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Best Buy’s Secrets for Thriving in the Amazon Age (2017)

nytimes.com

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Re: Best Buy’s Secrets for Thriving in the Amazon Age (2017)

#11

Post by randomacct3847 »

In my experience, no other category is so heavily gamed by shady marketplace sellers on Amazon than electronics. Search for wireless headphones on both Amazon and Best Buy and it’s night and day what you see returned. I’m bullish on Best Buy simply because it’s not a free-for-all of cheap foreign knockoffs.

Retail of yesteryear might stand a chance because employing buyers who actually curate merchandise to be sold will become a value add again.

Re: Best Buy’s Secrets for Thriving in the Amazon Age (2017)

#12

Post by Someone1234 »

randomacct3847 wrote: post #11

In my experience, no other category is so heavily gamed by shady marketplace sellers on Amazon than electronics. Search for wireless headphones on both Amazon and Best Buy and it’s night and day what you see returned. I’m bullish on Best Buy simply because it’s not a free-for-all of cheap foreign knockoffs. Retail of yesteryear might stand a chance because employing buyers who actually curate merchandise to be sold w…

That's why I like B&H Photo now too. All genuine products, sold by them, with real reviews. Their shipping is a little slower and they close Friday/Saturday which is frustrating but overall a good experience.

They even do price guarantee if you contact CS which Amazon discontinued.

Re: Best Buy’s Secrets for Thriving in the Amazon Age (2017)

#13

Post by Someone1234 »

mandeepj wrote: post #9
CaliforniaKarl wrote: post #7

I'm on my third year of owning two Tiles: One pre-2018 Mate and one Slim. As usual, it came time to replace them, and Tile's reTile program doesn't offer a one-mate-plus-one-slim option (the closest is a two-plus-two). So, I got one through reTile, and the other by heading over to Best Buy. I didn't even consider buying it on Amazon. Another time, I needed a 3.5mm headphone to Bluetooth transmitter for my Nintendo Sw…

> partially not wanting another box (or padded envelope) being used up So, did you drive there? That's also an environmental impact. Just saying.

Because Amazon don't drive the package..? Or fly it in a lot of cases? In fact Amazon has recently been moving away from USPS to "Amazon Logistics" which means even less package co-mingling/less environmental efficiency.

Re: Best Buy’s Secrets for Thriving in the Amazon Age (2017)

#15

Post by t0mbstone »

If Best Buy ever closes, I will be very sad. It's one of the last standing bastions where I can go see electronics in person, purchase them, and then return them for an immediate refund (if something is wrong). The fact that they price match Amazon is key. I will pretty much always buy at Best Buy if I can, because I can get the item on the same day, for the same price as Amazon, and still get all of the conveniences offered by a retail store.

Re: Best Buy’s Secrets for Thriving in the Amazon Age (2017)

#16

Post by drivers99 »

jibanes wrote: post #14

I wonder who buys dvd/bluray anymore... after netflix.

Me. For example, I’m currently legally rewatching Game of Thrones before the new season comes out even though I don’t currently have an HBO subscription. It is a durable copy that doesn’t buffer, is high quality, isn’t modified after the fact (such as when they removed the George W. Bush prop head-on-spike). For a one time price, I own it for life. I can and have lent it out to others. When I watch it, my analytics aren’t tracked, and there are no promos for other shows at the beginning.

Re: Best Buy’s Secrets for Thriving in the Amazon Age (2017)

#17

Post by Overtonwindow »

The secret to Best Buy is that you can play with things. Unfortunately I think they have kind of dropped the ball on this one. When I visit Best Buy, I often see empty product spaces, demo products that do not work, wires just dangling from a hole. This is not the Best Buy of my childhood where you went and could get your hands on things, really get to play around and know what you’re buying. I would never buy a 52 inch LED TV off of Amazon, but I would definitely buy it at Best Buy because I can actually see it. The secret to Best Buy is that you can play with things. When I visit Best Buy, I often see empty product spaces, demo products that do not work, wires just dangling from a hole. This is not the best spy of my childhood where you went and could get your hands on things, really get to play around and know what you’re buying. I would never buy a 52 inch LED TV off of Amazon, but I would definitely buy it at Best Buy because I can actually see it. They will even put your favorite DVD or Blu-ray if you bring it

Re: Best Buy’s Secrets for Thriving in the Amazon Age (2017)

#18

Post by soihrbfsodihbv »

Someone1234 wrote: post #13
mandeepj wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> partially not wanting another box (or padded envelope) being used up So, did you drive there? That's also an environmental impact. Just saying.

Because Amazon don't drive the package..? Or fly it in a lot of cases? In fact Amazon has recently been moving away from USPS to "Amazon Logistics" which means even less package co-mingling/less environmental efficiency.

They send many packages on the same vehicle, and do a shortest-path route. So the marginal impact of each package is minimal compared to making a dedicated trip to Best Buy.

Re: Best Buy’s Secrets for Thriving in the Amazon Age (2017)

#20

Post by ddingus »

jibanes wrote: post #14

I wonder who buys dvd/bluray anymore... after netflix.

I do. A DVD is low on the list now, unless i know the material is best in SD.

BluRay is still a great purchase at times. I like the 24p film editions for classic movies, and in general, get best quality over most streams.

And no connection hassles.

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