Circuit City vs. Best Buy - Blu-ray Forum

davidPS3 · 09-12-2007, 09:44 PM

A question and curious what the rest of the market's look like. I stopped in our local Circuit City today and noticed that they have changed their set up on HD movies. Where just a couple months ago, the space was evenly split between BR and HDDVD. Now, BR has the same amount of space (8 feet) and they have given HDDVD another 4 feet so they have 12 feet of space. Now, each HDDVD title has it own row and honestly it looks pathetic. BR on the other had is completely trashed. The titles are suppose to be in order A to Z, but they have completely mixed up and no order at all!

I know that CC had committed to supporting HDDVD not long ago, but their section looks like a joke! I asked the clerk who approached me to ask if I needed help (the place was empty, maybe 4 customers in the building) and I told him (in a nice way) what a mess the BR section was. I would have to go thru each row and try to find a title I wanted, but even then, it was so messed up I most likely could not find what I was looking for. He said he was sorry for the mess, blamed it on someone doing it on purpose as they had the complaint before!

Our best buy on the other hand is organized and clean and a even split in the sections and BR does have their other display up as well. Just a better shopping experience over all and you have customers always in the store, buying product.

Sorry for the rant!

SS316SRV · 09-12-2007, 09:48 PM

I am very biased but I am a BBY fan.

E-Dogg · 09-12-2007, 09:49 PM

I am going to start buying movies in CC and ask about Blu-Ray players and see what I am told.

GarettP · 09-12-2007, 09:50 PM

Definately prefer BBY to CC!

owa · 09-12-2007, 10:08 PM

So far, the Circuit City near me is evenly split between blu-ray and HD DVD but the blu-ray section is displayed on the main isle. The HD DVDs are on the backside of the blu-ray area. Both sections are a mess though b/c of the way they stack them and they don't take a lot of time to keep them in alphabetical order.

Best Buy is much easier to browse and they do a good job of keeping things in order. While the main blu-ray / HD DVD sections are the same size, the secondary display area for blu-ray is much larger but the secondary HD DVD area is more prominently displayed.

Oh, Circuit City has been pretty good about their selection of blu-rays also. I usually start out at Best Buy and if I can't find what I'm looking for, head to Circuit City (thankfully, they're right across the street from each other). CC usually has it when Best Buy doesn't. The main drawback is that I've got to look through every disc b/c the order is so messed up.

jermwhl · 09-12-2007, 10:13 PM

I used to shop BB exclusively until I got into BD. There prices are ridiculous in most cases. I usually shop at fry's. But since it isn't a large nationwide chain, most don't have that option!
I prefer BB to CC, but as of late, I have found that I really don't care either way, except for the fact that I am used to BB's setup now and when I walk into a CC I feel lost.

davidPS3 · 09-12-2007, 11:02 PM

Thanks all, good feed-back and insight from your area's. I wanted to see what else was going on across the country.

oldmike · 09-12-2007, 11:49 PM

in my area there 3 BB for every CC and the only one less then a 45min drive was closed last year

Zaphod · 09-12-2007, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E-Dogg

I am going to start buying movies in CC and ask about Blu-Ray players and see what I am told.

Not worth paying the 25% premium over online...

Quote:

Originally Posted by jermwhl

I used to shop BB exclusively until I got into BD. There prices are ridiculous in most cases.

Yup same thing here...25% more than what you can purchase it for online.

cathexist · 09-13-2007, 12:00 AM

My last trip to Circuit City revealed kind of the opposite. Everything was basically in order...a little out of place here or there. But they definitely had at least 60/40 ratio of Blu-ray to HD-DVD.

However, they did have an HD-DVD demo going on in their home theater system room...don't know if they have a blu-ray one.

As far as Best Buy goes...each time I've gone to a Best Buy they seem 50/50 on blu-ray and HD-DVD...

Course...I would never buy any movies from either store since they are ungodly expensive compared to amazon or buy.com

skamins1 · 09-13-2007, 12:04 AM

If I'm getting something from the store I tend to go to Best Buy. The last several times I've been in Circuit City things were a mess, things rung up at different prices, things were miss marked. All together I prefer the Best Buy layout and their reward zone thing is nice. However I think that amazon is truly the way to go as far as cost and all.

ground chuck · 09-13-2007, 12:06 AM

cc can kiss my ass....i've boycotted their ass for over 5 years. bby if i absolutely need it now.

Copywriter · 09-13-2007, 12:06 AM

BBY seems hit and miss. I have two within reasonable distance. The one I normally go to does a piss poor job of promoting anything. The HD/BR discs are in one row, which is nice, but their setups in the TV area are weak.

Yesterday, I went to the one I used to go to years ago. They had a better selection and all the titles on the row, BUT they had a very nice Blu-Ray end-cap right when you exited the video game section and entered the TV section.

I was in FRYs today and HD DVD was the first thing I saw. They had a big display where the movies began. For Blu-Ray they had a little display on the other side of the store.

On a positive note, there were a few people looking at Blu. One guy was looking at HD DVDs until he noticed I was staring at him (with Blus in hand). He walked away. LOL

Geez, I guess looking at HD DVDs is like walking into an adult bookstore.

red_5ive · 09-13-2007, 12:07 AM

The BB in Murrieta, CA is split fairly even, but the BD section is maybe 30% empty compared to the HD-DVD which always looks full. The CC in Temecula, CA looks evenly split as well, but neither looks like they're selling much on the few visits I've made. No mess, either, they hardly look touched. I don't have a preference on which I would buy from since prices are similar and I prefer to shop online, but I have bought a few from BB just because they were on sale.

jw · 09-13-2007, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Copywriter

Geez, I guess looking at HD DVDs is like walking into an adult bookstore.

Its like the moped theory we used to use when describing someones ugly girlfriend
"FUN TO RIDE BUT YOU DONT WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO SEE YOU ON IT"

jw · 09-13-2007, 12:16 AM

We dont have a Best Buy here, There are several like an hours drive away. Circuit City has an even split, but the store manager is partial to HDDVD and so are the associates. He said he has an add on for the 360 and its better than the BD and cheaper.
The store does have a PS3 set up for display in the corner, but the hddvd is near the door in a prime location, always playing Happy Feet, I believe, they finally changed that damn king kong disc....UGH!!

Proteus · 09-13-2007, 12:19 AM

The CC here is 50/50 on discs but has a substantial amount of bluray players being used to power their larger high def screens. They also have a Sony HDNA theatre display thing.

BB is a little more Bluray than HDDVD but nothing substantial. The electronics section highlights BD more than HDDVD though. The BD end cap has far more promotional materials and a larger screen is used.

blackhawktraffic · 09-13-2007, 12:19 AM

Best Buy almost every time, Circuit City workers most of the time are stupid and never help, plus can always price match at BB

Therickus · 09-13-2007, 12:29 AM

I am writing this while only reading a couple of the posts. I beleive both places have their benefits. As far as TVs....Projection/DLP - CC.....LCD/Plasma - BB. As far as movies.....neither really have prices that compares to Amazon.com or the other online retailers. I want to some day count the selection at each of my local stores....but I think CC actually has more BDs. On the other hand....it takes CC a while usually to get the new releases, whereas BB usually gets them sooner(still not the day of the release). I have no idea why they dont get them they day they come out like they do DVDs.

GooMan · 09-13-2007, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ground chuck

cc can kiss my ass....i've boycotted their ass for over 5 years. bby if i absolutely need it now.

I've also personnaly banned CC (for the last 3 years). I had just moved and didn't have any of my home theatre equipment yet and I wanted to watch a movie on my laptop but the headphone jack was busted so I went to circuit city to buy a Sound Blaster PCMCIA card (i think it was around $100) the supposedly "New" item they sold me was not only used, it was the wrong item, someone had switched out the sound card with a cheap WiFi card then returned the thing. When I went back to the store like 45 minutes later they would not refund my money or exchange it sine it was the last one they had. I had to drive to another CC, 45 minutes away, purchase another Sound card drive back to the original CC return the new one, then exchange the original one for the one I had just returned.

Needless to say I have not stepped foot inside a CC since.

09-12-2007, 09:44 PM	#1
davidPS3 Special Member Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Seattle	Circuit City vs. Best Buy A question and curious what the rest of the market's look like. I stopped in our local Circuit City today and noticed that they have changed their set up on HD movies. Where just a couple months ago, the space was evenly split between BR and HDDVD. Now, BR has the same amount of space (8 feet) and they have given HDDVD another 4 feet so they have 12 feet of space. Now, each HDDVD title has it own row and honestly it looks pathetic. BR on the other had is completely trashed. The titles are suppose to be in order A to Z, but they have completely mixed up and no order at all! I know that CC had committed to supporting HDDVD not long ago, but their section looks like a joke! I asked the clerk who approached me to ask if I needed help (the place was empty, maybe 4 customers in the building) and I told him (in a nice way) what a mess the BR section was. I would have to go thru each row and try to find a title I wanted, but even then, it was so messed up I most likely could not find what I was looking for. He said he was sorry for the mess, blamed it on someone doing it on purpose as they had the complaint before! Our best buy on the other hand is organized and clean and a even split in the sections and BR does have their other display up as well. Just a better shopping experience over all and you have customers always in the store, buying product. Sorry for the rant!

09-12-2007, 10:08 PM	#5
owa Blu-ray Knight Member since:Apr 2007 Blu-ray reviews: 96	So far, the Circuit City near me is evenly split between blu-ray and HD DVD but the blu-ray section is displayed on the main isle. The HD DVDs are on the backside of the blu-ray area. Both sections are a mess though b/c of the way they stack them and they don't take a lot of time to keep them in alphabetical order. Best Buy is much easier to browse and they do a good job of keeping things in order. While the main blu-ray / HD DVD sections are the same size, the secondary display area for blu-ray is much larger but the secondary HD DVD area is more prominently displayed. Oh, Circuit City has been pretty good about their selection of blu-rays also. I usually start out at Best Buy and if I can't find what I'm looking for, head to Circuit City (thankfully, they're right across the street from each other). CC usually has it when Best Buy doesn't. The main drawback is that I've got to look through every disc b/c the order is so messed up. Last edited by owa; 09-13-2007 at 12:16 AM.

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09-12-2007, 09:48 PM	#2
SS316SRV Blu-ray Guru Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Appleton, WI Blu-ray collection:74	I am very biased but I am a BBY fan.

09-12-2007, 09:49 PM	#3
E-Dogg Expert Member Member since:Jun 2007 Blu-ray collection:159	I am going to start buying movies in CC and ask about Blu-Ray players and see what I am told.

09-12-2007, 09:50 PM	#4
GarettP Senior Member Member since:Jan 2007 Location:Montrose, CO Blu-ray collection:75 Blu-ray reviews:21	Definately prefer BBY to CC!

09-12-2007, 10:13 PM	#6
jermwhl Special Member Member since:Jan 2007 Location:Virginia	I used to shop BB exclusively until I got into BD. There prices are ridiculous in most cases. I usually shop at fry's. But since it isn't a large nationwide chain, most don't have that option! I prefer BB to CC, but as of late, I have found that I really don't care either way, except for the fact that I am used to BB's setup now and when I walk into a CC I feel lost.

09-12-2007, 11:02 PM	#7
davidPS3 Special Member Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Seattle	Thanks all, good feed-back and insight from your area's. I wanted to see what else was going on across the country.

09-12-2007, 11:49 PM	#8
oldmike Senior Member Member since:Aug 2007	in my area there 3 BB for every CC and the only one less then a 45min drive was closed last year

09-13-2007, 12:00 AM	#10
cathexist Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Aurora, CO 4K collection:302 Blu-ray collection:1253 DVD collection:73 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:8	My last trip to Circuit City revealed kind of the opposite. Everything was basically in order...a little out of place here or there. But they definitely had at least 60/40 ratio of Blu-ray to HD-DVD. However, they did have an HD-DVD demo going on in their home theater system room...don't know if they have a blu-ray one. As far as Best Buy goes...each time I've gone to a Best Buy they seem 50/50 on blu-ray and HD-DVD... Course...I would never buy any movies from either store since they are ungodly expensive compared to amazon or buy.com

09-13-2007, 12:04 AM	#11
skamins1 Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:New Mexico Blu-ray collection:36	If I'm getting something from the store I tend to go to Best Buy. The last several times I've been in Circuit City things were a mess, things rung up at different prices, things were miss marked. All together I prefer the Best Buy layout and their reward zone thing is nice. However I think that amazon is truly the way to go as far as cost and all.

09-13-2007, 12:06 AM	#12
ground chuck Power Member Member since:May 2007 Location:Charm City Blu-ray collection:75 Blu-ray reviews:48 Trading Score:18	cc can kiss my ass....i've boycotted their ass for over 5 years. bby if i absolutely need it now.

09-13-2007, 12:06 AM	#13
Copywriter Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Vegas Baby, Vegas	BBY seems hit and miss. I have two within reasonable distance. The one I normally go to does a piss poor job of promoting anything. The HD/BR discs are in one row, which is nice, but their setups in the TV area are weak. Yesterday, I went to the one I used to go to years ago. They had a better selection and all the titles on the row, BUT they had a very nice Blu-Ray end-cap right when you exited the video game section and entered the TV section. I was in FRYs today and HD DVD was the first thing I saw. They had a big display where the movies began. For Blu-Ray they had a little display on the other side of the store. On a positive note, there were a few people looking at Blu. One guy was looking at HD DVDs until he noticed I was staring at him (with Blus in hand). He walked away. LOL Geez, I guess looking at HD DVDs is like walking into an adult bookstore.

09-13-2007, 12:07 AM	#14
red_5ive Blu-ray Champion Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Aug 2007 Location:The 'state' of Southern California Home Theater Gallery:18 4K collection:364 Blu-ray collection:996 DVD collection:4 Blu-ray reviews: 2 Trading Score:1	The BB in Murrieta, CA is split fairly even, but the BD section is maybe 30% empty compared to the HD-DVD which always looks full. The CC in Temecula, CA looks evenly split as well, but neither looks like they're selling much on the few visits I've made. No mess, either, they hardly look touched. I don't have a preference on which I would buy from since prices are similar and I prefer to shop online, but I have bought a few from BB just because they were on sale.

09-13-2007, 12:16 AM	#16
jw Blu-ray Archduke Top contributor Member since:Apr 2007 Location:USA Trading Score:519	We dont have a Best Buy here, There are several like an hours drive away. Circuit City has an even split, but the store manager is partial to HDDVD and so are the associates. He said he has an add on for the 360 and its better than the BD and cheaper. The store does have a PS3 set up for display in the corner, but the hddvd is near the door in a prime location, always playing Happy Feet, I believe, they finally changed that damn king kong disc....UGH!!

09-13-2007, 12:19 AM	#17
Proteus Power Member Member since:Apr 2007 Location:SoCal PSN:CaptBurn	The CC here is 50/50 on discs but has a substantial amount of bluray players being used to power their larger high def screens. They also have a Sony HDNA theatre display thing. BB is a little more Bluray than HDDVD but nothing substantial. The electronics section highlights BD more than HDDVD though. The BD end cap has far more promotional materials and a larger screen is used.

09-13-2007, 12:19 AM	#18
blackhawktraffic Blu-ray Guru Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Upland, CA 4K collection:17 Blu-ray collection:18 Blu-ray reviews: 4 Trading Score:228	Best Buy almost every time, Circuit City workers most of the time are stupid and never help, plus can always price match at BB

09-13-2007, 12:29 AM	#19
Therickus Power Member Member since:Jun 2007 Blu-ray collection:230 Blu-ray reviews:8 Trading Score:5	I am writing this while only reading a couple of the posts. I beleive both places have their benefits. As far as TVs....Projection/DLP - CC.....LCD/Plasma - BB. As far as movies.....neither really have prices that compares to Amazon.com or the other online retailers. I want to some day count the selection at each of my local stores....but I think CC actually has more BDs. On the other hand....it takes CC a while usually to get the new releases, whereas BB usually gets them sooner(still not the day of the release). I have no idea why they dont get them they day they come out like they do DVDs.

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