Best Buy Ending Rebates!

[jwardl]

There may be some disagreement as to thether this qualifies as a hot deal, but here's the story.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBEYLMO07E.html

 

[rugby]

Heh, sure they are. Look at the date.

 

[MrNutz]

Can't say this suprises me after they publicly annonuced that they no longer wanted ppl looking for "Hot Deals" to come to their store... :disgust:

 

[jwardl]

Originally posted by: MrNutz
Can't say this suprises me after they publicly annonuced that they no longer wanted ppl looking for "Hot Deals" to come to their store... :disgust:

"Best Buy" indeed. Maybe they should change their name to "Ok Buy."

 

[Su1c1da1]

can they really end rebates when the rebates are manufacturer's? just another april fools eh

 

[codeyf]

TD Rebate Thread > This Rebate Thread

 

[delslow]

Is it just me, or is this actually a REAL THREAD. I'm noob.

-delslow

 

[misterj]

ding dong the witch is dead

 

[GonzoCircus]

this is real. was in a twin cities newspaper

 

[denmalley]

I don't know - I beleive it, cause its not really funny if it IS an April fool's joke.

Best Buy is so going to lose on this "customer centricity" idea. Basically, they're telling these hourly employees that its ok to alienate certain prospective shoppers based on whether they exhibit signs of being a "deal shopper." Now imagine what a retail employee considers as ok methods of alienation....

 

[kamranziadar]

I don;t think so they can, they will lose a lot of business. I never had any problem with bestbuy's rebates.

 

[Tal]

Lame

 

[Trevelyan]

all of you are dumb

 

[JimKiler]

I am sure it is real, with CompUSA being sued by the federal gov't over rebates, it is a liability and no one can dispute the customer's hate rebates. Smart move that will hopefully force other retailers to follow suit. I wonder whether the prices will simply not be discounted or if it will be an instant rebate instead.

 

[paulsj]

Best Buy Article

It's real, folks.

 

[Password]

The article says>>>...as Best Buy shifts its promotional spending to programs like its "Reward Zone," where customers pay an up-front fee but earn points toward future discounts.<<<

Who is going to do this???

 

[Glendor]

Originally posted by: GonzoCircus
this is real. was in a twin cities newspaper

Yep, if they say it in the Twin Cities, it must be true

 

[smartt]

I've never came across anything worth buying in Bestbuy that you couldn't get cheaper somewhere else. Rebates were about the only way they could half-way compete, and they were a big crap shoot at that. They claim to hate deal hunters and came up with some half-cocked research to say we are only a small portion of their customer base. Guess they'll find out how sound that research was.

 

[Lorax]

Originally posted by: Password
The article says>>>...as Best Buy shifts its promotional spending to programs like its "Reward Zone," where customers pay an up-front fee but earn points toward future discounts.<<<

Who is going to do this???

quite a few people already do this, myself included.

 

[mdcrab]

I'd prefer not to do MIR's and if BB reduces their prices by a percentage of the rebate, a number of customer's will pay slightly more than rebated price to not to have to deal with MIR's. Not sure if BB will reduce prices at all, but it is a nice thought. Will also cut out the money that the rebate processor make (to tell you your rebate submittal is incomplete, does not comply, etc.) as well.

mdcrab

 

[Smokin Gunn]

Thx 4 the post OP

 

[Beefcake04]

Originally posted by: jwardl

Originally posted by: MrNutz
Can't say this suprises me after they publicly annonuced that they no longer wanted ppl looking for "Hot Deals" to come to their store... :disgust:

"Best Buy" indeed. Maybe they should change their name to "Ok Buy."

BBY is basically the 7-Eleven of electronics stores. They have everything you need, basically, but you'll pay very high prices for the convenience of picking it up today instead of waiting 3 days for online delivery.

 

[spyboy64]

Does BB lose money when people submit their rebates or is it the fulfillment company who pays the cost of the rebate?

 

[Richardito]

Originally posted by: spyboy64
Does BB lose money when people submit their rebates or is it the fulfillment company who pays the cost of the rebate?

Good question. My wife used to work for OfficeMax corporate and had "something" to do with the rebates. Actually the store's advertising people get with the manufacturers of the goods and do contracts for each of the rebate offers. They used to assume that only 10% of the buyers will eventually send in the rebates and base their costs on that many years ago. Then they hire a third party (rebate company) to collect and pay for the rebates. The rebate company gets paid by both parties, but if less people turn in their rebate the rebate company makes more money. No wonder why they are trying to deny every rebate send in today. A lot more than 10% are correctly sending in rebates and it is hurting their economic model. When rebate pay outs reach 70-80% the rebate system will be in big trouble...

 

[dew042]

Originally posted by: denmalley
I don't know - I beleive it, cause its not really funny if it IS an April fool's joke.

Best Buy is so going to lose on this "customer centricity" idea. Basically, they're telling these hourly employees that its ok to alienate certain prospective shoppers based on whether they exhibit signs of being a "deal shopper." Now imagine what a retail employee considers as ok methods of alienation....

Your assertation on what BB is 'basically' telling hourly employees is far off the mark.

That's definatly not the basis of the "Customer Centricity" model - it aims to customize products and services towards a particular type of shopper based on the local needs and demand. Gone is the day of the cookie cutter, every store is the exact same. Best Buy wants to make itself different, unique in an increasingly competative marketplace. Frankly - I would not want my only local outlet for electronics to be Walmart.

As to alienation - a buck is a buck is a buck. No retailer is ever going spend a significant amount of time profiling customers and purposefully ignoring them on a store level. Beyond that - the average hot dealer I would doubt ever talks to sales people, much less listens to a sales pitch. We "hot dealers" are saavy, informed consumers who make our decisions based on what we learn and research - not what a sales person suggests.

dew.