FORBES: Best Buy Will Be Out of Business Soon
In case you aren’t aware, Best Buy made a point a few years ago to start celebrating Muslim holidays while simultaneously removing Christmas from its December advertising — replacing it with “Seasons Greetings” or “The Holidays”.
As a company, Best Buy also decided Thanksgiving wasn’t going to be featured in its ads either as of 2009 — but they’d make a big deal about celebrating something called Eid al-Adha instead.
2009 was the last year I ever bought so much as a soda pop or stick of gum at Best Buy.
I hope you don’t shop there either.
But, if you do, you won’t have much longer to celebrate Ramadan or “Mutilate Young Girls With Female Circumcision Day” (however Best Buy phrases that in Arabic on its in-store promotions) because FORBES analysts have realized that Best Buy is in the beginning stages of bankruptcy and closure.
It’s a great article that notes mistakes that a great many large companies have made in failing to properly adapt to a digital world: having terrible returns policies, not linking the website to the store inventory seamlessly, employing terrible clerks who are rude and have no idea how to help customers, arbitrarily picking something stupid every quarter to “drive” as a sales number whether customers really want to buy that thing or not.
Essentially, Amazon.com is getting the business that Best Buy used to because Amazon treats people how they want to be treated and provides products cheaper and with less hassles.
I never thought about this until I read the article, but I buy almost everything my boyfriend Justin and I ever need besides food and clothes from Amazon. Justin’s incredibly picky with clothes and has to try everything on and have a little fashion show in the store before he’ll wear it (even if it’s tube socks)…and I like going to the grocery store instead of doing that online via Peapod or a similar service. But, everything else comes from Amazon — where shipping is free because I signed up for a “Prime Membership” that not also includes free TV shows and movies (with replaced our Netflix subscription for hundreds less a year).
I don’t think I’ll ever set foot in a Best Buy again. And I don’t think I’ll ever buy anything in a store that I can just have delivered to me here at home after purchasing it from Amazon. This is actually a great way to live on a tight budget, too, because it eliminates the pressure of sales people and the temptation to impulse buy based on big, attention-getting store displays.
I also like that if I buy something from Amazon and don’t like it, I can sell it back and lose almost nothing on the deal. I do this a lot with books — if I need one for something I’m researching and it ends up not being worth keeping, I can return it and get something else. That is so much less hassle than trying to deal with the Chicago Public Library system (and, actually, if you factor in what I’d have spent on trains and buses going around town to find something I wanted, it’s actually cheaper just to get it from Amazon).
FORBES has picked up on the fact that a lot of people are doing what I’m doing — but it’s interesting that the article makes no mention of Best Buy’s weird decision to alienate previous customers by dumping Thanksgiving and Christmas and embracing Islamic holidays instead.
It sure feels more than coincidental that the war on American and Christian holidays in Best Buy stores coincides perfectly with the company beginning its skid into bankruptcy — a process that FORBES believes will see the retailer out of business in five years.
I know I tell everyone who will listen about the advertising choices Best Buy started making in 2009…and I hope you keep that in mind when you’re shopping (or not shopping, more likely) at Best Buy as well.
© 2012, Kevin DuJan. All rights reserved.
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I'm with you on Amazon vs. Best Buy. The Amazon Prime thing is great. Very predictable two day delivery.
Be sure to use the "Subscribe and save" feature where you can. You get 15% off on things you buy regularly, like batteries, and they deliver them every X months. You get to pick the delivery schedule, it is easy to skip shipments if you don't need them and easy to cancel.
Amazon is usually 30% or more less than Best Buy. I don't know how BB has stayed in business this long. The only thing we bought there recently was a microwave, because I wanted something easy to return if it didn't fit properly.
I wasn't aware of the Muslim thing. One more reason to shop elsewhere.
I figure that the reason Best Buy has been able to hang in there this long is because it took a while for word-of-mouth to spread about how great Amazon Prime really is, even for ordinary customers. The way it's described on Amazon's website makes it sound like little more than a luxury.
AND, honestly, when you see that Amazon Prime is $79 you wince.
But then I thought about it like this:
1. Prime gives you free movies and TV shows, so I could get rid of NetFlix — I like having movies and shows to watch right before bed and I don’t need the current things out there…and Prime has thousands of hours of things to watch (and about 40% are things I enjoy)
2. Shipping is $4.00 on any item you’d buy without Prime. So, if I bought 20 things a year from Amazon, I’d spend $80 in shipping anyway. I easily buy at least 20 books from Amazon. So Prime was worth it for me.
But then, since I had the free shipping from Prime, I started buying other things from Amazon instead of from other stores here in Chicago. Like, I got Justin and myself a barbell set and weight bench for $100 total and it was free shipping with prime. I would have spent $200 on that in Chicago, easy, and I would have had to spend about $20 on a cab to get the stuff home. So the Prime saved me — in my mind — $120 on that deal. AND now we don’t pay a gym membership because we have this at home and that saves us $130/month. We really came out ahead and were able to cut a lot of ongoing costs on just this one Prime purchase.
If you have not checked out Prime, do it. You will love it and it will pay for itself very quickly.
Great info on Prime @ Amazon. I realize I am buying more and more from Amazon, and not just book – which I buy pretty much exclusively on Amazon. The screen comes up to ask me if I want to subscribe to Amazon – the Prime thing – and so far I've ignored it. Will now take a very close second look. As far as the things I buy regularly, that will ship on a schedule – what a great idea. With gas at $3.50 a gallon – and our truck, an Avalanche with a V-8 that sucks gas so quickly, I should be letting Amazon deliver a case of diapers every month, and wipes, that I'd normally trot off to Target to buy. Absolutely hate Best Buy – and did a lengthy post on it some years ago, when my 70-year old Mom got a really hard time returning something with some snotty clerk telling her that the return policy was clearly printed on the back of the receipt and how there'd be a $25. restocking fee, blah, blah, blah. Will DEFINITELY be looking into Amazon Prime and kicking myself for not doing so earlier. THANKS!
I LOVE Subscribe & Save at Amazon. I tell all my friends to use it. Anything you use regularly…diapers, protein powder, detergent…the list goes on and on. The one thing you forgot to mention is that delivery is also FREE. You just set up your initial delivery schedule, then with a click of a button you can add/cancel deliveries depending on your use. It's great! And it always send you an e-mail before shipment, so you can cancel if you want to. For 15% off AND free delivery, you just can't beat that.
I was turned off by Best Buy this year when they had a commercial for Christmas with someone threatening Santa that she was going to get her gifts at Best Buy and I think Santa falls off of the roof??? I thought that was absolutely horrible!!! What about the poor children watching that??? I thought it was in terribly, poor taste by far!!!
Great post, Kevin. My computer unexpectedly up and died on October 30th of last year. I went into panic mode and rushed out to Best Buy and bought a replacement. Big mistake! In a nutshell, the clerks were NOT the least bit knowledgeable nor helpful. They tried to push an expensive and ineffective antiviral program plus charged me $100 to remove the garbage that comes installed. I have since learned there are free programs available on the internet that do the same.
In case you ever need another good one, I just discovered this about a week ago: AVAST!
That’s an exclamation point on the end: AVAST!
I am using that, a thing called SpyBot, and then Microsoft Security Suite and that AVAST! got rid of the viruses that MacAfee and Nortion couldn’t find.
I really want to study computer viruses now…but the psychology of them. What kind of person creates these things? Why do they do it?
If anyone reads this and knows of any good books on viruses, please give me some titles. I’m so tired of having to deal with these things without knowing what sort of people are out there creating them.
Hi Kevin,Three good books are the ones by Kevin Mitnick.
Ghost in the Wires
The Art of Deception
The Art of Intrusion
These books will really give you a good look at the mindset of the hacker or virus writer.
Also there is a good website called hak5.org. It is a bit more techie but the video are very interesting. And yes it is safe.
William
They do it for the same reason we do anything else in life…power and control.
And because they can. Most of the people I know who are hackers, virus creators, etc., just think they are sooooo much smarter than the rest of us peons and therefore they deserve not only to invade and infect and spy on the rest of us, but also to break the law with illegal downloads, producing bootlegged, illegally reproduced videos and selling them, etc. An awful lot of it is ego and arrogance. Oddly, a lot of this activity takes place in someone's mommy's basement too…
We haven't been to Best Buy in a couple of years. It wasn't as though we made a conscious decision to avoid it…this post was a surprise to us. We were just not feeling comfortable when we went there.
Don't think I'll shed any tears over their demise.
Okay. Here's my weekly plea. Could you please remove me from moderation? I promise to be a good girl.
It appears that you have been granted your wish.
Kevin – I am ashamed: I bought a Dell XPS tower from Best Buy. But (I grovel here for forgiveness), I bought everything else (Samsung screen, etc.) on Amazon. I would have bought the Dell from Amazon also but it didn't include software installation, etc. It wasn't until too late that I realized I had to install it myself anyway. As punishment for patronizing BB, my tower didn't work – the 'CD/DVD' software didn't show up on the screen. When I called up BB, they chirped over the phone that they weren't the least surprised. (Hello?) Apparently Dell outsources its production to China and Mexico which routinely produce glitches of the missing 'CD/DVD' drive sort. BB told me to bring the tower back and they're replace it with new one. When I did so, I arrived to find a fuming elderly couple in front of me who were livid over the lousy work the Geek Squad had done on their printer; the old woman wanted to give the Geeker an earful but her husband pulled her away. Moments later, I had my own problems with the same Geeker and, as I walked out of the store, I swore to myself that this was my LAST buy at that store. The only 2 things I profited from was that (a) I bought the tower on time payments; and (b) since this software glitch was common in Dell's, it saved me enormous time to simply cab to and from BB with a new tower instead of the wait for an Amazon return.
All in all, though, you speak words of truth. Amazon is THE place to go to. I invest in its Prime and it's worth its weight in gold. I would buy everything from Amazon if they'd let me. Their wonderful, caring, considerate customer relations are polar opposite to BB which is why I have loyalty to one and contempt for the other.
I remember seeing the ad that ignored Thanksgiving. I was glad I didn't buy much from there.
Best Buy's two probelms for me are Bait and Switch and their computer services. I have gone there a number of times for an advertised item that is gone the next day. I won't get just anything, so I usually walked out.
I don't get computer work done (I'm the person who fixes them for people I know) but I have heard that Geek Squad is understaffed and gets so swamped they often use Clause 10 of the service contract. It says that they can wipe your hard drive if there are too many virus problems. It also turns a 2 hour fix into a 10 minute fix.
Wow. I live her in MN, Best Buy's headquarters and I have heard nothing. This is mind-blowing since BB built these incredible buildings that look like ships on prime property and the city of Bloomington made major changes in the area to accomodate this large employer. Guess they didn't know how lucky they had it, but then again, we're talking MN here.
I can WALK to Best Buy headquarters in less than 15 minutes.
They destroyed the Southern part of the suburb Richfield by forcing people out of their houses to build that hideous monstrosity while promising to pay back in high taxes.
They lied. They found loopholes, and DID NOT pay the taxes.
They also didn't jump into the online market, and insisted that their stores would be king.
They're not.
CD sales have plummeted, TV sales have plummeted, and they don't give a shit about their customers.
I remember the days when Best Buy was just a few stores in Minnesota. I got hired to dress up in a Christmas Tree outfit for them during the Christmas season. Man, that means I'm old, because back then, Christmas was celebrated by everyone.
This is how capitalism works: You give people what they want, and they pay for it. If you don't, you go out of business.
Gosh, I haven't purchased anything at Best Buy in many, many years. I haven't even been IN a Best Buy in many, many years. Could this be part of the reason they're sliding into bankruptcy? I am with you, Kevin, on the Amazon Prime thing. I have had Amazon Prime since they first started offering it. I spend a couple thousand dollars a year on books. I love that I can pre-order on Amazon and get the book cheaper and with free shipping on the very day it is released and never have to leave my house. I also order pretty much everything else on Amazon as well. I even ordered some household cleaning products in bulk and got them for a fraction of the Wal Mart price – shipped free to my house. Well worth the $79 bucks!
As the old saying goes:
"S–t rolls downhill"
I'm so grateful to all of you for your comments about Amazon! I tend to shy away from subscriptions, but the Prime and the Subscribe & Save programs sound fantastic. I will check them out and tell others about them.
As to Best Buy, good riddance. I can't stand anti-Christianity/pro-Muslim mindsets in my country. Plus, the management sucks.
Best Buy can't possibly go out of business fast enough. This has to be the WORST tech retailer in almost every way possible, but especially customer service. If you want a laugh, go look at all the reviews of Best Buy on Reseller Ratings.
Best Buy may be the worst, but I will give the award for the most pretentious and annoying tech retailer to any and every Apple store. Talk about the absolute worst customer service EVER. You practically have to make an appointment to go in there and browse! Combine that with having salespeople who look just like the customers, who just kind of wander around the store and wait on whoever they want. The place is mobbed ALL the time… I can go on and on, but the bottom line is, as much as I hate Best Buy, Apple is the worst customer experience ever!
I didn't know about any of this but I have noticed that their email advers to me have become increasingly frequent and desperate. It just smelled so bad I've taken to ignoring them. Glad I know why now.
All though Best Buy has good bargins from time to time, their Ink cartridges prices are overall the highest. I did not know about the Muslim thing, will shop elsewhere from now on.
The "Game on, Santa" commercials were the last straw for me.