Best Buy feels Amazon squeeze, to close 50 big-box stores • Hacker News Board

Re: Best Buy feels Amazon squeeze, to close 50 big-box stores

#21

Post by fourmii » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 5:45 PM UTC

Jun8 wrote: post #2

Plea HN: When you go to Best Buy don't go out and buy from Amazon! "Is Best Buy becoming a showroom for online retailers like Amazon?", well, for most people yes, but what if BB bankrupts, which showroom will you go? I think their plan sounds good, especially the employer compensation bit. BB's worst problem is their clueless employees. Whenever I go there, either I can't find anyone or else I get surprised looks to…

I don't think anyone is going to lament the loss of a physical showroom. Especially when online prices are so much better. That coupled with online retailers abilities to provide superior and quick return policies and virtually free shipping, it gets harder to keep supporting the BB's of the world. If a BB employee can explain to me how their $30 HDMI cable is far superior than the $1 one I bought of Amazon, then perhaps I would shop there more. Also, having a good ole Micro Center nearby gives my one less reason to shop at BB.

Re: Best Buy feels Amazon squeeze, to close 50 big-box stores

#22

Post by gravitronic » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 5:54 PM UTC

Went to a physical big box store (it was a future shop, same difference).

Had to wait 10 minutes for service because one employee was selling the other employee an ipad.

When I finally got an employee's attention, they didn't have my part (a USB->SATA adapter), they acted like I was inconveniencing them, and I noticed for parts they did have they were charging a ridiculous amount. Standard 3-prong power cable for more than $25 ridiculous.

They have some intrinsic advantages to the web store (real salespeople interaction, physical handling of goods) but with the net experience being so negative they are not leveraging these advantages well enough to compete with the speed and ease of online shopping.

Re: Best Buy feels Amazon squeeze, to close 50 big-box stores

#23

Post by dromidas » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 6:35 PM UTC

lawnchair_larry wrote: post #6

Best Buy is not going out of business because Amazon is good. Best Buy is going out of business because Best Buy sucks. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't live near a Fry's.

Best Buy has always been for the desperate 'NEED IT NOW' person, at least for the people who were computer literate. Even when I worked there in 1999 briefly I only bought the stuff that got returned and had a super low 'open box' price... everything else was gotten from the more grungy hardware shops you find down dark alleyways. Except for cables, employees got them at invoice and that was like $5 dollars for a $20+ cable :P Which reminds me, we were pushed hard to make sure customers bought all the accessories we could because the computers themselves were little profit and the cables, mouse pads, whatever all had ridiculous markup.

Re: Best Buy feels Amazon squeeze, to close 50 big-box stores

#24

Post by ShabbyDoo » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 6:54 PM UTC

The problem with Best Buy selling cables for absurd mark-up levels is that they're trading away brand equity for a few dollars today. How does someone feel if, after buying a cable at Best Buy, he later sees the same cable for sale elsewhere for 1/4 the price? Will he be so willing to go to Best Buy in the future? Will he trust the salesperson's recommendations if he does indeed enter the store again? Traditional accounting methods don't assess the change in value of a company's brand quarter-over-quarter, but they sure do represent the seemingly high profit margins of cables. So, what's a poor executive to do?

Re: Best Buy feels Amazon squeeze, to close 50 big-box stores

#25

Post by ShabbyDoo » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 7:13 PM UTC

So, Best Buy still exists for some combination of two reasons:

1. You can get your stuff RIGHT NOW 2. You supposedly can get customized help/advice

What can other companies do to hasten Best Buy's death? Amazon seems to be piecing together a distribution network for same day/next day delivery in dense urban markets (at least, as a Prime member shipping to Chicago, I was offered some sort of courier delivery for $4). Perhaps Walgreens, etc. could up their game and offer an intelligently stocked selection of need-it-now things like cables? They're open 24/7 in most markets and could probably deal with "only" a 100% mark-up. Certainly, the immediacy of purchasing a TV from Best Buy is important to some, but I suspect small accessories account for the majority of purchases which, if a day's lag time had not been an issue, would have been made online instead.

The help/advice need seems like a more interesting niche for start-ups. Hunch.com seems like the right sort of idea if applied to Amazon's offerings. Let's say my friend suggests that we do a Skype video chat. While I personally can read through product specifications, know various companies' reputations for providing driver support over time, etc., my parents would be lost. A good salesperson asks questions about a customer's needs which help filter down a huge set of potential products down to just a few. Imagine paying a trusted, independent, and knowledgeable person $10 for a ten minute chat along with an interactive Amazon browsing session. People like my parents would be delighted. Heck, I'd use such a service if I was shopping for, say, a kitchen faucet.

What else can be done?

Re: Best Buy feels Amazon squeeze, to close 50 big-box stores

#26

Post by freehunter » Fri, Mar 30, 2012, 3:09 AM UTC

buu700 wrote: post #20

freehunter wrote: post #4

This is actually quite sad to me. As much as I complained about Circuit City and Best Buy with their pushy salesmen and incredibly high prices, there's always a benefit to being able to go to a store and see what you're about to buy. You can't tell the build quality of a laptop by reading an Amazon description. You can't tell the picture quality of a screen by the customer reviews. You can't do side-by-side compariso…

It was a shame when Circuit City went under. However, is there anyone on the planet not affiliated with Best Buy who wouldn't love to see them go bankrupt? I'm all rose-coloured glasses and nostalgia when it comes to dying brick-and-mortar stores, but let's not pretend that Best Buy isn't a silly place.

I'm all for Best Buy and Circuit City going under. I just lament that there is no good brick and mortar.

Re: Best Buy feels Amazon squeeze, to close 50 big-box stores

#27

Post by daveyl » Fri, Mar 30, 2012, 8:24 PM UTC

freehunter wrote: post #26

buu700 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was a shame when Circuit City went under. However, is there anyone on the planet not affiliated with Best Buy who wouldn't love to see them go bankrupt? I'm all rose-coloured glasses and nostalgia when it comes to dying brick-and-mortar stores, but let's not pretend that Best Buy isn't a silly place.

I'm all for Best Buy and Circuit City going under. I just lament that there is no good brick and mortar.

I am so torn as well. CC and BB hardly did anything to distance themselves from online vendors. Their prices suck, services suck, and they don't offer enough variety and/or higher end items.