So I went into Best Buy today to pick up the latest release of MAD MAX:Road Warrior on HD-DVD. They did not have it anywhere that I could find. Ask a sells person and after checking on the computer she said that they do not carry new releases of HD-DVD in the stores....you can only order them online. Is this true? If so, why the heck would they not carry the latest release in the store? They always do for SD DVDs.

Steve

I found the exact same thing the last time i was in BB.

Im using amazon exclusivly now, better selection and price.

she said that they do not carry new releases of HD-DVD in the stores....you can only order them online.




Then tell her to explain what those copies of The Fountain are doing on the shelf.

If so, why the heck would they not carry the latest release in the store? They always do for SD DVDs.They've been unreliable about carrying catalog titles on HD DVD for months and months now.

My local BB has tons of HD DVD movies. They move them very fast apparently.

It's not just HD-DVD, it's also Blu-Ray. I did the exact same thing the OP did last week (I received my copy in the mail from Warner on the 4th), so just to see if they also got the Road Warrior in and on the shelf per the original street date (since most of us that ordered it got it early), I had to check - the salesman I trust and have been talking with for years there said "BB is no longer (for the time being) carrying catalog titles for EITHER format except for certain exceptions." Just for a goof, several days later I checked the other BB across town - same deal, NO Road Warrior for EITHER format and the same story from a sales guy there as well. So it seems my friend was dead right, because the same can be said for other recent catalog titles like The Nutty Professor, Eternal Sunshine, etc, but of course Planet Earth (non-cat) for both formats is IN-STORE. I will check again today, but I think it's safe to say most of these catalog titles ARE going to end up being 'online buys only' until things are more clear (my hunch is things will *clear up* for BB if WM drops that bomb and has both the hardware and software well stocked). ;)

If you go on the BB website the Road Warrior says "store pick-up: not available". I take that to mean that they don't plan to carry it in stores (at least currently). The Fountain indicates "Available at most stores" on the BB website. I usually look a title up on the website before bothering to drive over to BB. Between their pricing and selection I find no reason to go to BB for HD or BD discs.

This is a common topic that comes up every couple of weeks...usually it's a thread about a specific release that didn't show up at that location or isn't being carried in-store at any Best Buy. I would have loved to take advantage of the free Spiderman BR demo disc, but the two BR titles I wanted and willing to pay a $7 premium for weren't available in-store....only on-line. This is a niche market and their stock reflects that particularly with catelog releases.

Ron

I haven't seen many new releases of anything on HD at Best Buy - seems like they're stocking up on BD for now.

This is a common topic that comes up every couple of weeks...usually it's a thread about a specific release that didn't show up at that location or isn't being carried in-store at any Best Buy. I would have loved to take advantage of the free Spiderman BR demo disc, but the two BR titles I wanted and willing to pay a $7 premium for weren't available in-store....only on-line. This is a niche market and their stock reflects that particularly with catelog releases.

Ron

Shoulda just hid a copy sideways behind a few movies, then 2 weeks later came into the store when the register people know nothing about the promotion and ring up the Spiderman BD as 0.00$ without even requiring a BD purchase.


Worked for me :)

Circuit City does not have The Road Warrior or Battle of the Bulge either in store. Perhaps back catalogue discs just do not sell well at all omn either format which could mean trouble for The Matrix and The Pirates movies. perhaps they will only sell the new releases on both formats which likely sell better. Few of us really want to replace DVD's we already own.

my best buy in los angeles(one of their biggest stores around) does the same stuff with hd dvd and blu-ray. catalog titles are nowhere to be found on release date. not even planet earth.

Circuit City does not have The Road Warrior or Battle of the Bulge either in store. Perhaps back catalogue discs just do not sell well at all omn either format which could mean trouble for The Matrix and The Pirates movies. perhaps they will only sell the new releases on both formats which likely sell better. Few of us really want to replace DVD's we already own.
I'll bet BB carries "The Matrix".

I bet they do also. The question is, will it sell like some think here?

All the Orlando BB have had HD DVD and Blu Ray discs in stock. The BD titles are usually on some kind of display, but I have never had a problem getting HD DVD's in the store. I do agree with the other guys that the Matrix will be at BB next week.

Not just catalog titles. Went in BB (north Atlanta) to pick up Dreamgirls on the release date. Couldn't find it in the HD-DVD or Blu-Ray section. Asked a sales guy and after checking his computer he told me they didn't have it. I told him he must be kidding so he asked someone else. He was told all they had received were on a table at the front of the store. On the table I found 1 HD-DVD and 1 Blu-Ray disc -- yet they must have had 300 SD copies of it. I got there when the store first opened so they had received a total of 2 HD copies.

I'll bet BB carries "The Matrix".

It's in the sales flyer for that week, so I think that's a pretty safe bet.

It's in the sales flyer for that week, so I think that's a pretty safe bet.

How much?

How much?
1 Billion Dollars!




J/K :D

How much?


Ultimate $89.99

Complete $79.99


*credit to Speedy1961 over at DVDTALK for this info.

Yep, most of the B&M stores have switched ro primarily day and date only. They will carry the high sellers such as matrix. But I'd guess 30% higher then amazon.
Planet earth was 100 bucks at BB and 70 on amazon

Ultimate $79.99

Complete $89.99


*credit to Speedy1961 over at DVDTALK for this info.

Are you sure that speedy does not have it in the wrong order. I would have bet my last dollar (not much) that Best Buy would have charged MSRP especially considering the promo.

Best Buy went from being a place I visited weekly to a place I hardly ever visit. Their prices are high and they don't have the selection that the Frys just down the street has. I call them Worst Buy. I only go there with a price match ad in hand.

Are you sure that speedy does not have it in the wrong order. I would have bet my last dollar (not much) that Best Buy would have charged MSRP especially considering the promo.

I checked the BB website and they are indeed backwards.
I'll edit my post above to reflect the accurate prices.

When is everyone gonna realize that Best Buy is useless. They have become too big and cater to the lowest common denominator. They are the 7-11 of home electronics. You have power in your wallet. Take your business elsewhere...all of it! And be sure to take the time to let them know why.

Best Buy went from being a place I visited weekly to a place I hardly ever visit. Their prices are high and they don't have the selection that the Frys just down the street has. I call them Worst Buy. I only go there with a price match ad in hand.

I work at a BB, and I can definitely agree with you. Our selection has gotten terrible, especially in the BR and HD dept, and our prices suck now. Last week, every single new release was higher than everyone else's. In fact, one of the corporate guys who is incharge of looking into the competitors and I were talking about that, and the bigwigs don't know what to do about it.

I used to go to BB every tuesday for new CD and DVD releases - their prices were always close enough to online (or even better) that it was easier than using Amazon. I have earned hundreds of dollars in reward zone certificates.

But now I only shop there for CDs. I dont buy SD DVD anymore, and their HD/Blu Ray prices are poor - if they even bother to stock the new release. It's frustrating, because I prefer to have the item in hand on the release day and not have to wait for shipping. Best Buy is losing quite a bit of business from people like me, I expect.

The answer is simple (to me, at least) - offer the same discounts on new releases for high def titles that they offer on standard def. If they came within a few bucks of Amazon and actually stocked the titles, I would buy all my new releases there like I used to. I cannot imagine they don't have enough margin to do this - otherwise, Amazon wouldn't be offering 30% off.

When I went to the local Best Buy last Friday, some of the older releases were priced at $24.99, reduced from $29.99. But some of the HD DVD Combo releases were priced at $39.99, increased from $34.99. Bizarre that the high-priced slow-moving HD DVDs just got bumped up. I don't quite understand the logic behind the pricing scheme implemented.

I have to say though that both Blu-ray and HD DVD have 2 racks apiece and they have their own sections and not mixed in with the SD-DVD. The variety of available high-def movies seem to be getting better.

YMMV,
alinski...

I work at a BB, and I can definitely agree with you. Our selection has gotten terrible, especially in the BR and HD dept, and our prices suck now. Last week, every single new release was higher than everyone else's. In fact, one of the corporate guys who is incharge of looking into the competitors and I were talking about that, and the bigwigs don't know what to do about it.

Lowering their prices would seem the logical answer to me.

I work at a BB, and I can definitely agree with you. Our selection has gotten terrible, especially in the BR and HD dept, and our prices suck now. Last week, every single new release was higher than everyone else's. In fact, one of the corporate guys who is incharge of looking into the competitors and I were talking about that, and the bigwigs don't know what to do about it.

It's a shame that they are turning their back on the people who got them to the position that they are in . I think they feel that they have these customers locked in from the years of actually having the best buys. Their business model is going to suffer in areas where they have direct competition such as Frys Electronics.

Screw Best Buy. They're overpriced for what they do have, which isn't much.

Fry's has Mad Max and they have a large selection of both HD-DVD and BD. Plus many of their titles are $19.99.

I haven't seen many new releases of anything on HD at Best Buy - seems like they're stocking up on BD for now.
Best Buy will carry The Matrix and may even have promotional displays set up. This is going to totally confuse the Best Buy employees who have been told that Blu-ray is going to win and HD DVD is going away.

I found the exact same thing the last time i was in BB.

Im using amazon exclusivly now, better selection and price.

Same here! BTW--my mother lives in the UK and I also buy disks from Amazon.UK and she trans-ships them for me--there are quite a few titles there (Harry Potter, The Fog, etc.) that we don't have here in the US. I'm so grateful that HD DVD does not have region codes!

Brian

I used to go to BB every tuesday for new CD and DVD releases - their prices were always close enough to online (or even better) that it was easier than using Amazon. I have earned hundreds of dollars in reward zone certificates.

But now I only shop there for CDs. I dont buy SD DVD anymore, and their HD/Blu Ray prices are poor - if they even bother to stock the new release. It's frustrating, because I prefer to have the item in hand on the release day and not have to wait for shipping. Best Buy is losing quite a bit of business from people like me, I expect.

The answer is simple (to me, at least) - offer the same discounts on new releases for high def titles that they offer on standard def. If they came within a few bucks of Amazon and actually stocked the titles, I would buy all my new releases there like I used to. I cannot imagine they don't have enough margin to do this - otherwise, Amazon wouldn't be offering 30% off.


I aggree with you 100%

I used to go to BB every tuesday for new CD and DVD releases - their prices were always close enough to online (or even better) that it was easier than using Amazon. I have earned hundreds of dollars in reward zone certificates.

But now I only shop there for CDs. I dont buy SD DVD anymore, and their HD/Blu Ray prices are poor - if they even bother to stock the new release. It's frustrating, because I prefer to have the item in hand on the release day and not have to wait for shipping. Best Buy is losing quite a bit of business from people like me, I expect.

The answer is simple (to me, at least) - offer the same discounts on new releases for high def titles that they offer on standard def. If they came within a few bucks of Amazon and actually stocked the titles, I would buy all my new releases there like I used to. I cannot imagine they don't have enough margin to do this - otherwise, Amazon wouldn't be offering 30% off.

They have the margin to do so. I routinely buy my HD-DVDs on employee discount at around $17 bucks a pop. I have no idea why they don't price them more competitively.

Best Buy will carry The Matrix and may even have promotional displays set up. This is going to totally confuse the Best Buy employees who have been told that Blu-ray is going to win and HD DVD is going away.

Funny enough, employees are now given the opportunity to get an additional $100 off the HD-A2 aside from teh employee discount.

When you continually geek out on here and other sites your idea of the state of HD entertainment gets very skewed. When you go to "real" stores you get reality. HD-DVD and BLU-RAY have a LONG way to go before they get beyond EXTREMELY niche products. That's just a fact. I don't like it anymore than anybody else on here, but right now that's the state of things. Any other view is extremely distorted.