Consumerist.com is reporting that Circuit City may be announcing at 8 AM tomorrow morning that it’ll be closing 155 of its stores. This is still a rumor, so take it with a grain of salt, but it wouldn’t be surprising in lieu of the company’s recent financial woes. There was an article in the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago saying that Circuit City was “considering a plan to close… → Read More
Ho… lee… crap. Best Buy is running a contest for Black Friday. One winner in each of 25 select markets gets a $1,000 gift card, a ride to Best Buy in a limo, early access to the store (that’s at 4:30 AM, mind you), and a bunch of other stuff. Sheesh. So how do you win? You submit a 250-word story on AskABlueShirt.net about what you do “to make the day after Thanksgiving a particularly fun… → Read More
According to BGR, Wal-Mart may be carrying the iPhone 3G starting on November 15th. Also noteworthy is that it doesn’t look like the iPhone will be sold at Radio Shack, as previously rumored. Now, I’ve never purchased a cell phone from Wal-Mart before but here’s to hoping the activation process will be relatively hassle free, as I don’t remember ever seeing anybody in the… → Read More
Whoa, look at me! I just got an e-mail from Best Buy telling me that I’m now part of the company’s “most elite membership level – Premier Black.” That’s probably just fancy-talk for saying that I’ve spent most of my earned income over the past 15 or so years at their stores. Aside from bonus points and whatnot, the kicker to this program appears to be a concierge service which, as a… → Read More
Since the launch of Apple’s super-popular iPhone, competing handset manufacturers have been scrambling to produce phones that at least somewhat replicate Cupertino’s device. So it should stand to reason that the look and feel of Apple’s stores, which are quite popular with shoppers, might begin to appear in competing retailers’ stores. Case in point, it’s being reported that Radio Shack… → Read More
Previously declared the leading next-generation console worldwide, the Nintendo Wii has now surpassed the Xbox 360 to become the leading next-generation console in the U.S. Last month, Nintendo sold over 666,000 Wii consoles versus 405,500 PS3s and 219,800 Xbox 360s, according to NPD Group, Inc. Wii games are also selling well, as NPD says that six of the ten top selling games last month were Wii… → Read More
California Best Buy stores are offering $9.99 Bluetooth pairing for those too fried on cocaine and hearty Cabernet to be bothered with connecting their new iPhones to the Bluetooth. Our take? Give us a call. One of us will walk you through pairing your headset for a mere $7.99. Nicholas can do it in Portuguese, Doug and do it in a hearty Boston Southie accent, and I can do it in High School… → Read More
Apparently plenty of Best Buy shoppers like Sprint’s Samsung Instinct. In a recent press release, Best Buy said that since its June 19th launch, the Instinct has become “the retailer’s best selling handset in the past two years.” Best Buy has also been pushing a service called “Walk Out Working,” which basically entails having your phone set up for you before you leave the store… → Read More
Borders is back online after a long hiatus, and its looking to take on Amazon for the online book buying marketplace. But its got an uphill battle, with retail giant Amazon firmly in first place. Besides being huge, Amazon has features Borders can’t match, such as the Kindle eBook reader and in-book online searching. But Borders isn’t counting on high-tech to challenge Amazon… → Read More
From the hordes of rabid Mac fans to the cheering employees to the famous musicians and professional athletes, here are fifty photos from today’s Apple Store opening.  … → Read More
Looks like Best Buy’s got a pretty massive boner for Carphone Warehouse, as it’s just increased its ownership share from 2.9% to 50%, according to IDG News Service. Best Buy has agreed to invest an additional $2.1 billion in the European retailer, likely by the end of August. Carphone Warehouse will be opening stores here in the states this year and Best Buy is planning to open its… → Read More
Working in retail is hard work, especially in the electronics field, but sometimes your interactions with people on a daily basis lead to new relationships. I worked at a big box retailer for about three years and got many dates out of it, though it wasn’t appropriate at all. The key is, though, to know when it’s OK and when it’s not OK to ask a customer on a date, and how to go… → Read More
[photopress:hagglebbcc.jpg,full,center] The economy isn’t doing so hot and Manchester United seems to be marching toward its second consecutive title. We’re all doomed, in other words. But hey, did you know that you can get $20 off a pair of speakers on Sixth Avenue? The Times has a piece today exploring the issue of haggling in the year 2008. It seems the terrible economy, coupled… → Read More
Now this is interesting ineed. Due apparently to the high demand of the MacBook Air, Apple has put together a special page on its retail website where you can check your local availability without having to call or visit the Apple store. It’s not live now, but it appears as if it will be later tonight. Is Apple actually selling enough Airs to warrant this new service, or is it some secret… → Read More
[photopress:gshd.jpg,full,center] GameStop will stop accepting all HD DVD trade-ins later today. It’ll stop accepting the 360′s HD DVD player for trade-ins, too. Story. This past Christmas I traded in unopened HD DVDs that I had received throughout the year and traded them into Best Buy, getting some store credit in the process. Good thing I did that when I did because with the death… → Read More
There are reports that the MacBook Air was to go on sale at Apple stores across the country today or tomorrow. A quick trip to our local store saw no such MacBooks, and after asking a couple of acting managers when we’d be able to play with them in a retail setting, I was told at least a week. Now, this runs contrary to some rumors floating around, specifically from Boy Genius, who has it on… → Read More
[photopress:i_killed_my_treo.jpg,full,center] In the last three weeks, I’ve been to seven airports. CES, Macworld, and other travels have sent me all over the place. One thing I always check out when I run across them are airport Palm stores. See, I’m a Palm believer. They started the handheld and smartphone revolutions, we owe them a lot. And I think they have a few bright products on… → Read More
I was recently at Fry’s buying, I don’t know, something. They had a stack of hard-to-find Wiis right up front, a great big pallet. I thought about grabbing one, then realized it cost $329. Knowing that the retail price of a Wii is $250, I asked what was up, and an anxious employee told me the Wiis were only available in bundles that included three additional controllers and nunchucks… → Read More
I see you’re buying a scanner. Would you like a USB cable or some salmon? → Read More
Samsung will no longer sell TVs and other similar consumer products in Japan. That seems weird, but it’s true. It’s going to focus solely on business products now, thanks to poor profitability in the retail sector. Last year, Samsung’s retail sales accounted for less than 1% of its total sales in Japan. That’s a lot of noise for a little profit. Samsung Stops Consumer Sales… → Read More
Back in high school, I worked at a Banana Republic part-time. One of the most common problems was running out of a certain article of clothing and having to direct customers to other stores, which in turn lost us business, which in turn meant less hours to work. Dillard’s is looking to change all that though (or at least the whole running out of stock thing) by testing out a new RFID pilot… → Read More
Usually, Target is pretty lax with returning shit. You come back three days later with a slightly used toaster oven, no receipt and they’ll give you a full refund. Not the case however, for one 14-year-old girl who received an iPod as a gift. Purchased at one of the retail giant’s stores, the girl went to open her iPod, only to discover the box was filled with rocks. Yes, rocks, making… → Read More
Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are warring factions, but despite how much I wanted things to be resolved peacefully between the two camps, it’s appearing as if Blu-ray is set to straight-up kill HD-DVD. Not only from Blockbuster’s decision to back Blu-ray as its HD format of the future, but now Target, with its 4,000,000,000 outlets, has opted to sell Blu-ray stand-alone players over HD-DVD for… → Read More
Before you start pinching pennies and buying certified pre-owned Xbox 360s, you might want to take a step back and consider working another two weeks at McDonalds to save up for a new unit. You see, according to a tipster over at Gizmodo, Microsoft is banning Xbox 360 units for life. The problems began when a guy bought a pre-owned 360, only to discover it wouldn’t connect to Xbox Live. → Read More
The next time you cruise by the Sony Style store at your local mall, you may find people waiting in line with PS3s, VAIOs, and Walkmen. Don’t be alarmed, as they’re simply there trying out Sony’s new in-store tech support service. Dubbed “Backstage”, this service will be available in NYC and NJ Sony Style stores and certainly resembles Apple’s Genius Bar setup. → Read More
Never again do I want to hear people complaining that they couldn’t find a summer job. Seems AT&T is so confident that people will show up for the iPhone in droves, it has taken the liberty of hiring an extra 2,000 employees to prepare for the madness. To make sense of how big the iPhone launch is going to be, here are some hot statistics: 1,800 AT&T retail stores exist and will all… → Read More
Though the title is a bit deceiving, it’s also very true. AT&T will be closing down every single one of its retail stores in preparation for the launch of Apple’s iPhone. To stay on track with the target 6pm launch, most stores are said to be closing around 4pm so that employees can get ready, prepare for the rush, and set up adverts in every inch of the store. The close also comes… → Read More
With Apple’s Bluetooth headset for the iPhone only recently getting approved, Apple knows it needs a fancy-pants Bluetooth headset to sell in its stores come the launch of the iPhone. Luckily, Aliph is here to swoop in and save the day with its amazing Jawbone headset. In case you forgot, the Jawbone is an expensive $120 headset that works by resting a sensor on your jawbone for improved… → Read More
Oh noes! Have you been mowing lawns relentlessly, saving up for that $499 iPhone that’s about to come out? Well you better get your camping gear ready if you really want one, ’cause word on the (Wall) street is that AT&T stores will be receiving less than 40 iPhones each. Talk about a shortage. WR Hambrecht & Co. surveyed a ton of AT&T stores and found that iPhones are… → Read More
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