> replacing the price labels with 7 segments LEDs I recently went into a local Best Buy location after not having stepped inside one in about 10 years... ...a

> replacing the price labels with 7 segments LEDs I recently went into a local Best Buy location after not having stepped inside one in about 10 years... ...aside from being impressed at how low the price was for a Samsung 85" QLED 4K television (about $3k USD - dirt cheap IMHO) - I was more intrigued by the price labels on the racks and such. It was something I only noticed after being there for 30 minutes or so, which either shows my age, lack of awareness, or something like that - or it shows just how things now blend in. All of the labels were some kind of "e-ink" based wireless tagging system. They had fooled me for a good while that they were the old-style paper labels that BB used to use, stuck in slip-case transparent windows on or near the merchandise. To my eyes, they were almost flawless. Looking closer, I could see certain issues that (besides the fact of the electronic frame they were in - which was really thin and subtle) revealed their true nature: Missing pixels, jaggies (like a bad fax), etc. Best Buy used to be "the place" I went for electronics, when they first came to the Phoenix area (early 90s). I helped to establish my credit using their in-store credit card system. But that recent experience of visiting them left a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn't the price labels, or even really their prices (which really weren't too outlandish) - it was just the whole feel of the place. Something seemed off about it, like it was trying to be something that just wasn't "it" any longer. Kinda like how K-Mart felt when places like Target and Walmart became "big" (I find both of those places, though, to feel similar to BB as well). The only thing I can attribute this to is how easy it has become to shop online for stuff, and the fact that I do most of my shopping online period. The only stuff I don't shop online for has been groceries and other food items. I expect that to change in the future, though. My only other shopping experiences - and the ones I enjoy - have been at what can only be described as "second-hand marketplaces" - used book stores, surplus electronics outlets, junkyards, hamfests, etc. Strangely, I prefer "shopping" at these places more than the general "commercial" outlets. For some reason, they are more comfortable to shop at/with - they feel less sanitized and more personal to me...