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File under "Hmmm": Best Buy website down

by Michael Rose Oct 14th 2008 at 1:25AM


Maybe this is a coincidence, coming as it does on the eve of a big Apple announcement... it could be meaningless, just regularly scheduled inventory maintenance, the BB version of the yellow sticky note. Sure, that's probably it -- nothing to see here. Yeah. No reason at all to think that Best Buy's website downtime could have anything, really, to do with the anticipated introduction of new Apple laptops tomorrow... right?

As if our conspiracy generators weren't already in full gear: suppose it is related. Could Best Buy be getting an exclusive deal on the $900 laptop outside of Apple's own stores? [Note that many sites are now reporting the "$899 MacBook" may in fact be a Cinema Display.]

Thanks to Horza for the tip

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Maybe this is a coincidence, coming as it does on the eve of a big Apple announcement... it could be meaningless, just regularly scheduled...
 

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Jean

Macmall is also down.

October 14 2008 at 7:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Jean's comment
m1gu3l

it's up again, no new macs... :( I guess we gotta wait for our uncle Steve-o to reveal apple's magic or disgrace

October 14 2008 at 8:44 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
esposimi

MacMall is still down as of 9:30 this morning

http://esposimi.co.cc/files/macmall_down.PNG

October 14 2008 at 9:30 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ola

wtf, I got a best buy fullscreen-commercial when going to tuaw.com. Please don't tell me you started using that kind of crap on the site now. Please tell me it was an accident. Please tell me I don't have to remove tuaw from my bookmarks.

October 14 2008 at 6:41 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
DarkHelmet

The message has changed to:


Online Ordering is Temporarily Unavailable

We apologize for the inconvenience. Please check back soon.

In the meantime, you can use the links below to learn about in-store specials and more. To place an order, check the status of an existing order, or with questions, call Customer Care at 1-888-BEST BUY (237-8289).

October 14 2008 at 5:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to DarkHelmet's comment
matthew

That's their standard nighttime maintenance message, which I've frustratingly encountered many times. Apparently they don't think people shop online at 3am...geez. :)

October 14 2008 at 6:06 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
M. Mörk

@Fox

I think that's just the iLife logo...

October 14 2008 at 4:31 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Caltonian

Why on earth do companies like Apple and Best Buy have to take their sites 'down' to add products in the first place? I run a large ecommerce site, and to add new inventory we simply upload an updated catalog (and if necessary pages) and delete any caches. Hey presto, it's online. Are these people technically incompetent, or what?

October 14 2008 at 3:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Caltonian's comment
takio

of course they have top-notch staff and tech. they just like to amp-up the suspense.

October 14 2008 at 5:00 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Caltonian

I was of course being facetious suggesting they're not competent. But I'm just amazed if they consider hours offline and not selling to be a worthwhile trade-off for ramping up any drama.

October 14 2008 at 5:24 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nick Fox

I think this may simply be for their rebranding but I do have something interesting that I just saw while looking over those leaked images of the MacBook Pro.

Look at this pic: http://images.appleinsider.com/macbookpro-081013-2.jpg

On the side of the box (upper-left corner of the pic) there are multicolored shapes...could this be an indication of MacBookchromatic computers (AKA 5 different MacBook Pro colors)? If so, it could be a return to the more personalized look that a colored iBook had.

I guess we'll know tomorrow...

October 14 2008 at 3:18 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Nick Fox's comment
Mike

Umm that's the iLife logo boss. Please get a life.

October 14 2008 at 8:05 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
m1gu3l

huh? looks like you are not a true apple fan, tsk tsk tsk that's the 09' iLife logo

October 14 2008 at 8:38 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
andrew harrison

Best Buy just did a huge rebranding, I'm not sure if they're rolling it out yet, but perhaps they are updating the site with the new identity?

October 14 2008 at 1:49 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
RevDev

Best Buy has recently unveiled their new logo (which, in my opinion, is a total riff off of the new Walmart logo). My bet is that they are launching a new site with the new branding.

http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/best_buys_new_tag.php

October 14 2008 at 1:48 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to RevDev's comment
Brian

Except the new Wal-Mart logo is absolutely terrible. Best Buy's doesn't look bad, more modern colors than the old one (new blue shirts all around?). Only similarities between the two is the layout, which isn't some sort of revolutionary idea.

Doubt a company like Best Buy could push through an entire corporate rebranding in the time since the Wal-Mart logo was announced.

October 14 2008 at 10:23 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tyler

Its not an "official" logo, they are just testing it at the new store in the Mall of America.

Also bestbuy.com looks to have updated the site as to where you can compare products and gave parts of the site more of an apple.com-esque look.

October 14 2008 at 11:01 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Skwidspawn

FailBuy?

October 14 2008 at 1:44 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Skwidspawn's comment
Vinnie

WorstPurchase is what I've always called it.

October 14 2008 at 8:37 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bloobie

Best Buy usually takes down their site at some point in the night for maintenance. At least, that has always been my experience when I needed to look for something on their site in the middle of the night.

October 14 2008 at 1:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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