Best Buy to cut return policy in half.

[RPD]

I don't think Gamestop is any better, i watched a guy go ballistic after he purchased a protection plan on a PS3 and the controller crapped out, they wouldn't give him a new controller so him and manager had a screaming contest until the cops arrived. pretty funny.

Why does anyone shop at Gamespot?

 

[HeXen]

Why does anyone shop at Gamespot?

Cause it's there i guess.

 

[SheHateMe]

What is "Best Buy"? Is that a new feature on Amazon or something?

 

[Imp]

Why does anyone shop at Gamespot?

I don't know... It surprises me that EB Games is still alive at the mall I frequent. The novelty of a store dedicated to video games must be a perk.

 

[RPD]

I don't know... It surprises me that EB Games is still alive at the mall I frequent. The novelty of a store dedicated to video games must be a perk.

I just don't get it. I went to both stores before and felt like is was either bothering them trying to give them business or just constantly badged by pre orders.

 

[imagoon]

Never knew of this... Bullshit if it's true.

When I worked there 15 years ago... if that happened it meant the cashier was dumb and didn't hit the "1 for 1 exchange" button. As long as the sku was the same they could swap it by refunding one then scannng the new one, hitting price adjust -> 1:1 exchange.

Did the manager look at the cashier like (s)he was an idiot or was the manager just as dumb? Just having worked there has made me use them as a last resort. To this day I hate "PSP / PRP" (warranties.)

 

[gsethi]

I only go to BB to look at items now

Few weeks ago, I needed a male to male USB cable urgent. Went to BB and was willing to pay upto $20 for the cable (since I needed that day for work...I know the cable is only ~$1-2 online). BB price was $49. I just laughed and walked away.

Another event from Nov. Went to BB to purchase Nokia Lumia 920 (at no contract price). BB price was $549 and I asked them to PM AT&T no-contract price at $449. CSR spends about 10min looking up on AT&T site and confirms that it is in-stock at local AT&T store 1 mile away and says "Alright". He checks with his supervisor who also gives the OK but they needed manager override. Manager comes, sees the $100 price difference and starts making excuses. The original CSR comes and tells me to just get it from AT&T store, as the manager will not approve it.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

When I worked there 15 years ago... if that happened it meant the cashier was dumb and didn't hit the "1 for 1 exchange" button. As long as the sku was the same they could swap it by refunding one then scannng the new one, hitting price adjust -> 1:1 exchange.

Did the manager look at the cashier like (s)he was an idiot or was the manager just as dumb? Just having worked there has made me use them as a last resort. To this day I hate "PSP / PRP" (warranties.)

Yeah, in my case, I think it was just a case of a stupid person at the return desk and not store policy, but that is one of their big problems -- stupid, lazy employees.

Now, I will say that I used to buy their extended warranty on the Xbox 360 and never had an issue with it and even convinced them to let me swap a dead one out with a new store package once that was no longer their policy.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

It will be interesting to see if the price match policy is sustainable. My first guess is no, it is not.

I cannot recall a bad experience with them. I got in on some good deals bitd too. I just found them superfluous to my shopping needs as time went by. The last time I was in one, the prices on items I looked at, made me smile and think GTFO.

 

[Eos]

We all love Amazon now. The question is, will we still love them when all these other stores go bankrupt? I suspect not. The savings with gradually deteriorate, as will the manpower and service. With less competition comes less of a pinch to spend the extra buck to go above and beyond for consumers.

It's kind of like with Intel. We all love them for processors because their Sandy Bridges/Ivy Bridges are now better than anything AMD has. But it is precisely because of that that Intel has now throttled the market and put it on cruise control by locking multipliers and keeping the costs of their Ivy's in comparable relation to their older Sandy's despite being a smaller, cheaper process. Those savings in manufacturing would have been passed to the consumers if AMD had the resources and capital to go toe to toe with them, but they do not. Even if you hate AMD and only buy intel, you are the poorer for their not being able to make Intel sweat. Perhaps some time in the future Amazon will become the Intel of retailers.

If there's no other option from where to purchase, I'll still shop at amazon. Because there's no option...

 

[Imp]

I just don't get it. I went to both stores before and felt like is was either bothering them trying to give them business or just constantly badged by pre orders.

I hated shopping there when I still did. You always had to ask the cashier for stuff because they hid all their stock in drawers and back rooms, and the people working there usually didn't want to be there. In the more recent years, most stores started hiding their PC games on the top of shelves with a few new releases at floor level. Thank goodness for Steam...

Speaking of BB, I just remembered... When I go there to buy stuff, I usually order online and pick-up in store anyways. This is thanks to their stupid online shipping (post office delivery) that won't leave products in my mailbox or on the porch half the time, making me have to walk to the post office -- I've had a $400 LCD TV left on my porch, but $20 DVDs or bargain bin games consistently require a trip.

The other reason is that some items are too damn hard to find in the store. Even for their easy to find stuff, I sometimes see them "in stock" on their website, but nowhere to be found in the correct section (e.g. laptop bags, 5 separate areas for chargers). Amazon consistently leaves shit on my porch (UPS delivery).

 

[dr150]

Truer words could not have been spoken.

 

[kinev]

Wonder if they miss us "devil" customers yet...

:twisted:

 

[RaistlinZ]

I don't see how they can match online prices, pay for all that B&M overhead, and stay in business long term.

 

[HeXen]

I do like Geeksquads MRI program, it's actually quite helpful and goes perfect for Toolbox's on a stick, though i kinda hate working on people's computers anymore.

 

[QueBert]

Why does anyone shop at Gamespot?

Awesome selection of super cheap used games. I picked up 6 games last month for less than $20 total, before buying an Xbox a few months ago I haven't owned a console since Dreamcast. So even old games are new to me. I could get them online, but when you factor in shipping and waiting for shipping it's whatever to me. GS also gives you a week to return a used game for a no questions exchange.

 

[13Gigatons]

The only nice thing about retail is that you buy it that day and take it home. Online still takes days to arrive.

 

[cubby1223]

They'd be better if they were at least somewhat reasonable on prices. It's like they know they only sell to people who have to purchase something that is immediately needed, and will price gouge for it.

I was in there recently needing four cables, they're like $6 each on Amazon, I would have paid $20 per for 4 at Best Buy, they wanted $40 per! Even though I was buying for someone who is willing to pay to have it immediately, the new computers are being loaded with $10k in software (in other words these cables are a small percentage of the total price) - I still couldn't do it, I ordered them from Amazon with next day air shipping.

 

[randomrogue]

I can't think of a worse store than Best Buy. It should have gone under years ago. They are always trying to pull some shit that any halfway decent person can spot. Every time I leave Best Buy I feel like I just paid money to be violated.

 

[PingSpike]

I don't see how they can match online prices, pay for all that B&M overhead, and stay in business long term.

That was my thought as well. Their new strategy seems to be double down on the old failed strategy. Competing on price with online retailers is a complete waste of time. Online retailers don't have tons of B&M stores and their associated costs and logistical problems so they will drive you right into the ground on cost without even trying.

I read a pretty good article (which I unfortunately can't remember where I read it) about how stores like Best Buy need to offer a local service that you just can't get online and forget about trying to win the price game. Probably like a geek squad that didn't suck and serviced lots of products. The article went on about how instead of playing to the strengths of the retail store, they ignored them and focused on battles they could never really win. At the same time internet retailers like amazon and newegg have worked really hard to offer things online that you couldn't get in a retail store like customer reviews and tons of products while also working very hard to mitigate their disadvantages with better warehouse networks and great websites.

The trouble is a lot of things seem to be designed to break and then be thrown away now so I feel like service of products has kind of been gutted in general. And best buy has been going in the wrong direction so long its probably to top heavy and entrenched to make any big changes. Most big companies seem to become filled with dinosaurs that protect their dying core business at any cost, leaving the brand more or less helpless when times change.

On a side note some local businesses started hemming and hawing to the state government that they can't compete with online retailers because of sales tax. These guys are just deluded more or less. Online retailers haven't out competed you on price, they've out competed you on everything. You can charge sales tax if you want, I'll go to your stores just as often. Local stores usually gouge the hell out of you on small items and then bombard me credit card offers and extended warranty plans after waiting in a line to pay for the item. I have to lose part of my weekend and pay for gas to drive to the store where I don't even know if they have the item in the first place or if its in stock. I wander around the store like a jackass while every employee gives me the same "I don't know, that isn't my department line". I also can't even make a guess about whether its a piece of shit or not when I finally find it. I can buy shit online in my underwear, it takes 5 seconds, I often get more pictures of what it looks like besides the outside of the box, there are customer reviews right there, it comes to my door and their selection and stock is known before I purchase.

The ultimate irony, when I go to stores like Lowes to look at an appliance they don't have any of them on the display floor or in stock and tell me to look at pictures online. My wife went to a clothing store where they didn't have any size small and told her she could order them online. My mother told me yesterday she went to a store to buy a curtain rod and again they told her they didn't stock any but she could buy them off the website. Even in businesses like appliances (where you want to see the item to determine fit and quality) clothing (where you want to try the item on) and selling to old people that hate computers businesses are simply don't know what they're doing. As they are run now most of these stores could be replaced with a return kiosk, improve their website and do more than they were before. Why aren't they shutting down their retail locations or changing them so actually offer something?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Im usually the first to get all frothy mouthed about what a shithole best buy is but man I was shocked by them over the last week or so. The car audio selection is nice, had a really helpful guy that knew his stuff and tracked down all that I needed, and he even told me they'll match Amazon's price. It has to be sold by Amazon not fulfilled by Amazon. I even returned one of the items. Went to customer service and they asked why I was returning I told them then they refunded me in full. Easy as pie.

 

[stag3]

doesn't bother me either, i just use them to see actual products before buying off amazon like most people

 

[spacejamz]

I don't even see the point of B&M locations anymore. It's great when you need something ASAP, but for 99% of my purchases, waiting 2 days for a delivery will suffice. And I don't even need to get dressed :awe:.

that's what happens when you think that everyone should think like you....

It's too bad that most of America has an instant gratification attitude and are not willing to wait.

 

[GoPackGo]

Wonder if they miss us "devil" customers yet...

:twisted:

That is a really good point. They got rid of rebates and did everything they could to push out what they called low to no margin customers.

They also used to update their stores quite often and now they have become quite stale.

 

[AstroManLuca]

It will be interesting to see if the price match policy is sustainable. My first guess is no, it is not.

I think they're banking on people not knowing about the policy or not taking advantage of it.

For me, this more than makes up for shortening the return window. I feel bad about returning opened things anyway and I try to minimize my returns anyway unless it's a really bad purchase. But I do tend to avoid Best Buy because they usually have high prices in addition to having to pay sales tax. This might convince me to check them out again.