Rob writes:
BestBuy has a rewardszone coupon for 10% of 1 toy, 15% off 2 toys and 25% off 3 toys. See attached coupon. Went to my local Best Buy in Bridgewater NJ and attempted to use the coupon on a Xbox 360 and 2 games for the system. I was told by multiple rude employees that an Xbox 360 is a video console and not a toy. A search on BestBuy’s website for the item “toy” shows Halo 3 as the 1st item. Also further down the list it shows the Xbox 360 unit.How is a video game not a toy? I called Best Buy corporate office and was told same thing. I was told a doll is a toy. Didn’t know Best Buy was in the doll selling business. Then I was told that if it is an electronic game for a child 12 and under it is a toy. Doesn’t seem like Best Buy has any clue what a toy is. As you can see from the attached pdf file no were in the exclusions on the coupon does it state Video Game Consoles.
Got to love Best Buy making up rules that only suit themselves.
We are fine print sticklers. Companies pay plenty for in-house lawyers trained in the art of strangling consumers with fine print. They don’t cut us a break when we want an item excluded from a promotion. Why shouldn’t we hold them to the same standard? Best Buy may distinguish between games and toys on their website, but the coupon does not define toys or exclude games.
Game Over.
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Best Buy wins this one on a technicality. I consider all electronics and gadgets “my toys” though. Some people consider their cars “toys”, for me it is things like video games and 51″ TV’s. Oh well.
Here is something I found funny. I had a coupon for Best Buy that was $10 off a video game that was $29.99 or higher. I went and picked up The Orange Box for the PC. When I took it to the register they told me that it was not a video game. I told them that it was indeed a video game, but they said to me that it was considered PC software not a game. I thought that was pretty ridiculous. I used the coupon for a different game, but I am not likely to buy games there anymore.
If not videogames, where are the “toys” in best buy actually kept????
Why people still expect big corporate companies to not try to break the law and screw consumers is beyond me. They just do as much to scam you as they can until they get caught and the government asks them to stop, and then they don’t. That’s big business. My advice is just to shoplift as much crap as you can when you are in one of these stores. The products are not owned by any person, just a faceless company. The corporation itself is considered a person with rights like a real person has, but almost no responsibility that can be enforced in the real world. The products are not owned by any real breathing living person. These companies have reached a dynasty level of control over our consumer choice, lets take the power back people. Stop expecting fairness from these soulless companies. The big level executives don’t give a rats ass about po’ folk, and the slave wage level peons who work in the stores can’t help you.
Man that Bridgewater, NJ Best Buy is sure getting alot of press these days lol. Maybe its not just the employees stealing laptops thats the problem.
@Sephren: Future Shop and Best Buy are both fully wholly owned by Best Buy corporation, just check their website if you don’t believe me. That’s how big corporations make it look like they are not running a monopoly in their area of industry.
@GOLD5: Future Shop is their canadian branch if I’m not mistaken.
@rickless abandon:
But the best buy site also classifies plug and play games as toys, and many plug and play games are just console-less versions of old video games. What’s the difference?
coupons never worked on video game hardware (consoles), i dont understand what people dont understand. Go to any store, its the same deal.
@ROCKETT1
You beat me to it. Just like when people always say to me when im working. ” I seen this console for 50 dollars cheaper will you price match” Umm no because the prices are price locked by the people that make the system.
This is the same kind of corporate thinking that decides that you’re an adult at 11 or 12… such as at movie theaters or restaurants that children are those that are age 3-10 or something.
I had a similiar adventure about 3 months back, but with an (eventual) happy ending. BB had the 360 HD-DVD player addon drive on special. It was still its normal price of 179.99, with the packaged King Kong movie, but you also got the HD-DVD version of Heroes S1 ($99.99 value). A few pages later, on their high-def players page, they advertised that if you purchased ANY HD-DVD player, you would get 2 free HD-DVDs. The fine print for that ad said up to a value of $34.99 each.
I go in, ask an employee about the deal, they tell me I can indeed get the 2 free movies. after spending quite a bit of time making my choice, I head up to the front counter with my HD-DVD player, Heroes, and my 2 free movies. Of course though, the 2 movies don’t ring up, and after a long explanation, she asks a fellow employee nearby, who trys to figure it out. Eventually a manager comes over, and after a third lengthy discussion, tells the cashier to ring them up for me free.
Then, after its already rung up, and I’m trying to pay, the manager hustles back over and tells us I can’t have that offer-after its already been rung up! I try to argue it, and eventually get 2 managers and a couple employees and nearby geek squad dude all standing around trying to give me BS about why I can’t get my free movies.
First excuse was that the 2 free HD-DVD’s was for standalone units only. I try to point out that nowhere does it say that, in fact it says ANY HD-DVD Player. Then they try to tell me the movies are packaged into the boxes, so they couldn’t give them to me anyways. To which I pointed out that nowhere in the ad did it say it was restricted, or said which movies. I then added that why would they put a $35 value in fine print if I didn’t get to choose the movies?
After pointing out all the problems with their logic over and over, I gave up, dropped everything on the counter and walked out. I went home and wrote a somewhat angry letter to best buys customer service website. Amazingly, the next day I got an apology, a written permission to get my 2 free movies, and she offered me a 20$ gift card for my problems.
In the end, I came up with an HD-DVD player, King Kong, Heroes S1, Serenity, TMNT, 5 free HD-DVD mail-in, and 20 dollar gift card. 8 movies, 1 television series, and enough money to buy a second movie. I figured I could pretty much ebay the movies, and with the giftcard break even the cost of the HD-DVD drive.
I go back to Best Buy, if only to profit on their screwups. (sorry for the length)
Should I be so simple as to point out that, since its Best Buys merchandise, they can classify it any way they want to? I mean, seriously, you IDIOTS who decide that they are pulling a scam or breaking the law need to get off the dang edge.
@Tracy Ham and Eggs: Classy. Everyone who dares not agree with you is an “idiot”. In caps no less.
I’m shocked.
Well, according to what they said, if it is a an electronic video game for a child 12 and under, it is a toy. A Xbox 360 can easily be for a child 12 and under and you can buy games for it that kids 12 and under can play so what is the problem here? Besides parents buy their kids games that are rated M for Mature so kids 12 and under can play…
If the coupon (or store signs) did not exclude consoles, give em the discount.
I SO hate those “EVERYTHING 10% OFF!” sales with the little “Excluding everything good we sell” disclaimers at the bottom.
Go into any Toys R Us – they sell consoles. “Toys” R Us. Xbox, PS1,2,3………. but then ours sells Pepsi 2 liters sometimes…..
I had something like this at Target. I bought a MS wireless mouse that I ended up not liking, and returned it. They wouldn’t take it back because there are no returns (just exchanges) on ‘software’!
I had to explain 3 times that it’s a MOUSE. Hardware. Yes – there IS software inside the box as well. Drivers and mouseware. But that is FREE from MS’s site for anyone that wants it.
I finially got some head-something or other to give in and they gave me a store credit and refunded THAT to me.
@razorandblade: Which is why I love shopping in Hong Kong. I can actually shop around and find that shops vary in console pricing, which never seems to happen in America (not to the degree that I see it here).
The wife bought a cover for her Ipod at BB the other day. Ok, I can live with that since Wal-Mart doesn’t have as good a selection.
SHE SIGNED UP FOR THE DAMN MAGAZINE FREEBIE!!!! She did it to help the cashier. I cancelled it the same day she signed up for it.
I told her to never go to Best Buy again!
Best Buy no good for shopping?
Hmm, I think not. I’ll continue to purchase cds that are consistently below the prices at target or walmart and not wait the week for amazon et al to deliver. And I’ll continue to take advantage of various blu ray or hd-dvd deals like recent buy 3 get 2 free of any under 35$. While amazon will occasionally run better deals, b1g1s, the selection is very limited and again, I have to wait 1-2 weeks for delivery.
As far as the op, I am perplexed as to why it even was made into a consumerist posting, and unfortunately highlights concerns that I have with this website, namely that recently its gone from informative and interesting to extraordinarily repetitive and even a bit disingenuous at times. I’ve seen a new price tag story (shock! in store with thousands of items, one might miss getting mislabeled) literally every day, be it an eatery or a retailer.
I first began lurking here after I found it while researching ATT and naked dsl. That was an informative column, and I read many more after it. This is just another column trying to scam a corporation, and just another hatchet job piece against a huge corporation. Unfortunately there seems to be an “us vs them” mentality on this website with very little room for gray. Corporations are evil, unless they are Tivo, Consumers are lauded for trying to get one over on the evil corporations, even when they are clearly in the wrong, such as the person in this case. This place is becoming more and more tabloidy, which is a damn shame, as its becoming less and less of a tool to help educate people on things like in store website switching, sleazy lending, credit cards, tactics to resolve problems by moving up the hierarchy, etc etc.
I don’t know, is this tabloid-y? I didn’t take it that way. I took it like one of those “consumer annoyances”. (a la Andy Rooney?)
The classic coupon that is difficult to use.
What’s a ‘toy’ at best buy? Nothing jumps to mind for me…Best Buy does not seem to clearly tell you.
By the way, it is kind of silly that the person at Best Buy corporate couldn’t cite a specific ‘toy’ item that BB sells for their example of why his coupon didn’t work…
This is stupid, and everyone at digg.com agrees.
Funny enough, if you search for “toys” instead of “toy” the right category comes up
Are you people kidding? Video games are not toys. When you think of a toy, what cames to mind? Action figures, dolls (which some best buys do carry btw), play sets. Certainly toys do not include three hundred dollar computers. As someone stated earlier, the search brought up the grouping of “games and toys” on the best buy website. Clearly the games are in a separate category. Would you go to the computer department and try to pick up a new laptop with your toy coupon? They play video games, yet I think we can all agree a computer is not a toy. An Xbox should be viewed in the same way. No one would consider a computer, a dvd player, or a media extender a toy, so why would you think an Xbox was? Best Buy is not at fault here. It’s the consumer who lacks common sense.
5 minutes reading the Consumerist and I am scared to death of going near a Best Buy…
@Daman3178: “If a game console isn’t a toy then why is it sold at Toys’R'Us?”
Maybe the same reason that a Leapster, a globe, a microscope, a book, and costumes aren’t toys, but they’re still sold at Toys ‘R Us?
First off, I hate BESTBUY. They are the worst big name, big box store on earth. The only thing I’d ever buy there is DVDs. However, its illogical to argue that an item listed under “games AND toys” is therefore a “toy”.
More importantly in this case, the shopper is the one who’s pulling a fast one, while playing ‘victim’ (What, he doesn’t get to take XBox360s from the store at less then cost? poor baby).
It’s not the store trying to mislead people.
This reminds me of people who go to the local pizzeria, and try to rip off the store, by throwing a fit when they can’t “buy 2, get 11 free pizzas” like it says on the coupon. They throw a fit, call “your boss”… and you end up having to give them some free stuff just to leave the store and stop upsetting the other customers.
His last comment in particular, is telling: “Got to love Best Buy making up rules that only suit themselves.”
The guy thinks this is some kind of game… like the 25% coupon is some kind of federal law handed down, and that Best Buy therefore owes him something. Stupid git. I know Best Buy employees are rude, but if multiple employees were rude to him, its because he was being annoyingly persistent in trying to rip off the store.
OP = Wrong
Commenter who believes DS is not a console = Wrong
Consumerist, for running this article = Wrong
This post/thread = full of fail.
We’ve owned Nintendo, Sega, PS, Gamecube. I’ve used them all a lot – to PLAY games.
Sounds like toys to me.
but still why does toys’r'us sell these if they are not toys!!
@daman3178: Are you now going to say that batteries are toys or M&Ms are toys because they are sold at Toys’R'Us? Just because it has the word toys in its name doesn’t mean that it can only exclusively sell toys. Tweeter doesn’t only sell tweeters, Bath and Body works sells more than baths and bodies, and Wal-Mart sells more than just walls.
Bath & Body Works sells bodies???
Sign me up!
Enough bashing people by accusing them of trying to scam “evil” corporations. Is it Best Buys right to create, distribute, manage, and interprupt their own coupons/offers? Yes, it is. When these coupons are vague and misinformative, is it not also our right to criticize them for creating these confusing and vague coupons? Yes it is. Does it give consumers the right to demand open interpretation of an offer (one that didn’t involve money to obtain)? No it does not (nothing wrong with suggesting however). Do those people have every right to criticize and complain on decisions made about the offer, that go against the customers wishes, when the offer is obviously unclear and undefined to a large consensus of people? absolutely.
You shouldn’t demand people unquestioningly follow the will of the store.
You shouldn’t demand or expect the store view “the customer is always right, especially my interpretation!”
You shouldn’t try to prevent people from criticizing poor business choices made by the stores.
Does that about cover every topic in these comments?
Best Buy should not cater to scammers trying to take advantage of coupons that clearly refer to the one or two aisles that sell stuffed animals and robo raptors.
@dcartist: They do and they have a 20% off coupon for live bodies. They pissed me off though when they told me that a body isn’t live just because it has fungus growing in it.
Here is something to think about why would best buy give 10-25% off games anyways, the reason they do this is because they have toys that they sell around the holiday season and after this they have a bunch of them lying around that knowone wants to buy, so they offer this deal to JUST get rid of the remaining products. Oh and by the way why would anyone want to go to circuit city or wal-mart, because best buy does price matches so as long as you have proof (paper copy) of the item advertised then you can get the item for that price. Jezz, don’t blame the company if you don’t know anything about its policies yourself.
The search for “toys” on their website should have been a clue for you. The section where the video games are found shows “Games & Toys” as the title. If “Toys” included games, it wouldn’t say Games & Toys because it would be redundant. That right there should have given you a hint.
My local Best Buy bent the rules and forced the coupon to work when the Xbox 360 controller didn’t ring up as a computer accessory (which I use it for).
@daman3178: “but still why does toys’r'us sell these if they are not toys!!”
I think you’d better stay away from BJ’s.
OK, first thing I wanna say is that store websites suck, no matter how you slice it. I have gotten some pretty bad matches for typing in very specific things. If I can avoid it, I never use them.
Second, software is software, no matter if it’s on a console or a computer. That should be something BBY shouldn’t dispute.
Now as for getting 25% off of a 360 and 2 games: You do realize that, in some cases, stores lose money when they sell items? When the PS3 60GB price dropped, BBY lost around $83 per system. That’s why systems never go on sale, and why things like service plans, game deals, and accessories are always offered at competitive prices: They want to get that money back somewhere. You really can’t blame them for trying not to be losing money on every coupon, promotion, and things like that. Now when Circuit City tried to discontinue a coupon a while back because it had no such limitation on it, that was kinda dick. Should have read their own fine print a little sooner.
After last Christmas season they had Force FX light sabers at 50% off. I love it.
@reasonsnotrules: Oh shit, not digg! Everyone knows they’re the ultimate authority for anything on the interwebs
@Towelie404: Something that I play with for entertainment purposes. Which would be pretty creepy if that turned out to be a barbie, to be honest.
@joellevand: =Wrong
The search he did on the website for the word “toy” brought him to a section of the website called “games and toys.” The fact that the title of that section of the website is called “games” and “toys” means that they are not one in the same. Read the fine print and pay the extra five bucks.
Last time I checked, video games are not toys. Is that not clear? What’s the problem here?
Not only does BestBuy distort what a toy is or is not, it redefines wear and tear as abuse. They love to be word smiths by changing basic terms and definitions of things to what best fits their needs. Disregard anything they advertise because the terms are not what a reasonable person assumes. Be AWARE!
(They stiffed me on a warranty by claiming that normal wear and tear is abuse. Will not cover. Sorry. no refunds either.)
wow a new low in stupidity … don’t even know what a toy is or isn’t? If you’re playing with it’s safe to call it a toy. That includes ‘game machines’. They’re just ‘high tech’ toys. A football is a toy, a ball is a toy, you still play games and make new games with them, but they are toys to play with. Same with consoles, except they don’t bounce. Now of course best buy has a plan to give discounts on certain items, and they don’t want to give discounts on consoles and video games… they probably need to re-word their coupon. But yeh in reality an xbox is a toy even super-computers, cars, robots, etc can be toys.
I got the same coupon, and I actually got my local store to honor it on an XBox360, the HD-DVD drive, and another controller. It took 3 visits and 4 calls to BB consumer relations, but they eventually did it.
Why Why Why Why do people never read the fine print that blocks rebates off of any price-locked items? Why do people still think that even though we would get fined by Apple/BOSE/Microsoft/Sony for selling an item for less than its price-locked price, that they are entitled to manipulate and bully employees for discounts. Go into ANY store that sells electronics with a % off coupon and try to buy a game console. Now see which store sells you the item at a discount. I’m all about helping out a customer who gets a raw deal at my store, and have discounted literally tens of thousands of dollars over a year and a half to do so. I just get very irritated at people who try to play the system.
This is one of the reasons I buy from Amazon.com. Let’s not forget BestBuy gives nice discount and severely overpriced goods?
Maybe that’s why Costco is so good ’cause they learned to sell in volume, get repeat customers, rather than rip them off now and hope for the best later.
I went to Best Buy with a coupon for $10 ANY VIDEO GAME.
I picked up a copy of Elder Scrolls for my PC.
They wouldn’t honor the coupon because “Computer games aren’t video games”. No I play them with pen and paper.
Video games are not toys because if they gave you those three items for 25% off they would have lost money on the deal (like they give it to you for less than they get it for). Not good for business.