Complaint Review: Circuit City - New York New York

Oops... I meant to write "even though I know it's more INexpensive..." in the 3rd paragraph above.

I don't knock them for poor service. I accept their poor service as a side-effect of their low prices. I see their generous policies as a counterbalance. But what I can't accept is when they fail to live up to the same policies they advertise so heavily in order to attract customers. If I take advantage of CC's price guarantee by buying something from them even though I know it's more expensive at a less-convenient store, knowing full-well all along that CC would reimburse me (plus 10%) for the price difference, that's fully in keeping with the offer. It's no different from buying a $500 camera with the full intention of actually cashing in the accompanying $75 rebate coupon. So my sole complaint is that Circuit City is dishonorable in not abiding by their promises.

This is your second report on CC on this site. You say how convenient they are, then knock them for poor service. Maybe it might be worth your inconvenience to go to another store that has better service.

All I'm saying is that if a store makes the claim of a guarantee, it should honor it. Clearly, the store gets additional business because of their guarantee. (If that weren't true, they wouldn't spend so much money advertising the guarantee in the first place.) So they should be held to it. If they say they'll beat a competitor's price by 10%, then there's nothing wrong with a customer taking advantage of that offer. If the standards become stricter, then so be it -- as long as the store discloses the stricter standards in their advertising. When I do buy something from Circuit City under the current policy, I do so with the belief that in the end, I couldn't have gotten a better price. If the policy changes, then my decision process for making the purchase at Circuit City will also change -- and that's perfectly fair, as long as the rules are made clear up front.

Nike wrote: "Furthermore, I prefered buying the TV from the Circuit City a few blocks from my house ($5 taxi ride) over buying it from the other store ($25 taxi ride, at least) because it was easier and cheaper to get the huge TV from the store to my house in the first place." If it was "easier and cheaper" to buy the TV in the manner in which you did, then WHY are you complaining? Obviously, any way you look at it, it would have cost more to buy it elsewhere, and you got the best deal at Circuit City regardless. Do you really have nothing better to do with your time than complain about such nonsense?

Then why did you not comparison shop beforehand. I remember one time seeing a purse in one store but couldn't find a price tag, (it ended up being inside the purse. So that the employee would definately have to check inside) so I left went to a different store in the mall and saw the exact same purse for $35. I went back to store A to check the price there and decided to open it, the price at store A was $12. I bought it at store A. Or did you just buy it and then go looking for a lower price so that you could get it for that even lower than the lower price. I'm thinking that very soon, those standards will be even more rigid (as they are in other price matching companies) that they will only price match with their highest competitor.

Once I already had the TV, I didn't want to go through the trouble of unhooking all the wires, taking it down from the wall, packing it back up, and transporting it back to the store only to have to pick up another one from a different store. Furthermore, I prefered buying the TV from the Circuit City a few blocks from my house ($5 taxi ride) over buying it from the other store ($25 taxi ride, at least) because it was easier and cheaper to get the huge TV from the store to my house in the first place. My only "mission" was to get the TV at the lowest possible price with the smallest amount of hassle. Circuit City has earned plenty of consumer confidence through its use of various guarantees (price protection, returns, etc.). In turn, they have a duty to honor those guarantees when they eventually apply. If anyone "picked a fight," it was Circuit City, by taking advantage of customers by making promises they had no intention of keeping.

Why, after the second try to get Circuit City to price match, did you not return the TV to them and go buy it at the store that had the lower price? That way, they aren't just out the small amount of money that made up the difference between the two prices, but the entire sale amount. Or, were you on a "mission"? I hope not. People pick the wrong fights sometimes. You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble, Man.

I ordered the TV on circuitcity.com, so there was no little brochure to read. From the homepage, if you click on the link that says "Price Protection" (yes, "Price Protection"), you get the following: "If you've seen a lower advertised price from another local store with the same item in stock, we want to know about it. Bring it to our attention, and we'll gladly beat their price by 10% of the difference. If you see a lower advertised price (including our own sale prices) within 30 days of your purchase, we'll refund 110% of the difference. "Our policy applies only to advertised prices. It does not apply to special offers or promotions, including rebates, free-with-purchase offers and special financing. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide price matches online, so please visit the closest Circuit City store to take advantage of our Price Guarantee." Nothing there about "same type of store" or not applying to "outlet/discount stores." As for local area, that's not defined -- and anyone who lives in Brooklyn or Hoboken, N.J. certainly considers himself to be a "local" when in Manhattan. The matching item was in all cases new and unused, not "refurbished/open box" -- it was the store manager who used the fact that the other store was supposedly "known for" selling some refurbished items as an excuse; this model was explicitly advertised as brand-new. I don't think I was pushing it at all. I just found a particularly good deal at several other stores -- or, alternatively, I fell for a particularly bad deal at Circuit City.

I ordered the TV on circuitcity.com, so there was no little brochure to read. From the homepage, if you click on the link that says "Price Protection" (yes, "Price Protection"), you get the following: "If you've seen a lower advertised price from another local store with the same item in stock, we want to know about it. Bring it to our attention, and we'll gladly beat their price by 10% of the difference. If you see a lower advertised price (including our own sale prices) within 30 days of your purchase, we'll refund 110% of the difference. "Our policy applies only to advertised prices. It does not apply to special offers or promotions, including rebates, free-with-purchase offers and special financing. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide price matches online, so please visit the closest Circuit City store to take advantage of our Price Guarantee." Nothing there about "same type of store" or not applying to "outlet/discount stores." As for local area, that's not defined -- and anyone who lives in Brooklyn or Hoboken, N.J. certainly considers himself to be a "local" when in Manhattan. The matching item was in all cases new and unused, not "refurbished/open box" -- it was the store manager who used the fact that the other store was supposedly "known for" selling some refurbished items as an excuse; this model was explicitly advertised as brand-new. I don't think I was pushing it at all. I just found a particularly good deal at several other stores -- or, alternatively, I fell for a particularly bad deal at Circuit City.

I ordered the TV on circuitcity.com, so there was no little brochure to read. From the homepage, if you click on the link that says "Price Protection" (yes, "Price Protection"), you get the following: "If you've seen a lower advertised price from another local store with the same item in stock, we want to know about it. Bring it to our attention, and we'll gladly beat their price by 10% of the difference. If you see a lower advertised price (including our own sale prices) within 30 days of your purchase, we'll refund 110% of the difference. "Our policy applies only to advertised prices. It does not apply to special offers or promotions, including rebates, free-with-purchase offers and special financing. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide price matches online, so please visit the closest Circuit City store to take advantage of our Price Guarantee." Nothing there about "same type of store" or not applying to "outlet/discount stores." As for local area, that's not defined -- and anyone who lives in Brooklyn or Hoboken, N.J. certainly considers himself to be a "local" when in Manhattan. The matching item was in all cases new and unused, not "refurbished/open box" -- it was the store manager who used the fact that the other store was supposedly "known for" selling some refurbished items as an excuse; this model was explicitly advertised as brand-new. I don't think I was pushing it at all. I just found a particularly good deal at several other stores -- or, alternatively, I fell for a particularly bad deal at Circuit City.

I ordered the TV on circuitcity.com, so there was no little brochure to read. From the homepage, if you click on the link that says "Price Protection" (yes, "Price Protection"), you get the following: "If you've seen a lower advertised price from another local store with the same item in stock, we want to know about it. Bring it to our attention, and we'll gladly beat their price by 10% of the difference. If you see a lower advertised price (including our own sale prices) within 30 days of your purchase, we'll refund 110% of the difference. "Our policy applies only to advertised prices. It does not apply to special offers or promotions, including rebates, free-with-purchase offers and special financing. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide price matches online, so please visit the closest Circuit City store to take advantage of our Price Guarantee." Nothing there about "same type of store" or not applying to "outlet/discount stores." As for local area, that's not defined -- and anyone who lives in Brooklyn or Hoboken, N.J. certainly considers himself to be a "local" when in Manhattan. The matching item was in all cases new and unused, not "refurbished/open box" -- it was the store manager who used the fact that the other store was supposedly "known for" selling some refurbished items as an excuse; this model was explicitly advertised as brand-new. I don't think I was pushing it at all. I just found a particularly good deal at several other stores -- or, alternatively, I fell for a particularly bad deal at Circuit City.

Take EVERYTHING Peter says with a grain of salt. HE made a report here (ripoff report #197356) complaining about how Pigly Wigly would NOT let him pay for a meal consisting of Lobster, filet mignon, shrimp and fine wine, with FOOD STAMPS. This man states that he lives in PONY, ALABAMA. one problem, there is NO SUCH PLACE as PONY, ALABAMA. Sorry Pete.

Take EVERYTHING Peter says with a grain of salt. HE made a report here (ripoff report #197356) complaining about how Pigly Wigly would NOT let him pay for a meal consisting of Lobster, filet mignon, shrimp and fine wine, with FOOD STAMPS. This man states that he lives in PONY, ALABAMA. one problem, there is NO SUCH PLACE as PONY, ALABAMA. Sorry Pete.

Take EVERYTHING Peter says with a grain of salt. HE made a report here (ripoff report #197356) complaining about how Pigly Wigly would NOT let him pay for a meal consisting of Lobster, filet mignon, shrimp and fine wine, with FOOD STAMPS. This man states that he lives in PONY, ALABAMA. one problem, there is NO SUCH PLACE as PONY, ALABAMA. Sorry Pete.

First of all, Circuit City does not have a "Price Protection Policy." They do, however, have a Low Price Guarantee, which clearly states RIGHT ON THE PAPER COPY OF THE GUARANTEE ITSELF the the item must be the same item in new/unused condition (not refurbished/open box), from a local store (not online/in the SAME city), of the same type of store as Circuit City (that does not include outlet/discount stores, Sams club, etc). Again, this is clearly stated in writing inside the store and on little brochures that they hand out upon request.