Best Buy: Buyer Beware

Some sharp shoppers have caught a few interesting tactics being employed by Best Buy stores. In one case, a shopped noticed some discrepancies in a display promoting the store's HDTV Calibration Service. The store had two TVs set up, side by side, one supposedly with the calibration performed, one without. They both appeared to have the same channel playing.  But, in reality, the "calibrated" TV was showing ESPN HD, and the "uncalibrated" example was showing a stretched version of standard-def ESPN. The store went so far as to place some merchandise in such as way as to block the ESPN logo, so shoppers wouldn't notice it wasn't the ESPN HD logo.

The latest situation is also with the calibration display.  This time, one TV is connected via HDMI while the other has component video. Not quite as blatant, but still not the way to do a fair comparison.

I had an interesting shopping experience when I went looking for a TV a few weeks ago.

Best Buy Branching Out In Spanish and Korean

Instead of sitting back and watching minority shoppers go elsewhere, Best Buy is launching an all-out attempt to lure in Latino and Korean shoppers into their stores in areas with large populations of these shoppers. Brilliant.

Best Buy had a store near Los Angeles' Koreatown, yet only had two employees who spoke the language. They've tripled that number and started advertising in the local Korean newspaper.

According to Best Buy executives, the recently launched Spanish-language version of their website has more activity than the original Best Buy website.  They've signed up Cuahtemoc Blanco, the Mexican soccer star as a spokesman, and increased Spanish signage at a large number of its stores.

Why the emphasis on this often-overlooked demographic?

Best Buy in Trouble - Who is Next?

Best Buy is the largest consumer electronics retailer left in the country. Circuit City filed for bankruptcy, Tweeter shuttered just weeks ago. You would think that without competition, Best Buy would be flourishing. However, they just announced massive spending cuts - reducing its capital spending by 50%. Massive.

In a Financial Times report, Brad Anderson, chief executive officer, said that US-based Best Buy believed “there has been a dramatic and potentially long-lasting change in consumer behaviour as people adjust to the new realities of the marketplace”.  You can probably forget about any new store openings any time soon.

You can also expect layoffs some time soon.

What's going wrong with Best Buy?

Best Buy's TiVo HD/HDTV Bundle

There are ghosts in my machines. I'm convinced of it. Two weeks ago, my trusty 32-inch CRT TV started to fail. The picture would go green, then black and white, and then the death roll. Grrr.  Off to Best Buy to start researching what I wanted.

Not two days after that, my TiVo started in with me. The program would just freeze for a few seconds, randomly. No matter if I was watching live TV (although continually buffered) or playing back from the drive. Uh-oh. It was time to start watching all the movies I had archived on it. Was there a conspiracy in my home theater?

Now I have to wonder if Best Buy has a hand in this. They just announced a new special - save $100 on a TiVo HD DVR when you buy an HDTV. Did they sabotage my home theater? I think so!

Keep reading for the details on the deal.

Best Buy on Best Behavior

Instead of sitting back and gloating as it watches its biggest competitor flounder, Best Buy is doing whatever it can to prevent a trip down the same  path.

Best Buy's President and COO Brian Dunn stated that "In 42 years of retailing, we've never seen such difficult times for the consumer. People are making dramatic changes in how much they spend, and we're not immune from those forces."

Ya think?

Best Buy's Black Friday VIP Contest

I have a confession to make: I have never participated in Black Friday madness. Nope. Never have, and hopefully, never will.

Instead, I always plan a really, really long bike ride to burn off the sweet potatoes with marshmallows. However, my parents, well into their 70s, head out to the stores at midnight, ready to face the pushing, shoving, scratching, and clawing, to score some great deals. Maybe I was adopted.

If you want to really do up Black Friday in style, Best Buy has the contest for you. They're looking for contestants who will win a limo-ride to one of 25 stores at 4:30 AM, before the stores open to the general non-VIP public, with opportunities to buy special door-buster deals. Aren't you gonna feel special? There will also be prizes for you and three guests, and a Pure Digital Flip Video Ultra-cam.

Think you have what it takes? Best Buy wants to see your video of you or an essay explaining "how Black Friday shopping is an important holiday tradition for you and your family, and what kinds of rituals you have to do to make the morning after Thanksgiving an enjoyable kickoff to the holiday season."

Here is a list of cities with participating stores.

Ladies' Night at Best Buy

Best Buy is ditching the yellow and blue and going for pink. Figuratively, that is. In an effort to appeal to more women shoppers, a few of the new stores in Denver are doing to be redecorated. Not in pink, but for some reason, someone feels that skylights and earth tones will appeal to women. Really?

Perhaps they're just trying to get away from a sterile warehouse, putting products into real-life situations. I don't know — is it easier to convince your wife that the 62-inch plasma screen you want would look great in your home theater if she can see it in the store's home theater? I just don't buy it.

Wanna know what I think?

Elton John's Red Piano on Blu-ray

If you missed Elton John's The Red Piano show in Vegas, fear not. The show and songs are headed to Blu-ray and DVD, both sets also including two CD's of the live performance, to be sold at Best Buy stores.

The Blu-ray will feature 14 songs, including the classics "Candle In The Wind" and "Rocket Man" from the lavish production, complete with "baubles and balloons."  Who doesn't love a nice bauble?

The Blu-ray and the standard-def DVDs have a documentary on the making of The Red Piano, including Elton John talking about how the show came to be.

Keep reading for pricing.

Best Buy is Buying Napster

Remember when Napster was an upstart controversial music sharing business that was raging across college campuses until it got shut down? Not only has Napster gone legit, it has become Big Business.

As reported by Reuters on Yahoo News, Best Buy is planning to buy Napster for a mere $121 million. This falls about 2 years after Best Buy teamed up with RealNetworks to create a music subscription service to rival Apple's iTunes. That didn't seem to make a dent in the Apple monopoly that has over 70% of the market, but maybe this will.

Why would these two team up?

Best Buy Looking Red

While all the talk is about Blu-ray, Best Buy is looking at red. Russia, that is. News reports from Reuters and Russia-InfoCentre are reporting that Best Buy has registered trademark rights for the Future Shop name. Future Shop is the name of the Canadian consumer electronics giant purchased by Best Buy back in 2001.

Although Best Buy hasn't officially announced its intention to move into the Russian market, the application is being reviewed by the government. This is yet another sign of Best Buy's global expansion. Where else are they?