This is actually quite sad to me. As much as I complained about Circuit City and Best Buy with their pushy salesmen and incredibly high prices, there's always a benefit to being able to go to a store and see what you're about to buy. You can't tell the build quality of a laptop by reading an Amazon description. You can't tell the picture quality of a screen by the customer reviews. You can't do side-by-side comparisons with a product in each hand.
I really like the Sears model. My hometown wasn't big enough to have its own Sears store, but they had a catalog front-end, where they stocked one unit of their best selling products so people could see them in person. If you liked it, they would order one to be shipped to you or to their store, and you could pick it up. We need tech stores like this, an Amazon front-end.
It was a shame when Circuit City went under. However, is there anyone on the planet not affiliated with Best Buy who wouldn't love to see them go bankrupt?
I'm all rose-coloured glasses and nostalgia when it comes to dying brick-and-mortar stores, but let's not pretend that Best Buy isn't a silly place.
I am so torn as well. CC and BB hardly did anything to distance themselves from online vendors. Their prices suck, services suck, and they don't offer enough variety and/or higher end items.
When/if Amazon is forced to start collecting sales tax I they'll start selling items locally. They already have a number of distribution centers and I bet people would happily drive out to them to get a product today.
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This is actually quite sad to me. As much as I complained about Circuit City and Best Buy with their pushy salesmen and incredibly high prices, there's always a benefit to being able to go to a store and see what you're about to buy. You can't tell the build quality of a laptop by reading an Amazon description. You can't tell the picture quality of a screen by the customer reviews. You can't do side-by-side comparisons with a product in each hand.
I really like the Sears model. My hometown wasn't big enough to have its own Sears store, but they had a catalog front-end, where they stocked one unit of their best selling products so people could see them in person. If you liked it, they would order one to be shipped to you or to their store, and you could pick it up. We need tech stores like this, an Amazon front-end.
It was a shame when Circuit City went under. However, is there anyone on the planet not affiliated with Best Buy who wouldn't love to see them go bankrupt?
I'm all rose-coloured glasses and nostalgia when it comes to dying brick-and-mortar stores, but let's not pretend that Best Buy isn't a silly place.
I'm all for Best Buy and Circuit City going under. I just lament that there is no good brick and mortar.
I am so torn as well. CC and BB hardly did anything to distance themselves from online vendors. Their prices suck, services suck, and they don't offer enough variety and/or higher end items.
When/if Amazon is forced to start collecting sales tax I they'll start selling items locally. They already have a number of distribution centers and I bet people would happily drive out to them to get a product today.