Sources: Best Buy to sell Apple's iPhone 3G nationwide
Best Buy Co., Inc. is expected to announce as early as Wednesday plans to begin selling the iPhone 3G next month, making it the first independent U.S. reseller to offer the the coveted touchscreen handset outside of Apple and AT&T.
People familiar with the matter say the electronics retailer has reached an agreement with Cupertino-based Apple that will see the iPhone sold at 970 Best Buy stores in addition to 16 Best Buy Mobile specialty outlets beginning September 7th.
Best Buy already offers Apple's complete line of iPod digital music players at all its stores and recently expanded sales of the company's Mac computer line to more than 600 of its larger footprint locations.
Word of the move comes just one week after Best Buy announced that it has completed upgrading its Best Buy Mobile departments inside each of the company's U.S.-based stores -- a factor which may have been instrumental to the iPhone deal.
Every facility now has a dedicated cellphone section with similarly committed staff who are trained 80 hours each to help customers buy mobile devices. Â*The focus and reach of the program may have swayed Apple, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Â*Before, at least some of these phone sales would have been handled by more superficially knowledgeable floor workers.
The program is already credited by Best Buy as having sparked interest in premium, media-savvy devices like the Samsung Instinct, which is one of iPhone 3G's most direct rivals and is only available through Best Buy and Sprint. Â*Sales of this class of device have grown tenfold year over year at each store that has a Best Buy Mobile presence, according to the retailer.
Appropriately, Carphone Warehouse -- which itself is the exclusive third-party reseller for iPhones in the UK -- has been coordinating the rollout of Best Buy Mobile ever since the effort began in 2006.
Best Buy is known to have been angling for its share of iPhone sales a full year ago with the initial goal of carrying the touchscreen device itself by that fall, capitalizing on a surge in holiday demand. Those people knowledgeable of the earlier plans now tell AppleInsider that the store chain was set aside by Apple after rampant unlocking became a concern, even with purchases from Apple's own stores.
The rejuvenated expansion plans could be essential for Apple, which has seen long lineups at U.S. stores ever since iPhone 3G first went on sale. Best Buy's existence as a third source will expand the number of distribution points just as the holiday shopping season begins and demand increases, potentially giving customers more places to buy the phone while dodging lengthy queues that would otherwise get worse without more points of sale.
Representatives for Best Buy did not return calls requesting comment by press time.
People familiar with the matter say the electronics retailer has reached an agreement with Cupertino-based Apple that will see the iPhone sold at 970 Best Buy stores in addition to 16 Best Buy Mobile specialty outlets beginning September 7th.
Best Buy already offers Apple's complete line of iPod digital music players at all its stores and recently expanded sales of the company's Mac computer line to more than 600 of its larger footprint locations.
Word of the move comes just one week after Best Buy announced that it has completed upgrading its Best Buy Mobile departments inside each of the company's U.S.-based stores -- a factor which may have been instrumental to the iPhone deal.
Every facility now has a dedicated cellphone section with similarly committed staff who are trained 80 hours each to help customers buy mobile devices. Â*The focus and reach of the program may have swayed Apple, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Â*Before, at least some of these phone sales would have been handled by more superficially knowledgeable floor workers.
The program is already credited by Best Buy as having sparked interest in premium, media-savvy devices like the Samsung Instinct, which is one of iPhone 3G's most direct rivals and is only available through Best Buy and Sprint. Â*Sales of this class of device have grown tenfold year over year at each store that has a Best Buy Mobile presence, according to the retailer.
Appropriately, Carphone Warehouse -- which itself is the exclusive third-party reseller for iPhones in the UK -- has been coordinating the rollout of Best Buy Mobile ever since the effort began in 2006.
Best Buy is known to have been angling for its share of iPhone sales a full year ago with the initial goal of carrying the touchscreen device itself by that fall, capitalizing on a surge in holiday demand. Those people knowledgeable of the earlier plans now tell AppleInsider that the store chain was set aside by Apple after rampant unlocking became a concern, even with purchases from Apple's own stores.
The rejuvenated expansion plans could be essential for Apple, which has seen long lineups at U.S. stores ever since iPhone 3G first went on sale. Best Buy's existence as a third source will expand the number of distribution points just as the holiday shopping season begins and demand increases, potentially giving customers more places to buy the phone while dodging lengthy queues that would otherwise get worse without more points of sale.
Representatives for Best Buy did not return calls requesting comment by press time.
Comments
*Before, at least some of these phone sales would have been handled by more superficially knowledgeable floor workers.
That's one way to put it. Fucking clueless retards would probably be more accurate, but I understand the need to be PC.
That's one way to put it. Fucking clueless retards would probably be more accurate, but I understand the need to be PC.
Ya think!
Last Christmas I couldn't help myself, and I ended up helping sell a young yuppie couple on both an iMac and Macbook Pro. The supposed BestBuy "Apple" person was telling them it might be difficult to be compatible with Windows.
I walked out to my car, brought back my MBP 17 with VMware Fusion running XP Pro SP3 (sorry, folks, but is a requirement for work) and fired it up in the store. I had a crowd around the Apple display until some dork of a clueless "manager" told me to pack up and leave.
Unbelievable! I just sold two systems for this clown and his associate! WTF?
Maybe the estimated 5 year agreement between Apple and at&t is not actually 5 years.... this could be a good sign.
AT&T has said it has the iPhone until 2010. The contract was renegotiated so presumably they had it until 2009 under the old contract.
Ya think!
Last Christmas I couldn't help myself, and I ended up helping sell a young yuppie couple on both an iMac and Macbook Pro. The supposed BestBuy "Apple" person was telling them it might be difficult to be compatible with Windows.
I walked out to my car, brought back my MBP 17 with VMware Fusion running XP Pro SP3 (sorry, folks, but is a requirement for work) and fired it up in the store. I had a crowd around the Apple display until some dork of a clueless "manager" told me to pack up and leave.
Unbelievable! I just sold two systems for this clown and his associate! WTF?
Because they are told to push the PCs. Or are a PC user that just got assigned there for the day. I frequently go into the bust Buy and listen to the junk they tell people to get them to go look at PCs instead. Have been told to leave for interfering with them before. ( Correcting them on the junk they were spewing out)
I purchased a expensive Kitchen Aid oven from them months ago. It is still missing a part. Geek Squad hold time frequently is about an hour to schedule a service call. That's when they are calling you to say the part is in. You don't get a time window until the morning of the service. They then forget to bring the part they ordered on the previous two visits, but there are 21 in stock. Apparently, everyone is a supervisor, but no one takes responsibility. They only have first names and they are at places all over the country. They never express an apology because that's just how business is done! I have tried to have the part mailed to me to put it on myself-just two screws, I can handle it. This isn't Apple customer service reputation.
That's one way to put it. Fucking clueless retards would probably be more accurate, but I understand the need to be PC.
They can't be as bad as Staples. I went to get a bluetooth mouse to replace my ailing mighty one. I asked a sales guy if they had any (why waste time looking at each and every box when they have capable staff, right?) 'Sure, let's see' was his reply and I then stood next to him as he began reading the schpiel at back of each box, one at the time!
But I always wonder about the effectiveness of having Apple products at Best Buy. There is a wall of LCD's all lit up with the Windows logo. There is at least one full isle of Windows machines and one with Windows Laptops. The Apple stand looks kind of measly. An Apple Store on the other hand gives you the impression that Apple is everywhere and in plentiful supply. People even stop outside just to gaze inside. But if BestBuy sell Macs... I guess its OK.
I can only imagine the damage done to your brand-new iPhone by the Best Buy monkeys when they pull it out of the box and plug it into some virus-infested floor model PC while attempting to 'install AT&T' on it...
Will this likely continue the silly requirement for in-store activation, or has AT&T finally figured out that pirates outside the US now have lower-hanging fruits available elsewhere?
Also, I wonder if people will be able to make a purchase with a Best Buy gift card. If so, expect a lot of iPhone 3G sales after Christmas.
Maybe the estimated 5 year agreement between Apple and at&t is not actually 5 years.... this could be a good sign.
It would actually be beneficial to AT&T to have more phones sold regardless of outlet. As long as they're still the only cell phone provider, it just means more activations and more $ for them.
This would be a huge benefit to Apple. This deal would cause iPhone sales to spike and would be a strategic move ahead of the holiday season.
It also explains the stock climb the last couple days. I wish I was an insider trader, obviously there are plenty of them out there.
Maybe the estimated 5 year agreement between Apple and at&t is not actually 5 years.... this could be a good sign.
What does Bestbuy have todo with the Apple / AT& agreement? Bestbuy sells phones, AT&T sells service....
What does Bestbuy have todo with the Apple / AT& agreement? Bestbuy sells phones, AT&T sells service....
I agree. Carrier exclusivity isn't the same as chain exclusivity.
Will this likely continue the silly requirement for in-store activation, or has AT&T finally figured out that pirates outside the US now have lower-hanging fruits available elsewhere?
I can only imagine the damage done to your brand-new iPhone by the Best Buy monkeys when they pull it out of the box and plug it into some virus-infested floor model PC while attempting to 'install AT&T' on it...
Sorry to burst your bubble, but it looks like you still have to deal with in-store activation...
"Last week, Best Buy announced it had completed a two-year conversion of its stores to include upgraded cell-phone departments under the Best Buy Mobile brand. It has upgraded its computer systems to handle cell-phone activation and spent 250,000 hours training its employees."
Let's hope those employees that had 250,000 hours of training, didn't need 250,001 hours...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080812/tec_b...hone.html?.v=2
The rejuvenated expansion plans could be essential for Apple, which has seen long lineups at U.S. stores ever since iPhone 3G first went on sale. Best Buy's existence as a third source will expand the number of distribution points just as the holiday shopping season begins and demand increases, potentially giving customers more places to buy the phone while dodging lengthy queues that would otherwise get worse without more points of sale.
So the long lines are because there just arn't that many places to buy the iPhone?
I thought it was short supply.
This is funny. Just a few days ago a Best (sic) Buy employee told me how bad the iPhone was and how I had wasted my money on crap. As someone commented at least in the AT&T Stores and Apple Stores the people selling the iPhone were knowledgeable. Well best buys staff sucks and they are likely to do a bad job of selling the iPhone.
You should see them try to sell an AppleTV- what a frk'n mess!