Best Buy closing stores to public, will bring orders curbside (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

Went to my local Best Buy today. The whole store is under construction, it looks like to partition it between a smaller Best Buy and another store. The TV/Movies section was completely eliminated. The only physical media in the store was a very small video games section.

That's MY local Best Buy, too!

I'd say I'm surprised...but I don't know how any member of this forum could be.

And, to be fair, I can barely remember the last time I was in the store (especially to shop for movie software). But the Catch-22 of that is that I most likely stopped going there as they reduced inventory of software. <shrug>

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

And, to be fair, I can barely remember the last time I was in the store (especially to shop for movie software). But the Catch-22 of that is that I most likely stopped going there as they reduced inventory of software. <shrug>

I was trying to buy the second season of "Superman & Lois" on Blu-ray. The Northway Mall Target only had it on DVD; their TV/movies section is down to one side of one aisle.

Strangely enough, the Barnes & Noble media section, which I would have once bet on being the first to go, is now probably the most robust brick & mortar option locally. It not only had it in stock, it had it at 30% off. With my additional 10% membership discount, it ended up being cheaper than Best Buy or Target would have been anyway.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I often use the Best Buy website to reserve something for in-store pickup and authorize a friend as a pickup person to go get it for me. That's just easier for me when they are willing to help me out.

I have noticed lately that more and more movies are not available online for store pickup. Lightyear and Elvis, both of which only came out two weeks ago, no longer have a single copy showing as available in my local store for store pickup. The only option available on the website is shipping. If this were just a matter of the the Lightyear steelbook selling out, I would understand that. But it is also the case for the regular Blu-ray+DVD and 4K+BD editions.

The shrinking of the physical media section overall is not surprising, but my store has usually maintained a selection of new releases for longer than two weeks. Turning Red was released on May 3 and all formats of it were still available at my store when I was last there in person on June 25.

My store also doesn't seem to allow pre-orders for pickup at the store anymore. I had to wait until almost release day to place an in-store pickup order for any edition of Thor: Love and Thunder. The only option prior to release was to ship it. I had a similar issue with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Lightyear and decided to ship those because they could be combined into a single order for free shipping. Love and Thunder is the only thing I need from Best Buy for a while, so I had to do that one on its own and wanted to pick it up to save on shipping. Late last night, after the store was closed, I was finally able to place an order for pickup because it showed that the disc was in stock (coming out today.)

Again, I would understand this if I wanted the steelbook because those are limited. But that's not what I was after. I have all of my MCU titles in keepcase format, so that's what I continue to get.

This all suggests to me that my store is probably further reducing the presence of physical media in the store, and they are making pre-orders more difficult or impossible. I wasn't concerned that they would lack Love and Thunder on its release date, but it is easier for me to buy online so that my friend doesn't have to worry about picking out the correct edition I want or pay for it.

My friend did pick up Love and Thunder today, so I've got my copy. However, I'll check in a week or two to see how long copies remain in stock. If that option disappears soon, it will be another new release to vanish from the store rather quickly.

 

[Malcolm R]

And, to be fair, I can barely remember the last time I was in the store (especially to shop for movie software). But the Catch-22 of that is that I most likely stopped going there as they reduced inventory of software. <shrug>

Same here. I used to be unable to pass a Best Buy without stopping. Now I drive right by them all the time.

Also same with shopping malls that are dying. I used to love to go to the mall and browse in the bookstores, music and video stores. The bigger malls would have several different media stores. Now I never go to a mall.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Yeah, the last time I dealt with a Best Buy was a few months back when I bought an Xbox Series X because they had it in a timely fashion while everyone else was taking weeks to ship. And it was a pickup order. Never went inside. Of course, the fact that pickup times start an hour before the store opens helped with that decision.

The loss of physical media just helps my decision to not go inside one of the stores.

 

[Todd Erwin]

As an actual example of this mindset, we literally had a manager at The Home Depot one time say they were discontinuing stocking a certain item because they were always selling out of it and, rather than bother to keep track of inventory and ordering enough to meet demand, it was too big a headache hearing complaints that they were always out of it. Mind boggling.

I’m finding that mindset more and more common at grocery stores.

 

[jayembee]

I often use the Best Buy website to reserve something for in-store pickup and authorize a friend as a pickup person to go get it for me. That's just easier for me when they are willing to help me out.

I have noticed lately that more and more movies are not available online for store pickup. Lightyear and Elvis, both of which only came out two weeks ago, no longer have a single copy showing as available in my local store for store pickup. The only option available on the website is shipping. If this were just a matter of the the Lightyear steelbook selling out, I would understand that. But it is also the case for the regular Blu-ray+DVD and 4K+BD editions.

The shrinking of the physical media section overall is not surprising, but my store has usually maintained a selection of new releases for longer than two weeks. Turning Red was released on May 3 and all formats of it were still available at my store when I was last there in person on June 25.

My store also doesn't seem to allow pre-orders for pickup at the store anymore. I had to wait until almost release day to place an in-store pickup order for any edition of Thor: Love and Thunder. The only option prior to release was to ship it. I had a similar issue with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Lightyear and decided to ship those because they could be combined into a single order for free shipping. Love and Thunder is the only thing I need from Best Buy for a while, so I had to do that one on its own and wanted to pick it up to save on shipping. Late last night, after the store was closed, I was finally able to place an order for pickup because it showed that the disc was in stock (coming out today.)

Again, I would understand this if I wanted the steelbook because those are limited. But that's not what I was after. I have all of my MCU titles in keepcase format, so that's what I continue to get.

This all suggests to me that my store is probably further reducing the presence of physical media in the store, and they are making pre-orders more difficult or impossible. I wasn't concerned that they would lack Love and Thunder on its release date, but it is easier for me to buy online so that my friend doesn't have to worry about picking out the correct edition I want or pay for it.

My friend did pick up Love and Thunder today, so I've got my copy. However, I'll check in a week or two to see how long copies remain in stock. If that option disappears soon, it will be another new release to vanish from the store rather quickly.

A lot of that is true of my local BB. It's a relatively small store to begin with -- it shares a building with Target on one side, and Big Lots on the other -- and their entertainment has shrunk bit by bit until it's now two sections of racks (back-to-back) and a separate kiosk for "New Releases" (half of which are a few months old). Far too many of their exclusive SteelBooks were on the website weren't listed as available for pre-order until the day they were supposed to be coming out, and by the time I was able to try and order one, it'd be sold out. It became impossible to pre-order discs for pick-up there, and I was getting them shipped for a while.

But, three times in a row, the disk I ordered was in a damaged case -- the hinges were broken apart -- and the easiest option to replace them was to go to another store about a half-hour away. That store is an anchor store in a mall, and has a fairly sizable (but not as sizable as it used to be) media section. Pretty much all of their exclusives are there, and so I switched that to be "my store" for pre-orders. Haven't had an issue since.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Went to my local Best Buy today. The whole store is under construction, it looks like to partition it between a smaller Best Buy and another store. The TV/Movies section was completely eliminated. The only physical media in the store was a very small video games section.

That's MY local Best Buy, too!

I'd say I'm surprised...but I don't know how any member of this forum could be.

And, to be fair, I can barely remember the last time I was in the store (especially to shop for movie software). But the Catch-22 of that is that I most likely stopped going there as they reduced inventory of software. <shrug>

Wow. I stopped in this local Best Buy today. I was amazed.

The phrase "not your father's Best Buy" kept running through my mind--even though it was really "not MY Best Buy."

Besides no software of ANY kind (except video games), there was exercise equipment, LOTS of kitchen appliances and all the stuff you would expect (TVs, phones, computer stuff). But it was actually kind f surreal for me.

I also stopped in to the FYE (TransWorld) store still in that mall and they drastically reduced their media section by nearly half. It was a very sobering experience overall.

Again, not surprising. Just sad, I guess.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Besides no software of ANY kind (except video games), there was exercise equipment, LOTS of kitchen appliances and all the stuff you would expect (TVs, phones, computer stuff). But it was actually kind f surreal for me.

Yeah, they're definitely pivoting toward being an appliance store. I would bet that they'll stay in the electronics game, but purely hardware and not software.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Yeah, they're definitely pivoting toward being an appliance store. I would bet that they'll stay in the electronics game, but purely hardware and not software.

Best Buy has been trying to increase their market share on major appliances for some time (the main reason they acquired Pacific Sales way back in 2006), and with Sears pretty much out of the game now (they had top market share for decades), it is probably even more competitive now than when I left BB selling major appliances six years ago.

 

[Malcolm R]

Following the business model of Sears would not seem to be a good choice.

I haven't stopped at a Best Buy in a long, looong time.

I fully expect Walmart to drop most discs soon. Looking at the new release display in my store a few days ago and discs that have been out for 2-3 weeks don't seem to have moved many copies.

 

[Garysb]

As they have for the last few years Best Buy will probably get some media in store by the end of October or beginning of November for Black Friday month. They will likely have displays at the front of the store near the check out. Nothing like the old video section from years ago. Some exclusive steelbooks and stuff like that.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I don't often drop in my nearby-ish (walkable distance) BB anymore either, but will swing by (probably on Sunday) to pick up the Smile BD I ordered on sale for just $5. Last time I swung by was to buy the Ran 4K (yeah, their exclusive release that remained sold-out for quite a while) back in early-June... and before that was apparently all the way back around BF week last year (unless I'm forgetting some other time when I didn't buy anything at all perhaps)...

_Man_

 

[Wayne_j]

Wow. I stopped in this local Best Buy today. I was amazed.

The phrase "not your father's Best Buy" kept running through my mind--even though it was really "not MY Best Buy."

Besides no software of ANY kind (except video games), there was exercise equipment, LOTS of kitchen appliances and all the stuff you would expect (TVs, phones, computer stuff). But it was actually kind f surreal for me.

I also stopped in to the FYE (TransWorld) store still in that mall and they drastically reduced their media section by nearly half. It was a very sobering experience overall.

Again, not surprising. Just sad, I guess.

Yup I never go there anymore. Nothing I want to get. The FYE and Barnes and Noble is where I get most of my media.