees to bundle/sell with other items.

The focus is on having something that has a higher market that can go with just about any item in the store and asking every single person if they want it.
 
When you go into Best Buy you know what's up and what's going to be there and the prices. I can't figure out why people bitch about it. It's just like any other store where you can find stuff for less online. You don't always want to buy online.

I like their phone department a lot. Their employees make FAR fewer mistakes, if any, than other places and they don't have stupid rebates I have to send in, it's all instant credit.

Their PC and console games aren't any more expensive than anyplace else and they do some cool midnight releases on things. In fact, during Christmas shopping BB was having buy 2 get 1 free on all console AND PC games, mix and match. Try and tell me that's not a good deal.

They always have weekly sales on BluRay movies.

Also, the reason they stock those generic items and low end shit is because that's all most people will buy. The high end stuff just sits there. So don't blame BB, blame your typical idiot consumer
 
my peronal experience is that even a military basic training barracks provides a more warm & inviting user experience than any BB store
 
I just want Microcenter or Fry's to buy up Best Buy retail space so we can have one of those up here instead. :cool:
 
my peronal experience is that even a military basic training barracks provides a more warm & inviting user experience than any BB store

After watching the specials about it on the news and Discovery channel, etc, I'd have to say it's a more warm & inviting user experience at Sheriff Arpaio's Tent City.
 
The sooner Best Buy dies, the better. Maybe Micro Center will finally build a store that's closer to where I live.

I've driven two hours to the nearest MC to buy parts for multiple builds. Why? Because it's a fun place to go, and their CPU bundles are great. Oh, and NOBODY ever tries to sell me random crap or extended warranties. They know better. Are the prices higher than online? Yeah, but they at least try to be competitive. I can deal with paying a bit more for the convenience.

My friend in San Jose went to microcenter to buy a 2500k on black friday because I told him about the special bundle offer and they tried to get him to buy extended service contracts.
 
My friend in San Jose went to microcenter to buy a 2500k on black friday because I told him about the special bundle offer and they tried to get him to buy extended service contracts.

LOL...extended service contract for a cpu?
 
I did go in to my local store back in August wanting to grab a laptop that was in their ad. They had over 20 in the store and it was a fair price, so I got a sales person so I could buy it - typcial upsell stuff, do you want the extended warranty, etc. No to all. But then he tells me I have to pay for the "Geek Squad Optimizing" and how great it is. Don't want the optimizing, I'll wipe it myself, thanks. :) Sorry, we only have Optimized inventory in stock. So I ask, "Seriously, you have 20 in stock - so you just optimize all of them?" "Yep." I said that's fine, but I'm not paying extra for that because I don't want it, so get your manager to remove the fee. He argued, I could have argued back and won, I suppose, but chose to just leave.

I could have ordered online for in-store pickup and avoided the optimization argument, but I just chose to spend my money elsewhere. I honestly feel bad for Best Buy employees - the company's management and policies really hamper their ability to provide customer service.
 
I did go in to my local store back in August wanting to grab a laptop that was in their ad. They had over 20 in the store and it was a fair price, so I got a sales person so I could buy it - typcial upsell stuff, do you want the extended warranty, etc. No to all. But then he tells me I have to pay for the "Geek Squad Optimizing" and how great it is. Don't want the optimizing, I'll wipe it myself, thanks. :) Sorry, we only have Optimized inventory in stock. So I ask, "Seriously, you have 20 in stock - so you just optimize all of them?" "Yep." I said that's fine, but I'm not paying extra for that because I don't want it, so get your manager to remove the fee. He argued, I could have argued back and won, I suppose, but chose to just leave.

I could have ordered online for in-store pickup and avoided the optimization argument, but I just chose to spend my money elsewhere. I honestly feel bad for Best Buy employees - the company's management and policies really hamper their ability to provide customer service.

That right there is why BB is failing. They would rather lose an actual sale than not charge you for worthless services. fucking pathetic.
 
That right there is why BB is failing. They would rather lose an actual sale than not charge you for worthless services. fucking pathetic.

They probably weren't making any money whatsoever on the laptop. Generally they'd rather not sell it to you at all in that case.
 
That was for a TV purchased from a third-party seller on Amazon. Not Amazon themselves. I bought my Panny plasma straight from Amazon.

And to the guy that insists on seeing the picture on a TV in-store: any good HT geek will tell you that all of the TVs in the store come out of the box and are put up in torch mode : normally on Vivid or the like (pushing too much red) and with the brightness and contrast cranked up. Because people tend to instinctively like red & bright and it sells. And for SD content: edge enhancement (sharpness) which is probably way too high.

Good luck playing with all of the remotes turning even half of that stuff off, and without a calibration disc, you're not really going to understand the actual PQ of the TV. Just the out-of-the-box state of it doesn't tell you much of anything about the actual PQ of the TV.

This is something else I am aware of and why I tell people only to trust videophile reviews. I am also aware that many stores including best buy will purposely mess up TVs which are low profit margin. And typically this is alot of the best value sets where you get a real good picture for a good price but not really the BEST picture.
 
They probably weren't making any money whatsoever on the laptop. Generally they'd rather not sell it to you at all in that case.

Then they are doing it wrong...they don't have the financial backing to take losses on hardware but try to peddle it to consumers as a straight purchase with out catches...your only made aware of the bullshit when you try to actually buy one and can't..complete fail!
 
Then they are doing it wrong...they don't have the financial backing to take losses on hardware but try to peddle it to consumers as a straight purchase with out catches...your only made aware of the bullshit when you try to actually buy one and can't..complete fail!

They need embedded margins in the product itself, they just don't do it. It'd be nice if they dropped the used car salesman techniques and worked more like a warehouse store and relied simply on volume and profit on the core item itself. The pressure put on the sales people is also silly, selling their services in an ethical manner and being "successful" according to their metrics is rather difficult in many areas of the country where the economy is a disaster.
 
They need embedded margins in the product itself, they just don't do it. It'd be nice if they dropped the used car salesman techniques and worked more like a warehouse store and relied simply on volume and profit on the core item itself. The pressure put on the sales people is also silly, selling their services in an ethical manner and being "successful" according to their metrics is rather difficult in many areas of the country where the economy is a disaster.

I would love to buy my computer equipment locally if only the high pressure sales and pushed services would go away. I don't mind paying a few bucks more but not a 1/3rd more for that kind of B&M experience. The only BB we have in our area is about 20 miles away in a different city so it's time/gas as well...
 
I'm current working @ BB part-time as I finish my masters, I can definitely agree with what everyone here is saying. I typically switch off between digital imaging and PC's during my shifts. I have a huge moral dilemma when working in PC's b/c I'm supposed to sell a bunch of useless services that no one really needs or wants. BB manages by intimidation and they micro-mange the fuck out of their employees. The only reason why any blue-shirt sells black-tie service(s) is to get management off their back and avoid the barrage of "coaching" opportunities and harassment.

Geek Squad services can easily be removed or given away if the customer is ready to walk. The only downside is that undoing what Geek Squad has done is counter-productive and management typically frowns upon this. I've been approached by management a few times to see if I was interested in moving up with the company and have polite fully said "no" every time. I work with tons of talented people who are way underutilized in their roles but are still happy with what BB provides in return, kind of depressing when you think about it......
 
They probably weren't making any money whatsoever on the laptop. Generally they'd rather not sell it to you at all in that case.

It reminds me of Xerox's old model, where they made most of their profits through maintenance and repair services. They had little incentive to actually improve the product because they made so much money through their extra services. Then Canon started making copiers and later printers that didn't break and didn't need service very often, and completely destroyed them.
 
Nah, I don't believe it. I have to admit that I like Best Buy. I don't need anyone's "expertise"; if I want something then I only have to rely on them to get it for me if it's not something I can pick up myself. Of course I'm not going to buy any kind of computer hardware there. But sometimes I browse the store and it will remind me of something I need to go home and order online, LOL. Like others have said, Best Buy is the only thing around me here in VA. Best Buy is 1,000 times better than any Circuit City I ever went in.

Is Best Buy any different in pricing than any other B&M store? We've always known that you can order stuff cheaper online. When I first got into riding BMX/Freestyle back in the late 80's I could always order bike parts through mail order a heck of a lot cheaper than the local bike shop had them for. Look at all the variety of different brands Newegg will carry over Best Buy. Can we really expect BB to stock all the different routers or video cards that Newegg has? Look at the price of a router or wireless card in Wal Mart; it's comparable in price to Best Buy not Newegg. Best Buy isn't the only place with overpriced cables. Go to Wal Mart or Target and find the cheapest HDMI cable they have; it's still going to be at least $20~$30. The average consumer is never going to use monoprice (they should, but they won't).

It's a shame that Crutchfield doesn't have stores nationally. They are awesome. I used to go to the one in Charlottesville all the time even though it's1.5 hours from me. They are knowlegeable and have a wide selection. Anything they have in their catalog they pretty much have in the store. But price-wise they're still no cheaper than Best Buy. They just have a bigger selection and higher-end stuff.
 
Well, the reason I never go to my local Best Buy, besides easily finding what I need online, is the service.

Me: "I need a center channel"
Them: "Here is a speaker...it looks nice"
Me: "I need to listen to it...can I play my demo CD I broug..."
Them: "sorry, its not hooked up."
Me: "Oh....what center channel do you have hooked up?"
Them: "uh..hmm...uh...lets see...maybe...nope....nope...<fast forward 5 minutes> Nope..none of them"
Me: "okay. Well I'm not going to buy it if I get stung with a 15% restocking fee if i don't like it"
Them: "psst....just go next door to your locally-owned professional A/V place and ask them, but don't tell anyone I said so"
Me: "Thanks!"

I feel semi-sorry for people working there when I used to walk in...because I was the rare super-savvy customer (in my hick area...) who actually knew what the hell an 802.11n router was. So their answers of random and usually pointless replies to my serious questions left them in a stupor, with an awkward silence right before I say "hmmm.....well, ok, thanks" and leave the store.

I just got chills thinking about having to go back in there someday...
 
The article is right on for most things. The only thing I disagree with is the DVD purchase. That's the same policy for every store, not just best buy. Unless the disc is damaged, returns of any cd or DVD is usually sol.
 
When I bought my Toshiba rear projection HDTV back in 2001 they hooked up a VCR at my request and let me view my copy of The Phantom Menace so I could see what a low quality source looked like. HD was not even available in my area then, and DVDs looked good on just about every HD set then. I wanted an idea of what SD satellite was going to look like on a TV.

A few months ago I bought the Thor 3D bluray combo pack. The 3D disc would not play. I was concerned it was my drive, but all other blurays played. I took it back to the store expecting to get a hassle, but they exchanged it for another one with no problem. And the new one worked fine.
 
When I bought my Toshiba rear projection HDTV back in 2001 they hooked up a VCR at my request and let me view my copy of The Phantom Menace so I could see what a low quality source looked like. HD was not even available in my area then, and DVDs looked good on just about every HD set then. I wanted an idea of what SD satellite was going to look like on a TV.

A few months ago I bought the Thor 3D bluray combo pack. The 3D disc would not play. I was concerned it was my drive, but all other blurays played. I took it back to the store expecting to get a hassle, but they exchanged it for another one with no problem. And the new one worked fine.
I'm afraid we can't trust your judgment.
 
I am also aware that many stores including best buy will purposely mess up TVs which are low profit margin. And typically this is alot of the best value sets where you get a real good picture for a good price but not really the BEST picture.

This reminds me of something. Three years ago I was going to buy a new TV I went into a local video/audiophile store because they had a modestly priced LCD I wanted to buy. It was the only LCD they carried so I assumed it had to be a good LCD. When I got to the store and told them I wanted to see the LCD, he showed it to me and immediately started talking crap about it. How lousy the image was, how bad the constrast was etc. Until he went over to promote the Pioneer plasmas, which of course are better, but were way out of my price range. After a while when I didn't respond like he wanted to he tried to sell me a projector instead. It was a huge relief when I left the store, talk about an annoying salesman. Needless to say I didn't buy anything there. About a year later they went out of business. I chuckled a bit. :D
 
The comments of that article are absolutely remarkable. There's dozens of Best Buy employees criticizing the article because the author mistook an annoying DirecTV representative for an annoying Best Buy representative.

Yep. And so Worst Ripoff and other faltering big-box vendors will latch on to one easily understood misapprehension and completely ignore the very real criticism.

That's like someone saying "The whole forest is on fire!
And some dipshit pointing at a puddle in the road and going "That's not on fire!"
 
I did go in to my local store back in August wanting to grab a laptop that was in their ad. They had over 20 in the store and it was a fair price, so I got a sales person so I could buy it - typcial upsell stuff, do you want the extended warranty, etc. No to all. But then he tells me I have to pay for the "Geek Squad Optimizing" and how great it is. Don't want the optimizing, I'll wipe it myself, thanks. :) Sorry, we only have Optimized inventory in stock. So I ask, "Seriously, you have 20 in stock - so you just optimize all of them?" "Yep." I said that's fine, but I'm not paying extra for that because I don't want it, so get your manager to remove the fee. He argued, I could have argued back and won, I suppose, but chose to just leave.

I could have ordered online for in-store pickup and avoided the optimization argument, but I just chose to spend my money elsewhere. I honestly feel bad for Best Buy employees - the company's management and policies really hamper their ability to provide customer service.

You will never find a factory sealed item on sale at a Best Buy store. You may be able to ask them to sell you a stripped version, but don't expect them to take anything off the price, as they considered removing something they already pre-configured as extra work, so should be charging you extra for it.

Geek Squad aren't really geeks, they basically had to read a thicker operations manual than the other store associates. They have no tech background needed to apply for a job there, everything they know, BB will teach them, and I'm sure we've all experienced know-it-alls, who know less than we do.

One of the many reasons Curcit City went out of business was they would take in "returned" products and charge you a 20% restocking fee, then re wrap it and sell it as "new". some people will do anything for money!
 
Also the only "optimizing " I have seen them do is run a program called decrapifyer, to remove all of the addware the companies put in them when new.
 
I don't know if it was on both, I know he was offered it on the motherboard though. I'm not sure if it was offered on the CPU.

Yes, they offer extended warranties, but unlike Best Buy, they tend to not be pushy about it. Just simply asking if you want a extended warranty when you check out is worlds different than the typical Best Buy approach of the salesperson going on for a few minutes about what could happen and what it covers, and then getting the same speech from the cashier and the manager if they happen to see you walking by with a bunch of stuff.
 
I used to go in there all the time. Then I'd overhear conversations between associates and customers and hear the associates lie to them. I'd see opened box items "Enhanced by Geek Squad" selling as new items. The one that really got me, and soured me forever to BB was when I saw a new PS3 with a paper note on it claiming it was "Optimized by Geek Squad" to play the newest games hassle free. They charged 50 dollars more for that one. There was an extra sign nearby offering the service to customers. Yes, they were charging to upgrade the firmware on them. Something that's done automatically when you boot them up. Sad to see retail box stores go out, but you don't get to stay around lying and cheating your customers.
 
re all the Amazon luv expressed in this thread, beware! "You've been living in a dream world, Neo."

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patden 1 day ago

Everything you say about Best Buy is right on the mark. Something you say about Amazon is not true. “Amazon does not take orders it cannot fill, and it does not wait until the last minute to cancel them without offering any kind of solution.”

I found this to be true, once, but they have made some sort of change over the past year where inventory is often incorrect. During the Christmas sales season of 2011, my complaint (and that of many friends/family/colleagues) has been the number of times orders would be cancelled and then re-listed at higher prices.

Not to suggest malevolence, but how many times do you have to experience “in stock” orders being canceled and the same product is re-listed “in limited quantity” for a 10% to 30% price increase from the same supplier?

Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence… based on my experiences and those of my cohorts, I’m aware of at least 11 examples of this pattern in the past three months, and maybe another half-dozen over the past year.

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peterson 1 day ago

The author of the article is either an Amazon shill or simply misinformed. Amazon continually lists and takes orders for items which their merchants can not fill. It borders on criminal intent to defraud. I’ve shopped there, heavily, for over a decade, but after this hioliday season, never more.
 
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