As I may have already mentioned once this week, Best Buy just opened its first store in our home town of Grand Junction, Co.
Folks in Grand Junction have been very excited about the new store and today was the Grand Opening. As much as I love Best Buy and gadgets, I must say that I was not very impressed.
There were no great specials and the prices were pretty much the same as you find anywhere else. I wasn't really suprised by this since Best Buys best prices are generally only sale items.
What did suprise me who how many people were buying stuff. Most computers, software and gadgets are all price fixed. This means that an XBox at Target, Circuit City and Best Buy is always going to coast $399.99. I don't know how or why this is legal, but it is how it works. Wal-mart breaks the rules by charging something like $399.88.
One advantage Best Buy has over most competition is selection of models. However, they didn't have any unique products. Instead of having just one 15.4" laptop they had 4 or 5 and they were all basically in the same price point with the same features. Same goes with digital cameras and Television.
Most of these complaints admittedly have nothing to do with Best Buy. They are indicative of how the world of technology works. All companies are making the same products that do the same things from the same manufacturers for the same price. This leaves little to compete with in terms of price or features.
I look forward to adding Best Buy to my comparative shopping route before I buy something, but just because Best Buy offers something, doesn't make it a "best buy." As Tedd our shopping guru always says, know your price and know your products before you assume you are getting a great deal.
