So after all the
uproar and
lawsuits over
Best Buy's secret in-store intranet, which looked exactly like the external bestbuy.com site but lacked sale prices and other discounts, the company has responded in the lamest way possible: by putting a warning label on the in-store kiosks. The warning will say something like "THIS KIOSK DISPLAYS IN-STORE PRICES - WHICH MAY DIFFER FROM NATIONAL INTERNET PRICES," and advise customers to see a sales associate if they have any questions. It's still unclear why the company won't just do the right thing and match its own listed prices, but we're willing to bet the suits are patting themselves on the back for their innovative, out-of-the-box solution. Martinis for all!
posted Sep 27th 2007 9:22AM
You guys are right, the suits are definitely patting themselves on the back for their innovative, out-of-the-box solution.
Funny stuff!
look, i work there!
the reason the internet prices are lower is becaues they do not include shipping or tax.
when we add tax in the store it becomes about 10 percent more.
I call shenanigans.
None of the shelf prices reflect sales tax.
Try another lie. Keep practicing, you'll go far at BB management.
"the reason the internet prices are lower is becaues they do not include shipping or tax."
Are you saying they include a tax on shelf prices AND THEN TAX YOU AGAIN at the register?? and I've never heard of stores including SHIPPING in their shelf prices.
This is why I avoid bestbuy like the plague.
I was at Walmart yesterday picking up a game they had on sale according to their website. Turns out the game was not on sale in the store, web only, and as such they refused to price match their own website. I actually explained to the clerk that I could have just buy it in store and online,then when the internet copy came in return it using the store receipt and get the deal. He actually laughed and suggested I try it.
Best Buy is at least being honest about price matching and will honor any price on their own website. Walmart's policy sucks.
jason, do you have any made-up stories about Circuit City while your at it?
Yeah..Busted Buy will match any price on their website alright...their IN STORE website unless you call them on it.
does anybody drink the newegg kool-aid? I've yet to meet anybody who showed a rabid attachment newegg and would defend it to the death
i work at circuit city.. and thats stupid balls. we price match all the time , its never the same.. infact theyll be paying LESS tax. I even tel them the online price in case they didnt know.
Maybe I just have nicer people at the Best Buy by me, they always match internet prices. It really makes no sense for them not to, I could just order it online for in store pickup.
@nikola:
Actually, I wouldn't be so quick to call bs @ jason. I did buy an antenna from Circuit City that I just happened to talk to a cool rep to get it price-matched to their website (a $20 difference) after explaining what someone else said (you could always have just ordered online and did an in-store pickup). Fry's Electronics, the shining example of customer service they are, adamantly refuses to match their own online pricing.
Coincidentally, check and see if what you're looking to buy cheaper online from a local store is available at Sears. They have this policy where they'll price match+10% the difference between their price and the online (after s&h & tax) price of the competitor. Obviously this probably won't help you unless you're like buying a TV or fridge, but I personally managed to save $33 on a shaver since the difference between their price and target.com's price was $30, and didn't have to wait "4-6 weeks for arrival".
"...they do not include shipping or tax."
Hmm, I think bestbuy does charge tax on their website, so where are you getting that the site doesn't include tax?
This guy ben graham just left the stupidest comment ive ever read in my life. I cant believe he even has a job
Newegg, ftw.
I am officially boycotting Best Buy forever! Join the cause!
I'm right there with you. Since this story originally came out, I have stepped inside a Best Buy and it's the closest electronics store to my house. I'll never shop at Best Buy again unless they do the right thing.
Your boycotting Best Buy because they offer items on the Internet cheaper than online? Ever heard of shipping? Cost to pay employees to point you to the right part of the store? Employees to make sure someone doesn't walk out of the store with a "free" item?
Sorry, I'll skip Newegg:
1) Prices aren't all that great when you factor in shipping and other bogus charges (process my order today, etc).
2) Reliance on Microsoft technology. Sorry, my personal information is too valuable to trust to the most insecure platform ever created. I will not shop at sites that use IIS/SQL/.NET. I just look for .asp/.aspx/ash at the ends of the pages or imbeded in there and shop elsewhere. I usually tell them why they just lost a sale.
3) Return policy/fees suck.
Sorry, I don't drink the NewEgg Kool-Aid.
haha that's stupid. I work at Circuit City and change prices all the time for online differences. Then some people think that best buy is cheaper but ccity is on a internet based operating system so we go over every sunday and get prices from BB and update ours to a lower price. since i live in the south i get a lot of people asking for lsd hi-density plasma hdtvs.
yeah newegg can suck it. Amazon ftw! (no tax and free shipping)
If you still shop at Best Buy, you should be ashamed of yourself. They also do not stand by things listed on their website for preorders and they have also complained publicly about how they despise people just browsing in their stores. They are being led by horrible management. Stay away.
"they have also complained publicly about how they despise people just browsing in their stores"
Link? Thanks.
I don't know about publicly, but it's a very obvious mindset of most managers. They hound on close rate and apparently think that every person who walks through the door wants to spend $2000-10000 on either a whole computer + geek squad or a new High Def setup with install.
CDs and DVDs maybe. But guess what the employee cost is for that $30 USB cable....about $1.75. Enjoy =D
Here's a brief article that Ars Technica did on what you are talking about.
It is smart business practice....for investors, not customers
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041108-4382.html
I still shop at BestBuy because it's a cool place to look around and get the newest stuff. Over here in Texas though, they charge like 10 bucks for tax. But still, it's the people's choice to shop where they want to. Not everyone likes to do it online.
Oh, please. Get off your damned, anti-BB horse. Depending on what you're looking for they can have some really good stuff. Similarly, for some things they're overpriced. Some of their deals on CD/DVD media are phenomenal. But unless I absolutely need a hard drive immediately I'll buy from NewEgg.
Software? CDs? DVDs? There is no reason to not get from Best Buy. And depending on the peripherals that I'm buying I might prefer to pay the extra from BB so that I have a local place of return/replacement rather than have to deal with the wait that is automatically added on when dealing with an on-line company.
And so far the few returns that I've had to do went without a hitch in two different stores.
If you don't like Best Buy, fine. But don't you tell me that *I* should be ashamed of shopping at a place that *YOU* don't like. Best Buy (so far) has treated me well. And if you don't like that, well, tough sh*t for you that I still shop there.
I'm surprised that they didn't do this a long time ago. I used to work for BB and I know that whenever an employee logs in he or she has the option of viewing store or internet prices and it gives you a nice warning about how one or the other reflect store or national prices.
Good thing a Circuit City just opened up down the road from our new Best Buy. Not that CC doesn't have their own shady business deals to some degree (most places do)... but no more BB.
I totally agree. After getting treated horribly on several instance (all starting with them not honoring a $20 reward certificate because their system automatically expires them before the expiration date listed on the certificate) and my Insignia TV (a BestBuy brand) breaking and being expected to wait 2months + for repairs (since parts were hard to find for this obvious Lemon) I just don't every buy at BestBuy any longer. I wouldn't walk into a BB if it was the last Electronic store on the planet and I'm a computer geek.
This just confirms my long-standing opinion that Best Buy are a pack of jackholes whose sole purpose in my own personal universe is to function as a price comparator. As in "Well, Best Buy is offering it for $XXX, will you beat that?" They will never see another damn dime of my money.
I love the fact that with Circuit City, I can go inside and look at a product. Then look at their website to get a better price. Purchase it, pick it up, and never have to deal with sales people.
I saved $40 on an MP3 player by going outside on WiFi, ordering online, then picking it up. I'm sure I could have found a manager to price match, but why bother?
but bestbuy will pricematch+10, so in theory if they advertise a lower price online thats available for pick-up, and the store wants to charge you more, they should price-match for on-line price and then take 10% of the differnce off your order... so really it just means that that loophole is more evident.
Honestly, why not just *ding* use the god damned bestbuy.com website? and charge whatever bestbuy charges for crap in bestbuy? cause it makes sense? ehh, whatever
i really never liked them, but i go there more now that compUSA is pretty much dead.
I had that happen- the 15% discount was online only but didn't realize until I was at the store. I was going to go home, order and pickup to save myself $30.
The BB employee said he'd do better and took 25% off.
I dunno, I shop there for DVDs sometimes because they're cheaper than Amazon or other sites and the cashiers have had no problem matching whatever I saw on the website, though often times the prices in the store are the same or better than what's on the actual Internet website (as opposed to the in-store version filled with lies and deception this article is talking about).
Their system has had that disclaimer for months. Any customer can look at the BestBuy.com prices if they simply ask. They also have a price guarantee if they see a better price 14 up to 60 days after they make the purchase on BB.com or another local competitor. That's not a bad deal if you ask me.
Best Buy doesnt honor prices from a lot of retailers for stupid excuses i.e. they dont have a return policy or theyre only online meanwhile they have a physical store. They dont even go by their own policies on returns especially if you bought an extended service plan cuz now they want you to have something you just bought new repaired when youve had it for 2 days. Best Buy is the worst if you have to deal with management theyll blow you off and not give you the correct info to complain.
why not just do things right in the first place???? best buy used to see around 5,000 dollars a year from me. in the last five years i bet i've spent less than 500. their service plans suck, their employees (most of them) don't give a crap about their job and/or know nothing about their job.
"It's still unclear why the company won't just do the right thing and match its own listed prices..."
Why is it unclear? People never actually READ disclaimers. This is basically just BestBuy's way of continuing to do what they were doing before without crossing any legal boundaries.
Its always been like this at BEST LIES. I worked there during the 2004 Christmas season before I got a REAL JOB.
There would be great deals online but if you were dumb enough to walk in the store looking for such deals, the hound-like salesmen/women would be quick to tell you "that doesn't exist offline" and try to get you to buy something else.
BBY ALWAYS charges more than Circuit City and I have known for a long time that CCity is the better place to shop though, they don't have the same level of training BBY can afford. BBY's DVD racks are a MESS when you come in looking for a Sunday-Tuesday DVD on sale and the place feels like a prison when you are forced to wait online and then endure security checks before leaving.
I perfer to spend my money in a store that respects me.
BBBY has come to signify what I hate abouut corporations
[ I have known for a long time that CCity is the better place to shop though, they don't have the same level of training BBY can afford. ]
It is not that they don't have the same level of training to afford, they don't have the common sense to do it right. CC is losing money big time (due to theft) and may soon be going out of business unless they change their dumb business skills.
I disagree that it is the better place to shop if you want help from an associate. They hire so few people (and lay off more than ever necessary) that invites shop-lifters like crazy. Several times, when I was their PC technician, I would be responsible for doing installs and diagnostics AND run the entire PC/Camera department for several hours all by myself. If you have more than one customer in the three departments who want to talk about a camera, computer, or anything technical your screwed if your the second or third customer (unless you came in to shop-lift). We would find discarded security boxes of video cards, memory, hard drives, etc. either opened by a key a customer stole from a poorly staffed department or out right break the security boxes because an associate wasn't there to keep an eye on the floor and the shop-lifter.
I was well trained b/c I made the effort to get the training done on my own.
Also just remember their 30 days return policy on some items, if you do find it cheaper on their website, order it from there, then return the other one. They get a little miffed when you tell them what you have done, but they only have themselves to blame.
I have been caught out twice now on internet deals not being honored in store when browsing their site. One employee told me the second time to pop home and print out the page, then that should work, so they are not all a bunch of douchebags, just the management.
In all honesty, I have no idea why people go nutty on the Best Buy thing. For us tech people, we do our research when shopping for TVs, and other electronic stuff. If you go there for computer parts (except blank media), then you sir/madam don't belong on this site. Newegg is your mecca. But if you find a TV that you really want based on your research, just go to wherever you get the lowest price. I don't trust associates or flyers to tell me what to buy.
Yes they stink, but we only know they stink by continuing to go there. Buy with price, not with convenience or store.
I agree New Egg is the better store, but some times you need it now, not in 3-7 business days, not tomorrow at increased shipping rates.
Uh... I don't get it either. It's noted very clearly and has been for as long as I can remember: INTERNET PRICE ONLY. It's not that difficult to go to the website, find what you want, get a discount and then have it delivered to the store. :D (The funny thing is, it's more work for them since they have to go GET the actual item.) Using the website's just getting a nice discount and knowing it's going to be there, held for you. I don't get the point of using the instore system anywa. @.@
I have worked in the retail industry for many years. There are not too many retailers, if any, that have the same prices in brick and mortar stores as online. That's because they work to different financial models and overhead costs. For example, there is much less overhead to sell online. If you walk into a store, it costs more backend $$ to support sales. Isn't that one of the inherant benefits of online shopping for the last 10 years? You can get it cheaper, but you have to wait and don't get instant gratification. I challenge anyone to find a major retailer that has the EXACT same prices online as they do in their stores for all products.
I'm not defending any retailers' practices, just being logical. Don't complain just to complain if it doesn't make sense.
Of course there are going to be deal that are online only, but most retailers put a disclaimer somewhere on the site that it is an online only deal. The problem here is when the retailers website indicate the deal is both online and in store and then the associates try to say it doesn't exist pointing at their internal website. When I bought My TV from Best Buy, I had a print out of the model I want from the internet and I told the sales associate, "I want that TV at that price". He pulled up the intranet site and I probably suprised him by asking to look at the actual website. In the end the guy actually sold me the tv and all the other equipment I wanted much cheaper than I would have expected. He acutally gave me a better deal than what I asked for in the beginning.
I stopped shopping @ CC & BB years ago.
There is a Tigerdirect retail store in Orland Park, Il
So I have the choice of either going to the store and picking it up or ordering it online.
I ordered a video card Monday night and it was delivered by UPS on Tuesday afternoon.
(That was with UPS ground)
That's been on there for at least a month already...
I have plenty of stories I could tell about BEST LIES.
You mention their crappy management?
One time a hispanic couple came in (Sotre # 483 - Rego Park) and they wanted to return a SONY BOOMBOX system. Everything was going ok till one of the customer service employees noticed a dead roach husk in the box. She notified management who came to the counter. The manager basically made fun of them:
"I'm not going to take this back cause you'll INFECT my entire stockroom"
The couple began to arue with the Manager.
"You bring these cucharachas in here and my whole store will be filthy".
I also have seen the employees make fun of customers after purchases.
"These Mexican families always come as a whole family to buy a computer - and they always have a little ass car so the computer and them can't fit in there together".
Its really ridiculous how bad BBY actually is on the macro level. I've seen people who came in with reciepts and that BS BB Warranty paperwork get refused a new product.
YES there are success stories for customers who do get good service but for the most part, that only happens in rich, upper class White neighborhoods. In "lesser" neighborhoods, customers are treated like sh*t .
Al?
anyways, how does that make it bes lies?
just because one store has bad management doesnt make em all bad. if thats the case, every retail store is bad.
Personal I dont mind bestbuy. *Gasp*
Geeksquad on the other hand is awful
If you come in with the ad be it printed from there site or from another place they will 9 out of 10 times match it.
I buy gadgets there every now and then because of there awesome credit deals with there credit card. No where else have I found a place that extends credit promotions as well as they do after the first intial purchase. Bought my xbox 360 and games and extras and recieved 6 months no interest. Then after paying that off but my digital camera and a slew of extras with 18 months no interest. Will soon be buying my HD tv and other stuff with 3 years no interest. If you a smart consumer and no how to use the system then its not that bad of a place if your a dolt and dont have the balls to walk in tell them what you want and what they are going to do they are going to walk all over you.
I don't trust them, I've always printed out the page with the price so I have absolute proof. That's just dirty for them to use the intranet as a way to circumvent price matching.
BB is the only store I know that has 20 registers, and 2 open, with a cattle-chute line shaped like my intestine. On a Saturday.
Oh wait, Home Depot has 14 registers, 2 open and 6 Self-checkouts of which all 6 are blinking because they are useless, self-serving tools.
If there are 10 registers, 10 registers should be open.
LMAO @ home depot.
You win sir, you win.
You've apparently never been to Fry's, where they can have 50 registers and only 5 open.
wow i love engadget but hey its ridiculous sometimes how late you guys are on some stuff, research before you post!
wasting my time with old news ugh.
I don't understand why people hate BB so much. Yeah, they pricey(so is any electronics store). I agree with thtcritserjr: you have to tell them what to do, don't expect them to be your friend and get you the best deal(they are there to make money afterall).
I bought a Creative Zen Nano a few years ago, was like 100 bucks, saw an add few days later for 69/79. Took it in and got the difference +10%. Only problem I've had is that the sales they do have, they don't seem to have many of those items in stock.
Don't forget that they charge $2-10 over MSRP for accessories.
Their corporate strategy is simply to sell the product and tack on as much extra product as possible - including warranties and marked up products.
Many times, they do not honor the arrangements of warranties or, they entice their workers to convince others to buy warranties and items they do not really need or have no budget for.
First of all do you even know what you're talking about?
the prices were different on instore kiosks because prices are different instore
anyway all best buys now have a local and national link
they WILL always honor prices online, don't blame the whole store for some idiots that don'tk now what they're saying or doing
i work at best buy and i price match the website all the time
so get your facts straight!
I got them once... There was this deal in CC and I had BB match the price. I called before going to the store..when I got there first they told me that after match pricing would be the same price.. I told them that you have to do the price match before taxes.. the girl looked like an idiot..it was a Panasonic camera CC price: $285 BB: $325
Then the manager came and told me that they didn't have it. I told them that I called and had one holding for me. I was laughing inside. He said that he was going to check and I replied..I'll go with you...When we got to the camera dept, he was nervous and the girls working there had no idea and told him that there was one camera available....he was very upset for this price matching ..and to add to the insult.... I showed them my $20 certificate from BB rewards..lol..total for camera.. $285.75... I am sure they still remember me...
Haha, good one ae86takumi! I especially liked the part when you said, "I'll go with you..."
Classic!!!
lol you sound very proud of yourself. good job kiddo, let everybody know your useless deed. go get 'em
CC still had it for 75 cents cheaper.
CC price of $285 was before taxes.. BB was after taxes with 285.75 ..
People on Engadget seem to be troll robots or something, and you automatically hate anything that's mildly popular-- As if doing what the non-nerds do will make you a traitor or something.
Look-- Not all Best Buy stores are bad. Just like not all Apple Stores are bad. It comes down to management and individual employees, and you're blaming the entire company for the actions of a few people. That's not fair.
Think of it this way: Picture in your mind the most embarrassing, stupid, obnoxious jerk in your family. You have to have a family member (a cousin, uncle, SOMEone) who is a complete loser jerk that makes you cringe. Now how would you like it if people judged YOU based on that one person's behavior? I mean, they don't even give you a chance to prove you're an intelligent, nice, decent person. They just see you and immediately say "Oh, he's a jerk. I dealt with a member of his family, and was not happy with the way I was treated. That whole family sucks."
Same thing. You're judging Best Buy (or the Apple Store, or wherever) based on your experience with a few bad people. Guess what? In retail, there are some idiots and the company doesn't always catch on to them being idiots until after you've had your bad experience.
I do not work at Best Buy, or an Apple Store. I actually sell books for a living (not as much hassle from know-it-all geeks and rich snots who expect me to lick their boots as when I *did* work at Best Buy, years ago.) But I do know as a long-time retail manager that I've had to fire some real a$$holes because they weren't cut out for customer service jobs. We don't always catch it before they've offended someone, and sometimes those a$$holes get promoted to a position of power and use it to treat customers badly. . . This happens EVERYWHERE, not just Best Buy. Rest assured that if you run into a jerk of a manager, you can always find someone higher up the ladder and deal with them. If you get treated badly in a store, you can find a district manager, or a regional manager, or go right to the CEO... But you WILL find someone who will take care of you, if you're not a jerk yourself.
The problem half of you have is that you get belligerent and obnoxious when dealing with people in retail positions, and that makes retailers defensive and less likely to see you as a customer they want to keep. I've seen what (and how) some of you comment in here, and if that attitude and lack of decorum carries over into the real world, it's no wonder you get treated with a lack of respect when you're dealing with other people.
Some of you are way further up the a$$hole index than the retailers you're ragging on.
My grandmother always told me to speak as I wish to be spoken to. I'm amazed some of you never learned that lesson.
My local Best Buy is pretty good. They are lenient on returns, good on price matching, and try to know all about their products. If they don't know something, and I correct them, they thank me and add the knowledge to their sales information. They keep the store in good shape, and they don't push the service/replacement plan overly hard. They ask once, and then leave it alone.
They're also the people in my community. People who shop at my store. People who I see all over town. People who I make work with some day. People who shop for groceries in the same places I shop. They're not soulless robots shipped in by Best Buy to make your life miserable; They're your neighbors and classmates and maybe even your friends. They're just people trying to do a job. They're the people reading this blog and contributing to it, sometimes.
You can rip on company policy, but don't forget that the people you deal with on a day to day basis are just like you (usually) and work in a retail store like Best Buy because they happen to be gadget geeks at heart. Some of them make mistakes, but that doesn't make ALL of them bad.
Its the MAN keeping us down. Boycott!! Heck boycott anyone who doesnt even have enough time to wine about company policies on forums, because they are probably doing something constructive, like figuring out how to shaft the moles of society! LOL
they tried to pull this on me.
They led me to their kiosk to look up the price, and it was indeed a different price than the website. So I pulled out my iPhone and went to bestbuy.com and showed them directly. Suckers had to give me the price online :D
I have had good and bad experiences at Best Buy. I have two specific examples, both of which were eventually resolved to my satisfaction. Last year I went to look for a Sirius satellite receiver that they had listed in an ad in the paper. When I went in there, they did not have that model at all but they had a more expensive model instead. I took the ad from the paper in there and the clerk basically told me that they got rid of the model in the ad and now only had the more expensive model. I politely explained that that is a perfect example of a bait and switch. After a bit of haggling back and forth, I convinced his manager to let me have the one in the store for the price advertised. Another example happened just a couple of weeks ago. I bought a Western Digital hard drive at the local Best Buy for $129. I then looked on the website after I got home and noticed that the same item was $89.99. I called them and asked if they would refund me the difference. The manager I spoke with said they have a 30 day price match guarantee. I simply took my receipt and a printout of the internet page and they did refund me the difference without question. In short, my experiences haven't been too bad with Best Buy and they will continue to get my business.
1) Prices are great and shipping costs are minimal. The almost ALWAYS ship your order same or next business day without the added perk.
2) A very lame boycott basis. At least the Best Buy boycott has some intelligent reasoning and humanity behind it.
3) Return policy is better than most other online retailers. Although, the added shipping fees do indeed "suck".
Also, Newegg does not sell Kool-Aid.
I'm sympathetic to your lack of thrall for MS products, but you should know that ASP (Active Server Pages) is also MS technology.
First off, that disclaimer went up about 24 hours after the initial complaint. Way to be on the ball.
Second, a customer can't access the internal site without an employee there - it goes through toolkit to do that, all the kiosks designed purely for customer use go directly to the national site.
Third, I sell TV's at Best Buy and I strive every single day to make sure people don't walk away with the wrong TV and know the difference between plasma and LCD, all that stuff.
Fourth, Most internet sites will never let you return the TV. They have no overhead. You can't come in and ask me questions. Will I try and get as close as I can and give you the best deal I possibly can? Absolutely.
Best Buy can't always match the non-overhead of some sites, but in most circumstances they can come damned close. If you've gone in to look at the TV before you buy it from somewhere else at least give them the chance to see what they can do for you, you might be surprised.
Lastly, I'm a certified Magnolia Pro 3 (Which means I know a damned sight more than the majority of you all) and I'm certified in basic repairs from the service center (Until it moved to somewhere I couldn't go and went retail) which means I understand it better than you. I've been an installer as well, which means I know how easy it can be to mount a plasma AND how much of a bitch it can be if your house (or TV, LG in particular has fuddy bracket points) is anything out of the ordinary.
Do some Best Buys suck? Absolutely. I've been treated like ass by employees from other stores. But guess what? Those are the stores that have a high turnover because of crappy managers.
There's actually a survey on the bottom of EVERY SINGLE RECEIPT you can take and post YOUR feelings and EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE can read it, most stores post it in their break room.
ZeroCorpse is right though, if you came to me with the attitude you were displaying here, I wouldn't help you, but I've spent hours on a weekday just teaching people about Video and Audio and cable types and all the possibilities and I've loved it and then they didn't buy anything.
Do I care? No. It makes no difference to me, but at least I know what they need to buy when they ARE ready to buy.
Why is #2 lame? You do realize that Microsoft servers and services are the most hacked on the Internet, right. You also do realize Identity Theft is a PITA to deal with, right?
So why would I want to risk my most valuable possession (my identity) with a company using the most insecure methods of protecting that data?
The prices are not that great, and the risks are high. No thanks. I'll support those companies that value my data by not using the most insecure platform.
I really don't know why people shop at Best Buy. I haven't spent any money in that hell hole for years. Newegg.com is all I need.
What a bunch of crap. I can't believe they can get away with that.
You people are silly...
Why do I as a person who likes tech shop at BBY?
a) They have awesome financing always! Tvs is usually 2 years if not longer, anything else in the store is 0% for 6 months as long as I spend 299.
B.) I have a place I can return something if It doesnt work right out of the box. IE Last Tv I bought. Within 30 days there is no hassle to return opened items. Even after 30 days within 1 year I have returned many broken items.. They just test it out, look for physical damage, and say yeah ok, go grab another one..
c.) Best Buy Employees may not always know more about tech than I do, but they can tell me some VALUABLE information. IE.. These LG although a great price point, get serviced alot! I look around and I see alot of open item tvs.
d.) Accidental Warranty on Laptops and Cameras! These are awesome, I can literally "accidently" drop my comp or camera and get a new one. Come on thats money.
e.) Did I mention Financing! I can use the financing and put the money into a savings or bond and actually make money on the deal! Especially when I bought my Tv with 0% for three years!
New Egg may be ok for the little stuff, but my large electronics will always be bought from Best Buy.
Brainwashed
Financing ?
Why don't you save your money up first so you wouldn't have to have "Financing". Stop spending money you don't have !
@ Herbert Neal:
this is a particularly dumb comment. I assume you don't know much about economics in general, as financing is a driving force for our economy.
there are people who abuse credit and spend what they don't have. there are also people who abuse pain killers, but it doesn't mean hospitals should dump their supply. financing is how the majority of people buy homes, cars, boats, etc. on a home purchase, even when someone has the cash, it often makes more sense to mortgage/finance it. the deduction available can help offset the interest, but more importantly it's the concept of the "loss of the use of money." that $500,000 that would otherwise be going into a house could be better invested elsewhere. when you're talking about No Interest Financing, which is what most of these Best Buy "no interest till 2009" type programs are, it's a no brainer.
when people get over their heads on credit cards, it's the interest that's killing them. the minimum payment they make each month doesn't even cover the high APR they likely have. so you keep making payments, and never get anywhere. but if Best Buy or whomever is offering me No Interst for 3 years on an HDTV??? are you serious? they're floating me a loan for free. So the $4,000 just sitting in a simple high yield savings account (let alone anything aggressive) makes around $500 over that time. so the tv's costing you $3,500 instead of $4,000.
smart post otherwise.
Pretty much all the same reasons why I like them.
Worst Buy and Circuit Village are both just as bad as each other. Bloody awful customer "service", products never in stock. Pricegrabber.com, anyone?
Everything about best buy has always been completely full of shit, and it looks like it always will be. If you don't realize exactly how dishonest and what a bunch of snake in the grass bastards they are I advise you take a closer look because you've probably been ripped off more than you know. I completely gave up shopping there long ago. Last time i was there they wanted 300 dollars for an ATi X1950PRO 256MB PCI-E Video card, which at the time online/at almost every other store you could get the 512MB version for 220 shipped.
Hey uhh Engadget.... WTF Is with the "late to the game" news posts? This is the 3rd LATE STORY I've read from you in a month(2nd I think from this reporter). Are you running out of things to report? This "Disclaimer" went up very shortly after the original story broke.....MONTHS AGO.
I love your site I really do, but you've got to kill off this late reporting simply to get a few jabs in. Its not working.
Engadget is an amazing site but when it comes to being so biased about something that you REALLY DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT and claim it as "news", you guys are freakin' idiots. Go ahead and spread the negative price as much as you like, but you'll find that the VAST majority of over 1000 Best Buy stores are not trying to hide any "secret" Area-51 type of website to screw over the masses because they can't find a better way to make a buck. Oh no, they MUST've posted $250 million in profits last quarter by screwing all their customers!! Torch them! Hah whatever, I'll stop wasting my time. I understand most hardcore gadget freaks don't need BBY for their fix, but the mainstream does and for people like Nillay Patel to write cute slanderous articles in the "engadget style" about something they haven't even truly verified...well let's just say we hope you never become a REAL journalist for everybody's sake...
Old news- this label has been on the in-store kiosks for months now.
Slow news day?
I work at Best buy and that disclaimer has been on the in-store kiosks for almost a year. We are not trying to trick our customers, it's just that sometimes we have online specials only and usually do not apply in the store. We will 9 times out of 10 match a price for a customer who says, "Oh, i saw it on bestbuy.com for cheaper." It is not a trick, it is just our policy.
Best Buy is not bad...however I buy my DVD when they are cheap sales...sometimes CC with their 3.99 deals... Geek Squad is good here in Miami,FL... I've never had an issue with Best Buy because I already know what I am looking for... I cannot make an opinion for people that are not electronic/computer oriented. When I ask, they help me..but most of the time I just go, pick the item and pay.
THis has nothing to do with sales tax or shipping. For any best buy employee out there, why don't you eheck the price of the BFG 8800 GTS OC 640MB Graphics card on your website and on your intranet site, and then try to explain the $115 price difference. Its nothing short of dishonesty
do the computers in the stores connect to the actual internet?
because if they do, i should totally go in and set the browsers to use a proxy server to connect
:)
I can verify the Walmart price matching policy. A few years back I tried to buy a Garmin GPS in store that was listed $50 cheaper on their website. The manager told me they couldn't price match with their own website because Walmart.com is a different company than Walmart.
ever heard about the best buy performance plan (PSP). If you have then you will know what kind of crooks Best Buy are. These are the statement about their No Lemon Policy
When you are buying - No Lemon Policy dictates that if we cannot repair your item in 3 times, we give you a new one
When that actually happens - Best Buy is the final decision making authority to decide whether this can be replaced under No Lemon or not, not matter how many times we have tried to repair it
Can you believe this?
I work there too, so you can all deal with it. No one said we like it in the store either, i think its pretty gay they do this to people, but if best buy is going to stop doing that, customers need to stop coming in and asking for online only deals in the store. There are morons on either end
I used to work at circuit city and we would oftentimes see that a web only special was cheaper so we'd have the customer buy it online through our computers and then order it for store pickup.
Engadget this is a pretty crappy piece of reporting you should really learn what you are talking about before posting an article. First off the kiosks have had the label you are speaking of ever since the lawsuit first came out. Secondly Best Buy DOES match our online price (which is typically lower to compensate for shipping costs). The reason that it says to speak to a sales associate is so that we can check the national site and make sure the price is equal. However because of laws in many states the prices advertised on ANY in-store kiosks must exactly match the price tags listed on the shelves in store. IF they vary then Best Buy can get fined. So here are your 2 options. A) We can just raise the prices of the online products so that you are no longer compensated at all for shipping and they match the in-store prices. B) You can go the plan that Best Buy is using. Make your decision.
I don't know...I'm sure everyone has their personal stories on any retailer. All i know is last year i was shopping for an LCD TV and noticed a competitor had it for almost $400 less than BB. Salesperson allowed me to pull up the ad on a computer in there and asked his manager about it. they matched it on the spot and then on top of that waived some kind of delivery/installation fee. It all went down in about 15 minutes and they even called me on the delivery day to make sure i'd received it and was satisfied. Now Circuit City on the other hand, i vowed never to back there about 15 years ago. Involved a manager insulting me and my family. Not only did i vow never to go back, but i made sure that said manager lost his job.
NewsFlash:
When the problem first occurred and it was made public, the Best Buy Intranet site had a big yellow banner going across saying "THIS IS A KIOSK - THESE ARE LOCAL PRICES" - it has existed since the shenanigans was made public. So to me, this is old news.
Also, with the XBOX 360 Accessories, that were dollars more over MSRP, came down to normal price weeks ago.
OK, while this is quite old news, I still feel compelled to respond. I work for Best Buy and I'm not going to defend the actions of those who made the instore kiosks work the way they do, although, I completely understand the INSTORE kiosk representing INSTORE prices, but w/e. I really wanted to post saying that the koisk banners warning customers that the prices were reflecting instore prices has been on those kiosks for over six months. They made that change when I was still working in media and I got a kick out of it because our Market President or whoever she was posted a video interview where she practically blamed PT and FT employees for not "properly exlaining this to customers" when in actuality, it was never properly conveyed to Best Buy employees. In the end, it doesn't make a difference and this news is old. But I
I have been working there for over a year.. and as far as I know, this is not new news.. the warning label has always been there... Whenever i check the bestbuy website in store I make sure to go on the official website, I guess it depends on the employee.
Their intra-web isn't the only way BB is being manipulative.
My wife bought me a Canon EOS 20D from Best Buy many years ago for Xmas (it was the only place that had them in-stock at the time). She also bought the "insurance" for $150, and told me that "the BB rep said that if anything ever happens to your camera, you can just take it in and they'll swap it out for you with a new one, even a new model if yours has been discontinued."
Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it is.
My camera's sensor started to give out, so I packed it all up, grabbed the relevant paperwork, and contacted the store to see if they had any replacements in-stock. The sales person verified 40D's in-stock, and that since I had purchased the insurance on my 20D, I could stop in and swap it out with no bother, no hassle. When I got there, I had a manager explain to me that the sales person was wrong, and that they would be sending my camera in for repairs.
I explained, in detail, that my wife and I were under the same impression as the sales clerk, because getting a new replacement with no issue whatsoever is all we'd ever been told would happen. Still, I was turned away, with only a pro-rated refund on the "insurance" that I then demanded.
Lesson learned? Best Buy, and probably most retail chains like them, are maliciously manipulative. They won't hesitate to lie to you, as made obvious by their intraweb and insurance claims. Heck, their name itself is grounds for false advertising. Don't trust them or give them your business. They deserve neither.
Reply if you are boycotting Best Buy! Or you just hate them.
i hate you. i really do.