Mr. Mc Williams,
Count me in on the grass roots thing. I completely agree. Thanks for your concern about my stock price, however today I sold off my last bby holdings and took what little money was left and bought more puts.
Without delving into the financials, which should be delved into by anyone considering a purchase of this stock - but apparently there are still greater fools out there willing to shell out nine bucks a share for bby - let me just say I think bby has some fundamental flaws in their basic way of doing business. The problems as I see it can be listed as follows (I'll try to be brief):
1)Difficult to get help in store.
2)Impossible to get knowledgable help.
3)Stinking return system. Always long and slow line at return counter.
4)Stinking return policy. Bby charges a 15% restocking fee for items returned in open packages. 15% regardless if it is a headset($5 to $50) or a wide screen tv ($1000+). I once returned a cd player to Sears and not only was the box opened but the player was busted - and it was obvious I dropped the thing. They took it back no questions asked. Now I hate shopping in Sears because I'm your basic snob, but hell thats a damn fine store in my book (and the stock is in my portfolio).
5)Odd product mix. Cd's, stationary, barbacues, and more? I don't quite get it. But then I'm not a fan of the super ultimate electronic store thing. To me it becomes a case of dillitant of all, master of none.
6)Lackluster marketing. Not even so so ads. Their ad agency must be a bunch of those cheeseheads. And this offering of delayed - interest - payments for one year when purchasing on time. Everybody else in town is offering - no - payments at all for one year.
7)Kiosks or computer terminal thing a me jigs instead of good ol all american pesky hey how are you I live to bug the hell out of people salespersons. Since when did a computer outsell a human sales machine oiled and fueled by high octain commisions?
Sorry, need to continue this on another section - my gd computer is going offline.
I'm not quite sure yet how this damn site works so if I get cut off here sorry again.
To continue, ya the salespeople at Circuit City, bless their hearts, are a pain in the ass, but I buy stuff from them. And when did you hear of a business going out of business because their sales personel were overkill?
In conclusion I have an interesting story to relate, not as good as the guy arrested for being a wise, smart and wonderful consumer, but I think equally telling.
I wish I could say I began divesting my bby stock after this incident, however, I am sometimes really stupid. Its just that we have been so well programed by corporate america to act and think like sheep - is that an adaquite excuse?
Anyway, I go into bby because its five minutes from my house. I need a tv. So I'm walking the tv isles in the bby looking at the sets. First I'm there looking for at least ten minutes and no one askes if they can help me. But thats ok because I'm a snob and I don't need no stinking unsolicited help from a sales guy (a sales gal is ok). Finally I see the set I want - a seventeen inch gig selling for about two bills. So now I'm ready to buy - but no ones around. So I flag down some guy in cameras, he takes me to some guy in stationary, who takes me to the tv guy. Then the tv guy shows me a box and says there it is - the modle you want, nicely packaged. Now at the time I really didn't give it much thought, but the guy walked away. So I pick up the box and walk with it to the front of the store where they have the sheep pins (the line of registers - like the place is your local supermarket). Now I crossed the entire width of the store with this big box - the tv section being toward the rear, and I recall passing at least two bby salespersons - or shall we call them clerks, yes, clueless clerks - and no one offered me assistance. Then to add insult to injury I had to wait in line because they only had one register of I think at least six open.
Now I just hope the damn thing keeps working because every time I walk into a bby there is a damn long line at the Customer Service/Return counter, full of a lot of sad looking poeple.
As I write this I have to wonder just what was I thinking when I bought bby at $15. Take me out back and shoot me - please. My broker made me do it.
Now just so you know I don't work at Sears, Circuit City, or Fry's, The Good Guys, Comp USA, Tower Records, Office Max, Blockbuster, Sears, Fedco, Barbacues Plus (jeeze - they compete against everybody!) or any of those apparently more worthy cometitors of bby. My only motivation for writing here is to get everybody on the band wagon here and sell their bby so my puts will kick in and cover my allready substantial loss.
Any additional info is always appretiated. |
