Insteon in select Bestbuy Locations with 10% Coupon.

[Brian H]

Got an email from Smarthlabs.

Insteon now in select Bestbuy locations and a 10% off coupon offer.

http://www.insteon.net/bestbuy-stores-promo-2012.html

[Vyrolan]

So I ventured out to check out the Best Buy offerings since I also needed a SwitchLinc Relay (because the KPL Relay I got from SH was defective...buzzing loudly while both off and on).

 

At the Bucktown store in Chicago, they had Insteon in their Home Energy department where they sell a bunch of green products, LED bulbs, etc, etc. Two of their 3 central showcase stands were all-Insteon They had basically all of the products. I saw SwitchLinc (Relay and Dimmer), KPL 6-button Dimmer, Motion Sensor, TriggerLinc, RemoteLinc 2, Lamplincs, Smarthome IP Camera, and others. They also had the starter kits that have the Hub in them. It was funny to see SwitchLincs in these huge boxes for display after being used to the tiny boxes when ordering online. The displays showed all the various devices as they would be installed/used, and they had two interactive iPads showing promo stuff. I think you could also demo the Hub's app on the iPads, which I should have done but didn't have the time.

 

One interesting note is that I think SH is dumping old inventory on them... All of the SwitchLinc Relays that they had were the older 2476S that's not dual band. You can't even get that one on SH's site anymore as it's discontinued. I pointed this out to the staff member working that area and he was willing to give me 15% off on them (more than the Best Buy coupon from this thread). Since their base price was only 45.99, I ended up picking up 3 with that discount since that's way cheaper than the new Dual-Band ones on SH/Amazon. I have plenty of dual-band in my place (and like the less depth on the older ones). They also didn't have the new KPL Relays. I also didn't see any IOLincs, InlineLincs, or the newer OutletLinc Dimmer...I do think they had the older OutletLinc. They did sell the ISY, but ironically I didn't see PLMs anywhere...but they surely have them if they're selling the ISY.

 

The guy in the Home Energy area at that store was actually knowledgeable about Insteon and the ISY. We got to chatting and he is also an Insteon user and knew the basics at least about all the products and some of the potential problems (needing dual band, multiple phases, etc). He also said the Geek Squad can do programming for the ISY...I feel sorry for the people who rely on that...

 

All in all, it's pretty nice to have a quick grab-n-go local option and they cover a wire variety of the products. I assume they start getting the newer devices eventually, but they have the basics covered for switches, sensors, etc. I imagine their target audience is not coming in to get stuff like IOLincs or InlineLincs.

[fitzpatri8]

As I mentioned on the SH user forum, it doesn't really make sense that they'd use BB to sell remaining single-band inventory. I've read more than a few posts from people still wanting to buy the single-band switches before SH's inventory was exhausted. A handfull of Best Buy brick-and-mortar locations have actually had ISYs and Insteon gear on display for a while, before the dual-band SwitchLinc Relays hit the market, so it could be those stores haven't been good about rotating stock as new gear arrived. SmartLabs may have to get on them about returning older models.