Fun fact, Nebraska Furniture Mart holds 0x0004 on the list of Linux Manufacturer USB Ids [1]. At my last job we built a product with a custom OpenWRT fork, and I needed to identify an Atmel D21 behind a usb hub on a custom board we built, and I figured I'd never have a collision with any NFM hardware, so I just used that since no one outside our company would never see the device either.
Nebraska Furniture Mart
41–50 of 77 posts
Re: Nebraska Furniture Mart
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's amazing they are so profitable with 70's era technology running the business. Without knowing any details, I would say that there are people who would argue that this attitude may be one of the reasons they are profitable. Why change a perfectly working system your customer does have no direct interaction with?
> Why change a perfectly working system your customer does have no direct interaction with? Because you can't buy replacement parts when something breaks?
Seems like you're making quite the leap in assuming they can't buy effective replacement parts.
Re: Nebraska Furniture Mart
#43I have no idea why this is on the front page of Hacker News but I'm not hating it. I moved from Omaha to the Denver/Boulder area two years ago and besides the Henry Doorly Zoo, I miss Nebraska Furniture Mart the most. NFM is a great place to buy pretty much anything you want to put in your house. Mrs. B really knew how to make a business work. The only weird thing is how antiquated their computer systems are, it's am…
> It's amazing they are so profitable with 70's era technology running the business. Without knowing any details, I would say that there are people who would argue that this attitude may be one of the reasons they are profitable. Why change a perfectly working system your customer does have no direct interaction with?
Why use old fashioned machines with buttons (which will become muscle memory in a few months) when you can have a buggy, unresponsive and ever changing touchscreen with poor UX?
Re: Nebraska Furniture Mart
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's amazing they are so profitable with 70's era technology running the business. Without knowing any details, I would say that there are people who would argue that this attitude may be one of the reasons they are profitable. Why change a perfectly working system your customer does have no direct interaction with?
> Why change a perfectly working system your customer does have no direct interaction with? Because you can't buy replacement parts when something breaks?
Repairability is one of the defining qualities of “old stuff”
Re: Nebraska Furniture Mart
#45I want to read more about Mrs. B. She sounds like an absolutely remarkable woman!
Re: Nebraska Furniture Mart
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's amazing they are so profitable with 70's era technology running the business. Without knowing any details, I would say that there are people who would argue that this attitude may be one of the reasons they are profitable. Why change a perfectly working system your customer does have no direct interaction with?
Why use old fashioned machines with buttons (which will become muscle memory in a few months) when you can have a buggy, unresponsive and ever changing touchscreen with poor UX?
Because the new system has a sales guy who slyly bribed the right executive, and the other executives don't know why they should defend old tech.
Re: Nebraska Furniture Mart
#47Fun fact, Nebraska Furniture Mart holds 0x0004 on the list of Linux Manufacturer USB Ids [1]. At my last job we built a product with a custom OpenWRT fork, and I needed to identify an Atmel D21 behind a usb hub on a custom board we built, and I figured I'd never have a collision with any NFM hardware, so I just used that since no one outside our company would never see the device either. [1] http://www.linux-usb.org/…
Those aren't Linux IDs, those are USB-IF issued vendor IDs. That list is merely maintained by a Linux dev. That number is so low I wonder why NFM registered it. They have retailed electronics and accessories. Possibly some USB peripheral in the 90s?
Re: Nebraska Furniture Mart
#48If you've never hiked through one, they are quintessential American excess. I know for many of you, their locations are Flyover Country. But actually embark from your stopover next time and spend a full weekend experiencing it. I've lived all over Middle America and the SF Bay Area for several years, and I live in Tulsa now. Nebraska Furniture Mart makes IKEA look like a Mission bodega that ran out of American Spirit…
I will have to give NFM another chance. The Clive IA store was a sleepy, underwhelming selection, and staff either missing or unable to help. We kept trying to buy blinds. After the 3rd try stopping by to talk to an expert we just ended up ordering online from justblinds. They have moved to a new location in Clive or Urbandale. I haven't stopped in, but it feels like the parking lot is never too full.
The one North of Dallas is bustling with activity whenever I go (evening/weekend). They have had sales on stuff like dyson vacs and we got a custom made couch and the fiance got to see all the fabrics and touch them so there are some definite benefits vs something online. You can't sit on a couch on Amazon!
Also, it's readily displayed what is made in the US which I always choose when possible. The salespeople are very friendly and they get a commission so it's good to support the community.
Re: Nebraska Furniture Mart
#49Does anyone here know what exactly is NFM’s moat? Price, Selection, Customer Service? All the above?
They finance at zero interest for three years and provide good warranties on anything. There are made in America options for everything.
Re: Nebraska Furniture Mart
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is entrepreneurship in it's purest form. This is an entrepreneurship forum with a focus on technology.
Mind sharing what you learned, technology-wise, from reading this Wikipedia entry?
The takeaway for me was related to business and startups which is a focus of this place. What I got from reading about Mrs. B (who I had never heard of despite buying all my furniture from her store) was that you can be amazingly successful with nothing but tenacity and hard work.