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

Fail said:
That's already mentioned in the article, if you bothered to read it :p
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I read the first page and that's all I needed to read b/c the guy was ranting based on a bad experience. I've gone to BB several times last year and never got harassed by salespeople who wanted to sell crap to me and ask me personal questions about my TV bill, etc. When I go to the store, a friendly person greets me, I then browse what DVDs and BDs are on sale, take a sweep through the store, maybe pick up a movie or 2 on sale, and then walk out. No harassment. :cool:

Xeth said:
There's still Costco, Walmart, Microcenter, Fry's etc. I say good riddance.
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I refuse to go to WM. I don't have a Costco card (and refuse to pay for their membership). And I don't have a Microcenter near me. The closest Fry's is about 30+ mi. away from me (45 min. drive), whereas BB is only 4 mi. away.
 
Also, I went to BB a couple times last year to browse their cameras and then ordered online to get the better price and avoid tax. :cool: So I'd hate to see BB go out of biz b/c then I won't have a place to test out products before buying online unless I take a hike to Fry's, which as I said, is at least 45 min. away.
 
Steve said:
You know things aren't going well when Forbes and the Wall Street Journal have you on death watch. The reason for the company's decline? I think this says it all:
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No sympathy for the company. I've had them refuse to price match, because Fry's deal was cheaper than they wanted to match (though if I'd opened the software they would have also refused to give me a refund) and I've seen them convince a person with a fairly new PC (1-2 years) that the best way to get rid of malware was to buy a new PC!

I sometimes walk around BBY, but I buy as little as possible from them.
 
I once heard some BB kid telling an older couple that they needed a laptop with a blu-ray drive so it would run faster. No kidding.. I corrected him right there and they walked.
 
Ya do not get me started on price matching BB never price matched one item I ever asked for. As far as I am concerned there is no price matching.
 
You guys have some terrible BBs that you visit. I've never had a problem getting a price match. And as far as doing extra stuff, 1 guy I worked with bought a laptop and wanted them to add a gig of RAM to it to give him 2. But he didn't know the gig that was in it was 2 x 512 so there was no empty slot. He complained when they told him so they ended up giving him another 1gb stick to go along with the 1gb he bought so that he would have 2gb. My experiences here have been OK.
 
Im not so sure about this, at least where i live the future shops and best buys are always packed.
 
MacLeod said:
I don't get all the hate towards Best Buy. They don't have the best prices on video cards so they should die in a fire. Really?

They sell a lot more than computer shit. They have a fairly decent car audio section and a great TV section and lots of other appliances and virtually all of their stuff is in line as any other retailer price wise. Stuff they don't have in store you can order online with free shipping.

I saw headphones mentioned. They've also got Sennheiser which are among the best and they have the HD598's on sale for $175. They're $250 on Amazon.

Yeah they're not perfect and their salespeople don't know shit but they only make $8/he so what do you expect. Still I do a lot of shopping at Best Buy and have always found good deals there. And I would think it would suck big time for them to go out of business cause not everybody has a Fry's or Microcenter anywhere near them. I like the convenience when I want a TV, receiver or replacement for my refrigerator's water filter, I can walk in there and get one about the same price as anywhere else. I hope they survive.
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completely agree
 
htpc_user said:
You guys have some terrible BBs that you visit. I've never had a problem getting a price match. And as far as doing extra stuff, 1 guy I worked with bought a laptop and wanted them to add a gig of RAM to it to give him 2. But he didn't know the gig that was in it was 2 x 512 so there was no empty slot. He complained when they told him so they ended up giving him another 1gb stick to go along with the 1gb he bought so that he would have 2gb. My experiences here have been OK.
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BB generally price matches, but if it's a game that they have on sale for 30 bucks and Frys has it for 10, all bets are off. Since BB never gives the extra 10%, unless you buy it first, I always buy the game, walk over to the CS desk and price match. But again, no guarantees if the competitor is really cheap. And this was in Dallas, for reference, about 2 miles from Frys.
 
nilepez said:
BB generally price matches, but if it's a game that they have on sale for 30 bucks and Frys has it for 10, all bets are off. Since BB never gives the extra 10%, unless you buy it first, I always buy the game, walk over to the CS desk and price match. But again, no guarantees if the competitor is really cheap. And this was in Dallas, for reference, about 2 miles from Frys.
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Well then that is not price matching now is it?
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Then you should be a fan of Amazon.com and Newegg as you don't have to do either with them. Unlike Best buy where you pay a 15% restocking fee on electronics.
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Amazon, no, but Newegg has always tried to charge me $10 to ship back and they also have restocking fees sometimes as well, depending on the item.

Usually you can call them and get the fees waived but that's a hassle. Amazon is no questions asked.
 
Chas said:
I was in a Best Buy for the first time in approximately five years on the day after Christmas.

It was late and I was looking for an HDMI to mini-HDMI cable. Specifically to hook up to my video card.

I explained this to the tech. Explicitly.
Did a cursory price check and thought I got the right one.
Got home and it was regular HDMI to HDMI. :rolleyes:
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Your first mistake was assuming a Best Buy floor salesperson is a "tech".
 
The reason Best Buy might be in deep is because of their customer service. They seem to just not give a damn sometimes. I had a blu-ray in my hand once and the price on it was 9.99( tag on blu-ray) and I went up to the cashier and it rang up at 24.99. I told them that the tag on blu-ray says 9.99 and she told me sorry sir, it should not be on the blu-ray, cant give you that price. No apology no nothing. I work retail so I didn't push it, but had that thing happen at frys, where the tag on blu-ray says 9.99 and the tag has name of the blu-ray on it, no way I don't get that price match. I always get that price.

I went to buy a wii for my nephew for christmas and I wanted to pick up Zelda game and absolutely no one in the department to get me the game that was locked up in a case. I waited 20 mins to get the game before someone came to open the case. Had I known it was going to be such a long wait I would have gotten it from frys(where I work). I drive 30 mins to work so I decided to just go to bestbuy on my off day to get it from there.
 
beowulf7 said:
I refuse to go to WM. I don't have a Costco card (and refuse to pay for their membership). And I don't have a Microcenter near me. The closest Fry's is about 30+ mi. away from me (45 min. drive), whereas BB is only 4 mi. away.
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Sounds like a personal problem.
 
beowulf7 said:
I refuse to go to WM. I don't have a Costco card (and refuse to pay for their membership). And I don't have a Microcenter near me. The closest Fry's is about 30+ mi. away from me (45 min. drive), whereas BB is only 4 mi. away.
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Only 30 miles? I live 30 miles away from Idaho Falls where alot of shopping centers are. I think that's nothing.
 
best buy is 4 miles away, microcenter is 35 miles away. I don't have a fry's near me, nearest is 250 miles away. BB is only good for their blu ray specials sometimes and those god damn 3d exclusives or i would not even bother walking into a store. Their online to store order pick up is probably the worst in the business. Who the hell makes you wait an additional 10-20 minutes to pick up an item you paid for which should take no more than 5 minutes to finish the transaction.
 
NKD said:
The reason Best Buy might be in deep is because of their customer service. They seem to just not give a damn sometimes. I had a blu-ray in my hand once and the price on it was 9.99( tag on blu-ray) and I went up to the cashier and it rang up at 24.99. I told them that the tag on blu-ray says 9.99 and she told me sorry sir, it should not be on the blu-ray, cant give you that price. No apology no nothing. I work retail so I didn't push it, but had that thing happen at frys, where the tag on blu-ray says 9.99 and the tag has name of the blu-ray on it, no way I don't get that price match. I always get that price.
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I don't know about other states but I believe in Michigan, if an item's price is mislabeled like that they have to give you the lower price and then discount another 10% up to $5, by law.
 
Jaerb4 said:
I don't know about other states but I believe in Michigan, if an item's price is mislabeled like that they have to give you the lower price and then discount another 10% up to $5, by law.
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And discount? Your state sucks.
 
Binar said:
Geeksquad is the first thing BB should get rid off .
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Some customers want the service of Geeksquad (they do installations, not repairs). The mistake is for anyone to expect expert advice from someone earning a McDonald's wage.
 
Jaerb4 said:
I don't know about other states but I believe in Michigan, if an item's price is mislabeled like that they have to give you the lower price and then discount another 10% up to $5, by law.
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What's to keep someone from switching price tags to get a dirt-cheap price plus 10%?
 
I am not a big proponent of BB, but wishing that they go out of business (like some posters have) and having more people lose their jobs is ludicrous. Don't shop there if you don't like the place.

For me, I need a place to demo things and sometimes their sale prices online aren't too bad. It would be a pity to see them go under IMO.
 
DenverBarr said:
Im not so sure about this, at least where i live the future shops and best buys are always packed.
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Futureshop/Best Buy = Canada

That's because we have fewer decent retail choices here in Canada and even fewer online retailers (no Amazon.ca that sells electronics) and expensive shipping costs without the free shipping of many US companies.
 
Stone Cold said:
What's to keep someone from switching price tags to get a dirt-cheap price plus 10%?
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I'm not sure. It might have to be a shelf price or something?

Item Pricing Bill of Rights

Our State law requires that most items on store shelves be clearly marked with a price tag. If an automatic checkout system (scanner) charges you more than the marked price of an item, and:

1) the transaction has been completed, and

2) you have a receipt indicating the item purchased and the price charged for it.

Then:

You must notify the seller that you were overcharged, within 30 days of the transaction, either in person or in writing. Within two days of receiving your notice, the seller may choose to refund you the difference between the amount charged and the price marked plus a "bonus" of 10 times the difference, with a minimum of $1.00 and a maximum of $5.00. If the seller refuses to give you both the refund and the bonus, you may bring a lawsuit to recover your actual damages or $250.00, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney fees up to $300.00.
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So I guess it's just if they charge you the higher price, then you get the difference. If the lady at the register had recognized the lower price, it wouldn't have come up.
 
You have to learn to take advantage of the situation. Sometimes a zealous salesman will offer you a big discount on a TV (basically their tiny 5-10% margin) if you buy overpriced accessories (monster cable package which they get like 90% margin on). Do that and return the cables later.
 
Best Buy and other traditional retailers complain that Amazon can undercut them in prices because the site doesn’t charge sales tax, and that Amazon customers use Best Buy as their showroom, taking advantage of the extensive, well-stocked locations and knowledgeable staff to research products they actually buy from someone else online.
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LOL!
 
Kaitian said:
Only 30 miles? I live 30 miles away from Idaho Falls where alot of shopping centers are. I think that's nothing.
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Yeah, I guess it's all perspective. When I lived in NJ, the vast majority of the stores I shopped at were within 5 mi. of where I lived. Now that I live in TX, the vast majority of the stores are within 10 mi. of where I live. But going 30 mi. out of the way seems like a hike. I guess it's not bad doing that trip every couple months.
 
Jaerb4 said:
I don't know about other states but I believe in Michigan, if an item's price is mislabeled like that they have to give you the lower price and then discount another 10% up to $5, by law.
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This is true, but I bet even in MI best buy would not tell you that and would just try to slide it by.
 
Spare-Flair said:
You have to learn to take advantage of the situation. Sometimes a zealous salesman will offer you a big discount on a TV (basically their tiny 5-10% margin) if you buy overpriced accessories (monster cable package which they get like 90% margin on). Do that and return the cables later.
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That's called inboarding and can get them fired.
 
beowulf7 said:
Yeah, I guess it's all perspective. When I lived in NJ, the vast majority of the stores I shopped at were within 5 mi. of where I lived. Now that I live in TX, the vast majority of the stores are within 10 mi. of where I live. But going 30 mi. out of the way seems like a hike. I guess it's not bad doing that trip every couple months.
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Fry's is worth worth the trip. I might not do it every weekend, but I like going to just to walk around.
 
bad management, stupid management, bad training, stupid sales tactics, etc

the cod of retailers
 
They work off of high popularity and high profit margin, how can they possibly be doing poorly?
 
Let's not forget telling the cashiers to upsell a stupid item of day/week/month... :rolleyes:
 
Lith1um said:
I stopped shopping at BB 4 or 5 years ago.

They kicked PC gaming to the curb, it's less than a 4 x 8" shelf.
They never stocked a decent video card.
They never stocked a high end monitor.
The service was virtually non-existant.
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Pretty much this. I worked there for 11 months and quit. They suck to work for and they suck to shop at...
 
They just opened up a new Bestbuy here and as soon as I walked in the door they were on me like flies on shit. I despise annoying sales people so never shopping there again.
 
Yobbles said:
They just opened up a new Bestbuy here and as soon as I walked in the door they were on me like flies on shit. I despise annoying sales people so never shopping there again.
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Tell me about it, just went in there two days ago and had almost every single worker on the floor approach me and constantly ask if I needed help.

I appreciate one or two, but every single one?
Even when other workers saw that I was being asked, they asked anyways?

Seriously, fuck BB.
This wasn't service with a smile, it was service in your face.
 
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