Buying 5s at bestbuy....

[BJonson]

Best Buy will run tricks on you to make more money. They have thousands of ways to get you in the store but unless you read the fineprint you will be let down. What? They have a sale store wide? Not on apple gear. What? You have a 10% off card, pft, better read those exclusions. What? You want to buy a phone from them? Gonna be $50 more or get it on contract and even then they won't sell it to you for the extra $50 because its so special that they are milking it for the contracts.

They had a sale on monitors. I had a discount card and for some reason it fell below their cost or so they said. I wanted 5 for a new setup I was building. They only let me buy 2. Went to Staples with receipt and they beat the price and let me buy the remaining 3.

Just waiting for them to go out of business already. They are pulling the same crap that circuit city and CompUSA pulled before they got their walking papers.

 

[justiny]

Just waiting for them to go out of business already. They are pulling the same crap that circuit city and CompUSA pulled before they got their walking papers.

Best Buy=flush.

 

[zer06ame]

We have three Best Buy Stores in our area. They use that same company policy freely, willingly, and to their advantage.

One can tell by the smiles on the employees faces, moral is great, the stores are quite busy, and customers are walking out with purchases in hand.

It's amazing what a good attitude can do for business.

LOL @ blatant company attempt to save face for Best Buy.

The entire way this response was worded makes me assume you currently work for Best Buy.

I'll take this as a time to point out another illegal and underhanded practice that comes down from regional distribution:

Advertised quantities are almost NEVER shipped and stocked. Period.

Every single weekend there will be over 3 different advertised specials that stores receive 0 units of. They literally tell you to lie to customers and make up excuses like, "we sold out right when we opened today!"

 

[photodesign]

We have three Best Buy Stores in our area. They use that same company policy freely, willingly, and to their advantage.

One can tell by the smiles on the employees faces, moral is great, the stores are quite busy, and customers are walking out with purchases in hand.

It's amazing what a good attitude can do for business.

I've never found this to be true at any Best Buy in:

Phoenix
Los Angeles
Miami
Orlando
Tampa
Saint Petersburg
Baltimore

Best Buy is always a place you go to reluctantly because you need some piece of hardware now.

I universally encounter poorly-trained emplyees who will try to rip me off if given a chance.

 

[skimcpip]

Good luck trying to get a Device Only 5S from Best Buy.

Most of the stores around me require you to have an account with the carrier you plan on buying the Device Only 5S with. They also told me it has to be activated on the account before you the leave too

YMMV

They wouldn't let me buy device only without activating on an existing account. They did price match however. As always, YMMV.

 

[Truefan31]

They wouldn't let me buy device only without activating on an existing account. They did price match however. As always, YMMV.

man that sucks. hoping they'll be nicer to me then. they sell the phone off contract, i would think they'd actually sell it to customers. Still wondering how/what i need to do to get this pricematch.

 

[Kemonsterr]

Lol @"I hate how Best Buy gets so many negative comments.." They knowingly charge more for full retail than every carrier, and manufacturer, and you admitted that "they might give you a hassle about price matching", although its in their policy. Yet you don't like the negative comments, and people should just "get over it"? LMAO

Nobody is asking you to pay that price, you can match it. And no I don't like the comments. Business wise it's smart for them to charge more for full retail. Personally it's wrong. And yeah people should get over it, Best Buy is NOT a bad company. Granted it's not the best but I'd rather talk to someone about my electronic problems and sadly can't always make it to an Apple Store. All I'm saying if you don't like it, there's no reason you have to shop there nor do people have to bash it. I like knowing that as a cell phone sales lady, I do my job well and I do with with no incentive. I'd say just based on the last fact it's not that bad of a store.

----------

Best Buy will run tricks on you to make more money. They have thousands of ways to get you in the store but unless you read the fineprint you will be let down. What? They have a sale store wide? Not on apple gear. What? You have a 10% off card, pft, better read those exclusions. What? You want to buy a phone from them? Gonna be $50 more or get it on contract and even then they won't sell it to you for the extra $50 because its so special that they are milking it for the contracts.

They had a sale on monitors. I had a discount card and for some reason it fell below their cost or so they said. I wanted 5 for a new setup I was building. They only let me buy 2. Went to Staples with receipt and they beat the price and let me buy the remaining 3.

Just waiting for them to go out of business already. They are pulling the same crap that circuit city and CompUSA pulled before they got their walking papers.

It's called a limit. Most stores have one. And goodness I hope it doesn't go under, that's my job. I need to pay bills

 

[justiny]

I hate how Best Buy gets so many negative comments, get over it people.

Personally it's wrong. And yeah people should get over it, Best Buy is NOT a bad company.

This makes no sense at all. Best Buy continues to screw over customers.

You personally admit their business practices are wrong.

But Best Buy is not a bad company and customers should get over it.

Yeah, right.

 

[pat.micunnis]

I am going with AT&T 5s (currently have the Verizon 5s), now that I qualify for the $299 subsidized pricing!

I went to BBY yesterday to find out the trade in value for my current 5. To my surprise, they are offering me $380 (but it's in gift cards). I hate shopping at BBY -- prefer to buy electronics from Crutchfield.

BUT they did have the AT&T model that I want. Since I was at the store when they were closing, they couldn't activate the phone...I needed to come back to the store to buy the phone.

Question: what is BBY's return policy? Note that I'm an Elite Plus member (so I have 45 days to return items, but wasn't sure about mobile phones).

Also, are they offering an extra $50 gift card if you purchase a device from them & trade in a phone?

 

[Truefan31]

Nobody is asking you to pay that price, you can match it. And no I don't like the comments. Business wise it's smart for them to charge more for full retail. Personally it's wrong. And yeah people should get over it, Best Buy is NOT a bad company. Granted it's not the best but I'd rather talk to someone about my electronic problems and sadly can't always make it to an Apple Store. All I'm saying if you don't like it, there's no reason you have to shop there nor do people have to bash it. I like knowing that as a cell phone sales lady, I do my job well and I do with with no incentive. I'd say just based on the last fact it's not that bad of a store.

----------



It's called a limit. Most stores have one. And goodness I hope it doesn't go under, that's my job. I need to pay bills

I didn't mean for it to be an attack on your profession. Maybe you could provide insight on how I can get the price matching at my best buy mobile. I've had a credit account with them for about 5 years now, bought tvs/electronics there. I plan on buying the ipad 5 there as well, as they offer 18 month interest free financing and i have a 2200 credit there.

 

[Truefan31]

well i went to bb.com, and chatted w/a mobile rep. here's the conversation. thoughts?

Best Buy ChatChat is available 7 days a week, 8am - 2am ET.
Your Phone Number and Email allow us to look up your existing orders quickly to better assist you.
Field marked * is mandatory.
Your Name *:
Email * :
Phone:
© 2013 Best Buy Inc. All rights reserved.
Best Buy ChatConnected to Tracy

You : Hello, i'm wondering why you don't price match on the iphone 5s

Tracy : Hello,Thank you for contacting Best Buy Mobile, this is Tracy. What questions can I answer for you today?

You : Hello, i'm wondering why you don't price match on the iphone 5s

Tracy : We can price match the phone, but not with a carrier or an online store.

You : what do you mean?
You : if i wanted a 32 gb iphone 5s?

Tracy : We can price match at the time of purchase, but not price match a carriers price like Att Verizon or Sprint.

Tracy : Did I answer all your questions today?

You : so i want a 32 gb iphone 5s verizon but i want the off contract price. i see 749.99 everywhere, even on apple.com. while on bb.com it's 799.99. how would i be able to price match?

Tracy : We don't price match apple.

You : so is there an option? not apple or any carriers? are there others?
You : radioshack?
Tracy : Do you have a radioshack with in 25 miles of you?

You : yes. walmart/target as well
Tracy : Yes we will price match them.

You : so you pricematch walmart/target?
Tracy : Yes we do.

You : how would that work? what's needed to do this
Tracy : They have to call and verify the price. It has to be done in store.

You : so i would go to my best buy mobile, inform them that radioshack/target/walmart has it for a lower price, then they'd call that store to verify? any documentation needed?
Tracy :
No that's it.

You : ok yeah i've had an account with you for 5 years, also planning on getting the new ipad with you guys as well.
Tracy : Did I answer all your questions today?
You : yes thank

 

[skimcpip]

well i went to bb.com, and chatted w/a mobile rep. here's the conversation. thoughts?

Best Buy ChatChat is available 7 days a week, 8am - 2am ET.
Your Phone Number and Email allow us to look up your existing orders quickly to better assist you.
Field marked * is mandatory.
Your Name *:
Email * :
Phone:
© 2013 Best Buy Inc. All rights reserved.
Best Buy ChatConnected to Tracy

You : Hello, i'm wondering why you don't price match on the iphone 5s

Tracy : Hello,Thank you for contacting Best Buy Mobile, this is Tracy. What questions can I answer for you today?

You : Hello, i'm wondering why you don't price match on the iphone 5s

Tracy : We can price match the phone, but not with a carrier or an online store.

You : what do you mean?
You : if i wanted a 32 gb iphone 5s?

Tracy : We can price match at the time of purchase, but not price match a carriers price like Att Verizon or Sprint.

Tracy : Did I answer all your questions today?

You : so i want a 32 gb iphone 5s verizon but i want the off contract price. i see 749.99 everywhere, even on apple.com. while on bb.com it's 799.99. how would i be able to price match?

Tracy : We don't price match apple.

You : so is there an option? not apple or any carriers? are there others?
You : radioshack?
Tracy : Do you have a radioshack with in 25 miles of you?

You : yes. walmart/target as well
Tracy : Yes we will price match them.

You : so you pricematch walmart/target?
Tracy : Yes we do.

You : how would that work? what's needed to do this
Tracy : They have to call and verify the price. It has to be done in store.

You : so i would go to my best buy mobile, inform them that radioshack/target/walmart has it for a lower price, then they'd call that store to verify? any documentation needed?
Tracy :
No that's it.

You : ok yeah i've had an account with you for 5 years, also planning on getting the new ipad with you guys as well.
Tracy : Did I answer all your questions today?
You : yes thank

To get the price match I printed out the price Apple.com offered me on a full price iPhone on my existing account: 749.99. I brought the print out with me. She processed the price match with no issues.

I honestly think it's a crap shoot. The employee seemed laid back and/or tired. I could tell she knew that I knew exactly what I wanted and didn't feel like fighting. Even still she would under no circumstances sell me a phone that she didn't activate. If I got stuck with a stubborn/douchey employee, who knows how it would have worked out. Like I said, YMMV.

 

[AndrewR23]

It was a big hassle for them to price match for me as well...with a GTA V book. lol.

BB had it for 36.99, wal mart had it for 21.99.


So I brought up a picture and they said it had to be the actual website. Said "No problem" brought up the website. She said, cant be the mobile version, has to be desktop version. So changed it to desktop. She said, now you need to find the date when the sale started, make sure a Wal mart has it within 25 miles from here with them in stock, cant be an online price.

All I said was, get me a manager. He quickly priced matched it for me from Wal marts website and it took over an hour for the whole process.

 

[Raibyn]

My experience with buying phones outright and getting price matches at Best Buy has varied. Sometimes it has been simple, sometimes has been like pulling teeth, but I have never NOT had them do it. I have had them price match by calling the local AT&T store before.

 

[0r30]

I got an account with bb, I see the 32 gb 5s is 799.99. Will they match the 749.99 everywhere else? What do I show for them to match it? And I know it's gsm unlocked already but it should also have a clean esn for CDMA right?

Also what's their return policy on this? Restocking fee?

They will price match it if you print out apples pricing and take it to bestbuy. that the way I did it.

 

[Truefan31]

I don't want them to activate it though. I just want them to sell me the phone in the box. Crazy how this works. There's a BB, Walmart, target, and radioshacks all within like a 10 mile radius. Will they just gimme the phone like an apple store would?

 

[T4R06]

why hate? if you dont like their policy, just dont buy from them. i am a premier member and i like the 60day return policy without any restocking fee. im talking about almost everything except mobile phone of course

 

[zer06ame]

I don't want them to activate it though. I just want them to sell me the phone in the box. Crazy how this works. There's a BB, Walmart, target, and radioshacks all within like a 10 mile radius. Will they just gimme the phone like an apple store would?

Honestly, just go to one of the above choices and find out. It's not guaranteed that Best Buy won't sell it to you or price match for you, but you'll never know if you don't go in-person and give it a shot.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[briankeith513]

Nobody is asking you to pay that price, you can match it. And no I don't like the comments. Business wise it's smart for them to charge more for full retail. Personally it's wrong. And yeah people should get over it, Best Buy is NOT a bad company. Granted it's not the best but I'd rather talk to someone about my electronic problems and sadly can't always make it to an Apple Store. All I'm saying if you don't like it, there's no reason you have to shop there nor do people have to bash it. I like knowing that as a cell phone sales lady, I do my job well and I do with with no incentive. I'd say just based on the last fact it's not that bad of a store.

No offense, but this makes no sense at all. Whether you believe so or not, its not cool that Best Buy asks for more than the carrier and manufacturer ask for the price of the phones, and as you admitted, the company policy states that they price match, but they may hassle you about it, rather than just following their own policy. You can't defend that type of foolishness. And you can't expect people to just "get over it". When they see poor business practices like this, they will and should complain.

 

[Shockwave78]

No offense, but this makes no sense at all. Whether you believe so or not, its not cool that Best Buy asks for more than the carrier and manufacturer ask for the price of the phones, and as you admitted, the company policy states that they price match, but they may hassle you about it, rather than just following their own policy. You can't defend that type of foolishness. And you can't expect people to just "get over it". When they see poor business practices like this, they will and should complain.

Best Buy started implementing this policy about a year ago because of people like me. I would get anywhere from 5-10 phones per year at full price from Best Buy. I would pay full retail price with my Best Buy card and have them match all the carriers pricing. I would use the phone for two weeks just to try it out then return it. I did this for many years and according to other articles its pretty common practice. I have tried out every major phone release over the last 5yrs pretty much by doing this, without spending anything out of pocket pretty much.

They hoped by not matching the online prices of carriers that it would deter people from buying full price phones from them. They are not making anything selling a full priced phone, they make money off selling you a contract or upgrade.

So they stopped matching and it did deter me for awhile. But then i just though, hey i'll pay the $100 more they charge for the full price, and if i do like the phone and do decide to keep it, i will just return it and buy it somewhere else full price

 

[briankeith513]

Best Buy started implementing this policy about a year ago because of people like me. I would get anywhere from 5-10 phones per year at full price from Best Buy. I would pay full retail price with my Best Buy card and have them match all the carriers pricing. I would use the phone for two weeks just to try it out then return it. I did this for many years and according to other articles its pretty common practice. I have tried out every major phone release over the last 5yrs pretty much by doing this, without spending anything out of pocket pretty much.

They hoped by not matching the online prices of carriers that it would deter people from buying full price phones from them. They are not making anything selling a full priced phone, they make money off selling you a contract or upgrade.

So they stopped matching and it did deter me for awhile. But then i just though, hey i'll pay the $100 more they charge for the full price, and if i do like the phone and do decide to keep it, i will just return it and buy it somewhere else full price

I hear you, but that's not an excuse. Thats why the carriers charge a restocking fee. That helps to deter people like you, without overcharging in the first place.

 

[Truefan31]

Well I guess I'm gonna try RadioShack or target to see if they'll sell off contract 5s. Then get bob to price match

 

[MacKid1983]

Good luck trying to get a Device Only 5S from Best Buy.

Most of the stores around me require you to have an account with the carrier you plan on buying the Device Only 5S with. They also told me it has to be activated on the account before you the leave too

YMMV

I've had great luck. Bought a Silver 32gb and a Gold 64 gb w/ price match and paid full price, a couple weeks apart. No hassles.

 

[Mixedcreation]

If you are having a hard time having them price match have them look at their own Best Buy Low Price Guarantee policy, http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Global/Low-Price-Guarantee/pcmcat290300050002.c?id=pcmcat290300050002, that includes Apple.com as one of their defined "designated major online retailers". This should work if you are buying the phone off contract or unsubsidized. Maybe not so much for a device under contract as their fine print now seems to exclude this.

Also have them look at their own forum where Maria from corporate has responded in the following thread that "As long as all the conditions are met, you can certainly request a price match for the iPhone 5S."

http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Best-B...on-iPhone-purchases-in-California/td-p/708253

Also depending on what state you are in you may want to verify the amount of Sales Tax they are charging you as they seem to be incorrectly charging people in some cases.

Hope this helps.

 

[Dominicanyor]

Believe me, I completely agree. I wanted a price match from my nearest Best Buy during the holidays (not my location) on an iPad that I was gifting and they literally made me call the local competitor on their phone, wait 30 minutes, get a verification the item was in-stock there, then they tried to fight me that it isn't a local competitor because it's not in the same city (it was still only 15 miles away).

I finally just got mad and demanded the GM. My own store straight up told me no, we won't price match it because you'll hurt our attachment rate.

Best Buy is garbage. I don't buy ANYTHING for them after working for them and seeing their underhanded practices.

Wow and what city was that in?