The consumer has become used to a throw-away mentality. When something breaks or dies unless its mission critical or has a good warranty hey get rid of it and get a new one, usually its better then the old one and cheaper.
Manufactures have catered to this building it into the product structure, the idea that it will die and be replaced. 
Hence, the the birth of wall mart, and other stores like it.

As for Wall-mart competing with the Best Buy,,, Unless they both up their customer service with knowledgeable staff, and revamp the repair model to bring down the turnaround time and bring in more local service centers.
Both will be face with strong compatiation on-line and mom-and- pop local specialty stores. I know I am looking at getting a hdtv and new sound system at some point this summer. After reading articles about problems in getting service and other issues with the low end hdtvs I am leaning to going to a local store that I know has been around my area for many years and they have a in-house service center tna offers a lifetime warranty on everything they sell.
I may pay a bit more, but I’ll have local people who I can work with if there is a problem later.
Yes it temping to go grap the next big Hdtv see at a good price, but how much will it cost me in the long run…?
Ken

If WalMart brings in a bunch of upper-end equipment, they could get a lot of Best Buy dollars as well.  The only reason I go to Best Buy is because they have a better selection of the higher-end equipment.  If WalMart competed on that front, they would probably get my business.  Best Buy’s people around here have absolutely no knowledge of the equipment they are selling and their return policy is garbage as far as I’m concerned.  Walmart’s is at least comparable and I’m already in their store for other things.

Everyone knows that the reason Best Buy doesn’t do better is because you can’t talk your wife into going to Best Buy, but Walmart is another matter altogether, she’d gladly go there.

Top 10 reasons not to shop at Wal-Mart:
1. Poor customer service.
2. Terrible employee compensation plan.
3. Lack of English speaking employees.
4. A new Wal-Mart is built every week.
5. High crime rate.
6. Too crowded.
7. No product knowledge.
8. Poor health care plan.
9. Filthy stores.
10. Disorganization.

Truthfully, the only reasons that should matter to consumers shopping for electronics is #1 and #7:

Poor Customer Service:
The worst example of customer service I ever had was when a cashier closed the lane I was patiently waiting to check out in. After everyone left the lane she reopened for her family. Nice.

No Product Knowledge:
Just ask one of the employees what the difference between an LCD and plasma is and get ready for a good laugh.

Truth of the matter folks is that if you want sound advice with reliable customer service and expert product knowledge your best option would be to go with your local systems integrator.  There, you will find consumer electronics experts who are attentive to your needs and respectful of your budgets…more importantly, they get the job done right the first time!

Benny Carino
Integrity Sound

Everyone is booing Wal-mart, while I’m no fan boy per say, I do think that fulfill a place in the american ecomany and dose allow folks to get many items which they might not ever be able to get either due to cost or availability .
  That said, Haveing the best stuff at the best prices is nothing with knowledgeable customer service.
If they want to truly compete with Best Buy and the local indepentants, not to mention the internet. The need to bring in qualified sales people and set up local options for service.

Bring in higher end items raises the expectactions of consumers,
In other news, I read today of the possibility of wall-mart carrying mac computers,
This raises several questions,
How will they display them? Apple is VERY particular about how its stuff is displayed.
Will they bring in sales people who know Apple and Mac to work with customers and explain why Mac is better?  Plopping on a counter next to HP and Dell is going to fly.
Will there be a sufinicate price difference between the Mac at Wally World as apposed to the Apple Store? Is it going be to cheaper to by it there or should I just to the Apple Store in the mall?

And just as important, will the Geek Bar care where I got my Mac?

  If done right this could be a win-win situation for both Wall-mart and Apple,
And in the end consumers…

Ken Lawson

Walmart will need to acheive a successful plan to quickly provide installation for the flat screen TV’s they sell.and if they really want to get into Home Theater, that as well. Walmart has missed a huge profit center and customer attraction with CircuitCity (Firedog) and BBY has with installation services in-house for several years with the GSI department. BBY will continue to be stronger with services alone, but Walmart can align with a large national installation provider like Mastec, Installs Inc or InstallerNet. They need this to even think they will “beat” BBY to the past CircuitCity followers.

The worst thing they (Wallmart)  could do is offer in-house installation using the people they generally have working the stores. The idea of partnering with a reputable national installer is key.  There needs to be quality control and checking up afrt work is done. There needs to be a clear comminincation channel between the consumer, wall-mart, and the installer, all in place before its ever announced to the public. Also clear lines of responiblites as to who is responsible for what.

Ken Lawson

I worked at Sears back in the 60’s and 70’s and I remember people saying there is know way Kmart would ever over take Sears in sales but they did and then the same happened with Wal-mart. I predict if Wal-Mart wants the electronic business this much they will get it and they will put the right people in place to achieve their goals. Wal-mart knowa how to make money and their secret is to keep the union outof their business, That is why our auto industry is in the tank

You can fuss about Wal-Mart all you want. But remember, they are the only ones that know how to make money in these hard times If you are smart, you will take advanage of their deals. Do your research on line about the item you want, before you go to the store.

Vizio Man,

You’re right…you’ll save $100 on a lower “tier” 52” LCD HDTV.  You’ll save $50 on a Blu-Ray DVD Player, etc, etc. $100 here, $50 there…I’m sure at the end of the day you’ll save some money on the products purchased over the counter. You’ll be alright with installing the products on your own if you’re well-versed in all the latest technologies as well. 

However,  I’ve had clients give me the ol’ “what’s so difficult about plugging in some cables” explanation until they actually give it a try and give me a call when they couldn’t figure something out.  This is a rather common scenario on 5.1 surround sound systems as opposed to a simple HDTV with a cable box set up…but it happens.

The point I’m trying to make is if your local dealer can give you a similar deal that Wal-Mart will gives you (same models), what’s to stop you from doing business with the local expert as opposed to doing business with the big box retailer?

If Walmart starts selling high end electronics, they will need to have a repair service company to take care of broken electronics.  Best buy and all other stores that sell high end electronics have a repair service that takes care of broken equipments. I hope Walmart doesn’t sell the electronics at a lower price in exchange for repair service.

i have worked at a walmart supercenter in the electronics dept for 2 years now. We just got our new tvs put out, and they are no “higher end” than the last. As the years go by, the tvs get better. Thats all that happened. These tvs are still the lowest quality models the manufacturers make. The only noticeable improvement was the biggest tv going from 52” to 55”, and a few 120hz sets showed up.  On another note, our laptop displays are all fully interactive now, a very nice improvement over the last method of displaying them. We’ve also had smart phones forever, lol.. and blu-ray players for months under $200.

Benny,

IF your local dealer could offer you a similar deal on the same package, then, you are right, there isn’t a reason to buy from Wal-Mart.  However, your local dealer can’t offer such a price, at least not in the long term.  If Wal-Mart pays $10 an hour, spends little to no money on training, cuts product margin percentages, then makes up their profits in volume, how is your local dealer going to be price competitive?  They can’t pay
$17 an hour, spend money on training for a knowledgeable staff, offer the same prices, yet sell lower volume, and still be profitable, at least not in the long term.  That is why you will not see BBY be at the same price point as Wal-Mart.  They have to maintain slightly higher margins on their products and really develop their services (margins are dropping on those as well).

I would be worried that if Walmart could sell an HDTV or a Bluray player for $100 or $50 less than the others, would leave me wondering if what I am buying is indeed the same.  An XBR9 vs an XBR9wm?  Would the average customer notice that the XBR9 is a 240Hz set, whereas the XBR9wm is only a 60Hz set.  Or would that customer just notice the $100 savings?

Walmart has the clout to twist any manufacturer’s arm into making Walmart exclusive products, which look quite like the regular ones, but offer less for less money.