Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 42
  1. #1
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    6,883

    Believe it or not, high end at Best Buy ...

    Those of you who don't live in California, prepare yourself for a shock -- a few days ago I listened to a pair of Vienna Acoustics Mozarts driven by Primare separates over at Best Buy of all places. Yes, it's true and if the experiment goes well, this concept might soon hit your town.

    Over the past few months, Best Buy has started adding Magnolia Home Theater ministores inside some of their California locations, basically a store within a store with actual demo rooms and a separate sales staff. The products are limited to home theater, and I did not see some of the higher end audio lines that are carried by standalone Magnolia AV stores like Martin Logan, McIntosh, Krell, Sonus Faber, B&K, and Pro-Ject at the Best Buy/Magnolia location I visited. However, walking into a Best Buy and then trying out stuff like the Vienna Acoustics Schonbergs, Fujitsu and Pioneer Elite plasmas, DLP projectors, Def Tech, REL, and M&K is quite a shocker considering that the normal Best Buy inquiries on this board involve comparisons between Athena and JBL speakers.

    If these Magnolia stores perform well, then BB will expand the concept out of California.

  2. #2
    Sgt. At Arms Worf101's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Troy, New York
    Posts
    4,288

    Unhappy Well it ain't happened back east yet...

    Quote Originally Posted by Woochifer
    Those of you who don't live in California, prepare yourself for a shock -- a few days ago I listened to a pair of Vienna Acoustics Mozarts driven by Primare separates over at Best Buy of all places. Yes, it's true and if the experiment goes well, this concept might soon hit your town.

    Over the past few months, Best Buy has started adding Magnolia Home Theater ministores inside some of their California locations, basically a store within a store with actual demo rooms and a separate sales staff. The products are limited to home theater, and I did not see some of the higher end audio lines that are carried by standalone Magnolia AV stores like Martin Logan, McIntosh, Krell, Sonus Faber, B&K, and Pro-Ject at the Best Buy/Magnolia location I visited. However, walking into a Best Buy and then trying out stuff like the Vienna Acoustics Schonbergs, Fujitsu and Pioneer Elite plasmas, DLP projectors, Def Tech, REL, and M&K is quite a shocker considering that the normal Best Buy inquiries on this board involve comparisons between Athena and JBL speakers.

    If these Magnolia stores perform well, then BB will expand the concept out of California.
    Least not in my neck of the woods. I recently walked through the local Best Buy during the week between Christmas and New Years... BIG mistake let me tell you. The place looked like Berlin in 46 or a warehouse after Atilla the Hun had gotten through with it. It was a wreck and a madhouse to boot. I didn't see any "high end" audio on display or any audio to speak of just wreckage and ruin and the typical JBL crap strewn about the floor. I'll check in a couple of months and see what's what.

    Da Worfster

  3. #3
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Chester County, PA
    Posts
    206
    Tweeter dropped Vienna Acoustics last quarter but Best Buy seems like a bad fit as a replacement. I think their acquisition of Magnolia will result in Best Buy phasing out the high-end brands that Magnolia carried in the end. This is the same model Tweeter has followed in it's numerous acquisitions of small chains around the country.

    The typical Best Buy customer is not looking to spend the type of money such high-end brands like V.A. and Primare demand.

    Bill

  4. #4
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    6,883
    Quote Originally Posted by BillB
    Tweeter dropped Vienna Acoustics last quarter but Best Buy seems like a bad fit as a replacement. I think their acquisition of Magnolia will result in Best Buy phasing out the high-end brands that Magnolia carried in the end. This is the same model Tweeter has followed in it's numerous acquisitions of small chains around the country.

    The typical Best Buy customer is not looking to spend the type of money such high-end brands like V.A. and Primare demand.

    Bill
    Actually, BB acquired Magnolia in 2000 and they've operated as an independent subsidiary since then. These Magnolia HT ministores are a new concept that BB tried out in two test stores earlier last year, and expanded to 19 stores by the end of the year. For now, these ministores are limited to California, but if they perform well, then the concept could go national.

    What you refer to as a typical BB customer is exactly why BB is going with the Magnolia ministores, as opposed to trying to add higher end products within their existing BB product mix. They know that they have to do something different if they want to attract the higher end customers, and Magnolia's been successful at serving that market and has name recognition with that group. Also, that's the only way that they can maintain the relationships with some of their higher end brands -- by keeping it under the Magnolia umbrella. That could also be why I did not see some of Magnolia's other brands like McIntosh, Sonus Faber, and Martin Logan at the ministores I visited.

    Magnolia's been around for 50 years, and unlike Tweeter's acquisitions where all of the regional chains that they acquired got converted into Tweeter stores, BB is not looking to rebrand the Magnolia stores. The problem with BB using the Magnolia name to move into higher end products at their BB stores is that outside of the west coast, Magnolia does not have much name recognition.

    It will be interesting to see how this plays out because it's a strange hybrid that BB's trying to create here. They still have standalone Magnolia stores that carry a wider range of brands and products, and those stores use commissioned sales associates. The Magnolia ministores inside of Best Buy have a separate sales staff that works on an hourly basis, and they use Magnolia's delivery and installation team, not the one for BB.

  5. #5
    Forum Regular paul_pci's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    1,246

    Strange indeed!!

    It will be interesting to see how this plays out because it's a strange hybrid that BB's trying to create here. They still have standalone Magnolia stores that carry a wider range of brands and products, and those stores use commissioned sales associates. The Magnolia ministores inside of Best Buy have a separate sales staff that works on an hourly basis, and they use Magnolia's delivery and installation team, not the one for BB.[/QUOTE]


    In Woodland Hills, CA they put a Magnolia adjacent to a BB, and at first I thought, well, okay, the consumer base doesn't really overlap and I kinda like looking over their stock and daydreaming, but I have to say, my experience there was odd at best. In my estimation, Magnolia has high end gear with a BB staff. I was eyeing this one Denon receiver they had on sale there and I asked to see the rear panel (that's what really matters, right?) and they guy couldn't accommodate me, so he went to the computer to look it up online, but he was too stupid to be able to negotiate the Denon website correctly. He gave up after 10 minutes. I could have done that at home in one minute. And he pretty much knew nothing about the receiver. Then another time, I bought some speaker wire there and asked if the guy could strip it for me (it had that real thick casing) and the guy didn't even have wrie strippers. Come on! I think if you're going to have high end gear you should have the requisite staff, which they don't.

    Paul.

  6. #6
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    6,883
    Quote Originally Posted by Worf101
    Least not in my neck of the woods. I recently walked through the local Best Buy during the week between Christmas and New Years... BIG mistake let me tell you. The place looked like Berlin in 46 or a warehouse after Atilla the Hun had gotten through with it. It was a wreck and a madhouse to boot. I didn't see any "high end" audio on display or any audio to speak of just wreckage and ruin and the typical JBL crap strewn about the floor. I'll check in a couple of months and see what's what.

    Da Worfster
    Worf -

    You're a brave man! I had all these Best Buy giftcards just begging to be used and abused, but hardly any of the DVDs from my holiday list that I did not get for Christmas were on the shelves when I went there last week. What a mess. It looked like everything had been picked over and then some. But, it wasn't nearly as bad as the stormblitz that I saw when I exchanged a sweater over at the Gap!

    That was when I popped into the Magnolia ministore and checked around. It is literally a store within a store. Sales guys wearing dress shirts and ties rather than blue polos, carpeting, low ceiling, track lighting (actually the kind of low voltage rail setup that my wife and I are looking to install at home), acoustically treated demo rooms, no stacks of boxes with shopping cart sized aisles, etc. I can imagine though the shock and confusion that some customers might have if they're perusing through the TV section at Best Buy (y'know trying to figure out which $100 color TV and $40 DVD player they want to buy) and then accidentally venture into the Magnolia section with the $4,000 Primare amps, $10,000 Fujitsu plasmas, $400 Home Theater Master remotes, and $2,000 Vienna Acoustics speakers!

  7. #7
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    6,883
    Quote Originally Posted by paul_pci
    In Woodland Hills, CA they put a Magnolia adjacent to a BB, and at first I thought, well, okay, the consumer base doesn't really overlap and I kinda like looking over their stock and daydreaming, but I have to say, my experience there was odd at best. In my estimation, Magnolia has high end gear with a BB staff. I was eyeing this one Denon receiver they had on sale there and I asked to see the rear panel (that's what really matters, right?) and they guy couldn't accommodate me, so he went to the computer to look it up online, but he was too stupid to be able to negotiate the Denon website correctly. He gave up after 10 minutes. I could have done that at home in one minute. And he pretty much knew nothing about the receiver. Then another time, I bought some speaker wire there and asked if the guy could strip it for me (it had that real thick casing) and the guy didn't even have wrie strippers. Come on! I think if you're going to have high end gear you should have the requisite staff, which they don't.

    Paul.
    Ironically, I think it was the Woodland Hills store that sparked the idea of putting Magnolia ministores inside of Best Buy. Magnolia only entered the California market about three years ago, and they found that the Magnolia stores located closest to a Best Buy location ramped up their sales the fastest. Best Buy's been trying to figure out a way to move into higher end (and more profitable) product niches, and this is their first clear attempt to stakeout a higher end market. It wouldn't make sense for them to just clear out shelf space and plug some Martin Logans into the switch boxes where the JBL and Bose demos are located.

    I've had generally great service over at the Magnolia stores I've visited. I did several listenings with one particular sales associate who was very knowledgeable and helpful. He even knew about parametric equalizers, which is not very common even at high end stores. I wound up buying some racks, accessories, and a digital camera from him through various visits. But, he ended up going back to school, and the other sales guys I've dealt with since then have been more hit and miss as far as their product knowledge goes. Service though has remained pretty good.

    Surprising that the store you visited would not have wire strippers available given that Magnolia has bulk spools of speaker cable in the showroom and they carry spades and banana plugs. But, one thing I will say about Denon's website, it is not very intuitive. If you don't know where you're going, it's not the easiest place to try and find a specific bit of information. Maybe the guy who designed Denon's website also writes their horribly cryptic owner's manuals.

  8. #8
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    911

    Wow didn't realize you guys lived near me- Woodland Hills

    Do you guys use Fry's alot? I live in Chatsworth been here about a 1 1/2 years to be near my sister. If you ever want to come over to hear my OrbAudio setup let me know. If nothing else, go to Uncle Ernies Pizza in Chatsworth off Topanga and they have the best pizza in the world and I'm from New York City.

    Personally I hate Best Buy & places like that not because of the product but there total idiot workforce. I'd recommend Ken Crane's down here and Fry's.

    Quote Originally Posted by Woochifer
    Ironically, I think it was the Woodland Hills store that sparked the idea of putting Magnolia ministores inside of Best Buy. Magnolia only entered the California market about three years ago, and they found that the Magnolia stores located closest to a Best Buy location ramped up their sales the fastest. Best Buy's been trying to figure out a way to move into higher end (and more profitable) product niches, and this is their first clear attempt to stakeout a higher end market. It wouldn't make sense for them to just clear out shelf space and plug some Martin Logans into the switch boxes where the JBL and Bose demos are located.

    I've had generally great service over at the Magnolia stores I've visited. I did several listenings with one particular sales associate who was very knowledgeable and helpful. He even knew about parametric equalizers, which is not very common even at high end stores. I wound up buying some racks, accessories, and a digital camera from him through various visits. But, he ended up going back to school, and the other sales guys I've dealt with since then have been more hit and miss as far as their product knowledge goes. Service though has remained pretty good.

    Surprising that the store you visited would not have wire strippers available given that Magnolia has bulk spools of speaker cable in the showroom and they carry spades and banana plugs. But, one thing I will say about Denon's website, it is not very intuitive. If you don't know where you're going, it's not the easiest place to try and find a specific bit of information. Maybe the guy who designed Denon's website also writes their horribly cryptic owner's manuals.

  9. #9
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Chester County, PA
    Posts
    206
    Personally I hate Best Buy & places like that not because of the product but there total idiot workforce.
    This is what will make it tough for Best Buy but I hope you're right Woochifer. BB has a great opportunity to fill the increasing void for mid to high-end audio and video gear as Tweeter, which was the biggest player in the market, has changed it's entire philosophy to custom install, whole house systems. They're abandoning the traditional audio components and speakers for "convergence" gear and in-wall/ceiling speakers.

    It will be interesting to see if they hang onto the Magnolia name if/when they decide to go outside of California. I could see them branding it some sort of Better Best Buy, or Best Buy Select.

    Bill

  10. #10
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    6,883
    Quote Originally Posted by hershon
    Do you guys use Fry's alot? I live in Chatsworth been here about a 1 1/2 years to be near my sister. If you ever want to come over to hear my OrbAudio setup let me know. If nothing else, go to Uncle Ernies Pizza in Chatsworth off Topanga and they have the best pizza in the world and I'm from New York City.

    Personally I hate Best Buy & places like that not because of the product but there total idiot workforce. I'd recommend Ken Crane's down here and Fry's.
    Actually, I live within walking distance of a Fry's store (it's about a 200,000 square foot superstore). Not my favorite place to shop -- disorganized sections, hard to find stuff, long lines, occasionally hostile service, etc. However, they do have some outrageously good sale prices on certain things and I buy almost all of my computer parts and peripherals there. At least among the stores I've visited up here in NoCal (where Fry's started), the sales guys in the audio and video departments are among the least knowledgeable I've seen compared to other stores. At least Good Guys and Magnolia train their sales associates before they get thrown to the lions. Fry's reputation is not all that great, and if you got people posting satirical pieces about Fry's on the web, then something's up.

    http://braith.best.vwh.net/frys.htm

    Good pointer on the pizza joint, I'll have to check it out next time I'm in the valley.

  11. #11
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    6,883
    Quote Originally Posted by BillB
    This is what will make it tough for Best Buy but I hope you're right Woochifer. BB has a great opportunity to fill the increasing void for mid to high-end audio and video gear as Tweeter, which was the biggest player in the market, has changed it's entire philosophy to custom install, whole house systems. They're abandoning the traditional audio components and speakers for "convergence" gear and in-wall/ceiling speakers.

    It will be interesting to see if they hang onto the Magnolia name if/when they decide to go outside of California. I could see them branding it some sort of Better Best Buy, or Best Buy Select.

    Bill
    I haven't been to Tweeter. I'd always heard that they were in the same market niche as Good Guys and Magnolia -- serving the early adopter and mid to higher end markets without quite getting into the esoteric market niches. Independent audio stores have stayed aloft in recent years by moving into the custom installation market. The store owners I've talked to indicate that they don't make much from just moving audio products nowadays. The custom installations and big screen HDTVs are the big ticket items that keep their doors open, and allow them to provide demo rooms and product support for basic audio items.

    I know that Good Guys and Magnolia have increased their installation offerings, but from what you're describing, it looks like Tweeter's gone to where a lot of independent shops have been. This really puts a squeeze on the independent operators, since they are already losing one support line with big screen HDTV prices dropping. If Tweeter's going after the home installation market, then that could put a lot of independents under because that was one of the few untapped markets that they had available.

    On the other hand, I'm not sure if the custom installation market is so big and growing that Tweeter can sustain the entire company around it. One aspect that I've started seeing is that new home builders have begun offering integrated home theaters as an option for home buyers (plasma screens and in-wall speakers preinstalled), which reduces one market. Looks like a lot of transition in the next few years, and not a whole lot of benefit to those of us who are just looking for decent gear and places to try it out.

    Whether or not the Magnolia name goes national, who knows. But, regardless I think Best Buy will keep trying different approaches to make inroads into the higher market niches until something sticks. Their stores are more than large enough to keep reconfiguring, and over the past few months, they've been remodeling a lot of their California stores. I've read their quarterly reports, and they're trying out these "store within a store" concepts in different markets and stores in California. Some stores got the Magnolia Home Theater ministores, others have a section with high tech toys for kids, others have extra gaming offerings, and others have dedicated sections for small business products.

  12. #12
    M.P.S.E /AES/SMPTE member Sir Terrence the Terrible's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Posts
    6,826
    Can someone help a brudda off the floor, give me some water and an asprin! BB and Magnolia, surely you jest Wooch!
    Sir Terrence

    Titan Reference 3D 1080p projector
    200" SI Black Diamond II screen
    Oppo BDP-103D
    Datastat RS20I audio/video processor 12.4 audio setup
    9 Onkyo M-5099 power amp
    9 Onkyo M-510 power amp
    9 Onkyo M-508 power amp
    6 custom CAL amps for subs
    3 custom 3 way horn DSP hybrid monitors
    18 custom 3 way horn DSP hybrid surround/ceiling speakers
    2 custom 15" sealed FFEC servo subs
    4 custom 15" H-PAS FFEC servo subs
    THX Style Baffle wall

  13. #13
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    6,883
    Quote Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
    Can someone help a brudda off the floor, give me some water and an asprin! BB and Magnolia, surely you jest Wooch!
    Hey T, remember I don't have a sense of humor dude! Man, I wish I was joking! Hearing that Vienna Acoustics/Primare combo belting out Bela Fleck with such authority and grace was almost surreal, given that the first thing I heard after exiting the Magnolia ministore demo room was a noisy churned up mix of TV speakers, HTIBs, Lifestyle systems, and car audio subs all with the bass cranked up to "11" by teenagers. Y'know, what we usually hear at Best Buy!

    Water and asprin? I thought that some rum and a cocktail umbrella would suffice!

  14. #14
    Forum Regular paul_pci's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    1,246

    Uncle Ernie's and Fry's

    Man, I used to eat at Uncle Ernie's all the time, years ago. I go to Fry's a lot, but mostly to mine the cheap DVDs and drool over the Macs. But, yeah, it's a montrosity of a store, but I kinda like that type of chaos from time to time.

  15. #15
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    911

    Fry's & Any steak places you'd recommend?

    Fry's is great if you're looking to save money & have an idea of what you want. For those not in LA, its a superelectronic store that's about 100 times bigger than your average Best Buy. It's also easy to return thing. I use the place mainly to get cheap DVD+R(W)'s, blank CD's, cables and some computer parts. Woochifer-do you rent or own around there? I have a really nice 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apt. with a pool & my own private large terrace off Jordan that I rent for $1175 a month (rent hasn't gone up in a year and a half!).
    Any steak places nearby that you'd recommend? I go to the Wood Ranch & the place by the mall that starts with a C- can't remember the name offhand. The Country Deli by Uncle Ernies is also very good and gives you big portions. If you want to get a great hair styling at a bargain rate there is a woman named Rosa at Supercuts who rules! Her $18 haircuts are better than the $100 cuts I used to get back East. To be honest, I'm actually living quite good for my money in Chatsworth/Northridge area as things are more than reasonable. The only celebrities I run into here are Joey Buttafucco & Sinbad.
    If any of you guys ever want to hear my Orb Audio set up let me know. Have you guys checked out Ken Cranes in Sherman Oaks as the sales people really know there stuff there. I got my Mitsubishi 48" HD TV set there.


    Quote Originally Posted by paul_pci
    Man, I used to eat at Uncle Ernie's all the time, years ago. I go to Fry's a lot, but mostly to mine the cheap DVDs and drool over the Macs. But, yeah, it's a montrosity of a store, but I kinda like that type of chaos from time to time.

  16. #16
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Chester County, PA
    Posts
    206
    Woochifer,

    One model that many independents may go with should Tweeter put the squeeze on their custom-install business is one which a local dealer in my area uses. They've been in the custom install game for years and only recently, within the past 5 years, opened a retail operation . They've got contracts with many of the big builders in the area so that those "integrated systems" are installed by him.

    Bill

  17. #17
    BooBs are elitist jerks shokhead's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Cal
    Posts
    1,994
    Love frys in FV. Best Buy has something beter then Bose speakers and Sony recievers? Ken Cranes has good sale prices but high reg prices.
    Look & Listen

  18. #18
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    911

    Ken Cranes

    Quote Originally Posted by shokhead
    Love frys in FV. Best Buy has something beter then Bose speakers and Sony recievers? Ken Cranes has good sale prices but high reg prices.
    Yeah, I basically got my TV set on sale. There deal was that if i could find any place within
    the city that sold the TV cheaper, they would match it within 30 days. I couldn't find anyone that offered the set I got, cheaper & delivery and installation was free. The salesman did a great job and sold me the perfect HD TV for my needs and budget. One thing I found interesting though was, the accessories such as Monster Component cables & surge protectors, were alot cheaper buying new online for the same model, then buying at their store. I generally, if I can wait 2 weeks or so and save more than $25, will buy something online rather than getting it retail. I usually use google and/or Amazon.com & also check out Ebay. Ebay for me has gotten less appealing in the last year or so as the sellers are greedier/more stupid as well as the bidders. Unless something is buy it now under a person with great feedback, I won't bother buying. Some of these cretin sellers, list items for a more expensive minimum bid than it would cost you if you bought it straight from Amazon.com.

  19. #19
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    6,883

    DVD Planet was spun off from Ken Crane's

    So Cal's a big enough market to support a lot of mid-level regional chains like Ken Crane's. Other stores in that niche include Howard's, Paul's Big Screen, and Hollytron. These are the exact types of stores that Tweeter's been acquiring to grow into a national chain. I'm surprised that they did not try to acquire Ken Crane's to enter the L.A. market, given that Ken Crane's is already a B&W dealer. They broke into the San Diego market by acquiring DOW Stereo.

    It's been a while since I went to Ken Crane's to shop for audio gear, but I did used to go to their DVD superstore all the time. Ken Crane's had a Laserdisc store down in Orange County for a long time, and it carried probably the biggest selection of titles anywhere. Then, when DVDs came along, they expanded the Laserdisc store to include DVDs and it too was cited as the largest DVD store in the country. Eventually, the business went online to become DVDPlanet.com, which Ken Crane's eventually sold. The DVD Planet superstore is in Huntington Beach if you're looking to spend a whole day perusing through DVD titles. I go there whenever I visit So Cal, and always find a bunch of obscure items and rarities that I had not seen anywhere else.

  20. #20
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Posts
    223
    "...and car audio subs all with the bass cranked up to "11" by teenagers. Y'know, what we usually hear at Best Buy!"

    Love the subtle reference to "Spinal Tap".

    Q

  21. #21
    BooBs are elitist jerks shokhead's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Cal
    Posts
    1,994
    Of all the places above,i still found most stuff alot cheaper online.
    Look & Listen

  22. #22
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Posts
    137
    .......I would never buy any audio-video equipment from Best Buy, Future Shop or any other franchise chain. They deal in seconds, equipment from the "b" factory or what ever you want to call it. That's why they have the prices they have. You get what you pay for! Been there, done that!.......Zapr.

  23. #23
    Tominator
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Sanbernardino
    Posts
    5

    Angry I will never buy from them again!!

    be careful of BB warrantees they are terrible, bad customer service!!



    Quote Originally Posted by Woochifer
    Those of you who don't live in California, prepare yourself for a shock -- a few days ago I listened to a pair of Vienna Acoustics Mozarts driven by Primare separates over at Best Buy of all places. Yes, it's true and if the experiment goes well, this concept might soon hit your town.

    Over the past few months, Best Buy has started adding Magnolia Home Theater ministores inside some of their California locations, basically a store within a store with actual demo rooms and a separate sales staff. The products are limited to home theater, and I did not see some of the higher end audio lines that are carried by standalone Magnolia AV stores like Martin Logan, McIntosh, Krell, Sonus Faber, B&K, and Pro-Ject at the Best Buy/Magnolia location I visited. However, walking into a Best Buy and then trying out stuff like the Vienna Acoustics Schonbergs, Fujitsu and Pioneer Elite plasmas, DLP projectors, Def Tech, REL, and M&K is quite a shocker considering that the normal Best Buy inquiries on this board involve comparisons between Athena and JBL speakers.

    If these Magnolia stores perform well, then BB will expand the concept out of California.

  24. #24
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    6,883
    Quote Originally Posted by zapr
    .......I would never buy any audio-video equipment from Best Buy, Future Shop or any other franchise chain. They deal in seconds, equipment from the "b" factory or what ever you want to call it. That's why they have the prices they have. You get what you pay for! Been there, done that!.......Zapr.
    So, if it's from a chain store, it's bound to be b-stock? Interesting that you would know this. Do you have access to BB's stock room to verify for yourself that they are repackaging what they sell? The only b-stock that I see at their stores, they put back on the floor clearly labeled as an open box/returned item.

    Also, chain stores rarely give you the kinds of bargain pricing that you see on various websites, unless you're talking about private sales, sale prices, or closeout specials. If anything, it's those websites that are more likely to deal in b-stock since a lot of them are not authorized dealers for the brands that they stock.

    Quote Originally Posted by tominator
    be careful of BB warrantees they are terrible, bad customer service!!
    What do warranties have to do with customer service?

  25. #25
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Posts
    137
    Quote Originally Posted by Woochifer
    So, if it's from a chain store, it's bound to be b-stock? Interesting that you would know this. Do you have access to BB's stock room to verify for yourself that they are repackaging what they sell? The only b-stock that I see at their stores, they put back on the floor clearly labeled as an open box/returned item.

    Also, chain stores rarely give you the kinds of bargain pricing that you see on various websites, unless you're talking about private sales, sale prices, or closeout specials. If anything, it's those websites that are more likely to deal in b-stock since a lot of them are not authorized dealers for the brands that they stock.



    What do warranties have to do with customer service?
    .....I didn't mean they were selling repackaged or returned items, I meant factory seconds meaning there could be something wrong with their items. I'm referring to my own past expieriance. I bought a sony trinitron from such a chain a few years ago and the picture was horrible. I took it back and exchainged it for a panisonc gaoo. There was a white line down the right side of the picture tube. Took it back and got another one. The line was gone but again I had a horrible picture. The battle was on to no avail. Shortly after that they closed their doors. I'm not saying this happens in all cases. but as the saying goes, buyer beware! Oh! It was their price that drew me to them. Live and learn........Zapr.

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. High Fidelity....What are those speakers???
    By madmax1 in forum Favorite Films
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 11-24-2004, 12:59 PM
  2. Replies: 10
    Last Post: 10-09-2004, 08:32 PM
  3. Replies: 4
    Last Post: 04-18-2004, 04:03 AM
  4. How do you tell if a receiver has a high current level?
    By traut in forum Home Theater/Video
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-16-2004, 08:30 PM
  5. New high end kits at partsexpress.com
    By ciscokid1970 in forum The Audio Lab, Tweaks, Mods, DIY
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 12-14-2003, 04:53 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •