Comments on Long Live Geeks: Getting the Best of Best Buy

I recently came across your blog and have been rea...

2009-04-07T03:33:00.000-04:00

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Betty

http://desktopmemory.info

Another tip I just found out: You don't necessaril...

2009-03-28T21:11:00.000-04:00

Another tip I just found out: You don't necessarily need the email to pickup. I had placed an order online for store pickup. Waited several hours with no email. I swung by the store anyway while running errands, found the items I had ordered, went to the CS desk and asked if I needed the email. Was told no, that they could look it up, which the guy proceed to do and check me out. Definitely made my day.

So I had to do this with Fry's tonight. Got so...

2009-03-06T00:08:00.000-05:00

So I had to do this with Fry's tonight. Got some RAM for the computer that was on sale on the website. Long-story-short, I had to place my order online, while in the store to get the online price. I saved half the initial cost of the RAM. Yay for smartphones!
I <3 my G1. :D

You actually wasted a bit of time. Best Buy will p...

2009-01-26T01:59:00.000-05:00

You actually wasted a bit of time. Best Buy will price match with bestbuy.com, that's all you have to do. I've done it many times.

Well done! Anything that anyone can do to stick it...

2009-01-18T15:40:00.000-05:00

Well done! Anything that anyone can do to stick it to BestBuy I am all for.

I bought a laptop from BB this way and realized as...

2009-01-18T14:29:00.000-05:00

I bought a laptop from BB this way and realized as well that I wasn't charged any tax when I picked it up at the store. I've never been charged taxes ordering online or when I picked up my order from the store.

chuckle Awesome. B)

2009-01-17T09:56:00.000-05:00

*chuckle* Awesome. B)

As in all other things, we should be careful with ...

2009-01-15T21:20:00.000-05:00

As in all other things, we should be careful with buying specially online. They have advantages as well as disadvantages. Think before buying online.

1. Every store must abide by the corporate policy....

2009-01-15T21:19:00.000-05:00

1. Every store must abide by the corporate policy. The policy is posted on the web site for all to read. If a manager disagrees, call corporate:
Best Buy Corporate Customer Care
P.O. Box 9312
Minneapolis , MN 55440
1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289)
The policy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site//olspage.jsp?id=cat12098&entryURLType=&categoryId=cat10011&type=page&entryURLID=&contentId=1118843518460
There are many exceptions described in the policy, including when the item is clearance, not in stock, or refurbished. It must be the exact same item, new in the box and on their shelf in a local store.
2. There are 2 web sites available on the store computers. Be sure they check both. One is the "In-store" site, showing prices and availability in stores. The other is the "National" site, and it is the same one you can see anywhere.
Some managers are very aggressive, but the corporate policy is very pro-customer. They want you to come back.
We take time every day calling stores for a price match to check if they have things in stock, and the other stores sometimes will not answer the phone when the check caller ID.
3. If it is really such a good deal at the other store, why don't you just buy it there? Why is this such a big deal? Or maybe there is some value in buying from a reputable dealer.

believe you, me.... NOT EVERYONE will agree to the...

2009-01-15T16:23:00.000-05:00

believe you, me.... NOT EVERYONE will agree to the online prices... and not every store does the price match thing..

its REALLY a case by case thing....
if the price match is EXTREMELY low (like a 60% difference) the manager can decline it.

and some store will go with the online price, others will argue its online only.. typically tho, they have computers in the store to use.... POINTLESS TO DO THAT, but yea

One person from one Best Buy may say that they alw...

2009-01-15T14:51:00.000-05:00

One person from one Best Buy may say that they always price match, but you can catch another person at a different store who tells you otherwise. Heck, you could catch someone at the SAME store who'll argue over price matching the website.

I don't need the hassle, thanks!

I work at best buy, this article is pointless. We ...

2009-01-15T01:48:00.000-05:00

I work at best buy, this article is pointless. We price match our competitors and our own website.

Hahaha..That's complete genius! I wouldn't have th...

2009-01-14T19:14:00.000-05:00

Hahaha..That's complete genius! I wouldn't have thought of that. Thanks for the tip.:)
Cleona.

I have done the same thing using my G1 and Shop Sa...

2009-01-14T17:55:00.000-05:00

I have done the same thing using my G1 and Shop Savvy, except I had them pricematch a price at Circuit City! I just showed a worker the price on Circuit City's website on my phone and he took my purchase to a register and had them pricematch it!

Love it!

I just wanted to say SGA is an awesome show.. with...

2009-01-14T15:22:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to say SGA is an awesome show.. with only the occasional "lazy writting" episode. Sucks it got cancelled. I'm gonna miss Rodney every week.

Regarding verizon and the G1: Verizon made the dum...

2009-01-14T14:40:00.000-05:00

Regarding verizon and the G1: Verizon made the dumb-ass decision to go with CDMA, and so phones that the rest of the world is using... we can't. In fact I'm a hairs-breadth away from jumping ship with Verizon (12 years) because they have so many me-too phones, and little actual differentiation.

I did the exact same thing at Circuit City once wi...

2009-01-14T10:43:00.000-05:00

I did the exact same thing at Circuit City once with 1 difference. I wanted to buy guitar hero and eventhou it online it showed up as "in stock", after driving to the store not only
I was greeted with outmost rudeness, but also with raised eyebrows saying I was crazy.

So I did the exact same thing this article suggests, but instead of using a sartphone, I used one of ?Circuit City'y very own store computers. I asked the firedog guy and he let me use his.

Guess what, it was not in stock. So I proceeded to invoke their 24 minute pickup guarantee, and after more raised eyebrows, I was presented with a $25 gift card.

You don't mess with the geeks sire.

In addition to the fact that you should have been ...

2009-01-14T07:48:00.000-05:00

In addition to the fact that you should have been able to get the store to price-match the web site (yeah, I know, sometimes the store staff doesn't know all the policies), you can do this on the in-store kiosk. We changed it to show the better of online vs. in-store price. It even has a handy bright yellow banner that tells you as much.

You could also have ordered from home for instore pickup. So while it's cool that you got the best price, you kind of did it the hard way. :)

Did much the same once at a Circuit City. Got an e...

2009-01-13T22:35:00.000-05:00

Did much the same once at a Circuit City. Got an eight gig flash drive for half price.

Also used rewards zone points that got approved while in store by letting the cashier key the coupon code in off the email they sent me on my iPhone.

This articles highlights again why I hate my cell ...

2009-01-13T22:06:00.000-05:00

This articles highlights again why I hate my cell company: Verizon. Why couldn't we have the G1 or the Iphone or something besides the friggin' BB storm!!

I see all these cool apps and things for these smartphones and I just have to sit back and curse. Arggghh.

Pulling out your cell phone, by the way, is also t...

2009-01-13T21:23:00.000-05:00

Pulling out your cell phone, by the way, is also the best thing to do when your flight gets canceled at the airport. More I've been on a flight that has been canceled and the announcement is made that everyone should report to the gate for rebooking. Seats quickly fill on other flights and the last people in line are out of luck. But if you call the 1-800 number for the airline immediately, they have access to the same seats as the gate agents.

I've had this problem with Walmart not matchin...

2009-01-13T20:13:00.000-05:00

I've had this problem with Walmart not matching Walmart.com's prices. I buy the item at the store and also buy it online with the free site-to-store shipping, then return the shipped item with the original receipt. Despite arguing with managers and doing this on my phone in front of them, the policy won't budge. Doesn't make business sense because the B&M store actually hasn't sold me anything and still has their inventory.

I do a similar thing with hotels. I take quite a f...

2009-01-13T16:19:00.000-05:00

I do a similar thing with hotels. I take quite a few long roadtrips and don't always know what city/town I'll be in when I'm tired enough to stop driving.

I usually find some good looking hotels on iPhone while on the road (ok, my wife in the passenger seat looks while I drive), then do a quick inspection tour at the hotel itself to check on the area and general condition of the hotel, and if I'm going cheap and I'm not confident in the place, I'll sometimes take a tour. Then, it's back to the car where I get out the laptop and steal wifi and reserve online, or just do it on my iPhone in the lobby. It's rare that you don't save at least 20% from what you are quoted in the lobby, and sometimes you can bargain with the manager (particularly if it's starting to get late) for a lower price just by showing him/her prices on your phone of nearby competitors.

Added a few entertainment gizmos over the holidays...

2009-01-13T15:15:00.000-05:00

Added a few entertainment gizmos over the holidays and came to the realization that I had more remotes than would fit on my end-table. Did a bit of research and found BB was selling the Harmony One from Logitech at a very competitive price. Show up at the store and same story as above. At the register I browsed to the bestbuy.com site listing the sale price, on my crackberry, showed the clerk the price and blammo - instant discount. Easy peasy.

I do this kind of stuff all the time. I love my sm...

2009-01-13T13:52:00.000-05:00

I do this kind of stuff all the time. I love my smart phone :-)

The other day there was a huge line at a popular eatery. Not a soul in the takeout line.

Out comes the cell phone, placed an order online...6 minutes later I picked up the order from the empty takeout line and sat down.