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

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#301

Post by beenBoutIT » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 6:37 PM UTC

portaljester wrote: post #256

I was gifted a 25$ Best buy gift card, I thought I would never remember to use it. One day the lady is looking at makeup and I see a Best buy. I go in looking for a new mousepad. The place is full of washers and blenders etc. The only mouse pad they had was 60$ (extreme gaming blah blah). I ended up grabbing a Pink Floyd vinyl for 22$. I found it odd but if it works it works.

Buying someone a gift card is another way of telling them that you're a consumerist idiot who doesn't give a shit about them. "First and foremost, I don't care about you at all. That said, instead of giving you $20 in cash, I'm going to give that same $20 to BestBuy and force you to shop there or forgo my gift in its entirety, because I'm an imbecile." Intelligent people who don't give a shit about a person will always go cash.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#302

Post by emodendroket » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 6:38 PM UTC

taeric wrote: post #286

emodendroket wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be so, but these people did exist and now mostly do not. It certainly does seem to be the case that most are unwilling to pay for this expertise (although I've found that, for instance, with sneakers, it makes a huge difference).

And, oddly, with sneakers and similar, I've found it is majority snake oil. I've been ridiculously soured on consulting experts for any sort of consumer item. :(

Going to a Marathon Sports and wearing shoes their employees recommended after watching my walk has made my knees feel way better and I'm completely willing to pay substantially more for sneakers for it. But I can't speak to anyone else's experience.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#303

Post by bsder » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 6:38 PM UTC

H1Supreme wrote: post #170

segmondy wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've bought plenty of SD cards online for my raspberry pi and dashcam. They all die and start giving errors within a month or two. Even tho I went of my way to buy name brand, and not the cheapest 4 star cards. :-/

I love the Raspberry Pi, and all the good it's done for computing. I have 3 of them currently. But, I don't want anything SD card driven for my next SBC. They are too volatile for heavy use.

The Beaglebone Black has eMMC onboard.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#304

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 6:39 PM UTC

malnourish wrote: post #285

WaltPurvis wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterdote: I recently purchased a monitor at Best Buy, decided after a couple weeks I didn't like it (for a variety of reasons), and returned it without hassle. Just walked up to the counter, handed them my receipt, told them I didn't like it, and they handed me money. Took less than five minutes.

Not to continue this too far but ditto. Completely fine return experience. I also don't have to worry about fakes nearly as much at brick & mortar stores. That said I still use Amazon extensively, for better or for worse.

[deleted]

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#305

Post by emodendroket » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 6:39 PM UTC

3rdAccount wrote: post #253

emodendroket wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walmart is famous for doing this with all manner of goods (usually their version has some sacrifices to achieve a lower price).

Chromebooks from anywhere including Walmart are of course free of any crap.

They probably have slightly different hardware to keep a price edge. But anyway, to anyone on HN I'd think bundled software is pretty much a non-issue; I've always installed Windows fresh and I feel like doing that isn't a big deal if you are technical.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#306

Post by gamblor956 » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 6:41 PM UTC

danso wrote: post #92

I remember years ago on HN, there’d be debates over whether it was ethical or decent to go into a Best Buy store, then do a price check and order on Amazon, effectively using BB and other brick-and-mortar stores as showrooms. I remember the debate seeming split on generational lines, with younger folks pointing out that BB should adapt or die, and older folks arguing that brick-and-mortar was at a huge disadvantage n…

Ironically, I now take advantage of Amazon in order to buy at BB. When I see something I like on the shelf, I check to see if the Amazon reviews are good. If so, I can buy it without the same level of nagging doubt about the product’s authenticity.

Same here! Amazon's a cesspool of Chinese knockoffs buoyed by for-pay reviews, but any item that's also sold at Best Buy must be legit (since BB went through the trouble of sourcing and buying it), so Amazon ends up being a great place for real reviews.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#307

Post by rrix2 » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 6:41 PM UTC

j79 wrote: post #193

jmuguy wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was a 65 inch Samsung KS8000, I think about 1500 at the time. The delivery, unboxing, etc, was all free (prime). I scheduled the delivery on checkout, you picked the day and from several 2 hour windows.

> The delivery, unboxing, etc, was all free (prime) "Free" in that it came with your Prime membership which you paid for ;)

your parent comment got more than 120$ of benefit in a single order; if you amortize the cost of that prime membership across a year and use it like this it certainly seems closer to free.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#308

Post by otterpro » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 6:42 PM UTC

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…

I always use B&H or NewEgg and avoid Amazon, when buying flash memory and SD cards (in order to avoid counterfeits). I also bought an SD card from Best Buy recently because i needed it immediately.

Anyway, as for physical brick-n-mortal presence, I just wished that I had Micro Center where I live, instead of Best Buy, though. MicroCenter has far more inventories, more interesting stuff (like Raspberry Pis in store) and better prices as well.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#309

Post by Rotdhizon » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 6:43 PM UTC

mgleason_3 wrote: post #255

tyu100 wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon is a small miracle. They stock everything, it comes right to your door, the prices are competitive in general and with Subscribe and Save you are doing even better. E-books are also incredible and with Prime you get Instant Video thrown in for free. I'm sure bad experiences happen but compared to driving to the big box suburban wasteland to browse through a limited selection, Amazon is a godesend.

In my experience, Best Buy’s return policy and process has been awful. Granted it’s been years because it was so bad. Literally the worst of any store I’ve ever shopped at. Last time I bought a router from them it was defective. I had to stand in line for over an hour. The clerk was surly and didn’t believe it was defective. Kept opening the box, pulling everything out, looking at all the pieces. Putting it all back.…

By law a company can not refuse to return a defective item I believe. Whether they do it or refer you to the manufacturer, one way or another you are fully entitled to a refund if the item is defective. The whole "You can't make any returns if you make x amount" is more a scare tactic.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#310

Post by ryanSrich » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 6:43 PM UTC

gmiller123456 wrote: post #69

I actually think it's Amazon that has the poor business model, and I'm puzzled how it's working for them. They are usually not competitive on price compared to other sites, and sometimes it's the same price off the shelf at Best Buy. Big ticket items from Amazon usually have free shipping, but it's a 3-4 day wait unless you pay for "free" shipping by joining Prime. But I quit Prime a few years ago after 10 out of my…

Part of it is stock. When I built my last PC newegg was sold out of almost every part I needed. Amazon on the other hand had almost everything and the prices were only slightly higher.