Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon • Hacker News Board

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#141

Post by Guest9812398 » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 3:26 PM UTC

Similar to a lot of people in this topic, I recently visited a Best Buy for the first time in years, and was impressed with the new interior and layout.

I ended up leaving and buying what I needed on Amazon though. I had limited time in the store and didn't feel knowledgeable enough to choose between a handful of products, so I went home to do some research before ordering.

I wonder if Best Buy would benefit from a lounge, where you can sit down in peace, read product reviews, and browse online to make an informed purchase. Or maybe they could have tablets on stands next to groups of products with reviews. For example, you go to the printer section, and there's a tablet that shows all the printers and their user reviews. Then you can quickly compare options, sort by price, and see what printers are best reviewed.

Sometimes I try to check reviews in a store with my phone, but I usually feel out of place standing in an aisle for 15 minutes looking at my phone. So, it would be cool if they had a place where you could actually sit down for a while to educate yourself and make a decision.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#142

Post by wpdev_63 » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 3:26 PM UTC

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/03/geek-squads-relationsh...

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/18/us/politics/charges-cia-b...

All you need into let one of these guys into your house and some child porn magically ends up on your hard drive.

I'd pay a local IT a bit more knowing that I am supporting a local business while at the same time not supporting corporate Orwellian culture(TM).

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#143

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 3:27 PM UTC

throwawaymath wrote: post #117

gzu wrote: post #12

You really can't beat going into a physical store for a large ticket item purchase. No waiting for shipping, easy to return, viewing the product in store. Recently purchased a MBP from Bestbuy. The first one I received had noticeable back light bleeding near a screen corner. Walked back in the store the next day to return. The process from an online retailer would have taken weeks.

Just out of curiosity, why didn't you buy the MacBook Pro directly from Apple? If I'm not mistaken the price is exactly the same in both stores. Is Best Buy just closer to you, or do you have a specific reason for going to Best Buy over Apple?

[deleted]

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#144

Post by reaperducer » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 3:27 PM UTC

nicoburns wrote: post #19

kop316 wrote: post #10

I can't speak for the Geek Squad (as I have never needed to use them), but they price match to Amazon (and several other online stores), and will generally have what I am looking for (at least for consumer electronics). I know that I will get it that day (vs. Amazon's "two day shipping" that regularly turned into three or four days) at an Amazon price, it will certainly NOT be a counterfeit, and I don't have to give…

> vs. Amazon's "two day shipping" that regularly turned into three or four days I find this experience interesting. Here in the UK amazon offers next day delivery (and in same cases, same day delivery), and often delivers next day even when they don't claim they will. I have had problems with counterfeits though.

Here in the UK amazon offers next day delivery (and in same cases, same day delivery), and often delivers next day even when they don't claim they will.

The U.S. has next day and same-day delivery from Amazon, as well. It also has two-hour delivery in most cities.

But not every item is available in every delivery window. And not all delivery windows are available in all locations.

One of the advantages of living in a small country like the U.K. is that it's much easier to cover the whole territory. (U.S. is 40x larger than U.K., with 1/8th the density.)

Even though it's habitual for euro-HNers to compare themselves to the U.S., it's more often than not meaningless.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#145

Post by scarface74 » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 3:27 PM UTC

dpark wrote: post #132

scarface74 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would never buy a laptop from Best Buy, Amazon, or any other third party retailer. Consumer PC laptops are like most Android phones -- full of third party crapware. I only buy either the business line of laptops from Dell or HP or I'll buy from the Microsoft Store - either online or physical store.

The bundled crapware has nothing to do with where you buy your PC. Best Buy doesn’t install anything on the PCs they sell. Dell does, HP does, Lenovo does. You get the same crap if you buy direct or from a retailer. If you buy a “Microsoft Signature” device, you pay a small premium essentially for the manufacturer to agree not to install crap. You might (or might not) get the same from the manufacturer if you buy a “…

I bought a desktop Gateway from BestBuy awhile back. It had Best Buy specific crapware and the "special edition" Dell was the same price from the MS store as it was from Dell's website.

Buying the business line from Dell gets you better local support and no crapware.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#146

Post by lolsal » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 3:28 PM UTC

Amazon won me over with "real two day shipping". It was truly glorious when I signed up. It lulled me into this constant consuming state - shipping was so fast (and 'free' with prime) I could just mindlessly order any thing without waiting for a big shipment. I would order from Amazon a few times a day for days on end - any random thing I remembered I needed. It would all quickly stream into my house - I stopped even thinking about shipping and delivery days. It was wonderful.

They lost me with "not really two day shipping." Today, two-day shipping means "two days from when we ship it, not counting weekends, and not counting however long it takes for us to actually process the order, and then not even actually two days." 'Free two-day shipping' often comes in about a week for me. My constant state of consumption was interrupted by going days thinking, 'where is that thingamajig I needed to finish that project?' - often manifesting by ordering something on Mon/Tues assuming it would be here for a weekend, only to have it not show up in time, forcing me to run to the local hardware store (or whatever) and then return my Amazon item.

I still buy some stuff on Amazon - mostly things that I don't really care about when it comes as long as it comes. I've gotten into the habit of compiling lists at home of stuff that I absolutely need at a certain time and then making trips to local stores when needed, including Best Buy.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#147

Post by dpark » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 3:28 PM UTC

scarface74 wrote: post #145

dpark wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The bundled crapware has nothing to do with where you buy your PC. Best Buy doesn’t install anything on the PCs they sell. Dell does, HP does, Lenovo does. You get the same crap if you buy direct or from a retailer. If you buy a “Microsoft Signature” device, you pay a small premium essentially for the manufacturer to agree not to install crap. You might (or might not) get the same from the manufacturer if you buy a “…

I bought a desktop Gateway from BestBuy awhile back. It had Best Buy specific crapware and the "special edition" Dell was the same price from the MS store as it was from Dell's website. Buying the business line from Dell gets you better local support and no crapware.

That’s interesting. I’ve never seen that. That means Best Buy has some deal to get a special Best Buy Crapware SKU from the manufacturer.

P.S. Gateway still exists?

P.P.S. Wikipedia says Gateway is defunct. How long ago was this experience?

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#148

Post by SketchySeaBeast » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 3:29 PM UTC

I walked into a best buy for the first time in years, and I was surprised how much it had changed, how modern it looked, and how many staff were there. Unfortunately it was right after opening, so they all had energy to continually ask if I needed help, which was a bit obnoxious, though I'm sure super helpful if you actually needed help.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#149

Post by jayzee » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 3:31 PM UTC

In the last year counterfeits have become such a big problem for me that my trust in Amazon has eroded dramatically. I wonder when that will show up in their stock price.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#150

Post by Yhippa » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 3:31 PM UTC

The in-home service is the last thing I'd want. But I have been shopping at Best Buy way more than I used to.

Here's why. A few years ago I bought a big-ticket item (TV) and obviously wanted to see it before I bought it. They were able to provide generous no-interest financing via their co-branded Citi credit card. They have a policy of offering 12-month no-interest financing on many products and split up over that much time it's easy to talk yourself into buying things you probably don't need.

Also the Gamer's Club Unlocked is better than Amazon's game discount system because it works anytime, not just up until release. I've heard that they have ended the program though which would just send me back to Amazon.