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Radio shack, best buy - bad iphone 5 price?

M

MilleDav01

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 21, 2012
117
28
I Went To The Radio Shack In The Mall I Work With, With The Full Intention Of Buying The Iphone At Off Contract Pricing. The Sales Associate Saw My Galaxy S3 And Asked Me "Why Would You Downgrade To And Iphone." My Response Was "I Like To Try Different Things."

Anyway. He Told Me The Price Of Off Contract Iphone 5 Was 699.99. Which Is A Full 50.00 More Than Apple Charges.

The Guy Told Me He Could Not Price Match Apples Price. When I Went To Best Buy Last Night, They Told Me The Same Thing, They Want 699.99...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
MilleDav01 said:
Sorry About The Caps Upfront, Using A Computer At Work That I Need To Find A New Keyboard For...


I Went To The Radio Shack In The Mall I Work With, With The Full Intention Of Buying The Iphone At Off Contract Pricing. The Sales Associate Saw My Galaxy S3 And Asked Me "Why Would You Downgrade To And Iphone." My Response Was "I Like To Try Different Things."

Anyway. He Told Me The Price Of Off Contract Iphone 5 Was 699.99. Which Is A Full 50.00 More Than Apple Charges.

The Guy Told Me He Could Not Price Match Apples Price. When I Went To Best Buy Last Night, They Told Me The Same Thing, They Want 699.99...
Click to expand...

2 reasons: they are a reseller, and Verizon/Apple let them.

Only the Verizon model has the funky pricing.
 
Hmm... I know that many places make more $ or commission off of other phones than the iPhones. In my experience, my local AT&T store pushes Androids over iPhones because of commission. So perhaps they have adjusted their price to make up for that? :confused:
 
I bought one at Wal-Mart for 699 - came back the next day with a copy of their ad price guarantee - and a copy of an Apple webpage showing $649 and they reluctantly (I mean reluctantly - 2 managers) gave me my $53.88 back....
 
Ivabign said:
I bought one at Wal-Mart for 699 - came back the next day with a copy of their ad price guarantee - and a copy of an Apple webpage showing $649 and they reluctantly (I mean reluctantly - 2 managers) gave me my $53.88 back....
Click to expand...

Yeah I had problems with Walmart trying to price match something. I was in one night(After GameStop was closed) and decided to pick up a video game along with other stuff I needed. Told the manager GameStop had it for a lower price, showed her the price online, she then said that's the online price and we don't match that and then I showed her the sales ad they had online showing it was also the in store price. She then went into some spill about how they have to pay warehouse workers or something. I said don't worry about it. I'll pick it up at GameStop tomorrow. Which is what I did.
 
When I had the S3 I think i paid $549 at at&t (full retail price from them). Best buy wanted $699
 
SidewaysTakumi said:
Hmm... I know that many places make more $ or commission off of other phones than the iPhones. In my experience, my local AT&T store pushes Androids over iPhones because of commission. So perhaps they have adjusted their price to make up for that? :confused:
Click to expand...

This is exactly the reason.

Third-party retailers miss out on some of the money they make off of the phone when you buy it outright. They sometimes will make up for this by charging more for the phone itself.

It used to be that they left the price as-is and just made their money in the accessories and service plans, but with many sales moving online, they've suffered in brick & mortar.
 
Syk said:
Yeah I had problems with Walmart trying to price match something. I was in one night(After GameStop was closed) and decided to pick up a video game along with other stuff I needed. Told the manager GameStop had it for a lower price, showed her the price online, she then said that's the online price and we don't match that and then I showed her the sales ad they had online showing it was also the in store price. She then went into some spill about how they have to pay warehouse workers or something. I said don't worry about it. I'll pick it up at GameStop tomorrow. Which is what I did.
Click to expand...

That's just wrong. Their policy is that they will match any local retailer's advertised price - you don't have to bring in the ad either - they are supposed to have access - it is clearly written on their website - that is why I didn't take no for an answer.
 
MilleDav01 said:
I Went To The Radio Shack In The Mall I Work With, With The Full Intention Of Buying The Iphone At Off Contract Pricing. The Sales Associate Saw My Galaxy S3 And Asked Me "Why Would You Downgrade To And Iphone." My Response Was "I Like To Try Different Things."

Anyway. He Told Me The Price Of Off Contract Iphone 5 Was 699.99. Which Is A Full 50.00 More Than Apple Charges.

The Guy Told Me He Could Not Price Match Apples Price. When I Went To Best Buy Last Night, They Told Me The Same Thing, They Want 699.99...
Click to expand...

was that with tax? because at apple store its roughly 700 dollars with tax. 650 is just the cover price
 
also, is your iphone 5 unlocked since you bought it as an device only att iphone? since iphone 5's for att at apple stores are unlocked if bought at device only
 
IMHO, These policies are why BB is on the ropes.

- Two weeks for refunds to land back on debit card yet they deduct from debit card balance at POS.

- Ridiculous pricing on HDMI cables and other basic cables that can be found on Monoprice for a fraction of BB cost (and please don't read me the riot act on Monster's gold plated "superior performance". I've had Monoprice cables for years and they work great)

- Overbearing and unknowledgeable sales staff.

- BS pricing policies on off contract phone prices.

- Price mismatches between online and in-store items. I've learned when I must have something immediately to buy it online and pickup in store.

These are a few of my own personal experiences with Best Buy and they contribute to why I believe they deserve to die a long slow death--and they will. Once a company loses focus on it's customers, it's over. The only question is when.
 
Ivabign said:
I bought one at Wal-Mart for 699 - came back the next day with a copy of their ad price guarantee - and a copy of an Apple webpage showing $649 and they reluctantly (I mean reluctantly - 2 managers) gave me my $53.88 back....
Click to expand...

can you link me the copy of the apple webpage for the full price of the iphone 5? because it keeps showing me the contract one for 200 dollars
 
PeterTran said:
can you link me the copy of the apple webpage for the full price of the iphone 5? because it keeps showing me the contract one for 200 dollars
Click to expand...

What I did was process an upgrade for a line that was not due a subsidized upgrade - the Apple website then states the new iPhone 5 will cost me $649.

I then printed that page.
 
i called the best buys, radioshack, targets, and walmarts all near me(i live in the oc) and none of them sell off contract device only iphone 5's:(
 
Are you sure Best Buy doesn't? I used the store locator to find the model I wanted and drove to it. Walked in to the mobile phone area and said I wanted the Verizon 32 GB iPhone 5. Until I sat down to pay is when I said I wanted to pay full retail. She said I had an upgrade available, but I said I wanted to keep my unlimited data. I think she called it a device swap.

Even on the Best Buy website it gives the retail price.
PeterTran said:
i called the best buys, radioshack, targets, and walmarts all near me(i live in the oc) and none of them sell off contract device only iphone 5's:(
Click to expand...
 
8pril said:
Are you sure Best Buy doesn't? I used the store locator to find the model I wanted and drove to it. Walked in to the mobile phone area and said I wanted the Verizon 32 GB iPhone 5. Until I sat down to pay is when I said I wanted to pay full retail. She said I had an upgrade available, but I said I wanted to keep my unlimited data. I think she called it a device swap.

Even on the Best Buy website it gives the retail price.
Click to expand...

i have t-mobile so im not part of att or verizon or sprint.They don't sell device only unlocked ones unlike the apple store. If they sell it full retail, its still under the provider and not unlocked
 
Ivabign said:
That's just wrong. Their policy is that they will match any local retailer's advertised price - you don't have to bring in the ad either - they are supposed to have access - it is clearly written on their website - that is why I didn't take no for an answer.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought and most competitors do. The only thing was the other store must have it in stock.

I remember working at Office Depot part time and that was the policy to price match as long as it was in stock. We could either look the line up on line or call.

I usually just looked it up online to see what the price was and just priced matched without bothering to call. Got to the point where customer would come in and ask for me and wanted me to help them. Often got them to buy those protection plans too.;)
 
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