# So I'm apparently a retail "value destroyer" - Screw You! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 6, 2004, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-apparently-a-retail-value-destroyer-screw-you/253756 "2004-07-06T06:23:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-apparently-a-retail-value-destroyer-screw-you/253756/41 "2004-07-12T20:46:17Z")
Wow. Which items are marked up 90% over cost? I’m guessing it’s cheap stuff like soda, paper, and cables. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-apparently-a-retail-value-destroyer-screw-you/253756/42 "2004-07-13T00:02:11Z")
> [@Mr2001](#): > > Wow. Which items are marked up 90% over cost? I’m guessing it’s cheap stuff like soda, paper, and cables. Actually, you’re looking at 900%+ markup. Simple math: $10.00 retail price. 90% discount. Cost to loyal employee, $1.00. Give the store 5 cents profit. and the store paid 95 cents for it. When a store marks an item up from $0.95 to $10.00, that’s $9.05 markup. $9.02 / $0.95 = (roughly) 953%. Ain’t retail fun? ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-apparently-a-retail-value-destroyer-screw-you/253756/43 "2004-07-13T02:22:37Z")
Ah, right. I must have dropped a zero; I originally wrote 1000% but I knew that was too high. ---
**Author:** ![factorial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed8c4c/32.png) [@factorial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/factorial)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-apparently-a-retail-value-destroyer-screw-you/253756/44 "2004-07-13T02:47:25Z")
Former blueshirt checking in… > [@astro](#): > > Most items I keep, but a few I will keep in the sealed retail box and sell after I receive my rebate, and full notice is given in any eBay ad that the UPC sticker has been carefully removed for rebate purposes. Occasionally I also include the receipt. If I am selling a sealed box, how is the warranty not transferable? If this is the case a unit given as a gift has no warranty either. The manufacturer’s warranty is only valid from authorized resellers. If you are giving it as a gift you are not reselling it, so you are not breaking any rules. If you buy it from BBY to resell it on eBay, you’re not an authorized reseller, so the manufacturer doesn’t have to honor the warranty they offered. Simple. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > No idea how BestBuy identifies customers as people who “tie up a salesperson but never buy anything.” Well, there are times you can tell. A person has used an hour of your time finding out about the newest technology, what’s needed to run this program and that game. Then they whip out the Dell circular or printout and say “I think I’m just going to buy a Dell, they have a better deal.” :smack: > [@FilmGeek](#): > > Only managerial and inventory staff can look up actual cost. But we can look up employee cost easily and take 5% off of the price to figure out Best Buy’s cost. \ > [@Mr2001](#): > > Wow. Which items are marked up 90% over cost? I’m guessing it’s cheap stuff like soda, paper, and cables. There’s a reason they want you to buy those Monster Cables. Soda is not marked up 90% though, it goes from about $0.80 to $1.00. Paper has good markup. Surge protectors have good markup. Basically, for most big-ticket items, BBY sells the “big thing” (be it TV, computer, stereo) at a quite reasonable markup (indeed, many of these items are loss leaders, especially with computers which have numerous mail-in rebates) and then makes money on selling “accessories” (cables, extra ink/paper, surge protectors, some DVDs to go with that player), “subscriptions” (MSN, broadband, netflix), and the PRP (product replacement plan) or PSP (product service plan) extended warranty. Before I hear any bitching about what terrible values those last two are, let me head it off by saying they are NOT. I am led to believe we get those for 5% above cost as well, and they typically cost circa 50% of the retail price. Considering that many people who get the PRP/PSP forget about it or lose the receipt or do not claim for any number of other reasons, the PSP/PRP is probably a fair deal if you are not an idiot! Oh, and I’m also going to point out that for everyone who complains they can never find help, there’s another person who complains that the salespeople are always harassing them. Anyway, if you don’t like it that Best Buy doesn’t like you, then don’t shop there, and both you _and_ the company will be happier. 🙂 Any other questions? ---
**Author:** ![acrossthesea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@acrossthesea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acrossthesea)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-apparently-a-retail-value-destroyer-screw-you/253756/45 "2004-07-13T18:16:56Z")
> [@TwistofFate](#): > > would The Enterprise beat a Value Destroyer? I’m writing a book about a walmart-like company being its own military and I call it The Value Force. So I imagine the Value Force would go out and fight against Demon Customers commanding Value Destroyers. “The Value Force…fighting to bring you freedom and low prices!” ---
**Author:** ![factorial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed8c4c/32.png) [@factorial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/factorial)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-apparently-a-retail-value-destroyer-screw-you/253756/46 "2004-07-13T19:35:18Z")
(aside) > [@acrossthesea](#): > > I’m writing a book about a walmart-like company being its own military and I call it The Value Force. So I imagine the Value Force would go out and fight against Demon Customers commanding Value Destroyers. > > “The Value Force…fighting to bring you freedom and low prices!” Reminds me of [Jennifer Government](http://www.maxbarry.com/jennifergovernment/) by Max Barry: > [@](#): > > Welcome to paradise! The world is run by American corporations (except for a few deluded holdouts like the French); taxes are illegal; employees take the last names of the companies they work for; the Police and the NRA are publicly-traded security firms; and the U.S. government only investigates crimes it can bill for. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-apparently-a-retail-value-destroyer-screw-you/253756.md?page=2)