Best Buy fail = I win!

[Mikezilla]

Its kinda funny how these threads evolve. 

[Vigo]

Heh, thanks Mike. It was pretty much a +1 on your point earlier, but I like to elaborate.

I do live like 5 minutes away from Best Buy Corp, and know a number of corporate employees there. It is a sweet gig in an amazing building, They can handle a small hit on price for Mario Galaxy. Best Buy does not make its money off of fair prices, but preying on customers who do not know better. I needed to buy a SATA cable cable really quick, so I stopped at Best Buy. It was $34. I walked out laughing, no way in hell I would pay that price. 

You can penalize them, but you can't take the same amount of money right out in financial services.

Doesn't really matter anyway as that was a specific response to a specific situation that is unrelated to the topic at hand.

I do admit, CA has some of the most Employee sided labor regulations of them all, but I work in HR for a company that will not accept much loss from the employee mistakes. We have an "expectation based bonus", and we don't take money equal to the loss out of the bonus, the loss is calculated through a series of formulas, and the employee bonus cut ends up much more than the actual loss. 

[Vigo]

I avoid employees at BB like the plague.

They are required to expect everyone in there to have the IQ of 20, a wallet of solid gold, an unsatiable need to impulse buy whatever they are told is the "item to have", and a belief that the product will internally implode in a week without their warranty policy.

I'm pretty sure that's written in the employee handbook. 

[Firebat138]

i remember some sort of post or special on the big name stores that they have a policy at the door...  You are either A, B, or C, A being you look like you have money, but have no knowledge of computers, the mom looking for the xbox type of parent who they can sell 6 controllers to, and us, who know what we are talking about...  They dont want anything to do with C.

[Vigo]

i remember some sort of post or special on the big name stores that they have a policy at the door...  You are either A, B, or C, A being you look like you have money, but have no knowledge of computers, the mom looking for the xbox type of parent who they can sell 6 controllers to, and us, who know what we are talking about...  They dont want anything to do with C.

I believe that in a heartbeat. My question now is why the heck I keep getting in "Group A"....It's because I look rich, right?

right???

[newkillergenius]

it is not the job of the customer to interpret what prices are mistakes, and what prices are reasonable to believe correct, we are not product purchasing analysts.

 

/thread

[SavannahLion]

The manager turned to me and said, "Well I guess you win, but it is ---smurfs--- like you that are destroying the Office supply retail Industry." I left a few choice words with him as I left with my card holders, but I could see the dude needed an enima. Asshat.

Total ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow---. Managers can see what the wholesale price is on what's in their store. Places like staples jack up their prices for the suckers too lazy to shop around. I also have sneaky suspicion some people shop there for the tax write off. A printer from staples probably ends up being cheaper over five years through depreciation than the same printer purchased elsewhere for half that.

He's likely pissed because you hurt his year end bonus. Places like that really screw over employees and customersand reward their management.

[Fordman]

If something is labeled incorrectly, the store pretty much has to honor it. Unless someone is switching labels.
I always demand they do, it false advertizing if they don't.

In the USA, it depends on the State you live in before you can say false advertising (remember, its private property ((and no, you dont have to enter)) and if it wasnt publicly advertised, then it isnt advertised - I learned that in my legal economics/business/labor classes). Most stores try to make sure their items are priced right, sometimes there are errors. Usually to save a future customer, they go ahead and honor the label/sign.

Fordman

[RayB]

Cheffo got my point, Mikezilla. To make it clear:

Ripping off Best Buy is not a victimless crime and could cost a guy his job. Didn't Circuit City or some other big chain go tits up not too long ago?

I just wrapped my point up in a broader context that Cheffo summarized fairly well: Too many people feel entitled to anything and everything they want without thought to consequence and then are first to ---smurfette--- and moan that their economies, jobs and home values are in the toilet.  You have no problem ripping off big faceless corporation "Best Buy" but don't think that maybe there is a trickle-down consequence to that kind of behaviour; Those same people complain that big faceless corporations are shipping jobs outside the country.

Sorry if you don't like America-bashing but it's the truth (and Canadians are not that far behind).

[SavannahLion]

Ripping off Best Buy is not a victimless crime and could cost a guy his job. Didn't Circuit City or some other big chain go tits up not too long ago?

I would be hard presses to believe that a company like Circuit City went belly up because they mismarked so many of their products. It would have more to do with their overall business practice. Seriously, any company that supported the atrocity known as DIVX is bound to fail.

[CheffoJeffo]

Seriously, any company that supported the atrocity known as DIVX is bound to fail.

Queuing most obvious counter-example ...

[Dartful Dodger]

Eh, I don't think $20 for an old, not very fun game is too far off the mark and I wouldn't have thought that was a mistake if I had seen it.

Just saying.

 

This isn't about you unknowingly buying a game that was mispriced.

Please reread the subject and first post in this thread.

As I said in my other post in this thread, I think the original intent and actions is like someone calling a lawyer because they purposely slipped on some spilt milk.

 

[DaveMMR]

My issue with the counter-arguements are people who are referring to this as:

Ripping off Best Buy is not a victimless crime and could cost a guy his job.

(a) He didn't "steal" anything. 
(b) He continues to shop there - a REPEAT CUSTOMER (even if only to look for the accidental deals). 

And I doubt anyone's losing their job.  If a manager fired every employee who made a mistake there'd be no one left to work there.  Paying out unemployment benefits and having to interview and train new people is a little bit of a hassle to punish someone for what could have been an innocent mistake.

But what say you if this wasn't the first (or second or third) time the employee made this error?   Well then he's a poor employee and where I'm from you don't get to keep your job if you suck at it (or have no interest in doing it right). 

[SavannahLion]

Seriously, any company that supported the atrocity known as DIVX is bound to fail.

Queuing most obvious counter-example ...

EuroDisney was offset by their 100 year bonds. They probably made CC eat the losses to keep the books clean the same way Pepsi was (is) moving their losses to YUM!

Everybody knows Disney is the Devil. Any deal with the Devil is a bad one.

[SNAAKE]

Yeah, they tried to sell me a 6 foot HDMI cable for $75.  I just started laughing, too.

cuz its ultra premium monster hdmi cable..GOLD PLATED


 

[RayB]

And I doubt anyone's losing their job.  If a manager fired every employee who made a mistake there'd be no one left to work there.  Paying out unemployment benefits and having to interview and train new people is a little bit of a hassle to punish someone for what could have been an innocent mistake.

But what say you if this wasn't the first (or second or third) time the employee made this error?   Well then he's a poor employee and where I'm from you don't get to keep your job if you suck at it (or have no interest in doing it right).  

Why do I have to explain everything in minute detail? We're not a bunch of 6 year olds are we?  I never said that his act directly would result in a firing. Life isn't always so direct and 1:1 like that.  I'm talking about cumulative effects from so many people having the attitude that they deserve to "beat the system". If enough people screw a store out of their profit margins, eventually that store has to cut staff or shut down. We might as well be bragging about successful shoplifting.

Go for it guys. Post all your "wins" from sneaking stuff out of stores, or being handed back the wrong change and not having the moral balls to tell the clerk he/she made a mistake.

[lilshawn]

i got a small (cheaply made no name) TV from the superstore grocery chain. the newspaper ad said 39.99 the tag on the display said 49.99 and rung up at 69.99... being WAAAY wrong, I got it at 29.99 (10 dollars off lowest price item scanning practice rules apply)

new kids room TV! Tada!

though i was kind of disturbed that when i opened the box.... the TV came with a complete set of schematics on a giant sheet of paper!  .... i'm guessing the manufacturer isn't planning on fixing this one... 

[HanoiBoi]

I've got no problem with a store making good on a mispriced item.  It's that entitlement that gets me.  The OP knew the item's worth and took the pricing card to the register with him.

The 'right' thing to do would be to bring the incorrect pricing to the attention of the store.  Regardless of it being Best Buy.

So, you see someone unknowingly drop a $10 on the floor.  Do you point it out to them or quickly cover it with your foot until they walk away?

Life shouldn't be 'Finders Keepers'.  That's a kid thing.

Look for legitimate deals, not mistakes.  Try sites like Woot.com, Hotdealsclub.com, monoprice.com, etc.

[DaveMMR]

Why do I have to explain everything in minute detail? We're not a bunch of 6 year olds are we?  I never said that his act directly would result in a firing. Life isn't always so direct and 1:1 like that.  I'm talking about cumulative effects from so many people having the attitude that they deserve to "beat the system". If enough people screw a store out of their profit margins, eventually that store has to cut staff or shut down. We might as well be bragging about successful shoplifting.

Go for it guys. Post all your "wins" from sneaking stuff out of stores, or being handed back the wrong change and not having the moral balls to tell the clerk he/she made a mistake.

I think you're making way more of this than it is.  This is NOT a widespread problem with the economy going down the drain because there was suddenly some sudden outbreak of underpriced merchandise sneaking their way onto the sales floors of major retailers.    The dude got a deal because someone fell asleep at the switch.   

If you want to find "beating the system" mentality and the delusions of entitlement gamers are known for, go look at people who pirate video games.  This is a story of a guy who got an unexpected discount due to a store's error and took advantage of a good deal.  I can assure you, it doesn't happen 1/10th as much as you think.  You can save the red flags.  Trust me on that; I'm always bargain hunting.     

And, for the umpteenth time:  Best Buy is NOT losing out in the deal.  He purchased an item he probably wouldn't have had it been priced accurately.   Maybe it's a small loss on paper (and yes, I doubt the store spent more than five seconds fretting over that amount in the grand scheme of things) but advantageous in that it drives repeat business, encourage store loyalty and perhaps even lead to some word-of-mouth advertisement (e.g. the OP tells a friend about the deal, the friend goes in hoping to have the same luck). 

I think what kind of gets me though is that I don't think anyone among us is qualified to be casting stones on this.   If you find a $20 on the street, do you seriously spend the better part of the weekend tracking down its owner?   If your bank didn't charge you a fee on an ATM transaction, do you call them up and make sure they correct that immediately?   If you find the cashier didn't charge you for an item in your grocery bag, do you drive all the way back and pay them?  When you use a MAME ROM, do you look up the copyright owner and mail out a check?   

[lilshawn]

And, for the umpteenth time:  Best Buy is NOT losing out in the deal.

dude even at $10 they would be making money... where do you think the games/videos/software in the UNDER $5 bins come from?!?!

i bought a gamecube game from walmart one time... this one... http://www.amazon.com/Dragonball-Z-Sagas-GameCube/dp/B0006DNMYW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1294810433&sr=1-1 on final clearance...

i paid 20 CENTS for it... i'll bet walmart still made money on it.

[dre-w]

 
Ok, let me just first off thank those of you who were backing me up on this one.    I did nothing wrong, if you go back and look at my first posts I mentioned that I went in there with the intent of buying a DS game then came across the mispriced Wii game I wanted.  I always make my trips down the other videogame aisles to see if there's been any price drops on the games I've been wanting or any sale or clearance, I don't go out of my way to check all of their games to make sure they are accurately priced just to screw them..  And I really wish I'd taken a picture of the display card because it was legit, my first thought when seeing this actually was "Wow that's a good deal" then I started thinking "Nah that's too good to be true" but after reading the price and label carefully, then seeing that the sku # and model # matched the game, I said to myself "Well this better be right because I'm about to buy this!"  How dare you guys say that a company should be allowed to display an incorrect price on a game, get some kids hopes up, then have the right to deny them that price upon purchase.  And whoever that was comparing this to me purposely slipping on spilled milk then filing a lawsuit.. get bent.  And people pointing out the oh so obvious.. Really??  Best buy didn't fail from my win??  Darn, and I really thought that $30 loss was going to drive them into the ground..  because only then I'd win huh..  I'm too lazy to go back and highlight and point fingers but whatever.

And believe it or not, the thing that hurts big corporations the most..  not shoplifting, definitely not this, but something called internal theft.  I worked Loss Prevention for Macys & Sears and customers were the least of our concerns, the thing that hurt the company most was employees stealing.  So all of you saying "Oh you dumb deceptive consumer  tearing down businesses"  get outta here with all that noise..

[jamesjones626]

anytime i see best buy i have nothing but...........not so much hatred but a big dislike. the first reason is when i was 19 i applied for a job there, they gave me 5 interviews total, for each interview they called me at random times and days and told me to get there as fast i could.  Well they didn't hire me, and about 2 weeks later i went shopping there and the guy interviewing me approached me and said "oh hey the guy we ended up hiring didn't work out, do you want to work for us?"  I pretty much told him to "fudge off".  Reason 2, I needed help on looking for an item and i approached a worker and said "excuse me", well the guy looked at me and just said "im sorry i dont speak spanish".  I know i look south of the border but damn, i never realised i looked like i didnt speak english.  In my opinion the only place with worse customer service than best buy is walmart.

[DaveMMR]

And, for the umpteenth time:  Best Buy is NOT losing out in the deal.

dude even at $10 they would be making money... where do you think the games/videos/software in the UNDER $5 bins come from?!?!

Well if it's ending up in those bins, it's because no one was buying it at any price.  That was a common sight in 1983/84 when the industry crashed.

But you are correct - they always make their money. 
 

[yotsuya]

I remember towards the end of the Crash of '83 being able to get some great Atari games for as little as $0.50 at a local drugstore.

[DaveMMR]

I thought video games were like books and magazines where the store doesn't really own it and more or less sells it on commission?

 

I was curious and looked this up and after digging around, retailers buy stock from the wholesaler at around 6% under the MSRP (EDIT: I saw various percentages after further reading, I can't nail down a definitive answer and went with the mean, more or less) - less for higher quantities and also based on if the purchaser in question is a BEST BUY or similar with enough advertising strength to move the units.   (In other words:  Best Buy very well sold that game at "cost").  

As far as I know, video games were always an item the store had to buy as inventory.  A notable exception was Nintendo's deal it struck with retailers when introducing the NES.  Due to understandable hesitation from stores stocking video games again after the crash, Nintendo made an intial offer to buy back unsold stock when rolling out the system.

[Mikezilla]

Why do I have to explain everything in minute detail? We're not a bunch of 6 year olds are we?  I never said that his act directly would result in a firing. Life isn't always so direct and 1:1 like that.  I'm talking about cumulative effects from so many people having the attitude that they deserve to "beat the system". If enough people screw a store out of their profit margins, eventually that store has to cut staff or shut down. We might as well be bragging about successful shoplifting.

Go for it guys. Post all your "wins" from sneaking stuff out of stores, or being handed back the wrong change and not having the moral balls to tell the clerk he/she made a mistake.

I think you're making way more of this than it is.  This is NOT a widespread problem with the economy going down the drain because there was suddenly some sudden outbreak of underpriced merchandise sneaking their way onto the sales floors of major retailers.    The dude got a deal because someone fell asleep at the switch.   

If you want to find "beating the system" mentality and the delusions of entitlement gamers are known for, go look at people who pirate video games.  This is a story of a guy who got an unexpected discount due to a store's error and took advantage of a good deal.  I can assure you, it doesn't happen 1/10th as much as you think.  You can save the red flags.  Trust me on that; I'm always bargain hunting.     

And, for the umpteenth time:  Best Buy is NOT losing out in the deal.  He purchased an item he probably wouldn't have had it been priced accurately.   Maybe it's a small loss on paper (and yes, I doubt the store spent more than five seconds fretting over that amount in the grand scheme of things) but advantageous in that it drives repeat business, encourage store loyalty and perhaps even lead to some word-of-mouth advertisement (e.g. the OP tells a friend about the deal, the friend goes in hoping to have the same luck). 

I think what kind of gets me though is that I don't think anyone among us is qualified to be casting stones on this.   If you find a $20 on the street, do you seriously spend the better part of the weekend tracking down its owner?   If your bank didn't charge you a fee on an ATM transaction, do you call them up and make sure they correct that immediately?   If you find the cashier didn't charge you for an item in your grocery bag, do you drive all the way back and pay them?  When you use a MAME ROM, do you look up the copyright owner and mail out a check?   

This is EXACTLY what I was going to say RayB, but Im going to add a little bit. I agree with all the points DaveMMR said, but you gotta keep in mind, the OP never INTENDED on going in and "ripping off" Best Buy by buying a game thats at the wrong price. Someone else mentioned the analogy of slipping on the floor then suing the company. Thats completely different. They have the INTENT to go in and try to collect on something for nothing. The OP said he originally went in there for a DS game I believe, then bam, he saw this little gem. And hell, for all he knew, they could have been having a sale! I just think its a little ridiculous how far you are taking this. You act like he punched an old lady in the face and stole her wallet or something. As someone else mentioned before, Circuit City went belly up due to many different reasons, one being they overcharged for their stock.

[Dartful Dodger]

the OP never INTENDED on going in and "ripping off" Best Buy by buying a game thats at the wrong price. Someone else mentioned the analogy of slipping on the floor then suing the company.

It was me who mentioned the analogy of slipping on the floor then suing the company, because he did intend on going in and "ripping off" Best Buy.
 

Went to Best Buy today and this is exactly why I always stop to "just look" at the video game sections.  My wife is always complaining about that saying I'm wasting time or whatever..  well today I showed her!

[yotsuya]

You know, it works both ways. I've walked into stores before and have seen large signs by the front that says things like "We're sorry, due to a printer's error, the item listed in this week's ad for $xxx is incorrect. It should be $yyy." (Fry's Electronics does this alot). Mistakes happen. If the store can cover themselves like that, they should also be expected to honor a pricing error that comes to their attention, especially if that's how they had it out on the floor. It's not about getting over on The Man.

[Mikezilla]

the OP never INTENDED on going in and "ripping off" Best Buy by buying a game thats at the wrong price. Someone else mentioned the analogy of slipping on the floor then suing the company.

It was me who mentioned the analogy of slipping on the floor then suing the company, because he did intend on going in and "ripping off" Best Buy.
 

Went to Best Buy today and this is exactly why I always stop to "just look" at the video game sections.  My wife is always complaining about that saying I'm wasting time or whatever..  well today I showed her!

That could go both ways though, he could have meant that he was looking to see if things were on sale. I do that too. I just think the magnitudes of the offenses are a little skewed, but whatever. Its not like he got the damn thing for free or anything. I stand by what I said. "Rock on. Good score". 

[Dartful Dodger]

That could go both ways though, he could have meant that he was looking to see if things were on sale. I do that too. I just think the magnitudes of the offenses are a little skewed, but whatever. Its not like he got the damn thing for free or anything. I stand by what I said. "Rock on. Good score". 

If he thought he found a great deal you'd be right, but...

The title of this subject is Best Buy fail = I win, not Best Buy sale = I win.

The word "exactly" means a typo was exactly what he was looking for.

When people get hurt by accident they deserve to be compensated. Some people get hurt on purpose to win a big settlement.

[hyiu]

personally, I really don't see anything wrong...

he found an item inside a store at a price that he think its good, and he bought it.
if the store thinks they're really losing $$ / bad label / wrong price, and cannot honor it, the store will fight for it.
they didn't. so, nice score.

[AtomSmasher]

Anytime I see an item mislabeled with an extra low price, I just steal it.  It eliminates the hassle of telling the cashier it was labeled wrong.
 

[Vigo]

That could go both ways though, he could have meant that he was looking to see if things were on sale. I do that too. I just think the magnitudes of the offenses are a little skewed, but whatever. Its not like he got the damn thing for free or anything. I stand by what I said. "Rock on. Good score". 

If he thought he found a great deal you'd be right, but...

The title of this subject is Best Buy fail = I win, not Best Buy sale = I win.

The word "exactly" means a typo was exactly what he was looking for.

When people get hurt by accident they deserve to be compensated. Some people get hurt on purpose to win a big settlement.

Dre-w did later clarify that he meant that he was looking for sweet clearance deals, but even if your interpretation was correct, Dre-w's actions proved that he was not out to screw Best Buy. He checked with an employee and inquired about the price. He let the manager check it as well. They both approved the price after carefully checking the tag, then Dre-w bought the goods. What more does he need to do?

[newkillergenius]

Would you mind autographing my Boy and his Blob DVDRs?

kthx

 

what the ---fudgesicle---

[AtomSmasher]

Anytime I see an item mislabeled with an extra low price, I just steal it.  It eliminates the hassle of telling the cashier it was labeled wrong.
 

Would you mind autographing my Boy and his Blob DVDRs?

kthx

[Dartful Dodger]

If Dre-w later back pedaled I missed it, but even if his new interpretation of events are correct, Dre-w's actions proved that he was screwing over Best Buy.

He took the label with him to the casher to prove the mistaken price was printed. He kept the receipt to prove that the item wasn’t officially priced at what he paid for it.

What more could he have done?
Nothing, he did everything he could to prove he intentionally cashed in on someone else's mistake.

[newkillergenius]

and not a ---fudgesicle--- was given. 

[newkillergenius]

[Vigo]

That could go both ways though, he could have meant that he was looking to see if things were on sale. I do that too. I just think the magnitudes of the offenses are a little skewed, but whatever. Its not like he got the damn thing for free or anything. I stand by what I said. "Rock on. Good score". 

If he thought he found a great deal you'd be right, but...

The title of this subject is Best Buy fail = I win, not Best Buy sale = I win.

The word "exactly" means a typo was exactly what he was looking for.

When people get hurt by accident they deserve to be compensated. Some people get hurt on purpose to win a big settlement.

Dre-w did later clarify that he meant that he was looking for sweet clearance deals, but even if your interpretation was correct, Dre-w's actions proved that he was not out to screw Best Buy. He checked with an employee and inquired about the price. He let the manager check it as well. They both approved the price after carefully checking the tag, then Dre-w bought the goods. What more does he need to do?

Does anyone else out there follow that logic? How does asking store employees about the validity of a price, showing them exactly where you think the issue is, and checking with them if the price is valid = trying to screw over Best Buy???

That's exactly the opposite, thats making sure you are not screwing over the store. Let Dre-w just enjoy his sweet find. To me his find proves nothing more than showing that Best Buy overcharges so damn much that anytime you find a good price it is assumed to be a price mistake.

[hypernova]

This thread's life has done nothing short than amaze me.

If he had walked up to the counter, and asked if he could buy that game at the price listed, and they told him no, he probably wouldn't have bought it.  Or maybe he would have, but doubt it.  Regardless, it was up to BB to either honor it or not.  If they had not, the worst that would have happened was dre-w MAY not shop there ever again.  But again, I doubt that.  Apparently he likes a good deal.  I also seriously doubt he would have made a big stink about them not honoring it, nor filed any lawsuits over something so insignificant and petty.

At no point in his post did he say he DEMANDED that they honor it.  At no point did he threaten lawsuits or anything.  He simply asked if it was correct.  Then with a response to the manager after he came that is was labeled that way, the manager APPROVED it.  No parties made a stink about it.  For all we know, it could've been a one-day sale thing or something.  How is dre-w supposed to know?

I guarantee you all if dre-w had said he would pay the (probable) full price of $49.99 for it, the manager would've politely declined, saying that he only need pay what was on the sticker.  Would you still fault him for it?