Best Buy to close 50 stores in restructuring. Do you still shop at Best Buy? (1 Viewer)

[John Garcia]

Other than sales, generally on smaller items, their prices are just too high and the selection fairly limited. Frys recently started matching Amazon's pricing as well, as long as it is sold and shipped by Amazon. I mentioned this to Best Buy when inquiring about pricing of a TV and whether or not they had it instock and they said "That's nice." So I hung up. For a struggling company, they need to do something or they will be gone, and to be honest, I won't entirely miss them. I am also a long time Prime member.
The only scary thing is that ALL of the B&M stores have the same problem, and once in a while I do need to go see and touch something in person to decide if I want it or not.

 

[GeorgeAB]

.....
The only scary thing is that ALL of the B&M stores have the same problem, and once in a while I do need to go see and touch something in person to decide if I want it or not.

And, of course, that costs extra, doesn't it? You can't provide a brick and mortar facility, light it, heat it, maintain it, offer parking, pay the property taxes, fill it with inventory that is exposed to shopper usage and pilferage, staff it with sales help, etc., for the same cost of doing business as a robotic warehouse.

 

[Charles Smith]

Or a slave labor warehouse.

 

[GeorgeAB]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/123765-automation-warehouse-robots-come-of-age-as-amazon-buys-kiva

 

[John Garcia]

And, of course, that costs extra, doesn't it? You can't provide a brick and mortar facility, light it, heat it, maintain it, offer parking, pay the property taxes, fill it with inventory that is exposed to shopper usage and pilferage, staff it with sales help, etc., for the same cost of doing business as a robotic warehouse.

Well, in Ca. Amazon has agreed to open a limited number of B&M stores so that taxes may be collected on items sold through them. That closes the tax loophole, but that also means that a large b&m like Best Buy can slim down their stores and pretty much do the same thing. Circuit City is still around BTW, online only, not unlike Amazon and DOZENS of other stores.

 

[Carlo_M]

It's a bummer. I do still go to Best Buy, especially in the last year or so when they've put a concerted effort into matching (or coming very close to) Amazon's street-date prices on new releases. There's something about having instant gratification and not having to wait for UPS.
The real bummer when these big stores close is the resulting unemployment. We all want our stuff cheaper but we have to realize that there's a human cost to getting things as cheap as possible (and I'm not just picking on Best Buy and Amazon here).

 

[Joseph Bolus]

I have to admit that I rarely shop at Best Buy anymore. These days it's either Amazon or a Walmart Super Store.
They sort of brought this on themselves, though. I use to go by there every Tuesday to pick up my DVD/Blu-ray of the week -- and then hang around to check out the latest Audio/Computer gear. (And I would usually make a big purchase in that area at least twice a year.) But lately they just haven't been carrying many of the titles that I've been looking for -- even when they were advertised in the Sunday flyer. (Evidently the quantities they were carrying were so low that they were gone before I could get there.) It's just much more convenient to place the order on-line. No hassle -- and no time or gas wasted. And no store traffic for them.

 

[nolesrule]

Circuit City is still around BTW, online only, not unlike Amazon and DOZENS of other stores.

It's really just Circuit City in name only. Certain assets were bought by another company out of bankruptcy. They don't support any previous CC purchases from prior to when they purchased the assets.
Kinda like CompUSA came out of bankruptcy as a TigerDirect storefront.
To stay on topic, I make 2-3 purchases at BB a year. Nothing big though since a TV in 2004.

 

[Charles Smith]

I spent big there in 2010 (TV, receiver, surround speakers), and there ain't nothing further coming down the pike anytime soon.

In spite of their BD offerings which are usually pricey and leave a lot to be desired anyway, I'm still able to watch the Weekly Roundup here and justify a number of Immediate Gratification purchases at BB. If the local store here were to close, that would leave me 45 minutes from the nearest brick and mortar store (B&N and a couple of FYEs) carrying anything in video.

 

[RolandL]

I use to work for P. C. Richard & Son, a family owned company, on the east coast only. We had a lot of older customers that prefered shopping at P. C. Richard than Best Buy because the salesman at Best Buy were paid an hourly rate and didn't really care about the customer or sales. They got the same pay wether they made a sale or not. At P.C. Richard we were all commissioned salesman and we did care about the customer because we didn't make any money unless we made a sale. The customers use to tell me I knew a lot more about the product I was selling them than the idiots at Best Buy - usually a bunch of high school kids.

 

[EricSchulz]

I pretty much no longer shop there for several reasons, but the biggest one is selection. I can get almost ANYTHING from Amazon, whereas Best Buy (along with Target and every other B&M store) keep cutting back selection of software, etc. And despite the price usually being higher, I frequently shop and support The Exclusive Company, a music and movie chain that had six stores in WI. And they carry a great vinyl selection. And the staff LOVES WORKING THERE!!!!

 

[John Garcia]

It's a bummer. I do still go to Best Buy, especially in the last year or so when they've put a concerted effort into matching (or coming very close to) Amazon's street-date prices on new releases. There's something about having instant gratification and not having to wait for UPS.
The real bummer when these big stores close is the resulting unemployment. We all want our stuff cheaper but we have to realize that there's a human cost to getting things as cheap as possible (and I'm not just picking on Best Buy and Amazon here).

Instant gratification goes out the window with patience If preordering from Amazon not only is it guaranteed to get there the day of release, occasionally some will show up a day and once in a while even a few days before. For the days I want that instant gratification, there's Frys (plenty of them here anyway since they started here) Not everything on Amazon is the best price still, but enough items are that I do a large portion of my digital shopping there.
My daughter used to work at BB. She liked it well enough, but basically what I got from what she said is that they cared far more about their bottom line than their customers. Now that their customers are leaving and taking that bottom line with them...well what can you say?
We picked up a commuter car and it had some blown speakers. I used to go there because I could get some cheap speakers installed practically on the spot or at least the same day FREE. This time the knuckle head tried to sell me parts I didn't need and charge me more for the installation than the darn speakers and I would have to come back the next day. Next day not such a big deal, but really, trying to sell me stuff I *know* I don't need before they've even looked at the car?

 

[Carlo_M]

Instant gratification goes out the window with patience If preordering from Amazon not only is it guaranteed to get there the day of release, occasionally some will show up a day and once in a while even a few days before. For the days I want that instant gratification, there's Frys (plenty of them here anyway since they started here) Not everything on Amazon is the best price still, but enough items are that I do a large portion of my digital shopping there.

Yeah but if you live in an apartment complex, where sometimes UPS does bonehead things like leave your stuff out where everyone can see, there's something to be said about the security of an instant purchase. And don't get me wrong, if I can get it substantially cheaper from Amazon I usually do buy it from there (like catalog titles). But when it comes to release-date BDs, Best Buy is usually right near the Amazon price (and in some cases was actually lower).
Frys is a nice option, except the closest one near me is 15 miles on the 405 freeway. If you know the 405, you know that's 45 minutes to an hour. There's a Best Buy on the walk home.

 

[John Garcia]

Yeah but if you live in an apartment complex, where sometimes UPS does bonehead things like leave your stuff out where everyone can see, there's something to be said about the security of an instant purchase. And don't get me wrong, if I can get it substantially cheaper from Amazon I usually do buy it from there (like catalog titles).

I live on the top floor, but I totally understand I have the opposite problem. My BB is at a complex that is at the intersection of two main commute arteries (237/880) so in the evening, that is a no-no too. Frys is 3 blocks away.

 

[RickER]

Like many of you, i used to go to BB every Tuesday. I bought many new releases, and they were a fair price.
Then, like a few of you have said, they would carry very few, and sometimes none of the new catalog titles that were coming out that day. I even asked more than once, "hey if you can have 500 copies of High School Musical, maybe you can get 10 copies of M*A*S*H for us old guys who do not want HSM?"
I even wrote corporate and asked them the same question. My question fell on deaf ears. And, while High School Musical was a good seller, i am sure, i know they had more copies than they could sell!
Anyway, i went less and less, bought fewer things. Yes, i did buy 2 TVs, and 2 receivers from them over the last few years, i have had a few headaches in that area too.
I might walk in once a month now. I bought The Ring on Blu-ray, cause it's a store exclusive. It gave me a reason to go, but i didn't buy anything else.
I would miss touching stuff, and it gave me something to do. I might even talk to one of the employees. Our Tulsa store had a good guy in media, but they farm the media stuff out to a 3rd party vendor now, anyway!

 

[Jason_V]

Originally Posted by EricSchulz /t/319654/best-buy-to-close-50-stores-in-restructuring-do-you-still-shop-at-best-buy#post_3911675
I pretty much no longer shop there for several reasons, but the biggest one is selection. I can get almost ANYTHING from Amazon, whereas Best Buy (along with Target and every other B&M store) keep cutting back selection of software, etc.

Agreed. I made it a policy not to shop at BB anymore earlier this year when they were consistently out of merchandise and offered terrible service. There is no movie or video game I will ever need bad enough I can't wait a day or two for Amazon to ship. It's sad, since I spent major coin at BB over the years: TV's, two laptops, PS3, weekly DVD runs, etc. They continually reduce their media footprint and introduce items like home health care supplies. One of their surveys asked about their new selection and I responded I would not trust BB or any blue shirt to know anything about those supplies. They barely know about movies or TV's.

I used to work at BB, back when we peddled Netflix and MSN. Gee, now that Netflix has taken at least a part of their market, wonder what the suits think about that.

 

[LarryH]

I admit that I have fallen victim to the lure of Amazon - but only for DVD/BR. I just don't have the time or energy any more to drag myself over to the store (about 10 miles each way). I do occasionally buy some stuff from the cut-out bins if I happen to be there. My most typical purchase is a commodity-level PC or laptop from time to time - mainly to get the extended payments. I used to shop for camcorders at BB, but since they cut their stock back to entry-level cameras, I have not been able to shop there.
Amazon also has a big appeal for me by flagging DVD/BD's that I have already purchased. Being somewhat scattershot in my purchases, I have a hard time keeping up with what I have purchased.
I also agree that BB's reduced stock makes shopping at large futile.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Originally Posted by RolandL /t/319654/best-buy-to-close-50-stores-in-restructuring-do-you-still-shop-at-best-buy#post_3911671
I use to work for P. C. Richard & Son, a family owned company, on the east coast only. We had a lot of older customers that prefered shopping at P. C. Richard than Best Buy because the salesman at Best Buy were paid an hourly rate and didn't really care about the customer or sales. They got the same pay wether they made a sale or not. At P.C. Richard we were all commissioned salesman and we did care about the customer because we didn't make any money unless we made a sale. The customers use to tell me I knew a lot more about the product I was selling them than the idiots at Best Buy - usually a bunch of high school kids.

That's interesting. When Best Buy finally came to Seattle they listed non-commissioned sales as one of their selling points: no pressure . I have dealt with a commissioned salesperson at Magnolia Audio Video (now owned by Best Buy) for almost 20 years and received the best service. If you are in the Seattle area and want to shop at Magnolia Audio Video go to the Roosevelt store and ask for Carrie Connolly.

I shop at Best Buy for exclusive BD titles, or a title that I wasn't sure I wanted and then I read the review here and instant gratification kicks in. The Best Buy is about 5 min from my house. My biggest beef is the in store pick up line is too long, eliminating any time savings. If I know I can find the title in store I don't use it anymore. They should hand me the in store pick up item and let me pay at a register.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Originally Posted by Jason_V /t/319654/best-buy-to-close-50-stores-in-restructuring-do-you-still-shop-at-best-buy#post_3911710
I used to work at BB, back when we peddled Netflix and MSN. Gee, now that Netflix has taken at least a part of their market, wonder what the suits think about that.

Based on my experience yesterday they have replaced them with Comcast.

 

[Todd Erwin]

I think part of the stocking problem with DVDs and Blu-rays has been that Best Buy has outsourced this section of their stores to a third party, who often don't arrive to stock the shelves until the day of release, sometimes even after the store has been open for a few hours. The third party more or less, as I understand it, decide on what quantities a store will receive of a particular title. If it's a new catalog release, they typically are clueless as to what the demand is (exceptions, of course, for long-standing popular franchises like Star Wars or Star Trek). Remember how many copies on Blu-ray BBY stores received of TRON or Peter Jackson's King Kong? And these were advertised items.

Originally Posted by Joseph Bolus /t/319654/best-buy-to-close-50-stores-in-restructuring-do-you-still-shop-at-best-buy#post_3911595
But lately they just haven't been carrying many of the titles that I've been looking for -- even when they were advertised in the Sunday flyer. (Evidently the quantities they were carrying were so low that they were gone before I could get there.) It's just much more convenient to place the order on-line. No hassle -- and no time or gas wasted. And no store traffic for them.