Best Buy - deceptive practices still around?

[draggar]

Last week I saw that their online ad had 1GB external drives for $250 (Western Digital).

I printed out the ad and went to Best Buy. They had it there for $350. The circular in the store didn't show that nor did it show when they went to their own website inside the store.

Weren't they taken to court for this last year?

[blas87]

I can't recall that for a fact, but I do know that in recent times, there's been a lot of speculation of this sort of thing. I haven't exactly read up on it and none of my friends/family have experienced it, but I'd be inclined to believe it if I did read it or hear about it.

[draggar]

They're showing the same HDD at $250 this week. Maybe I'll swing by to check it out, again. :)

[Pedersen]

I don't know if they were taken to court, but I do know I read that they had two versions of their website with noticeably different pricing. One for internal, and one for external.

Your best bet: Have an alternate means of connecting to the internet (web enabled cell phone, 3g network card and a laptop, what have you), and take that with. Then ask the manager why his company is showing such dramatically different pricing.

[Fashion Lad!]

Here's the deal. If you went in with an ad that you just got yesterday, it wasn't effective until today.

Also, the thing with the website... yes, there are two websites. One displaying national prices, the other displaying local prices. They can vary, typically depending on applicable fees. At the top of the website displaying local prices, there is a BRIGHT YELLOW BANNER telling you that this website may not reflect national website issues.

We always price match what's online.

You might have gone to a store where the employee did not get trained properly on the differences between to the two websites. When I started at the Big Blue Box, they stressed the importance of knowing the difference between the national site and the local site. We always price-matched the national site. End of story.

This whole issue still pisses me off. You come to my store and if you say it was online for a certain price, we will look up the price on our national website and give you the national website price.

Also, 1GB external drive for $250? We don't have anything smaller than 80GB. Are you talking about the 1TB? Because a 1TB external harddrive from Western Digital is $399, but that's also network ready. The 1TB WD HDD for $250 is not network ready, it's just USB. Make sure you're not looking at two entirely different Harddrives.

[draggar]

Here's the deal. If you went in with an ad that you just got yesterday, it wasn't effective until today.

I look at the ad from Best Buy's site Sunday mornings (and verify the dates).

Also, 1GB external drive for $250? We don't have anything smaller than 80GB. Are you talking about the 1TB? Because a 1TB external harddrive from Western Digital is $399, but that's also network ready. The 1TB WD HDD for $250 is not network ready, it's just USB. Make sure you're not looking at two entirely different Harddrives.

Sorry, that was a typo, yes, 1TB drive. No, it wasn't the networked one. Today's ad, online and in my local store, both show the same drive for $250. I went in, not even a spot on the shelf for it. The associate said they were sold out of them but had a "similar" drive (identical specs, and it was NOT the networked one, USB 2.0 etc..) for $350.

BTW - this isn't the first time Best Buy has listed prices that they do not honor. I've seen speakers, with a sticker for $60 (yes, the SKU on the speaker box and the SKU on the price sticker matched) but they tried to charge me well over $100. The sticker was "a mistake".

[NightAngel]

Apparently, this thread is upsetting to BOTH sides of the counter.

Pricing mistakes happen.
Customers can't read signs.

We were in a hurry the other day and didn't realize that the price stickers for previously viewed DVD I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry had printed for $3,589.00. They were out like that until a customer brought it to my attention.

On the flip side I've had 3 disputes with customers over sales in the last few days because my customers did not read the whole sign.

No one is perfect- on either side of the counter. We're all subject to human error.

As has been said so many times here- when you have a problem with a store ask for a manager.

EDIT:
This was a mod message to keep it to a civil discussion.
I'm completely exhausted so I wanted to make sure I got that point across.

[LionMan]

Weren't they taken to court for this last year?

In Connecticut, they made an agreement not to have separate www sites for in store and out of store. However, they are still doing it elsewhere. Consumerist has had a few stories on this recently, even after they said they won't do it again.

[Rahmota]

Best Buy - deceptive practices still around?
Of course they are. Given my personal experiences and those related to me by others BB is one of the worst in the business for not honoring their service agreements, adverts and basically anything else the corporation says.

This is not to say that all the individual employees are evil or in on it but there are a lot of bad things BB corporation does and a lot of employees go along with it for whatever reason.

[Ree]

Excuse me, but perhaps the "MODERATOR" badge under NightAngel's name, or the warning note This was a mod message was missed.

Some may have opinions about this company, but we have members who work there, and making comments implying that employees just blindly follow an irresponsible and potentially illegal corporate policy really doesn't help things.

The OP posted with a complaint. FashionLad, who is an employee for that company has already explained what could have happened.

If people choose not to accept that plausible explanation, that is their choice, but I really don't think that a blanket bashing of an entire company, and, as I said, one that pays the wages of some of our members, is beneficial to this site.

[draggar]

Apparently, this thread is upsetting to BOTH sides of the counter.

Pricing mistakes happen.
Customers can't read signs.


EDIT:
This was a mod message to keep it to a civil discussion.
I'm completely exhausted so I wanted to make sure I got that point across.

I understand, this just is happening a bit too often with this company. :(

Also, did they pay $3800 for the DVD? Was it platinum plated gold? :roll: