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Moderator cut: see note That is what happened to me. The merchandise I wanted was not in stock, but they said it will be here by the time of my installation appointment. And yes, I did speak with a manager, who told me the same thing......they would not sell me a stereo unless they installed it. Their policy may be different now, I don't know.
Moderator cut: see note
Moderator cut: orphaned
best buy, AFAIK for the past 12 years, has NEVER had a policy that requires you to purchase their install service to buy a car stereo from them.
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Originally Posted by BenjaminNicholas
You bought a warranty from them? Classic mistake. Read Consumer Reports, who have themselves done the math and for 5 years running reported it was a bad buy. No use anyway with a credit card, as most cc companies carry included extended electronics warranties on purchases already. Always read the fine print. Save some money.
how is it a bad buy? 100$ for an extra 3 years and my total purchase price was still LESS than what the unit would run, retail, with a 1 year warranty from sony.
im sorry.. wait no im not LOL. the warranty is no questions asked. i have a problem, i take it in (they will actually come out first and attempt to repair it on-site), they give me the same (or slightly better) model, no questions asked.
please explain how thats bad? i know exactly what my warranty covers and what it doesnt cover, and the small stuff it doesnt cover, im confident enough in my electrical skills to repair myself.
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BB doesn't charge more... They simply offer less. Their employee knowledge of product is poor, their consumer ratings are low and this shuffle of design isn't going to help if they don't hire folks who have some kind of intellect for what they're selling. You tell us to 'do homework,' but there are many out there who are too old, too busy and simply need some honest information on things like HDMI cables, HD picture quality, surround-sound formats, DVD up-scaling, etc. In the times I've chatted with folks at Magnolia, it's clear they are clueless to the real meat & potatoes of what they're attempting to sell.
i guess you missed my 'do your homework before going to best buy' comment, otherwise you wouldnt have made such an irrelevant comment. using catchy buzzwords 'hd picture quality, upscaling, sound formats' doesnt further your point either, it only detracts from it.
using age and experience as an excuse is just that. an excuse. if you are just 'too busy' to do your homework on a product you want to spend money on, why would you care about the level of service, the quality of the product or the rating of the business you purchase it from? you dont care enough to research it. you want someone to lead you by the hand and explain everything the way YOU want it.
it doesnt work that way, son.
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As for Geek Squad and their installation services: You can find local AV companies who do a much better job, with less scheduling hassle for a lot cheaper. The amount of markup you're paying when going with them is insane.
id rather do it myself honestly, so i know its done right. you are correct though, as the markup at BB is insane and i know contractors off craigslist that are licensed and bonded that would install it professionally, with all hardware included, for a MUCH cheaper price.
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Originally Posted by majormadmax
Sorry, but after buying one of their Insignia brand TVs based on their recommendation that crapped out after a year and was not repairable, I won't step foot in that chain again!
By the way, we replaced that TV with a Philips that is still running strong after almost five years. We've also bought a few Vizio brand TVs from Walmart which are also working fine after several years.
Best Buy can "re-invent" themselves all the want, but until they stop carrying overpriced crap and hiring employees who don't have a clue as to what they are selling, it'll be the same lousy store that it ever was. I am surprised it hasn't followed Circuit City's path down the drain...
insignia is made by samsung or magnavox, i forget which. both are a brand of TV i would avoid.
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Originally Posted by Merovee
I wonder how much superstores (bigger boxes) like Walmart,.
wal mart will never die (sadly). they literally force their providers to sell them what they want, at the price they want, or they threaten to take their business elsewhere. sadly, it works also
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Originally Posted by FormerRocket04
I'd rather buy my video games from Steam, my cables from Monoprice, and everything else from either Amazon or Walmart.
I remember a while back, I was looking for a video game that had been out for a good while. I went over to the section and looked around for a good bit, but I couldn't find it. I looked around for someone to help, but the guy running the section was running his mouth of to someone who sounded like he was a friend of his. I waited a good 10 minutes to let him end his conversation because I didn't want to be rude, but eventually I was just annoyed. I walked up to him, interrupted his conversation and asked him if he had what I was looking for. He told me "No, we're completely out of that title." So I went back into the shelves annoyed, but I had a strange feeling. I moved a few things around in the COMPLETELY unorganized shelves and found 5 copies of the game I was looking for. After I grabbed a copy, I looked around for the same guy and found him IN ANOTHER CONVERSATION! Out of complete annoyance, I got his attention and put the box of the game in his face and said, "You had 5 copies of the game sitting on your shelves!" The look on his face and his complete silence was all worth it.
That's just one of the several stories I have about how bad BB is.
i dont think anyone is questioning the incompetence of the overwhelming majority of the teenage/young 20s best buy employees. even the older ones are pretty brain-dead. simply doing your homework (age and experience is no excuse) before going there will help to alleviate the majority of the gripes in this thread.
found this interesting bit while researching house brand tvs:
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As of 2009, Vizio is now the largest producer of LCD televisions in North America. Although the company is based out of California, their HDTV's are not Made in America.
i read in the older thread about vizios how one poster was all 'theyre made in america, so thats good'.. LOL
also appears that insignia tvs are leftover parts from last year's LG brand, but the quality is terrible. go house brand tvs!
Last edited by BstYet2Be; 08-20-2012 at 08:07 PM..
best buy, AFAIK for the past 12 years, has NEVER had a policy that requires you to purchase their install service to buy a car stereo from them. "personal attacks are against the ToS.
Yeah, well calling me a liar is a no-no too.
Last edited by BstYet2Be; 08-20-2012 at 08:13 PM..
best buy, AFAIK for the past 12 years, has NEVER had a policy that requires you to purchase their install service to buy a car stereo from them. "personal attacks are against the ToS.
Just because there is no "corporate policy" doesn't mean the stores aren't doing it
Last edited by BstYet2Be; 08-20-2012 at 08:14 PM..
Reason: corrected quoted text
best buy, AFAIK for the past 12 years, has NEVER had a policy that requires you to purchase their install service to buy a car stereo from them.
how is it a bad buy? 100$ for an extra 3 years and my total purchase price was still LESS than what the unit would run, retail, with a 1 year warranty from sony.
im sorry.. wait no im not LOL. the warranty is no questions asked. i have a problem, i take it in (they will actually come out first and attempt to repair it on-site), they give me the same (or slightly better) model, no questions asked.
please explain how thats bad? i know exactly what my warranty covers and what it doesnt cover, and the small stuff it doesnt cover, im confident enough in my electrical skills to repair myself.
i guess you missed my 'do your homework before going to best buy' comment, otherwise you wouldnt have made such an irrelevant comment. using catchy buzzwords 'hd picture quality, upscaling, sound formats' doesnt further your point either, it only detracts from it.
using age and experience as an excuse is just that. an excuse. if you are just 'too busy' to do your homework on a product you want to spend money on, why would you care about the level of service, the quality of the product or the rating of the business you purchase it from? you dont care enough to research it. you want someone to lead you by the hand and explain everything the way YOU want it.
it doesnt work that way, son.
id rather do it myself honestly, so i know its done right. you are correct though, as the markup at BB is insane and i know contractors off craigslist that are licensed and bonded that would install it professionally, with all hardware included, for a MUCH cheaper price.
insignia is made by samsung or magnavox, i forget which. both are a brand of TV i would avoid.
wal mart will never die (sadly). they literally force their providers to sell them what they want, at the price they want, or they threaten to take their business elsewhere. sadly, it works also
i dont think anyone is questioning the incompetence of the overwhelming majority of the teenage/young 20s best buy employees. even the older ones are pretty brain-dead. simply doing your homework (age and experience is no excuse) before going there will help to alleviate the majority of the gripes in this thread.
found this interesting bit while researching house brand tvs:
i read in the older thread about vizios how one poster was all 'theyre made in america, so thats good'.. LOL
also appears that insignia tvs are leftover parts from last year's LG brand, but the quality is terrible. go house brand tvs!
Wow. Based on that reply, you have more time than I do to figure these things out
The only thing I'll say is that time will tell how BB does in all of this. Their stock is WAY down and the tech world considers them lightweights.
As for my 'buzzwords,' they're tech terms, not jargon. They've been around long before you started shopping at Best Buy and will be around long after you stop.
And as for what I want: I spent upwards of $40k on my home theater system... What I want is personal attention, good customer service and people who know their stuff (as I do). The teenagers who work at the BB's I've browsed in have been p*ss poor examples of knowledgeable employees.
... Oh yeah, and Samsung, who you say to avoid, is now the largest and most popular television maker in the world. Go figure.
BN
Last edited by BstYet2Be; 08-20-2012 at 08:19 PM..
Reason: updated quoted text
Something bigger seems to be going on. Borders, Circuit City, and soon Best Buy.
Yeah, online shopping is going on. I bought my last 3 TVs online. Better prices, free shipping and no sales tax. Two of the three have worked out great. The other one lasted 9 months, but I blame myself for picking an unknown brand that was essentially the low bidder. Next time I bought a Vizio... live and learn.
As much as spending $40k on an electronics system is seem as admirable by some, enviable by others, such a setup might be inaccessible to most here. Note that I fall in all three categories but always like when BN posts because even if I disagree I learn something about quality and refined taste.
TBH we bought our last widescreen HD TV and a computer monitor from Best Buy and no problems yet. We even bought the warranty for the TV and did have to end up using it with no problems.
Our old Accord had a sweet stereo setup including CD in the trunk and cassette on the dash (we are old school and have many Freestyle, New Wave, and other dance music on cassette still but haven't had a cassette player in a car since that car was retired). Best Buy installed it all.
It do shop more online but the ability to simply take a product back to a local store beats having to ship items back and wait. I do fear the more we abandon the local brick and mortars that we will lose out on some other features but it does seem online shopping is going to dominate all indeed.
We shop at Best Buy at least once a year so not very often to keep it in business but often enough that I will miss it when it is gone.
I also wonder how much I am like other shoppers because I really don't know where I will buy my next TV but if Best Buy is still around and we get our hands on their circular then they just might be the ticket. From the sounds of it they won't be around much longer so...
Yeah, online shopping is going on. I bought my last 3 TVs online. Better prices, free shipping and no sales tax. Two of the three have worked out great. The other one lasted 9 months, but I blame myself for picking an unknown brand that was essentially the low bidder. Next time I bought a Vizio... live and learn.
That no sales tax part is gonna be ending soon. Read that on one of the news websites, can't remember which. You're gonna have to pay sales tax on online items just on Amazon.
Crutchfield.com is the way to go. They have real customer service people who know their products.
BN
Very true but you pay for that service. I find Crutchfield to be higher priced than many places. That said, they maintain a high level of knowledge. The wife needs a new stereo for her truck and Crutchfield is the only place that pointed out she needed not one but two adapters (one for steering wheel controls and one for connecting to the amp).
I still like Best Buy for a place I can walk into and actually put my hands on thngs but I am certainly not married to them.
Wow. Based on that reply, you have more time than I do to figure these things out
The only thing I'll say is that time will tell how BB does in all of this. Their stock is WAY down and the tech world considers them lightweights.
not more time, just far more knowledgeable, but thanks for noticing
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As for my 'buzzwords,' they're tech terms, not jargon. They've been around long before you started shopping at Best Buy and will be around long after you stop.
actually, no they havent. HD wasnt even a gleam in its creator's eye when i was born. betamax was considered THE format for quality.
they are buzzwords designed to confuse and lure people into buying stuff they dont need, such as your 40k sound system.
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B]And as for what I want: [/b] What I want is personal attention, good customer service and people who know their stuff (as I do). The teenagers who work at the BB's I've browsed in have been p*ss poor examples of knowledgeable employees.
what you spent on your sound system is irrelevant unless it was purchased at best buy.
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... Oh yeah, and Samsung, who you say to avoid, is now the largest and most popular television maker in the world. Go figure.
that doesnt make them the best. being the most popular = / = being the best. my bravia will blow away samsung's top model and my bravia is midlevel at best.
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