My experience at Best Buy (1 Viewer)

Well today was a very interesting day for me. After discussing with my wife on what to get her father for Christmas she decided she wanted to go with Sirius. That was the easy part.

I went to my local Best Buy -- SOLD OUT wont be getting any more in till tomorrow

UGHHHH

I then went to the BB in King of Prussia, Pa and was told the same thing. Well I had to go to Delaware to pick up a big ticket item for my wife (no sales tax in DE) so I stopped at the BB in Wilmington.

I was told that they sold over 3 Cases of Sirius over the weekend. The cases are those huge displays that you see with all the units. I was told that they were expecting a shipment this am and that I could wait around. I hung out for 20 mins and talked to the sales rep. He said that Sirius was out selling XM about 10-1. He told me that most people were looking for Stern and the NFL. He also said that the people that asked about XM were turned off when they found that all of their music stations weren't commercial free like Sirius. He was nice enough to put up with all my questions while he was rather busy, so I gotta give props to the guys at Wilmington's Best Buy.

So my father-in-law will get his starmate replay and hopefully he will be thrilled with come Christmas.

Ron you must not listen to XM radio then. They have advertisements between each song. I had the service back in March and recall their promos all the time between songs. I guess you may not consider that commerical free. But I wonder what you do call it then.

I thought maybe I was wrong so I checked some other satellite forums that are more down the middle and here is what a few XM subsribers said:

I have been feeling annoyed lately with the constant xm "promos"between songs on the music channels I listen to. I only want to hear programming-anyone who owns an xm unit can goto their site and look for any pertinent info about other xm products/offers. When you pay 10+$ per month, you don't want anything but content. – Jeff

…while it doesn’t bother me when XM does put out commercial type of programming on their music channels, I do find it annoying hearing these type of "promo" spots over and over again. Even on the premium service (Opie and Anthony Show) you get these promo spots over and over again. I hope XM will cut back a bit and not be so aggressive with promoting themselves! They have us as subscribers, now they should just give us what we paid for. - Mark,

Corey, c'mon man please...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you REALLY have to 'consult' and 'expert' to know what a commercial is?
The same thing is happening to public television!!!
They call them 'promos' but does 'promote' REALLY mean?
Isn't that what ADVERTISING DOES? To promote/advertise?
t is just another way to use semantics to get around the TRUTH!
And who is doing the determination on the criteria of what anything means? THOSE WHO WILL BENEFIT!! AS ALWAYS!
We aren't STUPID!!!!!!!!
Of course they are commercials…! – Ernest

As a former Production Director for both commercial and non-commercial radio I would just like to add to what was written. The way I've been taught (and subsequently have taught to others) in defining the two separately, has been (specifically) in the "text" of the sponsor announcement…To advertise there has to be an urging, suggestion or implication to "buy" or "purchase" something…the line is indeed fine and as in the case of XM, I tend to agree with the assertion that they are dangerously close to blurring it (such as placing oldie commercials against current sponsor mentions). Of course they would define it as "creative" promotion - what else are they going to say? – R.B.

I'm also in the radio biz and was thinking: Everything that goes on the air is a commercial. As radio air-talent, our job is to "promote the music," ie. sell CDs. Every time we play the latest Tim McGraw or Dierks Bentley song, we're really playing a commercial for the recording industry. Even jingles, liners and other station promos are commercials. The whole point of a station mention between every song is so people will remember the call letters or slogan…. For some listeners, anything from the time the music stops to the time the music starts is commercial content. News, weather and traffic reports aren't immune, although providing useful information (read "public service") they are usually sponsored and therefore are commercials. – David

I don’t care how the industry sub-classifies advertising. Advertising is a commercial and a commercial is advertising, period. When I subscribe to a service who’s PRIMARY sales pitch is “commercial free music” and my listening is constantly being interrupted by “now, on channel xx, we have Joe Blow and the infamous whoosits” that is advertising and therefore that channel cannot be considered commercial free. So quit advertising as such. Why am I paying a subscription fee for a commercial free service when they are clearly generating additional revenue from off-topic discussions and such. After all, if I wanted to listen to baseball wouldn’t I be tuned to the baseball channel! - Tony

Ohhh and Ron as for XM at Wal-Mart...

I have 3 Wal-Marts with in 20 miles of me and the two I were at had XM recievers (they dont carry much to begin with) so if you know anyone that needs XM let me know, they are pretty easy to come by in the Philly area.

I certainly agree that the original poster is being disingenuous in stating that XM music channels have commercials. They certainly do not.

I'm glad you're happy with Sirius. Enjoy. But don't feel you have to run down the other to make yourself feel better...

Robert you must not have read my post very well. Try reading it again. I said nothing about XM only what a Best Buy employee said. And when I did have XM they most certainly had commercials between songs. So you may want to check your facts.


Please forgive Ron and has fanboy mentality. He was scorned and since then XM has done no wrong.

Having owned both systems and hearing both "promos" between songs (on the music only channels), one is clearly a commercial and one is not. Now this may have changed since last May. However I rarely hear a Sirius DJ promote other Sirius programs, other then when they comment on Stern coming. I do however hear Sirius promote their other programs on the Talk Channels so you do have a point there.

What exactly did Sirius do to Ron to make him such an Anti-Sirius/Pro-XM advocate? Did they call his family members names? kick his dog? was he told that they wanted to break up but could still be friends?

I have never in my life seen such heated discussion! I think we can assume from all this that Ron likes XM and Brent likes Sirius and its not gonna change. I'm still on the fence but one thing i've noticed is all the receivers that offer "XM"ready units and Polk's own stand alone unit. Where is Sirius in all this?

Silliness and false information aside, I can fully confirm the Best Buy reports. I have been at several this week looking for Sportsters and every store was cleaned out of everything Sirius! As for the XM rack? Fully stocked shelves with anything you would want to buy XM related. My friend at work gave me a similar report for Circuit City.

As far as bashing XM, I would never bash the service, since I never owned it, but I find the Oppie and Anthony program to be unlistenable, and have no problem stating so. The two forums should be about supporting the service you use, but I agree in putting out misinformation on the other service, it's just not cool... even if its done is a clever way (like posting a rumor that a service will raise its rates when nothing of the sort has been confirmed).

From the Boston Globe:

Fans following Stern to his new Sirius home
Shock jock's move to satellite radio spurs holiday-sales boom, stores say
By Keith Reed, Globe Staff | December 21, 2005

Cabbage Patch Kids, Furby, the Xbox 360. Add Howard Stern to the list of Christmas gifts with a following that made them difficult, if not impossible, to find at the height of their popularity.

The aging, crass shock jock who ruled mornings on FM radio in Boston and elsewhere until last Friday, takes his act to Sirius Satellite Radio, the number-two player in the subscription radio business, on Jan. 9. Judging by the shelves at some local retailers, he's taking a lot of Boston fans with him.

Several store managers said Sirius receivers, which cost between $50 and $300, come with a $12.95 monthly fee, and have to be plugged into a car or home stereo, are among their hottest sellers this holiday season. Stern fans and their gift-buying relatives are cleaning out shelves as quickly as they are stocked with new units.

''This is driving our revenue right now," said Anthony Perry, a manager at Best Buy in the Fenway neighborhood. ''If we could stock a million of these, I'm sure we'd sell a million," added general manager Gary Oliveira.

Satellite radio launched in the United States in 2001, when Sirius' only competitor, XM Satellite Radio Inc., went on the air. Instead of listening to free radio stations subject to Federal Communications Commission decency rules, filled with commercials and marked by formulaic, repetitive playlists, satellite subscribers pay for commercial-free no-holds barred programs. Unlike traditional radio stations, which have a limited listening area, satellite stations are available anywhere in the country.

Sirius and XM offer more than 100 channels of music, news, and talk and rely heavily on celebrity hosts to drive subscriptions. XM's latest TV ads feature rapper Snoop Dogg dropping in on Ellen DeGeneres in the company's studios. Both host XM shows.

Sirius' roster includes an entire channel named for rapper Eminem, and the company benefited immediately from landing Stern.

''We attribute a lot of that to the Stern effect," said Jim Collins, a Sirius spokesman.

Stern could end up benefiting both companies, neither of which has ever had a host with such a big audience, said Stuart Kagel, an analyst with Janco Partners, a Greenwood Village, Colo., investment firm.

''The awareness of satellite radio is way above where it was before," Stern signed with Sirius, he said. Kagel's most recent report on Sirius projects an estimated 39 million satellite radio subscribers in the United States by 2010.

Its popularity is already growing. Of a shipment of 48 of Sirius' least expensive receivers the Fenway Best Buy received last week, only three of the $49.99 radios remained yesterday afternoon.

As Perry was describing how quickly the radios are selling, another manager snatched one off the shelf for a customer who placed an order on the Internet and rushed in to pick it up. Several shoppers called the store to see if Sirius radios were available at any local Best Buy stores. Few were, Perry told them.

But next to the two remaining Sirius receivers were more than two dozen XM radios.

''Right now, Sirius is selling way more than XM," Perry said.

Nathaniel Brown, an XM spokesman, said the shelf could have been full of XM receivers because Best Buy got a new delivery, not because Sirius was outselling them. XM, he said, has more than twice as many subscribers as Sirius.

Sirius has 2.2 million subscribers to XM's 5 million, according to the companies' most recent quarterly reports. XM has said it expects to end 2005 with 6 million subscribers while Sirius is aiming for more than 3 million.

Sirius' sales jumped after the company unveiled its $500 million contract with Stern last October. The self-crowned ''King of All Media," whose on-air cohorts include ''Will the Farter," ''Gary the Retard," and strippers, signed with Sirius after battling with the FCC and his former employer, Infinity Broadcasting, now known as CBS Radio.

Stern was hit with several hefty fines under the FCC's indecency rules, but the agency does not regulate satellite radio.

Brown swiped at Sirius for spending so much on one host, calling the Stern deal an indicator that its programming is narrower than XM's.

''They have taken a half-billion dollar gamble on one personality. That becomes the heart of your programming, while XM is focused on being as broad-based as possible," he said.

Stern's show had the second-best ratings of all morning radio shows in Boston during the last full ratings period it was on the air, according to Arbitron Inc., which measures audiences for the industry. Between June 30 and Sept. 30, 7.3 percent of Boston's radio listeners were tuned into his show during any 15-minute period it was on.

If sales at the RadioShack on American Legion Highway in Roslindale are any indication, many of those listeners plan to follow Stern onto satellite. Store manager Evenold Guillonaicre said he's been selling about 10 Sirius receivers a day since Thanksgiving, more than double what he used to sell. Most customers are looking for Stern.

''Before we had to tell them what Sirius Radio was, but now they know," Guillonaicre said. ''Some of the customers ask me, 'Did you know Howard stern was going to be on it?' "

Bryan Fleming of Cambridge knew. The 32-year-old's brother-in-law, a Stern fan, has hinted for weeks that he wants a Sirius receiver and Fleming made the Fenway Best Buy his second stop on the hunt for one.

After browsing one store and putting off the purchase, he came into Best Buy, where what was left over didn't appeal to him. Another stop would be necessary.

Looking ahead to the next store, he said, ''I don't know if they'll have any in stock."


My own personal experience here in NJ is that the Best Buys near my job and near my home are sold out of the boomboxes, the Sportster Replays, Starmate Replays and S50s. I was going to get a Sportster Replay and boombox as a Christmas gift for myself but it looks like I will have to wait until after the holidays.

That's exactly what I call disingenuous ...

Again, enjoy your Sirius, just remember not to pass on misinformation...

Robert,

Now I just related it. Thanks for going back and reading it again to fix what you said.

But the facts are that XM plays constant promos for their shows between songs. I had the service, have a friend who still does and yes they play many "promos" between songs. Which is not misinformation, its a fact. The only time I have ever heard a DJ talk about another show on Sirius has been either about the "Gay" channel or Stern. As I said before the only place you hear promos on Sirius on a regular basis are the Talk channels.

Maybe you should read the many complaints from XM users on other sites. I posted several of them for you above so you can read some further RELATED information about XM and their commercial free music channels. Or you can just go to a few of the other sites yourself to read what other people falsely RELATE.

Now why would I read someone else's supposed complaints about XM's music channels? I have had XM since June 2002 and am thrilled with it.


Huh?



Glad you're enjoying your Sirius, (just avoid misinformation)...

I was at Best Buy today and heard the salesman tell a woman that Sirius only requires a $12 fee and XM requires your first born child, if you have no child then they will take a few digits from your hand or feet and a small piece of your brain.

Good Lord guys, lighten up!

I am having flashbacks to high school cliques with all this back and forth.

No one can control the stupid comments that come out of other peoples mouths. Misinformation is bound to happen, and if it does, its most likely from lack of knowledge and not deliberate.

With the fanboy dedication to both services on this forum, I really don't think anyone has to worry about misinformation, the moment it happens we have someone jumping in to correct it.

All i'm trying to say is don't be so confrontational, they are just radio services. In the grand scheme they don't mean squat.

I grabbed the penultimate Starmaster at my local Best Buy (Springfield, PA)this morning and the last two home kits as a gift for the wife... seriously... :wink: They had two cases that were just decimated.

We'd tried everywhere without any luck at all. The only unit available was the S50 which while tempting we couldn't really go for.

I can't wait to give it a spin as I didn't even realise I could get BBC R1 AND the EPL footy