Just need to understand how Westeners buy things

[halfelite]

Some people buy the hype cause you need it sometimes. Almost every car radio, home theater is ipod ready. controls the ipod through your radio controls displays the track name and lets you use playlists already there. Even hands free now with the sync and other options offer speak to ipod controls. I have not seen that for any other mp3 player.

Now the iphone I never understood the hype on it. the appstore was its only good thing. although os4.0 looks more promising now. I think os4.0 should have been what the iphone originally came with, multitask,tether,mms

[kostya]

For Americans not living in a city, there is almost no chance to buy quality goods online. Large, quality malls are few and far between (and we have a different understanding of the word 'mall' than you do. For the most part, malls are specialty clothing stores and boutiques). I am lucky (or so I am told) to live near one of the biggest malls in the state. We have 2 'electronics' stores in town: Best Buy and Radio Shack. Neither one caries anything other than the most main stream electronics. For mp3 players, that means an iPod touch, an iPod nano, sometimes an iPod classic, a Zune HD, and various smaller, cheaper mp3 players (stuff with less than 8 GB).
I buy most of my electronics online because the selection in stores is minimal and the prices are better online. I only buy in stores if I want to take out an extended warranty on an item (I can sometimes haggle with sales people for a better item or more leniency with what is covered) or for items that I suspect will be prohibitively expensive to return via the mail (such as a monitor due to the weight and need for extra insurance).

[Natheria]

Some people buy the hype cause you need it sometimes. Almost every car radio, home theater is ipod ready. controls the ipod through your radio controls displays the track name and lets you use playlists already there. Even hands free now with the sync and other options offer speak to ipod controls. I have not seen that for any other mp3 player.

Actually they do have that for other mp3 players. It's called an audio jack/USB port for your car. You don't need to have an ipod to listen to your own music in the car and programing playlists into the radio wouldn't be any harder to do for any other mp3 player. I don't want the rest of society shoving something i don't want down my throat when there are perfectly feasible alternatives that work just as well and might even be better (which often times they are).

@Kostya they actually have good electronics selections in cities? What city is that?

[Ixarku]

No. Our malls are usually for clothes.

This pretty much sums it up, at least in my experience.

If I'm buying books, I buy from Amazon or a used book store in my area.  The nearest mall had a Borders in it that I shopped at occasionally, but it closed, and a lot of times it didn’t have what I was looking for, unless it was a new release.

For non-PC electronics or games, I usually buy either online or from a chain store (Best Buy, Walmart, or whatever).  I actually prefer to go to a store and physically see & handle an item, but the in-store selection is usually disappointing, unless I’m going into the store already knowing what I’m going to buy.

For PC parts, I buy from newegg.com.

For music… well, when the RIAA started suing people, I stopped buying CDs, completely.

For anything to do with home repair, I stop at the Home Depot next to the Walmart I usually shop at on the weekends.

So, yeah, the only reason I hit the nearest mall, 12 miles from home, is if I’m bored or if I have a reason to go to Sears or JC Penny.

Actually they do have that for other mp3 players. It's called an audio jack/USB port for your car. You don't need to have an ipod to listen to your own music in the car

Ditto to this.  I love my Zune, and my new car has an audio jack that I can plug it right into.

[blubart]

i always have to laugh when i see an "asian" write about "westerners" implying us citizens while those would actually be "easterners" geographically wise. the those terms only really work for europeans

to stay ontopic: you will notice that the answer to your topic is as diverse as the answer to a topic like "Just need to understand how Easteners buy things". They are all different people living in diverse circumstances which lead to varying shopping habits.

[kostya]

Some people buy the hype cause you need it sometimes. Almost every car radio, home theater is ipod ready. controls the ipod through your radio controls displays the track name and lets you use playlists already there. Even hands free now with the sync and other options offer speak to ipod controls. I have not seen that for any other mp3 player.

@Kostya they actually have good electronics selections in cities? What city is that?

Relatively speaking, of course. When I was looking for a new notebook, the nearest retailer that stocked Lenovo was in Boston. Also, I was not commenting on cities having good selection, I was commenting on the fact that there are not many large, suburban malls in the area so it is a half an hour to an hour drive to the nearest one for most people.

[kurandoinu]

Do Americans not have things like Argos then? They stock a whole host of things, but its all kept in a warehouse above/below the shop and you pick out of catalogues. Places like Tesco and Wilkinsons offer extra choices that you can order in as well.

[ant900]

Do Americans not have things like Argos then? They stock a whole host of things, but its all kept in a warehouse above/below the shop and you pick out of catalogues. Places like Tesco and Wilkinsons offer extra choices that you can order in as well.

I've never heard of a store like that state side.  Closest thing would be ordering stuff via catalogs delivered to your homes (which has been pretty much erased by the internet) or "warehouse stores" such as Costco or Sam's Club (gigantic warehouses where people go to buy stuff (mostly food) in bulk.)

[Proin Drakenzol]

@blubart: Actually, having been to a fair number of Asian countries I can honestly say that the OPs description of "malls" (except for a few high-end Western style ones) in Asia obtains for every country I've been to except Japan, which has a significantly more Western style.

[Ixarku]

Do Americans not have things like Argos then? They stock a whole host of things, but its all kept in a warehouse above/below the shop and you pick out of catalogues. Places like Tesco and Wilkinsons offer extra choices that you can order in as well.

Heh, my only experience like this was with a local gaming store here.  Most of the floor space is devoted to tables for people to play their favorite games (M:TG, DnD or whatever), and on the countertops are 3 or 4 PCs with IE up displaying the store's website.  There's no flipping through the books or browsing the merch while you're in the store -- if you want something, you find it in the store catalog, order it via the website, pay for it at the register, and the clerk / owner goes and digs it out from the warehouse.  So basically 100% of the sales go through the website.  (The store also sells snacks and drinks, too -- I imagine they've got quite a racket going with the gamer crowd.)

[sdedalus83]

Yes we have some stores which have integrated warehouses and a rather large selection.  Tiger direct and frys come to mind.  Due the the sparse population, though, those stores can easily be hundreds of miles away.  They also are rarely present within major cities due to the high cost of operation.  They do high volume, but most people are much better off with online shopping.

[blubart]

@blubart: Actually, having been to a fair number of Asian countries I can honestly say that the OPs description of "malls" (except for a few high-end Western style ones) in Asia obtains for every country I've been to except Japan, which has a significantly more Western style.

which still doesn't change the fact that if you ask a guy living in shanghai and a guy living on a little island in the philippines you will get vastly different answers. just because the shops in the bigger cities look roughly the same doesn't mean they are equally used by everyone.

[bcr123]

Tiger direct and frys come to mind.  Due the the sparse population, though, those stores can easily be hundreds of miles away.  They also are rarely present within major cities due to the high cost of operation.  They do high volume, but most people are much better off with online shopping.

^^ this

The nearest Fry's is a 120 mile round trip from where I live, the "mall" in this town has very little to offer in terms of electronics.  Shipping is cheaper than gas.

[Proin Drakenzol]

Tiger direct and frys come to mind.  Due the the sparse population, though, those stores can easily be hundreds of miles away.  They also are rarely present within major cities due to the high cost of operation.  They do high volume, but most people are much better off with online shopping.

^^ this

The nearest Fry's is a 120 mile round trip from where I live, the "mall" in this town has very little to offer in terms of electronics.  Shipping is cheaper than gas.

I used to work at a Fry's Electronics before I joined the Navy. It was pretty cool, our "employee discount" was that we only paid 10% above wholesale (which meant no discount on some things and over a hundred dollars on others).

[kostya]

Yes we have some stores which have integrated warehouses and a rather large selection.  Tiger direct and frys come to mind.  Due the the sparse population, though, those stores can easily be hundreds of miles away.  They also are rarely present within major cities due to the high cost of operation.  They do high volume, but most people are much better off with online shopping.

Both of those stores are somewhat regional. I have neither in my region of the country.

[halfelite]

Some people buy the hype cause you need it sometimes. Almost every car radio, home theater is ipod ready. controls the ipod through your radio controls displays the track name and lets you use playlists already there. Even hands free now with the sync and other options offer speak to ipod controls. I have not seen that for any other mp3 player.

Actually they do have that for other mp3 players. It's called an audio jack/USB port for your car. You don't need to have an ipod to listen to your own music in the car and programing playlists into the radio wouldn't be any harder to do for any other mp3 player. I don't want the rest of society shoving something i don't want down my throat when there are perfectly feasible alternatives that work just as well and might even be better (which often times they are).

@Kostya they actually have good electronics selections in cities? What city is that?

using an audiojack is old, it defeats the purpose of going hands free. might as well use the old tapedeck to headphone jack, ipod is the only mp3 player i know that totally links in with a system. as in for like the ford sync or the pioneer line of radios. you click a button on the streering wheel and say play artist so so, play track whatever. the radio shows the track you are playing and the artist even displays the album cover. not having to reach for your mp3 player to change songs.

I mean full integration not you can play music over the speakers by some 3.5mm jack. the usb can charge any mp3 player. but only has built in controls for ipods. so mos people charge any mp3 player with the usb port and use the aux port for hooking it up. but you still have to control it from the mp3 player.

[Ixarku]

I used to work at a Fry's Electronics before I joined the Navy. It was pretty cool, our "employee discount" was that we only paid 10% above wholesale (which meant no discount on some things and over a hundred dollars on others).

Not that anyone cares, but coincidentally, Fry's (technically, F.E.B., who handles Fry's financing) was a client of the company I work for.  I tested a few projects for them, maybe 4 years ago, though I don't remember much about their code these days.

[NaRu]

I live in the united states and I shop online ONLY. Its cheaper, shipping is normally free for me, and dont get charge with tax (unless the store is located in Conn). I normally have 3 to 5 packages a months at my house since my whole family shops online

[Natheria]

using an audiojack is old, it defeats the purpose of going hands free. might as well use the old tapedeck to headphone jack, ipod is the only mp3 player i know that totally links in with a system. as in for like the ford sync or the pioneer line of radios. you click a button on the streering wheel and say play artist so so, play track whatever. the radio shows the track you are playing and the artist even displays the album cover. not having to reach for your mp3 player to change songs.

I mean full integration not you can play music over the speakers by some 3.5mm jack. the usb can charge any mp3 player. but only has built in controls for ipods. so mos people charge any mp3 player with the usb port and use the aux port for hooking it up. but you still have to control it from the mp3 player.

Actually the newer cars have been able to use the USB ports for other mp3 storage devices for a while now, not just ipods...

And i wouldn't be so quick to label using an audiojack for mp3 players as old.

[halfelite]

using an audiojack is old, it defeats the purpose of going hands free. might as well use the old tapedeck to headphone jack, ipod is the only mp3 player i know that totally links in with a system. as in for like the ford sync or the pioneer line of radios. you click a button on the streering wheel and say play artist so so, play track whatever. the radio shows the track you are playing and the artist even displays the album cover. not having to reach for your mp3 player to change songs.

I mean full integration not you can play music over the speakers by some 3.5mm jack. the usb can charge any mp3 player. but only has built in controls for ipods. so mos people charge any mp3 player with the usb port and use the aux port for hooking it up. but you still have to control it from the mp3 player.

Actually the newer cars have been able to use the USB ports for other mp3 storage devices for a while now, not just ipods...

And i wouldn't be so quick to label using an audiojack for mp3 players as old.

Which ones. I know there are a few that can use them as a mass storage device. but still dont get the voice control i dont think.