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After having stepped into a Best Buy for the first time in a while, And living in walking distance from a former RadioShack, it’s not that these things are $5 c

After having stepped into a Best Buy for the first time in a while, And living in walking distance from a former RadioShack, it’s not that these things are $5 cheaper, it’s that they either just don’t exist in person or they are like 1.5x as expensive if you do find them. Couple that with the fact that I can shop online while waiting for the bus, and we’ve got an unbeatable advantage for online shopping

gknoy 9y ago
Exactly! I recently needed an HDMI cable. At Amazon, it's like $7. The ones that Best Buy/Target/etc have are around $12-$15. For surge protectors, it's been a toss-up as to whether they have something that I think I'd trust, or something that is Barely Adequate. For finding an X-to-Y (e.g. HDMI to DVI-D) cable or adapter, good luck -- they often list it and then say, "Oh that's not an in-store item". It's especially egregious with books! Every time I am in a bookstore and see something I might like, I nearly always can find it on Amazon for about 2/3 of the price (or less if I buy used). If I'm browsing fiction for something to read, but am not desperate for a particular resource, what am I paying for? I hate boxes, but it's rare that my "Must have it now" impulse outweighs the knowledge that I could get the item for much cheaper. I do hate cutting down boxes, though. =/
- acabal 9y ago
  At this point, given Amazon's increasing reputation for selling knockoffs, I would rather trust big-box stores with any purchase more than $50, or on anything more complex than a coffetable.
  - mcintyre1994 9y ago
    Do they mix knockoffs with the Amazon Basics stock? I've bought a few cables and stuff from there and they've always been pretty good, but I don't think I'd buy from any other seller there/be comfortable if I wasn't getting Amazon's stuff.
- bluedino 9y ago
  But more expensive things (say and iPad or MacBook) are the same price.
bunderbunder 9y ago
Lack of availability is the real killer for me. Walk into a Best Buy, and you'll be able to take your pick of a zillion different car chargers, and they must have something like 200 square feet devoted to cell phone cases. But all of that is stuff I'm not going to bother hauling myself all the way to Best Buy for, because Walgreens is just around the corner and has that stuff, too. Things that you'd actually go out of your way to try and find, like, say, a decent-quality tablet stylus that isn't the Apple Pencil, just aren't to be found. Even the selection of things like keyboards and mice is weirdly spotty.

gknoy 9y ago

Exactly! I recently needed an HDMI cable. At Amazon, it's like $7. The ones that Best Buy/Target/etc have are around $12-$15. For surge protectors, it's been a toss-up as to whether they have something that I think I'd trust, or something that is Barely Adequate. For finding an X-to-Y (e.g. HDMI to DVI-D) cable or adapter, good luck -- they often list it and then say, "Oh that's not an in-store item". It's especially egregious with books! Every time I am in a bookstore and see something I might like, I nearly always can find it on Amazon for about 2/3 of the price (or less if I buy used). If I'm browsing fiction for something to read, but am not desperate for a particular resource, what am I paying for? I hate boxes, but it's rare that my "Must have it now" impulse outweighs the knowledge that I could get the item for much cheaper. I do hate cutting down boxes, though. =/

acabal 9y ago
At this point, given Amazon's increasing reputation for selling knockoffs, I would rather trust big-box stores with any purchase more than $50, or on anything more complex than a coffetable.
- mcintyre1994 9y ago
  Do they mix knockoffs with the Amazon Basics stock? I've bought a few cables and stuff from there and they've always been pretty good, but I don't think I'd buy from any other seller there/be comfortable if I wasn't getting Amazon's stuff.
bluedino 9y ago
But more expensive things (say and iPad or MacBook) are the same price.

bunderbunder 9y ago

Lack of availability is the real killer for me. Walk into a Best Buy, and you'll be able to take your pick of a zillion different car chargers, and they must have something like 200 square feet devoted to cell phone cases. But all of that is stuff I'm not going to bother hauling myself all the way to Best Buy for, because Walgreens is just around the corner and has that stuff, too. Things that you'd actually go out of your way to try and find, like, say, a decent-quality tablet stylus that isn't the Apple Pencil, just aren't to be found. Even the selection of things like keyboards and mice is weirdly spotty.