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Apple TV at Best Buy

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News.com's Apple blog reveals that Best Buy will be carrying the Apple TV starting on Tuesday. They will have a two week "exclusive" over other non-Apple retail stores in carrying the new device.

Initial supplies will be limited with only 3000 units shipping across 800 stores.

Apple has recently been testing sales at Best Buy with a pilot program for selling Macs at the popular retailer. The Apple TV's push into non-Apple retailers also reflects the "consumer electronics" nature of the device.
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2007/03/22/apple-tv-at-best-buy/
Great! Now I don't need to drive an hour to try out the ATV. There's a Best Buy that sells Macs only 5 minutes away. I hope they give it a prominent position on the floor. Do you think it would be sold near the computers or near the ginormous wall of HDTVs? Wouldn't it be amazing to run the ATV on that many TV's at once? 😀
 
Initial seeding of less than 4 per store sounds small, but these are likely demo units pending delivery of more through normal distribution channels; company trucks going to each store in the normal course of inventory refurbishment.

Rocketman
 
A Big Ol' negative on this one. Next thing you know they'll be selling their products at Wal-Mart.... oh wait.... (sigh)
 
technicolor said:
Bestbuy doesnt know how to sell Apple products.
Click to expand...

I agree - this could be detrimental to Apple's consumer image more than anything. Best Buy is essentially a FUD Factory when it comes to things like this...

On the plus side, at least the Apple TV will be more accessible to people. The question is, whether they will want to buy one or not after dealing with the ineptness that is Best Buy. 🙄 😎
 
slffl said:
A Big Ol' negative on this one. Next thing you know they'll be selling their products at Wal-Mart.... oh wait.... (sigh)
Click to expand...
I'll never shop at Best Buy. After the internal/external website fiasco, they've lost me as a consumer for good. Thankfully there're two Apple stores close to me.
 
3000 for 800 stores. that's a joke i hope! if atv is to take off they'd better have enough for everyone who want's one during the initial hype. and they need a lot of them out there before the competitors boxes hit the shelves.
 
Can someone tell me what the big deal is about the apple TV, and why it's getting so much coverage here? I know it's a new product and all, but it seems that every single predictable movement is getting treated like big news here. Same with CS3 by the way...I know it's being released on mac os before windows, but other than that, what does it have to do with mac?
 
I think it's great that Apple continues to push its products into more stores. The consumer products should get the popularity they deserve. I know some fear that Apple's platform will become too trendy, but I don't think that will ever happen. Mac OS X will always have a strong presence in the market, but will not become the dominant player, allowing it to keep it "elite" status that so many associate with it.
 
If I had to get an Apple TV instantly, I would rather go to Target or WalMart over Best Buy to get it. As stated above, Best Buy is a FUD factory. After working in a few stores, I've lost faith (not like I really had any) in their "knowledgeable" staff.

But, whatever gets it out there. We have to remember there are people that know what they want and don't care where they get it from. By Apple placing their products at Target, WalMart, and even Best Buy, anything Apple is accessible same day.
 
Macrumors said:
Apple has recently been testing sales at Best Buy with a pilot program for selling Macs at the popular retailer.
Click to expand...


Here we go again. and her it will FAIL again. the amount of training the pimpled dorks in blue got, was a CD-Rom, with a user takes the inititative to learn.... that was never watched! Been there Done That.

I was the MAC DADDY on the test run of 2004, in the store I had worked at.

Apple should only focus on the appliances (iPod, TV, etc) Aftermarket retailers can't deliver. CompUSA has to rely on outside help / Specialist to really move product.

Guess tho nerd biscuits over tin the PC realm are really not that smart after all (thats why they trash apple instedt of learning about it)
 
pgwalsh said:
I'll never shop at Best Buy. After the internal/external website fiasco
Click to expand...

Edit: My post was originally "Tell! Is there a link?"

I did a Google search and found some references to that. Shady, but sadly not unique...

Something similar happens when you browse the kiosk at Chapters. They're obviously using the same back-end (the site looks almost the same as the Chapters website) but instead of showing you the discounted online price, it shows you the full retail price. I suppose it's different enough that one could arguably not be deceived, but still.

I'm more disappointed that Home Depot, unlike just about every other B&M store I can think of that also has a web store, not only offers different prices on the identical items on their website, but the B&M stores refuse to price match their own website. But that's getting off-topic...
 
I guess I'll stop by our local Best Buy and ask them a few questions. I'm curious whether anybody there will be able to answer some basic :apple:TV questions once the merchandise is there. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised. If not, it may not be helping Apple's sales to have uninformed salespeople confusing (or at least not unconfusing) people with questions about the product.
 
pgwalsh said:
I'm sure if you do a google search you'll find more.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Yuck.

I remember on several occasions playing with the Macs at my local Best Buy, which are internet-connected. Zipping around the web worked just great, until I decided to compare Best Buy's pricing with the Apple Store. For some reason, www.apple.com/store just didn't seem to load...
 
notjustjay said:
Indeed. Yuck.

I remember on several occasions playing with the Macs at my local Best Buy, which are internet-connected. Zipping around the web worked just great, until I decided to compare Best Buy's pricing with the Apple Store. For some reason, www.apple.com/store just didn't seem to load...
Click to expand...

what! you don't know apple store's price by heart?! 😱












jk.
 
technicolor said:
Bestbuy doesnt know how to sell Apple products.
Click to expand...

Best Buy / Futureshop is awful... awful awful awful... shopping there is just as annoying as shopping at Wal-Mart (minus the 800 "super-moms" with their 2000 screaming kids)... and the staff at Best Buy are generally never helpful...
 
Apple TV is more of a "commodity product" than most Apple products. All you really have to know is the primary sales pitch of "if it is on iTunes it is on TV", and what cable to get, HDMI or Composite Video. Done.

So commodity sales simpletoms like Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart just need a stack of Apple TV's and a tray of two different cable types. Done.

With the iPod they had to train users on the "benefits and usage". The market for Apple TV is EXISTING iTunes users.

Rocketman
 
Rocketman said:
Apple TV is more of a "commodity product" than most Apple products. All you really have to know is the primary sales pitch of "if it is on iTunes it is on TV", and what cable to get, HDMI or Composite Video. Done.
Click to expand...
Cables are the easy part. Answering :apple:TV shoppers' questions about TV sets and wifi might take more expertise.
 
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