My local Best Buy's Kindle display was probably the worst I've ever seen.

carld · 10-10-2010, 11:45 PM

I walk into my local Best Buy, and up near the front of the store I spot a Kindle. Great!, says me. Then I actually get over to the display. It was two metal shelves, completely empty except for one lone Kindle demo unit. And the screen had something smeared on it. There was a tiny rack of AC Adapters (they're extra?) at the left-top corner and a small rack of generic screen protectors on the right.

That was all. It really looked like hell and showed the Kindle off badly.

diokdin · 10-11-2010, 12:24 AM

Or it shows that there's a bunch of people who buy the Kindle....

Here's a pic of our local Best Buy display. (This was on Sept 30th)

The Sony Display has 3 units of PRS 350 on display at the same Best Buy branch.

So there might just be a lot of people buying ebook readers.

In another Best Buy branch, they do have quite a lot of Kindle 3 display but not much on accessory wise. But I visit them just this saturday. So they might have a new shipment from Amazon.

Ervserver · 10-11-2010, 12:40 AM

and the funny thing is the two nearly empty metal shelves are smarter than the entire sales staff

carld · 10-11-2010, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diokdin

Or it shows that there's a bunch of people who buy the Kindle....

Okay, take away the cases, the price stickers, the info sheet, the Kindle box on the bottom shelf, the white tray underneath the Kindle, make the shelves kind of beat up and dirty looking, and smear something on the Kindle screen, and that's what the one I saw looked like.

diokdin · 10-11-2010, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ervserver

and the funny thing is the two nearly empty metal shelves are smarter than the entire sales staff

LOL!

yeah, sometimes they don't know what the hell they are selling...

Quote:

Originally Posted by carld

Okay, take away the cases, the price stickers, the info sheet, the Kindle box on the bottom shelf, the white try underneath the Kindle, make the shelves kind of beat up and dirty looking, and smear something on the Kindle screen, and that's what the one I saw looked like.

Ohh... That is bad. Wonder if they just haven't finished putting up the Kindles? Or maybe that was the aftermath of the mob of very enthusiastic Kindle 3 customers. LOL!

jswinden · 10-11-2010, 10:12 AM

That pretty much resembles my local Best Buy too. Best Buy has a strange attitude toward selling stuff. If you know what you want and can find where they hid it, they will sell it to you--assuming they figure out how to work the cash register. But don't ask any questions as they reserve the right to act and/or be stupid!

suecsi · 10-11-2010, 10:22 AM

Sounds like PCWorld over here in the UK - well, all the one's I've been into anyway.

marty888 · 10-11-2010, 10:31 AM

That first photo looks exactly like the display my closest Staples store (NYC theater district).

Barty · 10-11-2010, 11:27 AM

BB's reason for existence is to let people see the product in real life and, I hate to say this, but tis true, to then go order on the net. I think they make money by selling warranty and Monster cables. Bless them, b/c I would hate to see the B&M stores go kaput.

How much can BB be making with these kindles anyway? They charge the same as Amazon, right?

TomF · 10-11-2010, 11:44 AM

The display at two of my local Best Buys looked like the one in picture with nothing on the hang pegs and nothing on the shelves except the Kindle and the white base. At least it was plugged in and working!

At my local Target a few months ago, the K2 was on an end cap display, not plugged in ("They didn't send us a power strip so there was no place to plug it in." Power strips were in the hardware section a few rows away. Duh!) and displaying the low battery message. That space has now been taken over by the iPad and the K3 display is relegated to the middle of the aisle. Again, just the Kindle on a white base, no Amazon covers, but a few Speck Dust Jacket covers with an interesting molded plastic base which the Kindle snaps into to hold it. They did have a couple of Wi-Fi models in stock though.

rcuadro · 10-11-2010, 04:49 PM

It was the same at my local Best Buy... but if you read the add it says minimum of 3 per store... so there may not have been many to begin with.

curstpriest · 10-11-2010, 06:34 PM

Retail is hurting in the US. I remember not 5-6 years ago, I would walk into Fry's electronics and it would be 8ft high of 40-60in plasma TV's, 20X8 ft wall of the latest nvidia+ati line of GFX cards/keyboard/mice/youname it. Now all they have is a modest isle of cellphones, desktops, notebooks, etc.. Stock is probably down in most stores like this a good 60-70% from what I have seen in other stores such as best buy and the like. I think good guys/circuit city went out of business awhile ago.

Sucks. Besides, everyone orders online now. And no sales tax? Sometimes I also don't get charged the 8-10$ E-waste fee that I should get charged for living in California for LCDS and stuff too! (Though I should)

Francesco · 10-11-2010, 10:35 PM

My local BestBuy has had a display with couple of "demo" Sony eReaders. Their screens say "press the home button to start a demo" or something like that, but they don't work... I haven't seen them working for a year!!! They're a couple of pieces of junk. What does Sony and/or Best Buy think people will believe when they see that?

Francesco · 10-11-2010, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ervserver

and the funny thing is the two nearly empty metal shelves are smarter than the entire sales staff

You bet!!!
My local Best Buy has about ten banners which are some kind of award that "awesome" stores have. But the quality of the service is so poor! Those banners only add insult to injury...

crich70 · 10-11-2010, 10:50 PM

Sounds like my experience when I bought a TRS-80 computer from Radio Shack back in the 80's. I wanted to be able to print things out (this was back when Dot Matrix was standard) and so bought a printer. Only the connector cord didn't come with it so I had to go back to the store. The manager didn't know what I was talking about. I had to look up what I wanted in the store catalog myself. I always figure if you're going to sell something at least know something about the product.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

That pretty much resembles my local Best Buy too. Best Buy has a strange attitude toward selling stuff. If you know what you want and can find where they hid it, they will sell it to you--assuming they figure out how to work the cash register. But don't ask any questions as they reserve the right to act and/or be stupid!

10-10-2010, 11:45 PM	#1
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	My local Best Buy's Kindle display was probably the worst I've ever seen. I walk into my local Best Buy, and up near the front of the store I spot a Kindle. Great!, says me. Then I actually get over to the display. It was two metal shelves, completely empty except for one lone Kindle demo unit. And the screen had something smeared on it. There was a tiny rack of AC Adapters (they're extra?) at the left-top corner and a small rack of generic screen protectors on the right. That was all. It really looked like hell and showed the Kindle off badly.

10-11-2010, 12:24 AM	#2
diokdin Groupie Posts: 187 Karma: 46 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: TN, US Device: iPhone 4, Astak EZ Pocket Pro, Kindle 3 3G	Or it shows that there's a bunch of people who buy the Kindle.... Here's a pic of our local Best Buy display. (This was on Sept 30th) The Sony Display has 3 units of PRS 350 on display at the same Best Buy branch. So there might just be a lot of people buying ebook readers. In another Best Buy branch, they do have quite a lot of Kindle 3 display but not much on accessory wise. But I visit them just this saturday. So they might have a new shipment from Amazon. Last edited by diokdin; 10-11-2010 at 12:26 AM.

10-11-2010, 10:12 AM	#6
jswinden Nameless Being	That pretty much resembles my local Best Buy too. Best Buy has a strange attitude toward selling stuff. If you know what you want and can find where they hid it, they will sell it to you--assuming they figure out how to work the cash register. But don't ask any questions as they reserve the right to act and/or be stupid! Last edited by jswinden; 10-11-2010 at 01:29 PM.

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10-11-2010, 12:40 AM	#3
Ervserver Wizard Posts: 2,624 Karma: 1008294 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Iowa, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch	and the funny thing is the two nearly empty metal shelves are smarter than the entire sales staff

10-11-2010, 10:22 AM	#7
suecsi Rock Chick Posts: 429 Karma: 4965 Join Date: May 2009 Location: near Heathrow Device: Kindle 2i, Kindle DX, Kindle 3G	Sounds like PCWorld over here in the UK - well, all the one's I've been into anyway.

10-11-2010, 10:31 AM	#8
marty888 Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Times Square Device: kindle 3 - wifi + 3G	That first photo looks exactly like the display my closest Staples store (NYC theater district).

10-11-2010, 11:27 AM	#9
Barty doofus Posts: 2,519 Karma: 13036221 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	BB's reason for existence is to let people see the product in real life and, I hate to say this, but tis true, to then go order on the net. I think they make money by selling warranty and Monster cables. Bless them, b/c I would hate to see the B&M stores go kaput. How much can BB be making with these kindles anyway? They charge the same as Amazon, right?

10-11-2010, 11:44 AM	#10
TomF Kindle Enthusiast Posts: 243 Karma: 1818 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Device: Kindle 3G Graphite, Kindle Fire	The display at two of my local Best Buys looked like the one in picture with nothing on the hang pegs and nothing on the shelves except the Kindle and the white base. At least it was plugged in and working! At my local Target a few months ago, the K2 was on an end cap display, not plugged in ("They didn't send us a power strip so there was no place to plug it in." Power strips were in the hardware section a few rows away. Duh!) and displaying the low battery message. That space has now been taken over by the iPad and the K3 display is relegated to the middle of the aisle. Again, just the Kindle on a white base, no Amazon covers, but a few Speck Dust Jacket covers with an interesting molded plastic base which the Kindle snaps into to hold it. They did have a couple of Wi-Fi models in stock though.

10-11-2010, 04:49 PM	#11
rcuadro Wizard Posts: 1,686 Karma: 874275 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Device: Kindle DX	It was the same at my local Best Buy... but if you read the add it says minimum of 3 per store... so there may not have been many to begin with.

10-11-2010, 06:34 PM	#12
curstpriest Confused Posts: 402 Karma: 5538 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Bay Area Device: Kindle DXG	Retail is hurting in the US. I remember not 5-6 years ago, I would walk into Fry's electronics and it would be 8ft high of 40-60in plasma TV's, 20X8 ft wall of the latest nvidia+ati line of GFX cards/keyboard/mice/youname it. Now all they have is a modest isle of cellphones, desktops, notebooks, etc.. Stock is probably down in most stores like this a good 60-70% from what I have seen in other stores such as best buy and the like. I think good guys/circuit city went out of business awhile ago. Sucks. Besides, everyone orders online now. And no sales tax? Sometimes I also don't get charged the 8-10$ E-waste fee that I should get charged for living in California for LCDS and stuff too! (Though I should)

10-11-2010, 10:35 PM	#13
Francesco Aficionado Posts: 391 Karma: 710 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Denver, CO, USA Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Touch	My local BestBuy has had a display with couple of "demo" Sony eReaders. Their screens say "press the home button to start a demo" or something like that, but they don't work... I haven't seen them working for a year!!! They're a couple of pieces of junk. What does Sony and/or Best Buy think people will believe when they see that?