Talk about dropping the ball. Best Buy waited until as late as this week — mere days before Christmas — to admit that it’s not going to be able to fulfill the online orders placed by some customers. These are customers, by the way, who made their purchases around Thanksgiving weekend, more than three weeks ago.
electronics
Consumers to Tech Companies: Please, Stop the Flood of New Gadgets
In a new survey, nearly half of consumers (48%) “feel high-tech manufacturers bring new products to market faster than people need them.”
The Hot-Selling Holiday Item Everyone Already Owns: TV
Electronics are on the top of the shopping list for many consumers this holiday season: Nearly 4 in 10 shoppers purchased electronics over Black Friday weekend, contributing to the whopping $52 billion total spent at stores. …
Think Black Friday Has the Cheapest Prices? Think Again
The only rational explanations for lining up outside the mall before the sun rises and putting up with monster crowds to go shopping on Black Friday are: 1) You just love the crazed, festival-like atmosphere; and/or 2) you assume …
The Best Day to Buy Just About Anything Online
If you ask people their least favorite day of the week, the consensus is almost always Monday. Everybody hates Mondays. But now, there’s a reason to love them.
Black Friday Deals That Start 24 Days Before Black Friday
Talk about extending the holiday shopping season! Black Friday won’t take place for another three weeks—the day after Thanksgiving, specifically. Black Friday is also, quite obviously, a single day. These facts haven’t gotten …
What’s the Best Stuff to Buy in June?
Movie tickets, 3-D Blu-ray players and tools for dad, for starters. But avoid video games and anything too summery.
The Tightwad’s Tablet: Finally, a Decent (and Cheaper!) Alternative to the iPad
Apple all but owns the tablet market: More than 80% of the tablets sold are iPads. Will it finally face some legit competition this summer?
What Buyback Gadget Programs Are Really All About
Services like Best Buy’s Buy Back program are presented as consumer safeguards. A customer who buys a new TV, cell phone, or other electronic gadget can be assured that the retailer will buy back the item if it’s brought back into the store within a certain window of time. This might sound great, but the way these programs work, the net …
Trade In & Upgrade: How Buying a Cell Phone Is Like Visiting a Car Dealership
When buying a new car, trading in an old one is often part of the deal. Now, when consumers feel the need to upgrade their cell phones, it’s easy to trade in or sell their old handsets at the same store where they’re making their new purchase—including retailers like Kmart, Target, Office Depot, and RadioShack.
Why Consumers Aren’t Buying New TVs
You probably bought a cool new flat-screen TV within the last couple of years. But aren’t you ready for a new-new one now?
2011: The Year of the Cord Cutter?
There’s plenty to hate about cable TV—most notably, the nonsensical package structure of monthly bills in which the average customer pays for 117 channels and watches only 17 (and nothing good seems to be on ever), and the fact that cable rates have risen 59% since 1996 (three times the rate of inflation). While some 800,000 cable …
