Best Buy Releases List of Closures - OK Is Spared

[MikeOKC]

For now, at least, Best Buy stores in Oklahoma are safe from immediate closure according to the official list released by the company late Saturday.
Here's the list.

[ljbab728]

For now, at least, Best Buy stores in Oklahoma are safe from immediate closure according to the official list released by the company late Saturday.
Here's the list.

Mike, I guess that's good news for us for now but I'm not sure how relevant is towards the long term stability of the company. I don't think I would want to be buying any of their stock.

[MikeOKC]

Mike, I guess that's good news for us for now but I'm not sure how relevant is towards the long term stability of the company. I don't think I would want to be buying any of their stock.

You're right about that. It's on a list of companies in one of the business magazines that "may not see 2013." At least for now, a lot of jobs here are spared, but you're right - those won't last long.

[bluedogok]

I got an email yesterday that the one that I normally go to here in Aurora is the only one closing in Colorado. The closest ones to me are much harder to get in/out of but was always pretty much busier than the Arapahoe location.

[Easy180]

No one buys CD's any more and most of the electronics are available at Walmart, Target etc...Not quite in Blockbuster territory but probably headed down that path

[WilliamTell]

Best buy sucks, anyone with any sort of brain doesnt shop there. Everything is over priced, the employees are no longer knowledgeable, and they are continuously trying to sell useless warranties.

Order online for almost any other retailer and save your money.

[Achilleslastand]

Best buy sucks, anyone with any sort of brain doesnt shop there. Everything is over priced, the employees are no longer knowledgeable, and they are continuously trying to sell useless warranties.

Order online for almost any other retailer and save your money.

And not to mention a plain brown cardboard box probably knows more about pc repair then anyone in the geek squad.

[sooner88]

The Geek Squad was the one of the worst retail experiences I have had and I haven't been back since (5 years ago). The only thing they can do in-store is ship it to someone who knows what they are doing. It took them 4 weeks, and it was returned because the lady had checked it was a white iPod instead of black. 4 more weeks and it was returned, same problem, and they had not even put the iPod back together correctly.

[adaniel]

The Geek Squad was the one of the worst retail experiences I have had and I haven't been back since (5 years ago). The only thing they can do in-store is ship it to someone who knows what they are doing. It took them 4 weeks, and it was returned because the lady had checked it was a white iPod instead of black. 4 more weeks and it was returned, same problem, and they had not even put the iPod back together correctly.

Agree completely. Their customer service has really gone down the tubes, Geek Squad included. They won't talk to you unless you've bought one of their worthless warranties and even then getting some help is like pulling teeth. I'm probably done with "Worst Buy" after my computer I bought from them recently died after a whopping 16 months of usage and got zero help. I would do a happy dance if Fry's ever expanded to OKC.

Speaking of, its funny that Best Buy execs say they don't want to be another Circuit City, yet they followed in CC's footsteps by pulling knowledgeable salespeople off their floors and putting in kids that know nothing so they only have to pay them $9/hour. Some people just don't learn...

And don't get me started on my crappy Dynex TV (Best Buy brand) that has a huge burn mark in it from less than three years of use!

[UncleCyrus]

Well, I guess I have to chime in here with my experience. I go into Best Buy knowing that I will not expect any knowledgeable service from anyone. I research what I want and go there when the price is good (they match too). I know not to buy any high-markup accessories from them. Also, I use the reward zone points. That got me a free DVD player with my last TV purchase.

One standout example of service: A few years ago I purchased one of those computer systems with multiple rebates. Well, the biggest one ($200) never showed up. The manufacturer gave me the run around over and over. After going to BB with the problem, the manager researched the situation and eventually Best Buy cut me the check for the manufacturer's rebate.

I have had several other occasions since then where management has gone out of their way to make sure I was a satisfied customer. However, I do agree with the posts above about the sales staff and Geek Squad.

[UncleCyrus]

The Geek Squad was the one of the worst retail experiences I have had and I haven't been back since (5 years ago). The only thing they can do in-store is ship it to someone who knows what they are doing. It took them 4 weeks, and it was returned because the lady had checked it was a white iPod instead of black. 4 more weeks and it was returned, same problem, and they had not even put the iPod back together correctly.

I'm curious, why didn't you go directly to Apple for your iPod repair?

[UncleCyrus]

Best buy sucks, anyone with any sort of brain doesnt shop there. Everything is over priced, the employees are no longer knowledgeable, and they are continuously trying to sell useless warranties.

Order online for almost any other retailer and save your money.

To use your own words, "anyone with any sort of brain" doesn't make broad generalizations like that. I consider myself fairly intelligent and I am a Best Buy shopper (see post #10). Also, every retailer has markup items that they have to push to make margin. Some places it is fries and tots, or upsize your combo. For Best Buy, it is warranties. Car dealers do the same thing. Is everyone griping about car dealers pushing warranties?

In addition, I don't think most items there are overpriced, just the accessory items. I comparison shop all the time for myself as well as for my employer and we often find the lowest prices at BB. They usually come in pretty close to B&H or Adorama, which are the only online retailers I am comfortable ordering electronics and cameras from.

I will agree with you that the sales floor staff often have no idea what they are actually selling.

I'm not trying to start a fight, I just wanted to clarify those points.

[oneforone]

I will agree the sales staff could be better. However sales people that know their products and enjoy working in sales go where they can make the most money. Budget retail is just wage work especially since Walmart got into the business of selling electronics. Walmart edged every descent place out by starting out selling watered down versions of the products that used to be sold by Circuit City, Best Buy and Ultimate. When Circuit City, Ultimate and other regional chains died electronics manufactures were stuck with no channels to move warehouses full of product other then Walmart and online retailers. Best Buy will die if they don't get their act together and give a people a reason to shop brick and mortar stores. they needed to go ahead and end CD and DVD sales. That area has always been high loss area. Too many people steal that stuff and not mention they have never been worth the investment.

I have a feeling most manufactures will be selling from their websites by 2015. Not every manufacture is going to want their products lost in a crowd of no name brands at Walmart. I wouldn't be surprised if Walmart does not eventually start buying up manufactures or their naming rights to sell in their stores to people who don't care rather or not they have to replace everything they buy every year or every other year. It seems like everything I buy from Walmart breaks after normal wear and tear. Which is why I stopped buying anything there that is more than a few bucks.

I hope Best Buy sticks it out for awhile. I would hate for Walmart to be the only place to go. You can find good deals if you watch the ads and window shop their stores. I got a 32 inch Toshiba for our bedroom for $250 a couple of weeks ago at the Quail Springs store. Everybody else is still selling it for $279-$300. There are plenty of good deals locally you just have to do your homework.

[sooner88]

I'm curious, why didn't you go directly to Apple for your iPod repair?

I actually did at first. My iPod was given as a gift with the Best Buy warranty already purchased. I had the iPod over a year before I started seeing problems, so the Apple warranty had expired. The funny thing is I took it to Apple just in hope they would fix it and they found the problem and solution in 15 minutes.... Only problem at that point was it was going to be $200+ to replace it so I tried my luck with the Best Buy warranty.

[Just the facts]

Most of that list appear to be in what were once considered high-growth areas that collapased with the housing bubble. Like many ratailers, they tried to stay ahead of the urban sprawl wave and this time the wave crashed before suffecient population was reached. Of all those store that are closing I wonder what the average age is. My guess is most of them are newer stores, and by newer, I mean less than 10 years old.

[ddavidson8]

Well, I guess I have to chime in here with my experience. I go into Best Buy knowing that I will not expect any knowledgeable service from anyone. I research what I want and go there when the price is good (they match too). I know not to buy any high-markup accessories from them. Also, I use the reward zone points. That got me a free DVD player with my last TV purchase.

One standout example of service: A few years ago I purchased one of those computer systems with multiple rebates. Well, the biggest one ($200) never showed up. The manufacturer gave me the run around over and over. After going to BB with the problem, the manager researched the situation and eventually Best Buy cut me the check for the manufacturer's rebate.

I have had several other occasions since then where management has gone out of their way to make sure I was a satisfied customer. However, I do agree with the posts above about the sales staff and Geek Squad.

Nice post, +1.

I think to completely dismiss Best Buy shoppers as ignorant is simply snobbish. It also leads me to believe that you don't know how to find a good deal or even what you need. Why rely on "knowledgeable" salespeople at all? Do the research yourself, it's 2012 not 1998. Google?

[BBatesokc]

Nice post, +1.

I think to completely dismiss Best Buy shoppers as ignorant is simply snobbish. It also leads me to believe that you don't know how to find a good deal or even what you need. Why rely on "knowledgeable" salespeople at all? Do the research yourself, it's 2012 not 1998. Google?

I didn't read where ddavidson8 claimed Best Buy shoppers were ignorant. I read that there was at least the expectation the employees should know something about what they are selling - nothing ignorant or snobbish about that.

I don't like buying from people that know nothing about their products when shopping at specialty stores like Best Buy. Unfortunately the stores don't' seem to care about product knowledge. Throw in the fact I can buy it cheaper online in most instances and I rarely go into a Best Buy other than to see an item I plan on ordering from Amazon. I do occasionally buy from their return or clearance area or when something has a good sale. Still kicking myself I didn't buy their Black Friday stainless steel side-by-side frig/freezer for only $1,500. To this day it sales for $1,000 more.

[SoonerDave]

I've got no real complaints with BB. Only truly annoying experience I've had with them was in a laptop purchase from a few years ago. They had advertised a very nice little Gateway laptop which I had eyeballed as being perfect for my son and at a what I considered an excellent price. Did the due-diligence, concluded it was a really good deal, it passed my own geek criteria, so, I went to the local BB to buy it.

So I go through the aisles and spotted the beast, but saw every box on the floor slapped with a "Geek Squad" "Pre-checked out and configured with XYZ antivirus and via your local Geek Squad team" or some such nonsense - for which they conveniently added something like $49 or $99 or some ridiculous fee. I asked the Chief Geek at BB about it, and he dutifully tried to explain why it was so important that the Geek Squad's Highly Trained Personnel (at which I nearly laughed out loud) should be the ones to press the "on" button for me, to which I replied "okay, that's nonsense. Do you have one that isn't pre-loaded with that junk?" "Oh, but sir, we're professionals and we have thus-and-so certifications and its very important your antivirus be configured properly, you really don't want to leave without our checkout."

And I told him "Dude, I've been building software and working on PC's since before you were born. The first thing I'm going to do when I get home is blow away everything you've done, reformat the drive, and put in a clean OS install, so what you do is worthless to me. Do you not sell boxes at the advertised price that haven't been geeked up?" He realized I was serious, shut up, and handed me a box that was still factory sealed, and I went on my way. Realize he has a sell-up job to do, but I've got a don't-throw-money-in-the-toilet policy, too. (And, BTW, my son still uses that same laptop, although I never did rebuild the machine )

BB is a nice place to go to window shop, buy from on occasion if you know your prices, do your research, watch for sales, and ensure you never buy junk like monster cables or similar items from them. I got a new XBOX 360 at their Black Friday sale for $199, which was the best deal I saw all last Christmas. Would hate to see them disappear entirely, but I think they may be going down a rough road over the next year or so.

[Bunty]

I hope Radio Shack sticks around for something or the other things that Wal-Mart or Best Buy may not have.

[Larry OKC]

The way most retailers get around lowest price guarantees etc is it has to be the exact make/model number. Manufacturers give different retailers the exact same product (same case, features etc) but the model number will be slightly different (along the lines of)...

12354930-W54839 = Walmart
12354930-T54839 = Target
12354930-S54839 = Sears
12354930-B54839 = Best Buy etc

Then you have the instances where the different tv, vcr etc is made in the same factory, on the same production line and they just put a different logo on it.

[UncleCyrus]

I've got no real complaints with BB. Only truly annoying experience I've had with them was in a laptop purchase from a few years ago. They had advertised a very nice little Gateway laptop which I had eyeballed as being perfect for my son and at a what I considered an excellent price. Did the due-diligence, concluded it was a really good deal, it passed my own geek criteria, so, I went to the local BB to buy it.

So I go through the aisles and spotted the beast, but saw every box on the floor slapped with a "Geek Squad" "Pre-checked out and configured with XYZ antivirus and via your local Geek Squad team" or some such nonsense - for which they conveniently added something like $49 or $99 or some ridiculous fee. I asked the Chief Geek at BB about it, and he dutifully tried to explain why it was so important that the Geek Squad's Highly Trained Personnel (at which I nearly laughed out loud) should be the ones to press the "on" button for me, to which I replied "okay, that's nonsense. Do you have one that isn't pre-loaded with that junk?" "Oh, but sir, we're professionals and we have thus-and-so certifications and its very important your antivirus be configured properly, you really don't want to leave without our checkout."

And I told him "Dude, I've been building software and working on PC's since before you were born. The first thing I'm going to do when I get home is blow away everything you've done, reformat the drive, and put in a clean OS install, so what you do is worthless to me. Do you not sell boxes at the advertised price that haven't been geeked up?" He realized I was serious, shut up, and handed me a box that was still factory sealed, and I went on my way. Realize he has a sell-up job to do, but I've got a don't-throw-money-in-the-toilet policy, too. (And, BTW, my son still uses that same laptop, although I never did rebuild the machine )

BB is a nice place to go to window shop, buy from on occasion if you know your prices, do your research, watch for sales, and ensure you never buy junk like monster cables or similar items from them. I got a new XBOX 360 at their Black Friday sale for $199, which was the best deal I saw all last Christmas. Would hate to see them disappear entirely, but I think they may be going down a rough road over the next year or so.

I had the exact same experience last Black Friday. They wanted to charge me an extra $99 for their "service" on a laptop. I found a manager and made my case very clear that I didn't wait four hours to get tricked and got the fee waived. Again, a situation where the managers seem to be trained to keep customers happy and returning, and the floor staff acted like a brick wall.

[UncleCyrus]

I didn't read where ddavidson8 claimed Best Buy shoppers were ignorant.

ddavidson did not. See post #6.

[ljbab728]

Nice post, +1.

I think to completely dismiss Best Buy shoppers as ignorant is simply snobbish. It also leads me to believe that you don't know how to find a good deal or even what you need. Why rely on "knowledgeable" salespeople at all? Do the research yourself, it's 2012 not 1998. Google?

Not everyone who needs technology is savy enough to understand and sort out all of the information available on line. There is still a place for "in person" expertise for many people and that will never change.

[bluedogok]

Well, I guess I have to chime in here with my experience. I go into Best Buy knowing that I will not expect any knowledgeable service from anyone. I research what I want and go there when the price is good (they match too). I know not to buy any high-markup accessories from them. Also, I use the reward zone points. That got me a free DVD player with my last TV purchase.

One standout example of service: A few years ago I purchased one of those computer systems with multiple rebates. Well, the biggest one ($200) never showed up. The manufacturer gave me the run around over and over. After going to BB with the problem, the manager researched the situation and eventually Best Buy cut me the check for the manufacturer's rebate.

I have had several other occasions since then where management has gone out of their way to make sure I was a satisfied customer. However, I do agree with the posts above about the sales staff and Geek Squad.

Pretty much how I am, I go into most stores knowing more than the people in there on pretty much any high dollar item that I buy. I have never used any of the so-called "tech support" at any of those places, like SononerDave stated, I have been building them since most of their employees were born. I am usually the tech support for most people that I know so it is pretty much worthless service they offer to most people.

[Prunepicker]

I've made many purchases from BB. Bought an external CD drive yesterday.
My main reason is that I want it yesterday.