posted by
n1
on Saturday May 24 2014, @03:20AM
from the we-can-never-have-enough-consumer-electronics dept.
from the we-can-never-have-enough-consumer-electronics dept.
Best Buy is blaming sagging sales on a recent lack of innovation. Sears is also making a similar claim, that their sales numbers would have been higher if not for the poor performance of their electronics department. The few areas that do offer potential are console game systems and next-gen TV's. While this might sound good, consoles don't offer very high margins, and next-gen TV's have price tags that make many consumers wonder if upgrading is really necessary.
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Best Buy Asks Silicon Valley for More Innovation
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(Score: 3, Insightful) by EvilJim on Saturday May 24 2014, @03:27AM
Does Silicon Valley get to demand something in return? anyway, pretty stupid for a retailer to blame innovators for poor sales, they're the fucking salespeople.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Saturday May 24 2014, @03:46AM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 3, Interesting) by EvilJim on Saturday May 24 2014, @03:59AM
yum, arduino stuff. I do want to get myself some of that too but it's damn expensive down under-down under. I got a freescale freedom dev board with similar ins/outs plus accelerometer and capacitive slider built in for $13nz but that isn't easy to program. why can't arduino's be that price? they're over $100 last time I looked.
(Score: 2) by tibman on Saturday May 24 2014, @02:43PM
Official Arduinos are very expensive for some reason. I still buy Solarbotic's Ardweeny for $10: https://solarbotics.com/product/kardw/ [solarbotics.com]
All through-hole components and easy to solder. No programmer built in so you don't feel silly making it a permanent project part. Though it is quite dated now when lined up against the official Arduinos. It is the equivalent of the Duemilanove with an ATmega328P.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 2) by EvilJim on Sunday May 25 2014, @12:27AM
oh cool, thanks for that. I'll have to suss out the programmer, guessing that's just a USB connection of some sort... will google when I'm not so lazy.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 24 2014, @04:37AM
My laptop is my TV and game console and stereo, plus I can use it to post inane crap to newsy sites about soy. If someone gave me $1000, I'd buy a $5 pizza, stick the rest of the money under my mattress, and sleep on it. Best Buy isn't selling anything I want to buy.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Saturday May 24 2014, @04:59AM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday May 24 2014, @10:25AM
I think you'r on to something. The people doing the investment decisions just don't cut it.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by edIII on Saturday May 24 2014, @08:29AM
Best Buy is mostly right on this. Sure, there is the fact we are in a Great Depression, and there are stark economic realities. However, just what is really "new new" at the moment?
4k thin screens? Most people have already upgraded if they were going to at Costco getting good screens at a cheap price. 4k and 3D are not reasons people are flocking to replace their main TV.
Computers and tablets are mostly stagnant and low margin. Nothing is so exceedingly cool at the moment that I just need to have it. Windows 8 sure as hell is not dragging people in to get new equipment.
Oculus Rift is not for sale at Best Buy is it? Nothing ground breaking in peripherals.
No truly exciting leaps and bounds have been made in video or cameras. We don't have a new format war pushing readers out the door. That's going to meet some stiff resistance from people who will be hard pressed to get more than 1080p. It's pretty damn good as it is.
Possibly cameras since you could record your own 3D video, and let's face it, we know what some people would want to record. You can play it directly on a 3D TV too. Considering the cost and the economy though, it's too expensive for people to record their home videos on yet.
Where is the new hotness shiny that everyone must have? Really thinking about it, Silicon Valley is pulling a Hollywood and mostly recycling old ideas with very minor improvements. I already have Keyboard XIII: Wireless and Solar.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by kaszz on Saturday May 24 2014, @10:33AM
Agreed:
* TV - to spew mediocrity and spam. Or even Fox news and History channel.
* Game console - to rely on game servers that gets shutdown and can't be programmed by user
* Laptop - comes preloaded with Microsoft 8.1 and is full of nonsense "features".
* Stereo - does it plug into Ethernet? no? NEXT!
If you let mediocrity and "safe choices" just slightly, you will soon become just that. Safely mediocre and that doesn't excite people.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by EvilJim on Saturday May 24 2014, @03:48AM
I would probably look more towards the bankers involved in destroying the world economy, and people wisening up to the fact that you don't need the blingest shit to be a worthwhile person. reality sucks eh?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 24 2014, @04:28AM
How soon before reality sucks so much that people wisen up to the fact that you don't need the highest-paying biggest-dick-sucking job to be a worthwhile person?
Last time I checked, YOU ARE YOUR JOB and you are how much MONEY YOU HAVE IN THE BANK.
Blame BANKERS for destroying society, do you? Start blaming the fuckwits who count score by their fucking BANK BALANCE. They're legitimizing the BANKS, you fucking idiot.
(Score: 2, Funny) by EvilJim on Saturday May 24 2014, @04:42AM
it's alright Anony, I'm not the fucking idiot here, I keep all my money stashed up your mom's fat whore ass, to make a withdrawal I just kick her in the face. :) I also don't buy new shit, nearly every piece of electronics I own I have repaired after it was thrown away or traded ultra-cheap for parts. in fact, the laptop I'm reading this on I got for fuck all, it just takes some clever positioning to stop the screen doing it's stupid 'losing vertical hold' thing, yeah I didn't think that was possible for a digital panel either, but sure enough it is.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by EvilJim on Saturday May 24 2014, @04:48AM
I just read that a bit more carefully, and no I didn't blame bankers for destroying society, only the world economy, quite a difference there eh Fuckky-the-drunk-clown? small private banks were fine, when they all got together and decided they could lend more money than they actually have, well that was the start of the end for the little guy.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by juggs on Saturday May 24 2014, @05:18AM
Hmmm, that lending more than they have is nothing new, it's been going on a good few millenia. I'm not a religious type but I seem to recall Jesus overturning lenders' tables for being usurous bar stewards in whatever reinvention of popular story-telling that book was. I'm sure it pre-dates that re-telling by a very long time.
Your "small private banks" of yore may well have been more cautious about their loans and less devious with how they leveraged them and re-packaged them for more leverage to seed more loans in an infernal self sustaining disaster spiral. But they were far from fine - just a little more cautious because if they made a mistake then they ran the risk of going bankrupt.
But there is still the elephant in the room that the vast majority of money in circulation is actually debt. A debt that is kicked down the road and grows with each kick or ultimately gets defaulted on as it becomes too ridiculously large to pay. In this system there can only be winners along the way as the ball gets kicked. The game is not to be carrying the can when the default happens. The last time it happened, hapless millions of taxpayers in various Western economies were put on the peg to fund the game for another round for some reason.
The way I see it, you've either got to play the game or nuke it from orbit with extreme prejudice. Vaguely moaning about it is a waste of energy.
(Score: 2) by EvilJim on Saturday May 24 2014, @05:34AM
+1 insightful right there. I fear you're absolutely right, I was thinking about banks since the dark/middle ages where they didn't have the ability to collude with others around the world but had completely forgotten about the tales of yore of Mr Christ and his dislike of money lenders/temple collections (hmmm, tithes?) :)
I'll help crowdfund the nuke option if you're willing to put it up on kickstarter
(Score: 2) by juggs on Monday May 26 2014, @05:02AM
I'd put it up on kickstarter, but I fear my front door would soon be resonating to the sound of Enforcer door rams once the project enters the phase of trying to purchase material to build a viable nuke device - probably rightly so, I wouldn't trust a mad man like me with that stuff either - I'm dangerous enough to be around just playing darts, I'm not sure I want to know what would ensue if I managed to conjure up a nuke device..... probably end up with most of the UK being unpopulated for a fair while because I had a brain wave for a new nuclear tipped dart or something.
Still, that would eliminate the lax ruled London finance houses at the same time. Europe would be happy to be rid of the Little Englander isolationists too no doubt. Nah, too much collateral damage - consign idea to round filing tray.
(Score: 2) by EvilJim on Monday May 26 2014, @05:12AM
Byebye Chattswood and the Gallagher family eh? :) Yeah, I'd likely be the same, wonder if we'd get the same sort of response as the Kim Dotcom raid or if the NZ cops would wander up for a cuppa and a chat... somehow I think way worse than the first.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 24 2014, @05:51AM
And I seem to recall Jesus telling folk to pay their taxes and then give the rest of their money to the poor, lest their desire for money piss off Angry Jesus. I think I remember Shakespeare writing something about neither lending nor borrowing either. And let's not forget Terry Prachett simply wrote, "Money causes problems."
(Score: 2) by EvilJim on Saturday May 24 2014, @06:24AM
don't forget Notorious B.I.G's very similar quote, 'mo money, mo problems'
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 24 2014, @07:00AM
I suspect he did that mainly because they were doing that _in_ the Temple:
http://biblehub.com/matthew/21-12.htm [biblehub.com]
http://biblehub.com/matthew/21-13.htm [biblehub.com]
On that note, as someone said when a Church becomes a business it tends to stop becoming the "Bride of Christ" and starts turning into a Whore. You can go look at various churches and see "Bride" or "Whore" ;). Then there are churches that foolishly get into too much debt and end up "Serving the Loan" more than serving Jesus and the community.
(Score: 4, Funny) by TheGratefulNet on Saturday May 24 2014, @04:08PM
I'm not a religious type but I seem to recall Jesus overturning lenders' tables
wow, you are quite old! how come we haven't heard of you, till now?
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Angry Jesus on Saturday May 24 2014, @06:14AM
> pretty stupid for a retailer to blame innovators for poor sales, they're the fucking salespeople.
That's only true if you buy into the idea "that a good salesman could sell snow to an eskimo." If the innovators aren't innovating then it seems fair to complain about that.
I tend to agree that the established companies are just iterating nowadays, seems like the innovative consumer electronics are all on kickstarter. Perhaps BBY should look to cut special deals with some of those projects, it would not be a big leap from where they are now with their own in-house brands like Dynex and Rocketfish. [wsj.com]
(Score: 2) by EvilJim on Saturday May 24 2014, @06:21AM
that is a really good idea, I hope someone is posting BB a link to these comments.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 24 2014, @04:12AM
It probably doesn't help that they price everything so far above the value that it is worth the wait ordering from Amazon. Just today I was browsing a Best Buy to kill time, and saw 10' component video cables for $30 and $150 headphones for $250. They aren't even attempting to meet market prices, and as more people become minimally intelligent about technology I expect their sales to steadily decrease.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by sjames on Saturday May 24 2014, @04:43PM
If they had knowledgeable and honest people who knew more than "must sell monster cables" they would have an actual advantage over Amazon and other online sellers. But since they really can't tell you anything you can't read on the box for yourself, there isn't much to recommend them. They could also try standing behind the warranties like stores used to. Bring it back to them and they give you a replacement and deal with the manufacturer themselves. If they're effectively selling on consignment, they can't expect the same margins as someone who takes responsibility for what they sell. And I don't mean the expensive extra extended warranty where they do everything short of having you whacked to avoid doing anything for it.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Buck Feta on Saturday May 24 2014, @04:13AM
for better prices and less shitty service.
- fractious political commentary goes here -
(Score: 2) by mendax on Saturday May 24 2014, @05:01AM
Agreed, mostly. Last time I bought something there it was because someone gave me a $50 gift card for Xmas. I ended up buying a 23-inch LCD monitor. The gift card kept me from buying it online or running over the Fry's and getting it because no one could beat the out-of-pocket cost for me. But to be fair, the service wasn't too bad this time around, and generally their service has been pretty decent. However, generally, when it comes to buying electronics, I almost never think of Best Buy as a place to get them.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 2) by EvilJim on Saturday May 24 2014, @05:06AM
I was thinking about saying that in my post but I had only hear-say to go on not being in the US, so thanks for confirming, it's an excellent point.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday May 24 2014, @04:30AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Common Joe on Saturday May 24 2014, @10:57AM
I couldn't stand Best Buy anymore so my wife and I started calling it "Best Bitch"
(Score: 5, Interesting) by juggs on Saturday May 24 2014, @04:43AM
Sooner or later these (r)Etailers will have to accept the fact that he have passed Peak Things.
Sure there was a period in time where it made sense to change out your tech "things" every 3 years or so as advances were happening at a furious pace both with miniaturisation and power usage reduction. Then came several 'new' form factors that caught on. Beyond that, what incentive is there to trade up? If the device you have in hand does what you want with no tardiness, why change it.
The only people I know upgrading to latest and greatest smartphones are those tied to contracts where they still believe the 'phone is free.
As for 8K TV and curved screen TV - umm, well there's a distinct lack of a means to distribute 8K content even if 8K content existed to be distributed. Curved TV is just sparklies from the TV makers who have realised this fact and are grasping desperately to invent a new reason to "upgrade" your TV. I'm sure they'll be utterly heartbroken when it proves to be a dead duck and all those convinced to buy a curved TV have to go and buy a 16K TV instead :D
Perhaps now the innovation rush is over we can can get back to companies differentiating their goods on quality of manufacture, longevity and service back up.
Yeh I saw that pig fly over too!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by scruffybeard on Saturday May 24 2014, @12:39PM
I wouldn't say we are passed the peak (forever), but we are definitely on a plateau. Most people who want them have flat screens, smartphones, etc. Now that most content is pushed from the web, there is little need to upgrade your computer or tablet. Combine this with the slump in the economy and Best Buy is in a real pickle. Their growth for the last decade was from volume.
I think their biggest mistake was putting their higher end Magnolia brand inside the Best Buy store. I wonder if they would have been better off to place Magnolia next to the Best Buy, as a competitor of sorts, the same way restaurant companies put several different brands in the same shopping center. I think there may yet still be a nice market for stores that offer above average quality, and salespeople who know what their talking about, or am I living too much in the past?
(Score: 1) by Cornwallis on Saturday May 24 2014, @10:25AM
Sears problem is crappy service - not lack of innovation. I ordered something (showing as in stock) and went to pick it up and it wasn't there. Cancelled the order and I still don't have my money back yet. This was two weeks ago. Sears needs to "innovate" their lousy business model otherwise they will close hundreds more stores and be out of business by next year as analysts are predicting.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Saturday May 24 2014, @01:54PM
I'm of the fairly solid opinion that we would see far more innovation if it weren't for our ridiculous patent system. Currently, a company needs more lawyers than engineers and developers. Perhaps they should help get that corrected.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 24 2014, @03:50PM
Innovation? Huh? All you have to do to understand why Sears is going down in flames is shop in a store. Their products are junk. Their service stinks. I bought a reciprocating saw on sale, with a big old sign announcing it, and it rang up full-price. Stuff like that. Their Christmas merchandise is junky Made In China stuff.
Their clothes are garbage now. Cheapest, most awful stuff Made In China. I used to like their t-shirts and henleys, but now they are very low quality. Females claim their female clothing is just as bad. They have almost no Land's End merchandise in the store. So why buy Land's End? They couldn't figure out how to do anything with a brand that would have given them unique merchandise no one else had...! There are still a few American tools, but for anything with a motor it's the same difference as Harbor Freight. My Sears was literally sold out of their little precision swivel-top screwdrivers for over a year, and that's one of the best products they have for people in the computer field.
Best Buy? I went inside one once, and could barely get in and out the door for all the employees standing around talking and doing nothing. Never went back. I liked Circuit City better - wait, what did I just say? Oh, no. My head is going to explode.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 24 2014, @03:57PM
Did I just read 'Best Buy blamed its latest sales drop on an overall "lack of innovation" hitting the consumer electronics industry' - ???
So they're saying that they can't make profits off of low-margin commodity electronics? Isn't that like a tautology? Isn't that trope accompanied by a photo of a Circuit City store from 1998?
Sure "the absence of big-time gadgets" - but if there were any, would people buy them from Best Buy? There have been a lot of gadgets - iPad Mini, Chromecast, Kindle Fire, Fire TV - is Best Buy making money from these relatively cheap commodities?
The only reason Monster Cable exist is to make Belkin's overpriced cables look reasonable, when a Rosewill cable from Newegg costs a fraction as much. Basically, any store that sells Belkin cables is a dinosaur and headed for extinction.
(Score: 2) by Subsentient on Saturday May 24 2014, @09:28PM
Their prices are astronomical, and they tend to only sell 'generic' electronics. No specialist stuff. I can get an ethernet cable for $.77 online and $20 at Best Buy. Which do you expect me to choose?
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti