I work at Best buy, gonna ask yall for advice

So, the way best buy works, we try to find what camera people need by there lifestyle, not just the most expensive or best thing out there, because it's not right for everyone.. I want to see what you guys think about my recommendations (also, these are just top recommendations, if it doesn't meet their lifestyle, I don't only recommend these)

Easy Camera- Generally Kodak, sometimes HP, rarely others

P&S $100-$199 - Sony W55, if girl sometimes Fuji Z5

P&S $200-$299- - Canon SD1000, Panasonic FX07, Canon a570IS, and a top pick is the W80 by Sony

P&S $300-$400 - Prolly top pick is SD800IS (no longer carry 700), Sony T100, for teenagers i recommend SD750, Sony N2

SLR-Like $300-$500 - Sony H9 (top pick) Canon S3 IS (Top Pick), don't like the SP550 To much, or any olympus's at that ( I do like what you can do with 770SW, great great camera for adventurers, outdoorsman, and when the enviroment is harsh)

SLR - All of them pretty much, I sell just as much of one as I do the other depending on their lifestyle, the only one I have a hard time recommending is the Olympus E-500, I really don't like this camera.

Here are list of cameras we have so you can criticize and tell me if they shouldn't be top pick for me

$0- $199 Cameras

Kodak C653
Fuji A610
HP R537
Fuji A825
Kodak C743
Kodak C763
Nikon L11
Nikon L12
Olympus FE-230
Olympus FE-210
Panasonic LZ7
Sony S650

$200-$299 Cameras

Canon SD100
A570
A560
Casio S770
Z75
Fuji Z5
HP 837
r967
Kodak Z712
Nikon S50
Olympus fe760
Panasonic FX07
Sony W80

cameras $300-$500

canon SD750
Canon SD800
Canon S3 IS
Sony N2
Sony T100
Sony H9
Olympus SP550us
Casio V7

SLR's

Canon
XT
XTI
30D
5D
Nikon
D200
D40
D40X
D80
Olympus
E-500
Panasonic
L1
Sony
A100

That's just off top of my head, can't think of other ones.. But, this is after years of reviews, customer feedback, and personal experience. I would love criticism if anyone has any, thanks

-Brad

In this forum, any salesperson at Best Buy, Circuit City, Ritz camera, you name the big box strore is an idiot.
Name of the game, anybody posting here knows better than you!

Seems to me from your post that you really know what you are selling and you try to match what you have to what the customer wants.

Nice to hear someone who cares, not eveyone has the time or interest to research digital cameras here.

First of all, you are not an idiot. What an incredibly rude thing to start a post with. Everyone's questions and viewpoints are welcome here. Frankly, I think it is awesome you are looking for advice to better serve your customers. I generally have a low opinion of Best Buy simply because I have 3 small children typically in tow and most of the time, no one wants to come up to me to offer assistance. You however show me that at least someone there cares. Bonus points to you.

You seem to have on a whole some good recommendations based on the selection list. I doubt if you can alter that list any, but if so... you might want to consider having the Fuji F30/F31 added to your inventory. It is an awesome P&S and always gets top ratings here, especially for low-light. Great for those lifestyles that enjoy taking pictures of events such as birthday parties or even clubs.

Hope that helps. Keep posting.

--
Christopher Bailey
Grimstone Inc.
http://www.grimstone-inc.com

Brad,

I was supprised at a few omissions in the list. Of course you are going according to sales stats but
the Fuji F30 and F31
The Canon G7

(Also Canon EOS-1D Mark III and MarkII of course these are way expensive to sell at Best Buy.)
Fuji S3 and S5
Sigma SD14 and SD10
Sony DSC-H9

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-R1(the only aps size sensor in a non-DLR= very low noise and good IQ)

In terms of DSLRs, excessories are also important such as sensor cleaner pads and solution would be good to have available. a decent lense for each type of camera mount.
Will

I have had mixed experiences at BBY and other big boxes. There have been some good sales clerks but mostly those trying hard to sell me an extended waranty on a throw away item.

As far as choices, I know BBY does not sell some of the better cameras in some categories. I would highly recommend the F20 and F30 but have not seen these in BBY stores. Pentax DSLR's are also missing. If you get the chance, go to a store that carries them and compare the K10D to an Alpha, XTi and D80.

Just wondering, what do you think of this:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1018&message=23117635

Futureshop is a subsidiary of Best Buy in Canada. That camera literally flew off the shelves. Sale is still on today, but they have nothing to sell.

Wow that was a very negative reply. The guy was just asking for advice.

Honest question from right person.

Display in your stores in my town are very generous, and I appreciate unlimited comfort in handling the cameras without any sales pressure. The problem is that you, and your local chain-store competitors never have enough models on display, to satisfy expectations of the people gathering unlimited information from the web.
You'll be always a looser that way.

I would love to have a local showroom selling mail order sellers, full of cameras to handle, maybe even rent them for a day, or two, with vendor designated advisors, and kiosks to fill the order quickly. I believe, from your point of view it would a perpetuum mobile always fueled by vendors, and mail order retailers.
Your floors seem to crave for such concepts...

Yves . . .

I'll bet where you work all of your coworkers think you are one as well!

Your blanket statement about 'all sales employees are idiots' shows just how much of a self-centered @$$ that you really are!

Must be nice to be 'The King Of Nothing'.

--
J. M. Daniels
Denver, Colorado
Panasonic FZ10, FZ50 & Fuji S602Z owner & operator



Remember . . . always keep the box and everything that came in it!

I have just overheard this last Monday in a chain store and I must not disclose the name of it...

Customer (around 50, who has never used a digicam before but has experience with film SLRs): I cannot seem to change the ISO on this model (a Fujifilm).

Associate: (tried for a few minutes, the customer was getting impatient and so was I because I was going to ask him a question) ummm...I don't think you can change it...

Customer: it is ok, thank you.

I believe cameras salesman should be intimate with those cameras...shouldn't the company test them periodically how proficiency they are at their job?

I have talked to many salesman/girl who do not know much about the cameras they are selling but I have failed to realise that they may not have every camera manual pre-loaded in their brains...I believe one salesman/girl can only sell one brand of camera and he or she can be more knowledgable at that particular brand...

...maybe I should ask every question in here and download the manual somewhere else before ever trying out the physical feel of the camera in a store...

--

UMAX AstraCam (Urgh!), Nikon 21OO (Mediocre), 54OO (Better), 84OO (Even better), Canon A51O (Expendable), Sony Ericsson P91Oi (O.3MP, for Pete's sake!), Panasonic FZ2OK (Sharp & Noisy), Fujifilm F7OO (...), F2O (Eye-Popping!), D4O (Love-Love Relationship).

--
http://photo.pidcock.co.uk/ - Photography information
http://www.pidcock.co.uk/photos - My photographs

Yves said:

In this forum, any salesperson at Best Buy, Circuit City, Ritz
camera, you name the big box strore is an idiot.

Click to expand...

I am in this forum and dont agree with you. In fact i think people that dont respect others and have bad opinions of people without even knowing who they are are the real prats!

slicedbread411 said:

Here are list of cameras we have so you can criticize and tell me
if they shouldn't be top pick for me

Click to expand...

Lots of fine cameras missing, the whole Fuji range (F, S6K, S9K) & some DSLRs - I think you should refer people to DPreview to decide on their own and then come back into your store and buy. You will be less guilty about their choice. Your personal preferences are wrong to me but we are all biased and could be either of us is wrong. Just sell what one is ready to pay for.

There are other reasons to sell cameras than price, which is how your list seems to be set up.

I sell cameras in a camera store, and while I am not completely 'intimate' with every single camera we sell, I do try to become familiar with the good and bad of each so that I can show people what fits their needs.

--
J. M. Daniels
Denver, Colorado
Panasonic FZ10, FZ50 & Fuji S602Z owner & operator



Remember . . . always keep the box and everything that came in it!

I'm also curious about two things . . .

1) You left the Panasonic FZ8 out of your $300-$500 list . . . how come?

2) Just curious why you don't like the Olympus E-500, considering it is probably the best buy for the buck right now in DSLR's!

As a personal note:

While I have my own likes and dislikes with most cameras, I usually check this at the door as what I like or don't like in a camera could be just the opposite of what the customer's likes or dislikes are.

If they ask me . . . I'll tell them . . . otherwise, I keep my feelings to myself.

--
J. M. Daniels
Denver, Colorado
Panasonic FZ10, FZ50 & Fuji S602Z owner & operator
Remember . . . always keep the box and everything that came in it!

Hey slicedbread411.....

A few points I'd like to make:

You seem to make the assumption (like many arrogant Americans) that the world ceases to exist outside your borders, and that many, many members of this forum won't even know who "Best Buy" are, where they are, and in fact live tens of thousands of km distant.

Secondly, why should you have any legitimate expectations, as a commercial retailer, of coming into a PRIVATE forum such as this and expecting to carry out what amounts to nothing more than market research, purely for your own financial gain?

Shouldn't YOU, as an allegedly experienced camera salesman, be advising US as to which camera to buy to suit our needs and budgets — other than the other way around?

Please go away and check out the many photographic industry and marketing magazines out there. Don't expect us to do your footwork for you!

Slicebread...

It seems you made many bad assumptions...

First, it seems you assumed everyone here is friendly and willing to give advice about their passion... cameras. This is truly not so, expect bashing for your ignorance on human nature.

Second, like many Americans you assume that everyone does not know everything and felt the need to explain who you are with. While there may clearly be some people who have never been to a Best Buy or heard of one... all people outside our borders already have a full understanding of your company and its goals. What were you thinking?!

Third, asking advice to better serve your customers. You should be shot. Shame on you. We all appreciate being ignored, harassed, and belittled. The nerve...

Well here is your free lunch... caring takes very little time and people remember it in the service industry. People also remember those that don't care. While Best Buy sells products, you can find those same products almost anywhere. You sell service and convenience. It is great that you are taking the time to better help your customers.

--
Christopher Bailey
Grimstone Inc.
http://www.grimstone-inc.com

Will you ask a policeman about principles of Roman Law just because he has something to do with law?

It is the same with a clerk in a chain, or discount store. Some day I asked a car dealer how many cyllinders has a Subaru Baja on his parking lot. He proudly said, that he was discharged from the army logistics unit, and he has no knowledge of that overseas junk.

it floors me how poorly people read for content, and especially here on these forums. and these people vote! scary.

so that list is what he probbaly makes his spiff on
--
beam me up scotty

im giving it all shes got captain