Jameson snapped this photo of a camera “sale” at an Illinois Best Buy.

Lucky customers who saw the original $699 price and held off on purchasing it in hopes of a better deal have been rewarded by getting to pay an extra $50.

Perhaps the spectacular savings are likely due to Best Buy being cognizant of how the economy is doing so well, recognizing that folks are flush with spending money and would like to kick in a little extra for their gizmos.

Or, the camera price had been reduced by the individual store, but then a new sale came down from corporate that was predicated on an original list price of $799. The store computers then put three elements together:

1. $50 off
2. old price
3. new “sale price” based on the numbers from corporate

and combined them on one tag. But even though a computer made it up, someone had to put that tag on the shelf. Though there’s a plausible explanation, it’s not a wise business practice. It’s confusing to customers and looks like you’re being disingenuous. Best Buy is by no means unique, we’ve seen this sort of thing at several different kinds of stores. Seems like an industry practice worth reconsidering.

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