Just got a kindle paperwhite in store at Best Buy

[Avwriter]

Originally Posted by MrDoug

Yes.. BB is in disarray Nation wide.. the whole chain has major problems with management, employee training, coordination, inventory notifications, staffing good sales associates.. etc.. they are projected to close 25-30% of 1,400 stores in 2013.. they have the problem ..
"the right hand doesn't know what left hand is doing" they are in Big Trouble..

Indeed. A decade ago, BB was much better in this regard, and Circuit City was the store most notorious for its clueless employees and poorly stocked shelves with missing or trashed display models. It seems that when CC closed its doors, they somehow managed to infect BB with their disease. One would think that with such fierce online competition, that BB would be bending over backwards to train its employees and insist on providing superior customer service. BB now reminds me of CC in the last year or so before it shut down. Sad. Fry's seems to be the only decent big box electronics store left.

[Kolenka]

Fry's has their problems that concern me, and the local store has been a source of problems on multiple occasions.

Feels like it is really time for another retailer to step up and try to offer value on good customer service and local stores. But the question is if there is still room in the market for such a venture or will Walmart and Amazon force them right back out?

[Dragoro]

Originally Posted by Kolenka

Fry's has their problems that concern me, and the local store has been a source of problems on multiple occasions.

Feels like it is really time for another retailer to step up and try to offer value on good customer service and local stores. But the question is if there is still room in the market for such a venture or will Walmart and Amazon force them right back out?

Isnt Amazon starting to open stores?

[Kolenka]

Originally Posted by Dragoro

Isnt Amazon starting to open stores?

The rumor is that they want to open warehouses for same-day delivery all over the place, but I haven't seen anything about stores.

Why on earth would they open stores when that business model obviously doesn't work well in most markets? Consumers seem to prefer shopping on the internet and having the items shipped to their home.

[Kolenka]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Why on earth would they open stores when that business model obviously doesn't work well in most markets? Consumers seem to prefer shopping on the internet and having the items shipped to their home.

How much of that is convenience, and how much is price sensitivity though? I actually find having stuff shipped to an apartment is less convenient than just picking it up from a local store. But I'm also a bit less price sensitive on top of that.

If BB is acting like a showroom for online stores like Amazon, then is there possibly a symbiosis there between retail and online that might hurt one if the other dies off?

That said, I agree that Amazon would be crazy to open stores. One of their biggest advantages is that they don't have the headaches and costs involved with retail locations. It's what let them get as big as they are today.

[7hir7een]

If you purchase a Kindle from Best Buy, can you still use Amazon customer service for any issues? The representative I spoke to at BB seemed to say this was true, because any problems are covered under the manufacturer's warranty. Is this true/not true?

I may try one more time, getting a unit at Best Buy to see if it's color-blotch-less.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by 7hir7een

If you purchase a Kindle from Best Buy, can you still use Amazon customer service for any issues? The representative I spoke to at BB seemed to say this was true, because any problems are covered under the manufacturer's warranty. Is this true/not true?

I may try one more time, getting a unit at Best Buy to see if it's color-blotch-less.

Yea very true. Amazon will support it, even replace it. The refund though should be through BB. That is the only difference.

[MrDoug]

Originally Posted by 7hir7een

If you purchase a Kindle from Best Buy, can you still use Amazon customer service for any issues? The representative I spoke to at BB seemed to say this was true, because any problems are covered under the manufacturer's warranty. Is this true/not true?

I may try one more time, getting a unit at Best Buy to see if it's color-blotch-less.

"'
Yes. Mine blotches at bottom as well, not to bad in daylight but at night in bed horrible at bottom. !! I will try another. If no good
I will stay with NSTGlo. Which at nite in bed
is way better than KPW. Or will use Nexus 7 in nite mode or low lite settings.
.

[Kolenka]

Originally Posted by MrDoug

Yes. Mine blotches at bottom as well not to bad in daylight but at night in bed horrible at bottom. !! I will try another. If no good. I stay with NSTGlo. Which at nite in bed
is way better than KPW. Or will use Nexus 7 in note mode.
.

If you mean the dark spots at the bottom of the display, there aren't going to be any that don't have them.

[froggie731]

I got my Paperwhite at Best Buy and noticed right away that about the lower 2/3 of the screen had a pinkish hue. I contacted Amazon chat support and they sent me a new one right away with overnight shipping! I opened it and I think it might be better, but in a sense worse. The pink spot is a lot smaller, but my current one is more uniform so it's not as distracting. I know this is really common and I knew it going in, but I just had to see for myself, hah! It's a shame too because I actually like it (besides the spots).
I took a couple pictures.
The first one is actually surprising. The light for both is completely at the lowest setting but one is clearly more bright than the other.

This next picture shows the spots a lot better. The one on the right (in both pics) is my current one. The one on the left is the replacement from Amazon. The pink spot on the one on the right is a lot more visible in person. The one Amazon sent me also seems a lot more....white I guess you could say.

I just need to decide if I should keep getting replacements, if my first one is good enough or if I should return them without a replacement. Seems like the common question around here!

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by froggie731

The first one is actually surprising. The light for both is completely at the lowest setting but one is clearly more bright than the other.

I had the same issue. The replacement has a much brighter screen in general. I guess you could try one more time, but getting on the PW replacement merry go round hasn't brought much satisfaction from where I stand. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[7hir7een]

Originally Posted by froggie731

I got my Paperwhite at Best Buy and noticed right away that about the lower 2/3 of the screen had a pinkish hue.

Well, crap. There goes that idea. Guess I'll stick with my resolution to hold onto what I've got (the original unit and strangely the one with the least issues out of 4 units) and hope for a warranty replacement later if Amazon ever acknowledges the problem.

[Kolenka]

Originally Posted by 7hir7een

Well, crap. There goes that idea. Guess I'll stick with my resolution to hold onto what I've got (the original unit and strangely the one with the least issues out of 4 units) and hope for a warranty replacement later if Amazon ever acknowledges the problem.

Folks buying from Best Buy are getting the same crop as everyone else, so it is still roulette at this point. Mine has been fairly even, except for the spots where the light isn't reaching at the bottom edge. The first shot is a little odd (need to try to shoot it again) as it shows color variations that I don't actually see. But the focus is also pretty bad.

[Penforhire]

BB website teased me. Said they were available. But when I check on-line store availability, not in any store in the entire region.