"Why Best Buy is Going out of Business...Gradually"

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

And thus, we set ourselves up for the next new SUBurban blight...huge, empty big box stores.

Corrected.

Some cities planned to start taxing parking spaces at these big box stores to discourage building these large blights on society.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by Glove

The major problem with NCIX is they never back up their shit, meaning if you have any issues with your purchase they will always tell you to contact the manufactorer, or if you want to return it they will charge you a 15% restocking fee, they have the worst customer service.

What specifically does NCIX hassle you for? I recently had issues with my computer rejecting the RAM I bought. I was able to exchange it for another brand without issue or penalty and thought customer service was awesome especially that I opened the package the problem was not the RAM, it was my machine not accepting that type of RAM.

[freakshow]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

"We" as consumers want: Online pricing, with NCIX service, with Costco's return policy.

I hate the service at NCIX.. they always give me irrelevant or incorrect information.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by InvisibleSoul

While this is true, and I've done this

I've done it, and will not buy shoes in Canada anymore. The markup on sneakers is silly. Kobe VIs were $179 here, and $119 in the US. I try them on in Sportchek, then order online. If Sportchek sold for $129 or even $139 I'd be inclined to buy locally, yet not for 50% more.

[freakshow]

Originally Posted by taylor192

I recently had issues with my computer rejecting the RAM I bought. I was able to exchange it for another brand without issue or penalty and thought customer service was awesome especially that I opened the package the problem was not the RAM, it was my machine not accepting that type of RAM.

They used to have a 15% restocking fee, and, according to their website, they still do. So I avoid them because I don't exactly want to take the chance that they hit me for 15% if I need to return something.

[donjalapeno]

I used to work at BB and I didn't know shit

[Hondaracer]

The average consumer doesn't understand how Ncix works and would rather see and hold a product than give a rep a SKU and buy it
Posted via RS Mobile

[Great68]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

The average consumer doesn't understand how Ncix works and would rather see and hold a product than give a rep a SKU and buy it
Posted via RS Mobile

Sometimes being able to see and hold a product is extremely valuable. It depends on the product. For computer parts like hard drives, Ram, etc the physical characteristics are meaningless.

But for things like TV's, being able to see the picture on a TV that's actually running is helpful. And I wouldn't buy any car without test-driving it first.

[Glove]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

Well, here's the problem.

"We" as consumers want: Online pricing, with NCIX service, with Costco's return policy.

So go ahead and conduct business in that environment.

I can see a day when retail is no longer "the" way to sell. I want a Samsung TV. I go to Samsung's website and order me a tv. Straight from the manufacturer.

It cuts several steps in distribution, it goes from place of origin to manufacturers DC to a truck heading to somewhere close to me, to me. Obviously, a bit of that would need to be built out, because that would be a logistics nightmare for 1000 customers a day, but its not outside the realm of possibility.

I couldnt agree with you more,

I would love to just purchase straight from manufactorer and deal with them, that way my invoice is straight in their system, and it makes it much easier for warranty because all warranty claims go to manufactorer anyway. Cut out the middle man. Also pricing would be cheaper,

thats also why I buy a lot from newegg and tiger direct, online pricing, excellent return policies, excellent customer service. if I need something right away I will try and make the trip to memory express, they are just like ncix, but dont rape you on returns.

imo stores are definitly becoming obsolete, in my case anyway. I havent bought something from a big chain store in a loooong time, they are doing it to themselves, charging 100 dollars for a ram stick, when ncix is selling for 30, and online for 20.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by Great68

But for things like TV's, being able to see the picture on a TV that's actually running is helpful.

To most people its actually a disservice as it makes picking a TV instore very hard.

While in the store you'll nit pick darker blacks, brighter whites, colour depth ... which you'll forget about once the TV is home and there's not 10 others beside it to compare to.

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by InvisibleSoul

maybe rather haven't started buying things online.

Originally Posted by taylor192

yet there's still a large group of people that don't scour the interwebs for the best reviews and deals.

Was at a Target store in the states over the weekend and saw an older lady paying at the cashier with a cheque. The cashier asked her if she wanted a Target credit card and the lady was

I have a feeling a big chunk of the US is exactly like this, hence why Sears is still in business down there.

Originally Posted by Gridlock

Well, here's the problem.

"We" as consumers want: Online pricing, with NCIX service, with Costco's return policy.

So go ahead and conduct business in that environment.

I can see a day when retail is no longer "the" way to sell. I want a Samsung TV. I go to Samsung's website and order me a tv. Straight from the manufacturer.

It cuts several steps in distribution, it goes from place of origin to manufacturers DC to a truck heading to somewhere close to me, to me. Obviously, a bit of that would need to be built out, because that would be a logistics nightmare for 1000 customers a day, but its not outside the realm of possibility.

You can do that with Apple products right now, but their prices are the same as BB/FS and it took over a week to ship from China.

[iamon]

i worked at future shop for the holiday season in 2005 and best buy when i needed a job quick in 06, at future shop i worked the mp3 section, they gave us some product training but most things i had to learn on my own, which was ok since I was interested in that sort of thing. I tried to learn and teach people about the products instead of trying to upsell and sell Product service plan like my other co-workers did, one guy spent an hour pushing the P.S.P. on an ipod on someone who didn't buy it. I was let go since I had decent sales numbers but Product service plan was at the bottom of the barrel. When I worked at Best Buy i was put in the computer department, They threw us on the floor the 2nd day. I quit after the 3rd shift because I personally felt stupid when trying to help a customer on something I didn't know much about.

[Great68]

Originally Posted by taylor192

To most people its actually a disservice as it makes picking a TV instore very hard.

While in the store you'll nit pick darker blacks, brighter whites, colour depth ... which you'll forget about once the TV is home and there's not 10 others beside it to compare to.

What is pleasing to one person's eye may not be pleasing to the next person.

When I bought my TV, I did my research and read the reviews, b ut I still wanted to see it for myself.

I realise that they don't exactly set the TV's in the future shop showroom up for optimal comparison sometimes, but I still like having that option.

[VrrM604]

Usually have no problems with Best Buy..Future Shop on the other hand, some of their associates are annoying as hell

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by butter_sashimi

Sales guy 1 got mad, asked to "take it outside" and threatened to beat up my dad.

i was hoping to hear that your dad said "sure lets go bitch" and the guy was all

[MindBomber]

Originally Posted by taylor192

Go to Home Depot during the middle of a weekday, not on a weekend. The older more experienced staff work the weekdays and will have more time to spend with you.

I hate going on weekends, its just a bunch of kids working that don't know much.

Go ahead and tell yourself that they're more experienced based on age and the time they have to spend with you, but it's not the case the vast majority of the time. They're retired cops, businessmen, truck drivers and the like who took the same online course the kids did. All they have on the kids is a bit of life experience, maybe they built a deck 15 years prior and installed a door knob at some point, but that's about it.

In reality, the advice the old men give is often pretty fucked, it's just delivered differently.

[SlySi]

That original post has been circling around everywhere.
Typical blogging garbage.
Whether it will be true or not, only time will tell.
He has a little too much hate for an honest working person trying to earn a buck for Best Buy and an extra dollar for himself.

I do hope Best Buy stays around.
They employ allot of people. Not only in the retail stores, but at their corporate offices, plus everywhere else around the world. SMB relies on them. Large corporation relies on them. The consumer relies on them. The company I work for, not affiliated with Best Buy relies on them. The amount of licenses and contracts they buy bring in a hefty dollar to the company I work for.

They also provide buying power to the consumer.

Prices dont drop just because you buy direct.
Distribution/reselling has its value.
The last thing Samsung or majority of vendors wants, is every consumer in the world buying from their website.
That will simply force them to hire more people, logistics personel, larger warehouse requirements, more sales reps, etc.etc. Buying direct does not mean better pricing.

Do they need to restructure? Sure, why not. The retail space is evolving with the internet. Brick and Mortar stores have trouble surviving. But dont count them out.
Everyone still needs them.

Or else. One day.
We will all end up buying large purchases over the internet without ever even seeing the product first. How silly will that be?
I personally would never buy a TV without actually seeing the product in person.

Plus, where else am I go, while my wife drags me out to shop with her.
Its the only place I can hang around and play with everything while she spends my money.

[gars]

In a way - I'm happy that companies like Nikon start standardized pricing. That way you'll get a more even pricing across the board - so I won't feel compelled to have to buy from Amazon to save a few bucks.

Sure, I might not save as much - but the local stores - like the boutique mom/dad stores (the ones with the proper experience/training) will really benefit.

[BillyBishop]

Originally Posted by MindBomber

Go ahead and tell yourself that they're more experienced based on age and the time they have to spend with you, but it's not the case the vast majority of the time.

I don't see where Taylor said that they're more experienced by sole virtue of their age... he clearly didn't say that. Nor did he say that more time spent implies more experience.
Whenever I go to Home Depot here in Richmond, I know exactly who to go to for help when I need it. Coincidentally, he's an older gentleman.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by Boundless

I don't see where Taylor said that they're more experienced by sole virtue of their age... he clearly didn't say that. Nor did he say that more time spent implies more experience.
Whenever I go to Home Depot here in Richmond, I know exactly who to go to for help when I need it. Coincidentally, he's an older gentleman.

I definitely said and implied it - and think MindBomber is full of shit.

Even if the older employees at HD never worked in specific construction fields, they have by virtue years of real life experience unlike their younger counterparts which grew up without ever using a screwdriver.

I'm 30yo and most of my peers cannot operate power tools, while most of my father's peers could build a house.

[MindBomber]

Originally Posted by taylor192

I definitely said and implied it - and think MindBomber is full of shit.

Even if the older employees at HD never worked in specific construction fields, they have by virtue years of real life experience unlike their younger counterparts which grew up without ever using a screwdriver. te power tools, while most of my father's peers could build a house.

Taylor -

You can listen to my advice or choose to assume it's uninformed conjecture, but I am certainly not full of shit. The advice given by the older men at home depot is often terrible, they have more basic abilities by virtue of experience than a younger person, but anything more advanced than tiling a back splash is beyond their skill set. They're not giving advice with well grounded knowledge, but rather extrapolating on the very basic concepts they grasp. I'm a trades person and worked at HD for years during slow periods, evenings, weekends to earn extra money and the benefits package. I witnessed that bad advice and had to correct it thousands of times, literally.

On a routine basis, I would approach a customer who looked dazed and confused and offer assistance, only to have them politely refuse and immediately seek out one of my older co-workers, that older co-worker would then lead them directly back to me. Age is irrelevant, superficial appearances are unimportant, I may be young, but I know my stuff and unlike many of my older co-workers, I would admit when something was beyond my knowledge instead of giving out potentially unsound advice.

Whenever I go to Home Depot here in Richmond, I know exactly who to go to for help when I need it. Coincidentally, he's an older gentleman.

That's the way to go.

[Noir]

Originally Posted by Glove

The major problem with NCIX is they never back up their shit, meaning if you have any issues with your purchase they will always tell you to contact the manufactorer, or if you want to return it they will charge you a 15% restocking fee, they have the worst customer service.

I know many people that have turned away from NCIX because of this, and went to memory express, because they dont have these policies.

Originally Posted by freakshow

They used to have a 15% restocking fee, and, according to their website, they still do. So I avoid them because I don't exactly want to take the chance that they hit me for 15% if I need to return something.

This!


I too am also one of the ones that researches purchases heavily online before actually making a purchase and find that even that, you have to take with a grain of salt. Most online reviews can be biased, mixed, or inadequate if the person reviewing has completely different values or priorities in an item; or if you really want an item you can eventually find positive reviews to justify your wanting of the item.

That being said, the ability to test out purchases for yourself to determine if it truly is worth the X amount of dollars it requires can be an invaluable benefit to consumers; and Bestbuy caters that with their hassle free return policy.

I find myself being the backwards shopper that everyone here seems to be. I'm interested in an item, I read about it online. Consequently researching info + reviews on an items simultaneously yields price researches. Then I go to Bestbuy and if they don't have similar prices, they offer to price-match (or lessen the price slightly) and I still get that guarantee that if I'm not satisfied with the purchase, I can go to any location and return items requiring nothing more than the item itself and a receipt.

Oh and plus, I also get to purchase it and play with the item all in the same day. Maybe a small detail for some but is pretty significant detail for me

[Ikkaku]

Some older guy tried to mess around when I was helping my dad return a Canon lens, with which a gift receipt was given. He takes the product and does the routine checking of the product. In fact, that was the first time the lens was taken out of the foam packaging. First he asks why I'm returning the product, so I told him it was because my dad has a better lens, but his friend did not know which lenses my dad has. He then starts telling us its exchange only, I'm like no it's not, it's not beyond x amount of days. He is like, oh but it will only come as a store credit only, and I reply, "yes I know".

He walks away, tells the girl that is at the till to help us. After a few minutes, he comes back with another staff and hassles us again stating it's exchange only. At this point I'm getting frustrated, and I hold up the receipt and point directly at the line that indicates that refunds will only come as store credit. With a smirk on his face, says a quick sorry and walks away again.

My assumption is that his attitude is geared towards people who have never read the conditions on the receipt. It's staff like this, who make buying at stores like Future Shop a major hassle.

[Gridlock]

Well, I have never worked for FS, but years ago, like 1999, I applied to work for them.

It's me sitting there, with an interviewer across from me, and a woman to my right watching me.

It was by far the worst interview ever! Sample question:

"I see you did a year of university, and then dropped out. Do you often quit things without finishing?"

"Well, if you notice, that university is in Halifax, and my address is in Vancouver. The commute was a drag."

And on it went. My attitude went up with every answer as I realized that I had no interest in slinging their crap for minimum wage.

I got that they were trying to gage my ability to handle sales under pressure, buts its FS man...people come in, you put stuff on their credit card and they never actually pay for it. Not rocket science.

Every time I go in there now, I just remember that glaring, scowling woman staring at me, and walk back out.

[Nlkko]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

I can see a day when retail is no longer "the" way to sell. I want a Samsung TV. I go to Samsung's website and order me a tv. Straight from the manufacturer.

It cuts several steps in distribution, it goes from place of origin to manufacturers DC to a truck heading to somewhere close to me, to me. Obviously, a bit of that would need to be built out, because that would be a logistics nightmare for 1000 customers a day, but its not outside the realm of possibility.

Dell has been doing that for years now.

My expectation walking to a retail store is all the salespeople are retards. I only expect them to show me where certain stuffs are, that's it. You gotta realize these clowns work for minimum wage, they aren't rocket scientists.

I only shop at retails for small stuffs and when I cant wait. Like when I ordered a projector and need the extra cable. Aint gonna wait a few weeks for monoproce, aint I?