Best Buy adds disclaimer to 'secret website'

An investigation by Connecticut's Attorney General over bait-and-switch charges has gotten electronics megalith Best Buy to budge over its allegedly deceptive "secret website." An inch, at least. The company has expanded the disclaimer on in-store kiosks to tell customers that similar interfaces may be deceiving. A banner …

[Anonymous Coward]

Typical

My own experiences with Best Buy convinced me that bait-and-switch is the most minor of their unsavory practices. Continuing to bill a credit account for 6 months after it was paid off is another - and when they threatened to turn it over for collection through the courts, I finally called their "customer service" number with the canceled check in my hand and begged them to please, please sue me. I've always wanted to own a national chain of electronics and appliance stores. They backed down when I read them the date and check number off the check. Darn!

[Alan Donaly]

Don't buy anything there

I was the victim of bait and switch there too but the best reason not to buy anything there is that everything costs at least double what you pay on line with shipping included if you can wait three days you can save a lot of money. I have also heard they don't know anything about what their selling but thats common for retail sales staff.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yet another change of law is needed

"THIS KIOSK DISPLAYS IN-STORE PRICES — WHICH MAY DIFFER FROM NATIONAL INTERNET PRICES"

So, make it the law that where a company has more than one price for the same product, the web page must be capable of displaying them ALL in a manner that permits easy comparison.

And while we're at it, lets prohibit pricing secrecy too. Every product must HAVE a price, that price must be publicly displayed on the company's web site, visible to customers and competitors alike, it must always be sold AT that price, everybody must pay the same price for the same quantity, no matter what country they're in -- no secret deals for favoured customers -- etc etc etc.

[Anonymous Coward]

PC World UK; 2GB USB stick: web £12, in-store £30

A few days ago, I needed to quickly replace a mislaid USB stick. "Quick" in this case meant local, same day. Looked at the PCW website and saw their own brand 2GB stick for £12, whereas on the shelf in store it's £30. Print a chitty from the website, take it to the shop, and save £18. Pity the poor folks who pay the shop prices though.

[Timo]

soon to be extinct dinosaur

This place is so customer-unfriendly, they attempt to strong-arm everyone for extended service warranties, affinity cards, etc. My last attempt at buying from them was horrible: I briefly checked the internet for a price on a calculator and found it "on special", then dropped everything and ran to a store to pick up the item only to find the in-store price higher, with no mention of the sale. Went back home (I had already read about their kiosk problems) and ordered for in-store pickup, which did go smoothly.

I hammered them for this mess in the followup e-survey and received an actual phone call from a lackey at the local store stating that "Yes, they would price-match even to their own website."

That was hopefully the last time that I'll ever go to a Best Buy stores, the prices there are mind-boggling they are so high, and if I can make it out in one piece it just makes me feel dirty like I need to go take a shower. No wonder the place seems to be empty. Ah well, I may go there in order to do an in-store pickup of something that I've preordered online in order to get the cheap prices.

BBY started out as a shady business advertising incredible deals to bring people into the stores, with only one or two of the actual items in stock and no rain checks. Back then a few attorneys general set them straight; what they are doing now is not illegal but just plain slimy. At this point Best Buy is the place where people go to buy stuff who are too stupid to know about the internet.

[Tom]

Print out the webpage

Last time they had an online sale for something I wanted I checked in store stock from the website, then printed the page and took it with me.

They had to get the managers ok to match their own price, and they acted like they were doing me a big favour.

[Anonymous Coward]

Modern Day Hold-Up Men

Jessie James, Dick Turpin, Ned Kelly and Mad Dog Morgan would have been proud.

And perhaps even Denis Moore.

[Anonymous Coward]

Former best buy employee

Lie Lie lie. thats what I did. Oh not going to buy the esp well then we dont have that computer in stock. Thats what i was told to do. If the customer noticed that we have that same computer in top stock i would once again lie and said thats already been sold.. Have a question ??? fuck off i dont have time for you. Dont like my attitude then complain to the hire ups. here is the number 1800 fuck off. I will personal pull the quarter out.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not worth the effort

I used to find the variable pricing interesting, a sort of 'watch the marketing' game but ever since I bought a laptop there I've never bought anything else. I got it an extended warrantry since it was to be used away from home by the kid. When the system failed I got a phone call from their service contractors telling me that "the customer had damaged it" and "it would cost over a thousand to fix it". They were impossible to deal with (long story -- probably typical for the company if the various web postings are to believed), arrogant, nasty and so on but I did prise the system from them without being charged for them to tell me it was screwed. I sent it to the manufacturer's service people who had the thing fixed in a couple of days (it had a faulty graphics chip).

Bunch of wankers, if you ask me. Dishonest as well. So much for "Turn on the fun". If they keep this up they'll eventually run out of customers -- and they've lost thousands in business from me because of this.

[Tom]

Other stores are almost as bad...

I had a recent experience with another store as well Fry's electronics does not price protect (refund difference between their price and other advertized price) on online prices even on their own web site (frys.com). Oh, well. The good thing about Frys is they will match even their own prices if they drop in the ensuing 30 days. I don't hold out much for places like BestBuy, but other stores aren't much better. One must be a KNOWLEDGEABLE shopper and understand what you are buying. Unfortunately most of the public (unlike El Reg's readership) is clueless. That's why most BOFH's can get away with what they do. And they do!

[Anonymous Coward]

Best Buy or Currys?

In store price quoted on the net for an HP c4180 printer £55.18

Tag in the store? £99.99, quote from sales person? "then go on the net and get it"

I got it from the store for the advertised price of £55.18

[Jonathan Richards]

@Modern Day Hold-Up Men

Denis Moore,

Denis Moore,

Is not in this bit...

[Chris]

re: Dick Turpin

As we say in Yorkshire when somebody rips you off.

"At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask"

:-)

PS Don't care if Dick did or didn't wear a mask in real life - Another saying covers this "It's the thought that counts" :-P

[Anonymous Coward]

heres a hint

for PCworld/ currys/dixons.

if its advertised at a special price on the web, click to order, press collect @ store turn up with paper (site says leave it 3 hours can turn up straight away)

hey presto the web price with the benefit of no postage costs and getting it straight away

[Jeremy]

Here's a hint 2

PC World, Currys, Best Buy, et al:

Don't bloody shop there! It's not like we don't know what they get up to...

[alphaxion]

the high street will always rip you off

I only ever use high street stores in urgent emergencies or as somewhere to look at gadgets a bit better than the grainy, microscopic pictures many online stores have (often of the wrong product).

Tho, I'm starting to give stores hell for what they do.. I had to stop myself from berating some store member in jessops last week because they had a 1gb microSD card for £40! I bought one from scan for £8.50! the jessops one was pretty much 5 times the price I got the exact same card for online.

I even got the "internet busting prices" posters taken down from the Leeds city centre pc world shortly after it had opened when I raised a stink about the wording when it was only their own online prices they could match and not the 30% cheaper price I could quote from many online retailers.

[Trevor Watt]

@ Jeremy - Here's a hint 3

Those places can be the cheapest to buy from if you go about it the right way. Currys will match their web-price in store if you ask as will Dixons and PCW. They say they are not supposed to, but they do. Just ask nicely and firmly.

[Greg]

@alphaxion

The Leeds store is comical. On their very first day of business, one of their sales plebs wandered outside to ask why I was laughing my ass off at their store. I pointed to the advert in the window, showing an introductory offer on a...wait for it...2.1mhz laptop! For only £299! WOW! :-D

And then the other time I was sent in there by my boss to grab a bit of wireless kit (the same sadistic fiend who sent me into the Mac store by the Merrion Centre to pick something up for him), and all PC World did was try to sell me wireless-N, even though I told the sales pleb right off the bat that I wanted .11g (N being unratified, largely incompatible with other pre-.11n kit, etc, etc) He continued to harp on and on about .11n, eventually admitting (this is a good 6-12 months ago) that PC World had dumped ALL their .11g stock in favour of .11n. I let him go on his way, then nifty-shiftied into the desktop controls of a centrepiece display PC with a whacking great monitor, changed the background to display a short rant on how no-one should be buying N, changed the machine's password, locked it, hid the login box, and legged it.

Went in the next day, and curiously, that machine wasn't powered up! If they can't solve little problems like that, then I'm not buying kit from them!

[Parax]

Caveat emptor

Oddly enough the other day I went to PCW for an urgent item, oddly it was cheaper instore than on the web... but when scanned at the till the web price came up, after I showed them the quick mobpic I took of the shelf label, they let me have the 'managers special' price as listed...

Apparantly all of PCW Managers are special.

Whats the point of putting prices on when you'll get charged a random amount? and isn't it a good sign when any staff can change the prices... Alert Alert...

[Jeremy]

@ Trevor...

Well yes, I know they can be cheaper but I'd rather spend a few quid more and get it from my local computer shop (it's nearer too) and know that I'm not going to have to fight over some of their other tricks if I have a problem. For instance:

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/09/20/pc_world_heavy_macbook/

and

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/13/pc_world_linux/

I'd rather not, ta :)

[b166er]

Price tagging

I think it should be a major crime to price-label things incorrectly.

Sainsburys favourite pricing trick is to label Product A(270g) as BOGOF, but put the price-label on the shelf in front of the VERY similar Product B(300g) which is right next to Product A. They do this regularly, and when confronted always have guilt written all over their faces but act all innocent.

I think the government should insist that all ombudsmen are obliged to employ 'mystery shoppers' to catch these thieving b*stards

[kain preacher]

I think it should be a major crime to price-label things incorrectly.

Well in my state they do have people from the weights and scales dept that do over see price tagging. If you ever walk into a store in California and see the county seal with the following disclaimer. It means that they have been taken to task.

[Dale Morgan]

This stuff isn't legal?

PC World does it all the time, if you look at most of their products they have 1GB RAM for £25 online but if you buy it instore its £35

I'm sticking to ebuyer

[Jim Cosser]

Re: PC World UK; 2GB USB stick: web £12, in-store £30

Isn't their tag line -Internet prices to take home today?

Ouch.

[Anonymous Coward]

@alphaxion

Jessops in the Merrion Centre Leeds is a reputable shop with well trained staff, as is the one in the city centre. They will match internet prices and modify online deals if you are educated enough to behave politely and not like some ASBO badge wearing yob. If you go somewhere with the inent to give them hell than you deserve what you get. In fact the whole tone of the disillusioned in this thread appears to be one of aggressive demand instead of polite negotiation. Stop throwing tantrums and act like the grown up informed adults you purport to be.

It is perhaps unfortunate than when praise is made a disclaimer is necessary, hence, I have no connection with Jesspos other than being a satisfied customer for over twenty years.

[John Vaudin]

Stores cost money - shock

I don't want to let the facts spoil a perfectly good rant but it does actually cost them something to run these high-street stores - rent, stock, heating, lighting, staff (ok not much for staff :-).

Of course it's cheaper to buy the stuff online; but you have to wait for it, and you can't go into a store and kick it around. If you want the convenience of buying stuff from a store, you have to pay for it. I don't call that a rip off - I call that perfectly reasonable.

[William]

The grass is not always greener

Small computer shops can be and often are worse than the chain stores. You certainly have to shop around more to find a "good un". A friend of mine used to work at our local computer store. His boss often came in and asked him to remove parts from peoples computers than were supposed to be fixed and swapped with lower grade/inferior products.

Just because someone owns a small shop does not mean they are immune from greed or stupidity.

[alphaxion]

@chris w

Oh, I don't act like some american drill inspector, I just speak rather bluntly in a normal tone and volume - a typical line of mine would be "how can you justify that price" and not *dons his best jerry springer guest impression* "how dare you rip us off you *beep*ing con merchants!".

I fully understand that they are only doing their jobs there which is why I don't act like a twat, but at the same time I'm no longer holding any patience for entities that operate such a rediculous pricing structure.

The "I got them to take down the posters" wasn't me standing there barking out an order, but their reaction to my questioning the slogan "internet busting prices" when it's only their own store they are talking about and not including the rest of the net.

also, while I'm aware of the cost of rental and staffing certainly adds to the price you see in shops, the likes of scan operate a warehouse and an actual store - they're not the types that never hold any stock themselves and source from others and still they can afford to sell the device for 5 times cheaper.

The memory card in question brazenly had a "even cheaper, it used to be £60" label on it too.

[TK]

As luck would have it....

My phone makes a lovely modem in a pinch and coupled with my laptop conveniently stashed in my backpack I could very easily show the nice pimply faced manager the deal and tell him to stuff it and ring the purchase properly.

[TK]

One other thing...

I don't know about best buy specifically, but in the US a lot of retail companies are completely separate entities from their web version for tax purposes. I ran into this when looking for something from Ritz camera and most recently with a squabble over a rebate from Vonage. I bought a router at Circuit City (the physical store). My 175.00 rebate was denied because I didn't buy from a valid retailer. The retailer on the rebate form? circuitcity.com.

The upside is that there was a stipulation I had to be a customer of Vonage for 2 years to be eligible for the full rebate amount. I now have even less reason to stick with them.

[Haku]

Jessops & price matching

A couple of years ago I wanted a DV camcorder so spent a bit of time online researching what was available for my price range and at what prices, found the particular one I wanted online for less than £380 yet Jesspos had it for £500 and stipulated they would price match.

So I went into my nearest store armed with printouts of other bricks'n'mortar companies webpages selling the same camcorder for cheaper, could I get them to price mach the less than £380? nope, the best they would do was £430. Hardly a price match.

Nowadays I rarely find myself buying electronic (and other) equipment from bricks'n'mortar stores because prices are too high, difficult to get to the stores when they're up to 15 miles away and no car, and they probably haven't got what you wanted anyway so you just wasted an hour or two.

Long live online shopping.

[Anonymous Coward]

@alphaxion

We both know you can be a bit, um, blunt don't we. As Ali would say, "you've been a bad boy". Better get running down those stairs!