Corey found a great deal on a Dell laptop at Best Buy. He was under the impression that the computer included a Blu-Ray optical drive, since Best Buy’s “specifications” page listed the drive as included on the computer. Twice. So did the product overview page. But after bonding with the computer for a few hours, Corey learned that the computer was Blu-Rayless.

Best Buy has now corrected their site–but only after Corey and other customers complained.

I purchased this Dell laptop from Best Buy’s website yesterday:

It is clearly stated THREE TIMES (2x on the “Overview” tab, once on the “Specifications” tab) on their website that this laptop comes with a Bluray drive.

I picked up in my local store, got it home and spent a few hours creating recovery disks, transferring files & setting it up to my liking. Then I realized that the drive door doesn’t have the Bluray logo and I Googled the part number of the drive to find out that it doesn’t have Bluray capability (I do not own any Bluray disks, so I couldn’t just try to see if one works).

If you look at the product reviews & the product Q&A on the Best Buy site, there are several people who all state that they did not get Bluray drives installed in their computers. This laptop just went on sale yesterday so the problem is clearly just beginning for Best Buy.

I called up their customer service number this morning and predictably I got no help other than them telling me that I can return it to the store. They did not understand that I had already invested a few hours into this computer and simply returning after being mislead by their website is not going to fly. I have an e-mail in to Executive Resolutions that hasn’t gotten a response (I sent it about 9 am today).

I would be willing to accept that this was a simple mistake if had not occurred three times on their website. Three times falls into misleading the customer/bait-and-switch territory as far as I’m concerned.

This sounded like a good deal and I thought any potential hassles I would encounter in dealing with Best Buy would be worth the good deal. Obviously, I was wrong.

When purchasing electronics, it’s a good idea to take a moment and search on the model number–even if it’s just a quick Google search. At minimum, check the manufacturer’s site to see what specifications they list for the item. A few minutes of due diligence can save you hours of aggravation, as Corey learned. While sellers like Best Buy will correct an error when it’s pointed out, errors happen and corrections take time.

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