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Best Buy Claims It Has Ended ‘Showrooming’

post #1 of 18
2/18/13 at 3:35pm
Thread Starter 


The biggest trend of the 21st century has been ‘showrooming’. It’s quite easy to find a price online with a quick google search for the product. The only thing holding a consumer back is not having seen it or heard it prior to the purchase. Well, this is where the big box stores come into play. Seeing the physical item in a store and then purchasing it online was a major concern for retailers.

Well ‘no more’ says Best Buy. Starting March 3rd, if a customer asks to price match, Best Buy will do so by matching all local retail competitors as well as 19 major online competitors in all product categories.


Here is the full list of major online competitors that are included in the price-matching guarantee:


Amazon.com
Apple.com
Bhphotovideo.com

Buy.com
Crutchfield.com
Dell.com

Frys.com
hhgregg.com
HP.com
HomeDepot.com
Lowes.com

Newegg.com

OfficeDepot.com
OfficeMax.com

Sears.com
Staples.com

Target.com

TigerDirect.com

Walmart.com


This was a temporary initiative for the holiday season, but this will now be a permanent policy.

There has also been a few changes to their policies which are the following:
Quote:
Chris Morran at the Consumerist obtained an internal document from Best Buy that announces the change and has more details. Here's what it says:

Starting March 3, 2013 Best Buy will price match the current pre-tax price for new, identical, immediately available products from local retail competitors and select designated major online retailers at the time of purchase only. (No subsequent price matching of competitors is allowed)

If Best Buy lowers a price on a product (online or in-store) we will allow price-matching up to 15 days following the original purchase. This applies to all customers including Reward Zone Premier Silver members. Please note: After a transition period for Reward Zone Premier Silver members through April 18, 2013, the 15 day period of the Price Match policy goes into effect (post-purchase – Best Buy only).

There has also been one major change to Best Buy's return policy.

The "Return and Exchange" period is being cut in half to 15 days from its previous length of 30 days. All returns will still require a receipt and I.D., plus Reward Zone Premier Silver members will retain their 60-day return eligibility. 
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-buy-new-price-matching-policy-2013-2



Do you agree with these new changes?






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post #2 of 18
2/18/13 at 3:59pm
I'm thrilled they included B&H photo! I was just in a Best Buy picking up a keyboard/cover for my iPad and I decided to check Amazon because $129 is a decent chunk of change. In this instance the price was the same, but Best Buy's new policy would have saved them the sale if was not. So yeah, good move on their behalf.
Edited by imagic - 2/18/13 at 5:48pm
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post #3 of 18
2/18/13 at 4:44pm
Great move on their part. I welcome it and am excited about it. Ordering through internet, waiting for the UPS/Fedex/Post office to deliver can never match the excitement of holding the product and walking out with it.
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post #4 of 18
2/18/13 at 5:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vishwa Somayaji View Post

Ordering through internet, waiting for the UPS/Fedex/Post office to deliver can never match the excitement of holding the product and walking out with it.

That may be, though getting the same product for a lot less online comes close! smile.gif But with this move, Best Buy has eliminated that advantage, bringing the excitement of physical shopping back to the fore.

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post #5 of 18
2/18/13 at 6:19pm
What I always find funny (in a not funny way) is how we all complain so much, but by our actions we create the very conditions we complain about. Showrooming is one of those actions, among many others. Complain about jobs going overseas, but go purchase everything from Walmart. Complain about uninformed salespeople, but refuse to pay a price that might include the ability to hire somene knowledgeable. Complain about dishonest politicians but punish them brutally if they ever actually are honest.

We are all hoist upon our own ******, as they say.
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post #6 of 18
2/18/13 at 8:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean Roddey View Post

What I always find funny (in a not funny way) is how we all complain so much, but by our actions we create the very conditions we complain about. Showrooming is one of those actions, among many others. Complain about jobs going overseas, but go purchase everything from Walmart. Complain about uninformed salespeople, but refuse to pay a price that might include the ability to hire somene knowledgeable. Complain about dishonest politicians but punish them brutally if they ever actually are honest.

We are all hoist upon our own ******, as they say.

Well said!

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post #7 of 18
2/19/13 at 10:04am
You still have to pay tax.
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post #8 of 18
2/19/13 at 10:15am
Thread Starter 
I don't mind paying a little more to be able to walk out with the product on the spot. After I've researched a product extensively, I'm usually an addict and usually want to play with it right away. biggrin.gif
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post #9 of 18
2/19/13 at 11:22am
Gotta petition BBY to match Cleveland Plasma and Value Electronics. I'll definitely claim that Cleveland Plasma is local, since I'm within a couple hours.
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post #10 of 18
2/19/13 at 5:44pm
It's about time Best Buy started living up to their name. cool.gif
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post #11 of 18
2/19/13 at 5:57pm
However, they can more easily make that claim because electronics manufacturers are getting in the habit of dictating the advertised price of their products. In most circles, that would be called price fixing... in electronics circles that's called MAP. I've seen the prices of certain merchandise start to equalize between authorized online and retail box stores.

It is not the same as during the wild west of the DOT.COM bubble when prices were slashed to the nub online.

For instance, video prices, especially on release day, can be fairly equivalent. Tax, excluded. But that may change as states lose more revenue to online shoppers.
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post #12 of 18
2/19/13 at 6:59pm
I price matched a 3TB hard drive at Best Buy last week. It started with a random question that ended with me matching it to newegg's price...to my shock and delight!
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post #13 of 18
2/20/13 at 5:16am
I still wouldn't shop there. Sorry but having to ask for a price match is too much of a hassle, then you still have to pay tax. I'll still be shopping mostly at Amazon and Newegg. Instant gratification isn't enough to pay the tax in my area, where sales tax is around 9%.

Also for example the last time I went into best buy was to buy a simple HDMI cable. Their lowest price for a 3' cable was $20, even though they have one for $3 online. Screw them.
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post #14 of 18
2/20/13 at 5:43am
The real question is what this will do to their margins, since the cost structure of a b&m store is totally different from one that's online-only (or online-mostly). They may increase their volume but fail to make a profit.

Which is where the previous post comes into play: they'll try to make up margin on house brand (or off-brand) peripherals and accessories that customers can't price-match. If you're in a Best Buy and just bought a piece of gear, you want to take home and hook it up -- not wait a few days for UPS to bring that $3 HDMI cable. So most people will pay the $20.
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post #15 of 18
2/20/13 at 6:04am
Good move for Best Buy.
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post #16 of 18
2/20/13 at 6:19am
Thread Starter 
Both of you bring up some interesting points.

For one, I have to agree with ZmHD69PigQ that it's a hassle to get a price match. I live in Canada and I remember when BB made the same announcement during the holidays, in 3 different BB's, customer service had no clue about price match procedures and weren't aware of the new price match policy....???? I was very disappointed in them and your right, it was a huge hassle every single time.

As for the tax issue, we can't always escape it. Buying a new television for instance, i wouldn't dare getting it shipped, especially by certain transport companies I won't mention here. For me paying that extra tax will be worth me picking it up myself to make sure it gets home in one piece.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZmHD69PigQ View Post

I still wouldn't shop there. Sorry but having to ask for a price match is too much of a hassle, then you still have to pay tax. I'll still be shopping mostly at Amazon and Newegg. Instant gratification isn't enough to pay the tax in my area, where sales tax is around 9%.

Also for example the last time I went into best buy was to buy a simple HDMI cable. Their lowest price for a 3' cable was $20, even though they have one for $3 online. Screw them.


borisgoodenough brings a good point about BB being faced lower margins. I think it's either they are going to swallow some profit or get out of business. Any business that is faced with lower margins will look at selling OEM or house brand products to re-coop that margin loss. It doesn't always have to be a bad thing though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by borisgoodenough View Post

The real question is what this will do to their margins, since the cost structure of a b&m store is totally different from one that's online-only (or online-mostly). They may increase their volume but fail to make a profit.

Which is where the previous post comes into play: they'll try to make up margin on house brand (or off-brand) peripherals and accessories that customers can't price-match. If you're in a Best Buy and just bought a piece of gear, you want to take home and hook it up -- not wait a few days for UPS to bring that $3 HDMI cable. So most people will pay the $20.


I think the value of a salesperson in store has lost value in a store and I know enthusiasts like me do their necessary research and pull the trigger on it right away. But I do venture into Best Buy from time to time and very disappointed to see the lack of knowledge and misinformation the sales staff gives to consumers. And for that, I still shop on-line for some stuff. And some other stuff, I can't wait. biggrin.gif
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post #17 of 18
2/20/13 at 6:32am
I was going to mention lower profit margins. Next announcement they will be closing stores and laying people off.

Not to mention that with their track record of poor customer service they may not really give you the price match. It is always up to the store manager. During the holidays when they were price matching, store managers in some stores weren't giving the price match saying it was below their cost and they couldn't do it.

I'll believe it when I see it (but I still won't shop there).
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post #18 of 18
2/20/13 at 8:08am
BestBuy should just close down and become Amazon Warehouses. You buy something on Amazon and don't want to wait. Just drive down to your local Amazon/Bestbuy warehouse and pick it up. No sales people. No showroom. Just click, buy and pickup.
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