Best Buy Replacement Plans

[PS3+HDDVD OWNER]

Hey Guys,


Just wanted to shed some light on a recently positive experience i had at Best Buy. In October of 2007, i purchased a new Garmin 200 GPS system for my vehicle. At that point, it cost me $249.99 plus another $40 for a 2 year warranty. The GPS served me well for about a year and then started acting up. It'd tell me to take random side streets on long trips and such. All my settings were correct, but it didn't stop my Garmin from going crazy! The battery would also only hold about a 20 minute charge before dying. Finally, i got fed up with it and decided to bring the unit into my local Best Buy and see if my unit would qualify as defective. Sure enough, Geek Squad took a look at it and told me to go pick out a new unit. I was shocked how easy it was. He did tell me that they'd only let me select one $249.99 and under, and if i chose one cheaper they wouldn't be able to refund me the difference. This was fine with me though, i was getting a brand new free GPS! I chose the Garmin 255W which was on sale for $199.99. I brought the unit to customer service, and he did his thing scanning it and confirming all my information. Then, he handed me a gift card for the difference! I couldn't believe it! Got myself Benjamin Button and The Incredible Hulk on BD basically for free! Overall, the service was excellent and the warranty was WELL worth the money.


Just wanted to shed some light on a positive experience at BB. I see alot of people here bash them, but they do actually have some good people working at the stores by me. Anyone else have a similar experience in regards to their replacement plans?

[Blu-Benny]

i replaced my ps2 2x w/the replacement plan. dvd player broke on 2 units.

my wife is actually taking her dyson dust buster back 2nite b/c the battery isn't holding it's charge.

my ipod died 3x, it was fixed all 3x but the last time i could've gotten a new one, i was so fed up w/it i took in-store credit instead.

they are worth the few extra bucks b/c if something does happen, u get your money back one way or another.

[jono_0101]

I had an absolutely opposite story with best buy and their product replacement plan

i bought the 80GB PS3 motorstorm bundle when it was $600, paid an extra $100 for the replacement plan, and had the PS3 about 6 months and the blu ray laser went bad, i took the PS3 into best buy to return it and get a replacement, geek squad confirms the laser is bad, says go grab another and take it to the desk, theyll take care of you, i went over to the shelf and realised that they had just sold out of the 80 GB models and it was at the time where they stopped making them temporarily before releasing the MGS4 bundle, all they sold was the 40GB model, i told the geek squad guy this, and he said no problem, theyll give you a gift card for the difference, i thought ok, i can live with that

i took a 40 GB to the counter and the guy there did some scanning and told me i was all set...."wait a second, isnt the 40GB model $200 cheaper than the 80GB?" you might ask, and you would be correct, he then tried to sell me some story that since that is the only model they carry now, that is what they have to replace it with, and it is a product for product replacement, they cant do gift cards, so i asked to speak to a manager, he says i am the customer service manager, i say store manager then, store manager tells me the same thing, i ask to talk to someone at the corporate customer service center, explain the problem to them, get bounced around between 3 or 4 different people, and am told i can mail my broken unit in, have them examine it, then mail me a voucher for the full purchase price, a total turnaround of about 3 weeks, not good enough, then, just trying to get someone to work with me, i explain the whole story to the last person on the phone, and she says, there is no reason they cant take care of that at the store, asks for the customer service manager there, says something to him, then he calls the manager back up, and magically, i can now have a $200 gift card for the difference in price between the two models!!!

i have very negative feelings towards that best buy because of this, there is a different location a little further of a drive, but they dont lie to you and try to steal $200 out of your pocket, and i wont ever make a large purchase at any best buy again, only games or movies

[Stephie_is_a_dork]

Our 42" 1080p Sharp Aquos got a dead pixel just under a year after we bought it. We didn't buy the warranty, but they replaced it with a slightly newer model (extra HDMI port) without any hassle or extra charge at all.

We did have to take it back to the same store we purchased it from, 40 minutes away. We originally bought it while it was on sale, so the 5-10 closer locations were sold out. After that, we did get the extended warranty, which includes house calls if something goes wrong again.

[brettallica]

I haven't made any "major" purchases at Best Buy, but I did buy my Wii and all its accessories there. I have also purchased probably five or six Blu-rays there. I use their store primarily as a testing facility of sorts if I want to know how a certain product performs. I usually then go try to find it for less online or at my cousin's shop.

But in the times I have been in there to make purchases or just browse the shelves for whatever reason without any intention of buying something (i.e. like when the wife is at Safeway next door), people are always friendly. I can only recall one instance of needing to return or exchange something, and it was handled pretty smoothly. It was the first set of rechargeable battery packs and charging dock I got when I bought my Wii. The set was garbage so I got a different brand — a much better brand. It was a simple procedure and it took all of five minutes.

I'd say their knowledge is comparable to what you'd expect of any decent electronics retailer: you're going to occasionally see employees in there who really do know their stuff because they're totally into technology and gadgets, but most employees aren't there to be lifers, nor do they have any genuine interest in the stuff they're selling other than to make a buck and have a placeholder job. Those are fine reasons by the way; I'm just saying that if you want to talk to pros about something, in all likelihood you'll need to go to a specialist shop.

Overall, I'd rate them as a good place to go to buy stuff as far as retail stores go, but at the same time I wouldn't rate them as over the top excellent or anything. I will say that I likely don't have the most average input on this, though, because our Best Buy is brand new. There's still a little bit of a "buzz" about it. It's how Circuit City used to be!

[Uniquely]

I never buy the protection plans on anything. If you add up all the money you "save" by never buying the plans..... it MORE than pays for the rare item that fails after it's warranty period. I worked several years in retail when I was young and poor..... and they emphasis and really nice bonuses and incentives they gave for selling these things told me only one thing for certain.... they are almost pure profit for the businesses which by default make them a poor value for the average consumer.

[Grumpz]

Originally Posted by Stephie_is_a_dork

Our 42" 1080p Sharp Aquos got a dead pixel just under a year after we bought it. We didn't buy the warranty, but they replaced it with a slightly newer model (extra HDMI port) without any hassle or extra charge at all.

We did have to take it back to the same store we purchased it from, 40 minutes away. We originally bought it while it was on sale, so the 5-10 closer locations were sold out. After that, we did get the extended warranty, which includes house calls if something goes wrong again.

Wow, my Sony had pixel get stuck open after 34 days. Since it was past the 30 day exchange window, I had to call Sony and get them to deal with it.

BB told me "you should of bought the extend warranty". They also lied and said I'd have to have the original box and ship the TV to Sony...which of course was a complete lie.

[PS3+HDDVD OWNER]

I'm not suprised to see mixed feelings on this issue. I was just extremely impressed with the service i received. I only spent $40 on the warranty to begin with, and likely never planned on having to use it. Glad i did though, as the guys were great taking care of me. I wasn't even sure my GPS would be considered "defective" being that the unit still technically worked, it just had a bad battery, and was giving my whack directions lol. I went to the Best Buy on 75th/Lemont Rd in Downers Grove, IL. Originally purchased the GPS at the Countryside, IL location.

I guess it could go either way with customer service, but mine was amazing. If i ever end up buying that Ipod i keep promising myself, i'll likely go to BB and buy the warranty with it. Seems like great value for the price, for me at least. I think BB sometimes takes alot of extra criticism, so i wanted to share my positive experience with you guys. I used to think these warranties were a scam, but after this development i'm not sure what to think.

[Grumpz]

Originally Posted by robinandtami

I never buy the protection plans on anything. If you add up all the money you "save" by never buying the plans..... it MORE than pays for the rare item that fails after it's warranty period. I worked several years in retail when I was young and poor..... and they emphasis and really nice bonuses and incentives they gave for selling these things told me only one thing for certain.... they are almost pure profit for the businesses which by default make them a poor value for the average consumer.

Absolutely right! The extended plan for my sony was $400 dollars after taxes. Haha!

Of course at some point I'll wish I bought one on something, but so far, touch wood...no problems. I'm easily at over $5000 dollars in extended warranty waivings.

I do however buy it on cars. Only takes a head gasket to go, to cost half of what the extended warranty on my Civic is.

[supersix4]

my brother gets pissed when he loses games on psp/ds so he's gone thru 4 psp's and 3 ds's each time they look at it, try to turn it on and then print up a store credit gift card.

Our latest was with a westinghouse tv we had in the kids entertainment room we got it 4 years ago and got the 4 year policy since it was going to be used by kids. well about 5+ months ago it went up 2 mo's. b4 the policy would expire, we took it in 2 weeks later they said they couldn't fix it, so we went to bestbuy they said they would give us the most expensive 32'' tv in the store and give us that credit... So basically now that room has a 50'' panasonic plasma in it that we paid like 200-300 for.

I have yet to have a problem with bestbuy's replacement plans

I do agree some of bestbuy's plans are a little overpriced

[Grumpz]

Talking about positive experiences.

I've had 5 Honda's for good reason. The quality is amazing and the service is second to none.

I don't want to hang people for making mistakes, but when you deal with them poorly, that's when I get my rope.

3 Civics ago, I had the dealership replace my CV boots. A week after I get the car back, the left axel brakes. They pay for the toe, and replace the axel at no charge of course. Claim the boot was installed incorrectly. A week later, me and my wife drive down a couple of hrs South to Grand Forks for the weekend. Right after the first red light we hit, bam, the left axel brakes. I'm like...wtf...these guys didn't think to check both axels? Anyways...long story short, without having to fight for it, Honda paid for the toe, the repair, a car rental and hotel for 3 days. All we paid for was gas and food.

C'mon! Who else does that?

I've got another story, but I don't want to hi-jack the thread.

I shop at BB, I'm just not a big fan of service plans.

[PS3+HDDVD OWNER]

Originally Posted by Grumpz

Talking about positive experiences.

I've had 5 Honda's for good reason. The quality is amazing and the service is second to none.

I don't want to hang people for making mistakes, but when you deal with them poorly, that's when I get my rope.

3 Civics ago, I had the dealership replace my CV boots. A week after I get the car back, the left axel brakes. They pay for the toe, and replace the axel at no charge of course. Claim the boot was installed incorrectly. A week later, me and my wife drive down a couple of hrs South to Grand Forks for the weekend. Right after the first red light we hit, bam, the left axel brakes. I'm like...wtf...these guys didn't think to check both axels? Anyways...long story short, without having to fight for it, Honda paid for the toe, the repair, a car rental and hotel for 3 days. All we paid for was gas and food.

C'mon! Who else does that?

I've got another story, but I don't want to hi-jack the thread.

I shop at BB, I'm just not a big fan of service plans.

Honda's are excellent vehicles. My fiance' has a 2001 Accord V6 coupe, and the thing still runs like new with 110K on the clock. Well built vehicles, with great service no question. I'd agree that buying a waranty on a vehicle would be much more important than on a television or something along those lines.

Like i said, just wanted to let people know that the extra $40 for the plan on my GPS was well worth it!

[b0bby]

i feel bad for you guys that don't know how to work the 'system'. its not cheating or frauding bestbuy or anything cause i worked there through my college years and know the ins and outs.

for example i bought a 100 dollar blender + a 2 yr product replacement plan for 20 dollars. the manufacturer's warranty is 1 years part and labor on this particular product. this blender was going to be used to make massive amounts of smoothies so its prone to breaking. 3 months after i bought it i took it in to bestbuy and told them "i want to use the manufacturers warranty on this product". they took it and gave me a brand new one. another 4 months came and i brought it in again told them to use the manufacturers warranty on this product, they took it, gave me a brand new one.

i basically got my blender replaced 5 times under manufacturers warranty in 1 years time for FREE through bestbuy. when the first year ended and i had a problem thats when i used my product replacement plan. what im trying to say is customers need to be smart and realize that bestbuy honors manufacturers warranties. hardly anybody does this cause they don't know. i paid 100+20 and ended up with 7 blenders (1 initial purchase, 5 replacements, 7th was PRP replacement). that is $700 worth of products for $120.

so please, if your product breaks in the first year and is under manufacturers warranty, don't activate your store product replacement plans. cutting yourself short.

[Uniquely]

Originally Posted by b0bby

i feel bad for you guys that don't know how to work the 'system'. its not cheating or frauding bestbuy or anything cause i worked there through my college years and know the ins and outs.

I know Best Buy sales staff are non-commission..... but does Best Buy offer their employees any kind of bonuses or spiffs (prizes basically) for selling specific protection plans or a certain number of protection plans?

When I used to work sales (not at Best Buy).... you might get 2% commission off the actual item you sold but 20% commission off selling an extended warranty, or you'd get spiffs like a case of really nice steaks for selling five extended warranties.

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by b0bby

i feel bad for you guys that don't know how to work the 'system'. its not cheating or frauding bestbuy or anything cause i worked there through my college years and know the ins and outs.

for example i bought a 100 dollar blender + a 2 yr product replacement plan for 20 dollars. the manufacturer's warranty is 1 years part and labor on this particular product. this blender was going to be used to make massive amounts of smoothies so its prone to breaking. 3 months after i bought it i took it in to bestbuy and told them "i want to use the manufacturers warranty on this product". they took it and gave me a brand new one. another 4 months came and i brought it in again told them to use the manufacturers warranty on this product, they took it, gave me a brand new one.

i basically got my blender replaced 5 times under manufacturers warranty in 1 years time for FREE through bestbuy. when the first year ended and i had a problem thats when i used my product replacement plan. what im trying to say is customers need to be smart and realize that bestbuy honors manufacturers warranties. hardly anybody does this cause they don't know. i paid 100+20 and ended up with 7 blenders (1 initial purchase, 5 replacements, 7th was PRP replacement). that is $700 worth of products for $120.

so please, if your product breaks in the first year and is under manufacturers warranty, don't activate your store product replacement plans. cutting yourself short.

What do you do with a big item that goes out after 2 years? Like a TV? I have a 40" LCD with a 2 year full replacement. I'm glad I bought the plan.

[brettallica]

Originally Posted by b0bby

i feel bad for you guys that don't know how to work the 'system'. its not cheating or frauding bestbuy or anything cause i worked there through my college years and know the ins and outs.

for example i bought a 100 dollar blender + a 2 yr product replacement plan for 20 dollars. the manufacturer's warranty is 1 years part and labor on this particular product. this blender was going to be used to make massive amounts of smoothies so its prone to breaking. 3 months after i bought it i took it in to bestbuy and told them "i want to use the manufacturers warranty on this product". they took it and gave me a brand new one. another 4 months came and i brought it in again told them to use the manufacturers warranty on this product, they took it, gave me a brand new one.

i basically got my blender replaced 5 times under manufacturers warranty in 1 years time for FREE through bestbuy. when the first year ended and i had a problem thats when i used my product replacement plan. what im trying to say is customers need to be smart and realize that bestbuy honors manufacturers warranties. hardly anybody does this cause they don't know. i paid 100+20 and ended up with 7 blenders (1 initial purchase, 5 replacements, 7th was PRP replacement). that is $700 worth of products for $120.

so please, if your product breaks in the first year and is under manufacturers warranty, don't activate your store product replacement plans. cutting yourself short.

That's not cheating or "frauding" Best Buy, but it is cheating the manufacturer. Do you really need to replace a blender six or so times in one year? Why not just buy a better blender? The method you're using sounds borderline dishonest, unless I missed something.

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by PS3+HDDVD OWNER

Honda's are excellent vehicles. My fiance' has a 2001 Accord V6 coupe, and the thing still runs like new with 110K on the clock. Well built vehicles, with great service no question. I'd agree that buying a waranty on a vehicle would be much more important than on a television or something along those lines.

Like i said, just wanted to let people know that the extra $40 for the plan on my GPS was well worth it!

Honda's FTW! I've got a '98 Accord EX (v6) with 131k on it. Runs great. And for fun, I have an s2000! I'm planning on getting an Acura TL to replace the Accord. And I'll probably hang on to the s2000 but I figure an NSX will look great next to it in the garage.

Now going back to On-topic lol even though this is the spot for Off, I bought a Hannspree 22" monitor from BB. It was about $200. I thought "wow 22" monitor for $200 is a great deal. I never heard of the brand before so I was a little hesitant. I've got numerous friends who work @ BB. They told me to buy the service plan. It's only $40 or so for the monitor. So I did. Not even a month goes by and I get this nice long line going down my monitor. I've got a stuck pixel but have been too lazy to take it back. I talked to a few people and they said they'd have to "send it out" I thought they'd just give me a new monitor but it appears that's not the case. I don't want to wait 3+ weeks for my monitor to get fixed. CRT FTL! Anyone have any suggestions?

[b0bby]

Originally Posted by robinandtami

I know Best Buy sales staff are non-commission..... but does Best Buy offer their employees any kind of bonuses or spiffs (prizes basically) for selling specific protection plans or a certain number of protection plans?

When I used to work sales (not at Best Buy).... you might get 2% commission off the actual item you sold but 20% commission off selling an extended warranty, or you'd get spiffs like a case of really nice steaks for selling five extended warranties.

department managers get bonuses and store managers get bonuses when specific departments or the whole store achieve a certain goal. the goal was something like 10% of the total money coming in from products/accessories should be extended warranty money.

Originally Posted by brettallica

That's not cheating or "frauding" Best Buy, but it is cheating the manufacturer. Do you really need to replace a blender six or so times in one year? Why not just buy a better blender? The method you're using sounds borderline dishonest, unless I missed something.

how on earth is this cheating the manufacturer if that is their own terms of service. if you read my post i said the blender was being used to make massive amounts of smoothies on a regular basis. under normal wear and tear the product broke. does not have anything to do with me. i didn't put rocks in the blender and turned it on. and also the $100 dollar blender WAS the best blender bestbuy had at the time. all im saying is, consumers don't know their rights. they don't know they can have the retail stores honor their manufacturers warranty instead of calling a 1-800-number sending it off and waiting 2 months to get it back. whats dishonest is that bestbuy employees not telling customers this info. most of the time when customers bring in broke products still under manufacturers warranties i see the customer service people sending them home telling them to call and take care of it themselves.

[brettallica]

Originally Posted by b0bby

how on earth is this cheating the manufacturer if that is their own terms of service. if you read my post i said the blender was being used to make massive amounts of smoothies on a regular basis. under normal wear and tear the product broke. does not have anything to do with me. i didn't put rocks in the blender and turned it on. and also the $100 dollar blender WAS the best blender bestbuy had at the time. all im saying is, consumers don't know their rights. they don't know they can have the retail stores honor their manufacturers warranty instead of calling a 1-800-number sending it off and waiting 2 months to get it back. whats dishonest is that bestbuy employees not telling customers this info. most of the time when customers bring in broke products still under manufacturers warranties i see the customer service people sending them home telling them to call and take care of it themselves.

I see. Thanks for clearing that up. I guess "massive amounts of smoothies on a regular basis" falls within the realm of "normal wear and tear" to you and that a more robust or commercial-quality blender that costs a little more is out of the question. I guess we just have a different way of looking at things in that sense. No biggie. As long as you feel you're being honest, then it's all good to me.

I see what you're saying about the employees not telling consumers their rights about replacement plans, though. I bet not many know about manufacturer policies.

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by b0bby

how on earth is this cheating the manufacturer if that is their own terms of service. if you read my post i said the blender was being used to make massive amounts of smoothies on a regular basis. under normal wear and tear the product broke. does not have anything to do with me. i didn't put rocks in the blender and turned it on. and also the $100 dollar blender WAS the best blender bestbuy had at the time. all im saying is, consumers don't know their rights. they don't know they can have the retail stores honor their manufacturers warranty instead of calling a 1-800-number sending it off and waiting 2 months to get it back. whats dishonest is that bestbuy employees not telling customers this info. most of the time when customers bring in broke products still under manufacturers warranties i see the customer service people sending them home telling them to call and take care of it themselves.

That's one crappy blender.