Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Best Buy Selling iPhone X on Installment Plan Only After Criticism Over $100 Premium

mi7chy said:
Simply all you had to do was price match and they'll honor it. Now you have one fewer local supplier. Classic example of being worse off engaging the mouth instead of the brain.
Click to expand...

That’s pure bulls***.

This company has become a slime pit with no regard to customer service. From absurd restocking fees to selling pre-ordered iPhones to walk-in customers (happened to me, including charging my credit card).

With the exception of people losing their jobs, Best Buy going out of business can’t happen soon enough.
 
Riddlin said:
LOL Seriously. I drive by daily and don't even think about this. Good lord. They are free to do what they want. Are you ashamed to drive by car dealerships that charge more for the car your driving. Or the gas station that charges $.10 more a gallon then the guy down the street. This is the most ridiculous comment I have ever read.
Click to expand...
What does any of that have to do with Best Buy, or my views on their leadership? I want the company to do well, I like Best Buy, but don’t understand / like their practice of upcharging customers for products.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: compuguy1088, hlfway2anywhere and richhh
sw1tcher said:
If someone paid that inflated price, then that person was obvious okay with it, so why should s/he get the $100 back?

If you don't like the price, don't pay it. Or just return the iPhone for a full refund... unless you can get Best Buy to do a price match/adjustment.
Click to expand...

Obviously a simple concept that practically no one here is capable of grasping.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sean4000, richhh and Riddlin
They probably sold their entire first batch with the $100 profits, said meh, and aren't putting in a batch 2 order.
 
Rayban said:
I can buy an "un-activated" phone at full price from Apple with no markup. Are they implying that Apple charges them extra to sell at full price? Makes no sense.
Click to expand...
Go buy one from Apple and wait six weeks possibly. Or go to best buy pay an extra $100 and get it this week. Supply and Demand. I bet Best Buy still sold out. Fanbois don't care about $100. Should be more upset your paying $1199 for an iphone from Apple.
 
  • Like
Reactions: corebeliefs, compuguy1088 and DEMinSoCAL
It's not some scandalous thing, they were doing this because buying a phone at full price with no installment plan doesn't make money. They only make something small per phone (maybe $15-20) if you buy it outright, but with a contract or installment plan, the carrier gives them an incentive. Combine this with the fact that new iPhones on release are in huge demand by scalpers, Best Buy is trying to tilt the balance toward customers buying the phone the way most actual consumers do, on a plan.

They get a super limited amount of them to begin with, so from a business standpoint, it sucks to have scalpers buy out the majority of the phones and barely turn a profit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: compuguy1088 and Squeak825
As far as I know, the reason for the upcharge is this: Best Buy and other "authorized retailers" for Verizon, AT&T, et al. earn a commission based on new account / renewals. The chances of someone bouncing from one carrier to another after paying full price for a phone are probably higher than someone locked in with a lease-to-own plan. Also worth noting is that if you purchase a phone on a lease-to-own plan on any carrier via Best Buy, you can't upgrade the phone until completely paid off. Yet another reason to stay away from Best Buy when it comes to mobile phones.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bennyf, compuguy1088 and richhh
dmylrea said:
Because the new trend is to make mountains out of mole hills it seems. Everyone here that is whining about it and how bad BB is, isn't even buying one from them, but feel they have to make a big deal about it.

There are SO MANY other scenarios in retail where the business is selling something for more than retail and people can't hand over their credit card fast enough. Ever buy wine in a fine restaurant? Twice the retail price, but to people swear and bad-mouth the restaurant and promise never to go back?

People here make no sense.
Click to expand...

This is simply Capitalism; no one is forced at gun point to buy the inflated price. If people are willing to pay it, then Best Buy would be stupid from a business standpoint to not charge the inflated price. Yes, some may not like it, but Best Buy isn’t a charity out to help consumers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: compuguy1088 and richhh
mi7chy said:
Simply all you had to do was price match and they'll honor it. Now you have one fewer local supplier. Classic example of being worse off engaging the mouth instead of the brain.
Click to expand...

Classic example of a shady business: We know you can buy it anywhere else for less, and we know that we'll sell it to you for less, but we're going to try to trick you into paying more anyway. Now that I know that I have to look elsewhere to find a decent deal, why would I even bother to look at Best Buy? That's what they should be thinking about.
 
840quadra said:
More proof that this company has lost it’s way.

Ashamed to drive past their headquarters 2 times a day.
Click to expand...
So they respond to the negative press coverage by removing the full-price option, and that is proof that the company "has lost its way?" Ok. Their installment options are identical to what the carriers offer, so there's really no room to complain at this point. Heck, in a few months, it's possible that they'll throw in a gift card with the purchase of an iPhone 7 or 8.

I don't like the fact that Best Buy marked up the full-price option by $100, but I understand why they did it. They likely make little-to-no money on full-price iPhone purchases. If the customer returns the iPhone, Best Buy likely loses a fairly significant amount of money.

Best Buy isn't perfect, but they've made great strides in the last few years. I don't understand why so many people want to see them fail. Personally, I don't want to live in a world where I have to make all of my big-ticket electronic/appliance purchases online, sight unseen. I've bought most of my electronics through Best Buy over the past 5 years and have had zero issues and never felt pressured or annoyed by a store employee. I'll continue to give them my business as long as they're around.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bennyf, corebeliefs, compuguy1088 and 1 other person
840quadra said:
What does any of that have to do with Best Buy, or my views on their leadership? I want the company to do well, I like Best Buy, but don’t understand / like their practice of upcharging customers for products.

Thanks for the personal attack though.
Click to expand...

I'm confused...you want them to do well, but at the same time you want them to lose money when selling an iPhone X? How does a company "do well" when they lose money?
 
  • Like
Reactions: ryanmcv
TechZeke said:
This is simply Capitalism; no one is forced at gun point to buy the inflated price. If people are willing to pay it, then Best Buy would be stupid from a business standpoint to not charge the inflated price. Yes, some may not like it, but Best Buy isn’t a charity out to help consumers.
Click to expand...
They also can’t afford bad publicity or a bad public image with more of their customers moving to Amazon, direct to OEMs, and away from a lot of the consumer electronics they sell.

Sure they are free to make money, but it plants the seed in consumers minds that they charge a premium for something they could just as easily get from a carrier, or OEM directly, and at a lower cost. Not good for Best Buy, and it is questionable marketing and PR.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Howyalikdemapls, compuguy1088 and richhh
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back