Archive for the ‘Retail’ Category

I have to admit, I don’t go to Starbucks as much as I used to. Between Java One in my Senseo, and McDonalds getting coffee right (and then getting lattes right)… Starbucks was losing my business.
Please, spare your Starbucks is Evil comments. They’re a business like any other. But, they weren’t changing with the times. [...]

I know I’ve pretty much beaten to death the worst-case scenario when it comes to Best Buy’s warranty extension plans; the PSP and PRP (see the linked article for the differences between the two programs).
But, Best Buy is at least working to reduce the need to store mountains of receipts. Oh, and know where the [...]

Considering that the 4 GB iPod nano costs $150, you basically get to double your money.
Just buy this Netgear switch from Amazon.com, and fill out a rebate form. You’ll get your 4 GB iPod nano in 8 to 10 weeks.
The limit is two per customer… guess how many I bought?
Update: Sold out. Hope you got [...]

The folks at Price Protectr let me know earlier this week that they’ve added one feature I asked for: Best Buy Reward Zone Premium Silver support.
In case you didn’t hear, Reward Zone Premier Silver is an add-on to Best Buy’s existing free club card program. If you spend $2,500+ per year at Best Buy, they [...]

SimpleTech is well known for releasing high-end notebook hard drives in USB 2.0 enclosures… for less than the competition. Well, this time around, SimpleTech is beating the competition to the punch on the top-tier drive.

Starting today, you can get a 500 GB 2.5-inch SATA drive from Best Buy for only $199.99.
(The product pages haven’t [...]

Price Protectr, a site that I’ve blogged about in the past, has gotten another major upgrade.
First, they’ve added watching and targeting. This is a little confusing, because they both serve a function similar to the standard price protection feature. But, they’re more aimed at helping you buy better.
Watching is simply that, whenever a price changes, [...]

So, this weekend I was setting up my replacement Westinghouse HDTV. During this, I reached for my S-Video cable, went to plug it in… and ran into a snag. The “comparable replacement” SK-32H540S doesn’t have a single S-Video port. Uh oh.
Remember how I noted in Part 1 of my saga that comparable replacements aren’t all [...]

I didn’t expect to be posting a follow-up within 36 hours of my first post, but the saga has come to an end… exactly three weeks (to the hour) after it began.
To make a long story short, I called the store, they called corporate as I was instructed by corporate yesterday.
Corporate then called the repair [...]

Today, I detail my first experience with Best Buy’s Product Service Plan (PSP). My Westinghouse W3213 HDTV died on May 14th.
In this post, I’ll show you the details of the program, and how to properly fulfill a claim when your technology wears out.
Yes, this is only Part I. It has become so long, we’re going [...]

It’s all over the news today that 117 Best Buy stores are taking part in the largest national e-waste recycling effort ever. It’s a pilot program, so it’s limited to three large areas.
But, Best Buy markets are a bit deceptive. For example, the San Francisco region includes Sacramento… a good 90 minutes away.
Thankfully, Best Buy [...]