Best Buy Not Carrying DVD-R's Anymore

[phelix]

Do people actually buy DVD media from stores like Best Buy anyway???

Why would you when you can get media online for about 1/2 the price???

Well, BestBuy sells a spindle of 50 Verbatim +R discs (2.4x) for $100. So, tell me where I can find that online for around $50 :P

[Quigonsean]

My local bestBuy still carries Fuji, and Maxell, and Memorex(Yuck) as well as Memorex DVD-RAM both in the PC section, but also in the section with the Set Tops for the only 2 models set top Recorder they stock both of which are -R. Target just went from 1 packs of Memoerex to stocking Verbatim 3 Packs, and Maxell spindles and Fuji 10 packs and some I can't remember in the Movie Case Style boxes. I was in CompUSA Tues they now have Sony -R, and +R and Spindles of many brands of both, as well as -RAM in or out of cartridges, but unfotunately only SS 4.7 no DS9.4

I once asked a BestBuy guy at the memory counter if their Kingston and Micron memory was Cas2. He said he never heard of Cas2 and that they didn't carry Micron just Kingston or Crucial. He was shoked to hear Crucial was Micron.
They don't look for computer knowledge or skill, they want non thieving drugg free people that would generate the comment from Grandma "He's such a polite clean cut young man." Thats it then they pay minimum wage so the employees are not motivated to learn anything on their owne. They just wanna learn when is payday and how big is my discount? I order my -R disc from Tigerdirect, I only buy locally in a pinch or -RAM since I don't use a lot of those.

Sean
OH yeah even Circut City out here now has -R Spindles

[disturbed1]

Best Buy is a low end electronics store.

Hence they carry low end electronics.



In my area they have a better selection of microwaves than they do computer stuff.

Wallmart has more computer related items than bestbuy.

DVD-R media sold 160 million units world wide.
DVD-RW sold 40 million
DVD-RAM 40 million
DVD+R/RW 40 million.

Pioneer's fiscal year ending March 2003 the company expects global home-use DVD recorder sales hitting 1.3 million units with PC-rewritable decks reaching 4.6 million

Tokyo - Toshiba’s digital media segment enjoyed a 13 percent sales gain for the year, ended March 31 due to higher overseas computer and PC peripherals and HDD/DVD recorder sales.

a report from IDC Research, Framingham, Mass., that had Panasonic with a 65 percent market share in the U.S. DVD burner business in February, up from the 50 percent it carried through most of 2002.

In its fourth quarter, Philips reported a net loss of $1.6 billion

Sony is introducing to its extensive digital camcorder assortment a new recording format — recordable DVD.

The company said it will ship later this year three digital camcorders based on a 3-inch diameter version of DVD-RW/-R rewritable disc media.

Samsung has slammed the brakes on its plan to enter the rewritable DVD retail market this year. In January, Samsung was eyeing an early summer release for a DVD+RW drive ..........
Samsung has not sided with either the DVD-RW or DVD+RW formats, but instead is waiting for one to take a commanding lead. Last year, Stead expected the plus format to be the winner, but right now he sees DVD-RW as having an edge due to the greater availability of -R blank media and a slightly better backward compatibility with the installed base of drives and players.

samsung May 8th 2003.Link

I can post thousands of these siting actual companies sells records.

DVD+R isn't going to die, but it has hit the dead end.

[macleod]

I am thinking of a new poll. Something like "which brick and mortar store gives the worst advice" or a "share your favorite BS line given to you by a sales person at Best Buy, CompUSA, etc." or "share the largest whopper a BB or Compusa, etc. rep has ever told you.

I have one from best buy here in Dallas/Ft Forth, TX. Our old TV was crapping out on us (edges of screen were "curling" and strange smells were coming from the back of it - guess to much food channel ), so we did some research on the net, went and did some price comparisons and ended up at Best Buy.

We were set on a 27" tv (it was the largest that would fit into our armoire), and had some brands in mind. We were pretty set on the toshiba, but wanted to get channel locks on it - the kind that wont allow a person to turn the TV on/off using the button on the TV (anyone with a 2 year old will understand).

Anyway, the sales person comes up to us and we ask a few questions about the TV and get to the point of personal experience. The guy says that he has owned a Toshiba (isn't it amazing that the salesperson ALWAYS owns the same product that he is trying to sell!?!?!? :P ) for 20 years and plans on taking this TV with him when he graduates from high school. Not being a native Texan, I asked if kids go to school for longer here as I graduated when I was 17 from high school?? He got a little red faced and said that his mom bought him the TV when he was 10, so he has actually owned it for only 6 years (interesting math their teaching the young uns' in school today ). He said that it was a good TV, but just recently it gets some wavy lines at the top!!! We still ended up getting the TV, but just thought it was a funny story.

He too also confirmed the straight copying of commerical DVD's to blank DVD-R.

I agree with an earlier post about not buying DVD media from any brick and mortar store. You can buy your media SO much cheaper off the net AND no taxes (at least in the US, I guess). I would not use Best Buy as the end all for determing (what some folks are eluding to) who is going to win the DVD-R vs DVD+R war (and there really isn't one, except in peoples' heads). My limited research and knowledge tells me that both will be around for quite awhile. In 20 years, the site will be renamed "waferhelp.com" or something as the technology will have changed by the point.

Ok, I am going to wake up now.

ps. Fry's is now open in Coppell near DF/W Airport in TX, WAHOOOOOO!!!!!

[digitalmaster]

The bottom line is, the sales people are paid a low wage. They are not paid to train you about PC. You need to learn this information on your own. I have worked retail in a store that sold PC equipment and many people would come in not knowing a single thing about anything related to PCs. They would want me to train them and explain everything they need. How do I load drivers, how do I install this DVD player, I bought this DVD player and it locked up my system, how do I fix it, is this DVD player compatible with my Packard Bell 10 year old system, how do I set up a network on my home PCs, how do I share an internet connection. You don't ask a car salesman how to install an engine in a vehicle. Why should someone who is paid 7 dollars an hour, go home and learn everything there is to know about anything PC related, and help a customer learn about computers. Best Buy employees are there to assist you in finding your product, not give you a free training course in PCs. I know people who teach PC or network training courses at tech schools or colleges, and I will tell you that they are paid way more than 7 dollars an hour. Circut City use to pay commission but recently dropped that, so expect the same service from there now.

I expect some flames on my post.

[rayban]

ps. Fry's is now open in Coppell near DF/W Airport in TX, WAHOOOOOO!!!!!

macleod...yup, I stopped by at the grand opening last Friday and boy I've never seen so many people wrapped around the building...were you there? Anyway, it's great having a Fry's open here especially when it is only 5 mins from work! Now if we can only get them to sell or match online prices, huh?

[mkelley]

If you ask a Best Buy employee for advice, you might as well drive down the street and ask a bumb the same thing. At least the bumb would be honest and say "WTF are you talking about?" rather than spout half-wit nonsense.

Yep. It's too bad, really, because the employees have a generally good attitude, but good attitude and ignorance don't for a good employee make.

Just last week I went in to test some of the DVD-Rs I recorded on various DVD players and at one point the employee told me it wasn't worth hooking up the Phillips progressive scan because "Phillips only supports DVD+R". I said let's give it a try anyway and, of course, it played my DVD-R media just fine.

Afterwards my wife (who was with me) asked why I had insisted upon trying it even though he employee told me it wouldn't work. She is normally a bright woman, but like a lot of women has an implicit faith in salespeople knowing what they are talking about (even though she knows her husband knows a lot of things :>). Unfortunately, there are a lot of people, men and women, who will believe the falsehoods Best Buy will promulgate.

[mkelley]

You don't ask a car salesman how to install an engine in a vehicle.

No, but you do quite reasonably expect them to tell you accurate information about the engine, not "Oh, that engine there doesn't run on gasoline, because they are phasing gasoline out. It's a water cooled engine and only runs on water."

I never mind if a salesman says he doesn't know the answer on something, but someone should *never* (and I repeat in large letters, NEVER) give you information on subjects they don't know anything about. That's what's so pernicious here.

You might make the argument they are simply so ignorant what they believe is true -- but *someone* somewhere has to tell them this information, so if it's not the employee then it's certainly the supervisor or store manager that has to take the blame.

Trust me: if car salespeople (a pernicious bunch in and of themselves) were as ignorant about cars as these tech types salespeople are about computers and tech, it would be laugable. "Oh, yes it says on the sticker this car only gets 20MPG, but that's all you need because the gas tank is so much larger in this one than that one over there that gets 40MPG." The difference is the average person knows a lot more about cars and thus can cut through the bullshit.

As a kid when I worked retail I was honest enough to admit when I didn't know something -- and to learn about it so I would know it the next time I was asked. I truly think kids nowadays have so little caring about the jobs they do this never occurs to them (and caring about doing a good job is not dependent upon how much you are paid, another misconception of the slacker generation).

Now *I* am sure to get flamed -- that's one thing kids certainly take the time and energy to do nowadays <g>

[macleod]

ps. Fry's is now open in Coppell near DF/W Airport in TX, WAHOOOOOO!!!!!

It should actually be D/FW airport (Dalls/Fort Worth). Just got so darned excited about Fry's.

Rayban, where abouts are you. I am right off 121 and (sorta) beltline behind the fedex building. I did not go to the grand opening (it was a madhouse!!!!). When I was checking out TV's I went to the one in Arlington and couldnt even get into the parking lot. 64mg smart sticks today free after rebate. Hmmmm. Where to spend lunch, LOL!!

Back to the original post. People walk in and ask a question and not knowing any better, they are told misinformation from the sales person. The sales person should say, "i don't know" vs. talking about stuff that they dont know anything about - or enough to be dangerous. True, they shouldn't be asked certain questions in the first place, but instead of offering misinformation, they should just say, "I don't know".

[digitalmaster]

I knew I should have left that car statement out. Kind of a bad analogy.
If Best Buy wanted knowledgeable people, they would pay for training their employees on the product, or pay someone enough who knows their knowledge is worth more than 7 dollars an hour. Believe me, when you see people sitting down cutting lawns for 14 dollars an hour where I live, it makes you wonder why you should work so hard to please angry, mean, rude, demanding customers for half the pay. Too many people come into a store taking their displaced aggression out on employees. For those that complain about retail service, try working it for a year.

[mkelley]

Ah, but digital master, I worked it for far more than a year.

And I'm not trying to beat you up, but I truly think the attitude of the people in the store (and, yes, your attitude as well) is what's wrong. It's not how much money you get paid that determines how well you do a job -- it's the pride you have in yourself. If you don't care for yourself, it won't matter how much anyone pays you. Conversely, if you have pride in how you conduct your life it really doesn't matter whether you are paid or not.

Maybe I'm just an old man who can't live in this brave new world, but when I was younger I really cared to do a good job -- that was what I was taught, and I was certainly earning a lot less than $7.00 per hour (yep, cost of living has screwed a lot of things, but not all. For one thing, a good color TV still cost about $500 back then, and that was for something not any bigger than 25").

Let me repeat this in a different way, if not for you then perhaps for some minimum wage worker reading this out there: you can *never* do a good job if you measure your worth by your paycheck. Measure yourself by the work you do and the rewards are truly astounding. Instead of seeing customers as angry, mean, rude and demanding, understand they are looking for help that in many cases only you can provide, and let it be a challenge to you to satisfy them so they will go away happy, nice, polite and fulfilled.

If you do this at a minimum wage salary and truly understand the process I can promise you there will be no limit to the amount of money you can make, nothing that will not be within your reach, and no goal that is unattainable.

Then again, this may just be something you'll have to take on faith until you've got the grandchildren I have.

[zzyzzx]

This is not a coincidence.
-R have been dissapearing from many stores.
Lots of retailers seem to carry +Rs only...

I think this has more to do with the stores not ordering and stocking the shelves properly. From their perspective there are 2 different kinds so they order the same amount of both. One sells 3X as much so they run out of that type.

Besides that, I have to question the quality of the blank DVD media. All of the brands that they carry are made in Taiwan. I want some that are from Japan.

[txpharoah]

Ah, but digital master, I worked it for far more than a year. And I'm not trying to beat you up, but I truly think the attitude of the people in the store (and, yes, your attitude as well) is what's wrong. It's not how much money you get paid that determines how well you do a job -- it's the pride you have in yourself. If you don't care for yourself, it won't matter how much anyone pays you. Conversely, if you have pride in how you conduct your life it really doesn't matter whether you are paid or not. Maybe I'm just an old man who can't live in this brave new world, but when I was younger I really cared to do a good job -- that was what I was taught, and I was certainly earning a lot less than $7.00 per hour (yep, cost of living has screwed a lot of things, but not all. For one thing, a good color TV still cost about $500 back then, and that was for something not any bigger than 25"). Let me repeat this in a different way, if not for you then perhaps for some minimum wage worker reading this out there: you can *never* do a good job if you measure your worth by your paycheck. Measure yourself by the work you do and the rewards are truly astounding. Instead of seeing customers as angry, mean, rude and demanding, understand they are looking for help that in many cases only you can provide, and let it be a challenge to you to satisfy them so they will go away happy, nice, polite and fulfilled. If you do this at a minimum wage salary and truly understand the process I can promise you there will be no limit to the amount of money you can make, nothing that will not be within your reach, and no goal that is unattainable. Then again, this may just be something you'll have to take on faith until you've got the grandchildren I have.

Unfortunately, as much as I wish this was true, it isn't. You've got to consider the demographic of people that accept low-paying jobs: inexperienced, uneducated, laxed attitude, etc.

That's why they are paid less. It speaks for the high majority of them --80% or more. The ones that do what you suggest often move up the ladder into management. So while you may be lucky to encounter one of these people in their earlier wrung on the ladder (the lowly salesman), the odds are not likely. MAYBE 2 in every 10 or so actually has pride and knows what he/she is talking about, etc.

In general, I think this flame against Best Buy is great. They deserve it for consistant falling quality from products to personnel.

Fry's is another story. They usually get paid more and are trained. Many of those people have piss-poor attitudes (more of a past problem than a current one), but they know what they're talking about generally. For those in Texas, I really like the Arlington location and the Austin location, as they always have things in stock, and I've been helped out by some great people that work there. Others have been just okay.

[version20]

Just thought I would post this snippet from a zdnet article for all you retards who keep claiming that MS is going to shift favor for +R/-R one way or another:

"The software giant said at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in New Orleans that it will provide built-in support for DVD+RW, DVD-RW/-R and DVD-RAM in future versions of its desktop operating system. "

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-1000493.html

See, they will support all formats.

Even though +R is the best. (haha)

-v20

[digitalmaster]

This post is way off topic and has nothing to do with DVD-Rs
I agree with you mkelley, that doing a good job no matter what your job is, is a great attitude towards life. But believe me, for whatever reason, the computer department of a store is a very frustrating place. People come in and ask you questions, then tell you that you are wrong because their buddy at work told them otherwise. (Everyone thinks they are an expert. Some people just come in to talk and show their knowledge, but never buy anything) Also some people do not want to learn about a computer or have a family and do not have the time, and put all their trust in a 16 year old kid. They then come back screaming that the kid told them a 52x CD rom would work in their 10 year old packard bell and want to get them fired cause he wasted their time. I do not know why people think it is okay to come in a store and belittle people, tell them they do not know what they are talking about, and then expect the greatest full attention giving service the next time they come in. It is not worth the frustration.

[LanEvo7]

Besides that, I have to question the quality of the blank DVD media. All of the brands that they carry are made in Taiwan. I want some that are from Japan.

Most of the more expensive branded media I've seen in retail stores are Made In Japan. TDK, Maxell and Apple are the biggest three I see. Then the mid-range are usually memorex and imation. The cheap media is usually like khypermedia.

[sk1086]

I don't buy my media from retail stores anymore. You can get them a lot cheaper online. Check out one of the Media websites like http://www.precisioncddvd.com

All the fighting on this forum is pretty funny.