NEWS; BestBuy to sell iPhone

DevilsPGD wrote:
> In message <48a32cc8$0$7317$607ed4bc@cv.net> "Carl"
> <crothman@NOSPAMoptonline.net> wrote:
>
>> I see. That is a way to get around the manufacturer's "rules", I
>> suppose. I never understand the apparent price-fixing of items like
>> these since price-fixing is generally against the law.
>
> I had a chat with a manager at an local Apple dealer about that one
> time, and pointed out that price fixing is illegal.
>
> He agreed, and said that technically there is nothing contractually or
> legally preventing them from competing on price with other Apple
> dealers, except that when it was tried, they would find their orders
> delayed, which would cut into their sales until their volume dropped
> enough that their discounts would go out the window.
>
> Seems slimy, but this was before Costco had the iPod Touch in stock,
> so a local Apple dealer or Apple.com were my only choices.
>
> Costco now carries the iPod Touch cheaper then other dealers, although
> they don't quote prices on their website.
>
As far as I understand, it may be legal for a manufacturer to require a
seller to not advertise a price lower than the msrp. And they often do. It
is just not legal for them to dictate what your actual selling price is. If
you go to Amazon.com for example, on many items they provide the msrp and
then tell you that you have to put the item in your cart, or you have to
"click here", to see their "low price". Amazon sells the touch for $285 I
believe. a mere 3% off the reg. selling price of $300, not enough to offset
the inconvenience of waiting 3 to 9 days for delivery. And they have to
collect tax now too, so the savings is unsubstantial.

But I'm sure that you're right about subtle pressures being applied to
resellers who try to discount. Apple products, by the way, are not even
being sold on eBay for lower prices. I don't get that at all.

On Aug 13, 8:35*am, Ron <ron.cliff...@peoplepc.com> wrote:
> *Starting September 7.
>
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1218...?mod=googlenew....

LA Times Reporter added the following details...

Even now, AT&T says there is a seven- to 10-day wait for people who
order an iPhone 3G from its stores. Apple's website advises potential
iPhone buyers to check the site after 9 p.m. to see whether their
Apple store has phones.

The shortages arose because Apple underestimated demand, analysts
said.

Julie Hawkins, 41, wanted to buy an iPhone for a friend last week at
the Apple store in Northridge, but lines snaked out the door. When she
walked by later, the store had posted a sign saying it was out of
iPhones.

But Wednesday, Hawkins, a creative director at a shoe company, tried
again and her friend was able to buy the phone at the Beverly Center,
which had bins full of the black-and-white iPhone boxes. "I'm
surprised they have so many here," she said.

Best Buy, which has experience with hot items such as video game
consoles, isn't worried about iPhone shortages, spokesman Jeff Dudash
said.

"With a popular item, demand will exceed supply," he said. "We've
talked to Apple. We've been told we will have product on our shelves
on Sept. 7. We'll do the best we can do."

Until recently, Best Buy wasn't a place most people went for a
cellphone. Selection was limited, and the same store clerk gave advice
on the new Justin Timberlake CD and a cellphone purchase, Dudash
acknowledged.

"Customers hated that," he said.

Two years ago, Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy partnered with
Britain's CarPhone Warehouse to expand its cellphone category and
created a store within a store called Best Buy Mobile. Its staff now
receives at least 40 hours of training, and every Best Buy store has
about 95 handsets for sale on as many as nine carriers, Dudash said.

In the last year, the retailer sold 3.6% of all mobile phones in the
U.S., up from less than 2% last year. Its goal is to capture 10% of
the U.S. market in the next several years, Dudash said.

Clearly, Best Buy is hoping that by adding the iPhone to its lineup,
it will reach its goal.

Best Buy shares gained 47 cents to $45.38. Apple rose $2.57 to $179.30.

At 14 Aug 2008 03:57:18 -0700 4phun wrote:
> > If there were not a RS around that amp would have sat around for a week
> > instead of an hour.
>
> Frey's


Good point- their 32 "nationwide" store locations almost compare to
RadioShack's 5000+ for convenience.

My closest Fry's is only about two hours away...

....by airplane. About twelve hours by car.
Cool store though- I try to go whenever I'm traveling anywhere near one.

"4phun" <vic.healey@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:c5b035e3-bef5-4374-bc83-f5bd5ede2c76@c65g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
On Aug 13, 11:24 pm, "Carl" <croth...@NOSPAMoptonline.net> wrote:
> 4phun wrote:
> > On Aug 13, 8:35 am, Ron <ron.cliff...@peoplepc.com> wrote:
> >> Starting September 7.
>
> >>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1218...?mod=googlenew...
>
> > There is a nasty rumor that Radio Shack is also going to have the
> > iPhone this fall.
>
> > How many stores is that, 5000 Radio Shacks? They have been closing so
> > many I doubt they are really around much now a days. And I think Radio
> > Shack ranks at the top for having incompetent low wage inner city
> > employees who know nothing of what they sell.
>
> I live in a large and populated suburban area of NYC. We have two RSs
> within
> 2 miles of each other, one east of my home, one west of it, about
> equidistant. I love having those stores around. They have things that you
> would be hard pressed to find elsewhere. I would be very disheartened to
> see
> them go out of business. Where else would I find anything from a Grundig
> shortwave radio to a germanium diode to some of the best wall-wart power
> supplied around? I recently got a guitar amp that blew a fuse on its first
> day. If there were not a RS around that amp would have sat around for a
> week
> instead of an hour.

Frey's

What's a Frey's ?

On Aug 14, 8:50*am, Todd Allcock <eleccon...@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote:
> At 14 Aug 2008 03:57:18 -0700 4phun wrote:
>
> > > If there were not a RS around that amp would have sat around for a week
> > > instead of an hour.
>
> > Frey's
>
> Good point- their 32 "nationwide" store locations almost compare to
> RadioShack's 5000+ for convenience.
>
> My closest Fry's is only about two hours away...
>
> ...by airplane. *About twelve hours by car.
> Cool store though- I try to go whenever I'm traveling anywhere near one.

Fifty cash registers at Fry's and you still have to wait in line when
they are real busy.

Local stores are very nervous about price matching Fry's too.
MicroCenter will
Staples sometimes.
Circuit City not so much, it is a pain to have them natch their own on
line prices
Office Depot - never.
I don't think Best Buy's will either.

Radio Shack doesn't even have the quality stuff any more.
I had a technician pitch a royal fit this week when he saw I had
picked up a four foot cable from Radio Shack.
There was a huge signal drop in it, something like 5 - 7 db.

4phun <vic.healey@gmail.com> wrote in news:e81bdcfd-e501-4cab-af9a-
7fa604369f53@v57g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

> And I think Radio
> Shack ranks at the top for having incompetent low wage inner city
> employees who know nothing of what they sell.
>

Wow! When I go into our RatShacks, especially in the malls, I start
streaming Iranian music over the tablet in my shirt pocket over EVDO on
Alltel. Half the staff turns and smiles.

I spent over 2 years in Tehran in '78-79, leaving 28 days before the Shah
left. I speak enough Farsi to get around and prevent starvation. Everyone
used to get all excited when I signed my name in Farsi, rather than
English, because they were afraid someone would accuse them of forgery...
(c; Radio Shack is a great place to practice. Curiously, the Iranians
know more about Radio Shack products than those you describe...

Radio Shack is now hiring Mexicans, here, so they can communicate with the
other 50% of the population.

4phun <vic.healey@gmail.com> wrote in news:b790b99a-da57-40a2-9907-
2905d2f65e63@d45g2000hsc.googlegroups.com:

> Radio Shack doesn't even have the quality stuff any more.
> I had a technician pitch a royal fit this week when he saw I had
> picked up a four foot cable from Radio Shack.
> There was a huge signal drop in it, something like 5 - 7 db.
>

What freq were you on, S-band?

Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote in
news:g80c04$ibn$1@aioe.org:

> In addition to the 3500 or so remaining corporate stores in big
> cities, they also have a few thousand independent dealers operating in
> podunk towns of a few thousand people, who might not have easy access
> to an Apple store, corporate AT&T store, or a Best Buy. That would be
> a powerful retail outlet for the iPhone.
>
>
>

It would be a good place to dump all those surplus 2G iphones. ATT doesn't
even have 3G in Summerville, SC, the fastest growing suburb of
Charleston....

DevilsPGD <spam_narf_spam@crazyhat.net> wrote in
news:b8i7a4dh01s86qrid8hfuiq2h296644ba4@4ax.com:

> I had a chat with a manager at an local Apple dealer about that one
> time, and pointed out that price fixing is illegal.
>
>

The whole retail musical instrument business is territorially setup to
stifle competition, which fixes prices at retail by default. Isn't that
why, up until now, only Apple and ATT sold the iphones?

The car business is also like this....as are many other big ticket items.

If they find out you discounted bigshot grand pianos....you won't be a
dealer any more! It's in your CONTRACT.

4phun wrote:
> On Aug 13, 11:24 pm, "Carl" <croth...@NOSPAMoptonline.net> wrote:
>> 4phun wrote:
>>> On Aug 13, 8:35 am, Ron <ron.cliff...@peoplepc.com> wrote:
>>>> Starting September 7.
>>
>>>> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1218...?mod=googlenew...
>>
>>> There is a nasty rumor that Radio Shack is also going to have the
>>> iPhone this fall.
>>
>>> How many stores is that, 5000 Radio Shacks? They have been closing
>>> so many I doubt they are really around much now a days. And I think
>>> Radio Shack ranks at the top for having incompetent low wage inner
>>> city employees who know nothing of what they sell.
>>
>> I live in a large and populated suburban area of NYC. We have two
>> RSs within 2 miles of each other, one east of my home, one west of
>> it, about equidistant. I love having those stores around. They have
>> things that you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere. I would be
>> very disheartened to see them go out of business. Where else would I
>> find anything from a Grundig shortwave radio to a germanium diode to
>> some of the best wall-wart power supplied around? I recently got a
>> guitar amp that blew a fuse on its first day. If there were not a RS
>> around that amp would have sat around for a week instead of an hour.
>
> Frey's
>
Oh, good, thanks. I'm just trying to decide which one is closest to me: the
store at 3300 Finley Rd, Downers Grove, IL, or the one at 3065 Webb Rd,
Alpharetta, GA. They're about as equidistant from my home here in NY as the
two RS stores I mentioned.

I don't get you. Besides the triviality that you even spelled the name wrong
(it's Fry's) and tried to be cutesy by shooting off a one-word reply, did
you bother to consider your answer for its informative value at all?