Best Buy making online PM policy permanent starting Mar. 3rd

[quote name='tcooley2003']Personally, the whole reason I shopped at Best Buy was for the post purchase price matching. Knowing that if the item went on sale in the next month anywhere local I could get some of the money back, I was a lot of times less cautious buying games/blu rays. Now that they will not do this, I will probably just wait for sales and not buy on release days like I have been, in which case I can no reason to go to Best Buy now, I will just go directly to the retailer that has the item on sale.

I know you can return / rebuy for 15 days now, but that does not work with opened games / movies, and I am not going to leave something unwrapped just for this because it defeats the purpose of having it on release day.

I personally prefer the method of post price matching local retailers and not price matching as many online stores than this new method, but that is just my personal opinion....[/QUOTE]

you forget my friend that if you want the 20$ rz coupon you need to pre order the game and pick it up by lunch
 
[quote name='strait edge follower']you forget my friend that if you want the 20$ rz coupon you need to pre order the game and pick it up by lunch[/QUOTE]

Here I am posting in the $20 rz coupon forum and I forgot because all the posts about the price matching policy.

I agree it is still a good deal to get a game that falls into the $20 rz coupons that they have because you essentially are still getting the game for $40. I guess I was more so referring to it's not worth it to buy games / blu rays from best buy now that are NOT part of that $20 deal list. My mistake for not making it clear.
 
[quote name='Ionotropic']Wait, what? This isn't right at all.[/QUOTE]

Most states have what are called "use taxes", which basically means that you are supposed to report your online/mailorder purchases that you didn't pay sales tax on and pay the tax amount to the state you reside in. Of course these laws require voluntary reporting and aren't well enforced because it would be costly and difficult to enforce them. That being said, it's a bad idea to make posts about buying from Amazon (or wherever) because you won't have to pay tax, because (depending on where you live, of course) that's basically publicly admitting to committing a crime.
 
[quote name='aTaRiFrEaK223']Best Buy will go the way of Circuit City soon anyhow.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that's why I said it seems like a desperation move to me... A last-ditch attempt at competing with online retailers who are basically gutting their business. Hell, they may not even have a good plan for how it's going to work, they may just not have any other choice.

While I'm not necessarily fond of Best Buy all of the time, I'll be sad to see them go because it's good to have the option to walk into a store and pick something up sometimes. Not going to be a lot of options left after they're gone for electronics/movies/music/games/etc., unless you want the very limited selection that Target and Walmart carry. So good luck to them on it.
 
[quote name='arcane93']Most states have what are called "use taxes", which basically means that you are supposed to report your online/mailorder purchases that you didn't pay sales tax on and pay the tax amount to the state you reside in. Of course these laws require voluntary reporting and aren't well enforced because it would be costly and difficult to enforce them. That being said, it's a bad idea to make posts about buying from Amazon (or wherever) because you won't have to pay tax, because (depending on where you live, of course) that's basically publicly admitting to committing a crime.[/QUOTE]

And it is a matter of when, not if you state will start charging online sale tax.
 
Really, a mod went through and "cleaned up" my explanation of use tax? We're never going to see the end of people posting about "tax free" purchases if we can't even explain why they're not really tax free and why it's a bad idea to post about them that way.
 
[quote name='Fukurou']So they won't do any price adjusting at all anymore?[/QUOTE]

The only further price adjustment you can get is if BBY or BBY.com drops the prices lower within the 15 days after purchase. Silver members get a small reprieve from this until April 18th. It still won't stop Silver members from doing return/rebuys within 60 days but your account may get flagged if you do it too often.
 
I seriously doubt BB will be closing, you guys don't know how many people actually use their store. Sure some use it for showrooming but I think its quite difficult to do that these days, you can't do much with most of the display models other than see what they look like in person which really doesn't help that much. The only way it would help is seeing the quality of a TV picture or seeing what a TV or other display looked like, perhaps feeling the quality and testing out the touchpad on a laptop or similar instances. Even if you are doing that the model numbers are never the same so you never know what you are actually getting.

The tricky thing is to try to figure out which version is the NOT made for Walmart version, when looking at an electronic product like a TV, which usually uses cheaper parts and may have less features than those sold at other retailers.
 
[quote name='DieGo2SHAE']Hopefully Microsoft has another insane Black Friday deal later this year.[/QUOTE]

I don't believe BB price matches during black Friday weekend
 
[quote name='AJVtony831']I don't believe BB price matches during black Friday weekend[/QUOTE]
you are correct, and the item has to be in stock, not oos
 
I am impressed. There was a DVD set my wife wanted that was $55 at BBY. We went for froyo and she looked it up on line and saw that Fry's had it for $25. Went back to Best Buy, grabbed it off the shelf, went to check out, told the guy, he pulled it up right there on the register, waited for a manager to enter their password and presto. That easy.
 
Not a big deal to me as the nearest Best Buy is nearly an hour away so I don't go there often, if at all. However, this just means Amazon will be likely to PM them even more than they do now and as I do most of my shopping there I can still benefit.
 
Sorry if this was posted already, just saw on Yahoo. Best Buy announced they will be matching prices of all local retailers and 19 unspecified online competitors starting March 3rd, if the customer asks for it.

Not really a deal, just yet, but thought I'd share the info. Thanks!
 
Almost all retail places do.

So for silver members, they can't price match after purchase but can still pretty much just return and rebuy. Or hell can just buy from the store on sale then return that to Best buy and get the money back, lol.
 
[quote name='Deader2818']Almost all retail places do.

So for silver members, they can't price match after purchase but can still pretty much just return and rebuy. Or hell can just buy from the store on sale then return that to Best buy and get the money back, lol.[/QUOTE]
you get flagged for excessive returns tho, and you cannot return for a period of 90 days, once you are flagged. Keep that in mind
 
Tax will also be a factor to some in regards to showrooming, and Best Buy would be smart to end their exclusive models on certain tvs too...since they have used that as an excuse not to pricematch other stores or online in the past.

As for games...this is only going to push me away from ever buying Day 1 from them given the new 15 day thing. I know BB has to change bit their efforts here are misguided imo. People who showroom in the first place will still want to save the $50 or $60 on tax in states where they can still benefit from it.
 
The 19 online price match retailers (from the yahoo article) are:

Amazon.com
Apple.com
Bhphotovideo.com
Buy.com
Crutchfield.com
Dell.com
Frys.com
hhgregg.com
HP.com
HomeDepot.com
Lowes.com
Newegg.com
OfficeDepot.com
OfficeMax.com
Sears.com
Staples.com
Target.com
TigerDirect.com
Walmart.com
 
Starting on March 3, Best Buy will permanently price match all local competitors and 19 other online retailers.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-buy-declared-showrooming-dead-060349736.html



However,

If Best Buy lowers a price on a product (online or in-store) we will allow price-matching up to 15 days following the original purchase. This applies to all customers including Reward Zone Premier Silver members. Please note: After a transition period for Reward Zone Premier Silver members through April 18, 2013, the 15 day period of the Price Match policy goes into effect (post-purchase – Best Buy only).




There has also been one major change to Best Buy's return policy.

The "Return and Exchange" period is being cut in half to 15 days from its previous length of 30 days. All returns will still require a receipt and I.D., plus Reward Zone Premier Silver members will retain their 60-day return eligibility.





Full list of online retailers they will match:



  • Amazon.com
  • Apple.com
  • Bhphotovideo.com
  • Buy.com
  • Crutchfield.com
  • Dell.com
  • Frys.com
  • hhgregg.com
  • HP.com
  • HomeDepot.com
  • Lowes.com
  • Newegg.com
  • OfficeDepot.com
  • OfficeMax.com
  • Sears.com
  • Staples.com
  • Target.com
  • TigerDirect.com
  • Walmart.com




I apologize if this in the wrong spot but I know a lot of people including myself shop and pm Best Buy and wanted to make others aware.
 
Very interesting. The price adjustment slash hurts, but the addition of the matching with online is interesting. One thing to note in the article is "StartingMarch 3, 2013 Best Buy will price match the current pre-tax price for new, identical, immediately available products from local retail competitors and select designated major online retailers at the time of purchase only." So that means it has to be in stock.

Thanks for the news share OP. Very good info to have.
 
This info has been known since the 14th.

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=214891

Pretty crappy imo but really doesn't effect honest shoppers. It does suck that they are changing it but I guess they are losing to much money in the long run. I mean if you buy something and then 28 days later it is cheaper and you go back and PM it then lose of revenue for BB.
 
[quote name='neoz']This info has been known since the 14th.

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=214891

Pretty crappy imo but really doesn't effect honest shoppers.[/QUOTE]

what's dishonest about price-matching...? if anything, this will incentivize more "dishonesty" as people will just buy the product at the cheaper price from the other retailer and close out their more expensive position at BBY instead of PMing it down.
 
15 day return policy seems pretty restrictive/uncompetitive. Unless other retailers follow suit (and they have been shortening), I don't see how that can last.
 
[quote name='PapaSmerf']I don't see how that can last.[/QUOTE]
Best Buy is hurting, all these sales for games and everything is because they're eventually going out of business.

They're prolonging the entire ordeal but they're done, they have been for a while and now we see them trying to contain the bleeding.

I'll be shocked if they're still in business at the end of the year.
 
[quote name='Jaysonguy']Best Buy is hurting, all these sales for games and everything is because they're eventually going out of business.

They're prolonging the entire ordeal but they're done, they have been for a while and now we see them trying to contain the bleeding.

I'll be shocked if they're still in business at the end of the year.[/QUOTE]

Holy crap that bad? I had no idea.
 
[quote name='ChaosLaw']what's dishonest about price-matching...? if anything, this will incentivize more "dishonesty" as people will just buy the product at the cheaper price from the other retailer and close out their more expensive position at BBY instead of PMing it down.[/QUOTE]

I'm not going to get into a argument with people about this because it would turn in to a flame war.

One there is nothing wrong with PM'ing, never said there was. I was implying that from the company stand point this will save them money in theory in the long run. As a Silver Member I'm getting cut off to from being able to PM and I PM a lot. This effects all of us and imo is a terrible idea. It will cause a lot of people to shop else where so loss of customers and profits.

Anyway the only saving grace is that Silver Members still get 60 days for returns. Again I agree that this hurts us more then it hurts them.
 
[quote name='Jaysonguy']Best Buy is hurting, all these sales for games and everything is because they're eventually going out of business.

They're prolonging the entire ordeal but they're done, they have been for a while and now we see them trying to contain the bleeding.

I'll be shocked if they're still in business at the end of the year.[/QUOTE]

Worst part about it is that people want BB to fail.

You have to look at a few things here. One Amazon for the most part price matched BB prices. Very seldom do they PM Target or WM. Once BB goes under where are people going to be left to get movie/games from Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Walmart and Target could stop selling games and movies right now and still turn a profit because they make most of their money from consumables. If that in fact happened Amazon can charge whatever price they want to on movies and games because they would have no competition. Even if BB does shut down again Amazon really does not have competition and can charge whatever price they want.

People fail to understand this and when it does happen they will be angry when they should have seen it coming.
 
Interesting that Silver members still get 60 days for returns, but the PM policy has been separated...

And I agree about BB's health, it really feels like they're not going to be around much longer. When I went in on 1pm Saturday to pick up my 3DS games, it was fairly deserted-- on a long weekend, where there should have been big sales. It was pretty sad and starts feeling like Circuit City did just before they announced they were going out.

As annoying as BB can be, if they go out, kiss a LOT of deals goodbye-- Amazon won't have the same pressure to compete, and the remaining B&Ms (Walmart? Target?) aren't really going to stock a lot of the same stuff.

(edit: wow, neoz's post basically said the same thing, while I was typing.. didn't mean to look like I was just plagerizing :) )
 
So do they PM frys. com even in an area where there are no frys stores at all?

I really don't think they are going out of business here, but I think they do have a few too many stores. They could use to get rid of the smaller mall locations, which are almost always dead and just stick with the bigger stand alone stores. The stores here seem to be busy, but its clear the recent addition of mall locations in the past 3-5 years doesn't seem to be helping them. I imagine these stores are quite expensive to operate as well.

Many of the bigger stores are right near shopping malls anyways, so I see no reason to have BB directly in the mall. These bigger stores are busy. Its almost as bad as the places that have 2-3 gamestop's within 5 miles.I don't think I have ever seen a customer in the BB mobile location here.

I am guessing the PM policy will also mean less in store sales, so you will have to PM if you want to get deals. This leaves the work to only the savvy customer, and the majority of the customers who do not want to PM will be stuck with regular price merchandise. Judging by the fact that I went into a Target with about 5-8 copies of that Layton game for the 3DS I do not think too many people know about PM's, I was able to easily match the BB price and get the game.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']So do they PM frys. com even in an area where there are no frys stores at all?

I really don't think they are going out of business here, but I think they do have a few too many stores. They could use to get rid of the smaller mall locations, which are almost always dead and just stick with the bigger stand alone stores. The stores here seem to be busy, but its clear the recent addition of mall locations in the past 3-5 years doesn't seem to be helping them. I imagine these stores are quite expensive to operate as well.

Many of the bigger stores are right near shopping malls anyways, so I see no reason to have BB directly in the mall. These bigger stores are busy. Its almost as bad as the places that have 2-3 gamestop's within 5 miles.I don't think I have ever seen a customer in the BB mobile location here. I wish it was not the case, but it is. I am going to miss bb, and their $5-10 gaming deals/ other deals, when they do go out of business.

I am guessing the PM policy will also mean less in store sales, so you will have to PM if you want to get deals. This leaves the work to only the savvy customer, and the majority of the customers who do not want to PM will be stuck with regular price merchandise. Judging by the fact that I went into a Target with about 5-8 copies of that Layton game for the 3DS I do not think too many people know about PM's, I was able to easily match the BB price and get the game.[/QUOTE]
they are in a really bad financial situation right now, and it is widely reported. They are eventually going to go out of business just like circuit city. It is a matter of time. All the return/ pm changes are them just to prolong the process.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']So do they PM frys. com even in an area where there are no frys stores at all?

I really don't think they are going out of business here, but I think they do have a few too many stores. They could use to get rid of the smaller mall locations, which are almost always dead and just stick with the bigger stand alone stores. The stores here seem to be busy, but its clear the recent addition of mall locations in the past 3-5 years doesn't seem to be helping them. I imagine these stores are quite expensive to operate as well.

Many of the bigger stores are right near shopping malls anyways, so I see no reason to have BB directly in the mall. These bigger stores are busy. Its almost as bad as the places that have 2-3 gamestop's within 5 miles.I don't think I have ever seen a customer in the BB mobile location here.

I am guessing the PM policy will also mean less in store sales, so you will have to PM if you want to get deals. This leaves the work to only the savvy customer, and the majority of the customers who do not want to PM will be stuck with regular price merchandise. Judging by the fact that I went into a Target with about 5-8 copies of that Layton game for the 3DS I do not think too many people know about PM's, I was able to easily match the BB price and get the game.[/QUOTE]

They did for me. PM'd Futurama for $14.99.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']So do they PM frys. com even in an area where there are no frys stores at all?[/quote]

Mine did - $30 off a DVD set that was $55.

They could use to get rid of the smaller mall locations, which are almost always dead and just stick with the bigger stand alone stores. The stores here seem to be busy, but its clear the recent addition of mall locations in the past 3-5 years doesn't seem to be helping them. I imagine these stores are quite expensive to operate as well.
Click to expand...

Oddly, according to one article I read (unless it was just a puff piece), the BBY Mobile stores were exceeding expectations, while it's the larger locations that are hurting.
 
[quote name='UncleBob']
Oddly, according to one article I read (unless it was just a puff piece), the BBY Mobile stores were exceeding expectations, while it's the larger locations that are hurting.[/QUOTE]
Domestic comparable store sales for the period were flat. The company recorded positive comparable store sales growth in mobile phones, tablets/eReaders and appliances. In contrast, comparable store sales in entertainment, televisions and computing declined.
Click to expand...
Mobile is one of the areas BB is growing.
 
I just don't think they will go out, maybe within the next 5 years they will be gone but it won't be a short term thing, aka they aren't on the verge of going out within the next year. There are so many customers who buy stuff they need right away and use the Geek Squad. A lot of people don't shop online in my area due to not having credit or credit cards or some sort of payment that can be used online. This is evidenced by how many people show up at the Black Friday sales, if everyone shopped online BF sales would not get massive lines with thousands of people each in them. If everyone shopped online then stores would have almost no customers and no one would be stupid enough to stand out in a line of thousands in the freezing cold for hours or even days for some item. The people on the site and other deal sites make up only a small percentage of shoppers at these stores, probably less than 1%.

People don't usually go to the mall to buy electronics, they go for clothing and stuff. The mobile locations are probably fine as they are cheaper to operate but I am just saying when I pass by they do not look busy. They also stock a ton of overpriced and high margin phone accessories. The mall stores may get a lot of foot traffic, but not that many people are buying in the mall stores from what I see. Obviously what I see is different from what is going on in the whole company.
 
Not to bump this back up to the top of the forum, though I just received an email from Best Buy about my RZ Silver membership being renewed until Feb 28, 2014 and they mentioned the 60-day return policy specifically in the email as part of the RZ Silver membership. My guess is that it might change next year though into this calendar year, they're keeping the 60 day return policy alive for RZ Silver members.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Not to bump this back up to the top of the forum, though I just received an email from Best Buy about my RZ Silver membership being renewed until Feb 28, 2014 and they mentioned the 60-day return policy specifically in the email as part of the RZ Silver membership. My guess is that it might change next year though into this calendar year, they're keeping the 60 day return policy alive for RZ Silver members.[/QUOTE]

Same here. tho i only spent like 1200$ bucks there last year. 718$ was for a TV replacement as i had one die on me. Oh well i aint complainin'.
 
Trying this out tonight. 8 pack of Energizer rechargeable batteries: 17.43 at Amazon, 29.99 at Best Buy. Sweet goodness, that's $12.56 of lost margin for them!

Why not just buy from Amazon you might ask? Because I dusted the Wii off last night and I want to play now! There's still a market for BBY if they can afford to lose 42% margin on a PM.

EDIT: Well, the line at customer service was about 6 people deep, and I didn't realize the Energizer 8-pack I was going to PM was only 1400 mhz. Decided to punt and just order the Eneloops off Amazon. Needed some 3ds screen protectors anyway, and they said I was eligible for a 2nd trial of prime, couldn't get much better with free two day shipping.
 
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Well it sucks!


Introducing our new Low Price Guarantee.¹ If you find a lower price on a qualifying product at a local retail competitor's store or a designated major online retailer, we will match the price.
• Competitor price-matching will be honored only at time of purchase.
• For all customers, we are happy to match prices if we lower our price within 15 days of purchase.²
• Returns and exchanges will be accepted up to 15 days post purchase. Reward Zone® Premier Silver members will continue to benefit from a longer return and exchange policy — up to 60 days from the time of purchase.
 
I know I posted it in the deal but since people visit this forum more the should be aware:

Introducing our new Low Price Guarantee.¹ If you find a lower price on a qualifying product at a local retail competitor's store or a designated major online retailer, we will match the price.
• Competitor price-matching will be honored only at time of purchase.

• For all customers, we are happy to match prices if we lower our price within 15 days of purchase.²

• Returns and exchanges will be accepted up to 15 days post purchase. Reward Zone® Premier Silver members will continue to benefit from a longer return and exchange policy — up to 60 days from the time of purchase.

²The Price Match policy for Reward Zone Premier Silver members will follow the new guidelines of 15 days following a transition period that will last until April 18, 2013, which allows 60 days for price matching to Best Buy's prices post purchase. Beginning with purchases on or after April 19, 2013 the price match will be the same for all customers.
 
[quote name='nas6034']I know I posted it in the deal but since people visit this forum more the should be aware:

Introducing our new Low Price Guarantee.¹ If you find a lower price on a qualifying product at a local retail competitor's store or a designated major online retailer, we will match the price.
• Competitor price-matching will be honored only at time of purchase.

• For all customers, we are happy to match prices if we lower our price within 15 days of purchase.²

• Returns and exchanges will be accepted up to 15 days post purchase. Reward Zone® Premier Silver members will continue to benefit from a longer return and exchange policy — up to 60 days from the time of purchase.[/QUOTE]

Does Target price match this?

On all serious notes, this has been discussed a plethora of times thruout the site. Does not need to be in the deals section.
 
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