[jivegirl14]

Is Best Buy Circling the Drain? | LinkedIn

There have been so many posts in the forum about sales staff in Best Buy telling customers that Playbooks are discontinued (and generally misinforming them about the Playbook), steering people to other products in addition to inefficient or totally absent PB displays. So this article about Best Buy in Forbes caught my eye. Seems the tactic isn't limited to the Playbook.

[anon(757282)]

Oh sweet irony...

[dagerlach]

Best Buy (BBY) started to fall apart in Q4 of 2010 and has been diverging from the S&P for a year now. On-line companies like Amazon, NewEgg, etc have had a significant impact on their sales. Can they stay in business? Probably. Are they worth investing in their stock. Nope. I would rather buy RIMM.

[alnamvet68]

I believe it is; the signs are clearly apparent....I remember when Circuit City was gasping its last breath, with a motley crew for staff who knew far less about technology then my Mother did (may she RIP). When it was officially announced they were going out of business, I was not surprised. Best Buy is there already, as far as I'm concerned. I have learned quickly that one has to do extensive and detailed research on a product one may be considering buying before entering the big blue box, 'cause you're not going to get an intelligent or knowledgeable response from the kids that are working there if you happen to have a question.

For my money, I would like to see each manufacturer open up a store in every mall, much like the Apple stores, where they can showcase and promote their product line, and have well trained and knowledgeable staff present to demonstrate with competence the products offered.

Yes, I would love to see a Blackberry store, well stocked, well staffed, and in an environment that is bright and inspiring as opposed to the Best Buy experience which I find akin to going to a greasy Pep Boys store for whatever.

[alnamvet68]

Best Buy (BBY) started to fall apart in Q4 of 2010 and has been diverging from the S&P for a year now. On-line companies like Amazon, NewEgg, etc have had a significant impact on their sales. Can they stay in business? Probably. Are they worth investing in their stock. Nope. I would rather buy RIMM.

Yes, that's why I do...invest in RIMM that is.

[Economist101]

For my money, I would like to see each manufacturer open up a store in every mall, much like the Apple stores, where they can showcase and promote their product line, and have well trained and knowledgeable staff present to demonstrate with competence the products offered.

Several companies have tried. Apple managed to make retail work, but Gateway, Pioneer, Sony, Dell, Nokia and others have tried and failed. Microsoft is also currently trying, and though their stores are clearly not failures they're not setting the world afire either.

[madman0141]

And yes Rimm stock closed with a profit....my 185 shares while small show my support for my 9930 and playbook 64. The upgrade to playbook software is near and BB10 is coming. Buy Rimm stock now and make money. Support our Blackberries.
The average age for a Best Buy employee is 22 yrs old. Can anyone tell me where they got those vast years of knowledge about products.

[poppian]

Is Best Buy Circling the Drain? | LinkedIn

There have been so many posts in the forum about sales staff in Best Buy telling customers that Playbooks are discontinued (and generally misinforming them about the Playbook), steering people to other products in addition to inefficient or totally absent PB displays. So this article about Best Buy in Forbes caught my eye. Seems the tactic isn't limited to the Playbook.

I was shock today...I went in to Staple store here in Canada and notice all 3 playbook are on sale for the SAME price $299...Wtf!!!...Makes me wonder...

[alnamvet68]

I was shock today...I went in to Staple store here in Canada and notice all 3 playbook are on sale for the SAME price $299...Wtf!!!...Makes me wonder...

While your observation has nothing to do with the thread, it does point out that Staples is simply pricing the PB to be in line with the SBB sore pricing.

[poppian]

While your observation has nothing to do with the thread, it does point out that Staples is simply pricing the PB to be in line with the SBB sore pricing.

Thanks for pointing that out...

[BEARD GANG]

Best buy has flopped in the uk...

[grahamf]

Makes sense. Anybody with tech experience will go online. Heck, even a kid without a credit card can go to Newegg (providing his/her debit card is from one of the supported companies).

And those without tech experience will be intimidated by the confusing array of technology. The geek squad is a joke, and useless when the customer is only asking the salesperson.

If Best Buy made it a practise of hiring peope who know what they're selling and/or teaching them how to explain to customers that what they want to buy isn't so compicated as they thought, they would get more customers.

That's why they are doing so bad. Customers may decide to go to a more dedicated retailer (like Gamespot or a Verizon store) where the staff is more familliar with what they're selling. I once went to the appliance section and the guy couldn't tell the difference between a dishwasher and a built-in oven!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[wcgarette]

Went to Future Shop here in Sudbury last week, and the staff was noticeably uninspired. There is a Best Buy here, but I haven't checked it out yet. Got my PB16 at Staples at the end of November for $199, and the staff there weren't anything to praise, either.

Maybe it's just the state of retail.

[BBMINI]

I can't believe Best Buy has stayed in business as long as they have. I've always thought they have the worst customer service of any retailer except WalMart. And if the also can't survive after Circuit City closed then I guess it shows how hard the consumer electronics retailing biz must be. Personally, I'll be glad to see them go.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Rickroller]

Went to Future Shop here in Sudbury last week, and the staff was noticeably uninspired. There is a Best Buy here, but I haven't checked it out yet. Got my PB16 at Staples at the end of November for $199, and the staff there weren't anything to praise, either.

Maybe it's just the state of retail.

Says more for the state of the country (or countries) than the state of retail imo. Would you be excited to go to work for minimum wage? Or even slightly above? Best Buy employees don't make commision..so where is the incentive? Most workers imo would just be showing up to punch a clock (and that applies to any minimum wage job).

EDIT: Back on topic..doesn't Best Buy own Future Shop as well? So if one goes under..do they both? I personally always shop at Best Buy. I don't ever go in there looking for advice..because I do my own research ahead of time. But I do like the fact that they aren't trying to upsell me "Monster" cables on any purchase simply because it increases their revenue. I much prefer being left alone to browse than have someone trying to push and make a sale on me.

[Laura Knotek]

I wouldn't miss Best Buy. I buy my electronics from amazon.com, newegg.com, and tigerdirect.com.

[grahamf]

I do like it for trying out devices hands on, but the last one I wanted to try out was the Kobo Vox, which is available from Chapters.

[_StephenBB81]

EDIT: Back on topic..doesn't Best Buy own Future Shop as well? So if one goes under..do they both? I personally always shop at Best Buy. I don't ever go in there looking for advice..because I do my own research ahead of time. But I do like the fact that they aren't trying to upsell me "Monster" cables on any purchase simply because it increases their revenue. I much prefer being left alone to browse than have someone trying to push and make a sale on me.

Yes best buy owns Future shop. BestBuy is commission free sales, FutureShop employees have commissions

As for Best Buy Going out of Business, The Canadian Arm of Best Buy is doing better than the US Arm as Both FS/BB offer Shipping and pricing that is comparable to other Canadian Online retailers, Duties bringing electronics from US shippers wash away much of the savings. and we have more taxation rules than the US does with online shopping.

IF the US were to force Sales taxes on Online retailers for the state the sale is being made in, and force online retailers to keep appropriate books to record this data the drastic price savings the consumers get wouldn't be as drastic.

[BoldtotheMax]

Majority of big box retailers are in jeapordy of eventually going under due to all the online stores, better prices and more knowledgeable customer service people. Just how it is in the digital age.

If I knew I could price match and them actually honor it and felt comfortable talking to a sales rep, then I would shop there again.

I can't remember the last time I was in a best buy. Has to be over 3 years or so.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk

[ED1209]

Is Best Buy heading in the same path as Circuit City? I think so,,, the sale staff have no idea what is going on and I rather go to Walmart.

[Rootbrian]

I haven't gone to best buy in so long. If they do fall down, stuff happens. Not every major store ever lasts forever.

[anon(757282)]

Went there today. No Playbooks in stock. One 64GB nonworking one on display. It was priced on display as $399 and I asked about the $299 price. Perky fellow said they had none, none in San Diego, and the price is really $699 even after I showed him their own display sign. Bye bye best buy bye bye.

[raino]

IF the US were to force Sales taxes on Online retailers for the state the sale is being made in, and force online retailers to keep appropriate books to record this data the drastic price savings the consumers get wouldn't be as drastic.

The solution you're proposing would go a great ways in helping B&M stores, but Best Buy may be beyond that point of help. They've closed UK stores, tried 3rd party online listings (a la Amazon, Newegg), experimented with downsizing their stores, but are still hemorrhaging. Their CS, policies, and in-store antics are now getting noticed big time. This year, many B&M retailers flubbed holiday time orders, but the most commonly used example was Best Buy. If a national online sales tax goes in effect here, I'm sure Amazon will enact some pretty aggressive (and creative) measures to stay competitive, all the while touting their CS which is, at this point, miles ahead of Best Buy.

[T�nis]

Less options is not better in my book. I would be sad to see Best Buy go the way of Borders.

[lengend]

I called 3 different Future Shops (owned by Best Buy) and got transferred to the ConnectPro Computer Services (aka Geek Squad). I asked all 3 stores the same question and I got 3 different answers. One store said they have to send my laptop out for cleaning cause of my extended warranty. The other store said it will cost me $20 while my extended warranty does not cover it. The third store said they can clean the laptop with compressed air like that without opening it, but to clean the internals and apply thermal paste they would need to send it out cause that's how it works with extended warranty.

So I went to the 3rd store I called only to find out, the sales people there are complete morons in terms of technology. I asked to see an i7 17.3" laptop and he shows me an i5. I fully called him a bad word and went to a next guy. I asked if they have any and he said no we don't have any on display, but I can check the system and provide you the info and order it for you. Me and that sales person shot the stuff for a while and I asked to speak to the manager cause for once, I finally found a person who is not a total fool and understands technology to some extent. Gave him a good recommendation, he deserved it.

Then there was an another incompetent sales person when I went to check out the Galaxy Nexus (quite a sexy phone, I want! But my heart is with BlackBerry). He points me to a display unit, the ones that are actually real phones and the damn phone doesn't turn on. I tell him the phones broken won't turn on and he's like no it works. He sat there for 2 minutes holding the power button on the phone. Buddy if it doesn't turn on within 10 seconds the phone is toast.

Basically saying, Best Buy and Future Shop you find the most useless sales people with no knowledge in terms of desktops, laptops, tablets or any sort of electronic. Do your research before you go to these stores and ask them about the product cause you will get the wrong information.