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

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#21

Post by stephengillie » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 2:35 PM UTC

josefresco wrote: post #15

Like most Americans I order a shitload from Amazon. However the last item I bought from Best Buy was a TV (my old LG just ... died). Ordered online, chose to pick up in store. Drive 35 min to store Pickup process takes 10-15 min Drive 35 min home. Left after dinner, was watching it that evening. The only condition that would have prevented me from using this model would be traffic, as it could extend the trip by 60-9…

Bought a TV from Amazon about 10 years ago. UPS couldn't deliver on the scheduled delivery day because the box was too big, and was stuck at the back of the truck. So I had to skip a day of work for no reason. They delivered it the next day in the early morning.

Sometimes, shipping issues are truly not Amazon's fault. Yet still they can impact us.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#22

Post by adventured » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 2:36 PM UTC

taeric wrote: post #9

Why should it be dead? Poor management and bad money practices of some other competitors does not mean the retail segment is dead. Just that over leveraged companies are risky. No?

It shouldn't necessarily be dead. The floated premise doesn't actually make any sense. It's a media panic click-bait parade that has been going on for 20 years (only briefly pausing after the dotcom bubble implosion).

The death of physical retail! When the media serves up that headline, they get an easy win every direction. If it becomes true, they're on the money with their fear mongering. If it doesn't come true, they can breathlessly write stories about how physical retail survived miraculously (against a narrative they invented about impending total collapse).

Physical retail will remain a massive segment. Amazon - the poster child for the media's click-bait scam on this topic - long ago figured out that there is immense value in physical retail (for various reasons), which is of course why they bought Whole Foods and are bothering to experiment with Amazon Go store concepts.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#23

Post by LeifCarrotson » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 2:36 PM UTC

gzu wrote: post #12

You really can't beat going into a physical store for a large ticket item purchase. No waiting for shipping, easy to return, viewing the product in store. Recently purchased a MBP from Bestbuy. The first one I received had noticeable back light bleeding near a screen corner. Walked back in the store the next day to return. The process from an online retailer would have taken weeks.

It's great for a big-ticket, low-margin purchase like an MBP, but poor for cheap, high-margin items like cables and accessories. Which is, of course, where they really make money.

They'll price match a laptop to Amazon, but cannot price match a $2 Ethernet patch cable because they're retail space, not a warehouse.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#24

Post by darkerside » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 2:37 PM UTC

mfer wrote: post #14

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #6

When I go in Best Buy, the only people in there are old Boomers and boy do they love Best Buy and talking to the workers there. That generation has nothing but problems with their devices, it's like a mini game for them.

> That generation has nothing but problems with their devices, it's like a mini game for them. This isn't a generational thing. I know folks from all generations who have trouble with technology. Sometimes this is because things really are broken. It's not like a lot of things are high quality. Sometimes it's because stuff is hard to use. For those of us in tech we have a higher tolerance for learning pain and have e…

This is an interesting point. Is it more that the younger generation prefers to figure out the problem themselves, possibly due to fear of social embarrassment, whereas the older generation doesn't share those fears, and thus are more willing to engage in public conversation about their technological shortcomings?

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#25

Post by jmuguy » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 2:37 PM UTC

josefresco wrote: post #15

Like most Americans I order a shitload from Amazon. However the last item I bought from Best Buy was a TV (my old LG just ... died). Ordered online, chose to pick up in store. Drive 35 min to store Pickup process takes 10-15 min Drive 35 min home. Left after dinner, was watching it that evening. The only condition that would have prevented me from using this model would be traffic, as it could extend the trip by 60-9…

I ordered a TV from Amazon. They use a third party service that schedules delivery with you. Two dudes came out with TV, unboxed and set it up (put on stand, plugged in power to verify its working).

A few days after delivery I noticed a red line running along the top of the screen. Contacted Amazon about replacement. There was some issue with doing a direct replacement so they had me purchase another TV and then refunded the cost.

Dude comes out and picks up busted TV, puts it in box. New dudes come out a few days later with new TV.

All of that is to say - it really wasn't a big deal to order it online. Shipping was still free. Also they took packaging material with them, so it was nice not having to deal with disposing of a gigantic box.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#26

Post by mistersquid » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 2:37 PM UTC

Yesterday, I went into a Best Buy for the first time in ages because I needed a USB A to USB micro b cable and I was on the road in a small city (fewer than 50K).

I was surprised by how clean, well-organized, and well-staffed it was. When I asked where such cables were (not having yet left the front of the store because, not having a lock with me, I needed to stow my bicycle up front), the associate on the floor came over and directed me precisely and accurately to where the cables were.

I hope Best Buy figures out how to stick around because the cable I bought is actually pretty nice (braided cable) and I like having the option to buy quality electronic accessories from a clean storefront when I'm on the road (i.e. urgent electronics need and I don't want a low-quality no-name throw-it-away-after-5-uses knock-off).

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#27

Post by fred_is_fred » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 2:38 PM UTC

After years of not stepping into one due to them pushing Monster cables with every purchase I went back to look at appliances. I was pleasantly surprised. Sales staff was knowledgeable and they had a good selection. A much better experience than the home improvement stores I went to. Even better - my fridge went on sale the following week for $500 off my price, they gave that all back to me as they price-match post-sale.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#28

Post by SEJeff » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 2:39 PM UTC

Best Buy still exists mainly because you can go and demo the gadgets. For certain things, you want to see them in person and they always price match Amazon for anything Amazon has cheaper.

I bought an 85" 4K tv a few years ago and it was not a cheap item. Do you really think someone would just buy something for $10k on Amazon and hope it is ok? I also paid them to have a team of 3 people come and install it on my wall. This is a case where the local store beat the online store.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#29

Post by ceejayoz » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 2:39 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 know that I will get it that day (vs. Amazon's "two day shipping" that regularly turned into three or four days)...

I've been seeing a big uptick in this, as well.

When I asked support, they gave me a response about "we only guarantee two days shipping time". There's no guarantee on order-to-ship time, and I've seen it go from reliably a couple of hours to 2-3 days at times.

Re: Best Buy Is Thriving in the Age of Amazon

#30

Post by chris72205 » Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 2:39 PM UTC

Once Amazon started charging sales tax in my state, it was a no brainer to go to Best Buy first.

- Same price (or sometimes less)

- No waiting on delivery

- High confidence that I'm getting a genuine product

For me, it's the last point that's most important...especially with more expensive electronics purchases.