This post seems to assume that Best Buy is in the business
of selling consumer electronics but they're not. They're in the business
of selling services that are attached to consumer electronics.
I'd wager that Best Buy makes at least an order of magnitude more profit removing spyware
for $180 then they do selling a $500 laptop. Not everybody buys those services, though, so
they need high volume items to sell to support that revenue.
The $359 appliance to "cook meats and vegetables in airtight plastic bags in a water bath" is
a perfect example of something that gives internet retailers a huge advantage - being able to
find the people before distributing the item. But trying to plug that into Best Buy's business
model would kill the thing that actually earns them a profit.
Comments
This post seems to assume that Best Buy is in the business of selling consumer electronics but they're not. They're in the business of selling services that are attached to consumer electronics.
I'd wager that Best Buy makes at least an order of magnitude more profit removing spyware for $180 then they do selling a $500 laptop. Not everybody buys those services, though, so they need high volume items to sell to support that revenue.
The $359 appliance to "cook meats and vegetables in airtight plastic bags in a water bath" is a perfect example of something that gives internet retailers a huge advantage - being able to find the people before distributing the item. But trying to plug that into Best Buy's business model would kill the thing that actually earns them a profit.