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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)

#131

Post by drivers99 »

dstaley wrote: post #101
jonknee wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When I watch it, my analytics aren’t tracked Unless you watch it on a smart TV. It's a shame you can't get the features of a modern TV without content tracking.

I mean, just turn off the internet on your TV. Most TVs have terrible built-in software anyway. My TV isn't connected to the internet, so it can't track what I'm watching.

I forgot to mention that my Blu-Ray player also has an Ethernet port and a bunch of "apps" available, and probably has the ability to report back on Blu-Rays viewed, but I don't use it for that reason (and I have better devices for apps, such as Roku.)

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

#132

Post by Overtonwindow »

tracker1 wrote: post #86
Overtonwindow wrote: post #17

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 i…

It could be more of an issue with your location(s) manager... though I only really go to BB a couple times a year. Usually monitor or TV, or because I want something that day.

I go all the time, all over Northern Virginia. It’s not just one store or one city. Frustrating to say the least because I know Best Buy can be a great store.

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

#133

Post by whoopdedo »

jedimastert wrote: post #113
general8bitso wrote: post #23

Not a fan. Used to work there during college. If we didn’t sell enough PSPs (extended warranties), we were not allowed to leave at our scheduled time. Also, we moved all the laptop inventory to the back of the store, so if a customer wanted to buy a laptop that was in stock, but did not want to purchase an extended warranty, we were instructed to lie to the customer and say it was out-of-stock. Also, the whole incent…

> Also, we moved all the laptop inventory to the back of the store, so if a customer wanted to buy a laptop that was in stock, but did not want to purchase an extended warranty, we were instructed to lie to the customer and say it was out-of-stock. So what you're telling me is if they ask me about an extended warranty, say yes then change your mind at the register?

The right way to do it is to buy it off the web site and select in-store pickup. Then you don't even have to speak to a salesperson.

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

#134

Post by erichocean »

dstaley wrote: post #104
seattle_spring wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This got me really curious about what quality Netflix actually streams its audio, but the only thing I came across were tech support threads regarding low quality streams. Does anyone know of a good comparison of Netflix vs physical disc quality, and/or any hard numbers? FWIW, I have an extremely good system and I've always thought that streamed audio sounds great. I honestly wonder if I've been missing out on the ne…

From what I've found, Netflix's highest quality audio is a lossy 640 kbps Dolby Digital+ (E-AC3) stream. For comparison, the highest quality BluRay audio would be the lossless formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA. Both of these formats support variable bit rate encoding, and from my personal library I'm seeing average bit rates of 4727 kbps for Atmos TrueHD and 2525 kbps for DTS-HD MA.

Dolby TrueHD is lossless, so the bitrate is somewhat irrelevant. DTS-HD Master Audio is also lossless, but "degrades" back to a lossy version if the decoding device does not support it.

The actual bitrate after decoding for a 24-bit 2-channel song with a 96kHz sample rate is 4.39mbps. With 5 channels, that's 10.975mbps (higher than a DVD for both picture and sound combined).

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

#135

Post by dstaley »

erichocean wrote: post #134
dstaley wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I've found, Netflix's highest quality audio is a lossy 640 kbps Dolby Digital+ (E-AC3) stream. For comparison, the highest quality BluRay audio would be the lossless formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA. Both of these formats support variable bit rate encoding, and from my personal library I'm seeing average bit rates of 4727 kbps for Atmos TrueHD and 2525 kbps for DTS-HD MA.

Dolby TrueHD is lossless, so the bitrate is somewhat irrelevant. DTS-HD Master Audio is also lossless, but "degrades" back to a lossy version if the decoding device does not support it. The actual bitrate after decoding for a 24-bit 2-channel song with a 96kHz sample rate is 4.39mbps. With 5 channels, that's 10.975mbps (higher than a DVD for both picture and sound combined).

FWIW, TrueHD also contains a lossy core (AC3 in this case), just like DTS-HD MA. I was also surprised to see that my TrueHD tracks are 24-bit, but my DTS-HD MA tracks are 16-bit.

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

#136

Post by amvalo »

seppin wrote: post #53
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…

> I’m bullish on Best Buy simply because it’s not a free-for-all of cheap foreign knockoffs. After I worked on a project for BB, the best way I can describe what they sell is "high-end crap".

What do you mean? They're mostly a retailer aren't they?

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

#137

Post by segmondy »

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…

The best way to buy electronic product from Amazon is to buy none brand name. All the brand name I bought were useless fakes. I bought an unknown brand with great reviews and it's the best pair I have ever had.

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

#138

Post by general8bitso »

jedimastert wrote: post #113
general8bitso wrote: post #23

Not a fan. Used to work there during college. If we didn’t sell enough PSPs (extended warranties), we were not allowed to leave at our scheduled time. Also, we moved all the laptop inventory to the back of the store, so if a customer wanted to buy a laptop that was in stock, but did not want to purchase an extended warranty, we were instructed to lie to the customer and say it was out-of-stock. Also, the whole incent…

> Also, we moved all the laptop inventory to the back of the store, so if a customer wanted to buy a laptop that was in stock, but did not want to purchase an extended warranty, we were instructed to lie to the customer and say it was out-of-stock. So what you're telling me is if they ask me about an extended warranty, say yes then change your mind at the register?

So, I believe you can ‘return’ the warranty portion of your purchase a few days after the initial purchase.

One technique was to speak w a manager prior to purchase, and make a deal where the manager, who would discount add-on accessories for the major purchase if you were willing to buy the PSP.

The customer would come back a day later and demand a full refund for the PSP, while keeping their add-on discount.

This did not happen often, though.

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

#139

Post by EricE »

richardhod wrote: post #112
lscotte wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

B&H is great, agreed. They are an extremely honest company, so taking a few days longer is worth it in my opinion - you are going to get exactly what you ordered in my experience. On Amazon, that's only guaranteed if Amazon is the seller (not to be confused with "fulfilled by Amazon", of course). B&H is also closed on all Jewish holidays.

How can I tell that these are genuine beliefs in B&H and not just plugs and shills? This is a genuine question: I've heard of them and used to see them advertise a lot in magazines, when they were still a thing. But.. aggressive advertising is what they did, so how can I know?

You can't. I can tell you that I've been in their New York store several times and used them for decades.

Franky I'd be more suspicious of a business of their age and size that didn't have a few lawsuits against them. Also look at some of those lawsuits - remember it costs nothing to file a lawsuit, especially when fishing with lawyers on contingency :/

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