Is Best Buy's Pricing Strategy Driving Customers Away?

[Pengwuino]

A month ago I bought a new laptop and a solid state drive to go with it. The drive cost about $140. As with EVERYTHING I EVER BUY that's computer hardware, a few weeks later it's 40% cheaper. And it was the ONE drive they put on sale. Is the universe ****ing with me?

I recall many years ago I bought a $500 video card, top if the line, can practically make me dinner. A few months later Nvidia puts out this breakthrough new line of video cards that had 60% performance increases on even the base models compared to my video card. AND it was all done on the new PCI-E standard so I couldn't upgrade.

I also bought a great sound card. Now I figure this wouldn't happen because that line of cards hadn't been improved upon in years.

OF COURSE, a year later Creative Labs puts out a new line of yet another breakthrough set of sound cards. People claimed they were unbelievable and that no one knew sound cards would ever really be improved.

Thus goes the story of my life.

 

[rhody]

Poor Peng,

He's suffering from PTPRTAD, (Post Traumatic Pengwuino Rapid Technological Advancement Disorder). This could have been avoided if you bought from http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Misc/Buy-Back-Program/pcmcat230000050010.c?id=pcmcat230000050010" instead.

Rhody...

 

[Pengwuino]

You want me to go on a penguin murdering spree don't you.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I've been thinking about upgrading my floppy drive for decades now, but instead of falling into the trap that you did, I keep waiting for something cheaper and better.

 

[lisab]

Is the universe ****ing with me?

Yes, it is.

 

[wuliheron]

Yes, it is.

Only because he keeps ****ing with the universe. Its instant karma baby.

 

[NeoDevin]

After you buy something, stop shopping for it! Then you won't know about the sales, and won't get upset about it.

 

[dlgoff]

Is the universe ****ing with me?

Yes, it is.

Might as well accept it. The worlds a changing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVwWE_WOY0Q

 

[Newai]

Don't let anything change your world. Let the great Fiona Apple sooth your neglected wings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ5WPXxNzPU

 

[physics girl phd]

After you buy something, stop shopping for it! Then you won't know about the sales, and won't get upset about it.

True. And also... don't drive it off the lot.

 

[lisab]

Don't let anything change your world. Let the great Fiona Apple sooth your neglected wings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ5WPXxNzPU

Very nice .

 

[wuliheron]

Don't let anything change your world. Let the great Fiona Apple sooth your neglected wings.

Now she has excellent karma.

 

[Pengwuino]

After you buy something, stop shopping for it! Then you won't know about the sales, and won't get upset about it.

But I'm on their mailing list

 

[jhae2.718]

Newegg is awesome. Bad Peng!

 

[DoggerDan]

Waddle on over here. Have I got a deal for you...

 

[206PiruBlood]

Newegg is awesome, I try and buy most of my electronics from them; it's always cheaper and they ship extremely fast.

You should be saying up yours to Creative labs and Nvidia. They are the true villains flooding the market with quality affordable products!

 

[Pengwuino]

Newegg is awesome, I try and buy most of my electronics from them; it's always cheaper and they ship extremely fast.

You should be saying up yours to Creative labs and Nvidia. They are the true villains flooding the market with quality affordable products!

I KNOW. Those jerks. And constantly innovating and pushing the envelope on GPU performance and sound quality.

There should be a law against this.

 

[rhody]

This is going to stir Peng, I know how he "adores" Best Buy:

Why Best Buy is Going out of Business...Gradually

Despite the disappearance of competitors including Circuit City, the company is losing market share. Its last earnings announcement disappointed investors. In 2011, the company’s stock has lost 40% of its value. Forward P/E is a mere 6.23 (industry average is 10.20). Its market cap down to less than $9 billion. Its average analyst rating, according to The Street.com, is a B-.

With the flop of 3D televisions and the expansion of Apple’s own retail locations, there was no killer product on the horizon that would lift it from the doldrums. Though the company accounts for almost a (third, wow, didn't know that...) of all U.S. consumer electronics purchases, analysts noted, the company remains a ripe target for more nimble competitors.

IMHO, one of the reason's Best Buy isn't in the same league as oline retailer Amazon. Remember the media story about online Christmas sales orders not being filled and lack of inventory ? These are systemic issues that if not corrected will enhance BB's early demise.

Amazon lives and breathes the customer’s point-of-view. It completely engineers its business practices, its systems, and its people to support it. When they make a mistake, they admit it and they fix it.

Ok, Peng, you can start dancing in the street and prepare to short sell all of your Best Buy stock.

Rhody...

 

[cmb]

Some time back I was a researcher starting off a 3 year project, my particular task was to drive the simulation work element of the project. There was an article [New Scientist, I believe] describing how some computer scientist had suggested that it may not make sense to start simulation work on a science project straight away because in a years time the computers you can buy would double your processing speeds.

The logic is that if you wait one year of a 3 year project (and do nothing) before you buy computer simulation hardware then you still complete the 3 year project having done more simulations!

I showed the article to the project senior researcher and suggested maybe I shouldn't bother doing anything in the first year. Suffice to say, he was not persuaded!

Sorry, peng, it's happened to us all I am sure. I waited for years to buy extra hard drive storage and soon after I did the price for drives plummeted. So I've been biding my time recently now that I need more storage - and, darn it, the prices for hard drives has been going up of late!

 

[pergradus]

That's why you only buy items that are on sale.

 

[chente12]

Basically every profitable company does this. Just like those Macbook Pro’s. You buy one for over 1k and in under 6 months a new better model has come out. Worst of all, what can you really do? You already know that a new model will come out 6 months from now, but then a newer model will come out 6 months after that one. You basically have to choose the lesser of two evils; spend over 1k to get your computer now, or wait 6 months, knowing yet 6 months after that you still won’t have to top model. Or you can always stick to the old pen, pencil, and books. At least with those you basically get what you get and that’s it. Unless again, you’re talking about textbooks, but that’s a rant for a whole other day :)

 

[Moonbear]

This is going to stir Peng, I know how he "adores" Best Buy:

Why Best Buy is Going out of Business...Gradually


IMHO, one of the reason's Best Buy isn't in the same league as oline retailer Amazon. Remember the media story about online Christmas sales orders not being filled and lack of inventory ? These are systemic issues that if not corrected will enhance BB's early demise.


Ok, Peng, you can start dancing in the street and prepare to short sell all of your Best Buy stock.

Rhody...

My opinion of the problem with them is they rarely have the best price. The only thing I bought from them in recent years was an LCD TV, not because they had the best price, but because that's something I don't trust not to be damaged in shipping, so picked up in person. Otherwise, I rarely even shop there, and when I do, it's to try stuff out that I plan to buy cheaper online.