This definitely seemed like a lame move from Best Buy (I say if they couldn't sell the phone profitably for the retail price, they should have just not sold it unlocked to begin with), but all this "Best Buy is lame and needs to shut down" talk is kind of silly, if you ask me.
There are certainly times when their prices are not as good as their competitors (like this present situation), just as I'm sure it also works the other way around. But for the things that I frequently price check — movies, monitors, TVs, various Apple products — they are *usually* quite aggressive at keeping their prices in line with at least Amazon (the other one I check the most, along with newegg, bhphoto, etc.), sometimes even cheaper. They have maintained a killer price matching policy over the years even while other retailers such as Wal-Mart have recently abandoned theirs. Their rewards program is great, and their website / app generally offers a much better user experience than I get with Amazon.
And, of course, the most obvious advantage Best Buy has over any online retailer is... there is an actual, physical store where I can A) Go and experience/test out various product in person, first hand, B) pick up many products immediately rather than having to wait two days for Prime shipping (which is great and all, but not as great as same day), and C) RETURN products without having to go through the hassle of printing out an RMA, trying to package everything back up, and making a trip to the UPS store, etc. I'm sure some of you have had legitimately bad experiences, but my own experiences with Best Buy returns have always been quick, easy, and problem-free — and that alone would be worth wishing for their continued existence, even aside from all the other benefits.
And to steal a line from Scrooge's nephew, I believe Best Buy has done me good, and will do me good, and I say, God bless it!