Best Buy IdeaX

[#1]

I'm not sure what Best Buy's strategy is around printers, but I've been to several locations all across town (just to humor myself) and I've found in every location the printer aisle is begging for some attention.  Some stores don't even how power running to all the printers and most stores don't have paper OR ink in any of the printers. Customers come in to Best Buy to test drive devices yet they are not being alloted this opportunity.  I myself, ended up purchasing a printer from a competitor for the same reason because I like to see the quality and print speeds and you obviously cannot do this without ink, paper and/or power.  

[#2]

I have a feeling that the fact that the printers don't have ink in them was intentional. I can only imagine how messy any demo printer would get given the sheer volume of traffic in many of our stores. I would also imagine that it was decided to have our display printers non-functional because of the possibility of inappropriate content being printed with them. These are both guesses on my part. I would like to hear if anyone else would like to see this put into place? Remember to vote for an idea if you like it.

[#3]

@Allan-BBY I could see both of those as good points, but how about a mid-way point.  How about merchandising demo prints some how around the printers?  Maybe a shelf above the printers with demo prints (one letter document, one 4x6 photo for each) just to give customers an idea of the quality they can expect?  

[#4]

@gadgeteer, I like this suggestion. I was made aware that some printers should come pre-loaded with content to print, and our stores should be able to demo this content upon request.

[#5]

I like this idea alot. If you are wroried about the ink stuff as well. I'm sure you could team with some sort of company such as HP or something and get "demo level" ink cartridges. You know how when you buy a printer and the ink level in the current cartridge is pretty low already? It's sort of like that.I'm nto sure about it 100% but I would imagine they would be cost efficient in large bulks.

[#6]

Maybe someone from Best Buy should walk around Office Depot or another retailer that sells printers and see how they do it. I was in a local BB today and intended to buy some ink cartridges for my printer, but it was so disorganized and neglected that I felt like I was in second-hand thrift store and immediately walked away. The few printers on display looked sad and had few details around them, and a couple didn't even list model numbers. Office Depot has each device proudly on display and many have samples of documents nearby to illustrate the print quality. Frankly, I probably pay more for my ink and printers elsewhere, but it's a painful experience trying to shop for them at BB.

And regarding a printer demo, let the sales associates provide a quick demo and print something for customers considering a purchase. They're usually buzzing around the area asking customers if they need assistance anyway.