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Best Buy’s Secrets for Thriving in the Amazon Age (2017)

129 points by harshulpandav 8y ago

mercwear 8y ago
They price match Amazon which is really no secret, it’s just hard to do since they have more overhead.
- giancarlostoro 8y ago
  My best guess is they hope to make up lost with items Amazon doesn't even list. I know there's some products that are owned by BestBuy, I forgot the company name for it, but some random electronics they sell.
  - r2ut3u 8y ago
    you are thinking of insignia products
    - fullshark 8y ago
      Looks like it's not just Insignia but Rocketfish, Platinum, Modal and Dynex as well. https://corporate.bestbuy.com/best-buys-private-label-business-turns-15/ https://corporate.bestbuy.com/best-buys-private-label-busine...
  - Rapzid 8y ago
    Right, Amazon does not list Best Buy's house brand 25 dollar USB-A cable. Some of that convenience stuff is so ridiculously over-priced(even compared to Walmart) and so restricted in choice(only option is the Best Buy brand) it must be integral to their business strategy.
max76 8y ago
I recently wanted a very specific model of TV, and after 15 minutes of price checking I found the it was noticeably cheaper (about 10%) at best buy than anywhere else. Picking it up was a breeze. I'd suggest price checking at best buy. A few months later I bought a second TV and it was best priced at frys. It's funny how these things go.
- giancarlostoro 8y ago
  BestBuy used to price match physical stores originally. I was surprised when I had bought my Surface Book 2 from BestBuy and without saying anything they offered to price match it with Amazon.
finaliteration 8y ago
I worked retail for over 5 years before starting my tech career and I’ve been a big advocate for Best Buy over the last couple of years as I’ve watched their in-store experience improve. At my local store the service is always awesome, they accept returns without a hassle, and I can order stuff online and they usually have it ready in less than hour. Their staff once spent over two hours with me resolving an issue and not once were they jerks about it. I’ve been considering dumping my Prime account and one of the reasons I’d feel confident doing so has been my good experiences with Best Buy as of late.
- Pxtl 8y ago
  That's good to hear. I stopped going to best buy when every question I had for staff was answered by the staffer reading the card on the shelf. I go to a meat-space store when I don't know what I want and I need knowledgeable salesmen to help me. The BB in my neighborhood never ever had that, so I stopped shopping there.
  - lotsofpulp 8y ago
    People don’t want to or are unable to pay for a knowledgeable salesperson, hence why they do not exist for simple things such as consumer electronics.
    - Pxtl 8y ago
      Depends on the product. Look at home Depot / Lowe's / Rona where it's absolutely expected that there will be staff with contracting experience who have advice on what products to buy and how to use them.
      - lotsofpulp 8y ago
        I do not expect to find experienced professionals working a $15/hour job at Lowe’s or Home Depot. There might be some who are out of the game due to injury or age, but not as a norm.
CaliforniaKarl 8y ago
I'm on my third year of owning two Tiles: One pre-2018 Mate and one Slim. As usual, it came time to replace them, and Tile's reTile program doesn't offer a one-mate-plus-one-slim option (the closest is a two-plus-two). So, I got one through reTile, and the other by heading over to Best Buy. I didn't even consider buying it on Amazon. Another time, I needed a 3.5mm headphone to Bluetooth transmitter for my Nintendo Switch. I checked Fry's, Central Computer, and Best Buy; Best Buy had it, so I got it from there. In both cases, the choice was partially convenience, and partially not wanting another box (or padded envelope) being used up.
- mandeepj 8y ago
  > partially not wanting another box (or padded envelope) being used up So, did you drive there? That's also an environmental impact. Just saying.
  - CaliforniaKarl 8y ago
    Nope, I took the bus there & back.
  - finaliteration 8y ago
    When ordering from Amazon extra packaging is used AND fuel is used to ship it. Seems like driving and not using the extra box would have a lesser impact. Or at least in my car because the store is about 5 miles away by freeway and I drive a small, fuel-efficient vehicle.
  - Someone1234 8y ago
    Because Amazon don't drive the package..? Or fly it in a lot of cases? In fact Amazon has recently been moving away from USPS to "Amazon Logistics" which means even less package co-mingling/less environmental efficiency.
    - soihrbfsodihbv 8y ago
      They send many packages on the same vehicle, and do a shortest-path route. So the marginal impact of each package is minimal compared to making a dedicated trip to Best Buy.
randomacct3847 8y ago
In my experience, no other category is so heavily gamed by shady marketplace sellers on Amazon than electronics. Search for wireless headphones on both Amazon and Best Buy and it’s night and day what you see returned. I’m bullish on Best Buy simply because it’s not a free-for-all of cheap foreign knockoffs. Retail of yesteryear might stand a chance because employing buyers who actually curate merchandise to be sold will become a value add again.
- Someone1234 8y ago
  That's why I like B&H Photo now too. All genuine products, sold by them, with real reviews. Their shipping is a little slower and they close Friday/Saturday which is frustrating but overall a good experience. They even do price guarantee if you contact CS which Amazon discontinued.
  - lscotte 8y ago
    B&H is great, agreed. They are an extremely honest company, so taking a few days longer is worth it in my opinion - you are going to get exactly what you ordered in my experience. On Amazon, that's only guaranteed if Amazon is the seller (not to be confused with "fulfilled by Amazon", of course). B&H is also closed on all Jewish holidays.
    - qaq 8y ago
      "only guaranteed if Amazon is the seller" nope it's not they mix inventory.
    - FiveSquared 8y ago
      But they are hella racists and discriminating. https://www-m.cnn.com/2016/02/29/us/bh-photo-lawsuit/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fduckduckgo.com%2F https://www-m.cnn.com/2016/02/29/us/bh-photo-lawsuit/index.h...
      - Pristina 8y ago
        I see you are a disciple of the guilty-before-proven-innocent principle.
jibanes 8y ago
I wonder who buys dvd/bluray anymore... after netflix.
- drivers99 8y ago
  Me. For example, I’m currently legally rewatching Game of Thrones before the new season comes out even though I don’t currently have an HBO subscription. It is a durable copy that doesn’t buffer, is high quality, isn’t modified after the fact (such as when they removed the George W. Bush prop head-on-spike). For a one time price, I own it for life. I can and have lent it out to others. When I watch it, my analytics aren’t tracked, and there are no promos for other shows at the beginning.
  - dorkusmagnus 8y ago
    You sound fun at parties.
  - jonknee 8y ago
    > When I watch it, my analytics aren’t tracked Unless you watch it on a smart TV. It's a shame you can't get the features of a modern TV without content tracking.
    - dstaley 8y ago
      I mean, just turn off the internet on your TV. Most TVs have terrible built-in software anyway. My TV isn't connected to the internet, so it can't track what I'm watching.
      - drivers99 8y ago
        I forgot to mention that my Blu-Ray player also has an Ethernet port and a bunch of "apps" available, and probably has the ability to report back on Blu-Rays viewed, but I don't use it for that reason (and I have better devices for apps, such as Roku.)
- erichocean 8y ago
t0mbstone 8y ago
If Best Buy ever closes, I will be very sad. It's one of the last standing bastions where I can go see electronics in person, purchase them, and then return them for an immediate refund (if something is wrong). The fact that they price match Amazon is key. I will pretty much always buy at Best Buy if I can, because I can get the item on the same day, for the same price as Amazon, and still get all of the conveniences offered by a retail store.
Overtonwindow 8y ago
The secret to Best Buy is that you can play with things. Unfortunately I think they have kind of dropped the ball on this one. When I visit Best Buy, I often see empty product spaces, demo products that do not work, wires just dangling from a hole. This is not the Best Buy of my childhood where you went and could get your hands on things, really get to play around and know what you’re buying. I would never buy a 52 inch LED TV off of Amazon, but I would definitely buy it at Best Buy because I can actually see it. The secret to Best Buy is that you can play with things. When I visit Best Buy, I often see empty product spaces, demo products that do not work, wires just dangling from a hole. This is not the best spy of my childhood where you went and could get your hands on things, really get to play around and know what you’re buying. I would never buy a 52 inch LED TV off of Amazon, but I would definitely buy it at Best Buy because I can actually see it. They will even put your favorite DVD or Blu-ray if you bring it
- tracker1 8y ago
  It could be more of an issue with your location(s) manager... though I only really go to BB a couple times a year. Usually monitor or TV, or because I want something that day.
  - Overtonwindow 8y ago
    I go all the time, all over Northern Virginia. It’s not just one store or one city. Frustrating to say the least because I know Best Buy can be a great store.
general8bitso 8y ago
Not a fan. Used to work there during college. If we didn’t sell enough PSPs (extended warranties), we were not allowed to leave at our scheduled time. Also, we moved all the laptop inventory to the back of the store, so if a customer wanted to buy a laptop that was in stock, but did not want to purchase an extended warranty, we were instructed to lie to the customer and say it was out-of-stock. Also, the whole incentivized FBI Geek Squad informant deal was a bit immoral, too, IMHO.
- mikeash 8y ago
  Was it actually better for Best Buy to lose a sale than to sell a laptop without an extended warranty, or was that just a case of bad incentives making the rank-and-file do things that hurt the company?
  - bluedino 8y ago
    A lot of hardware was sold near cost. The accessories and service plans are where the margins are. The “team meetings” before and after every shift showed you the numbers from the previous day and your goals for the current day. If your department didn’t hit their numbers, you’d get your hours cut or manager would get canned. Promotions went by how well you could sell, but you weren’t on commission. They pushed for us to sell 2 black and two color ink cartridges with ink jet printers. Plus two packs of photo paper and two packs of regular paper.
  - learc83 8y ago
    Bad incentives. Some items were low margin, but almost nothing was so low that it was actually worth losing the sale. One of the things you were ranked on was PSP (extended warranty, but they beat it into your head never to call it that) attachment percentage. When a measure becomes a target... Occasionally there was a loss leader sale item, and in those cases if someone wanted to by it without any attachments, it might have made short term financial sense to pretend we didn't have it, but I don't think the company could get away with that on a large scale. Source: I also worked there during college. First in customer service, then as a Geek Squad supervisor at a new store, and I was sent to training at HQ up in Minnesota.
jryan49 8y ago
I actually started going back to Best Buy for the first time in 10 years probably. I was pleasantly surprised at the prices. What is even better was I was allowed to test the mouse, TV, and headphones I wanted to buy!
whoopdedo 8y ago
The article says Best Buy didn't have to layoff employees. But why would they ever? Retail has a high turnover rate already. All they had to do was not hire replacements when people left on their own. Or hire a part-time worker when a full-timer quits. Is there any national retailer other than Walmart that has not been forced to reduce their labor budget as a response to Amazon? None that I've looked into.
- nfriedly 8y ago
  Maybe Costco, I hear they've been doing well.
  - robohoe 8y ago
    Any Costco in my area is packed to the brim Fri-Sun to the point that you have to drive around looking for spots. It isn’t empty Mon-Thurs either.
- novia 8y ago
  Barnes & Noble http://audreyii-fic.tumblr.com/post/170886347853/the-entirely-unnecessary-demise-of-barnes-noble http://audreyii-fic.tumblr.com/post/170886347853/the-entirel...
sys_64738 8y ago
We buy all our appliances from Best Buy so I'd hate to lose them like we lost Circuit City. CC's decision to ditch appliances was their downfall, IMO. As for buying electronics from BB, it's a checkered history for me. I've bought a MacBook Air cheaply there and our current LCD TV was 300$ there. When I last bought a PC laptop there 12 years ago trying to get out of the shop without extended warranty was a nightmare. I eventually 'won' by saying it was a gift and the new owner will run Linux (to escape the Geek Squad tax). Altogether, BB is not a happy place to buy a Windows laptop although things may have changed but I doubt it.
- ams6110 8y ago
  I've never had any issue at my local Best Buy just saying "no thanks" to the extended warranty stuff. Though I really only shop there about once every year or two.
throwawaymjabba 8y ago
BestBuy's shipping was far better than Amazon's in my experience. BestBuy always used to offer 2 day shipping for me and sometimes even deliver in a day for the same price as Amazon. In the case of Amazon, from 2012 to 2014, they used to ship fast. I place an order, it get shipped within 24 hours and I would get it in 2-3 days. But something changed in 2014. I noticed that my order would stay in 'preparing for shipment' for upto 5 days before they actually ship it. I assumed either that was Amazon's way of pressuring me to get Prime or their algorithms labelled me a low value customer. After 2 bad customer experiences and loss of trust due to the risk of getting fake products, I moved onto other retailers. I once bought a laptop from BestBuy. It was over $2k. I came home, unpacked it and to my horror, there was a scratch. I immediately went back and BestBuy gave me a new one. In the case of Amazon, I ordered a furniture. They shipped the wrong color. Since I didn't want to deal with the hazzle of returning, I asked Amazon to give me the price difference (the color I got was cheaper than what I ordered). No. The only option Amazon gave me was return it and order again. Had to wait for another 10 days to get my color. I came back to India and ordered a surge protector from Amazon. The item I got was not only poorly packaged, it looked like Amazon just shipped me something that someone else returned. It still had a previous shipping label (though I couldn't read it), was very badly packed with cello tape, and the plastic body had somehow got the green color from the Belkins packing. Thankfully, Amazon refunded me and I found it cheaper in a local store.
Hippocrates 8y ago
Lately I prefer to shop at Best Buy over amazon. I have a couple nearby, so picking something up at the store is more amenable to impulse and instant gratification. It’s also fun to take a lap around a play with some stuff. Besides that, the prices are competitive, not that it matters because they price match. Sometimes you can score a deal on open box items, which are conveniently listed on their site. Returning something to BB has been painless. I recently returned a monitor without the box for a full refund. I’d at least have had to find a box, pack, and ship that at my own expense w/ amazon which is a huge hassle. Prime’s 2 day shipping on nearly anything is great but more than a few times I’ve had things lost in the mail. Amazon waits 3-5 days PAST the delivery date to consider it lost while you wait in limbo, and then you have to restart the order. It’s really frustrating if you need the thing quickly and it ends up taking more than double what it should to arrive. IME Amazon is not generous in compensating for these inconveniences.
- tracker1 8y ago
  Monitors/TVs are something I've had so much bad experience with, I pretty much always buy at a physical store over mail order of any kind. Also, Prime's 2 day shipping doesn't mean nearly as much when a lot of products don't ship for 2-3 days after you order a lot of times now. I'm not sure if it's just gaming the system, but seems to be the case a lot these days. Not to mention co-mingling inventory makes me feel less certain on whole classes of items.
  - jstarfish 8y ago
    They're definitely doing all sorts of nonsense to game the system. My latest gripe is in how they'll change or merge listings after an item ships so when what you order isn't what you get, it makes it look like you ordered the wrong thing in the first place. The order confirmation they email to you forces you to click through to the site instead of giving you a static copy of your invoice so you have no proof to contest it either.
balls187 8y ago
BestBuy is a step down from frys, which is itself a depressing experience. Poor inventory, mislabeled items, disinterested staff. I happily shop with New Egg simply because of they stood up to patent trolls: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/07/newegg-fought-its-way-through-two-appeals-to-win-fees-from-this-patent-holder/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/07/newegg-fought-it...
- dawnerd 8y ago
  100% no way Frys is better than Best Buy. All Frys is now is as-seen-on-tv junk and no name knockoffs like you get on Amazon. Frys might have some older or more obscure items, but that's not enough to make them a better store. As for Newegg, I really want to like them but they have a habit of cancelling my orders because they think it's fraudulent. I just opt to order elsewhere and not waste time calling in to try to prove it's legit.
- snarfy 8y ago
  And then they were sold to a Chinese company, Liaison Interactive. I used to swear by them also, but had to stop after needing to return DOA electronics, which they wouldn't.
- atombender 8y ago
  Indeed, I'd like an Amazon competitor focusing on high quality and great service as much as anyone, but going into a Best Buy is depressing. The staff act like robots. Their responses and behaviour both when you ask for help and when you go to checkout seem scripted, while at the same time they give off a tired air of mildly annoyed indifference. A lot of US chains are like this, really. Everyone just seems so downtrodden, even surly or hostile. I'm sure the staff is paid little and not treated that great, but still, I've never encountered this in Europe, where I'm from, and I can't imagine that conditions are much better there, so it might be a cultural thing.
  - balls187 8y ago
    If you're looking for A/V and Car Audio, I highly recommend Crutchfield. They're amazing.
jhallenworld 8y ago
I've had no success with Best Buy recently. They never have quite what I want. Here are some recent examples: An HD capable portable radio. (ended up buying Sangean HDR-16 from Amazon) A keyboard synthesizer (I know they carried these in the past). I upgraded three car stereos and they didn't have anything I wanted in stock. (Ended up buying one from Amazon and two from Crutchfield). An unlocked Samsung cell phone. They did not have the lower cost "J" ones (this was a year ago- even now on their website I see that only a few stores display them). I think we ended up buying from Microcenter- we are very lucky to live near one.
- ilovetux 8y ago
  I love Microcenter! I'm about a 2 and a half hour drive from one and make my way up there probably 2-3 times a year carpooling with some colleagues and friends. I don't know if all locations are the same, but the inventory at the one I go to is more akin to a trade show than a Best Buy.
Sylamore 8y ago
Sometimes you want to actually check something out before you buy it and that's the value that a Best Buy can provide that Amazon can't. Recently I am needing to replace my failing 15 year old color laser printer and I've been trying to find a local store that has them models I'm researching in stock (want to print Tabloid for woodworking drawings - so not a large number of stocked options). Both Staples and Office Depot had the printers, but none of them had ink in them and the store managers refused to install ink. This was frustrating because I wasted easily 2 hours between both stores waiting for the manager to even be available. Best Buy had only 1 printer model but it had ink cartridges installed at least, but had no paper. A store associate helped fix that, but apparently the printer wasn't printing with black despite showing it had black ink. The associate kept wanting to demonstrate the printer not by printing a nice mixed content page but by copying a sales tag. Needless to say I haven't been able to get print samples from any local retail establishment and I'd pay (reasonably) more than Amazon prices to get an good idea of the output quality before buying plus the instant gratification of being able to take a new printer home immediately. Hell since it's an ink jet I'd probably even buy the PSP/Extended Warranty without a fight. All of these retail business are blowing their primary advantage by not having well working demo units available. I may still end up buying from Best Buy or Staples but only because I can return to the store instead of having to ship back and pay for that return shipping like with Amazon.
- ndnxhs 8y ago
  The printers are probably such low margin items that its worth losing your sale so they don't have to spend the time setting it up. Most people don't care what the quality is as long as its not terrible so they will still sell a lot. If you were buying 100 business printers I bet they would be happy to give you a demo.
  - Sylamore 8y ago
    This is probably true, especially the newer models with ink tanks that come ready to print 700+ pages out of the box as those won't move as much ink for the stores. I know at least Staples uses ink attack rate as a metric for employees.
sbr464 8y ago
I used to be concerned about Best Buy, until I realized they price match amazon, now I just go there if I need (want) something same day.
johan_larson 8y ago
Bloomberg covered this phenomenon back in 2018. The article generated 446 comments on HN. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17566164 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17566164
deaps 8y ago
I've always preferred Best Buy to Amazon for electronics (and I definitely do my fair share of Amazon purchasing). Recently, I bought my MacBook there. I also purchased a gaming headset from there. I think the main thing is - what if I get my headset out of the box and one ear has no sound - easy fix with Best Buy. Same with the MacBook. In fact - I actually ended up returning my original MacBook to Best Buy within 14 days of purchasing it to get a slightly upgraded model - no questions asked, nothing lost but about an hour of time. As other posters have mentioned, there's also the 'knock-off' chance on Amazon as well (or at least me, the general, uninformed consumer thinks that there is). I can't be certain that even Apple-branded products from Amazon are actually Apple products. But at Best Buy, my assumption is they are legit Apple products.

129 points by harshulpandav 8y ago

mercwear 8y ago

They price match Amazon which is really no secret, it’s just hard to do since they have more overhead.

giancarlostoro 8y ago
My best guess is they hope to make up lost with items Amazon doesn't even list. I know there's some products that are owned by BestBuy, I forgot the company name for it, but some random electronics they sell.
- r2ut3u 8y ago
  you are thinking of insignia products
  - fullshark 8y ago
    Looks like it's not just Insignia but Rocketfish, Platinum, Modal and Dynex as well. https://corporate.bestbuy.com/best-buys-private-label-business-turns-15/ https://corporate.bestbuy.com/best-buys-private-label-busine...
- Rapzid 8y ago
  Right, Amazon does not list Best Buy's house brand 25 dollar USB-A cable. Some of that convenience stuff is so ridiculously over-priced(even compared to Walmart) and so restricted in choice(only option is the Best Buy brand) it must be integral to their business strategy.

max76 8y ago

I recently wanted a very specific model of TV, and after 15 minutes of price checking I found the it was noticeably cheaper (about 10%) at best buy than anywhere else. Picking it up was a breeze. I'd suggest price checking at best buy. A few months later I bought a second TV and it was best priced at frys. It's funny how these things go.

giancarlostoro 8y ago
BestBuy used to price match physical stores originally. I was surprised when I had bought my Surface Book 2 from BestBuy and without saying anything they offered to price match it with Amazon.

finaliteration 8y ago

I worked retail for over 5 years before starting my tech career and I’ve been a big advocate for Best Buy over the last couple of years as I’ve watched their in-store experience improve. At my local store the service is always awesome, they accept returns without a hassle, and I can order stuff online and they usually have it ready in less than hour. Their staff once spent over two hours with me resolving an issue and not once were they jerks about it. I’ve been considering dumping my Prime account and one of the reasons I’d feel confident doing so has been my good experiences with Best Buy as of late.

Pxtl 8y ago
That's good to hear. I stopped going to best buy when every question I had for staff was answered by the staffer reading the card on the shelf. I go to a meat-space store when I don't know what I want and I need knowledgeable salesmen to help me. The BB in my neighborhood never ever had that, so I stopped shopping there.
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  People don’t want to or are unable to pay for a knowledgeable salesperson, hence why they do not exist for simple things such as consumer electronics.
  - Pxtl 8y ago
    Depends on the product. Look at home Depot / Lowe's / Rona where it's absolutely expected that there will be staff with contracting experience who have advice on what products to buy and how to use them.
    - lotsofpulp 8y ago
      I do not expect to find experienced professionals working a $15/hour job at Lowe’s or Home Depot. There might be some who are out of the game due to injury or age, but not as a norm.

CaliforniaKarl 8y ago

I'm on my third year of owning two Tiles: One pre-2018 Mate and one Slim. As usual, it came time to replace them, and Tile's reTile program doesn't offer a one-mate-plus-one-slim option (the closest is a two-plus-two). So, I got one through reTile, and the other by heading over to Best Buy. I didn't even consider buying it on Amazon. Another time, I needed a 3.5mm headphone to Bluetooth transmitter for my Nintendo Switch. I checked Fry's, Central Computer, and Best Buy; Best Buy had it, so I got it from there. In both cases, the choice was partially convenience, and partially not wanting another box (or padded envelope) being used up.

mandeepj 8y ago
> partially not wanting another box (or padded envelope) being used up So, did you drive there? That's also an environmental impact. Just saying.
- CaliforniaKarl 8y ago
  Nope, I took the bus there & back.
- finaliteration 8y ago
  When ordering from Amazon extra packaging is used AND fuel is used to ship it. Seems like driving and not using the extra box would have a lesser impact. Or at least in my car because the store is about 5 miles away by freeway and I drive a small, fuel-efficient vehicle.
- Someone1234 8y ago
  Because Amazon don't drive the package..? Or fly it in a lot of cases? In fact Amazon has recently been moving away from USPS to "Amazon Logistics" which means even less package co-mingling/less environmental efficiency.
  - soihrbfsodihbv 8y ago
    They send many packages on the same vehicle, and do a shortest-path route. So the marginal impact of each package is minimal compared to making a dedicated trip to Best Buy.

randomacct3847 8y ago

In my experience, no other category is so heavily gamed by shady marketplace sellers on Amazon than electronics. Search for wireless headphones on both Amazon and Best Buy and it’s night and day what you see returned. I’m bullish on Best Buy simply because it’s not a free-for-all of cheap foreign knockoffs. Retail of yesteryear might stand a chance because employing buyers who actually curate merchandise to be sold will become a value add again.

Someone1234 8y ago
That's why I like B&H Photo now too. All genuine products, sold by them, with real reviews. Their shipping is a little slower and they close Friday/Saturday which is frustrating but overall a good experience. They even do price guarantee if you contact CS which Amazon discontinued.
- lscotte 8y ago
  B&H is great, agreed. They are an extremely honest company, so taking a few days longer is worth it in my opinion - you are going to get exactly what you ordered in my experience. On Amazon, that's only guaranteed if Amazon is the seller (not to be confused with "fulfilled by Amazon", of course). B&H is also closed on all Jewish holidays.
  - qaq 8y ago
    "only guaranteed if Amazon is the seller" nope it's not they mix inventory.
  - FiveSquared 8y ago
    But they are hella racists and discriminating. https://www-m.cnn.com/2016/02/29/us/bh-photo-lawsuit/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fduckduckgo.com%2F https://www-m.cnn.com/2016/02/29/us/bh-photo-lawsuit/index.h...
    - Pristina 8y ago
      I see you are a disciple of the guilty-before-proven-innocent principle.

jibanes 8y ago

I wonder who buys dvd/bluray anymore... after netflix.

drivers99 8y ago
Me. For example, I’m currently legally rewatching Game of Thrones before the new season comes out even though I don’t currently have an HBO subscription. It is a durable copy that doesn’t buffer, is high quality, isn’t modified after the fact (such as when they removed the George W. Bush prop head-on-spike). For a one time price, I own it for life. I can and have lent it out to others. When I watch it, my analytics aren’t tracked, and there are no promos for other shows at the beginning.
- dorkusmagnus 8y ago
  You sound fun at parties.
- jonknee 8y ago
  > When I watch it, my analytics aren’t tracked Unless you watch it on a smart TV. It's a shame you can't get the features of a modern TV without content tracking.
  - dstaley 8y ago
    I mean, just turn off the internet on your TV. Most TVs have terrible built-in software anyway. My TV isn't connected to the internet, so it can't track what I'm watching.
    - drivers99 8y ago
      I forgot to mention that my Blu-Ray player also has an Ethernet port and a bunch of "apps" available, and probably has the ability to report back on Blu-Rays viewed, but I don't use it for that reason (and I have better devices for apps, such as Roku.)
erichocean 8y ago

t0mbstone 8y ago

If Best Buy ever closes, I will be very sad. It's one of the last standing bastions where I can go see electronics in person, purchase them, and then return them for an immediate refund (if something is wrong). The fact that they price match Amazon is key. I will pretty much always buy at Best Buy if I can, because I can get the item on the same day, for the same price as Amazon, and still get all of the conveniences offered by a retail store.

Overtonwindow 8y ago

The secret to Best Buy is that you can play with things. Unfortunately I think they have kind of dropped the ball on this one. When I visit Best Buy, I often see empty product spaces, demo products that do not work, wires just dangling from a hole. This is not the Best Buy of my childhood where you went and could get your hands on things, really get to play around and know what you’re buying. I would never buy a 52 inch LED TV off of Amazon, but I would definitely buy it at Best Buy because I can actually see it. The secret to Best Buy is that you can play with things. When I visit Best Buy, I often see empty product spaces, demo products that do not work, wires just dangling from a hole. This is not the best spy of my childhood where you went and could get your hands on things, really get to play around and know what you’re buying. I would never buy a 52 inch LED TV off of Amazon, but I would definitely buy it at Best Buy because I can actually see it. They will even put your favorite DVD or Blu-ray if you bring it

tracker1 8y ago
It could be more of an issue with your location(s) manager... though I only really go to BB a couple times a year. Usually monitor or TV, or because I want something that day.
- Overtonwindow 8y ago
  I go all the time, all over Northern Virginia. It’s not just one store or one city. Frustrating to say the least because I know Best Buy can be a great store.

general8bitso 8y ago

Not a fan. Used to work there during college. If we didn’t sell enough PSPs (extended warranties), we were not allowed to leave at our scheduled time. Also, we moved all the laptop inventory to the back of the store, so if a customer wanted to buy a laptop that was in stock, but did not want to purchase an extended warranty, we were instructed to lie to the customer and say it was out-of-stock. Also, the whole incentivized FBI Geek Squad informant deal was a bit immoral, too, IMHO.

mikeash 8y ago
Was it actually better for Best Buy to lose a sale than to sell a laptop without an extended warranty, or was that just a case of bad incentives making the rank-and-file do things that hurt the company?
- bluedino 8y ago
  A lot of hardware was sold near cost. The accessories and service plans are where the margins are. The “team meetings” before and after every shift showed you the numbers from the previous day and your goals for the current day. If your department didn’t hit their numbers, you’d get your hours cut or manager would get canned. Promotions went by how well you could sell, but you weren’t on commission. They pushed for us to sell 2 black and two color ink cartridges with ink jet printers. Plus two packs of photo paper and two packs of regular paper.
- learc83 8y ago
  Bad incentives. Some items were low margin, but almost nothing was so low that it was actually worth losing the sale. One of the things you were ranked on was PSP (extended warranty, but they beat it into your head never to call it that) attachment percentage. When a measure becomes a target... Occasionally there was a loss leader sale item, and in those cases if someone wanted to by it without any attachments, it might have made short term financial sense to pretend we didn't have it, but I don't think the company could get away with that on a large scale. Source: I also worked there during college. First in customer service, then as a Geek Squad supervisor at a new store, and I was sent to training at HQ up in Minnesota.

jryan49 8y ago

I actually started going back to Best Buy for the first time in 10 years probably. I was pleasantly surprised at the prices. What is even better was I was allowed to test the mouse, TV, and headphones I wanted to buy!

whoopdedo 8y ago

The article says Best Buy didn't have to layoff employees. But why would they ever? Retail has a high turnover rate already. All they had to do was not hire replacements when people left on their own. Or hire a part-time worker when a full-timer quits. Is there any national retailer other than Walmart that has not been forced to reduce their labor budget as a response to Amazon? None that I've looked into.

nfriedly 8y ago
Maybe Costco, I hear they've been doing well.
- robohoe 8y ago
  Any Costco in my area is packed to the brim Fri-Sun to the point that you have to drive around looking for spots. It isn’t empty Mon-Thurs either.
novia 8y ago
Barnes & Noble http://audreyii-fic.tumblr.com/post/170886347853/the-entirely-unnecessary-demise-of-barnes-noble http://audreyii-fic.tumblr.com/post/170886347853/the-entirel...

sys_64738 8y ago

We buy all our appliances from Best Buy so I'd hate to lose them like we lost Circuit City. CC's decision to ditch appliances was their downfall, IMO. As for buying electronics from BB, it's a checkered history for me. I've bought a MacBook Air cheaply there and our current LCD TV was 300$ there. When I last bought a PC laptop there 12 years ago trying to get out of the shop without extended warranty was a nightmare. I eventually 'won' by saying it was a gift and the new owner will run Linux (to escape the Geek Squad tax). Altogether, BB is not a happy place to buy a Windows laptop although things may have changed but I doubt it.

ams6110 8y ago
I've never had any issue at my local Best Buy just saying "no thanks" to the extended warranty stuff. Though I really only shop there about once every year or two.

throwawaymjabba 8y ago

BestBuy's shipping was far better than Amazon's in my experience. BestBuy always used to offer 2 day shipping for me and sometimes even deliver in a day for the same price as Amazon. In the case of Amazon, from 2012 to 2014, they used to ship fast. I place an order, it get shipped within 24 hours and I would get it in 2-3 days. But something changed in 2014. I noticed that my order would stay in 'preparing for shipment' for upto 5 days before they actually ship it. I assumed either that was Amazon's way of pressuring me to get Prime or their algorithms labelled me a low value customer. After 2 bad customer experiences and loss of trust due to the risk of getting fake products, I moved onto other retailers. I once bought a laptop from BestBuy. It was over $2k. I came home, unpacked it and to my horror, there was a scratch. I immediately went back and BestBuy gave me a new one. In the case of Amazon, I ordered a furniture. They shipped the wrong color. Since I didn't want to deal with the hazzle of returning, I asked Amazon to give me the price difference (the color I got was cheaper than what I ordered). No. The only option Amazon gave me was return it and order again. Had to wait for another 10 days to get my color. I came back to India and ordered a surge protector from Amazon. The item I got was not only poorly packaged, it looked like Amazon just shipped me something that someone else returned. It still had a previous shipping label (though I couldn't read it), was very badly packed with cello tape, and the plastic body had somehow got the green color from the Belkins packing. Thankfully, Amazon refunded me and I found it cheaper in a local store.

Hippocrates 8y ago

Lately I prefer to shop at Best Buy over amazon. I have a couple nearby, so picking something up at the store is more amenable to impulse and instant gratification. It’s also fun to take a lap around a play with some stuff. Besides that, the prices are competitive, not that it matters because they price match. Sometimes you can score a deal on open box items, which are conveniently listed on their site. Returning something to BB has been painless. I recently returned a monitor without the box for a full refund. I’d at least have had to find a box, pack, and ship that at my own expense w/ amazon which is a huge hassle. Prime’s 2 day shipping on nearly anything is great but more than a few times I’ve had things lost in the mail. Amazon waits 3-5 days PAST the delivery date to consider it lost while you wait in limbo, and then you have to restart the order. It’s really frustrating if you need the thing quickly and it ends up taking more than double what it should to arrive. IME Amazon is not generous in compensating for these inconveniences.

tracker1 8y ago
Monitors/TVs are something I've had so much bad experience with, I pretty much always buy at a physical store over mail order of any kind. Also, Prime's 2 day shipping doesn't mean nearly as much when a lot of products don't ship for 2-3 days after you order a lot of times now. I'm not sure if it's just gaming the system, but seems to be the case a lot these days. Not to mention co-mingling inventory makes me feel less certain on whole classes of items.
- jstarfish 8y ago
  They're definitely doing all sorts of nonsense to game the system. My latest gripe is in how they'll change or merge listings after an item ships so when what you order isn't what you get, it makes it look like you ordered the wrong thing in the first place. The order confirmation they email to you forces you to click through to the site instead of giving you a static copy of your invoice so you have no proof to contest it either.

balls187 8y ago

BestBuy is a step down from frys, which is itself a depressing experience. Poor inventory, mislabeled items, disinterested staff. I happily shop with New Egg simply because of they stood up to patent trolls: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/07/newegg-fought-its-way-through-two-appeals-to-win-fees-from-this-patent-holder/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/07/newegg-fought-it...

dawnerd 8y ago
100% no way Frys is better than Best Buy. All Frys is now is as-seen-on-tv junk and no name knockoffs like you get on Amazon. Frys might have some older or more obscure items, but that's not enough to make them a better store. As for Newegg, I really want to like them but they have a habit of cancelling my orders because they think it's fraudulent. I just opt to order elsewhere and not waste time calling in to try to prove it's legit.
snarfy 8y ago
And then they were sold to a Chinese company, Liaison Interactive. I used to swear by them also, but had to stop after needing to return DOA electronics, which they wouldn't.
atombender 8y ago
Indeed, I'd like an Amazon competitor focusing on high quality and great service as much as anyone, but going into a Best Buy is depressing. The staff act like robots. Their responses and behaviour both when you ask for help and when you go to checkout seem scripted, while at the same time they give off a tired air of mildly annoyed indifference. A lot of US chains are like this, really. Everyone just seems so downtrodden, even surly or hostile. I'm sure the staff is paid little and not treated that great, but still, I've never encountered this in Europe, where I'm from, and I can't imagine that conditions are much better there, so it might be a cultural thing.
- balls187 8y ago
  If you're looking for A/V and Car Audio, I highly recommend Crutchfield. They're amazing.

jhallenworld 8y ago

I've had no success with Best Buy recently. They never have quite what I want. Here are some recent examples: An HD capable portable radio. (ended up buying Sangean HDR-16 from Amazon) A keyboard synthesizer (I know they carried these in the past). I upgraded three car stereos and they didn't have anything I wanted in stock. (Ended up buying one from Amazon and two from Crutchfield). An unlocked Samsung cell phone. They did not have the lower cost "J" ones (this was a year ago- even now on their website I see that only a few stores display them). I think we ended up buying from Microcenter- we are very lucky to live near one.

ilovetux 8y ago
I love Microcenter! I'm about a 2 and a half hour drive from one and make my way up there probably 2-3 times a year carpooling with some colleagues and friends. I don't know if all locations are the same, but the inventory at the one I go to is more akin to a trade show than a Best Buy.

Sylamore 8y ago

Sometimes you want to actually check something out before you buy it and that's the value that a Best Buy can provide that Amazon can't. Recently I am needing to replace my failing 15 year old color laser printer and I've been trying to find a local store that has them models I'm researching in stock (want to print Tabloid for woodworking drawings - so not a large number of stocked options). Both Staples and Office Depot had the printers, but none of them had ink in them and the store managers refused to install ink. This was frustrating because I wasted easily 2 hours between both stores waiting for the manager to even be available. Best Buy had only 1 printer model but it had ink cartridges installed at least, but had no paper. A store associate helped fix that, but apparently the printer wasn't printing with black despite showing it had black ink. The associate kept wanting to demonstrate the printer not by printing a nice mixed content page but by copying a sales tag. Needless to say I haven't been able to get print samples from any local retail establishment and I'd pay (reasonably) more than Amazon prices to get an good idea of the output quality before buying plus the instant gratification of being able to take a new printer home immediately. Hell since it's an ink jet I'd probably even buy the PSP/Extended Warranty without a fight. All of these retail business are blowing their primary advantage by not having well working demo units available. I may still end up buying from Best Buy or Staples but only because I can return to the store instead of having to ship back and pay for that return shipping like with Amazon.

ndnxhs 8y ago
The printers are probably such low margin items that its worth losing your sale so they don't have to spend the time setting it up. Most people don't care what the quality is as long as its not terrible so they will still sell a lot. If you were buying 100 business printers I bet they would be happy to give you a demo.
- Sylamore 8y ago
  This is probably true, especially the newer models with ink tanks that come ready to print 700+ pages out of the box as those won't move as much ink for the stores. I know at least Staples uses ink attack rate as a metric for employees.

sbr464 8y ago

I used to be concerned about Best Buy, until I realized they price match amazon, now I just go there if I need (want) something same day.

johan_larson 8y ago

Bloomberg covered this phenomenon back in 2018. The article generated 446 comments on HN. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17566164 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17566164

deaps 8y ago

I've always preferred Best Buy to Amazon for electronics (and I definitely do my fair share of Amazon purchasing). Recently, I bought my MacBook there. I also purchased a gaming headset from there. I think the main thing is - what if I get my headset out of the box and one ear has no sound - easy fix with Best Buy. Same with the MacBook. In fact - I actually ended up returning my original MacBook to Best Buy within 14 days of purchasing it to get a slightly upgraded model - no questions asked, nothing lost but about an hour of time. As other posters have mentioned, there's also the 'knock-off' chance on Amazon as well (or at least me, the general, uninformed consumer thinks that there is). I can't be certain that even Apple-branded products from Amazon are actually Apple products. But at Best Buy, my assumption is they are legit Apple products.