Best Buy To Sell Mac mini In Stores?

[digitalbiker]

Run Mac Kiosks at Best Buy

Apple's keynote software has a kiosk mode.

Why can't Apple setup one kiosk in each Best Buy that demos the highlights of the Mac Mini and OSX.

Who needs salesmen when the design and superiority of Apple hardware, OSX , and software sells itself.

Besides Apple has been becoming a household name again since the success of the iPod and iTunes.

This is a good thing!

 

[shortyjj]

I think its time Apple took this to the next level with some prime time ads during CSI, Dateline, Law&Order(Pick your version.), West Wing, etc.

I REALLY don't understand why Apple spends so much money advertising the ipod, which hardly needs it anyway, and virtually nothing on Macs. I've watched my fair share of tv, seen enough ipod ads, and still waiting for a Mac ad (unless you count all the appearances in TV shows and movies)

 

[clayj]

These systems need to be configured to avoid tampering.

Can't they just configure them the same way they're configured in the Apple Stores? I thought I read somewhere that each machine in an Apple Store is "reset" each evening... I would assume that this also includes disabling anything that could cause the machine to malfunction.

 

[ClarkeB]

anti-Mac

I still don't understand this. I've tried to read about it, but it makes about as much sense as anti-widescreen (when widescreen is the OAR).

 

[ender78]

As eluded by someone lese here, BestBuy in Canada has had the mini for quite some time. Only problem is that at my local time, its display is piss poor. The unit sits and the end of an endcap with a mismatch of peripherals (a logitech keyboard and a puny 17" monitor. The machine being so small, most people miss it the first time, they dont even know they're looking at it.

 

[gopher]

I really hope Apple gets this right this time. I will never forget how badly I was treated by the Best Buy management saying I wanted to buy something for the Mac platform. Any third party retailer that wants to sell Macs better get trained to learn how demanding Mac users can be, and be willing to accommodate to those demands. One thing that supposedly hurt the iMac fruity colors was the fact they had to stock all 5 colors at the same time, and they weren't willing to do that. If it is the same old customer service, Apple will just lose money based on the number of non-sales generated.

 

[Fender]

As eluded by someone lese here, BestBuy in Canada has had the mini for quite some time. Only problem is that at my local time, its display is piss poor. The unit sits and the end of an endcap with a mismatch of peripherals (a logitech keyboard and a puny 17" monitor. The machine being so small, most people miss it the first time, they dont even know they're looking at it.

Here in Toronto I almost missed the Mac mini too; I only saw it after I had asked one of the employees. Best Buy Canada doesn't put it anywhere near the iMacs and Powerbooks. The mini in Toronto's Best Buy is stuck to some Sony display and no-name keyboard.

 

[Beeblebrox]

A number of retailers around me sell Macs. Frys and CompUSA are the biggest. CompUSA has the nicest display and the most product, but in all honesty there's never anyone around there who isn't already a Mac user. Browsers (ie potential switchers) stick with the PC section.

I wouldn't expect Best Buy to be any better. In fact, I'd expect them to be much, much worse.

 

[Macheath_Messer]

Oh god people. You make this out like you have to con a user into buying a Mac. If a Mac is all that and a bag of microchips it should sell on its own and shouldn’t need some car salesman to convince someone to purchase a Mac.

I think what most people have a problem with is workers who won't let the product speak for itself. I remember how Best Buy employees at this location (Athens, GA) used to treat their Macs: turned off, unplugged, or locked up with 1 bazillion windows open on the desktop (I'm talking the days of OS 7.5.x here). I had a PC at the time, but I was interested in looking at the Macs. The fellows in the computer department did all they could to get me to walk away from the Macs, citing "Apple's about to go out of business, there's no software for these things, etc., etc."

In that context, the product was NOT allowed to speak for itself. Most people who are responding to this thread remember those days, and know it went pretty much the same way the second time around with the iMacs (5-pack color requirements from Apple notwithstanding).

And as for the area its not like they are going to be tagging the monitor it has with anti-Mac slogans or leaving Cheetos bags laying around the freaking system.
They will keep the area clean but I wouldn't expect them to baby it. Treat it as they would all the other computers.

See my statements above. No, the employees at the time didn't tag anything with derogatory slogans. They did just as much damage, however, by neglecting the product they were being paid to sell. That's what I found amazing. "Oh, you don't want that [crappy] Mac over there! What you really want is this snazzy teal and charcoal gray Acer!"

I'll agree with you on one thing, though: lock down the dang systems! Protect them from customer and employee alike!

Anyway, hope this sheds some light on how the situation has been 2 times around with Best Buy. I'm not sure what's going to change things. Perhaps with the Mac Mini selling like hotcakes through other channels, Best Buy might be willing to put some effort behind educating their "Geek Squad".

FWIW,

Mackie

 

[KREX725]

And as for the area its not like they are going to be tagging the monitor it has with anti-Mac slogans or leaving Cheetos bags laying around the freaking system.
They will keep the area clean but I wouldn't expect them to baby it. Treat it as they would all the other computers.
QUOTE]

Sounds like you've never experienced the Mac in a Best Buy before. The "exaggerations" you describe are exactly what I've seen on Macs at Best Buys before.

I'm not being a snob about it, I'm just telling you about the past experiences Best Buy has had with Mac. All I am saying is that unless Apple plans to provide the stores with a rep (like the cell phone companies used to), training the blue shirts will do little good.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Maybe Apple should stipulate that the Mac Mini be displayed next to the iPods.


Just a thought.

 

[SiliconAddict]

I REALLY don't understand why Apple spends so much money advertising the ipod, which hardly needs it anyway, and virtually nothing on Macs. I've watched my fair share of tv, seen enough ipod ads, and still waiting for a Mac ad (unless you count all the appearances in TV shows and movies)

Well up til now Apple couldn't keep up with demand. Frankly Apple's manufacturing and distribution channels just plain suck. There isn't any point in advertising if you can't keep up with sales to begin with. The mini may have changed all of that. The hardest component to deal with is the CPU in that thing. The motherboards should be piece o' cake since they are dealing with an est. fab process along with a WELL est. GPU. Hard drives are a dime a dozen. RAM...whatever. Optical drive....easy. Once again the fate of a product is held in the hands of Moto. (God help us all.) So assuming Apple can hold a gun to Motos head and crank these G4's out in record time, and assemble them in record time there is no reason Apple can't exceed demand. Which contrary to popular beleif is a good thing. It gives you room to grow vs. not getting to product to a demanding customer who will just say screw it and move to something else.

Keep in mind that Apple may also see the writing on the wall. People joke about MS Longshot but if MS can get security partially reliable (Which they have somewhat done in XP SP2.) along with a new GUI it could hurt Apple's momentum. How much? No clue. But remember Microsoft is a marketing company first and foremost who just happens to make software. When Longshot is released expect a marketing blitzkrieg that will make Windows ‘95’s debut look sad. When Longshot ships expect just about every news station to talk about it. Expect every website to have a review. Expect a TV bombardment of the likes we not seen since this past presidential election. In short you aren’t going to be able to take two steps without hearing about Longshot. (Fortunately I have new Sony in ear buds for my iPod ) The mini could be just as much an early counter for Longhorn as much as a device to take advantage of the Halo effect.
We’ll see.

 

[jer446]

wow i really hope they do this.. i wish they would carry other apple products too.. does anyone know around how much they will sell the mac minis to bestbuy for? Will it be below edu prices??

 

[SiliconAddict]

Sounds like you've never experienced the Mac in a Best Buy before. The "exaggerations" you describe are exactly what I've seen on Macs at Best Buys before.

I'm not being a snob about it, I'm just telling you about the past experiences Best Buy has had with Mac. All I am saying is that unless Apple plans to provide the stores with a rep (like the cell phone companies used to), training the blue shirts will do little good.

And I'm telling you that the people at Best Buy aren't there to sub the Mac. I've talked with a couple of reps at several stores here in MN and there are some people who honestly are excited about getting Macs in store. There isn't some holy vendetta by all Blue Shirts to see the Mac fail. Most are happy to simply make a sale with a BB extended warrantee.

 

[anakin]

Already in Canada

I saw my first Mac Mini in a Best Buy, here in Toronto.

At the Best Buy next to Sherway mall.

 

[ASP272]

Awesome! The more exposure the better.

 

[Bolt]

I work at Best Buy. At the store I work at we are very excited to be getting the Mac mini. Simply put, the sales staff are here to sell. Second, most people that walk into the computer department are clueless. We aren't targetting the 20-something wiz kid, we're going after their fathers who can't change an input on their home TV. Also, remember, that hardly any money is made off of the computers themselves. The margin is very low. Best Buy employees are non-comission and have been since the late 1980s.

Finally, their is one pro aspect of having the Mac mini inside of Best Buy. It allows the Mac mini to reach a much larger audience. Best Buy is currently the largest electronic retailer in the US. Simply put, we have a whole lot more stores than the Apple stores, and many of them are more available to the general public.

Why would you want to limit the sources to obtain your product? If I was selling a product, I would want it everywhere I could get it. Showing it off to the most people can only help it. Apple is going for the halo affect, buy an iPod, get a Mac. Now, if the majority of iPods are sold through resellers and retailers such as Best Buy, I honestly would want to get the Mac mini in to the retail stores. Just my thoughts.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

...The hardest component to deal with is the CPU in that thing...

That shouldn't be a problem, since the aftermarket seems to be getting a steady supply of 1.42 chips for their upgrades, and they only get the surplus Apple doesn't need for its new computers.

As for Best Buy, like I said before back in the day with the Performa 6400/6500/iMac the Macs in my local BB were fubar with millions of windows left open, broken/missing keyboards, monitors etc. Just about every time I went there I ended up doing a hard reset (when they were actually running) just so I wouldn't have to see the system error dialogue boxes. Nobody at the store knew anything about Macs and the few who tried to answer questions were just making things up. I don't think they were trying to shaft Apple, but they obviously did not know enough about them to have any hope of selling them to a non-Mac user.

Of course, the Performa 6400/6500 was not one of Apple's shining moments either.

 

[Superdrive]

wow i really hope they do this.. i wish they would carry other apple products too.. does anyone know around how much they will sell the mac minis to bestbuy for? Will it be below edu prices??

It is going to be for the same prices you see anywhere else. $499 and $599.

Also, regarding one of the above comments, the Mac Mini training that I didn't learn much from was really basic and took about ten minutes. Basically enough to tell you that iLife is not Apple's answer to XPMedia center and this is how you change the internals. It was more about service than sales and as far as I know, it was the same learning.

Our Best Buy is rather special where our Geek Squad has two Mac (and PC, obviously) guys so we are able to answer any questions when it comes to sales or service on the mac. You can be sure I will watch over the display when it comes in just to make sure it is on its best game every day.

 

[Psychic Shopper]

help=extended warranty

Even when I do need help there the "help" is helpless.[/QUOTE]
Their help usually involves an extended warranty....

 

[Les Kern]

So what is this... 5 tries with Best Buy? Hasn't Apple learned? I "heard" that Apple is supplying training for their own folks, and that would help, but I recall they promised the same thing last time.
But I'm going to agree since getting the Mini out any way possible is good for Apple, and good for all those poor PC-users with beige bricks in their basement that haven't worked pretty much since the day they bought them.
Ach.
The Mini is a VERY cool machine. I just set one up today. Best Buy can start with a NICE display of a WORKING Mac. A selection of monitors, keyboards and mice would be nice. Perhaps a BestBuy package deal? 15" monitor, mouse, keyboard and Mac Mini for $699.00? That's WITH 512 ram of course. Hook up a shuffle to it, and maybe an iPod. This could be a VERY good thing.

 

[KREX725]

And I'm telling you that the people at Best Buy aren't there to sub the Mac. I've talked with a couple of reps at several stores here in MN and there are some people who honestly are excited about getting Macs in store. There isn't some holy vendetta by all Blue Shirts to see the Mac fail. Most are happy to simply make a sale with a BB extended warrantee.

Maybe in the homeland of BB (where you're at) BB employees are more enthusiastic about stocking Mac, but the blue shirts I still encounter from this area are just as anti-Mac as ever (talk about old loyalties dying hard). I would like nothing more than to see a bunch of Home Office employees really giving the Mini a real chance, but if it's anything like the olden days, they'll blow off the training and not really give OS X a chance, mock the processor speed differences, price, etc. Again, this is just what has happened in the past with the Performa line and the iMac 233 when BB carried them.

As far as getting the Mac name out there and more visible in the biggest electronics retailer, I can see pros and cons. Sure the Apple name gets a bigger spotlight, but if that spotlight isn't correctly implemented (enthusiastic sales staff, proper display, accessories, working displays, etc.), what will those seeing the Mac for the first time walk away with?

I really do hope I'm wrong, but some attention needs to be given to the past experiences with Mac and BB. That's all I'm saying.

 

[Lynxpro]

Best Buy employees are non-comission and have been since the late 1980s.

Bull. Managers are employees of Best Buy and they get all the monies that would normally go to the sales staff in the form of spiffs and commission. Why do you think managers get actively involved in the sales process when the sales associate fails to convince the customer to purchase the store's performance service plan (psp)? Its called managerial bonuses. Why for the longest did managers push employees to sell Belkin printer cables over USB cables? (because they got a higher bonus rate on the parallel printer cables). As a former BB'er, I am sick of hearing that "lie" about non-commission sales. You might ask your manager if he/she receives a montly bonus for holding down your department's wages. Watch them squirm answering that. And why do sales staff have to unload the trucks at night? Because BB is too cheap to pay for dedicated staff for that, unlike say, Circuit City...and most like Wal-Mart. Even CompUSA sales staff receive spiffs in addition to their wages. No stock options for rank-and-file, something Starbucks gives all of their employees. The truth is, the only non-managerial staff that makes decent money at BB is the Geek Squad.

For being so non-commissioned, compare your own purchasing experiences at places like BB, CompUSA, and Circuit. BB is all about the pressure. And why do the sales staff have to write down the sales on the white paper (CPO)? Very antiquated and all in order to slow down the sale to add extra pressure to sell the service plan. In comparison, at Circuit, each sales associate can ring up the entire order at the nearest computer station, check inventory at other nearby stores, and sell items at other stores. BB can't even effectively look up your sales information from 3 years ago if needed. And Zoroaster help you if a cashiere incorrectly inputted the code to your service plan and you actually need to use the service down the road. Then you have to call the BBB (Better Business Bureau) to help you. Good show.

Let's face it, the only way Macs will be sold competently at BB is if Apple staffs their own employees at each store like how they do at CompUSA. We are after all talking about the Company [BB] that refused to stock the iMacs when they were hot (1999) because they didn't want to carry every single color model (although Fry's and CompUSA did)...I don't even want to speculate how much money in revenue our store's department lost to CompUSA because we didn't carry the iMac.

I swear, if it weren't for the Rewards program, I wouldn't shop at BB.

 

[jer446]

sry i didnt ask my question right.. what will bestbuy pay apple for each pc, because i get a discount there, so i was hoping the lowest price possible because that means a lower price for me.. do you think bestbuy will get each machine for less than edu pricing and then sell them at the 499?

 

[bbyrdhouse]

Software!!!

According to two unconfirmed reports, electronics retailer Best Buy is preparing to sell the Mac mini in stores.

Training materials on both selling and servicing the Mac mini have been distributed to the sales & service employees, with an anticipated rollout within the next few weeks.

The Mac mini was first rumored to be sold in the brick-and-mortar Best Buy stores January 30; it is already available for purchase from BestBuy.com.

Apple has had previous sales runs with Best Buy, most recently a pilot program for mac sales in stores that reportedly ended in March of 2004.

What Apple needs is for Best Buy to start selling software. I mean it has been a real pain in the butt to try to find a store that sells Apple software. There isn't even 1 store in Shreveport/Bossier that sells Apple Software. C'mon... Shreveport/Bossier is a pretty big place.

I know, I know.. I could order online, but sometimes it would be nice to drive to a store and purchase a product and go home and install it that day and not have to wait a week for FedEx.