[Thanos]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

bootlegga bootlegga:

I don't know anyone who shopped at Future Shit/Best Buy any longer - most people prefer specialized stores like Memory Express or places like Costco that provide better service (two year return policy for computers). The last time I shopped at Future Shop was a decade or so ago and I've bought my last three computers at Costco and love their prices and service.

Haven't been in a Future Shop in almost 20 years, and have never been in a Best Buy. I felt like a computer genius compared to the computer sales staff at Future Shop.

Word.

[BRAH]

Thanos Thanos:

Best Buy will be gone soon enough too. Audiophiles will keep going to specialist stores or order direct from manufacturers online. Computer needs are best served at places like Memory Express or other computer stores. The omnibus big-box retailer concept is dying out. No need to go to Best Buy for a microwave over when you can get one practically anywhere else, ranging from Canadian Tire to London Drugs to Sears/Bay/whoever. My visits to FS or BB dropped by at least two-thirds when they shrunk their CD and DVD sections down to something so small it's not even worth looking through anymore. I feel for the people losing their jobs but to the overall market it'll be no more significant than when Blockbuster and Rogers Video rentals finally closed down for good.

BestBuy probably makes more money from online sales than people walking through the doors so yes eventually the stores will close shop.

[herbie]

A couple things didn't help the computer sales. Sales are way down. Windows 8 was a disaster. People are waiting. The Intel-AMD wars have died off, price/value hasn't changed much in a year or so. The so cheap they squeak when they walk aren't buying eMachines and Comcraps, they're buying tablets and then moaning because they're not computers.
The CDN dollar sucks.
Their phones do so much they're smacking into trees and people peering at them...
Even Mac has neither come up with anything fantastic nor a lower price.
And yes - hands on people will check an item out then go home and order one online. Perfect storm as far as retail disasters go.

[herbie]

Forgot to add - even the repair business is doomed. With computers in the $400 range, who the hell will spend $100-$200 to fix one? They're disposable now...

[Jabberwalker]

herbie herbie:

Forgot to add - even the repair business is doomed. With computers in the $400 range, who the hell will spend $100-$200 to fix one? They're disposable now...

They are also of modular construction and it's really easy to change out components in them ... laptops excepted but even then you can change out a card or a drive in minutes.

[Freakinoldguy]

This closure should be interesting. We've got a Future Shop that's still open and a Best Buy that's been closed since 13 both within a mile of each other. So rather than pay to rebrand the Future Shop Store I wonder if they're gonna just move everything to the brand new yet 2 years closed Best Buy Store which would probably be cheaper and make more sense?

On a side note though, the mall that's got the old Best Buy store is the same one that had Zellers and then Target which means it's managed to lose 3 big name tenants in a matter of just over 2 years. So maybe Best Buy doesn't want to return, given the curse of the empty mall.

[Jabberwalker]

There's a Future Shop a kilometer from us and they boarded it up on Friday night after hours and the employees showed up to a shuttered building on Saturday morning. What a feckin' shock that must be to have your employment end like that.

[Freakinoldguy]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

There's a Future Shop a kilometer from us and they boarded it up on Friday night after hours and the employees showed up to a shuttered building on Saturday morning. What a feckin' shock that must be to have your employment end like that.

Say what you will but at least Target told their employees about the closures and gave them severance packages which is better than BB appears to be doing. I wonder what the Future Shop CEO is gonna make from these closures? Probably not as much as the Target ones's 63 million because the level of incompetence was much less.

[Tricks]

Benn Benn:

I told her I could have Googled it too from my living room.

Why didn't you? I worked in a computer store (Canada Computers). We didn't know everything. We knew a lot, but sometimes a question gets asked we haven't considered or heard before. Then we know the next time it gets asked.

[herbie]

Well they are reopening the Prince George one as Best Buy, but announced some staff will be let go.
There's still a place here. London Drugs doesn't have a great selection (or prices) and Staples staff flee at the sight of a customer.

Tricks has a point. A year after XP's officially obsolete I still get one every couple weeks with a problem I've never even heard of before. And I've repaired thousands of the things since it came out...

[Tricks]

herbie herbie:

Well they are reopening the Prince George one as Best Buy, but announced some staff will be let go.
There's still a place here. London Drugs doesn't have a great selection (or prices) and Staples staff flee at the sight of a customer.

Tricks has a point. A year after XP's officially obsolete I still get one every couple weeks with a problem I've never even heard of before. And I've repaired thousands of the things since it came out...

Exactly. I can understand a pretty obvious question. But some times people ask extremely random questions. Or we would have to look up real world performance to make sure it was what the customer wanted. If they wanted x framerate for obscure y game. I don't know it all by heart so I go look it up. Better that then someone who says I don't know and walks away.

[BartSimpson]

stemmer stemmer:

So sad to see people lose their jobs...

There are no guarantees in life anymore. Even government employees no longer have guaranteed jobs and pensions.

[BRAH]

The last time I was in a Best Buy I was looking for Samsung's Chromebook 2 and the sales associate had no idea what a Chromebook was.

[Jabberwalker]

BRAH BRAH:

The last time I was in a Best Buy I was looking for Samsung's Chromebook 2 and the sales associate had no idea what a Chromebook was.

You shoudda told him to Google it!

[herbie]

There's this new idea floating amongst management that sales is sales its just a skill on its own, you don't have to know shit about what you're selling.