Best Buy Website Pricing Schemes?.....Some Insights?

[1492]

I have to admit, I've had both good and not so good experiences shopping on BestBuy.com. The issue being that on several occasions, the price on their website is not what I'm quoted when I go to pickup the item from their stores. Even The Consumerist posted an article back in 2007 questioning whether a separate intranet website existed in Best Buy stores, posting different pricing than on their public website.

However, this has resulted in some pleasant surprises. Last year, I purchased an Acer Netbook on BestBuy.com, for pickup at a local store. Prepaid for it online, but when I went to pick it up at their store, the price had dropped by $30. Best Buy automatically refunded my online purchase, and charge me the lower price in store.

But today was a completely different story at their Potomac Mills, VA store, and may offer some insight into pricing schemes on their website. Basically, I searched BestBuy.com's website for a pocket digital camera w/WiFi capability. Didn't buy it online, as a search of local stores indicated that it was available at most all locations in my area. But printed out the BestBuy.com webpage with the pricing just in case.

When I went to purchase the camera, I was surprised to find the lowest sale price was $70. more than what was indicated on my printout. The cashier checked the price on their website, and it displayed the higher sale price which matched the in-store tag.

Even the store manager would not initially honor the price, though I had brought a copy of the website price on BestBuy.com, printed just hours earlier? So what gives?

The store manager indicated that the BestBuy.com website searches competitors sites, such as Amazon.com, and matches pricing, displaying the price on their website. He further mentioned that Best Buy will match such competitors pricing and that I should bring a copy of an Amazon.com printout. Good to know, except I wasn't price matching? :B I just wanted to pay the price indicated on BestBuy.com, which mysteriously disappeared when I went to their store.

Long story short, the store manager checked Amazon.com and found the same price for the digital camera indicated on my "BestBuy.com" webpage print out. So ended up giving me the lower price saving me the $70. Though would not do so with their own website printout alone? :h

In hindsight, it would have been better to purchase the sale item online first at BestBuy.com, for pickup at a local store. However, I was making the purchase using both a gift card and credit card, and have never done so previously on their website. But would have saved the frustration with dealing with the mysterious BestBuy.com disappearing sale prices?

Has anyone else experienced a similar disparity between Bestbuy.com sale pricing, and what's indicated in the stores?

[dewey02]

Regional pricing is not unusual. Many, many years ago (pre-internet and scanner, when items were individually tagged with a price) I worked at Walgreens. They had a book with a three price structure. The first, highest price was for the stores that were in an area with few, if any other competitors. The medium price was if they were located in a local business district, competing with mom & pop pharmacies and dime stores. The third, lowest price structure was if they were in a commercial business district and were competing with other national pharmacy and variety store chains.

Perfectly reasonable business strategy for back then. Much more difficult to pull off in the internet age.

[opnspaces]

westend wrote:
BestBuy regionalizes their pricing. Prices may differ from website to store price since you may have logged into the national site.

I think this is probably the closest to what happened. I have a story (well it's actually my mothers story) but it's along the same lines.

Mom shopping at the local grocery store (Vons) and considered buying a pound of coffee but did not. Then on that same day decided to buy the coffee after all and stopped at a different Vons store about 5 miles away from the first one. The pound of coffee was more expensive by 75 cents. Mom asked the manager and they stated that the lease was more expensive in that part of town so the prices reflect it.

Based on this I'll bet that Best Buy lists the cheapest price on the website and will actually honor it. But if you walk into the store the prices on the shelves might reflect the costs of maintaining that store in that location.

As far as the prices showing higher on their computer on the internet I can only guess. Either the prices have gone up in the time it took you to drive there. Or the internet browser at the store already has their local store selected as the preferred location so it lists the higher prices that reflect their operating costs.

[Vulcaneer]

My wife bought and Apple accessory in Best Buy store. Week later found the BB Online price $20 cheaper. A week later took the printout in to store. They matched the online price. With absolutely no problem.

In another case, she ordered a $6.00 DVD online. They confirmed delivery to our house. We never got it. She called the online support line. They overnighted a new one at no cost. After receiving the second one, a neighbor called to report our postman delivered the first one to her in error. We took the FREE one back to the store and gave it back. The mgr didn't quite know what to do with it. But did take it back.

I have no problem with Best Buy.

[campercoop]

I have also had many bad experiences with Best Buy, you say to yourself I'll try it one more time. Strike 3 and your out.

[Pirate1]

You have to feel for chains like Best Buy though. Many people will go into BB and look at an item just to go back home and order it online. It's good to hear BB will hone Amazon prices. Regarding BB hiring inexperienced people, my experience this weekend was totally opposite. My laptop hard drive broke. I took it to BB and discussed many options with 2 sales folks. In the end, they talked me in to buying a new drive and then calling Acer for the software. They could have tried to get me to buy a new laptop. In end, I bought a new drive and a Chromebook, which I love.

[camperforlife]

Best Buy is not alone. The local Office Max is almost always higher than Officemax.com. My office is just blocks from Office Max but we generally order what we need on-line and have it delivered for less. We have tried very hard to get the store to match the on-line price but they will not budge. Now for the kicker, the store fills the on-line order and delivers it!!!!!!!! How intelligent is that? They deserve to go out of business.

[Homer1]

I have the same opinion as "RVUSA". Had the same haggle over match any ones price. They finally relented and honored my price quote. However, I wish they had not. The little lady clerk told me the new Android would work just fine in my zip code. It did not, ATT has no towers in my area. Took it back,their argument is ,they do not guarantee reception, "except during the point of sale". "My words not theirs". Never will go back there are to many other reputable places.

[wa8yxm]

One possibility... This is a true story....

A few years ago I was making a "Round trip" of around 10 miles,, ,Well on the way Out I passed a gas station and noted the price per gallon, On the way back it had gone up five cents.

Prices can and do change in the time it takes you to start your car.

However.. I think you should ask your question of the contact us link on the best buy web page.

I got lucky on this computer I'm using.. I went to Staples for an entirely different reason. (Quite frankly I forget what it was less it was to buy peal and stick address labels). and noticed the Deal of the Week, sign outside the store. A Tosh C55d for 250 This unit has a 500 Gig HD, which, I was looking at online for other reasons (The HD, not the laptop) and the HD alone 350.

I ask, they had none in stock and I'd have to order.. Well Wed was pay day. So on Wed I returned and they had JUST gotten in a shipment... Great deal.

Best I found online (deal wise) was a different make with a 30 Gig HD. same price.

Other than win 8.1 which is a learning experience... Very happy.

[calewjohnson]

Walmart has different prices between online and the box store....they specifically state that they do not match Walmart.com...I found this out the hard way once....it is in small writing.


Cale

[Mortimer_Brewst]

It's very common for stores to have a cheaper online price than what is shown in-store. Barnes & Noble does this as well. They have to do this in order to compete. I do know from experience that Best Buy will match any online price you can find. If you want to avoid the in-store hassle you can always order the item online and pick it up in-store.

[WoodGlue]

RVUSA wrote:
I think BestBuy hires disgruntled teens from McDonalds. They must, because I have never seen so many kids working somewhere that had no clue of what they were selling. :B

Agreed!

WoodGlue

[RVUSA]

I think BestBuy hires disgruntled teens from McDonalds. They must, because I have never seen so many kids working somewhere that had no clue of what they were selling. :B

[Snowman9000]

DW and I made a multi-item purchase on bestbuy.com this Xmas, for delivery to the store. In the end it all worked out, but there was some tension in the details. Not worth retelling here; but we will avoid them going forward. I don't think they are trying to scam anyone, but I think they just have a poorly thought out and/or executed system.

[WoodGlue]

I don't know what to think.

In looking up a new Garmin Dakota 20 Handheld GPS, I find that there is a tab there for "Buying Options" which leads me to other websites with at least 1 lower price on the same GPS!

Link To The GPS Unit

WoodGlue