Best Buy selling 4k's and Blu-Rays via third party sellers

[Cherokee Jack]

Originally Posted by BluPat

It's just strange to me why they got rid of physical media in the first place. I know, I know they claim sales. But if it was such a 'money loser', why were they always having Best Buy Exclusive Steelbooks and stuff like that? Just weird IMO.

Especially considering now they have a bunch of garbage nobody wants.

All signs indicate that physical media didn’t make them much money. They were probably kept in store as long as they were in order to bring in foot traffic. Some claim that cratering demand led to the decision, but based on the timing I suspect it was part of the broader shift away from caring about in-store traffic at all in the post-COVID environment.

BBY was one of several companies that made radical changes based on COVID-era buying habits that didn’t last once the lockdowns were lifted. Starbucks ended up walking back some of their’s after bringing in a new CEO, we’ll see if BBY sticks around long enough to do the same.

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by BluPat

But if it was such a 'money loser', why were they always having Best Buy Exclusive Steelbooks and stuff like that? Just weird IMO.

It could've been long-term contracts that weren't worth pulling out of early. Sometimes, companies are saddled with baggage they don't want moving forward (e.g., companies that rented office space during COVID and desperately tried to wiggle out from under the leases). They can choose between breaking the agreements and paying a penalty or getting sued, or just riding it out to the end.

[skinjob69]

Without PM I have no reason to shop at BB, unless I need an extremely overpriced cable.

[I DO BLU]

Originally Posted by jblank

I think this falls under "News" so this is the appropriate forum. He's good.

No it’s hardware players and news there’s a uhd disk forum that it should be in

[BluPat]

The last movie I bought from them was the steelbook of The Exorcist (1973).

[teddyballgame]

Hey that's pretty good. I miss the in store selection but this is better than nothing for sure. Good way to make use of BB reward points and another source of revenue for physical media companies

[Jay H.]

It's been at least 9 years since I went into any of my three local Best Buy stores. Online ordering is just more convenient, and Best Buy's website never has the lowest price on anything I want/need.

Back in the DVD days, I was at a Best Buy on every single payday.

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by Cherokee Jack

Ok, took a look and Pop.Market is the company selling everything I clicked. I buy from them regularly on EBay. They’re reliable and their prices are competitive, especially during sales. This might actually be useful if we can use BBY rewards on purchases and make returns at BBY stores.

Originally Posted by Streamingsux

Yeah I've bought from Pop Market several times and have always been satisfied..

For mainly Universal & WB titles I've seen Gruv along with Pop.Market as the underlying sellers; I also noticed a single mom & pop video store on a generally hard to find 4K title (don't remember the details).

Incidentally, Pop.Market (fka Blowitoutahere) is the marketplace brand of Alliance Entertainment, the parent of Deep Discount, Movies Unlimited, WOW HD & many other online movie sites. (Edit: Also fka the "Direct2U" sites, the brand Alliance used in its copyright notices on those sites before they went public & plastered "An Alliance Entertainment Company" plus its Nasdaq ticker on all of them. May still be used on the special online sites they used to set up for mom & pop record & video stores they still supply.) Back when Best Buy sold movies in-store, Alliance was both its primary distributor & its fulfillment house for titles not carried in stores (i.e., 8-digit SKUs -- regular Best Buy SKUs are only 7 digits).

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by I DO BLU

No it’s hardware players and news there’s a uhd disk forum that it should be in

Though arguably this specific subforum includes 4K news NOT related to players, since this development includes BD as well as 4K it probably belongs in the Retail/Shopping subforum of Hot Deals > Movie & TV Deals; that subforum is intentionally broader than just deals per its sticky. The overall Best Buy thread there has already linked to this thread, but it currently has only 3 posts (including the link) related to this; it probably should remain its own thread even there. (I'm not a mod here, but I've been here long enough to think like one.)

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by Cherokee Jack

All signs indicate that physical media didn’t make them much money. They were probably kept in store as long as they were in order to bring in foot traffic. Some claim that cratering demand led to the decision, but based on the timing I suspect it was part of the broader shift away from caring about in-store traffic at all in the post-COVID environment.

BBY was one of several companies that made radical changes based on COVID-era buying habits that didn’t last once the lockdowns were lifted. Starbucks ended up walking back some of their’s after bringing in a new CEO, we’ll see if BBY sticks around long enough to do the same.

Totally agree. Physical media at Best Buy, whether CDs (it evolved from a local Minneapolis record & stereo store) or movies, has almost always been a loss leader to generate store traffic for its more expensive electronics & related products. Between the growth of the Internet (which alone killed their CD business) and COVID, that excuse largely disappeared; it was increasingly just an excuse for an essentially mutual PM scheme between it, Amazon, Walmart & Target (with B&N thrown in during its Criterion sales, still happening today), even after limitations were put in place (i.e., Walmart stopped PMing anyone in-store other than its own website & app, but those still themselves indirectly PM Amazon, who used to PM Best Buy and still PMs B&N Criterion sales plus Target BOGO & similar coupon deals). Best Buy's Steelbook exclusives factored into that as a loss leader Amazon, Walmart & Target couldn't possibly copy. The end of Best Buy movies ended those glory days, not only by eliminating a major driver of that de facto PM pact but also by killing too much of their store traffic; they're now behind Walmart in overall TV sales, all those new "Yes, Best Buy Sells That!" products that helped fill the empty space really haven't helped, and I doubt this will either. I just hope it doesn't become Best Buy's version of Circuit City firing all its commissioned salespeople to match Best Buy's always hourly blueshirts, which killed Best Buy's biggest big box competitor because those highly knowledgeable salespeople were the main reason anyone picked Circuit City over Best Buy.

Edit: My source for Walmart passing Best Buy in TV sales (Amazon is still a distant third despite my recollection) is this YouTube video mainly aimed at the lack of ATSC 3.0 / Nextgen TV advertising at all major TV sellers nationwide, despite broadcasters' attempt to bet the farm on it while also shooting themselves in the foot (a la Circuit City & Best Buy) thanks to DRM, which most outsiders (led by this very YouTuber, and including myself) believe is fundamentally incompatible with free over-the-air TV even though it works with BD & many Internet services:

A Retail Field Test of ATSC 3.0 / Nextgen TV availability - Are they even trying? - YouTube

[hype88]

Originally Posted by RBBrittain

For mainly Universal & WB titles I've seen Gruv along with Pop.Market as the underlying sellers; I also noticed a single mom & pop video store on a generally hard to find 4K title (don't remember the details).

Incidentally, Pop.Market (fka Blowitoutahere) is the marketplace brand of Alliance Entertainment, the parent of Deep Discount, Movies Unlimited, WOW HD & many other online movie sites. (Edit: Also fka the "Direct2U" sites, the brand Alliance used in its copyright notices on those sites before they went public & plastered "An Alliance Entertainment Company" plus its Nasdaq ticker on all of them. May still be used on the special online sites they used to set up for mom & pop record & video stores they still supply.) Back when Best Buy sold movies in-store, Alliance was both its primary distributor & its fulfillment house for titles not carried in stores (i.e., 8-digit SKUs -- regular Best Buy SKUs are only 7 digits).

They're also the Worlds biggest Vinyl distributor as well. A few Years ago I seen some claim they were the biggest worldwide physical media distributor period but I honestly never cared enough to actually fact check it if i'm being honest. They've been running the vinyl game for quite awhile with most not even realizing it since they have so many smaller shops, different names and is a 3rd party seller pretty much across the board in all the biggest spots.

[jblank]

Originally Posted by I DO BLU

No it’s hardware players and news there’s a uhd disk forum that it should be in

[I DO BLU]

Originally Posted by jblank

And what’s your problem having things in the right forum

[BluPat]

Y'all, come on now. Don't argue.

[En Ex]

Goodness gracious, I might have a use for that $10 Best Buy gift card after all. It was getting real old trying to look for something and learning that No, Best Buy Doesn't Sell That.

[CyberAthlete]

Originally Posted by Streamingsux

They removed most of the reason anyone had for going in and browsing in one of their stores. I wonder if the trade off was worth it..

What have you actually purchased from them besides movies? How much of your overall spending went toward other items compared to what you spent on movies?

Simply walking into the store just to buy movies doesn’t really make someone a valuable customer—it just means you only went there for one thing. If you were regularly buying a lot from Best Buy, especially on release days, then it makes sense why losing your business would matter. But from what it sounds like, many people are upset more because Tuesday mornings gave them an excuse to get out of the house and wander into Best Buy, rather than staying home with nothing else to do.

[TotallyTuned]

I prefer Star Trek: The Motion Picture to Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

edit (my bad wrong thread)

[Cherokee Jack]

Originally Posted by CyberAthlete

What have you actually purchased from them besides movies? How much of your overall spending went toward other items compared to what you spent on movies?

[Show spoiler]Simply walking into the store just to buy movies doesn’t really make someone a valuable customer—it just means you only went there for one thing. If you were regularly buying a lot from Best Buy, especially on release days, then it makes sense why losing your business would matter. But from what it sounds like, many people are upset more because Tuesday mornings gave them an excuse to get out of the house and wander into Best Buy, rather than staying home with nothing else to do.

Having set up multiple houses with electronic equipment and appliances over the last 10 years, the dollar figure for my non-movie spending at BBY during that time is absolutely enormous. I would sometimes go to look at AV equipment and end up buying a few movies. More often I’d go to browse movies and end up comparing televisions on the floor. That would lead to conversations with sales people, and I would eventually make sure to support them with my purchase when I decided to pull the trigger. I made a point of supporting the stores even when it was inconvenient because I valued that they were offering intangible things that online-only retailers coudn’t.

Now I only go to physical locations for returns. Many of the sales people I formed connections with were fired right around the same time they dropped movies. The stores are ghost towns and generally depressing. And my BBY credit card balance is at zero for the first time in years.

[ben6543]

I just bought Pee Wee’s Big Adventure on Blu Ray. I had 10 dollar certificate from Best Buy and a couple of cards that needed to be used. Big Adventure has been on my dvd to Blu upgrade list and it was $8.99 with free shipping so good

[LexInHD]

Since they dropped movies, I haven't touched BBY for anything beyond buying spare HDTVs. There is nothing there I care to buy, though I could make use of open-box merch from some of their offerings.