Best Buy in trouble?

[Dave Lehnert]

Forbes is reporting that Best Buy is in trouble.
Amazon is their main competitor but wonder how much people will buy from Amazon if there is no stores left to go and touch and feel the product.


http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/money/consumer/dont_waste_your_money/could-best-buy-be-going-out-of-business

[Jim Matthews]

My last experience with Best Buy in 2010 was with a product ten days outside of warranty that failed.
For $1800, they told me to shop for a replacement computer.
I did, elsewhere.

If a brick and mortar store offers no more service than an e-tailer, at higher costs, then they deserve to fail.

[David Weaver]

I usually don't set foot in Best Buy to begin with because I think the environment is obnoxious. I guess it's a combination of little things, but loud music when you walk in the door, too many people in your face, folks trying to sell you extended warranties, and when you get down to it, prices for accessories that are horrible and large items that can be bought elsewhere for less....

.... I just get the sense that they're looking for suckers when I'm in there (sales associates trying to upsell folks on $100 TV cables that are $10 shipped on ebay, computer adapters that are $80, when a generic is $8 shipped on ebay, and in my case, the HP brand name version of the same thing was $22 on ebay ...), and that genuine honest service with parsimony occurs only by luck of getting a sales associate who works that way, not by company policy.

It's just my opinion, but I suspect it's too much data mining and policy setting based on what's perceived to work in the short term. I haven't been in mine in years, and it's literally across the intersection from my development.

When my TV conked out unexpectedly on a friday night last year, I went to target instead, right next to best buy, and there was no loud obnoxious music, nobody trying to sell me an extended warranty, just a simple straight up opinion from the guy in the TV section about what folks have been happy with and a quick transaction. In another circumstance, I might've shopped more (but not at BB), but we had company over for the weekend, and there were football games on that guests wanted to see. Not shopping around and going straight to target cost me $30 on the particular model I bought. BB wouldn't have been lower, but even if it were the low price, I'd pay $30 more just to avoid the environment there.

[Van Huskey]

My wife read that last night and mentioned it to me. I personally never had an issue with Best Buy but tended to only buy my computers and accessories there when they were on sale, with the occasional CD or Bluray. There is just too much competition and large purchases are easy and cheap on the internet. I am actually sad to see them go, it is one less option I have, I like having lots of options.

[Mike Cutler]

It doesn't surprise me.
Most of what they have is pretty much priced at full MSRP, and better prices are easily found in surrounding Brick and Mortar stores, let alone Internet shopping.
I've never bought much in them, but I still don't like to see folks get put out of work for poor corporate business strategies.

[Derek Gilmer]

I think best buy could be a lot more appealing by doing two things.
1. Replace every 2 high pressure 18 year old sales people peddling the latest fad with zero knowledge with one 18 year old that is paid fairly and trained well
2. Have good prices to begin with. Most times you can bargain with a manager and get a good price. But the hassle isn't worth it or people just don't know you can do it.

Until they do that I can't imagine their business going anywhere but down.

[Brian Elfert]

I buy at least 95% of my electronics sight unseen. I generally don't look at electronics in the store. My 50" plasma TV I bought in early 2010 I had never seen one until it hit my doorstep. I did a LOT of reading online first.

The only time I ever buy at Best Buy is if they have some really good deal, or if I need something right now. I might buy one item a year there. I go to Best Buy most often to recycle electronics for free. Best Buy simply can't compete on price and I don't need anything they offer in the store. Of course, Best Buy is going to push extended warranties as they are the most profitable item in the store generally. Best Buy used to report how much profit they made from extended warranties and it was a good percentage of total profit.

[Robert McGowen]

My last experience with Best Buy in 2010 was with a product ten days outside of warranty that failed.


I can think of many reasons to not shop at Best Buy, but expecting them to replace something out of warranty is not one of them...... ?????

[Matt Meiser]

Yeah I was kinda thinking the same. How many days out of warranty is the cutoff for still being in warranty? What if it fails the day after that?

[Van Huskey]

I can think of many reasons to not shop at Best Buy, but expecting them to replace something out of warranty is not one of them...... ?????

+1 I might expect an extra day IF it failed the day before and it took me until the next day to get it in but thats it. They don't say about 2 years warranty. Thats the time I might have to kick myself for not getting an extended warranty, though I never do.

[John McClanahan]

I read the Forbes report too. Shopping at Best Buy is kinda like shopping at a car lot.

[Brian Elfert]

I was wondering about the warranty thing too. Unless the buyer bought an extended warranty Best Buy wouldn't be the one to honor the warranty in most cases. One would need to contact the manufacturer. They do have some house brands that may be taken care of in store, but even those probably have a warranty center.

Some warranties may be covered for a few extra days, but they have to cut things off at some point. It doesn't hurt to ask for special consideration, but don't be upset when they say no.

[Jim Matthews]

For those of you interested, there's a class action suit pending with HP over their DV series laptops having this kind of failure. This was known by Best Buy when the product was sold, and not disclosed to buyers.
One day the laptop worked fine, the next day it didn't. HP has denied culpability with the failure, claiming the chip makers are at fault. Given that there was neither a warning from BB or an offer to assist.

Not being a computer professional, I had no inkling that this failure lurked until it happened.
My beef with Best Buy is that I indeed purchased the extended warranty, and the failure occurred one year and ten days after this purchase.

I had $1800 to purchase a replacement - provided they made some effort on my behalf. They declined, as was their right, and I decamped to purchase online.
If these things are destined to fail (as it would appear) then they're disposable commodities. What, exactly do you pay for at a retailer, if not the relationship?
If a seller merely pushes a box out the door and doesn't consider a buyer's sales record - they're history.

Anyone who has ever worked in sales knows how much cheaper it is to keep a happy customer than to find a replacement to that revenue stream.
Here's my point - if a brick and mortar seller has no sympathy for the plight of repeat customers, we won't repeat our business.

I don't know the consensus regarding big box retailers, here, but they seem to limit choices and depress quality -
at higher prices than I can find online. A pointless enterprise, that.

[Brian Elfert]

For those of you interested, there's a class action suit pending with HP over their DV series laptops having this kind of failure. This was known by Best Buy when the product was sold, and not disclosed to buyers.
One day the laptop worked fine, the next day it didn't. HP has denied culpability with the failure, claiming the chip makers are at fault. Given that there was neither a warning from BB or an offer to assist.


Since Best Buy didn't disclose the issue, how do you know they knew about it?

My co-worker had an HP laptop that failed due to some sort of known chip issue. HP replaced all of the laptops with new ones. The replacement laptops were really cheap ones, but a lot better than nothing for laptops out of warranty. I don't know if this is the same issue you were having or not.

[Jim Matthews]

Last word on the subject - no need to flog this.

Our purchase date was after the HP/NVidia GPU class action suit opened. It's possible that a retailer the size of Best Buy would be unaware of such problems from a large supplier.
It's also improbable. Here's the bottom line - their indifference to the customer spending serious money in an economic downturn is indicative of their approach.

"We sell disposable stuff to dispensible clients that are easily replaced."

[David Weaver]

"We sell disposable stuff to dispensible clients that are easily replaced."

That may be conjecture, but there is probably a lot of truth to it. Buyer loyalty often ends as soon as someone gets their credit card back from a cashier, and I would imagine that the data that a lot of places have shows that it's more important to court the new customer than it is to cater to the loyal customer. Especially if the loyal customer is someone who buys the big items when the price is close to competitive and buys the accessories elsewhere (that would describe me, well).

I wouldn't be surprised if Best Buy got more money selling two power adapters than they did selling an entire budget laptop.

Pinch your pennies on the $1800 budget, too, just a side note. Unless you're playing video games a lot, the sweet spot for a laptop is closer to $1000-$1200. A lot of the non-integrated parts on a computer are like legos, and the difference between a $1200 laptop and an $1800 laptop can be made up in 3 years (if the extra capability is needed) for $100.

Perhaps that's where you ended up, anyway.

[Phil Thien]

Last word on the subject - no need to flog this.

Our purchase date was after the HP/NVidia GPU class action suit opened. It's possible that a retailer the size of Best Buy would be unaware of such problems from a large supplier.
It's also improbable. Here's the bottom line - their indifference to the customer spending serious money in an economic downturn is indicative of their approach.

"We sell disposable stuff to dispensible clients that are easily replaced."

I'm aware of that issue, Jim. And I agree with you. It is a shame that Best Buy looks at those failures as an opportunity to sell a new machine, rather than doing the right thing. The right thing, BTW, is using your clout with the vendor and having a system in place to either continue to repair the problem, or get a reasonable discount on a new machine for the customer.

To a degree, I think it is just a sign of a big bureaucracy (Best Buy staff) doing the least amount of work necessary to get their pay checks. People are lazy.

Imagine the marketing value to the BB brand if they would step-up on these and deal with vendors like HP and Sony to reach a deal to make customers happy.

Someone commented that BB has probably figured out that customer loyalty ends when they get their CC back from the cashier. Hard to know for sure, as I don't think BB has ever done anything that would generate any loyalty.

[David Larsen]

I used to buy more stuff at BB, but lately their prices haven't been all that spectacular. I still go there once in awhile, but don't end up buying very much. I did get some great deals online on some DVDs and video games from BB online over Christmas though.

I wouldn't necessarily blame BB for the failure of a product manufactured by another entity. If the entity is still pushing the product off their assembly line and there is a problem with it, they would be at fault. Example: If BB was selling eggs with salmonella and they knew about it, then they should be held accountable, but if not, then it goes back to the egg factory.

As far as being out of warranty, there can be extenuating circumstances that could come into play. I once bought a kitchen stove for a remodeling project I was working on. I bought the stove way sooner than I needed to because it was on sale at the time. By the time I finally finished the project and installed the stove, there was a problem with one of the electric burners. I called in the service department and they repaired it. It was a faulty connection from the factory. The problem happened immediately after I plugged it in, so it wasn't from using it. This was a week or so after the warranty expired. I explained the situation to the warranty department and they took care of the cost.

[Matt Meiser]

Imagine the marketing value to the BB brand if they would step-up on these and deal with vendors like HP and Sony to reach a deal to make customers happy.

And maybe they could have done so if a buch of lawyers hadn't mucked up the works. On the other hand, maybe they would have gotten Nvidia to admit the problem.

[John Fabre]

I will never shop at Best Buy again, anyway, they're moving into bigger location. I wouldn't mine seeing them close up, but, I hate to see the employees lose their jobs though.

[David Weaver]

I hate to see the employees lose their jobs though.

I agree with that. Despite how little I like to shop there, it's hard on the employees if it happens.

[Phil Thien]

And maybe they could have done so if a buch of lawyers hadn't mucked up the works. On the other hand, maybe they would have gotten Nvidia to admit the problem.

I'm assuming your talking about the concern HP/nVidia would have over any sort of class action lawsuit that may result by acknowledging a design/manufacturing defect.

I'd love to think that the only reason manufacturers don't admit to defects is because they don't want to face an expensive legal battle if some people aren't happy with their proposed resolution.

My cynical side tells me they'd still stonewall.

I'm probably naive, but I think the ethical thing to do would be to admit to the problem, propose a reasonable resolution, and if a class action results, well, you deal with it.

[Brian Elfert]

For those of you interested, there's a class action suit pending with HP over their DV series laptops having this kind of failure. This was known by Best Buy when the product was sold, and not disclosed to buyers.
One day the laptop worked fine, the next day it didn't. HP has denied culpability with the failure, claiming the chip makers are at fault. Given that there was neither a warning from BB or an offer to assist.


Take a look at www.nvidiasettlement.com. I suspect your laptop may have been covered but the claim period closed last March. HP sent out replacement laptops as part of the settlement.

[Belinda Barfield]

I just did my part to support Best Buy, but it was sort of out of necessity. I needed a screen saver for my Kindle Fire and I am completely hopeless at putting those things on, so I bought one and had the Geek Squad apply it for me. While I waited I also bought an external hard drive, a cover for my Fire, and three CDs. Boy I bet they're glad I stopped by. :rolleyes: Actually, they were very busy today but the number of staff was way down as compared to the shopping season.

[David G Baker]

Best Buy's demise started when they committed border line criminal acts against customers that tried to get them to honor the warranty that the they paid for when they purchased items from them. There are many horror stories on the Internet about Best Buy.

[Jim Koepke]

The right thing, BTW, is using your clout with the vendor and having a system in place to either continue to repair the problem, or get a reasonable discount on a new machine for the customer.

I tried to bring this up in a work place once.

The boss gave me a dirty look and said, "we aren't set up that way."

As long as management doesn't view the customer as their most valuable asset, the customer will feel like the one left out when their date took someone else home.

For years it was my practice to avoid Best Buy because of the super loud music. Maybe this appealed to the young crowd. It hurt my head. Then someone told me they stopped playing the loud music. Then I tended to avoid them because no one knew anything and it took forever to buy something even if you new exactly what you wanted.

jtk

[Bryan Morgan]

Forbes is reporting that Best Buy is in trouble.
Amazon is their main competitor but wonder how much people will buy from Amazon if there is no stores left to go and touch and feel the product.


http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/money/consumer/dont_waste_your_money/could-best-buy-be-going-out-of-business

I read that article and agree with it 100%. The only reason I go to Best Buy these days is because they have a mini Guitar Center like corner in the back and the kid that works it actually does a good job.... plus he matches pricing. As far as other electronics I just get them from Newegg or Amazon to avoid the hassle of the idiots at Best Buy. Very rarely I will order something from Best Buys website and go pick it up because its a crazy sale or something. Seems like they are going the Radio Shack route. I used to go to Radio Shack as a kid because I'd draw up schematics for something (doesn't every kid?) and they actually had the parts and better than that they'd have an old geezer who really knew electronics who would help me with my project. Now, they just want to sell you batteries and cellphones and charge you $1 for a $.05 capacitor (if you can find one in their messy parts drawers).

[Larry Frank]

I would like to see Best Buy stay in business as it offers competition. I also like to go and look at something that I am wanting to buy. There is no substitute for actually seeing a certain TV and doing a comparison. Based upon this I will see where I can get the best price. If they offer the best price, then I will buy from them. In my area, HHGreg has put in a store and offering more competition.

I agree with the issue with the loud music in the store. I stopped a manager once and told him that I was going to buy a TV but the music was so loud that I was going else where. He told me that they needed to be able to have it loud to sell speakers. My reply was that I until they turned it down, I would buy elsewhere and walked out. I do notice that in my local store the music is not as loud anymore. Maybe enough people complained.

[Pat Barry]

I love Best Buy! I must be the only one. I suspect I have spent over $10,000 there over the years and NEVER HAD A PROBLEM. I have had all sorts of returns and no questions asked. I must be the only satisfied customer they have from the sound of the posts I am seeing here.

[Jim Becker]

I never go to "touch and feel" a product I want to buy. I research it carefully, select what I want and then click "buy", generally from Amazon, but sometimes from B&H Photo. I haven't been in a Best Buy for years...

[Curt Fuller]

I never go to "touch and feel" a product I want to buy. I research it carefully, select what I want and then click "buy", generally from Amazon, but sometimes from B&H Photo. I haven't been in a Best Buy for years...
I have to agree that doing your own research is an important part of being a smart consumer. Depending on the overly aggressive sales people in Best But or any other sales outlet to tell you what to buy is just begging for disappointment. But once I've decided what I want to buy, if BB has the best price they'll get my business (if it is in stock). I hate the noisy, in your face environment in their stores so I get in, grab what I want, and get out as fast as possible. I just bought a new desktop tower the other day and got an incredible deal. But if Best Buy were to go out of business tomorrow, they would just be replaced by another annoying, overly hyped, big box with equally poor service selling the same products. Someone mentioned in one of the replies that they get the feeling that Best Buy is just looking for suckers to come through the door. Unfortunately they don't have to look very hard.

[Myk Rian]

The only reason I might go to BB is because Circuit City is no more, and BB seems to be filling the hole they left. At least, part of the hole anyway.
Still need to shop around though. I was looking for DVD sleeves. BB - $7.99 for 50, Meijer - A few bucks for 100.

[Brian Elfert]

I doubt we'll see another nationwide chain of electronics stores if Best Buy does go under. The only one I could see pulling it might be Amazon. Amazon has a good enough brand name they could pull off a chain of stores if they wanted to get into that business. (I like Amazon, but I generally only buy at Amazon if I get a deal on Amazon gift cards as the prices are not always the lowest.)

I could see Walmart and/or Target expanding their electronics areas if Best Buy goes under. Rumors are that Apple is opening stores/kiosks inside Target stores this year.

The problem is people want Nordstrom's type service and Amazon type prices in an electronics store. The two are pretty much mutually exclusive with the low margins on most electronics.

[Kevin W Johnson]

I read that article and agree with it 100%. The only reason I go to Best Buy these days is because they have a mini Guitar Center like corner in the back and the kid that works it actually does a good job.... plus he matches pricing. As far as other electronics I just get them from Newegg or Amazon to avoid the hassle of the idiots at Best Buy. Very rarely I will order something from Best Buys website and go pick it up because its a crazy sale or something. Seems like they are going the Radio Shack route. I used to go to Radio Shack as a kid because I'd draw up schematics for something (doesn't every kid?) and they actually had the parts and better than that they'd have an old geezer who really knew electronics who would help me with my project. Now, they just want to sell you batteries and cellphones and charge you $1 for a $.05 capacitor (if you can find one in their messy parts drawers).

Yeah, I remember the Radio Shack of old as well. It was quite common to go there with mom as a kid to get electronic components for dad. Then for myself starting about age 9-10 when dad taught me how to solder so he didn't have to always do it. Now it's an online affair with Digikey or a couple others.

[Derek Gilmer]

The problem is people want Nordstrom's type service and Amazon type prices in an electronics store. The two are pretty much mutually exclusive with the low margins on most electronics.

For the most part I think people wanted to be treated with respect. Something BestBuy rarely manages.

[Kevin W Johnson]

For the most part I think people wanted to be treated with respect. Something BestBuy rarely manages.

True about BestBuy, but I think he's closer to the mark. There are still a lot of people from generations past that still remember the service of years gone by. When stores bent the rules and policies and made good on defects and such even after the stated return period or warranty had passed. The margins were high enough at that time that stores could more easily absorb such situations. I suspect the defect rate was lower as well before being inundated with cheap imports, and there isn't much made in China these days that is really built to last. People have gotten used to current pricing, but still have memories of past service. Add to that the younger generations expectations of everything for nothing, and you have today's current retail mindset.

[David Keller NC]

This thread is sort of interesting. I buy many things by mail off of the 'net, but they're mainly small, inexpensive things or items that are tough for UPS to destroy, like books. Not that UPS hasn't succeeded in destroying a block of steel or two that had may address on it.

But - I would never even consider purchasing a 60" plasma TV off of the net and having it shipped to my house. The incredible PITA of calling, waiting through the robo-cue, establishing (with pictures) that it was the shipper that turned a $2k TV into a pile of silica shards and I'm not "just trying to get a free one" (I've had a telephone service person accuse me of that before - takes a lot to tick me off, but that did it!), getting an RMA, and taking the risk of leaving it out for shipper pickup makes me very grateful for a brick and mortar retailer. I gladly pay around an extra 20% for a lot of things because I save an enormous amount of time in the long run.

Saving time and hassle is, btw, the principal reason I go down the street to the family-owned small hardware store and pay $0.80 for a couple of screws rather than $1.00 for 40 of them at the BORG. Going to Best Buy for a new TV isn't the same thing, but it's the same reason.

[John Coloccia]

Generally, I don't shop anywhere that treats me like a criminal on my way out and tries to examine my bags. I won't cry when they disappear from the local strip malls.

Fortunately, I have a family owned and respectful chain in my area...one that I grew up with, in fact. P.C Richard and Son. I met the head honcho when their Connecticut store opened. He was standing at the door on my way out. He didn't check my bags. He asked me how things were going. I told him I know his stores from when I was a kid growing up in Yonkers, and thanked him for opening a store right near Best Buy.

[John McClanahan]

Generally, I don't shop anywhere that treats me like a criminal on my way out and tries to examine my bags.


Sam's Club does that, too. That's one of the reasons I'm not a "member".

I agree with David Keller. If I'm going to spend big bucks on an item, I do want to touch and feel it first. A reasonable markup for allowing me to do that is worth it to me. I don't care for the car salesman approach that I get at best buy. If you ask one of them a question about a product and they don't know the correct answer, they assume you are clueless, and give most any answer that they think you want to hear.

[Myk Rian]

Generally, I don't shop anywhere that treats me like a criminal on my way out and tries to examine my bags.
Like Costco does. I won't shop there.

[Derek Gilmer]

Sam's Club does that, too. That's one of the reasons I'm not a "member".

I agree with David Keller. If I'm going to spend big bucks on an item, I do want to touch and feel it first. A reasonable markup for allowing me to do that is worth it to me. I don't care for the car salesman approach that I get at best buy. If you ask one of them a question about a product and they don't know the correct answer, they assume you are clueless, and give most any answer that they think you want to hear.

Maybe I'm a audio/video snob, but the tvs and audio gear at bestbuy are so poorly setup that it isn't worth looking at them to evaluate picture or sound quality. So really all I'm doing is looking at the physical shape of an item. Which pictures online do good enough for me.

[David G Baker]

Sam's club does not use bags and I don't recall Costco using bags either but I am not sure. You miss some very good buys by not shopping at some of the big box stores but that is your choice.

[David Weaver]

I feel less offended by them than BB, but the bag thing didn't bother me at BB. Our store is not too far north of the city border, and I'm sure that BB (and sams) would have problems with theft if they didn't have someone checking carts.

I'd assume that the cart checking occurs at sams because you can basically run all over the store unimpeded after you go through the register. There is nobody around to stop you and it's not hard to have someone pop right by the door and throw a gizmo in your cart on the way out.

At least that's what I'd assume those checkout people are looking for, because they don't seem to check the food items that carefully.

[Brian Elfert]

I don't get the big deal about checking carts or bags at stores. They are holding down prices by helping prevent shoplifting. Sam's Club marks the receipt so you can't go back inside, load up on the same items again, and then head out without paying.

I use Sam's club to buy stuff for my small concessions business as they have stuff I can't get anywhere else but a food wholesaler. I don't have enough business to interest a food wholesaler.

[Matt Meiser]

Yep, and on a busy Saturday at our Costco that probably wouldn't be hard to do.

[Dave Lehnert]

I feel less offended by them than BB, but the bag thing didn't bother me at BB. Our store is not too far north of the city border, and I'm sure that BB (and sams) would have problems with theft if they didn't have someone checking carts.

I'd assume that the cart checking occurs at sams because you can basically run all over the store unimpeded after you go through the register. There is nobody around to stop you and it's not hard to have someone pop right by the door and throw a gizmo in your cart on the way out.

At least that's what I'd assume those checkout people are looking for, because they don't seem to check the food items that carefully.

And there was a clerk at the door. http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_wpri_seekonk_sams_club_computer_theft_200910 19_nek


(http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_wpri_seekonk_sams_club_computer_theft_200910 19_nek)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK5fzCvmGH0

Just watch what happens in the video above. This is exactly why you don't want to wait parked in the fire lane when your spouse or kids run into the store. This is what theft or robbery suspects do. The police or security may see you and your plate number will be entered into the system as a possible suspect in any past or future theft or robbery.
I worked at a large retail complex. When a car was spotted parked in the fire lane with a driver waiting with the engine running, it triggered a series or security measures.

[Kevin W Johnson]

As stated, Costco and Sam's mark the receipts to keep people from re-using them. They are also looking to make sure that big ticket items are on the receipt. An enterprising and dishonest employee and a couple of his friends could make out big if they didn't watch what goes out the door closely.

We pay for theft in one of two ways, a small inconvienience on the way out, or higher prices at the checkout.

[Kevin W Johnson]

And there was a clerk at the door. http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_wpri_seekonk_sams_club_computer_theft_200910 19_nek


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK5fzCvmGH0 (http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_wpri_seekonk_sams_club_computer_theft_200910 19_nek)


Might have been someone at the door, however, if they didn't see the person conceal the item...... the laws vary....

From the picture it's hard to tell how he was carrying it when he walked out. There is something under his arm, but what? Is it in a bag? If the person at the door didn't see him conceal the item, they can't really stop them without being directed to do so by someone that did see them conceal it.

[Dave Lehnert]

Might have been someone at the door, however, if they didn't see the person conceal the item...... the laws vary....

From the picture it's hard to tell how he was carrying it when he walked out. There is something under his arm, but what? Is it in a bag? If the person at the door didn't see him conceal the item, they can't really stop them without being directed to do so by someone that did see them conceal it.
My point was even with someone at the door checking a person can get away. What you think it would be like if they were not checking.

Look at the you tube video. The guy makes no attempt to conceal. Just walk past the clerk.

[Myk Rian]

From the picture it's hard to tell how he was carrying it when he walked out.
It was a big honkin box, man. Just walked right by her, and she followed him out.

[Matt Meiser]

I do have a problem with stores' electric monitoring systems falsely accusing me of being a thief. Pet peeve...

[Jim Matthews]

But - I would never even consider purchasing a 60" plasma TV off of the net and having it shipped to my house.

When my first HD TV died (a Sony with a heat-related lighting failure - they offered me $900 credit on a $3000 set that had a street price of $1400) I ordered my Panasonic Viera through Amazon.
Valet service was included, and the delivery crew removed it from the box to verify functionality. All this for $1575 - an excellent transaction.

I'll gladly pay a little more for delivery insurance with this kind of assurance.

[Pat Barry]

Its nice that you have a family friend in the business and I hope he isn't being robbed blind because thats exactly what would happen at BB if there was no one checking at the door. Now I live in Minnesota and in the suburbs so we don't have the huge issues of big cities like NY, Chicago and the like. You have to realize that they are only doing it because they have to. I went to a local hardware store and nearly everything was locked up behind glass doors - why, because of thievery. Get mad about that and quit blaming Best Buy folks.

[Dave Lehnert]

A store only puts things locked in a case only if they have to. Because it just kills the sales of that item when you do. If you never have worked in retail you have no idea how bad theft is.
I have always wondered what a person that never worked in a store thought a typical big box retailer lost in electronics alone in a year.

[Kevin W Johnson]

It was a big honkin box, man. Just walked right by her, and she followed him out.


The picture I saw, you couldn't tell what was under his arm.

[Phil Thien]

A store only puts things locked in a case only if they have to. Because it just kills the sales of that item when you do. If you never have worked in retail you have no idea how bad theft is.
I have always wondered what a person that never worked in a store thought a typical big box retailer lost in electronics alone in a year.

I can tell you that when CompUSA opened their store here in the greater Milwaukee area well over a decade ago (now long gone), they had no loss prevention systems in place.

Their inventory was shrinking by over $30k a month.

They added prevention systems at the front doors, and it dropped substantially.

They then added loss prevention systems at the rear doors (employee entrance), and it dropped to "normal" levels.

I have a friend that is a security specialist for a chain of department stores. He has the best stories.

[Brian Elfert]

I can tell you that when CompUSA opened their store here in the greater Milwaukee area well over a decade ago (now long gone), they had no loss prevention systems in place.

Their inventory was shrinking by over $30k a month.


I worked at a CompUSA store in Minnesota when it opened in late 1993. They had zero loss prevention. The store didn't even have video when it opened. We were doing in excess of $100K a day yet our shrinkage the first quarter was only $10,000. Our shrinkage was so low that management gave every employee a real nice leather jacket.

Management decided after that first quarter to install a video system even though shrinkage was so low. We did have an issue a year or so after opening with some small high value items get cut out of boxes. A lot of employees suspected one particular employee and one day he was gone with no good explanation from management.

[David Weaver]

I'd imagine in some rural areas where there's generally low crime (which is not all rural areas, for sure) that the loss prevention from insiders might be higher than it is from outsiders.

I'd imagine also that management, when firing an employee suspected of repeated theft in an at-will job (i.e., you can fire anyone for any reason at all as long as it doesn't violate employment law) is likely not going to say much. While they won't get in trouble if they are not correct about suspecting someone is the reason for theft in a company, if they guess wrong and tell everyone, they can get in trouble for that.

[Jeff Nicol]

It seems to me that everyone has an opinion on BB and just about any other large chain store of any type, selling many different types of merchandise. Many have stated "Back in the old days......." well that ages us who can remember those days and back then there were not malls, or huge stores that sell everything, there were mostly small stores that carried appliances, electronics, hardware, lumber, and so on. So we were pretty much forced to go to each store to purchase the things we wanted or needed, and there was no internet so no online buying happening! But we had Sears, Montgomery Wards, JC Penneys that had catalog sales and their department stores in towns. So now low and behold time has passed and the computer age has made us all a little jaded and truly lazy as we would rather sit in the arm chair on our laptops surfing all around the world looking for the next great thing to buy, so I guess progress and technology has given us the world we live in. So truth be told we are all guilty of wanting more stuff and more stuff and more stuff, this has created the throw away world we live in as the producers of the "SUPER NEW and IMPROVED STUFF!!" get everyone hooked and come out with the new models so we have to run out and buy it to one up our friends and family.


But I have bought many $1000's of things from BB and I have never had an issue with anything, except within a month or 2 what I just bought has now become obsolete or new and improved and at 1/2 the price! Thus another problem with technology and our great advancing world, so be as happy with what you can buy and use it with as much care as you can and it should last you past the warranty date, because nothing lasts forever if you use it. But with that being said back in the 50's 60's 70's we made friends with the shop owners and there was the connection and attempts at better service, but that is not possible with a large national chain, unless you know someone who works there.


I guess that is enough babbling, just buy what you need the way you want to and be happy as you can and hope it never breaks or fails................but it will and you will be irritated, but unless it was a complete failure of the company or who built it or through lies and deception of the store due to before hand knowledge of a junk item, there is not much anyone can do about things failing. It is just part of life.


Stop and smell the roses, coffee or fresh baked bread, and not worry so much about our stuff,


Have a great night and a wonderful new year,

Jeff

[Phil Thien]

I worked at a CompUSA store in Minnesota when it opened in late 1993. They had zero loss prevention. The store didn't even have video when it opened. We were doing in excess of $100K a day yet our shrinkage the first quarter was only $10,000. Our shrinkage was so low that management gave every employee a real nice leather jacket.

Management decided after that first quarter to install a video system even though shrinkage was so low. We did have an issue a year or so after opening with some small high value items get cut out of boxes. A lot of employees suspected one particular employee and one day he was gone with no good explanation from management.

Fascinating datapoint.

In the case of the Milwaukee store, the security consultant they brought in told a friend of mine that the $30k/month wasn't much considering they had NO loss prevention systems whatsoever. He said one employee, working with a group of friends, can do a lot more damage than $30k/month.

I guess all it takes is one bad apple.

[Bonnie Campbell]

I think employee theft is often the biggest issue with any store of size. Google Walmart in Natchez MS for an example...

[Alan Lightstone]

I never go to "touch and feel" a product I want to buy. I research it carefully, select what I want and then click "buy", generally from Amazon, but sometimes from B&H Photo. I haven't been in a Best Buy for years...

+1. While I do some business with BB, I've been known to wait until their employees finish lying to an elderly couple, then take the couple aside and tell them what they really need, what lies the employee was telling them, and save them big bucks.

Nothing I hate worse than teenage store clerks on commission lying to elderly folks.

There's nothing I won't buy on the internet, given sufficient research, due diligence, etc.. And in particular, Amazon's customer service has been great. Also B&H too, for that matter.

[Brian Elfert]

Nothing I hate worse than teenage store clerks on commission lying to elderly folks.


My understanding is Best Buy quit doing commissions store wide years ago. I'm sure employees do get something for selling warranties and service contracts though. I wouldn't doubt if certain departments may still have commissioned sales people.

It isn't right for any employee to lie to a customer regardless of how the employee is compensated.

[Van Huskey]

Nothing I hate worse than teenage store clerks on commission lying to elderly folks.

.

Lying would assume they knew the correct answer!

The reality for many of the sales associates is they are just repeating the company line and/or the only solution they know/think will work.

[Kevin W Johnson]

Circuit City was just as bad when they were still in business... see a pattern here?

Being in computers, I have a tendency to listen in on the sales pitches. It should be criminal.

[Mike Null]

Being a customer of BB and also a former supplier who made presentations to both the CEO and president I am absolutely amazed at the almost unanimous negative reaction to BB. While I haven't always been pleased with every transaction, on the whole I've found them a pretty good place to shop. CC, on the other hand, also a former customer, was not a place I would ever do business with.

I do get annoyed with the pressure to use the Geek squad though I admire the concept and the void they fill.

[David Weaver]

Being a customer of BB and also a former supplier who made presentations to both the CEO and president I am absolutely amazed at the almost unanimous negative reaction to BB. While I haven't always been pleased with every transaction, on the whole I've found them a pretty good place to shop. CC, on the other hand, also a former customer, was not a place I would ever do business with.

I do get annoyed with the pressure to use the Geek squad though I admire the concept and the void they fill.

Sometime executives have good intentions, but set up a structure and situation with compensation that encourages the ranks below them to do things they didn't have in mind.

I don't know if that's the case for BB or not, but I have seen it before where the philosophy and the executives are "good", but what goes on at ground level irritates people.

[Matt Meiser]

Some also oversee empires that "accidentally" cheat their customers. Case in point: the internal vs. external web site. Case in point #2: Attorney general investigations by numerous states.

I'll admit to occasionally forgetting just how much I hate Best Buy and going there again, only to be re-reminded. The most recent time was when we bought iPhones this fall--arriving at the store at 6:30, waiting until around 7:00 to be waited on, and finally leaving an hour after they closed at 10:00. That was probably the first time in a year. Its still fresh in my mind so it will probably be a long time before I forget. I swore off them for almost 2 years when we got our DirecTV system about 8 years ago. We went on a Sunday morning and came home to find in the ad in the paper they were supposed to have given us a few different discounts amounting to over $100 off what we paid then gave us a major runaround to get it taken care of.

Before that there was the time my dad bought a PC package. They were out of the printer but had him pay for it anyway. Weeks later it still hadn't come but he found out another store nearby had piles of them in stock. They refused to give him one, he threatened to walk out the door with one to which they threatened to call the police. He invited them to do so at which point the manager decided to figure it out. A process that involved giving him a cash refund (actually handing him bills and coins) and then selling him a printer.

There were also the cases of Best Buy calling the police on customers when they were seen writing down prices in the pre-Internet days.

Best Buy would steal an old lady's walker if they thought they could get away with it without to much negative PR.

[Brian Elfert]

I do get annoyed with the pressure to use the Geek squad though I admire the concept and the void they fill.

Geek Squad is not necessarily a bad thing for the technically inept, but Best Buy does some unethical things with Geek Squad. Best Buy has been known to bundle Geek Squad services with a new laptop or desktop in their ad. A customer shows up to purchase the advertised PC and Best Buy tells them the only ones they have in stock have been opened and optimized by Geek Squad for an extra $99. Only by wasting a lot of time and being very persistent can one buy at the advertised price.

Best Buy had some incredible clearance prices on some PCs after this past Christmas about two weeks ago. One person saw a PC clearance priced for $419, but Best Buy insisted he had to pay an additional $99 for "optimizing" the PC and adding an anti-virus program. He still bought it as it was a bargain even at $519. I don't know how hard he tried to get the Geek Squad charge dropped.

[Pat Barry]

I've never had any problems with Best Buy, but I know that in the grand scheme of things they have millions and millions of customers and not all are happy. Here we see the truism with one unhappy customer doing more damage than can be offset by 10's of happy customers. The happy customers get forgotten.

[Kevin W Johnson]

BB uses it's customers...... SO, I use BB for it's loss leaders. Thats pretty much ALL I'll buy at BB. I always 100% price shop with BB on anything else, which means I rarely buy anything else there.

[Mike Null]

Whether the Forbes story has a foundation or not is rather immaterial when one reads the comments here. Clearly, a company that arouses such strong negativity is in trouble whether they know it or not.

I hope they find a way to right the ship because, as much as I like Amazon, I like to have options. And not Wal-Mart which I genuinely hate.

[Scott Lux]

I've been known to shop at BB, when the prices are reasonable. But I don't listen to their associates. Very few there know the merchandise beyond the company line. In their defense, knowledge is way above their pay grade.

I've not had any bad experiences there. That may be because I don't go in uninformed. Like any store or transaction, the more you know going in, the better off you are.

[David Weaver]

Geek Squad is not necessarily a bad thing for the technically inept, but Best Buy does some unethical things with Geek Squad. Best Buy has been known to bundle Geek Squad services with a new laptop or desktop in their ad. A customer shows up to purchase the advertised PC and Best Buy tells them the only ones they have in stock have been opened and optimized by Geek Squad for an extra $99. Only by wasting a lot of time and being very persistent can one buy at the advertised price.



That sounds a lot like the deals you get at tire places when they say you get a fourth tire free..
... and then when you get there, they tell you that you only get a fourth tire free if you spend $70 on a road hazard warranty. So you find out that you wasted your time, anyway.

Retail places that operate like that pretend like they don't know why customers don't trust them, or why people lose interest in even checking on deals (I don't even bother looking for those kinds of deals now, the investment of time is too much). I would still buy a loss leader PC from BB if I could get in there at a time where there were few people in there, and if I were sure I didn't have to pay GS fees.

But I'd be likely to not go in there to find out in the first place. The best thing I ever did there was drop off a TV and give them 10 bucks to take it (even though our garbage pickup would take it for free, I'm assuming BB does something with CRT TV's other than throwing them in their dumpster).

[David G Baker]

BB has a "long" history of bad customer relations and if it hasn't yet caught up with them yet, it will eventually. There are many Internet sites where there are serious complaints about BB, if you have a week or two to view them all, have at it.

[Matt Meiser]

I'm assuming BB does something with CRT TV's other than throwing them in their dumpster).

Box them up and resell them as new? http://www.engadget.com/2004/08/20/best-buy-gets-busted/

[James Carmichael]

Hmm, I dunno what all the BB bashing is about, I have no complaints.

I read online reveiws, specs, etc before buying, checkout forums (lke SMC) before buying anything, but if it's a major purchase or something I don't fully understand, I still need to see, touch, and get my questions answered in a bricks & mortar world.

BB staff were very helpful & knowledgable when we bought our first big screen. The salesman helped us decide on a plasma since we watch lots of sports. Ditto when I bought Kindle Fire's for my wife & son (and I hate having Christmas gifts shipped). I saw the comment on their being a car lot and haven't found that so.

LOML checks just about everywhere and I always look on Amazon before buying. We have yet to find better prices on anything we bought over $100. In fact, LOML the TV had the price guarantee, and LOML was on a mission to find it cheaper. She never did.
,
I know they're a big-box, but they are a specialty store with in-house expertise. If they go belly-up, where ya gonna go locally for electronics? Wally world, Fryes? There's some J.D. Powers-league customer servcie! I do go to Fryes occasionally, but know exactly what I'm buying and with the expectation I will get no help or service-after-sale.

[David Weaver]

There are gobs of places around here that sell TVs, computers, etc with people who are just as knowledgeable. Same with computers, ipods, phones, appliances,... whatever.

I don't know if I can think of a single place that has every single thing BB does, but I could literally go in the same shopping center that the BB is in here, and get a better deal on everything, except appliances (nobody else in that shopping center has them). For appliances, I'd have to go one street over to the local independent dealer who has been here for eons (where they have been honest, willing to deal, and always will deliver on saturdays for no extra charge). They have a wider range of appliances and you can even talk to the repair people if you really want to find out what comes back the least.

I just can't think of anything I'd have to go to BB for, and I can't think of anything they have in their store where I can't find just as good of a deal or better around here brick and mortar. Maybe CDs or something, I don't know - I don't really buy those in person now, either. It's always cheaper to get them online.

[Kevin W Johnson]

Hmm, I dunno what all the BB bashing is about, I have no complaints.

I read online reveiws, specs, etc before buying, checkout forums (lke SMC) before buying anything, but if it's a major purchase or something I don't fully understand, I still need to see, touch, and get my questions answered in a bricks & mortar world.

BB staff were very helpful & knowledgable when we bought our first big screen. The salesman helped us decide on a plasma since we watch lots of sports. Ditto when I bought Kindle Fire's for my wife & son (and I hate having Christmas gifts shipped). I saw the comment on their being a car lot and haven't found that so.

LOML checks just about everywhere and I always look on Amazon before buying. We have yet to find better prices on anything we bought over $100. In fact, LOML the TV had the price guarantee, and LOML was on a mission to find it cheaper. She never did.
,
I know they're a big-box, but they are a specialty store with in-house expertise. If they go belly-up, where ya gonna go locally for electronics? Wally world, Fryes? There's some J.D. Powers-league customer servcie! I do go to Fryes occasionally, but know exactly what I'm buying and with the expectation I will get no help or service-after-sale.

Congrats, you must have a BB that's on another planet in comparison to the rest of them, if you've found them to have good service and lower than anyone else prices. It's a very rare occasion that I don't hear some punk giving people a story about an item, and I can nearly always find an item cheaper somewhere else.

If they make you happy, then I guess that's all that counts.

[Bill Wyko]

I own a small mobile electronics business. Most people go to big box stores because they think they are going to be here for ever and they know what they're doing. I've been around to see Federated, Silo, Circuit city, Incredible universe, Best catalog showrooms and a few others rise and fall. So the next time any of you are looking for electronics of any kind, support your local small business!!! We fight harder for your business and do better work because our livelihood is on the line. We're not some kid that thinks he gets paid for getting out of bed in the morning. I'll put our knowledge and quality against the biggest box stores out there. Let em fall!!!

[Brian Elfert]

I don't even know where to find a non-chain electronics retailer and I am in a large metro area. One local TV retailer went out of business a while back. Meanwhile, there is a Best Buy everywhere one looks.

I take that back. There is one local electronics retailer, but they specialize in high end stuff.

[Andrew Teich]

Growing up in Southern Minnesota I always looked forward to the Best Buy ad on the weekend. I would scour that thing to learn all about the latest and greatest. In Minnesota we were lucky to have Target and Best Buy based locally. I never had a bad experience with either. I purchased quite a bit of stuff from Best Buy in High School and College and was never unhappy. I haven't made any major electronics purchases in quite a while except for my ThinkPad about 4 years ago. It had to get ordered online because no one locally had the ones with the TrackPoint.

Audio Perfection in Minneapolis is awesome. I remember going in there with my father when he was starting the sound system for the basement. Our sales guy was super cool, extraordinarily knowledgeable and blind. I was amazed, he was just fine getting around the shop and setting everything up for us to listen to. The speakers(NHT) that he ended up with weren't too unreasonable and the receiver(NAD) was also really cool. I just had to reprogram the remote for him over our Christmas visit as he had purchased a new VCR/DVD and TV.

In Chicago I've not been to The Little Guys but I enjoy their program on Sunday mornings on WLS 890 AM. I would start with them if I was in the market for electronics but would also price compare to make sure I'm getting a fair price. Like many I would expect to pay more, but a reasonable amount, to get something locally with local service and support if needed.

[Tony Perrone]

Many years ago my nephew worked at BB. When my wife and I were looking at refrigerators he bought it with his discount I bought a $1200 refrigerator for $600 as he told me the more expensive the item the more the markup was. This was about 10 years ago I think he said he paid 5% over there cost.

[David Weaver]

That's probably true for a lot of places and a lot of stores, regardless of what they sell. I'd imagine if they sold the $250 each washing machine and dryer only, they wouldn't be able to keep the lights on.

It's certainly true of cars. It's like the old saying about why do you rob a bank...

.. why do you charge a higher markup for people who can afford better things. Because they're the ones with the money.

[Paul McGaha]

There are gobs of places around here that sell TVs, computers, etc with people who are just as knowledgeable. Same with computers, ipods, phones, appliances,... whatever.

I don't know if I can think of a single place that has every single thing BB does, but I could literally go in the same shopping center that the BB is in here, and get a better deal on everything, except appliances (nobody else in that shopping center has them). For appliances, I'd have to go one street over to the local independent dealer who has been here for eons (where they have been honest, willing to deal, and always will deliver on saturdays for no extra charge). They have a wider range of appliances and you can even talk to the repair people if you really want to find out what comes back the least.

I just can't think of anything I'd have to go to BB for, and I can't think of anything they have in their store where I can't find just as good of a deal or better around here brick and mortar. Maybe CDs or something, I don't know - I don't really buy those in person now, either. It's always cheaper to get them online.

We have a local appliance store like that too. I dont know that their pricing is as good as Best Buy or a similar store but their service and sales expertise is markedly better. That's the store I prefer we use. My wife picks our appliances though, and she really likes Kenmore, so ..................

[David Weaver]

We have a local appliance store like that too. I dont know that their pricing is as good as Best Buy or a similar store but their service and sales expertise is markedly better. That's the store I prefer we use. My wife picks our appliances though, and she really likes Kenmore, so ..................

I *hear* kenmore appliances are good. They won't deliver them on a saturday, though, so we don't have any.

Our sears appliance center is like walking in a bee swarm of salespeople. You can't just look at anything, and within seconds, if you dispense of one salesperson by telling them you're just looking, another one is on you right away. They must have a large % of their compensation as commission.

Since kmart and sears got together on tools and appliances, you can go to the kmart up the road and look at most of the same stuff and likely never see a person. Our "big k" or whatever they call the second from the largest size kmarts has 1 person patrolling the entire back of the store.

But our small guy (place with maybe 4 or 5 salespeople in the store) will always win, because he's been honest and forthright about everything I've asked, and offered plain as day answers to questions about energy use, reliability, claims of different manufacturers, and likely things coming in the future - down to which appliances he has and why. You just don't get that kind of talk at BB or sears, and every time, once he dispatches us off to a sales person to close the sale, he's been at least a dollar cheaper (on each appliance) than anyone else around, even though we didn't request it, he asked what we'd found for deals. (and they will deliver on saturday with guys who will properly hook up an appliance when they show up).

[Christian Castillo]

Hope they get what they deserve, Best Buy screwed up and lost a 200$ order of mine, and never gave me my money back.