I’ve already written about my brand new TV that I bought as an open box item from Best Buy, and how I saved 15%. I forgot to mention that the salesman tried to sell me a very expensive wall mount and some ultra expensive HDMI cables for the TV.
That stuff is SO MUCH CHEAPER on Amazon.
The wall mount
I bought from Amazon is super sweet because it pulls out from the wall and swivels. In my new living room, the TV is mounted almost in the corner. Without a swivel wall mount, the TV would be practically useless to about half the room.
Did I mention that wall mount cost $70 from Amazon, includes a 10 foot HDMI cable, and was shipped free?
If I wanted a swivel wall mount for a 55″ TV and a 10 foot HDMI cord from Best Buy, it probably would have cost me at least $150. I tried to find an example of what I might purchase at Best Buy, but it’s so hard to search for things on their site I gave up.
Amazon is Best Buy’s Biggest Competitor
A few weeks ago I was in training at work and the lady running the training said, “I learned something yesterday that I thought was really interesting. Do you guys know who Best Buy’s number one competitor is?”
About half the people in the room were under 30, and many of us yelled out “Amazon!”, which is the right answer. But it hit me that a lot of people don’t realize that Amazon sells almost everything Best Buy sells, and they do it at much cheaper prices.
Amazon is also much easier to search and has much more useful user reviews and comments. Best Buy obviously has the benefit of physical store locations, which really helps when purchasing something you want to see with your own eyes (like a new TV), but that’s about the only place where Best Buy beats Amazon.
Amazon is Great for Our Economy
Some people might see Amazon driving Best Buy out of business as a bad thing because Best Buy is closing stores and downsizing, which means people are losing their jobs.
But the reason those stores are closing is because Amazon can sell the same things at cheaper prices and with better service. It means consumers have more money to spend on food, clothes, or anything else they might want because their electronics purchases were 10-50% cheaper.
Getting the same thing at a cheaper price is good for the buyer, the seller, and the whole economy (except the person selling that “thing” for a higher price).
Readers: Tell me about a store that sells great quality products at great prices.
Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.
Having read your last few blog entries, I have had the occasion to reflect on the very large amount of money that I have saved simply by not buying or watching a TV in the last decade. That savings just jumped by nearly $1000 just from information I saw in your last two blog entries!
The link for the wall mount shows the price to be $26.25, not $70.
Wow, I bought it at the wrong time. I paid $70 for it just a week ago. I wonder if Amazon has a price match guarantee… I’d love to get $45 back
Still $70 when I followed the link??
He’s talking about the link to third-party sellers that says “10 new from…[PRICE].” When you click it, it’s a price less shipping…after shipping it’s roughly the same price.
I read recently(ish) that Best Buy actually has a problem where customers come to their store to check out products in person, only to leave and buy the same product cheaper online.
holabirdsports.com! I buy almost all my running clothes there… don’t know how they are on other stuff but for that they have awesome prices and it’s all normal, good brands.
I really love amazon.com but I hate the fact I have to wait for shipping sometimes. There are two very large distribution centers within 30 minutes of my house and almost everything I buy comes from there. I wish they would have a pick it up options (I know this is impractical).
I also hate that they use UPS. For some unknown reason to me, UPS never delivers to my house and always puts things on my neighbor’s doorsteps. I’ve called and complained and they don’t care. It drives me nuts. My house has the numbers on the house itself, on my mailbox and on a light pole in my yard! How hard can it be?
But back to the original point, I love Amazon and use them for all sorts of purchases I don’t need right away. It is also very easy for my sister and I to send each other gift cards for birthdays.
I second Danielle’s comment about looking at things in Best Buy then purchasing the same product online. I use this method all the time…and so do all of my friends. I did that with my tv and saved 50%.
Kevin – if you need HDMI cables, accessories, and such, look at monoprice.com. You can get HDMI cables for as little as $2 each. They also have wall mounting brackets and tons of other stuff. Happy hunting!
Competition is good fro the consumer and makes the sellers better too. I would not mind a further reduction in prices, would you?
Try monoprice.com for cables and wall mounts.
This. Especially for cable. Though, if you have Amazon Prime, Amazon is probably cheaper.
I had the same experience except just with the HDMI cables. Best Buy wants $20-50 dollars and I got one for I think about $5-10 on Amazon and it still works fine to this day. I feel bad for the people that don’t know how much they could save by buying certain items on Amazon.
Fry’s is nearly impossible to beat (even by Amazon) for low end commodity stuff like cables, connectors, wiring, etc. There are several locations in the Dallas area. Fry’s is like Best Buy, but triple the size, and a bit more warehousey.
I Love Amazon. Have been a big customer for more than 10 years now. I just love their service, their shipping, and their prices. And yes, we shop there and at Ebay for nearly all electronics since Best Buy and the other “real” stores seem to be marking everything up 25-50%.
We’re amazon addicts. Especially with free “Prime” shipping. We’ve gotten a ton of baby supplies from there, but also most of our electronics. It’s really much easier and cheaper than anywhere else. When purchasing anything over $30, we always check amazon and ask if we can wait for it. 99% of the time it’s cheaper.
Also, screw Best Buy and their “monster” cables. The real monstrosity is their prices. In the digital world, it either works, or it doesn’t. Premium cables are just a marketing ploy (I design conference room Audio/Video systems for a large tech company, trust me on this).