Best Buy Beefing Up Web, Downsizing Stores - Page 4

Haha. I loved that episode.

Now its Facebook playing stupid in scanning peoples faces then storing and matching them in a database. There is nothing to stop Best Buy or Home Depot from matching faces with their new checkout cameras as consumers voluntarily gave their information.

Notice how difficult Facebook makes it to turn off scanning your photos (when the default setting should be disabled):
"For users uncomfortable with the setting, disabling the feature is the way to go. Users can disable facial recognition by going to privacy settings, clicking "Customize settings," and going to "Things others share." There, they will find the "Suggest photos of me to friends. When photos look like me, suggest my name" option, where they can click "Edit settings" and turn it from "Enabled" to "Disabled."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_872983.html

Only good electronics story left is Fry's, sort of sad, I liked not having to wait for shipping

I like Fry's, in many ways its always been better than Best Buy, but there are a lot fewer Fry's, and even Fry's isn't without its set of problems.

In the end, the consumer kind of gets what they pay for. If I find an item at a local dealer, and their price is reasonable, I'll generally buy it there. Even if it's a bit higher $-wise, I benefited by being able to see it, returns are easier, etc. If I end up buying through the internet instead, it's generally because I could not find it locally in stock, the price differential was too much in the internet's favor, or frankly, I couldn't be bothered to go to the store. There's a lot of things where I know what I want to buy, and it's not worth the trouble to run it down locally (even with shoplocal.com, and google shopper, which at least try), I just run it through the price scan web-sites and go. Delivered to my door is so much easier and simpler. I can sympathize with Best Buy's situation, they're losing sales to Amazon and Newegg, and it's tough to retain skilled labor at reasonable rates so that it does not jack up your prices. But the store and when it's available, trained personnel, are your advantages over Amazon, et al. They quite frankly, have better web-sites, more info, easier to find, higher quality user feedback, etc., etc. If you reduce the store size and personnel +training, I'm less likely go. In a way, the demise of Circuit City and Computerland (retail), has maybe caused Best Buy to lose focus on beating the local bricks & mortar competition. The gap between a Best Buy and say Walmart or Sears, Costco or Sams, is maybe not what it needs to be. The market segment for Best Buy is the one-stop place for electronics, phones, media, and if Best Buy ceases to be that go-to place locally, it will be out of business pretty quickly.

I agree

They run a slimey operation. Hard selling crappy overpriced cables and trying to con people into BB credit cards. The sales people are about as uneducated as you can get (at least on electronics...)

BOOOOOOOOO Best Buy.

May be a good move for Best Buy. I go to Best Buy to get some hands on experience with electronics and then order those electronics from newegg.

ReaLly 36 months no interest is coning people into cc? you can say no...Not all are uneducated sales people.. The mag guys know about the product they sell. they do go to training and they are taught by the reps...


FRYS SUCKS GO TALK TO SOMEONE WHO CANT EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH AND ARE PROBABLY ILLEAGAL AND THEY SELL USED PRODUCT AS NEW...

Here is the final decision Steve Jobs made before resigning in receding the method of how he made his fortune: by tracking consumers without their consent or knowledge. Amazingly this world looks up to him.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/...vacy/231500539

Notice that the historic event was hardly covered in the press. Why because this is how they make their money too!

I prefer shopping at my local Best Buy's than any other store or online. First and foremost because of their return policy. I have 45 days (Reward Zone Premier Silver) and it's hassle free. I've returned more TV's than I've actually owned no problem and anything from media to hard drives. The other reason is price matching other stores so I never pay full retail for anything. I guess my local stores are more accommodating than most.

I hope they stay open. I love to go browse the latest gadgets before I buy them at Amazon! Especially if they have a demo of the next greatest videogame release. Shoot, if they have a Kinect demo, what better way to kill 45 minutes easy with the kids.

BB was expecting thousands lined up for Black Friday 2010 but this year The Rus went to Target and folks from Lame Buy were pissed that since I gave up my first place in line at Worst Buy that many, many Worst Buy BF shoppers also went to Target!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGt466cqO90

At my local Lame Buy my 1GB sd card needs a support plan, my Linux! running netbook needs an antivirus, Sony Xplode car speakers are good and a HTIB "system" is all that I need and support plan sold separately.

ROFL!!!

Awesome, just lay more people off so they can't afford to buy anything, what a great concept. Frankly I think its time to tax the crap out of the online stores, so maybe people might get off there (|)s and actually go see an hear the item
they are buying. Just an opinion of course.

I concur with your remarks on employees being naive. I find that they do know where things are, but surely are not savy with how they can be used. My biggest problem is with on-line sign in. I have had 5-6 days of anxiety due to not being able to log in and purchase things I need to repair and update mine and my friends/relatives computers. Here is my most recent letter of complaint to the customer care division.


I am getting a bit miffed. If I have to wait 72 hours for a reply to a problem that has been going on 5 days with no resolution from conversations with 3-4 bestbuy agents, I have a right to be upset. I talked with ashby via chat, priscilla via e-mail and with Joshlin via phone. Joshlin said she would upgrade my problem to the tech staff, whoever they are. She took my cellphone number and said if need be, the tech staff would call me. That was 3 days ago, and I still have a in-sign problem with bestbuy online. It doesn't recognize my known password and bestbuy has NOT sent me a reset password link. I get e-mail from bestbuy as the attached reply from Delvis is proof e-mail comes to me from Bestbuy.

I think it is about time for me to change business dealings. Bestbuy obviously is not interested in servicing a consumer who spends a mere $2500+ a year with them and has the silver reward zone card.

Are you forcing me to go to Circuit City?

Are you going to call me within 24 hours at ###-###-#### or lose a customer who will spread this news, and I have many friends who depend on my computer prowlness to convince.

We'll see the response I get when they get this letter. I'll keep you informed. Beefing Up Web? Am wondering how they will do on that. My problem doesn't make that look possible.

You do realize that no brick and mortar CC stores exist anymore, right?

Welcome to the new millennium. Prior to the mid 2000s electronic store salespeople worked on commission and there was still a margin on the devices. If they were good at their jobs then they could afford some of the items they sold, have them in their homes, and thus learn the everyday use of said items. Now it's more of a part-time jobs staffed by youngsters fresh out of high school who can't afford most of what they're trying to sell. Joe and Jane Six-Pack want everything cheap, no concern for anything else. Wish granted.

Even thirty years ago, when most A/V sales people were on commission, most that I ran into had no clue about what they were selling. They put up a good front to make it seem as if they knew what they were talking about. Of course you sometimes ran into a sales person that really knew what they were talking about and had a lot of correct information to give you. But that was the exception and not the rule. I really see no difference now except that I don't get accosted as soon as I walk into the store like I used to when commission was the norm.

The continued loss of B&M audio/video retailers is a sad time .. soon, I suppose we'll all be forced to buy on line or settle for whatever Walmart has .. and all because we want to save $3.00 ..
Edited by mgkdragn - 8/3/12 at 7:01am

Very sad. My local Best But employs local people, pays rent to a local developer, and taxes to my town. They fund blood drives and give $5 B.B. cards to tose who donate. They also offer student discounts. But the idiots will still go there check out the stuff for free, get free advise and then walk out and go to Amazon to save $100 on a $1500 tv.