I have noticed recently that they really try to fight people trying to get a fair deal. Unfortunately they don't let up until you get frustrated and purchase it OR just leave.

I thought money was important for companies in these hard times!

You know, if I was a Best Buy/Office Depot/WalMart/Target/any-other-big-box-store employee making a pitiful wage, I wouldn't whore myself out by trying to cheat customers. (I wouldn't whore myself out like that for any company, actually.)

My last experiences (Circuit City, Best Buy, Fry's) trying to get price matches have all been horrendous experiences, having to fight through various excuses. The stores will even deny having price match policies. It's easier to just buy things online on Amazon and Newegg. Unless I need something immediately, I don't even want to bother with the big box stores.

Best Buy has always been a pain to get them to price match, especially when its a Fry's ad.
I found the TV I wanted at Best Buy then went online called their 800 number, placed the order got the free shipping and setup. No hassle.

Believe me, Best Buy is so much worse than Office Depot. Last year they were clearing a desktop. The price was very good. A friend of mine bought it in Chicago area Best Buy and recommended it to me. I was very excited. It was out on line, but our local area Milwaukee Best Buy had it in stock and had 6 of them. I went to pick it up, but they didn't want to give me a price match from their own store under the lame excuse that it's a different market. Aholes…

Why bother fighting with them? Just buy it at the store that advertised the price. Don't give Best Buy the sale.

@Mypetfly: If that was your only job, and lying to customers was the only way to keep that job, I bet you would be lying right through your teeth.

@silver-bolt:

Not a chance. I have more self-respect than that. I can understand they need the work (as do I), but I'm not going to sell my soul for anyone.

@ Mypetfly, so when your options are starve/be homeless, and lie at work, you rather starve?

Circuit City had a 110% policy in place, but I rarely ever got the extra 10% difference. The manager would always make up some excuse. They seemed more worried about not giving a deal than making a sale. Oh well, Circuit City is doing fine without my business... oh wait.

I have never seen a NYC retailer honor their price match guarantee. Ever.

I even once had a Staples district manager tell me that Office Depot wasn't one of his competitors and then walk away.

I gotta say, I recently had Best Buy price match Costco on a plasma tv. I would have bought the tv at costco, but I don't have an American Express and that is all costco accepts for credit cards. But it took a little bit of time, and a little haggling as the Costco price was $200 under Best Buy cost. I ended up compromising with the manager right in between the Costco price and the BB cost (almost $800 below the BB retail) because Costco was closed when I went in, and I didn't want to come back while I had BB agreeing to price match costco.

@MyPetFly: Sometimes they might be forced to do it by management. Although some people are just A-holes on their own.

I may actually in the middle of this now.

I bought a TV from bestbuy.com a little more than a week ago for $1599...and then picked it up at a local BB.

Since then, I have checked the price on their website each day, which I planned to do during the entire return period. Two days ago I noted that they dropped the price $100. I checked their terms and conditions and noted that I was entitled to a refund for the discount amount since:

1) I was still in the return period
2) The new price is not the result of a clearance
3) The product is still in stock

Since I bought it online, I had to call. Their policies do not allow me to appear in-store and request the refund...so I called.

The helpful CSR took my information and submitted a claim to their Credit Department for investigation. I was told that such investigation will take 21 days. Of course, by then, I will be out of my return period and will have no recourse if they say no. I called back the next day with my claim number to verify the status and was told that they had the claim and that CSR also verified the 21 day duration for an investigation.

I once purchased a Tivo at a BB retail location and noted the price went down by $50 while I was in the store about a week later. I didn't have the receipt, but the helpful person at the returns desk stated that I didn't need one...and just took my credit card, used it to locate the transaction, verified the price difference, and immediately credited my card for the difference.

I'm not sure if the biggest difference is the change in the economy, their policies, or the fact that I bought online, but I am disappointed. Perhaps that perspective will change in three weeks or so. Perhaps not.

Brick and mortar stores are a pain. CC dying is going to make BB more difficult to deal with-their main competitor is gone. A lack of competition is not a good thing for consumers. No matter the economy, it'll mean less sales, less coupons, less flexibility. Same thing will happen with BedBath now that LNT is gone. Not as many 20% off coupons in the mail.

I don't buy anything from BB-their prices are 10-30% higher than Amazon/NewEgg/Fry's most of the time. I can wait a few days to get what I ordered. I use brick and mortar to conduct the tactile part of the buying process (look, smell, touch) then I buy it online.

BestBuys own policy states you can't double dip on discounts, promos and price matches. In the article the writer wanted the price match and the free discount. You can get either. So you can't be mad at them for enforcing their written policy. In addition, it varies widely by store as far as getting things price matched. We have 2 in my area and one has never given me an issue with a price match or return. I even was able to return something a day out of the return period by asking nicely. CSRs are people too, no need to be a jerk :)

discount in my previous comment should read as delivery. As I stated the free delivery was a promo and you can't double dip.

I wish there was an edit button.

A year ago I needed to replace my digital camera. With research in hand I went to Best Buy first since they were physically closer to home than CC. I asked the sales rep if they offered a discount for cash. I might as well been speaking Martian, as the guy had a totally clueless look on his face. Seeing he was in trouble, a girl from another department came over to help. I asked her if they offered a discount for cash. She gave me some lame excuse about their pricing is set so they can absorb the loss of dealing with a credit card transaction. I pulled out my two $100 bills and asked with a little louder voice "so, you're telling me you are willing to let a cash sale walk out your door just because you can't offer a discount?" She looked as stupefied as her co-worker. I actually went to CC and they gave me a cash discount just for the asking - and this was long before their financial crisis and shutting down. Best Buy is the pits and I will only go there to tirekick - I will mail order or purchase through other merchants.

Often times, a retail store will have asinine policies that cause price adjustments to come from the total pool of adjustments that a manager can make for a given month. They don't want to blow a pile of adjustment funds on a guy buying just a TV for $300 below their price, they want to save it to appease an angry customer, or seal the deal on the guy spending $5k on a whole entertainment system with high margin cables and service plans. All costs and rewards factored in, your single item price match just isn't worth their time and effort.

They also don't want to blow through it every month and have their regional mgr breathing down their necks to manage their controllable expenses. Your transaction isn't worth the added stress it would attract from above.

Corporate makes these policies to attract customers, but they don't give mgrs the tools to properly enforce them and use them as a tool to appease customers.

@BillyDee_CT (darn broken reply)

Why would you expect BB to give you a cash discount? It's not like that's common place among large retailers. Try that at Sears, the grocery store, Wal-Mart, Target, etc and you'll get the same result. Ultimately the employees should have just told you no and left it at that. Retailers aren't gas stations ;)

C'mon Consumerist, if you're going to post a story, at least make sure it's 100% objective.

The policy states that it doesn't cover "limited quantity" items, which a 3-day sale falls under that category.

And you also forfeit any other offer if you price match. No free delivery, no promo financing.

It's called double-dipping.

This site needs to be objective on these subjects to be taken seriously by "novice" consumers.

I've run into similar instances before (as the customer service person). People love pushin it and seeing if they can get away with things, but for the most part I would let them get away with it If they didn't come in making demands. Anyways, I'll give you a store's perspective. Sometimes matching a price would cause the store to lose a large sum of money when making a sale. I understand that it's not the best customer service, but when a tv's actual cost is $1500, and you as the customer want it for $1000, it doesn't make much sense to sell it does it?

People used to love pulling the low quantity stuff off too. Minimum 5 per store, no rainchecks. Then once that store has sold out, they try to get it pricematched here. Most companies have a policy that they will only match a price if that local store has it in stock. If the tv is still available, it shouldn't be a problem to take your business elsewhere, as most of you like to say when you want to stick it to big companies.

And since when is delivery free? The guy is complaining that it costs $100 to deliver a large television.

Honestly, I didn't read over the article thoroughly, so I probably missed something, but I believe this to be a non-issue as the company really hasn't done anything wrong. Not the best customer service, but well within their means.

Listed prices are only an invitation to purchase, but not a binding contract. No one has to sell anything to anyone if they don't want.

P.S. I like how the guy says "Regional Store" instead of local store, and doesn't name what that store is. I wish I could price match Fry's, but most places won't make a store that's in the next state over.

Its going to get much worse now that Circuit City is gone!

@silver-bolt: What? Someone is going to starve because they can't make $9/hr lying to people? How about another place to work?

@Munch: Can you do a return/rebuy to preserve your ability to return?

@FDCPAGuy: "Later, a call to Best Buy's corporate customer service representative confirmed free delivery should have been provided in accordance with Best Buy's policy."

Do you wear a blue shirt? :)

Now will Mario's little boy who wants to be governor like his daddy go after Best Buy?
Probably not, since it might actually help consumers instead of some big grandstanding nonsense that he seems to love to do.

christoj879: That may be what corporate said, but then corporate doesn't understand their own policy either (emphasis mine):

How do you handle a price match if the Best Buy price includes a promotional offer such as a free gift card or rebate?
The Best Buy net purchase price is calculated by deducting the value of all instant and mail-in discounts such as rebates, free offers and promotional gift cards.

@Michael Belisle: Ahem. Let me try that again, since it lopped off the key part I was highlighting. (Oh I remember the good ol' days, back when reply and preview worked...)

How do you handle a price match if the Best Buy price includes a promotional offer such as a free gift card or rebate?
The Best Buy net purchase price is calculated by deducting the value of all instant and mail-in discounts such as rebates, free offers and promotional gift cards. Existing rebates and free offers associated with a product purchased at Best Buy will not apply if a price match is executed. [www.bestbuy.com]

@BillyDee_CT: I can see why not - this isn't NYC where cash purchases are off the books. If you go to a local dealer, I could imagine they'd knock off sales tax, but at BB it isn't worth the aggravation over 2%, and unfortunately the young kid doesn't know/care.

I think that if stores do not want our business, we as consumers are duty bound to take our business elsewhere. Come on everyone there are other options - shop online. Until stores realise that consumers should not be taken advantage of we should shun the stores that misbehave.

@ Mike Kosten

"The policy states that it doesn't cover "limited quantity" items, which a 3-day sale falls under that category."

That's inane. Being of "limited quantity" and being on sale for a limited time are two entirely different things. Otherwise, by your logic, nothing would fall under the policy because things are only on sale at weekly circular prices for a week at a time.

@christoj879: If he did that, he'd get it for $100 less. Why would he need the 21-day return period?

@FDCPAGuy: if the delivery is ever advertised as a 'free' portion of the sale, while they also have a pricematch policy, thats not 'double dipping', its called honoring all the agreements you put lure people in with.

If they tried to justify suddenly charging for the delivery due to whatever reason, it's a bait n' switch tactic.

@Mike Kosten: i made this comment to someone else above you, but you're saying the same thing, so here's some copypasta for you:

"if the delivery is ever advertised as a 'free' portion of the sale, while they also have a pricematch policy, thats not 'double dipping', its called honoring all the agreements you put to lure people in with.

If they tried to justify suddenly charging for the delivery due to whatever reason, it's a bait n' switch tactic."

Many companies use BS policies to get around price matches. Lowes and home depot will have washers and dryers with different model numbers than the exact same item in other retailers and claim since the model # is not exactly the same then they can't price match.

@I_am_Awesome: When I worked for Sears, I often wondered that. People would come in with an ad from a very reputable local appliance dealer. I would match the price, but always wanted to know why they didn't just buy it for the better price.

@Silviu Istrate: Money IS important for the individual store so the manager can meet quota. That's why they are ripping people off. It helps the bottom line.

When it's time for me to buy a new TV, I will visit Best Buy to see it, I will then price shop on the net and have it delivered for the best price at the time I order it. I doubt Best Buy will be able to beat Amazon or NewEgg, but you never know.

@Michael Belisle: Understandable... but they should attempt to make this clear to the buyer beforehand.

I certainly do not want to look up the corporate policy of a store every time I want to make a large purchase.

Sadly, I equate this to taking cash incentives and 0% APR offers on vehicles. They clearly state you can take one or the other, not both. If they are going to offer price matching, then they should say "Sorry, but we cannot provide other free offers and rebates if price match is used."

Leave it up to the consumer to decide. Otherwise, it feels like a bait & switch.

I went to Walmart for a cable modem and they wouldnt match the price from their own website. Totally shady, i bought it @ radioshack, where they at least have knowledgeable employees instead of the helper monkeys walmart hires...

I am a cynic and thus, trust no one in management at these companies. I see them conspiring to drum up sales with misleading marketing ploys, they don't expect to honor. It's a shame that greed has lead people to be like that. Unfortunately, the consumer is at fault too, because we have come to expect lots for nothing.

@Munch:
Make sure you get a case number associated with your phone call. The last time I purchased anything from BestBuy, they told me the same story... at the end of the "research period" I called them to find out what was going on. They claimed not to have a record of my first call!

They rep was aware of the promo that was going on at the time of my purchase. They could see that I made my purchase during this time period. They still had no intention of honoring the promo.

I canceled my 10 year old Best Buy credit card, cut it into pieces, mailed the shredded card to customer service, and included a letter stating that I would no longer shop at Best Buy until their pricing, policies, and service returned to their 1998-2000 levels.

Weeks later they called me, honored the promo, and then the rep proceeded to tell me the phone number I'd need to call if I still intended to cancel the shredded card I mailed in! Clearly he didn't have my letter and shredded card in front of him.

I haven't been back and all of my electronics purchases have been over the Internet or at Costco.

@I_am_Awesome: The only logical reason I can think of is if the place with the cheaper price is too far from someone compared to the BB. Other than that, it's a mystery.

@FDCPAGuy

I have actually received cash discounts from other retailers - all by asking. Way before their crash and burn, Circuit City had no problem with it. The car dealer didn't nor did the merchant who sold me a snow blower. While you may view this as trivial, many people are leaning to all-cash, leaving the charge cards with their associated inflated interest rates (not to mention what they charge the merchants for processing) behind. Financial guru Dave Ramsey says it's smart to ask for a cash discount. Also, look at the outcome. Now that tax returned are coming in I'm ready to replace my dated televisions with flat screens - do you think I'll go to Best Buy again? Nope, as they showed their incompetence with my lowly camera purchase. I'll gladly take my business to a merchant who is more responsive to the needs of the customer. Remember, *I* have the cash and can live WITHOUT, these stores *NEED* the sales or they will be out of business.

@MyPetFly: You do realize that it's usually "follow these policies or get fired", don't you? I don't know about you, but to me...a job is a job.

As someone who used to work for Future Shop I can say that the policy is to price match when there is still margain on the product. For instance, you're looking at a 26" LCD that office depot is selling for $40 below cost, unless you're buying cables & or a warranty where the company can re-coup some of the lost margin, they simply will not honour the price match and, to be frank, what would the point be? I'm not saying I agree, if you have a policy, then its up to you to honour it, but i can see where the lines get murky.

I've never understood why a store offers to price match. Usually a store uses all these crazy complicated rules that end up frustrating both employees and customers. Plus the customer that wants the absolute cheapest price is usually the biggest pain and tries to game the system. We never advertise that we price match. We always charge more than our competitors and we offer better in-store and after-market service. For the customer that only wants the cheapest product, then we wish them luck. Now if a customer is ready to buy and they casually mention they saw it somewhere else for $20 cheaper then we'll gladly offer to match that price as long as the customer agrees to give up some part of our after-market warranty or service. After all those are expenses to us. And our business grows and grows.