Best Buy IdeaX

[#1]

There is no way to compare ear bud sound quality side by side without buying them first.  The reviews are not all that helpful, sound quality can be more of a personal preference.  Also, I think customers would spend more on ear buds if they knew the sound was significantly better.  There is nothing worse than spending $100 on a ear buds to find out that they sound terrible.  I'm not sure how you could set up a demo area like the over/on the ear demo space, but if you could, it'd be a huge competitive advantage.

[#2]

Do you REALLY want to try out earbuds that other people have had in their ears?  It's a huge health/hygiene concern.  I can't see a way of being able to do something like this besides having tip replacements/covers which would be too costly and/or impede sound quality. 

[#3]

I agree and the retailer that figures out how to do it will have a significant competitive advantage.  I know it's difficult and may be costly,...how much should be invested by a retailer to upgrade someone from a $20 pair of ear buds to Bose or Beats or Shure,...etc?      

[#4]

I'd wager that there aren't near enough people that would be willing to make that upgrade to offset the overall costs in a timely manner.  If the vendors/manufacturers were willing to take the hit and cover all costs, then you'd see it.  It's like trying to get that customer to stop looking at the price on a Vizio TV and upgrading to the much better quality of a Sony or Samsung.  Generally, you can find an associate in each store that has tried every pair of earbuds to give a good comparison.

I think it'd be a good idea so I'll give it a vote, but I just don't see it as being cost-effective enough for the company to implement.

[#5]

I agree that would be a health issue (especially right now... ) 

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head would be I know I have seen in some BestBuy stores the "why some hdmi cables are better than others"  little tv/movie thing. Why can't there be a tv/movie thing that shows "why the $100 is is better" 

[#6]

this idea borders on  is gross and disgusting.  Ear holes a dirty.  

Possibly a managable solution to this would be to have a third party assemble a pack of fake ear buds with different styles.  Best Buy could sell them for $5 a pack.  You could take them home and try them out. 

I do agree that you don't know how an ear bud is going to feel until you try it.  I personally really like the style of the ear buds that are more like an ear plug 

[#7]

Yes, due to health concerns we will never have earbuds that can be tried out prior to purchase.

[#8]

You can buy them and bring them to your car, try them out then return them if you don’t like them. Once returned do they sanitize them? If they do why can’t they just do it on the spot? I buy and return ear buds through amazon and it’s really frustrating when it takes 3 to 4 returns