# Why buy from Best Buy when you can get ripped off in Chinatown? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 14, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659 "2008-02-14T21:30:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/41 "2008-02-15T16:45:33Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Is this another of your halfwit attempts at comedy, or are you actually confessing to grand larceny? [/QUOTE] No kidding. I’m starting to think this clown should change his Username to “2-1/2 Points of IQ” ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/42 "2008-02-15T16:54:13Z")
[QUOTE=THespos] That store is less than a block away from my office. I’ve got a bigger problem with the security guards who always want to frisk you on the way out. I’ve got no problem flashing a receipt, but they always seem to want to treat people like criminals. Now I just blow past them when they ask me to stop. [/QUOTE] Is that by any chance the Best Buy on 44th and 5th? I don’t go in there anymore because of the fucking bouncers at the door. There’s a Circuit City next to it that has a similar system, but the people at the door aren’t nearly as bad. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/43 "2008-02-15T16:56:32Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Is this another of your halfwit attempts at comedy, or are you actually confessing to grand larceny? [/QUOTE] Good luck finding someone to prosecute. I know approximately 30 Best Buy employees/former employees and all but one have stolen from their stores. And the one is something like 86. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/44 "2008-02-15T18:14:07Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] Ok, the item in question is an XBox360 game. Unfortunately it appeared to have been shipped with [this](http://www.peoplepc.com/). Apparently, since it was shipped to Best Buy like that, it’s not their problem and I need to call the manufacturer. [/QUOTE] Whatever happened to the concept of the retailer as an agent for the manufacturer? If you sell goods produced by a particular manufacturer, you should be willing to act as the responsible party if the goods you sell have something wrong with them. It should be your problem to take it up with the manufacturer, rather than simply pocketing the profit and washing your hands of the whole thing. This sort of shit makes my blood boil. ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/45 "2008-02-15T19:09:35Z")
[QUOTE=shy guy] Is that by any chance the Best Buy on 44th and 5th? I don’t go in there anymore because of the fucking bouncers at the door. There’s a Circuit City next to it that has a similar system, but the people at the door aren’t nearly as bad. [/QUOTE] 23rd and 6th. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/46 "2008-02-15T19:23:53Z")
[QUOTE=Sailboat] Somtimes they [handcuff you to a pole](http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43685)… [/quote] From the end of that article: > [@](#): > > Commenting on the incident, Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey told the Sun: “It’s a sign that we’re all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world.” The guy was arrested for paying a fee with 2 dollar bills. What the fuck does that have to do with 9/11, you fucking idiot? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/47 "2008-02-15T19:28:23Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] From the end of that article: The guy was arrested for paying a fee with 2 dollar bills. What the fuck does that have to do with 9/11, you fucking idiot? [/QUOTE] Mayor Giuliani, is that you? ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/48 "2008-02-15T20:32:30Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] Please tell me this is an exaggeration. [/QUOTE] Just slight hyperbole here. Let’s just say that these guys believe that posting a sign to the effect of “we have a right to search all bags” negates any customer rights to privacy. I’ve had one (try to) stand between me and the door while insisting that he look inside my backpack. That didn’t work out well for him. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/49 "2008-02-16T15:51:59Z")
[Best Buy sued for $54 million for lost laptop](http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/02/a-lost-laptop-1.html). > [@](#): > > Six months after bringing a damaged laptop computer into a Best Buy electronics store for repairs, and three months after the firm admitted losing it, Campbell filed the whopper of a lawsuit recently in Washington, D.C., Superior Court. > > \ > > “It shouldn’t take a $54 million lawsuit to motivate Best Buy to address these issues,” she said. Her initial offer to settle for $2,100 has been withdrawn because her expenses have risen, including time spent filing a police report and consulting with lawyers about her case, she said. Concerns about identity theft also add to her potential damages, she said. > > **Wants an explanation** > While Campbell has no expectation she will win a multimillion-dollar judgment, she feels she is entitled to damages related to store negligence and an “explanation as to how my computer could have been stolen from a secure area” of the store. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/50 "2008-02-24T00:53:28Z")
To follow up. I recieved the refund gift card from corporate and successfully purchased the item. I was still annoyed by the store though. I dropped one of my leather gloves in the door on the way in and by the time I turned around, one of the employees had picked it up and was trying to put it on his head to impress his friends. I gave him the stern “hey sport! I’ll take that glove now.” and he complied. This was unfortunate as I had already planned to say “maybe you’d like it’s MATCH!!” and then punch him in the face with my other gloved hand. Alas that was unneccessary. I took sweet petty satisfaction brushing past the receipt checking security guard who could only stand there impotently muttering “sir!? sir!” So fuck you BEST BUY. Looks like I win this round. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/51 "2008-02-24T23:41:18Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] [Best Buy sued for $54 million for lost laptop](http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/02/a-lost-laptop-1.html). [/QUOTE] [We know.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9477514&postcount=14) ---
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659/52 "2008-02-25T02:43:39Z")
We tried to buy a refrigerator from them a few years ago. They didn’t deliver it, then they fought us when we tried to get a refund from the credit card company. I definitely understand your rage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-buy-from-best-buy-when-you-can-get-ripped-off-in-chinatown/437659.md?page=2)