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Originally Posted by Andrew H.
I don't believe that B&M shops like BB are really providing free showrooms for Amazon. I bought two HDTVs through Amazon, and for both of them I relied on reviews, both from enthusiast sites and from Amazon itself. These are a lot more reliable IMO than looking at a screen calibrated to look good in a showroom for 10 minutes.
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I've seen many messages from people here on MR who test-drove readers at a physical store before buying online. I think this is especially true for technology they've never used before.
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Some online reviews are very reliable; I'm not sure why you think they aren't. Or that you can make up for a detailed review by asking the BB employee a question.
No. BB's floor experience has always sucked. That's their whole business model and it always has been. Because BB succeeded by outcompeting specialty electronics dealers (who actually did have knowledgeable sales people on staff, although at the cost of a 40% upcharge). BB beat out specialty retailers through low prices, wide selection, and no knowledgeable customer service. BB is suffering because Amazon is doing the same thing that BB did, only better.
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I guess I wasn't being very clear, because what you said is what I was trying to say. I am in complete agreement with your assessment here.
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And probably the biggest advantage to Amazon is that you really can get what you want. One of the frustrations of going to a place like BB with the intention of purchasing a particular model that you read a great review of is that they don't have that particular model in stock. (Although they often, conveniently, have the next model up in stock.) Shopping online means you can get exactly what you want. Even if you live in the sticks.
And it also means that you can get an HDMI cable for $5 instead of $30.
I'm not sure that's any more efficient. In the end, the product has to come to your house, and it's probably more efficient for it to come via the UPS truck (which is delivering three other products to your street and 20 other products to your neighborhood) than for the 20 people in your neighborhood to all make separate trips to wherever they are going.
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Yes, but that cost is offloaded to the consumer, who probably won't factor it into what they pay. Many people are just looking for an excuse to drive somewhere, and won't be bothered at all about going out to pick something up.