I made a quick visit to Memphis last week and I couldn’t resist visiting my favourite independent, which trades under the name of The Video Station.

Helaine and Jerry Bluestein have run this business for the past 28 years and, although it is just a few doors away from several large multiples, personal service obviously still counts for something and the business continues to thrive.

On an earlier visit I quoted Mr Bluestein in ERT Weekly as being a little displeased with Sony, as at that time the Sony Style website and about six big dealers were the only people authorised to sell Sony on the Internet.

Now the American Sony Style site actually directs buyers to local dealers and this is a huge improvement.

The Video Store hopes to be selling the 11in Sony OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) set next month and there is already a lot of interest despite the £1,250 price.

While I was there, a person who had bought a Sony 400-disc DVD player was also checking out the bass sounds from a choice of three different speaker systems.

And, of course, The Video Station was happy to switch between them. Try getting a demonstration like that in a supermarket!

I also took time to check the three Best Buy shops. It is more than a year since I reported on the Best Buy store in Las Vegas, but, if anything, the look of these outlets has been considerably improved by laying them out in the “customer-centric” style that I described last week.

Before going into the first store, I waited by the main door and watched what people were actually buying.

I got a real surprise when I saw that one of the big sellers was a 20in Samsung 4:3 CRT TV.

A large number of Sharp 32in flat panel sets were also being laden into cars, so I checked these two items first:

The Samsung TV still has a CRT, but it is what Best Buy calls a “flat tube” as the set is less than 15in deep.

This TV has two tuners, an analogue and a digital tuner. However, it is a standard definition display, which, regardless of the digital broadcast resolution, shows the picture is standard 480i.

Memphis has some very poor people and this set is popular with folks who are not on cable and satellite, but need a digital TV as the old analogue signal is about to be switched off next year.

The reason for the popularity of the 32in Sharp flat panel HDTV set was the price. It could be picked up for less than £300.

As ever, with remarkably cheap offers, it is always best to check out the small print.

Guess what? This bargain set comes with a one-year parts guarantee, but labour is only covered for 90 days.

The sales staff were quick to point out that Best Buy’s four-year “performance plan” was a “real steal” at just £44.

Best Buy was also doing a good trade in a very unusual wireless remote control. For about £200, you can buy a “two-way car security and remote start” system.

This gadget operates over a 500-metre range and lets drivers check on the security of their cars.

It also allows the locked car to be remotely started, so it can be warmed up in the winter or cooled down by the air conditioning in the summer before the driver gets in.

I couldn’t really fault anything in these Best Buy stores.

They are certainly going to be a tough competitor when they arrive on our shores.