- Report: #227685
Complaint Review: Best Buy - Miami Florida
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Best Buy
Dadeland Station Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
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Best Buy Black Friday product discounts are really ripoffs Miami Florida
I like millions of others decided to take part in Black Friday. I was suprised yet delighted my local Best Buy advertised laptop computers as low as $399. Other price points advertised were $499, $599 and up to $1999. Knowing full well, there would be no $399 at the store when I got there, I still felt confident I could purchase a decent laptop for under $1000.
Sure enough, the store was packed and the sales associate informed me the store only had a couple $399 units which went early and he thought they were out of the $499's as well. However, if I decided now and went directly to the check-out area I could still get the $599 laptop. I decided on the $599 unit and the associate scribbled the stock number on an order sheet handed the paper to me and I was off.
After waiting in line, it was finally my turn. The cashier brought out an opened box containing my laptop and began to sell the warranty plan. After refusing, she began to ring up my order. $599 for the laptop, then proceeded to add in a series of dollar figures. My grand total was now $739 and change. As you may guess, I was stunned. First about the open box, then about the final total. When questioned, the cashier, explained the added costs were anti-virus software, spy hunter software and a host of other products I never knew I needed. The box was opened, because all this software was pre-loaded at the store so I could just pay and go.
I asked if I could opt out of the software. At first she was hesitant and attempted again to sell the benefits. I stood firm, she saw the line growing and began crediting back the unwanted software. Up to this point I was annoyed, but still a customer. Then came the deal breaker. When she rang the laptop sans extras, my new total was $846. How could this be I asked. She calmly explained the price advertised was a promotional price if I purchased the software. You pay full price if just buy the laptop. Oh, and I would have to come back tomorrow to pick up my purchase as they would need to uninstall the software.
Digusted, I left the laptop and the store vowing never to return and tell everyone I know. At home, I scanned my newspaper circular and gave it to a friend to read. Neither of us could find any fine print noting this software deal. Seems a little deceptive to me. Even if both my friend and I overlooked the information in the advertisement, I don't see why I should pay full price for an open box laptop which already had software installed, then uninstalled.
On a happier note, I found a better laptop for $599 at ---. The only thing that made me happier was finding this website.
Scott
Miami, Florida
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Best Buy
sorry, allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company your comments on this policy are welcome! CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
Sure enough, the store was packed and the sales associate informed me the store only had a couple $399 units which went early and he thought they were out of the $499's as well. However, if I decided now and went directly to the check-out area I could still get the $599 laptop. I decided on the $599 unit and the associate scribbled the stock number on an order sheet handed the paper to me and I was off.
After waiting in line, it was finally my turn. The cashier brought out an opened box containing my laptop and began to sell the warranty plan. After refusing, she began to ring up my order. $599 for the laptop, then proceeded to add in a series of dollar figures. My grand total was now $739 and change. As you may guess, I was stunned. First about the open box, then about the final total. When questioned, the cashier, explained the added costs were anti-virus software, spy hunter software and a host of other products I never knew I needed. The box was opened, because all this software was pre-loaded at the store so I could just pay and go.
I asked if I could opt out of the software. At first she was hesitant and attempted again to sell the benefits. I stood firm, she saw the line growing and began crediting back the unwanted software. Up to this point I was annoyed, but still a customer. Then came the deal breaker. When she rang the laptop sans extras, my new total was $846. How could this be I asked. She calmly explained the price advertised was a promotional price if I purchased the software. You pay full price if just buy the laptop. Oh, and I would have to come back tomorrow to pick up my purchase as they would need to uninstall the software.
Digusted, I left the laptop and the store vowing never to return and tell everyone I know. At home, I scanned my newspaper circular and gave it to a friend to read. Neither of us could find any fine print noting this software deal. Seems a little deceptive to me. Even if both my friend and I overlooked the information in the advertisement, I don't see why I should pay full price for an open box laptop which already had software installed, then uninstalled.
On a happier note, I found a better laptop for $599 at ---. The only thing that made me happier was finding this website.
Scott
Miami, Florida
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Best Buy
sorry, allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company your comments on this policy are welcome! CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Kristy
Beverly Hills,California,
U.S.A.
this store violated company policy
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, December 29, 2006
I'm an ex-employee of geek squad. we used to do this all the time.. I have been told (by current employees who I am close friends with) that Best Buy corporate office specifically sent out internal memo's to managers & posted on internal newsletters for all employees to read... Banning stores from doing this "preloading" due to potential AG (attorney general) complaints and PR issues. so what you have is an indivual store (or possibly a local district /group of stores) violating corporate policy to raise Revenue numbers so indivual managers can get a free all expenses paid trip to DisneyWorld(achiever's holiday contest) What I would do if I were you is send a letter to best buy corporate headquaters CEO explaining what happened, giving the store exact address/location etc. and that you really wanted to buy the laptop at $599 but couldn't due to the preloading and jacking the price artifically up.. and could they sell it to you today for that price.. you will probably get a nice apology letter back from the company, saying "were sorry.. there must have been a miscommunication with that indivual store on policy.. " no we can't sell you the laptop for $599... but here's a $25 gift card (or whatever value)for your trouble.. now be quite and go away of course if you do go into the store to spend the free $25 gift card.. odds are you won't spend $25 but anywhere from $50 to $75 resulting in at least a 100-150% revenue increase for the store on that single $75 transaction (without giving you the free gift card, you would have spent zero) and would probably never come back to the store again.. since you were only given a free $25 gift card.. you would probably end up buying a lower priced item.. low priced items have very high profit margins (network cables 400% inkjet around 40% etc) so when customers are "happy" they got a free gift card it's really not a good thing.. that's why best buy has stopped giving price reductions on open boxed items.. (they used to give 5-10% off the item.. now they charge the exact same amount as a factory sealed item.. but give you a free gift card fof 5-10% value toward a future purchase) best buy managers expect customers to spend about $25,000 in say a 5-7yr period (average $300-$400 a month or $75-$100 a week) this could be 4 new PC games or DVD movies each week .. or big ticket items.. if you don't spend this much, quite frankly.. they don't want your business.. my manager used to constantly tell me "20% of customers provide 80% of your profit - the rest I don't care about" alot of unhappy people on this board post "I hate best buy & will never shop shop there again" I found the Offical answer to this question from Best Buy signed by the CEO & board of directors and filed with the U.S. Securities & Exchange commission (SEC) as part of the company 10-K filing to shareholders. regarding business risks and customers.. "we do not have a significant concentration of sales with any indivual customer and therefore the loss of any one customer (or a special interest group of customers) would not have a material impact on our business"
