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Thread: Best Buy in trouble?

  1. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Matthews View Post
    "We sell disposable stuff to dispensible clients that are easily replaced."
    That may be conjecture, but there is probably a lot of truth to it. Buyer loyalty often ends as soon as someone gets their credit card back from a cashier, and I would imagine that the data that a lot of places have shows that it's more important to court the new customer than it is to cater to the loyal customer. Especially if the loyal customer is someone who buys the big items when the price is close to competitive and buys the accessories elsewhere (that would describe me, well).

    I wouldn't be surprised if Best Buy got more money selling two power adapters than they did selling an entire budget laptop.

    Pinch your pennies on the $1800 budget, too, just a side note. Unless you're playing video games a lot, the sweet spot for a laptop is closer to $1000-$1200. A lot of the non-integrated parts on a computer are like legos, and the difference between a $1200 laptop and an $1800 laptop can be made up in 3 years (if the extra capability is needed) for $100.

    Perhaps that's where you ended up, anyway.

  2. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Matthews View Post
    Last word on the subject - no need to flog this.

    Our purchase date was after the HP/NVidia GPU class action suit opened. It's possible that a retailer the size of Best Buy would be unaware of such problems from a large supplier.
    It's also improbable. Here's the bottom line - their indifference to the customer spending serious money in an economic downturn is indicative of their approach.

    "We sell disposable stuff to dispensible clients that are easily replaced."
    I'm aware of that issue, Jim. And I agree with you. It is a shame that Best Buy looks at those failures as an opportunity to sell a new machine, rather than doing the right thing. The right thing, BTW, is using your clout with the vendor and having a system in place to either continue to repair the problem, or get a reasonable discount on a new machine for the customer.

    To a degree, I think it is just a sign of a big bureaucracy (Best Buy staff) doing the least amount of work necessary to get their pay checks. People are lazy.

    Imagine the marketing value to the BB brand if they would step-up on these and deal with vendors like HP and Sony to reach a deal to make customers happy.

    Someone commented that BB has probably figured out that customer loyalty ends when they get their CC back from the cashier. Hard to know for sure, as I don't think BB has ever done anything that would generate any loyalty.
    Last edited by Phil Thien; 01-07-2012 at 9:58 AM.

  3. #18
    I used to buy more stuff at BB, but lately their prices haven't been all that spectacular. I still go there once in awhile, but don't end up buying very much. I did get some great deals online on some DVDs and video games from BB online over Christmas though.

    I wouldn't necessarily blame BB for the failure of a product manufactured by another entity. If the entity is still pushing the product off their assembly line and there is a problem with it, they would be at fault. Example: If BB was selling eggs with salmonella and they knew about it, then they should be held accountable, but if not, then it goes back to the egg factory.

    As far as being out of warranty, there can be extenuating circumstances that could come into play. I once bought a kitchen stove for a remodeling project I was working on. I bought the stove way sooner than I needed to because it was on sale at the time. By the time I finally finished the project and installed the stove, there was a problem with one of the electric burners. I called in the service department and they repaired it. It was a faulty connection from the factory. The problem happened immediately after I plugged it in, so it wasn't from using it. This was a week or so after the warranty expired. I explained the situation to the warranty department and they took care of the cost.

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Thien View Post
    Imagine the marketing value to the BB brand if they would step-up on these and deal with vendors like HP and Sony to reach a deal to make customers happy.

    And maybe they could have done so if a buch of lawyers hadn't mucked up the works. On the other hand, maybe they would have gotten Nvidia to admit the problem.


  5. #20
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    I will never shop at Best Buy again, anyway, they're moving into bigger location. I wouldn't mine seeing them close up, but, I hate to see the employees lose their jobs though.

  6. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by John Fabre View Post
    I hate to see the employees lose their jobs though.
    I agree with that. Despite how little I like to shop there, it's hard on the employees if it happens.

  7. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Meiser View Post


    And maybe they could have done so if a buch of lawyers hadn't mucked up the works. On the other hand, maybe they would have gotten Nvidia to admit the problem.
    I'm assuming your talking about the concern HP/nVidia would have over any sort of class action lawsuit that may result by acknowledging a design/manufacturing defect.

    I'd love to think that the only reason manufacturers don't admit to defects is because they don't want to face an expensive legal battle if some people aren't happy with their proposed resolution.

    My cynical side tells me they'd still stonewall.

    I'm probably naive, but I think the ethical thing to do would be to admit to the problem, propose a reasonable resolution, and if a class action results, well, you deal with it.

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Matthews View Post
    For those of you interested, there's a class action suit pending with HP over their DV series laptops having this kind of failure. This was known by Best Buy when the product was sold, and not disclosed to buyers.
    One day the laptop worked fine, the next day it didn't. HP has denied culpability with the failure, claiming the chip makers are at fault. Given that there was neither a warning from BB or an offer to assist.
    Take a look at www.nvidiasettlement.com. I suspect your laptop may have been covered but the claim period closed last March. HP sent out replacement laptops as part of the settlement.

  9. #24
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    I just did my part to support Best Buy, but it was sort of out of necessity. I needed a screen saver for my Kindle Fire and I am completely hopeless at putting those things on, so I bought one and had the Geek Squad apply it for me. While I waited I also bought an external hard drive, a cover for my Fire, and three CDs. Boy I bet they're glad I stopped by. Actually, they were very busy today but the number of staff was way down as compared to the shopping season.

    “Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy and chivalry.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

    Everybody knows what to do with the devil but them that has him. My Grandmother
    I had a guardian angel at one time, but my little devil got him drunk, tattooed, and left him penniless at a strip club. I have not had another angel assigned to me yet.
    I didn't change my mind, my mind changed me.
    Bella Terra

  10. #25
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    Best Buy's demise started when they committed border line criminal acts against customers that tried to get them to honor the warranty that the they paid for when they purchased items from them. There are many horror stories on the Internet about Best Buy.
    David B

  11. #26
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    The right thing, BTW, is using your clout with the vendor and having a system in place to either continue to repair the problem, or get a reasonable discount on a new machine for the customer.
    I tried to bring this up in a work place once.

    The boss gave me a dirty look and said, "we aren't set up that way."

    As long as management doesn't view the customer as their most valuable asset, the customer will feel like the one left out when their date took someone else home.

    For years it was my practice to avoid Best Buy because of the super loud music. Maybe this appealed to the young crowd. It hurt my head. Then someone told me they stopped playing the loud music. Then I tended to avoid them because no one knew anything and it took forever to buy something even if you new exactly what you wanted.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Lehnert View Post
    Forbes is reporting that Best Buy is in trouble.
    Amazon is their main competitor but wonder how much people will buy from Amazon if there is no stores left to go and touch and feel the product.


    http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/money/consum...ut-of-business
    I read that article and agree with it 100%. The only reason I go to Best Buy these days is because they have a mini Guitar Center like corner in the back and the kid that works it actually does a good job.... plus he matches pricing. As far as other electronics I just get them from Newegg or Amazon to avoid the hassle of the idiots at Best Buy. Very rarely I will order something from Best Buys website and go pick it up because its a crazy sale or something. Seems like they are going the Radio Shack route. I used to go to Radio Shack as a kid because I'd draw up schematics for something (doesn't every kid?) and they actually had the parts and better than that they'd have an old geezer who really knew electronics who would help me with my project. Now, they just want to sell you batteries and cellphones and charge you $1 for a $.05 capacitor (if you can find one in their messy parts drawers).
    Last edited by Bryan Morgan; 01-07-2012 at 6:42 PM.

  13. #28
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    I would like to see Best Buy stay in business as it offers competition. I also like to go and look at something that I am wanting to buy. There is no substitute for actually seeing a certain TV and doing a comparison. Based upon this I will see where I can get the best price. If they offer the best price, then I will buy from them. In my area, HHGreg has put in a store and offering more competition.

    I agree with the issue with the loud music in the store. I stopped a manager once and told him that I was going to buy a TV but the music was so loud that I was going else where. He told me that they needed to be able to have it loud to sell speakers. My reply was that I until they turned it down, I would buy elsewhere and walked out. I do notice that in my local store the music is not as loud anymore. Maybe enough people complained.

  14. #29
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    I love Best Buy! I must be the only one. I suspect I have spent over $10,000 there over the years and NEVER HAD A PROBLEM. I have had all sorts of returns and no questions asked. I must be the only satisfied customer they have from the sound of the posts I am seeing here.

  15. #30
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    I never go to "touch and feel" a product I want to buy. I research it carefully, select what I want and then click "buy", generally from Amazon, but sometimes from B&H Photo. I haven't been in a Best Buy for years...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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