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BMaker11 on 27 January 2014
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J_Allard said:
BMaker11 said:

uhhh....I said "begging" because of the sign on the door. Businesses put those signs on their doors when they have too much stock and want customers to alleviate some of that stock. Despite what someone else said in this thread, they don't put it on the door for sellout items that get bought pretty much as soon as they sell, otherwise they'd be putting the sign up and taking it down everyday (which is misleading since you don't say "we have X" when you only have enough to last like an hour, for example). Clearly this Best Buy was wanting people to clear the pile that's just building up (unless you think they got a shipment of 64 units all at once). "Begging" may be a word that you guys don't like, but it's technically what's going on.

Plus, what kind of gripe is "you added commentary"? Was I just supposed to post the pics, then say nothing? I gave context, which is something you should want for a post of this nature. I wouldn't have said they're "begging" if that sign wasn't there, I would have just said "there's a lot of stock at my Best Buy". You make it seem like something like that is normal. Why don't WalMarts go ahead and post "we have Froot Loops" outside, even though people haven't been questioning about it and there's an overabundance of Froot Loops in the cereal aisle? You guys are too sensitive.

Aren't you the same guy who once tried to imply that MS and Sony each have detailed daily up to the minute information on how many units are out there in each store and should alert people accordingly? Yeah, you didn't really understand how retailed worked then and you don't here either. You put signs up for product that will sell and that you have in stock. If people weren't buying the consoles, there's no reason to put the sign up. Making people aware that you have ample supply of something that isn't selling for you, is not smart business. I think someone else pointed this out earlier, this Best Buy is run by someone who doesn't know how to manage retail very well. You slap a ton of product out in the open like that and it makes people think they don't need to buy it right then and you have plenty in stock.

When I worked retail I had a rule that any time a customer called for a high price electronic item we told them we only had 2 or 3 left. That makes the customer think they better hurry and get it. You tell them you have 10 or 11, they wait and probably change their mind. What does a customer think when he sees a big stack of a $500 console? He thinks there's no rush. You leave that sign up and only have 1 or 2 on the floor, another story entirely.

When MS was saying the XBone was sold out when it wasn't, and pics like mine were everywhere on the internet, and there are stock trackers all over the internet saying which retailers have what in stock that testify about those pics, yet MS still told everyone that they were sold out at retailers: yea, I was that guy.

You are completely wrong, though. If you "put signs up for product that will sell and that you have in stock" there'd be a PS4 sign as well, considering they had them when I went there and they obviously didn't only get a shipment of 3 (and there'd be signs for all the electronics that sell well and they have in stock). You make people aware of an alternative when you have plenty of it and are sold out of the first option. "Hey guys, we know this one product is selling, but we do have this completely viable alternative on our shelves". If my WalMart is sold out of Sprite, I'm gonna buy a Sierra Mist, for example. And like I explained before, video game consoles are not commodities. If I want an XBone right now, I'm not gonna go into the store, see there's a bunch of stock and think "welp, guess I don't want it anymore. I can get it later" just like I wouldn't go "I'm not gonna get Sprite right now since I can get it later". That's just damage control to say that people seeing the product means people don't want the product right now. You don't walk into a store with $500, see the product that you want, and then not buy it....because you have the opportunity to buy it. Video games are not "need" items. They are "want" items. And nobody postpones a "want" item when they have the means to get it. If I want to play an XBone right now, I'd get it, not wait until there's 2 left and say "oh, there's not many left, I should go get it". That kind of tactic only works for impulse buyers with money to blow, not people that walk into the store knowing they wanted an XBone. 

Look at how many times an Amazon thread for PS4 came up here. With 1000+ in stock. Was anyone saying "hey, there's over 1000 in stock. Guess I don't need to buy this right now"? No, it sold out in a few hours.