The Fight Against Wal-Mart! Best Buy, Circuit City Slash Prices
Wal-Mart vs. the rest, round 2
Electronics chains Best Buy, Circuit City get more aggressive on matching rivals’ discounts over the holidays.
By Grace Wong, CNNMoney.com staff writer
November 30 2006: 9:49 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Consumer electronics retailers aren’t sitting back while Wal-Mart slashes prices this holiday season. “We will match or beat any pricing in the marketplace,” Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson said Wednesday during a forum on innovation hosted by Fortune magazine. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, has rolled back prices on a slew of products, including hot-selling electronic gear including flat-screen TVs for the holidays. The CEO of the nation’s largest consumer electronics store said Wal-Mart’s moves are aggressive, but when your store is called “Best Buy,” you’d better deliver.
Best Buy has always matched the prices of brick-and-mortar retailers and refunded price differences on products, usually within 14 or 30 days, the company said. But this holiday it has improved its policy for high-definition TVs, offering to refund 110 percent of the difference from a competing price for a longer period - up to 60 days after purchase. Circuit City has also changed its price guarantee policy this season. It will beat a competitor’s price by 25 percent of the difference for TV purchases or refund 125 percent of the difference up to 30 days after purchase. [Full Story]
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November 30th, 2006 at 7:17 pm
For years, Best Buy has gotten to the point of being a complete and total rip-off anyway. They were once competitive, and still are with an occasional sale, but overall, there is no way. I can’t even count how many times I’ve gone into their store and seen items priced ABOVE MSRP - and they won’t price adjust if you don’t have a sale circular from a competing store - not a help if the item isn’t on sale somewhere else.
I recently went out shopping for a particular Logitech trackball - MSRP was $49.95 0 many places had it for $49.95, and some stores much further away had it for under $40. The local Best Buy had it for $59.95 - when I asked if it was a mistake, they told me they’d pricematch another store’s ad - unfortunately, places like Circuit City don’t advertise things that aren’t on sale. Circuit City had the item regularly priced at $44.95. Right in the store, I pulled up an online page for Circuit City, then Frys Electronics, then Amazon. Frys had it for $35 and Amazon had it for $32. BB told me they don’t match online prices - yet Circuit City and Fry’s pricing was the same as in their stores. I made the drive to Frys and saved $25.
Walmart had the mouse online but not in the stores and I needed it like now.
Best Buy is also really good at offering a promo bundle for a screaming price. I recently ordered a portable HP photo printer, with a free HP case and battery. Their sale price on the printer was $10 more than most everyone else, but getting the HP case & extra lithium-ion battery was well worth it to me. They charged my card, shipped the printer, then two days later, sent me an email telling me the case & battery was on backorder. Then, two days later, I was sent another email telling me they were cancelling the case and battery because they were out of stock on the promo bundle THEN REFUSED TO SEND ME THE SAME CASE AND BATTERY FROM THEIR REGULAR STOCK! In good faith, I ordered a bundle and they pulled a bait and switch, refusing to honor their end of the deal. They also refused to reroute the package back to them, instead making me return it myself for credit - a credit I had to battle for at the store.
Best Buy is crooked and has seen my last dollar. I don’t care if they promise a 200% price guarantee, they won’t get my business. In fact, as far as I am concerned, the company can rot in the flames of business hell for all I care.
Anyone who does business with these thieves is either stupid or a morin - take your pick.