BEST BUY'S NEW POLICY - wait till you hear this

[mthopper]

I've been watching the sales on Best Buy's website lately. Last night I took the family out for some dinner and shopping. I finally made it to Best Buy and I was very excited to buy Goodfellas for $14.99, which I knew would be there thanks to the website's ability to show me local inventory. Then I got to the register and was given a price of $26-and-change!! The clerk and her associate greeted me with the revelation that "We have a new policy and we're no longer honoring BestBuy.com prices." The girl said she'd go ask her manager if she could make an exception for me. Several minutes later, after I had been stewing over the rejection and embarrassment, she returned with the news that the manager had the nerve to try to barter with me. "He'll meet you half way, at $19.99," she said. I told her to tell him he can have $0 instead. As I started out the door she tried explaining to me that the folks in charge of the dot-com are trying to compete more with Amazon.com. I told her I understand it's not her policy and there's nothing personal in this, but to let her managers know they will soon lose all their business to Amazon.com, which is where I went to buy it when I got home.

It seems that most of us around here use Amazon for our online purchases and go to Best Buy for in-store shopping. Amazon obviously has a monopoly on online shopping; their prices are very good. The only thing that has kept me going to Best Buy over and over and over again for over a year, where I have gotten almost all 40+ of my Blu-rays, is because I can check the price online, see whether it's in-stock locally, and count on that price once I get there. Now that they have killed that, they have nothing in my opinion to warrant me going there, especially after such a bad experience and a slap in the face from the manager. Since I now find myself limited to online shopping, the result will simply be that Amazon will now get 100% of my business.

So be warned before you go to Best Buy....

I for one won't go into another Best Buy until they reverse that policy.

[Moefiz]

Would be 14.99 if you oder online and do an in store pick up..

[Blu-Benny]

i haven't tried matching their online lately but my local one has actually started calling wal-mart when i want to price match them....they won't just take a print off anymore.

they were always supposed to call before matching but the cashiers were just taking the print off.

[mthopper]

Originally Posted by Moefiz

Would be 14.99 if you oder online and do an in store pick up..

And that would be creating a middle man...

[bajor27]

wow - what a terrible policy. I wonder if that's an official policy or if the manager of that store is being a douche and trying to boost sales.

I'd try phoning their head office to check and if it's true, use that opportunity to complain.

Hopefully this kind of thing doesn't find it's way up into Canada.

[cartman781]

Heah, If they keep this BS up, they will lose the little Business I do give them.

[TRIGON]

This is typical Best Buy. Any opportunity to screw people over they'll take it. 9 times out of 10 their prices are always more than Amazon or other online retailers even if theyre having a sale. The fact that they wont even match their own online prices is a joke. The rate their going best buy is going to end up like circuit city.( which was even worse)

[bferr1]

Official policy:

What if I find a lower price at another Best Buy store or on BestBuy.com?
If an item you purchased at Best Buy is advertised at a lower price at another Best Buy store in your local area or on BestBuy.com, We'll refund you the price difference from our own sale price during the return and exchange period on your product. Simply bring in your original Best Buy receipt to the customer service counter while that lower price is still in effect. The Price Guarantee does not apply to our or our competitors' free offers, limited-quantity items, items for sale Thanksgiving day through the Saturday after Thanksgiving, open-box items, clearance items, Outlet Center items, mail-in offers, financing, bundle offers or pricing errors.

mthopper, that manager was wrong.

[cartman781]

Originally Posted by bferr1

Official policy:

mthopper, that manager was wrong.

There has been rumors on this board the last few weeks about this change possibly coming

[Darkhawk9587]

Best Buy is starting to lose my business too. I went their one time when they had the Boondock Saints on sale online for $12.99. I went in store and they tried to sell it to me for $26.99. I asked them about it and they had no clue. So, I asked them to hold on a few seconds, which is where I pulled out my phone, ordered it online for in store pickup and walked out of the building with the blu all while laughing at their incompetence.

[bferr1]

Originally Posted by cartman781

There has been rumors on this board the last few weeks about this change possibly coming

That's probably true, but until it becomes official public policy, it cannot be enforced.

[ElvistheSniper]

Originally Posted by mthopper

I've been watching the sales on Best Buy's website lately. Last night I took the family out for some dinner and shopping. I finally made it to Best Buy and I was very excited to buy Goodfellas for $14.99, which I knew would be there thanks to the website's ability to show me local inventory. Then I got to the register and was given a price of $26-and-change!! The clerk and her associate greeted me with the revelation that "We have a new policy and we're no longer honoring BestBuy.com prices." The girl said she'd go ask her manager if she could make an exception for me. Several minutes later, after I had been stewing over the rejection and embarrassment, she returned with the news that the manager had the nerve to try to barter with me. "He'll meet you half way, at $19.99," she said. I told her to tell him he can have $0 instead. As I started out the door she tried explaining to me that the folks in charge of the dot-com are trying to compete more with Amazon.com. I told her I understand it's not her policy and there's nothing personal in this, but to let her managers know they will soon lose all their business to Amazon.com, which is where I went to buy it when I got home.

It seems that most of us around here use Amazon for our online purchases and go to Best Buy for in-store shopping. Amazon obviously has a monopoly on online shopping; their prices are very good. The only thing that has kept me going to Best Buy over and over and over again for over a year, where I have gotten almost all 40+ of my Blu-rays, is because I can check the price online, see whether it's in-stock locally, and count on that price once I get there. Now that they have killed that, they have nothing in my opinion to warrant me going there, especially after such a bad experience and a slap in the face from the manager. Since I now find myself limited to online shopping, the result will simply be that Amazon will now get 100% of my business.

So be warned before you go to Best Buy....

I for one won't go into another Best Buy until they reverse that policy.

Good for you!! Screw BB. Everytime I go and buy something at BB the price is not what was in the ad. The manager has to come over, she doesn't even know the price, she a real Bee-otch, even when I show the sale tag the manager acts like I just printed it up. I like Amazon, no hassle good prices.

[ps3andlovinit]

Originally Posted by bferr1

Who cares? If you order online for in-store pickup, not only do you get it for the online price, it virtually guarantees it'll be at the front desk waiting for you to pick up. You can be in and out in minutes and not run the risk of a sellout before you even get to the store.

Ok but your statement makes his point even stronger .. that it was a stupid business decision by BB not to have given him the on-line price. So he should have drove home, ordered it over the web, just so they could pick it off the shelf for him .. and then he drives back? If that's the scenario that just defies common sense. The manager is just stupid. Plain and simple.

If that price only applies to being shipped out and didn't apply to in-store pickup as well .. then I can see the managers predicament if they have been given a directive. But given your scenario being true it was just stupid.

[cartman781]

Originally Posted by bferr1

That's probably true, but until it becomes official public policy, it cannot be enforced.

This is BB we are talking about. Me and tons of others on this board have trouble getting BB to pm items per their policy.

[Blu-ray Neo]

<~~~~ Shops at Amazon.com. I quit going to Best Buy a longgggggggg time ago.

[Ski31]

A lot of times the BEST deal you can get is from eBay. Plenty of my blu-rays were "Brand New, Factory Sealed" well below the Amazon and BB prices. Plus some were free shipping...or you get with the seller, get multiple purchases and they will give you a discounted shipping.

[Iron-Blu-123]

Originally Posted by mthopper

I've been watching the sales on Best Buy's website lately. Last night I took the family out for some dinner and shopping. I finally made it to Best Buy and I was very excited to buy Goodfellas for $14.99, which I knew would be there thanks to the website's ability to show me local inventory. Then I got to the register and was given a price of $26-and-change!! The clerk and her associate greeted me with the revelation that "We have a new policy and we're no longer honoring BestBuy.com prices." The girl said she'd go ask her manager if she could make an exception for me. Several minutes later, after I had been stewing over the rejection and embarrassment, she returned with the news that the manager had the nerve to try to barter with me. "He'll meet you half way, at $19.99," she said. I told her to tell him he can have $0 instead. As I started out the door she tried explaining to me that the folks in charge of the dot-com are trying to compete more with Amazon.com. I told her I understand it's not her policy and there's nothing personal in this, but to let her managers know they will soon lose all their business to Amazon.com, which is where I went to buy it when I got home.

It seems that most of us around here use Amazon for our online purchases and go to Best Buy for in-store shopping. Amazon obviously has a monopoly on online shopping; their prices are very good. The only thing that has kept me going to Best Buy over and over and over again for over a year, where I have gotten almost all 40+ of my Blu-rays, is because I can check the price online, see whether it's in-stock locally, and count on that price once I get there. Now that they have killed that, they have nothing in my opinion to warrant me going there, especially after such a bad experience and a slap in the face from the manager. Since I now find myself limited to online shopping, the result will simply be that Amazon will now get 100% of my business.

So be warned before you go to Best Buy....

I for one won't go into another Best Buy until they reverse that policy.

Thanks for the post, with no price match and the 8.25% tax, will be shopping bluray on amzon from now on.

[Ashamed Pegasus]

Originally Posted by Blu-Benny

i haven't tried matching their online lately but my local one has actually started calling wal-mart when i want to price match them....they won't just take a print off anymore.

they were always supposed to call before matching but the cashiers were just taking the print off.

This is because Walmarts online prices are usually lower than instore prices... Walmart will not match their online prices instore, so it was only a matter of time before Best Buy stopped doing it as well...

There's no reason to even keep giving places like Best Buy your money when you can get it from Amazon for the same price (cheaper if they don't charge you sales tax) and get it shipped for free... Amazon matches nearly every Best Buy and Walmart sale price, but how often is it the other way around?...

[tilapiah6]

Originally Posted by Moefiz

Would be 14.99 if you oder online and do an in store pick up..

Originally Posted by mthopper

And that would be creating a middle man...

I don't quite understand. If you pick in store pick up, it's faster. They have to get it to you within a certain time once you give them the pick up code, and I've done it without having to pay taxes. I simply don't understand your logic. Price matching is one hell of a lot less of a hassle, for me at least, than in store pickup.

Edit: You check the online price anyway! Why not go one more step?

Originally Posted by ps3andlovinit

Ok but your statement makes his point even stronger .. that it was a stupid business decision by BB not to have given him the on-line price. So he should have drove home, ordered it over the web, just so they could pick it off the shelf for him .. and then he drives back? If that's the scenario that just defies common sense. The manager is just stupid. Plain and simple.

If that price only applies to being shipped out and didn't apply to in-store pickup as well .. then I can see the managers predicament if they have been given a directive. But given your scenario being true it was just stupid.

Wait a second here. At what time did we start thinking that Best Buy employees were sales geniuses? Doing in store pickup tells them what to do, even if they're mindless (not saying all are, but they certainly are a bit slow at mine).

I have had to explain their policies to their head manager when attempting to price match. Assuming that people working at local venders know their own policies is a mistake, and creates the OP's problem in the first place. The manager was wrong; we all know that. But he still didn't get his price match.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by tilapiah6

I don't quite understand. If you pick in store pick up, it's faster. They have to get it to you within a certain time once you give them the pick up code, and I've done it without having to pay taxes. I simply don't understand your logic. Price matching is one hell of a lot less of a hassle, for me at least, than in store pickup.

Edit: You check the online price anyway! Why not go one more step?



Wait a second here. At what time did we start thinking that Best Buy employees were sales geniuses? Doing in store pickup tells them what to do, even if they're mindless (not saying all are, but they certainly are a bit slow at mine).

I have had to explain their policies to their head manager when attempting to price match. Assuming that people working at local venders know their own policies is a mistake, and creates the OP's problem in the first place. The manager was wrong; we all know that. But he still didn't get his price match.

If you were able to order online and pick it up locally without paying sales tax, you've got a magic touch. Any business that has a facility in the state you live is supposed to charge sales tax at the point of sale. Otherwise you're supposed to pay it with your taxes at the end of the year.