Newegg Gets Cease and Desist Letter from Best Buy...

[firesnowball]

...for telling the truth.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/new..._desist_letter

Every PC enthusiast on the planet knows about Newegg. It's arguably the most popular online portal for PC parts, though the site's selection now deals with all sorts of electronics, including kitchen appliances. Newegg isn't as well known outside of power user circles, and so the company has been promoting itself through a series of TV ads, one of which ended up rubbing Best Buy the wrong way.

In the ad (see embedded YouTube video below), Newegg shows an employee wearing a blue t-shirt working at an unnamed electronics store getting caught with a deer-in-the-headlights look after a shopper asks him what the difference is between two laptops. He looks completely confused, at which point Newegg cuts to the end saying, "Newegg.com. Come for the expert reviews, buy for the excellent prices."

Best Buy apparently felt as though it was hit below the belt and has swung back with a cease and desist letter, which Newegg defiantly posted on its Facebook page. The brick-and-mortar electronics chain says it's "concerned that Newegg's use of the Geek On Logo is likely to create confusion among consumers and to dilute the distinctive quality of the Geek Squad mark in violation of Best Buy's trademark rights," but what really has Best Buy in a tizzy is the advertisement above.

"We also recently learned that Newegg is running a commercial on television and YouTube depicting a blue-shirted salesperson in a store with a similar layout/color scheme to a Best Buy store, so as to represent a Best Buy employee," the letter reads. "The fake Best Buy employee is depicted as being slovenly and uninformed about computer products, in contrast to your employees who are portrayed as 'experts.'"

Best Buy went on to say that it found the campaign "particularly offensive" and that Newegg would be "equally offended if the tables were turned."

Is Best Buy being overly sensitive, or do you think Newegg crossed the line?

tl;dr: Basically Best Buy believes that it is illegal for them to be depicted, but not identified, in a commercial. Funny commercial too.

[Asiankid0]

psh...everyone knows to go to newegg for computer parts...
wth is best buy thinking???

[Cereldi]

ahaha i think that was well played on newegg's part.

I mean if Apple can get away with openly depicting Microsoft as a socially awkward ******ed dweeb with glasses, then why can't Newegg?

*to all you microsoft users don't worry i have windows 7 i'm allowed to say these kind of things =P

[Oisterman]

In all honesty, I didn't even know that was supposed to be Best Buy when I saw the commercial. I immediately thought of Staples, because thats where I bought my laptop...and thats what the employee did.

[Akeras]

I soon as I read "Geek Squad" and "quality" in the same sentence I laughed my ****ing *** off.

Keep on doing what you do Newegg, we all appreciate it.

[Peakevo]

Shit.Just in time...look what I just found on Digg..
Consumerist reader K. recently ended his 4.5 year tenure as a Geek Squad member at Best Buy. And while he says that he considers his time there to be "generally a positive experience," K. did feel that there is some backstage info the public might want to know.

K. writes:
1. A high percentage of Geek Squad employees lack basic troubleshooting skills such as correctly identifying malfunctioning components. This stems from inadequate and outdated training materials, such as the Best Buy Learning Lounge.

2. People are hired or promoted from other departments to Geek Squad simply to sell services. Specifically, individuals who have no experience working on computers are given the appearance of being a technician.

3. Selling services and warranties are pushed more than actually completing repairs. I remember one instance where my GM said that selling a new computer with services was more important than completing a customer's unit that they had already paid for.

4. Employees are taught situational tactics to extract as much money as possible from a potential customer. If an individual had a small software issue that could simply be resolved, then we were taught to charge $200.

5. Although this changed shortly before I left, Geek Squad employees at the store I worked at were required to track each individual sale. Before the end of your shift, you were required to get a manager to look at your sales sheet and sign it. If you weren't doing so well, then the manager "coached" you on how to sell more services.

6. Best Buy Credit Cards were pushed to customers at every available opportunity. More than once, I witnessed Best Buy employees talking to people about signing up for a credit card, only to find out they were not old enough. Also, we were taught in Geek Squad to push the credit card even if the customer was already paying with another form of tender.

7. There is no chance for advancement within the Geek Squad department. The only position an employee could move up to is the Manager.

8. Best Buy does not encourage Geek Squad employees to get certifications or reimburse or pay for part of taking a certification. I specifically remember inquiring about this, and apparently there exists such a program for the GS Auto Techs in which they also get paid more for each certification passed, but not for GS Computer Techs.

9. Geek Squad City, the repair center for repairs we could not do in-store (any repair that was not a hard drive, memory, or power supply replacement), routinely completed unsatisfactory repair work. There were times I would send off a computer 3 times for a verified issue and the unit would come back with the same issue un-repaired. The worst example I can remember was a laptop that had its screen replaced and where the webcam was supposed to be on the screen bezel was instead a screw that held the LCD together.

[Raiyne]

**** these shitty mass-target consumer idiot companies, that's what I say. The sooner they die, the better.

[Peakevo]

**** these shitty mass-target consumer idiot companies, that's what I say. The sooner they die, the better.

They aint gonna die...

[TreyTrey12]

Best buy blows ***. My dumb *** brother doesn't really know about newegg, and went looking for a external Cd rom drive. Bestbuy wanted to shaft him for like 80$, and he went to Target and got the SAME ONE for 30$.

30 --> 80$ is a 170% PRICE INCREASE. **** that.

He coulda got the same thing at newegg for 20.


I remember, when going to buy age of conan's expansion pack, they had a GTS 250 for like 300$ lol

[Gurenbanka]

Wankers. Newegg is a babe of a place. <3

[$$$]

When did being competitive stop being OK?

[Lorek]

I work at Bestbuy and I am wearing my blue shirt right now...