Today, after work, I stopped off at my local Best Buy to see what new releases were on the shelves. I was browsing through the shelves when what to my eyes appeared byut The Simpsons:Season 2!! But what they hey, it’s not supposed to be out until next week. The price was steep–$59.99, more than twice the cost of Season 1, and with 22 episodes compared to 13 episodes in Season 1, the price per episode had certainly. But still, a week ahead …
So I bought it.
I came home and checked the online price at Best Buy.com–#34.99!! Damn!!! I love me some Simpsons, but I’m not going to pay $25 unecessarily. So I’m going to take it back to the store tomorrow and get my money back.
But Simpsons: Season 2 is sitting in its wrapper on my entertainment center shelf right now…and I can’t open it!!
Think of money as being goodwill. If you keep the box you’ve bought, someone who works in the store you bought it from will be staying in a job and you’ll be sharing some good will towards them…
That’s how I would look at it… AND you get to open the wrapper!
Oh, I already thought of that, but somehow it seemed dishonest. Moreover, it occurred to me that the barcode from an online purchase might not match the barcode from a store purchase. Best Buy is highly skeptical when it comes to anything involving refunds or replacements.
Most places will NOT do a price match from an internet service. It is usually done at managment’s discretion, should be local, a competitor (they won’t compete with their own prices at other locations), etc.
Oh, and please don’t try to return the new copy. That’s extremely dishonest and you’ll just look like a jackass.
My local Best Buy will price match from an internet service. I would expect the policy to be national, but have no proof.
Additionally, when getting my price match on some computer memory I bought, they matched the price after rebate (instead of $10 cheaper than before, it was now $25). I don’t know if this was policy or cashier error, however.
The betterprice wasn’t from any old Internet store; it was from Best Buy.com, THEIR Internet store. It’s the same freakin’ company!
Did you not read my response where I wrote, "Oh, I already thought of that, but somehow it seemed dishonest "? Please do not impugn my ethics. I may have no morals, but I do have standards, and screwing over a company is simply Not Done. I do, however, have the right to return my purchase and buy it elsewhere for a better price. You rich K-Mart employees may have money to burn, but some of us don’t want to piss away $25 if we can avoid it.
Okay… confession… I work at Best Buy. I don’t know how nice the managers working at the store you shop at are, but if you brought a printout of the BestBuy.com page that has that price, as well as your purchase to my store, I’m 95% sure that the managers would match the price for you or, at the very least, find out why the prices are different.
Might be worth a shot, if you’re going back to return it anyway.
Thanks, Cercaria. I printed out the relevant page from Best Buy.com last night to bolster my case. I thought I would make my case more persuasive through these steps:
!. Be friendly and nonthreatening. To many customers act like they own the joint, and putting a manager’s back up is not the way to start a negotiation.
Lay out the facts in the case:
A. I bought this last night for $59.99.
B. Best Buy.com has this for $25 dollars less.
Appeal to the manager’s self-interest:
A. If B&M store can match the price, I can apply that credit to
buying Season 1, therefore letting the store (and the mana-
ger) retain the first sale and get the credit for an add-on sale)
B. Otherwise, I get a full refund and the store loses the sale.
I wasn’t talking to you, specifically, gobear. But anyone in general who would try such a shitty stunt. Jesus, knee-jerk much?
I’m only speaking from my experience-I know Kmart and Walmart generally will NOT match their internet prices. At least, I’m pretty sure Kmart will not. Mostly because of the differences-shipping, local economy, tax, etc. If they’ll match it-that’s GREAT! I’m just saying that they might NOT, if it would cause them to LOSE MONEY. Losing a sale and losing money are different-
Lose a sale-means they broke even. They still have the item and can sell it to someone else
Lose money-they give it to you at a LOSS of profit. Yeesh!
It doesn’t hurt to ask, I’m just saying that price match isn’t always as simple as people think.
I didn’t say you were an ass for wanting to save 25 bucks-I’d do the same! Jesus-so, just take the original one back, and get the other one. In case you haven’t noticed, I recently graduated college and my hours have been reduced (partly by request). I’m not going to castigate someone for wanting to save money!
Sorry! I’m a real Dickhead and can’t see ANYTHING wrong with this. These things are mass-produced and nothing is special about the copy he got at BB and they will get a new, sealed one back for refund. Product out, Product in. No harm, no foul.
And yes, I did work retail for many years. People may have done this all the time, and it just doesn’t matter.
Tear that sucker open and enjoy the show!
Damn! I have forgotten to not become drunken again!
