randian

I do the same, I was just speculating on Best Buy's thinking.

PhantomStranger

Best Buy locations have updated the stock in their $5.99 bins. The latest reset includes Wish Upon and The Lost City of Z.

Pizza

It is sad. Breaks my heart actually. And it gives me little reason to even walk into a BB. I don't see how this is going to help them but I'll admit that I don't understand business.

JimRochester

There are two options.
One. Enough people walk in to buy media with enough markup to justify the space it takes up on the floor.
Or two. Enough people walk in to pick up the loss leader $5.99 crap and while they are there either buy, or become enamored with and eventually buy a higher profit item like a TV or appliance.

With fewer people buying media, and not enough people on board the 4K train, justifying the space that could be used for headphones or other high profit items is tough. I still like Best Buy but have resorted to online ordering of my media to save myself the trip.

JoeyOhhhh

Media has never been a profit driver for BB; so lack of major interest in it is going to push it out the door.

Funny how when I worked for BB, it was like pulling teeth offering to order people movies online and now I'm sure the bulk of disc buying takes place online

Jon2

Then it sounds as though B&M retailers are just going to cede the market place to Amazon.

Which might explain the studios push towards digital and streaming in the U.S. Considering the issues some have had with Amazon, it's unlikely the studios will be thrilled with having them as the single retail outlet for their wares.

Which would also explain some of the studios lack of support for domestic U.S. 3D blu-ray releases. The tech limitations of digital and streaming simply don't provide a great venue for 2D, let alone 3D. I know some don't have a problem, but if you don't live in a dense urban area with reasonably priced broadband (and most people in the U.S. don't), blu-ray equivalent HD quality simply isn't there.

PhantomStranger

No one was ever making much money selling media at retail, it's why most media-only chains disappeared years ago. Whatever profit margins were in media got gutted when Best Buy came in and underpriced all other B&M retailers, selling CDs below wholesale dealer cost and new DVDs as loss leaders.

The real reason Best Buy is getting out of it now is that the upper middle-class, media-buying demographic is rapidly aging towards middle age. Younger and richer Millennials loathe physical media.

This move is more about the future than the here and now for Best Buy. The most desirable retail customers have always been 18-30 because they are most prone to impulse buying - once most people hit their 30s and have children their shopping habits become very stagnant. Best Buy feels they have that customer segment on lock with mobile phones.

Once Amazon Prime solved the inconvenience of waiting for a shipment, media was fated more or less to its disappearance at retail.

Michael Corvin

I seriously doubt BB has the under 30 crowd "locked" with mobile phones. That's a single purchase every two years (annually for a few). How profitable is that? Second, mobile phones are not impulse purchases. There are many here that spend more on media a year than people do on phones. Yes that number is dwindling for multiple reasons (demographic aging, digital booming, etc), but I highly doubt dumping merchandise is an effort to attract younger customers.

The only way BB could "lock" in the younger crowd would be to put a Starbucks in every location.

DVD Polizei

Have to agree. Best Buy removing media was more to do with staffing than a deteriorating media concept.

The Millies (Millennials) don't shop at Best Buy. It's a ragged and haggard sorted bunch of confused people who basically got lost or are just bored. It's unfortunate, but Best Buy's futurology of retail is just undermining their existence. Maybe it's on purpose. Who knows.

And I still won't deepthroat the theory of media not making money. It was a bullshit argument, put out by those who didn't want to sell it in the first place, didn't like the fact you needed staff to keep the appearance up (because customers disorganize it to hell in a matter of hours) and had an odd resentment for it. Working for retail back in the day, the markups were substantial, the department made more than enough to justify the media space.

Like Michael said with phones, and I'll add to it. We're eventually going to see these phone purchases take a plunge in sales. They've been flooding the market for many years, but competitors are working their way in, getting much more inexpensive, and are being bought outside of B&M stores. The only people going to a B&M store to buy a phone is somebody who just wants to look at the popular brand that's being pushed because that store is close by to another store they actually shop and spend at, and they'll buy it somewhere else (probably via eBay or wherever).

MooMooMooMoo

I haven't been to a B&M Barnes & Noble in years. How much media are they still stocking in store? As far as I know, B&N, & the dreadful FYE are all that's left chain store wise. (Walmart & Target don't stock enough to count anymore imo)

randian

Quite a bit if my local B&N are any indication, but it's rather uncompetitively priced.

Adam Tyner

Depends on the store. I have two in very close proximity. One stocks as much as they ever have. The other has no media department -- just a tiny handful of movies scattered around stands with different themes (like Doctor Who season sets / specials).

PhantomStranger

Most Barnes & Noble stores still carry a decent selection of media, though not at Best Buy/Target pricing. Barnes & Noble has stuck with their music section, expanding vinyl while pulling back on CDs. They don't have a dedicated media employee anymore, so the section is dwindling in importance.

As for cellphones, being a retail destination for them draws in much wider demographics than almost any other product line. 90% or more of the adult population uses a cellphone now and turnover is pretty high in the younger age brackets.

PhantomStranger

Today only, free shipping on everything at Best Buy.

They have a few media deals going on, like this three BDs for $15 deal.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/offer/2...xqmaUCtfGmpNyw

MooMooMooMoo

The sale may be over; that link brings up a general sales page for me. There are a few movie sales, but no 3 for 15.

PhantomStranger

It had been working all week, even last night. I guess Best Buy pulled the sale when the ad turned over early in the morning hours.

LaxBandit

Darn the one week I don't check the Best Buy website to see if there was an website only deal (or check this website on Saturday after 3:14 pm ET - I would have saw Phantom Stranger post.) is the one week where I probably would have taken advantage of that deal - 3 Blu-Rays for $15.00. Anyone remember some of the Blu-Rays that were offered?

Trevor

Iirc, it was all stuff that’s been in similar pricing for years. I was in a mood to buy yet found nothing in the list.

PhantomStranger

I ordered Everest, The Girl On The Train, and The Great Outdoors. There were 16 Blu-rays on the list.

PhantomStranger

Too lazy to write up each UHD on sale, but several are around $10 on Best Buy.

https://slickdeals.net/f/12072995-4k...ore-pickup?v=1

Abob Teff

Copied and pasted from SD ...

Red (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $9.99 Not eligible for extra $1 off

Snitch (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $9.99 or $8.99 w/ pickup discount

Now You See Me (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $9.99 or $8.99 w/ pickup discount

The Peanuts Movie (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $11.99 or $10.99 w/ pickup discount

The Maze Runner (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $11.99 or $10.99 w/ pickup discount

The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $11.99 or $10.99 w/ pickup discount

Fantastic Four (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $11.99 or $10.99 w/ pickup discount

X-Men: First Class (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $11.99 or $10.99 w/ pickup discount

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $11.99 or $10.99 w/ pickup discount

Ice Age: Collision Course (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $11.99 or $10.99 w/ pickup discount

Amazon.com has select 4K UHD Movies on sale listed below. Shipping is free w/ Prime or orders $25+.
Snitch (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $9.99
Now You See Me (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) $9.99

dsa_shea

Ordered Peanuts and the New Ice Age for my son and got both the steelbook of Christine and the steelbook of Men In Black Trilogy in 4K.

Adam Tyner

bestbuy.com is having some pretty incredible sales on Doctor Who stuff.

Class - $8.99
Tom Baker - The Complete First Season - $34.99

Season sets of Nu Who are anywhere from $14.99 to $21.99. They're already starting to sell out, so if you're interested, don't wait!

xfilekr

Thanks! Picked up 9 &10

The Cow

Thanks, I've been wanting to check out Class.