Comments on: 7 things electronics salespeople won't tell you

CNET's Sharon Vaknin, a former Best Buy employee, has a few opinions to share that you'll want to read before your next gadget-purchasing trip.

[randallwizard]

I've worked at Best Buy as well, and this is all sooo very true.

[jcohen9229]

not really the same for Apple stores though

[garce1]

of course. because the have higher markups. whatever.

[myles taylor]

Some of these things are even true at Apple Stores, especially Apple resellers (I work for one). The margins are very low on the new computers; we make most of our money on accessories and services. Ram upgrades, data transfers, etc are a real cash cow. It's crazy to see sometimes because as an employee I get items at cost instead of a % discount. Sometimes they sell computers below cost in which case as an employee I would pay more than a regular customer. Of course, they sell Applecare, a laptop case, any services and they make money, plus gain a new customer. Training sessions are a big thing too.

Applecare is a must though. It's worth it 100 times over and I've only seen regret when people didn't do it, including myself.

[traxx09]

Wow! An article about Best Buy and it only took two responses before somebody made an Apple connection. We all know that Apple is the cure to cancer and anything else that's ailing this world. I'm not even an Apple hater, but I'm becoming an Apple fanboy hater.

[jag0]

Not the same for an Apple store? Umm yea...it is the same. Employees at the Apple stores are just as ignorant (ESPECIALLY those that work in the "Genius" Bar area.) The store is basically just a bunch of fanboys/girls trying to push Apple's high priced products.

[viper396]

There's nothing more arrogant and ignorant as a Mac user trying to pretend that even their store salemen are perfect. That kind of behaviour just turns people off.

[jcohen9229]

Apple has recently ben pushing like sacrificing software(high margins) for training sessions (very low margins)

[make_or_break]

jcohen9229: and your proof is...what?

Retailers are retailers, period. This isn't rocket science; it's about maximizing margins and profits. Apple Stores sell lots of accessories for the their core products; a lot of those items have fairly low margins and represent thick gravy to their bottom line. Their sales staff is there to make the sale, albeit I've found they tend to be more friendly and helpful that their competition. But it still comes down to getting that sales transaction; everything else is far down the ladder.

[renGek]

nice to see stupid fanboys reinforcing what everybody hates the most about apple....the fanboys.

[garce1]

worked at circuit city for 3 years in sales back in the 90's. The article is dead on.

and thanks for the tip on the cookie story. here it is being read by someones granny on y tubes, so you dont have to go and buy the book or take the trip to borders to read it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFKzriYtEt8

[cidman2001]

I used to sell new cars, and most all of the above applies to buying cars too. I will say most new car salesman do receive initial and ongoing training. The dealerships don't make crap off selling a new car, but they make a ton of money from service, parts, extended warranties and financing. Many dealerships have a "get em in the box and knock em out" approach. The box they refer to is the finance office. They sell the car at invoice price and clean up on financing and add ons.

[myles taylor]

These are all great tips. The sad thing is, that's how the industry works and if everyone took your advice, it would collapse and companies would have to increase their margins in order to make up for it. Fortunately for us savvy shoppers though, we benefit from those who would rather pay than attempt to do the work and save the money.

[drbohner]

ok - what is meant by No Receipt Return? Does that mean that they can look up the transaction and still do the return if you don't have a receipt?

please explain

[basraw]

if you had a credit card receipt that they can look up - no receipt returns are allowed

[HJBartz]

simple: no receipt - no return

[c|net Reader]

There is a record of the transaction in the store database -- possibly at corporate -- found with the credit card number. They scan your card, locate recent transactions using that card, and find the transaction for the merchandise being returned. In practice, it amounts to the Customer Service clerk scanning your card and then scanning the UPC for the item being returned. The software does the matching.

[carguy622]

Don't forget the SPIFs that some companies offer employees when they sell their brand. When I worked at Sears Sony would offer money on their TVs I sold. Some models got me a couple hundred bucks, so of course I would push Sony. I did know my stuff though, I will say that. I loved selling cameras and sometimes wish I was still there. However, some people only wanted what was pink or cute and that drove me nuts.

Also, don't be shy too ask for a reduction in price, if we want a sale it's very easy to put it in as a price match.

[ChefMTM]

Wow how old are you?? SPIFS? tell me a national retailer or a regional retailer that has SPIFs on any product? That went away years ago

[rgspro]

If I remember correctly, we still had spifs a Circuit City. They were just called something different.

[dragonwolf87]

At Best Buy, while vendors do typically come in and hand out goodies to the employees, they were little things like pens and lanyards, and it didn't matter if people sold anything at all, let alone one of "their" products.

Asking for a reduction in price won't get you anywhere in a store (at least Best Buy) that actually follows SOP unless you have an actual, current ad for the exact model at a competitor that has a brick and mortar presence within something like a 25 or 50 mile radius. Very rarely can a BBY employee actually get away with discounting anything, and they don't generally do it for the people that are expecting it or acting like jerks.

[luke2133]

When I sold for a smaller company spiff's were still in place last year.


Luke

[tpotenberg]

The year is 2009. The month is June and the date is 6/14/2009. I just got several "Spiffs" today from selling laptops.They did not go away...it was just you after you left Radio Shack and started smoking too much weed. Any other questions? I have some lead paint chips you can eat also...

[carguy622]

I worked at Sears part-time 2006-2008 and Sony had a debit card that they would put cash on every time I sold a particular Sony TV.

[kingrah1]

omg do they have high profit margins on hdmi cables. my friend who works at best buy got me a $80 hdmi cable for $10.

[Shaun822]

My favorites are the associates pushing the mostrously priced HDMI cables when simple research will tell the consumer that the 15 or 20 dollar cable and in some cases the 9.99 cable will all do the exact same job.

[donovanrs28]

Whose your friend? What store does he work at? Let's see what HR thinks of him misusing his Employee Discount.

[hpbytz]

it is articles like these that is killing the retail business. every one is entitled to make a profit. it is these types of CUT THROAT pricing is what is driving stores to bankrupcy. as a result, less choices for consumers and you'll still end up paying $150 for a Monster cable. how many people are out of work as a result of circuit city going bankrupt? GOOD DEAL IS A STATE OF MIND!!!!! people that worked only on hourly wages or salary will never understand how it is to be on commision and crappy sales people on commision will always try to be the "consumer advocate".

[jag0]

Oh get over yourself you shill. There are PLENTY of choices and PLENTY of respectable online retailers that don't rip off customers with ignorant employees and outrageous prices.

[jag0]

Plus A LOT of people that now work in salary positions or on hourly wages have also worked in stores like this before (including me) and I have no respect for any employee that is just trying to push out some useless and/or overpriced accessory. Problems like this are part of the reason WHY stores like Circuit City & CompUSA went out of business.

[SergeM256]

It's OK to make profit and I'm ready to pay fair price but I don't like these games - selling something at loss to make profit on something else, like selling printers at fraction of price and making money on selling cartridges. I would prefer fair pricing when every item is sold for what is worth with same profit margin on all items.

[scratchface]

The only thing that would happen if these practices were stopped is that the price of primary purchases would go up and prices peripheral puchases would go down. I definitely prefer paying more up front than being fooled into buying things I don't need. This is not likely to happen though since most consumers only see a sale ad and don't realize they'll be coerced into buying overpriced peripherals.

[Cole_Brodine]

Sounds like the free market system at work to me... Comission is comission, not charity. If you can't make a living doing your job, it may be time to find another line of work. I think if brick and mortar stores can't compete with online stores, then they should go out of business. The market will adjust itself and somebody will figure out a way to make money.

Some people have no problem paying for the data transfer, etc, cause they just couldn't do it themselves. Do you know how many people pay for electrical work when they could do it more cheaply themselves? That's one of the ways I save money, but i end up paying for work on my car, since I can't do it myself. Computers are the same way. That grandma that pays you to transfer her data probably saved a small fortune canning her own fruits and vegatables from her garden and laughs at you cause you buy your preserves from the store at inflated prices!

[robvme]

Okay, this is a different argument. Pricing is not set by the sales people, it is set by the company. I have worked in sales and when there is margin to play with and give a customer a better deal, I did. I made less per sale, but I did a hell of lot more sales than my counterparts. I even directed customers to other stores or online retail because a good sales person does not enjoy deliberately overcharging a customer or otherwise creating a bad experience. I made good money in sales because my customers came back with their friends and family. If I didn't know the answer to a question, which happens to everyone, I looked it up with the customer there and would suggest other sources of non bias information. Never being pushy, but helping and educating, I consistently made a good honest living. Sometimes winning the sale is more important that the amount of money one makes from it, especially if you win a customer for the long run. Problem is most people in sales, especially retail, don't have a lot of experience because Best Buy and others like them don't want to pay for a professional sales person or training they want some young hip college kid that they can work to death for little pay and no benefits.

[cerebrix]

circuit going under had NOTHING to do with the margins and EVERYTHING to do with the merryl lynch buyout of b of a. we were totally on the way to coming out of bankruptcy. BUT.... we were operating on a 3.2 billion dollar DIP loan from b of a during our restructuring.

When the buyout happened, b of a yanked back all of their DIP loans. not just ours either. as a result thats why there was only a week to find a new buyer for the company or close our doors. we were operating almost entirely on credit and when that disappeared, there was no money to pay the bills.

next time, try to have a vague idea of what you are talking about before you do it. it keeps people like me, who actually know what happened from making you look completely uninformed public ally.

[ChefMTM]

Well yes that is why circuit had to close its doors recently but if you understand that if their business had changed with the times rather than sticking to the old ways of doing things they would not have had to worry about profit margins and would have stayed ahead of best buy...

[vaiopeanut]

Why was Circuit City soooo reliant on loans. Basically not making a profit!!! So cerebrix please look at the Big Picture before running off on people. City's practices led to there demise, not just one loan getting cut.....

[sting7k]

There is absolutely no reason that a monster cable needs to sell for $150 for a 9 foot HDMI cable.

[Paul001312]

Don't forget that if you are going to buy your accessories online, you might want to do it BEFORE you bring home that shiny new tv. Nothing is worse than having a $2,000 paperweight in your living room because you have to wait at least 24 hours for your cable to show up so you can use it! I just about caved and bought an hdmi cable at a retailer because I couldn't stand the wait!

[Cole_Brodine]

I think the "have it now" crowd is how they make so much money on accessories. I went in and bought a hard drive for my computer one time when mine failed, cause I knew I could "have it now". It was okay with me to pay extra because I didn't have to wait.

Normally, I buy stuff wherever the price is most competitve. I bought a TV not to long ago from Walmart, and then waited a week for cables from Newegg. I had to wait, but I saved money and that was okay with me.

[somonster]

from one CNET reader to another -
i feel your pain...and so does my wallet!

[zmnatz]

I returned a Sony Handycam that I got for free to Walmart without a receipt a few months back. Get the right customer service person and you can return anything. Especially if you tell them it was a gift and the product you really wanted is more expensive so you're exchanging.

[strongpimphand]

This is about the second or third post I've read about fake returns....

DO YOU PEOPLE REALIZE YOU'RE COMMITTING FRAUD???? THAT'S ILLEGAL!!!! IF YOU DID NOT BUY IT FROM THAT STORE, YOU ARE COMMITTING FRAUD BY TRYING TO RETURN IT TO THAT STORE!!!

[genghis-ron]

So what is the point of this article, everyone has to make a living.

[Demolition]

The point is that some of us don't want to be ripped off, pressured into buying things that we don't need, or have to tolerate bad customer service. Making a living doesn't have to come at the cost of giving consumers the shaft.

[Uilleam]

Same here, I don't get it. It seems the writer needed to turn in copy, and decided to write an article from past experience. That's fine, but don't market it as something other than it is, a rehash of buyer beward propaganda. All of this is common knowledge, and has been for over a decade. If you're a customer and want the ease and reliability of buying from a brick & mortar store, then you should be ready to endure the store's attempt to make a profit. If you think they're trying to rip you off, then stay home and shop the internet. Are there sales people who are dishonest, yes, duh. There are politicians who are dishonest, car salesman who are dishonest, dentists who are dishonest, quit your whining. The world is never going to be puppy dogs and rainbows, deal with it.

[AdamB5000]

I once overheard a Best Buy salesman tell a customer, "You'll want to get the higher quality HDMI cable. They run around $99."

All I could do is smile knowing that perfectly good HDMI cables go online for less than $10 shipped. My bro just got three for $6.

Two weeks ago I overheard a guy asking the difference between two Panasonic Plasma tvs. He looked at the specs and couldn't see a difference so he searched out a sales dude. The guy pulled the tag from both tvs and held them side-by-side, looking at the specs. I kid you not his answer was, "The cheaper one must me last years model."

After the BB guy left I pulled the customer aside and informed him the only difference was the Viera Cast. The cheaper tv wasn't "last year's model." He was appreciative of my help.

Yeah, BB and-the-like is an okay place to purchase electronics, but you won't always get the correct answer and you should definitely have an agenda before you cross the front door when buying an expensive item.

I guess that fact is that there will always be people who will go to a store to buy something and be misinformed. It's probably happened to all of us somewhere at one time.

[illegallydead]

Haha I have seen similar things go down, and have informed my fellow customer about the cheap online cables. The salesperson just glared at me, and informed me that the cables could not possibly be that cheap online (I had of course just bought one, so they obviously could). While I feel bad robbing the guy of a sale, at the same time, the prices on USB cables, HDMI cables, etc are so obscenely far from reality that informing customers they have a choice is much better karma than depriving an arrogant salesman of a sale...

[gadget_dude]

I briefly worked for a now-dead electronics store (anyone remember The Good Guys?) where the actual price display signs themselves had indicators of how profitable the item was for the store and the rep. Each tag had a line of asterisks at the bottom like a bar graph and more asterisks meant more profit margin. We were instructed to sell the higher margin item regardless of what the customer wanted.

Oh yeah, if you didn't sell enough extended warranties you were fired because they had "approximately 96% profit margin". I didn't last long (and thankfully neither did they) but those sales people are still out there selling.

[jonisaok]

I absolutely LOATHE going into Best Buy, solely because of the ignorant and annoying salespeople. I try to never take one step into that place without knowing what I want beforehand. Glad this article states that they're purposely annoying even though they don't get any commission... Good to know.

I have worked at Best buy for over 6 years, and i have had customers (like yourself) come in and pretty much give me a hard time for doing my job. I don't understand why its so annoying to be asked if you'd like any help, and I hate the fact that a few bad apples are ruining it for us well-informed employees who devote themselves to providing a good experience and giving you the consumer the right answers. I really don't like how people just Label all Best Buy employees as being "Ignorant and unhelpful". It takes a lot to be able to provide everyone with Good Customer Service , when everyone is thinking you are out to get them , or that you couldnt possible have the knowledge to help them. I love working at Best Buy and proving people wrong with my knowledge of product. And if any of my counterparts have let you down....I apologize for them. Long story short... cut us some slack, were are just doing our job.

[jasonsk287]

I have worked at Best Buy for 3 years, in the camera section, and I take offense to you calling ALL of us annoying. I agree with the other employee responding to this comment. We are required to ask you if you need help upon entering the department. Managers frequently take note of employees that slack off and do not do their job (which is ask you if you need help). We receive extensive customer training on how to please customers.

We do not make commission, as noted. At my store we receive recognition and nothing more for your achievements. But for me, that is more than enough. The writer notes that "hours are cut for poor achievement." My store only does that in the most severe cases- if an employee ALWAYS slacks off. But poor sales do not affect an employee in any way. Managers do love to hear about big sales. Naturally- we are a store. Stores open to make money. But we are not trying to annoy you by asking for help. If you want to be left alone, tell the salespeople you are just looking until you need help. However you should expect to be asked for help when you enter a building.

Regarding protection plans- I often get many customers who think we get small kickbacks on these and thats why we offer them. False. I truly believe in the value of these plans and offer them as such. Many people decline me quickly. But these same people come back with issues with the camera a couple of years later, only to find that we cannot help them. Replacing a camera lens can cost maybe $150-$200. But if you have a protection plan from BBY, if the issue cannot be fixed, the camera is replaced at no extra charge. In my view this is 100% worth the money. Best Buy knows that many people will buy a plan and have no issues with the camera/tv/computer. This is why the plans were recently revamped to include battery coverage, etc. I would agree with the author- at least think before you say no to this.

We do not make commission, as noted. At my store we receive recognition and nothing more for your achievements. But for me, that is more than enough. The writer notes that "hours are cut for poor achievement." My store only does that in the most severe cases- if an employee ALWAYS slacks off. But poor sales do not affect an employee in any way. Managers do love to hear about big sales. Naturally- we are a store. Stores open to make money. But we are not trying to annoy you by asking for help. If you want to be left alone, tell the salespeople you are just looking until you need help. However you should expect to be asked for help when you enter a building.
I apologize for any bad experience you have had. But many BBY employees are genuinely looking to help you. Try another store if one gives you problems. Or shop online.

[dragonwolf87]

The sad part is that you ***** about them helping you, but when you go into a store where no one greets you and you have trouble finding people who work there, you probably also ***** about how no one's there to help.

[Nfuego]

I agree with you 100%...and most of the time, when I find something I want or need, I am looking on my iPhone at Newegg or Amazon to see how much the same item is online and then weigh the difference and whether I can wait a couple days for the item or not...

[jonisaok]

I'm not ******** about them helping me, because that's yet to happen. They just annoy the **** out of me because I usually end up knowing more about what I'm shopping for than they do.

and sorry, not ALL Best Buy employees are annoying and ignorant... i'd say the vast majority are though.

[ccmike72]

You can **** an moan all you want but people get taken advantage of all the time. Its nothing new and Best Buy or other electronic retailers aren't to blame for it. You decide what something is worth and if you are willing to pay the price. If you like your money you have to do research before you buy something. If you are reading this article you are already a leg up because you care enough to research.
I used to work for Circuit City and I know people at Best Buy and its all true. Thats why i was never a great sales person because i refused to pawn junk off on people. I offered them information and allowed them to decide.

[Shaun822]

Thats the kind of sales person that gets my business, I must have walked out of 3 or 4 stores because I have no tolerance for the bullying that some salespeople try. Heck, left a TV at the register because the salesman wouldn't quit at one BB. Although I have run into some pushy punks at CC too though. I think anyone complaining is taking this article for more than its worth, CNET is a consumer electronics site, and part of consumer electronics is purchasing, and purchasing is knowing how to not get taken for a ride.

[docstar7]

...but instead say, "I am a frequent customer here. How are you going to make this situation right so that I continue to visit your location?"

The retailer i work at, the first thing that comes to mind when someone says this that they are lieing (granted it's usually in repsonse to us telling them they need a receipt to do a return), as if they are a frequent shopper as they claim they should know the policies of the store.

[mderby05]

Funny, this article. As much as we all complain about Best Buy, I challenge anyone here to look at the tests that associates must take to be certified in their departments at this retailer, and if you can pass these ridiculously hard tests, you now have a right to comment on this article.

Having worked at a Best Buy for the last 3 years, I will challenge anyone here to go up to a computer sales or a digital camera sales person and answer the questions that are presented to them on a daily basis. Most people don't realize that they're "hewlee packer" printers that they have used the same "UBC" cable with for the last 3 years only needs new cartridges, not to be replaced, and those of us at Best Buy save a lot of people a lot of money.

As a rebuttal to the online retailer thoughts, I would like to see on tigerdirect where it lists proprietary part lists for computers, such as any Dell (including todays models...yes, your mobo is proprietary), any needs for power supplies on your new graphics cards that the average customer will catch on to at the t.d. website, and then make sure that they know wether their computer is agp/pci/pci express. CNET may have the benefit of the doubt with some of its readers, but for those of you who are like the average person, you have no effing clue what you need.

Cole brodine: you mentioned that your hard drive failed and you needed a new one. Most folks wouldnt know whether it was Eide/Sata/or kelloggs cornflakes. Then, they wouldnt know wether they needed a 2.5/3.5" drive, and then they wouldn't know what to do with the OS Disk.

Scratchface: you are a moron for saying you would rather pay more up front. Sorry. Plain and simple. Why would you rather pay more up front???? That is just a dumb comment.

Sharon,

This part is to you. I work at one of the most profitable BBY's in the company. There are no associates there that would just say "read the tags" and your supervisor should be fired. Also, you said you worked there for two years, and my answer to that would be this: If you can find a single computer on the market right now that can turn on, set up the o.s. and create the recovery disks, in 15 minutes, and if you can do what the MRI disk does, completely and fully, in 15 more minutes, I will write you a check for $500.00, USD. That is an honest to god promise. My Email is [e-mail], and I am more than willing to put my money where my mouth is. And then, I'll double that if you take the average computer user and they can even tell you how to get into the setup options screen, setup the optimization features, burn their recovery disks, and get the same speed from a computer as an optimized unit. So, shoot me an email, because im really not all that worried. Ill even let you walk into a best buy and pick the customer.

This is because most people have no clue what they are looking for. Most people cannot set up a router. Most people don't even get the concept behind a wireless router, and think that they already have one because their mouse is wireless. So, for all of you retail store haters, just remember that there are for more people who don't know what they are doing than do, and the retail stores help.

And, as a post script, take a look at the sales figures for Tiger directs returns. They have a 12% return rate, whereas a best buy will have 1-3% depending on the season. Thanks!

Mike-im a surgeon with a keyboard, and pretty smart, so i welcome any response.

So, some of the people here may think

[Niko7785]

lol... seriously, you don't need to be a rocket science to answer all those questions.
You don't even need a degree.
": If you can find a single computer on the market right now that can turn on, set up the o.s. and create the recovery disks, in 15 minutes, and if you can do what the MRI disk does, completely and fully, in 15 more minutes, I will write you a check for $500.00, USD"
lol
I can do it if you dont count the loading time etc etc. What is so hard about creating a recovery disk? click set up recovery shortcut on desktop, put an empty dvd, click start... and then you can drink coffee or take a nap for 45 minutes...
I bet you that you will not work at BestBuy if this thing is really hard, instead you will work with Microsoft because hey, you need to be some sort of Genius to create a recovery disk.



(sarcasm)

[terryritchie]

Oh my - everything you have described a 12 year old could do!

[mderby05]

Terryritchie,

I doubt a 12 year old could buy a computer. Also, I would imagine that most twelve year olds are also able to do far more on a computer than most people in their 40's and 50's, which is one of the unique reasons we have Best Buy stores.... to educate those that don't know.

[jvbo]

yep...
this comment shows clearly how the BB stereotype sales person thinks like...
I love going to BB because I love technology. Although, it is impressive how many times I've asked them what is the difference between two products, and got them trying to figure it out reading out of the box. I mean, I can read too...

mderby05, you keep on saying about how the average customer is naive. Yes, they are! And that is the level that most BB salesmen are able to help. You said it yourself! "Most people don't realize that [...] and those of us at Best Buy save a lot of people a lot of money."

People don't have to get angry with the salesmen, because they are doing what BB wants: helping the average customer...

[mclarenm8b]

One of the reasons BB has that low return rate is unless you meet their return requirements in full, there is no return. Your return rate for BB certainly doesn't reflect all the dissatisfied BB customers.

[TechnologyFreak1]

I can not agree with this comment before You have no Idea how much training And certification goes on behind the scenes everyone from your cashiers to your sales associates have ample knowledge in the the area there in I work at best buy also and would like to dispel myths that we do not know what we are talking about

[Cole_Brodine]

Hopefully you didn't take my comment the wrong way. I am more knowledgable about computer equipment then the average Best Buy customer (I would guess). I save money by shopping online, etc. Some people just don't know enough about computers, and they need the help of a retail store.

Imagine how much money a butcher saves on meat. He doesn't have to pay those marked up grocery store prices. Everybody has their thing they know about. I should try to find a meat forum and start a flame war about which cuts are better.

[rtechie]

"I challenge anyone here to look at the tests that associates must take to be certified in their departments at this retailer, and if you can pass these ridiculously hard tests, you now have a right to comment on this article."

Where can I find a copy of these "ridiculously hard tests" online? You phrased this as a "challenge" so presumably you're willing to make them available.

"I would like to see on tigerdirect where it lists proprietary part lists for computers, such as any Dell (including todays models...yes, your mobo is proprietary),"

Where do they list this at Best Buy? By would someone ask Best Buy about this rather than calling Dell and ordering the parts directly or asking Dell what they need. I am certain that Dell's tech support on Dell computers is better than Best Buy's support on Dell computers.

"but for those of you who are like the average person, you have no effing clue what you need."

Neither does the staff at Best Buy. That's the point. That's why you should read reputable web sites like CNet before making your purchasing decisions.

"If you can find a single computer on the market right now that can turn on, set up the o.s. and create the recovery disks, in 15 minutes, and if you can do what the MRI disk does, completely and fully, in 15 more minutes, I will write you a check for $500.00, USD."

Please contact me directly and I'll tell you where to mail the check. Best Buy uses off the shelf tools. I actually wrote part of Geek Squad's toolkit (scripts), so I KNOW they're using off the shelf tools. I don't know if that's what Best Buy is using in general. Last I checked, there was lots of pirated software in Geek Squad's toolkit because they weren't willing to pay licensing. If they were, the disks would probably cost at least $1,000 per seat.

Having said that, I could probably put something together was LEGAL (unlike Geek Squad's toolkit) from open source and inexpensive tools for far less than $500. Hell, Ultimate Boot CD does about 90% of what you can do with Geek Squad's toolkit and it's completely free.

[mllapointe]

Boy does this resonate, from both ends of the spectrum. I was briefly the director of communications for a chain of now-defunct high-end stereo stores. Their sales employees were required to take intensive training and testing on all their products. The company was so proud of their employees' passing rates that they wouldn't even let me take a test administered by one of their suppliers, on the grounds that a "girl" couldn't possibly understand enough about tape decks (!) to pass. The management was made up of sexist jerks, but it was a joy to work with such crackerjack sales people.

As a Best Buy customer, on the other hand, it took five months, multiple letters to corporate (all ignored), and finally a threatened lawsuit to get them to honor their warranty on a laptop.

[friscoG]

I don't see an issue with retailers making a profit, but as always....buyer beware. It is a shame that most people don't know the difference in cables and such and get raped over, but that is a lot of store's business model. Most people simply don't know that HDMI is a digital signal and buying the $100 Monster Cable isn't going to look any better than the $2 Amazon cable. Case in point, my Pioneer 5020 is using a $2 HDMI from Amazon.

Electronics stores of course arent th only ones doing it. Oil change shops and etc thrive on ad on sales also. They get you to come in for the cheap oil change and then try to convince you to get wiper blades, radiator flushes, and a whole bunch of other unnecessary maintenance that half the time they don't even perform.

[TechFiend84]

Used to work @ Best Buy in Home Theater also for about a year. Everything in this article is totally true. I tell everyone I know about the little tips and tricks I learned while working there. I know my old store hates when I walk through that door. They know they are not going to make any money with me and I always price match!