Posted on 03/03/2007 12:26:54 PM PST by quidnunc
Like most smart shoppers, Eric Hammer had done his homework and was convinced he'd found the best deal he could get on the laptop computer he was buying for his father's 82nd birthday present.
That was before the East Hartford teacher made a couple trips to Best Buy stores in West Hartford and Newington, and found that a price on the company's Internet site is not always what it seems. At least not to Best Buy sales staff.
Hammer, 47, who lives in Torrington, and his wife had found a great deal on a Toshiba on the bestbuy.com website. The mega-national electronic store was giving $150 off the computer, which on bestbuy.com said was normally selling for $879.99.
But when Hammer went to the Best Buy store in West Hartford on January 11th 2007 the salesman told him that the Best Buy sale was over. The Best Buy salesman even showed him on his Best Buy store computer that the price was now $879.99.
"I said `God, you are right,'" Hammer recalled. Hammer then drove to Newington hoping to find a deal on the computer at Circuit City. No deals, but while playing on the computers he decided to check bestbuy.com and discovered that the sale at Best Buy was still on.
Now he was thoroughly confused. Hammer went to the nearby Best Buy and asked a salesman to give him a price on the computer — $879.99, he was told.
Hammer said he started to argue with the Best Buy salesman, who attempted to prove his point by logging on to an internal Best Buy computer that had a giant monitor to show that there was no longer a sale.
"I am not saying that you are wrong," Hammer said the salesman told him. "I just don't see that price here at Best Buy."
By then Hammer had had enough and asked that he be permitted to navigate the Best Buy computer. Hammer went directly to bestbuy.com and lo and behold, it showed that a sale was still on. The manager, Hammer said, shrugged and told the salesman to give Hammer the sale Best Buy price.
The salesman had no explanation and unfortunately he didn't have that computer in stock at Best Buy. West Hartford, he said, had five.
Hammer got a printout of the sale and drove back to West Hartford where he showed the salesman the printout and got the computer at the discount. Hammer immediately sent me an e-mail about his experience, and theorized that there must be some kind of dual website at Best Buy stores because he said he had seen both salesmen log on. One Best Buy website that everyone could access and one Best Buy that only the salesmen could access.
-snip-
This fact ALONE, is enough that I will NEVER consider Best Buy as a potential source..
That's not saying much....
I have NEVER found "Best Buy" to measure up to their name..
I'm retired and have the luxury of time to be frugal...
Once I decide to buy anything of significance -- I search for the best price and it has NEVER been "Best Buy"..
This little "trick" of theirs should get widespread attention and COST them a lot of business..
Semper Fi
Naw, Why waste the time with a class action suit so as to enrich a bunch of lawyers for a $6.96 coupon on your next purchase.
I used their instore computer to purchase the remaining items on my daughter's wedding registry. Paid for the items and when I got home took a look at the Macy's website from home.
Big prices differences. I called, asked for the manager and they immediately credited my account for the difference, took off the tax and shipping as well.
Next time anyone is making a serious purchase it's probably best to print off the page on your home computer so you have 'proof'!
Bestbuysucks.com is now a porn index.
Of course they'll probably pay a fine and that will be that, but a lot of their employees across the country should be doing hard time IMO.
> A lot of companies understock the cheap stuff they advertise
The Tuesday Morning flyer in particular is a comprehensive
list of what they will NOT have in stock if you show up on
Tuesday morning.
Even on web buys, double-check prices by using a different
browser that lacks cookies tagging who you are.
I had a different experience with cheating by Best Buy. I went into a store to buy memory on sale with a rebate. They said they were out, but they would give me a 'rain check' which did not include the rebate. The next week, the same ad appeared, and the same story: rain check for sale price, but not rebate. I asked them to sign a note acknowledging the rain check did not include the rebate. They refused. I asked for the manager. 20 minutes later a clerk appeared, WITH THE MEMORY CHIP.
I've got this beat. In mid-January, I saw where Office Depot had a Hewlett Packard 2800dtn network printer on sale for $46. Normally, that printer sells for $999, so I jumped on the deal. A week later, a printer arrives, except it wasn't the printer I ordered.
It was a classic 'bait-&-switch'. The printer they sent was not even offered on their website. When I called to complain, their sales reps informed me that the trash printer they sent was essentially the same printer. Needless to say, it wasn't even close.
They later agreed to pick up the printer they had sent. When asked about the printer I ordered, they said they were temporarily out of stock, but should be getting some more in soon. All the while, they still continued to offer the HP 2800dtn for $46 on their website.
A month went by, and still no printer. When I called the customer reps, they told me that they no longer stocked those printers and a refund would be issued. A full six weeks after ordering the printer (and countless emails and phone calls), they finally issued my refund. On that same day, they still offered the same printer online for $46.
A few days ago, they finally took it off their website. But it would have been nice for them to admit their mistake back in January instead of dragging it out this long.
That reads like a twisted paraphrase from someone with an ax to grind with Best Buy.
Circuit City is just as bad.
My most recent Best Buy experience was to pick up a cable a friend needed to complete a home theater installation. The only one I could find anywhere in the store was a Monster Cable branded cable, but it was too short, and the price was astronomical (Monster Cable is a major rip-off, but that's another story). I finally asked one of the salespeople about a longer cable, and he disappeared for a while and came back with a generic cable that was twice as long and half the price.
Other than a generally poor selection, especially in the computer section, my biggest gripe is the constant overwhelming throbbing of hip-hop music that permeates the store. Best Buy is a very unpleasant place to shop.
All intranet sites are "secret". That's why they're called "intra" net.
Hmmm, I took a hard drive to Best Buy, to have it diagnosed. Ended up getting a new PC....from Best Buy :(
I need to have this hard drive cleaned up, also the CD rom drive doesn't open (must have been the cats), and need to get that fixed. Don't think I'll go to Best Buy this time. When I get some money together, I'll try an independant contractor.
I really want one of those new Kodak printer/scanners, but I believe that BB is the only one that carries them. Maybe I should check out their website *cough*.
The exact same thing happened to me when purchasing a new Kitchenaid refigerator last year. The catalog was $100.00 cheaper. When I went to the store the salesman went to the "best buy site" and my price wasn't there. He said I would have to pay the higher price. Instead I went to Sears and asked them to match the Best Buy Price. The saleswoman went on line and, lo and behold, there was the lower price. Sears not only matched it but had a promo where the would beat any adverised price by $50.00. Needless to say Sears got the sale.
If you are going to buy is as fact, you ought to look for a direct quote. IMHO
I like Best Buy and will continue doing business there. But why wouldn't this...
..when one informs a salesperson of the Internet price, customers have been shown the intranet site, which looks identical to the Internet site, but does not always show the lowest price...
...be fraud?
Don't buy on their credit plan. My mom has been fighting them for 6 months to take off magazine subscription charges that they automatically charge when you make a purchase. Even if you decline.
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