how does best buy stay in business?

[BS21213]

I think the last consumer reports mag (not the current one) had electronic stores. BB was at the bottom of brick and mortar AND online stores. they ranked bad in service, price, selection, and on and on...!

Why do people go there? I have not bought anything from there in I guess 2 or more years.

Amazon was at the top. Which makes sense to me! I love amazon.

[microg]

I needed a simple VGA cable and flipped at the prices at Best Buy. Consequently, I ordered it from Amazon.

[BS21213]

I know the feeling. Best buy doesn't carry the more affordable options. Just look at hdmi cables.

[The Eternal White Belt]

I will use them for things I need "today." Occasionally we will buy Blu-Rays, games, computer software, etc. from there. Sometimes you don't want to wait for something to be shipped.

[bmore_ken]

I think the last consumer reports mag (not the current one) had electronic stores. BB was at the bottom of brick and mortar AND online stores. they ranked bad in service, price, selection, and on and on...!

Why do people go there? I have not bought anything from there in I guess 2 or more years.

Believe it or not, not everyone is comfortable shopping online. I usually go there when they have something that's the same price as my online shopping sites. Most recently my Logitech Revue with Google TV and Madden 12 for my xbox. Neither of those things are cheaper online

[kaneforgov]

They also continue to do well selling kitchen appliances on which they make a decent margins, unlike TV's, computers and other electronics. Geek Squad is also huge for them and adds to their bottom line.

[gps29070]

I like Best Buy, a big store that doesn't make you feel crowded. And it's really nice to actually be able to see and review the products in person. And I'm sure their business model knows that people go there just to see the product, then goes buys it on amazon at a lower cost.

Considering the number of stores like Circuit City, Tweeter, Luskins, etc that have gone out of business, hopefully they will stay around for a while.

[johman]

I stopped buying anything there over their policy of return restocking fees.

Maybe that's the reason they can still keep their heads above water.

[Justthefax]

I will not shop at Best Buy. I have paid more for something rather than buy it in Best Buy.

Best Buy SUCKS!

[Mr Know It All]

Kind of hard to gauge a TV's picture quality by looking at it online.

[kaneforgov]

btw- Their biggest profit margin item in the store is on their extended warranty sales, which is close to 100% profit. I can't believe people actually spend up to 20% of the purchase price for a mostly worthless extended warranty. All for so called peace of mind.

[BS21213]

Kind of hard to gauge a TV's picture quality by looking at it online.

when I do go to best buy to look around and look at tvs they all look pretty much the same to me. I guess I don't have that discerning eyes.

[BS21213]

Believe it or not, not everyone is comfortable shopping online. I usually go there when they have something that's the same price as my online shopping sites. Most recently my Logitech Revue with Google TV and Madden 12 for my xbox. Neither of those things are cheaper online

I don't even know what those things are. It is like you are speaking greek!

[Bartman]

Most smaller items, I get on-line. Amazon is OK for small stuff, I can get cheaper but they've been reliable every time. The last couple DVD recorders, I ordered from JR in NY, I get stuff from them in 2 days flat with just Std shipping! My computers have all come from Cyberpower the last 10 years, I won't get one from anyone else. Haven't bought any big ticket items for some time. My last 2 TV's, my 50" Plasma & the JVC 27" Flat CRT which I bought a few years before going Plasma came from Circuit City. Also got my Samsung LCD Monitor from them, I just don't trust sending stuff like TVs or Monitors through the shippers. I want to walk out of the store myself with those things. I liked CC better than Best Buy.

[lanaloo]

Kind of hard to gauge a TV's picture quality by looking at it online.

you absolutely should not look at a TV's picture quality in a store to come to any type of conclusion. that's patently the worst thing to do.

in short, they know what they're doing. they will either crank up all the settings to look bright and shiny in their well lit environs, or worse yet they've been known to fine tune the pic quality of the TVs they either intend to or need to move in short order.

you are much, much better off going online and finding a well-established vid/audiophile user community/forum and read the reviews and experiences of people there. they'll even go as far as include their fine-tuning recommendations based on lighting/room-size, etc...

in other words, take the time to educate yourself, and you will easily avoid being burned.

[florige]

I always go there for my movies and TV's. I mean where else is there to go besides HH Gregg or Walmart? I just hate how they constantly reduce and re-rrange their media section.

[Mr Know It All]

A better question for me is "How Does HH Gregg Stay in Business?"

Went to the Annapolis store once 'cause I needed a new comp monitor... They had 4 to choose from. 4! And all 4 were older and smaller than current models.

Big appliance section, though, I guess that's where the $$ is as someone said here earlier.

[Red Baron]

I stopped buying anything there over their policy of return restocking fees.

Maybe that's the reason they can still keep their heads above water.

THAT was a shocker! I was like, ***??

[Bartman]

you absolutely should not look at a TV's picture quality in a store to come to any type of conclusion. that's patently the worst thing to do.

in short, they know what they're doing. they will either crank up all the settings to look bright and shiny in their well lit environs, or worse yet they've been known to fine tune the pic quality of the TVs they either intend to or need to move in short order.

you are much, much better off going online and finding a well-established vid/audiophile user community/forum and read the reviews and experiences of people there. they'll even go as far as include their fine-tuning recommendations based on lighting/room-size, etc...

in other words, take the time to educate yourself, and you will easily avoid being burned.

You can easily find the charts on-line telling you what size screen is optimal for what size room. I carefully measured the distance from the couch to where the TV would find its home then I was off to the store. When I went shopping for my 50" plasma, I went to CC out by Golden Ring. I picked 3 sets in my price range, a Panasonic, a Samsung and a Vizio. As I recall they went from 1399 for the Vizio to 1599 for the Panasonic and 1799 for the Samsung. After watching them for a bit I walked up to each and hit the Menu buttons to see how they were set. Then I commenced to Fiddling. I played with all 3 TVs adjusting the picture on each to how I wanted it to look. I was in there over a whole hour going back and forth tweaking the colors, brightness, contrast and everything. To this day I'm surprised no one came up to me and said anything about me fooling around with the sets. The Panasonic just wouldn't get to where I wanted it, the Samsung did but it was hundreds more than the Vizio. After watching those 2 for a while longer I decided that I couldn't justify the extra expense. Finally I settled on the Vizio for the price. I'm still more than happy with it today some 5 years later.

[Evil Yoda]

I don't know. They have a limited selection, high prices, uninformed store help and garbage customer service.

Every once in awhile they'll put something on sale for a good price. Disk drives are a favorite. I might get that and leave.