If best buy goes out of business I will not shed a tear

[Germwise]

The other day I drove out to my local best buy after calling. On the phone I was told that they had a motorola Xoom on display. I walked in and asked to see the Xoom. They walked me over to a dummy display with a sticker as a screen. They didn't have a working demo, but said they would be willing to sell me some that were in stock.

At least in my eyes, best buy is competing with amazon, buy.com newegg etc. When I buy online, I usually get free shipping (1-2 days), no tax, lower prices.

Lately online retailers have even put review forums, videos and have even made the return process easier than Brick and Mortar stores. Also there are no pushy salesman trying to sell uninformed customers $80 gold plated hdmi cables for DIGITAL SIGNAL TRANSMISSION when you can get a great cable from monoprice for 1.25.

The only advantage best buy has is that I can 1) Get the product on the spot and 2) that I can play with it before and see if I like it. A plastic demo doesn't help me. Not when I go youtube 40 video reviews. Not when I can go to the motorola website and do 360degree views.

When brick and mortar stores like best buy close, I will not even blink. I get better service online.

 

[snapper.fishes]

Ummm... yeah. What does this have to do with Android again?

 

[novox77]

some products will always be "try before you buy" and no amount of pictures, videos, 3D holograms will replace actually playing with the device. So brick and mortar stores like BB still have a place. Obviously with all the online options, the competition is fierce, so they better get their act together.

Agreed with the "Monster" cables. Total ripoff. Please, please never buy these. But remember, there's tons of bad deals at any retailer including online stores like amazon. Consumers just need to do their research. Period.

Unfortunately if you're a smart consumer, you're likely to know more than the salesmen at the store. That's true pretty much everywhere, especially with a technical product running Android.

 

[Frisco]

Ummm... yeah. What does this have to do with Android again?

The OP was shopping for a Xoom.

 

[snapper.fishes]

The OP was shopping for a Xoom.

Oh yeah. Kinda forgot about that after reading through the rant.

It's not really android related though. OP could have replaced Xoom with any other product (even a pair of headphones) and it wouldn't have made a difference.

Personally I still prefer shopping in shops, if only because I can pay in cash. Having read too many spy fictions, I am a little paranoia about privacy. I try to avoid paying with my credit card as much as possible.

 

[Frisco]

Coincidentally I noticed something in Best Buy yesterday (was there for a new PC).. a customer was ranting at the sales rep about a piece of paper that the store requires be filled out at the point of purchase of any computer.

The piece of paper has check boxes to indicate that the sales rep offered this and that insurance, etc, and also has spaces for the customer's name, address, phone number and email address.

The guy was upset that it was "required."

I took him aside, kindly excusing us from the sales guy, and told the customer that he needn't put accurate information on that piece of paper, as it is not related to anything of a legal nature, but just a store policy.

He then shrugged and filled it out. lol

 

[icerado]

I'll be the first one to say I hate BB...they sell outdated or way overpriced electronics. What you fail to realize is cables for HD actually do make a difference. I have side by side home comparisons with cheap HD cables vs a good $80 psyclone (not monster) and the difference is obvious enough that when people come over they actually comment on it.

However I will probably celebrate if BB closed, but in the same breathe when I'm picking up the next call of duty at 12:01am and they are throwing an all night party...I'll end up shutting my mouth going home and playing cod for the next week.

 

[PSkeptic]

some products will always be "try before you buy" and no amount of pictures, videos, 3D holograms will replace actually playing with the device. So brick and mortar stores like BB still have a place. Obviously with all the online options, the competition is fierce, so they better get their act together.

Agreed with the "Monster" cables. Total ripoff. Please, please never buy these. But remember, there's tons of bad deals at any retailer including online stores like amazon. Consumers just need to do their research. Period.

Unfortunately if you're a smart consumer, you're likely to know more than the salesmen at the store. That's true pretty much everywhere, especially with a technical product running Android.

Don't forget the Oxygen Free Cables for the DIGITAL audio out. You get "warmer sounds" from the Oxygen Free Cables.

 

[pantlesspenguin]

BB is becoming increasingly crappy. I was there w/ my bro & SIL a few weeks ago while they were there to purchace a new router. There was a SA not 20 feet away from us. We were all looking @ him, waiting for him to come over to help...but he was having a PERSONAL CONVERSATION on his cell phone!!! It took him about 5 minutes to wrap up the call & come over to help.

Also, I've noticed BB rarely has working models of any phone. They HAD a working Galaxy Tab, but they had it pretty high on a shelf. It was tethered down (obviously), & when I lifted it gently to tilt it so I could see it better, a piercing alarm went off. A guy took his sweet time to come over, turn off the alarm, & grunt "Don't move it" to me. Ugh.

 

[Stuntman]

I find that I tend to have pleasant experiences at BB. Maybe the reason is that before BB came to Canada, Future Shop fill that role of big electronic store. I hated Future Show because sometimes, the salespeople just want the commission, but know jack about what I want to buy. If I know what I want to buy, I want to just grab it and go to the check out. If I need help, I'd ask.

BB on the other hand leave you alone to look around and I like that. Staff are very helpful when I ask for help. I never felt pressure to buy anything. One time, a rep spent 20 minutes helping me find something, but I ended up not buying anything because I could not find what I was looking for (a holster for a smartphone that is the right size for a Desire Z and a BlackBerry).

As for demo models, I find that not just Best Buy, but all other brick and mortar stores should follow Apple's lead and have working demos available for people to play with. Most stores have just sticker displays on most phones. Some have a working demo of the phone that is featured. What gets me mad the most is when they have a working demo that only plays the advertisement video and does not allow you to try it out.

 

[bigbadwulff]

I'm just glad we no longer have to deal with Circuit Shittys here. Never could stand those places. I hated the "pit boss" mentality there.

 

[Outlaw71]

Don't forget the Oxygen Free Cables for the DIGITAL audio out. You get "warmer sounds" from the Oxygen Free Cables.

Yeah I'm very careful to stay away from them for fear that the singer would asphyxiate!



There is a BB about 45 minutes from me, but I'd rather drive the hour it takes to get to Fry's. They have a tremendous selection as well, but I feel their prices are more competitive.

If you have an HH Greggs in your area you might try there. Ours had a Xoom on display. .

 

[gallandof]

ive had horrible issues with a lot of things ive purchased through best buy. I bought a TV and within 2 days had a column of dead pixels about 3 inches wide down the center of the screen. went for a replacement and that TV was out of stock and it would take 1 week for a replacement. so i paid a little more and got a different one. now this one has a cluster of stuck pixels dead center and best buy wont honor the warrenty so I have to go through samsung. this is all within 2 months.

i purchased a laptop from them and the hinge broke on it. did some research and apparently this was a defect in the specific model, so best buy took it and was going to take care of it through HP. (when i left it only 1 side of the hinge was broken) fast forward 2 weeks later I get a call from best buy that my laptop is all set and I acn pick it up. I get there and they tell me that it isnt covered and that i would need to pay 450$ for a screen replacement. i take the laptop get home, and now the screen is completely detached from the laptop and neither hinge is attached. apparently the best buy had taken it apart to try and fix and and never though to put it back together or give me the original hinge back.


Sadly where i live best buy is the only option for electronics.

 

[septembersrain]

The other day I drove out to my local best buy after calling. On the phone I was told that they had a motorola Xoom on display. I walked in and asked to see the Xoom. They walked me over to a dummy display with a sticker as a screen. They didn't have a working demo, but said they would be willing to sell me some that were in stock.

At least in my eyes, best buy is competing with amazon, buy.com newegg etc. When I buy online, I usually get free shipping (1-2 days), no tax, lower prices.

Lately online retailers have even put review forums, videos and have even made the return process easier than Brick and Mortar stores. Also there are no pushy salesman trying to sell uninformed customers $80 gold plated hdmi cables for DIGITAL SIGNAL TRANSMISSION when you can get a great cable from monoprice for 1.25.

The only advantage best buy has is that I can 1) Get the product on the spot and 2) that I can play with it before and see if I like it. A plastic demo doesn't help me. Not when I go youtube 40 video reviews. Not when I can go to the motorola website and do 360degree views.

When brick and mortar stores like best buy close, I will not even blink. I get better service online.

Ever since Circuit City went out of business, They've been slightly price gouging. I do see that this is a major issue as I was going to buy a laptop from them recently and found the exact same one for half the price in a small local computer sales shop. Plus they've got the most horrendous waiting time ever. They once told me in order for me to get this T.V I wanted, I'd have to wait over a week. Went to Wal-Mart that same day and bought the exact same one, 60 dollars less. I know that when I go places it drives me insane when they've got the plastic demo instead of something real. I can sort of understand it though as people tend to mess things up...

 

[septembersrain]

ive had horrible issues with a lot of things ive purchased through best buy. I bought a TV and within 2 days had a column of dead pixels about 3 inches wide down the center of the screen. went for a replacement and that TV was out of stock and it would take 1 week for a replacement. so i paid a little more and got a different one. now this one has a cluster of stuck pixels dead center and best buy wont honor the warrenty so I have to go through samsung. this is all within 2 months.

i purchased a laptop from them and the hinge broke on it. did some research and apparently this was a defect in the specific model, so best buy took it and was going to take care of it through HP. (when i left it only 1 side of the hinge was broken) fast forward 2 weeks later I get a call from best buy that my laptop is all set and I acn pick it up. I get there and they tell me that it isnt covered and that i would need to pay 450$ for a screen replacement. i take the laptop get home, and now the screen is completely detached from the laptop and neither hinge is attached. apparently the best buy had taken it apart to try and fix and and never though to put it back together or give me the original hinge back.


Sadly where i live best buy is the only option for electronics.

Best Buy now receives products that the actual manufacturer cannot sell in their own website/store. If this is indeed a fact then I feel that they are selling inferior products for prime prices. Plus I do know that a lot of times when you get an extended warranty they will keep attempting to fix the product instead of replacing it. I don't know about anyone else but, If one thing is constantly going wrong, isn't that an indication that more might go wrong with it? Therefore they should just do away with that specific product, Send it back to the factory! You can't keep trying to jerry rig a product if it's got something major wrong from the get go!

 

[r0ckstarr]

When Black Ops was coming out, I got in on the pre-order for just the game only. No hardened edition and no Special edition. I just wanted the game itself.

I went to pick it up the morning it was to actually be available, and they told me they ran out of stock.

Wasn't that the entire point of me pre-ordering it? So I could get it before stock was depleted?

They sent me to another BB store 15 miles away, and said that they would call ahead to make sure that someone will be waiting for me, so that all I would have to do is walk in, grab the game, and walk back out.

I get there, and guess what. Nobody had a clue who I was, or what was going on. I informed them that I was sent from another store and the other store was supposed to call ahead.

Nope. Never called.

After waiting easily 30 minutes for them to try to get ahold of someone at the other store, finally the person I spoke to from the other store got on the phone and confirmed everything.

The store manager apologized for the trouble and gave me the Prestige Edition of the game ($130 value I think?) as way of saying sorry.

Sadly, when I pulled the Prestige Edition out of the BB bag at home, it had a post-it note with someone elses name on it.

 

[shawn1224]

I have found the best of both worlds. Fry's electronics now price matches with all the competitive online sellers.

I bought all these items and they price matched them with the Amazon price.

Plantronics Voyager Pro Bluetooth headset - Fry's ($79.99) Amazon ($45.00)

Logitech MX518 mouse - Fry's ($59.99) Amazon ($36.99)

Logitech G13 Gameboard - Fry's ($79.99) Amazon ($59.99)

 

[Jammy]

What you fail to realize is cables for HD actually do make a difference. I have side by side home comparisons with cheap HD cables vs a good $80 psyclone (not monster) and the difference is obvious enough that when people come over they actually comment on it.

No, no they do not.

Analog cables can be improved using techniques such as gold-plating, shielding from EM/RF interference, etc. Most people can't tell the difference, but scientifically, there is an improvement.

HDMI transmits a 100% digital signal. This means that it transfers a string of 1s and 0s. There is no way to improve this using techniques like gold-plating, etc. It will either work perfectly or not work at all.

A $10 HDMI cable will work just as good as a $250 HDMI cable.


The side by side comparisons are always bullshit.

 

[jwp1223]

And Jammy is correct. I worked at Best Buy (keyword worked)....I use to be a delivery driver for them (also did Asset Protection)...and I had to spend my own money on waterline hoses on the ice makers for refrigerators, because the ones that they wanted us to use, had a defect (No rubber washers like most hoses have) and only wanted us to use plumbing tape. Not only were the hoses cheap (well not for the customer, that was a $30 premium added on)...but cheaply made, they constantly leaked, and we were always being called back out to retighten them. Finally I had enough, went to Lowes or Home Depot, and bought whatever I needed to use hoses wise.

The sales people are liars as well, they'll promise something, that a delivery driver or a home theatre technician aren't allowed to do, and will tell them, that yes we'll do that. The only thing that people in the store are trying to is please the managers...and the only thing the managers care about is the sales numbers....i.e $$.

 

[bigbadwulff]

Sounds like they are turning into Circuit Shitty. If they keep it up, they will wind up just like them.

 

[3devious]

As for demo models, I find that not just Best Buy, but all other brick and mortar stores should follow Apple's lead and have working demos available for people to play with. Most stores have just sticker displays on most phones. Some have a working demo of the phone that is featured. What gets me mad the most is when they have a working demo that only plays the advertisement video and does not allow you to try it out.

I got pretty lucky with our local Best Buy. They only had plastic shells with the Win7 phones came out. The assistant saw my disappointment and grabbed one out of the box for me to try out. I thought that was nice of him. I told him that he didn't have to waste his time because I just got my phone in September. I think he was looking for an excuse to open one.

 

[ari-free]

Ummm... yeah. What does this have to do with Android again?

Best Buy is a big supporter of Android and google TV

 

[Martimus]

Unfortunately I noticed the other day that another of BB's competitors is closing it's doors. Here in Arid-zona, we're seeing Ultimate Electronics stores with "Going out of business" signs. Now granted UE stores tended to be ghost towns much of the time (more store employees than customers) but it's competition that BB needed to remain tolerably in check.

As for Fry's Electronics their sales staff aren't much better than those at BB. I've gone into many a Fry's to hear a "so called" salesperson try to sell me an inferior product for a ridiculous price...

 

[operant]

I played with a fully functional Xoom at best buy today for at least 30 minutes.

Is this relevant to the conversation, not really, but it does show that not all bbs are like yours.

Also, if you're so smart about things, isn't it a good idea to go to bb, look at the products (even having the box in your hand is better than a gif of the product) and buy elsewhere?

And to tell you the truth, best buys protection program and buy back program are great and I use both. Yes there are some ridiculous prices on products that they know they can get idiots on, but pretty much every store has these products, and you forget that running a store with a full staff costs more than a warehouse that has a fea guys hand boxes to a fedex guy.

 

[Crude]

Ummm... yeah. What does this have to do with Android again?

The OP was shopping for a Xoom.

Oh yeah. Kinda forgot about that after reading through the rant.

It's not really android related though. OP could have replaced Xoom with any other product (even a pair of headphones) and it wouldn't have made a difference.

Personally I still prefer shopping in shops, if only because I can pay in cash. Having read too many spy fictions, I am a little paranoia about privacy. I try to avoid paying with my credit card as much as possible.

Why does it matter this is the Lounge....the Android Lounge is a few forums down?