Best Buy: The New Destination for all Your non-Ric needs

[lennon211]

The link to the following article came in a Best Buy Reward Zone e-mail:

Musical Instruments now at Select Best Buy® Stores

"Find your signature sound at the Best Buy Musical Instruments store. It's a new, complete store in a store within select Best Buy locations.

Serious Equipment
Choose among hundreds of quality instruments and accessories — including guitars, amps, drums, keyboards, and DJ and recording gear — from all the top brands in the biz.

Knowledgeable Staff
Our skilled, friendly associates are trained musicians themselves, and they're also trained to help you make sound decisions. Need some lessons? You can get those here, too.

Try Before You Buy
That new instrument might look cool, but how does it feel? Step into one of our private demo rooms and find out. And feel free to crank it up — our neighbors are cool.

If you can pick it, pluck it, strum it or strike it, you'll find it at the new Best Buy Musical Instruments Store. Visit one near you today."

The list of the manufacturers that they carry includes Fender, Gibson, Marshall, Vox, Line 6, Roland, DW, Epiphone, Martin, Korg, Yamaha, Boss, Zildjian, Roland, and Peavey.

I really don't like this, as it seems the next step in de-humanizing the guitar store. I'll stick to the people that I know and trust and not deal with some emo high school kid that is a "trained musician". I may have to go elsewhere for DVD's too, as I won't be able to shop without hearing some rotten shredding coming from this department once they phase it in here.

[Scastles]

I have to agree, Matthew. On the other hand, one of my sons is a regional manager for Best Buy. If there is something I need, I at least know where I can get a discount.

[johnhall]

There were plans to open up about 85 of these "stores within a store" but I think that's been curtailed or at least slowed down in light of the problems with the economy.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25875917/

The initial test locations have been open for some time now and they wouldn't have moved forward if they didn't have some level of success. In any case, the products are pretty much limited to bread and butter, lower cost items, such as the guitar kits that parents might buy to see if their child is musically inclined, before they make an investment in a more expensive instrument. The article above intimates they might handle more expensive goods but I think that'll be a tough sell, especially if GC has problems stemming from weak retail sales.

[ric325v63]

I just visited the "guitar store" within my local Best Buy. I have to say that the selection of guitars and amplifiers was rather impressive for such an enterprise and I was quite shocked to see it. However, the one guy manning the store did not, shall we say, inspire confidence. I'm definitely sticking with my tried and true local guitar store.

[tennis_nick]

The initial test locations have been open for some time now and they wouldn't have moved forward if they didn't have some level of success. In any case, the products are pretty much limited to bread and butter, lower cost items, such as the guitar kits that parents might buy to see if their child is musically inclined, before they make an investment in a more expensive instrument. The article above intimates they might handle more expensive goods but I think that'll be a tough sell, especially if GC has problems stemming from weak retail sales.

From reports I've heard from others (I don't know myself, no best Buys in Canada) they are stocking everything from AC30's to custom shop Fenders in some of the shops.

I think it's going to be the type of experience where you will really have to have done your homework and know what you want BEFORE you enter the store, because the staff will not be trained well enough to help you.

[collin]

Well.......considering places like Guitar Center, Sam Ash, Musicians Friend (and the Internet itself) have already destroyed the "Mom and Pop" approach to guitar stores, we can't really jump on Best Buy for doing the same.

If it gets more kids playing guitar- then awesome. ..In fact, it might keep some kid way out in the middle of nowhere to pick up a better guitar than they sell at Wal Mart because he had a selection he/she could try out.

But.....it might be another nail in the coffin for Best Buy. We all saw what happened to Circuit City lately, and i'm sure Best Buy isn't far behind.



btw....back in the 50s/60s- many items were sold in general "electronics and appliances" stores, equivalent to Best Buy, including guitar amplifiers and instruments. Best Buy is just doing it larger and more organized.

[beatlefreak]

I just visited the "guitar store" within my local Best Buy. I have to say that the selection of guitars and amplifiers was rather impressive for such an enterprise and I was quite shocked to see it. However, the one guy manning the store did not, shall we say, inspire confidence. I'm definitely sticking with my tried and true local guitar store.

What - You don't want the guy who helps you pick out a guitar to then be able to sell you a TV?

[goofyfoot]

Somebody fork over a barf bag, puuullleeeeezzz. I ain't takin' any more o' this guff.......Goofyfoot

[teb]

I was in our Best Buy yesterday (my wife needed a new iron). The instrument selection was pretty surprising. I was a bit surprised to see a good selection of amps and even a Taylor acoustic with a $2900 price tag hanging on the wall between a bunch of lesser Takamines, Washburns and a couple low-end Martins. Lots of Epis and other electric guitars in that price range and some Fenders. The staff was pretty much as expected. No GC-style shredding going on this time, but there was the last time I was in there and it was just as annoying as the real thing at GC. Considering how many people were in the store, I did notice that for the 15-odd minutes we were in that department, we were the only customers.

[ric325v63]

I just visited the "guitar store" within my local Best Buy. I have to say that the selection of guitars and amplifiers was rather impressive for such an enterprise and I was quite shocked to see it. However, the one guy manning the store did not, shall we say, inspire confidence. I'm definitely sticking with my tried and true local guitar store.

What - You don't want the guy who helps you pick out a guitar to then be able to sell you a TV?

Yeah, I think I'll pass on that approach. The guy in the guitar section was nice enough but it was clear he wasn't up to serious guitar selling. I did see Voxes and fairly expensive electrics and acoustics on the wall. They did not seem to mind me picking a few off the wall to try (that's good and bad!) but most of them were WAAAY out of tune. I got to let my 9 year old daughter try a Taylor Baby

[johnhall]

From reports I've heard from others (I don't know myself, no best Buys in Canada) they are stocking everything from AC30's to custom shop Fenders in some of the shops.

That doesn't fit the profile that they put out nor does it match my experience at the local store. However, it well could be that they've tailored the locations to the regional market, just as Home Depot has several grades of store ranging from homeowner to contractor.

They also could simply be experimenting with product mix to learn what they can sell. But it's pretty obvious that the low-end guitar kits are going to be the biggest sellers by unit, although one custom shop guitar sale will have the margin of 15 of the kits!

[woodyng]

so....,no rickenbackers at best buy? the best buy in memphis did have a lot of lower end merchandise,with some nicer mid level stuff scattered in,but unless they were offering ginormous discounts(they weren't), i would look elsewhere.

[Scastles]

From reports I've heard from others (I don't know myself, no best Buys in Canada) they are stocking everything from AC30's to custom shop Fenders in some of the shops.

That doesn't fit the profile that they put out nor does it match my experience at the local store. However, it well could be that they've tailored the locations to the regional market, just as Home Depot has several grades of store ranging from homeowner to contractor.

They also could simply be experimenting with product mix to learn what they can sell. But it's pretty obvious that the low-end guitar kits are going to be the biggest sellers by unit, although one custom shop guitar sale will have the margin of 15 of the kits!

I don't know if they're available in every BB 'instrument' store, but the Vox AC30 is listed for sale on their website.


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 3815459063

[lennon211]

I read a report some time ago also that had Gibson saying that they were going to be offering some custom shop gear through Best Buy. I agree that the kits will be bigger sellers for them, just as they are for many music shops at the holidays, but there seems to be a disconnect with the type of gear that they are carrying and the type of store that they are. I really don't think that the "trained musicians" that they will have on staff would be able to convince a customer to shell out a large sum for a Gibson. This could is a huge gamble unless Gibson, Fender, and the other manufacturers are carrying a lot of the upfront costs with little risk for Best Buy. After the demise of Circuit City, why risk the market edge on an area that is best left alone?

[JakeK]

I should probably move my tail down to a Best Buy with an instruments department. When I saw that Fender was at Best Buy, I seriously thought Fender manufactured their own Guitar Hero copies