I am an online shopper. I would guess that roughly 98% of my purchases originate online. (And it has been this way for over a decade.) As a result, I haven't been out to a general non-grocery Brick & Mortar store in some time. (I still sometimes go to grocery stores, or at least Farmer's Markets, though less frequently with each passing month.) But tonight I rode out with my sister to the closest Best Buy store as we each had received, as a gift from Best Buy, a $10.00 promotional gift code via email which was only good through the end of this week. (My non-techie sister doesn't shop online as much as I do. She still goes out to stores.)
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| $10.00 Best Buy Promotional Gift Code |
I couldn't believe how sad this store looked. The stock displays in the movie section were abysmal. Barely anything on the shelves and what was there was in a seemingly random order. The entire store layout seemed completely haphazard. It was pitiful. To top it off, the free WiFi had the weakest signal of all the available networks, which rather defeats the point of offering in-store WiFi to your customers. I told my sister, "No wonder everyone shops online. If this is what you're confronted with." I remember back in the day being able to go to Best Buy and spend hours just wandering around checking gadgets, testing products, etc.. No more. I could not exit this store fast enough. I'm still shaking my head in amazement at how the mighty have fallen. I'm SHOCKED.
I still shop at Best Buy... but ONLINE. Guess Brick & Mortar stores really are going the way of the dinosaurs. I hope this was some sort of aberration, but I fear not. If one takes this store as an example, we're witnessing the end of an era.
I purchased the Magnificent 7 Blu-ray + UV which is regularly priced $19.99, but which BB had on sale for $14.99. I used BB's Price Match guarantee to get the sale priced reduced to the Target $10.00 (store ad) sale price. So the total was $10.80 with tax. I used the $10.00 promotional gift card BB had given me (mentioned above) and ended up only needing to pay $0.80 out of pocket. As she was standing next to me at the register, my sister laughingly handed me the 80-cents, as a gift. So I walked out of the store with a free movie.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen this film. I purchased the Blu-ray + UV on the recommendation of our other sister who liked it. I figured I was willing to risk 80-cents on a blind buy, but, due to my sister's spur of the moment generosity, it turned out that I didn't have to go this far.
Bonus: This title is part of the (MGM/Columbia) Sony Pictures catalog. Therefore, I can register it via Sony Rewards to earn points and Movie Pass credit. (The Movie Pass is a special Sony Rewards promotion wherein you get a free Blu-ray chosen from a set list, in exchange for registering five.)
Regardless whether I end up liking the movie, I think I got a good deal.