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Worst Best Buy experience ever.

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Worst Best Buy experience ever.

Old 01-07-03, 12:51 PM
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Worst Best Buy experience ever.

So I got there when the opened. This is what I was planning on buying:

Band of Outsiders
New Order box set: Retro
The Shield season 1
Oz season 2
Buffy season 3

Here's what they had:

Band of Outsiders: They didn't get it at all - but it's a fairly obscure title, so no real surprise.

New Order: They didn't have it and their system shows it to be released on 1/28 but amazon has it to ship now, so Best Buy has it's head up it's ass on that one.

The Shield: They didn't get it in yet. WTF?

Oz: Sold out. I got there just 15 minutes after they opened WTF?

Buffy: The 10 copies they had on the shelves were smashed out of shape with visible tears and dings in the packaging on every box.

So ended up getting 0 out of 5 items I wanted. What the hell? I'm gonna stop by Costco & Tower on the way home - they should have everything.
Old 01-07-03, 12:57 PM
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Sounds more like a "disappointing week" rather than a "worst experience ever" story
Old 01-07-03, 01:00 PM
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If this is the worst experience you've ever had at a Best Buy you're pretty lucky. Last time I was there I ended getting tongue kissed by a baboon while the manager rifled through the trunk of my car! (Long story, don't ask)
Old 01-07-03, 01:02 PM
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I forsee a day when we ban posts regarding best buy and their ineptitude.

I haven't shopped there for alomst a year and I feel great and can still find what I want at great prices. (All B&M for me).

We just need a link to http://www.bestbuysux.org and be done with it ;P

Ozy
Old 01-07-03, 01:54 PM
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That's almost as bad as my Worst Buy trip.
I had some gift cards and here's what I wanted to get yesterday:

American History X
Batman
Heat
Out of Sight
Buffy Season 1
Mr. Show
Shawshank Redemption

What did I end up coming home with? NADA! Almost all of these were advertised this week and they didn't even have the decency, forsight, whatever, to stock any of them. What suck.
Old 01-07-03, 03:16 PM
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You should know that Best Buy NEVER gets in titles on the day they street unless it's in their ad. And Shield and some of those others you listed are not in their ad this week. I suspect the reason why (amazingly, their corporate office refuseses to address my complaint on that issue, so I have to sit and figure out what it might be) is that they finally got busted for breaking prestreet on non ad items. I remember a time when I could walk in there any day of the week, and see next weeks items on the shelf, or sometimes DVDs that came out in two weeks, and they were always the smaller titles, the non-ad items. Now they just get in the ad items early. I guess they are too stupid to check the computers when they come out and just put them out blindly when they come in, and they got busted, and busted bad, because I know that stores that get busted for breaking prestreet lose the privelage of getting DVDs before they street. I suppose since they never broke street date with an ad item, they can still get those in.
Old 01-07-03, 03:39 PM
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The Shield is having it's second season premiere tonight on FX at 9pm CST.
Old 01-07-03, 05:10 PM
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Originally posted by Groucho
Last time I was there I ended getting tongue kissed by a baboon while the manager rifled through the trunk of my car! (Long story, don't ask)

Was the baboon an employee there?

Which department?
Old 01-07-03, 05:32 PM
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If it's the same store I'm thinking of, the baboon is the one that stocks and reorganizes the DVD section. Once every hour he also goes around and cranks up all the stereos full blast so you can't hear how bad the one you're auditioning sounds, but on the flip side you also can't hear your wife say, "Put that back, you can't buy that!"
Old 01-07-03, 08:26 PM
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i have given up on best buy for new dvds after being disappointed the last few time. no return of the living dead, no true romance special edition etc. i have heard that the delay in new release is due to getting shipments by boat instead of by air, therefore they havent been arriving on time to many stores. i dont know whether its true or false, but thats what i have heard. i have had to get my new releases at circuit city instead, im not saying they are better, but they have wanted what i was looking for. best buy used to be good for catalog DVDs but even there they have dropped the ball, the ravenous dvd for instance was nowhere to be found, best buy has gotten really really bad.
Old 01-08-03, 12:57 AM
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Originally posted by Groucho
If this is the worst experience you've ever had at a Best Buy you're pretty lucky. Last time I was there I ended getting tongue kissed by a baboon while the manager rifled through the trunk of my car! (Long story, don't ask)
Sorry about the kiss, but calling me a Baboon is really over the line

I mean I may be hairy but at least i am not kvrdave hairy


As far as Best Buy service. It is usually bad. On a rare occasion you get a good sales person then they go and ruin it by beating you up over their "noncommissioned" performance plans

I worry what they would be like if Best Buy actually paid their employees to sell them
Old 01-08-03, 02:01 AM
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Originally posted by gcribbs

I worry what they would be like if Best Buy actually paid their employees to sell them

They might actually back off everyone once in awhile so they wouldnt blow the sale.
Old 01-09-03, 07:17 AM
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You should know that Best Buy NEVER gets in titles on the day they street unless it's in their ad
True, it has always been this way.
Old 01-09-03, 09:40 AM
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Well I ended up getting everything at Tower.

Except for the New Oder box set - they had it but it was too expensive and I didn't like the songs they picked for it.

They had a bunch of Buffys - all in pristine shape - same price as Best Buy ($39).

They also had The Shield, Band of Outsiders & Oz, all on sale and no lines.

I appologize if I sound like a corporate shill for Tower - it's just that my experience there was the oposite of Best Buy.
Old 01-10-03, 05:04 AM
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Originally posted by Groucho
If this is the worst experience you've ever had at a Best Buy you're pretty lucky. Last time I was there I ended getting tongue kissed by a baboon while the manager rifled through the trunk of my car! (Long story, don't ask)
Male or female?

(The manager, not the baboon.)
Old 01-10-03, 05:06 AM
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Originally posted by Groucho
If this is the worst experience you've ever had at a Best Buy you're pretty lucky. Last time I was there I ended getting tongue kissed by a baboon while the manager rifled through the trunk of my car! (Long story, don't ask)
You could tell the difference between a Best Buy manager and a baboon?

Oh wait... I'll bet the baboon's breath smelled better.
Old 01-10-03, 04:13 PM
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I think the baboon previously mentioned might actually be one of many cloned at the BB corporate headquarters

At my store he's most likely responsible for training the video staff to know nothing about movies or how to even work their own computer system.

One thing is for sure (at the BB near me) ~ He or one of his clones is directly responsible for "organizing" the DVD section in such an interesting way that titles like Charge of the Light Brigade, The (1968) has been in the comedy section since it's release about 6 months ago and Rodan (1956) is listed under drama.

He's the official Best Buy Baboon ~ No other store has anything like him

BTW: I am pretty sure they also ask him to smash the most delicate DVD cases before they're placed on the shelves. To be honest, really don’t have confirmation that Best Buy Baboon is truly responsible for this specialized BB service feature. Perhaps that’s the job of someone else in the store?
Old 01-19-03, 01:32 PM
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Originally posted by calhoun07
You should know that Best Buy NEVER gets in titles on the day they street unless it's in their ad. And Shield and some of those others you listed are not in their ad this week. I suspect the reason why (amazingly, their corporate office refuseses to address my complaint on that issue, so I have to sit and figure out what it might be) is that they finally got busted for breaking prestreet on non ad items. I remember a time when I could walk in there any day of the week, and see next weeks items on the shelf, or sometimes DVDs that came out in two weeks, and they were always the smaller titles, the non-ad items. Now they just get in the ad items early. I guess they are too stupid to check the computers when they come out and just put them out blindly when they come in, and they got busted, and busted bad, because I know that stores that get busted for breaking prestreet lose the privelage of getting DVDs before they street. I suppose since they never broke street date with an ad item, they can still get those in.
So we are supposed to check the computer for every single DVD that comes into our store to see if it has been released yet? If we did that, we would have piles of DVD's in the back stock room waiting to be stocked.

Here's the deal. Most of the bigger new releases have a sticker on the box mentioning the street date.

A lot of the smaller releases, ones that we maybe get only 2 or 3 in, come in from a best buy warehouse in big crates mixed with maybe 50 other various titles. None of them mention a street date.

I have caught a few of them because it was something I never saw before and I was suspicious as to whether it was released yet, but the fact is, many of them slip through. I doubt the studios really are if street date is violated on these small titles in the first place.

Wal Mart is the one that violates street dates. I see big releases in their stores early all the time.
Old 01-20-03, 12:10 AM
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Well, I don't feel sorry for you. Here you are, talking on a forum at a website that is designed to educate people on the best deals, best DVDs, etc. and you are shopping retail.

Doesn't matter what kind of "Specials" that Best Buy was having, you could save $100+ by buying those titles through eBay, Half.com, Amazon Marketplace sellers, DDD, etc.

Again, I don't feel sorry for you. Rich or poor, I at least know how to shop.
Old 01-20-03, 08:03 AM
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Again, I don't feel sorry for you. Rich or poor, I at least know how to shop.
You are indeed better than all of us. We bow to you.

Gimme a break. Not everyone buys every single DVD on the 'net. If you were so 'educated', you'd know that many B&M stores offer great deals when a title is first released. That was the impetus of this thread: the original poster was complaining (rightly so, might I add) that medium-profile new releases weren't being stocked at a major retailer on release date.

Take your indignant comments elsewhere.
Old 01-20-03, 09:55 AM
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Originally posted by Wolf Husky
Well, I don't feel sorry for you. Here you are, talking on a forum at a website that is designed to educate people on the best deals, best DVDs, etc. and you are shopping retail.

Doesn't matter what kind of "Specials" that Best Buy was having, you could save $100+ by buying those titles through eBay, Half.com, Amazon Marketplace sellers, DDD, etc.

Again, I don't feel sorry for you. Rich or poor, I at least know how to shop.
Yeah, and get it all a month after they're released. I'd rather pay a little bit more and get everything on release date - also, if I were to get, say, Buffy, on-line, then I'd have no idea if they were going to ship me a crushed copy - as has been the case for many here - the copy I picked out for myself from Tower was pristine. And if it wasn't, it'd be an easy exchange since Tower is right down the street from my house. If I were to get that from ebay do you really think I'd be able to exchange it that easily?

I was just a little taken aback, because after years of no problems of shopping at Best Buy, this was the first time I had any sort of problem. I have had many, many more problems from shopping on-line, trying to save a few bucks and instead, it just become more of a hastle than it is worth.
Old 01-20-03, 01:19 PM
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Originally posted by Funk
You are indeed better than all of us. We bow to you.

Gimme a break. Not everyone buys every single DVD on the 'net. If you were so 'educated', you'd know that many B&M stores offer great deals when a title is first released. That was the impetus of this thread: the original poster was complaining (rightly so, might I add) that medium-profile new releases weren't being stocked at a major retailer on release date.
As a former merchandising manager at Best Buy #039 (Lenexa, KS), I am not surprised that they didn't have the titles at release.

------------------------------

I have no problems with getting something a week or two later than release date. Release date is an arbitrary day anyway. Just pretend the release date is whatever day you get your shipment. Pretend release date is a week later. Who cares about release date unless you need bragging rights about getting on "release date." Most likely, you have already seen what you are buying. Are you saying you can't wait an extra week to save $10 to watch it again? Life's short. Not that short.
Old 01-20-03, 02:24 PM
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Release date wasn't my only argument for buying at a B&M over the internet.
Old 01-23-03, 08:41 AM
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Originally posted by slop101
Well I ended up getting everything at Tower.

Except for the New Oder box set - they had it but it was too expensive and I didn't like the songs they picked for it.

They had a bunch of Buffys - all in pristine shape - same price as Best Buy ($39).

They also had The Shield, Band of Outsiders & Oz, all on sale and no lines.

I appologize if I sound like a corporate shill for Tower - it's just that my experience there was the oposite of Best Buy.
It's always been my experience that Tower always seems to be more expensive than Best Buy, guess it really depends on the DVD you want to buy.

In regards to the New Order Box Set, it's been the general opinion from varying reviews that the songs picked weren't really thought out very well.
Old 01-23-03, 10:03 AM
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^ You're right, Tower is usually more expensive than Best Buy since they mostly charge MSRP - EXCEPT on release day almost every new release is about 20% - 30% off.

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