Best Buy Bites!

[budz]

I walked into a BEST BUY this afternoon and bought a Seagate Sata 500gb hard drive with a gift card I got from last Christmas.
WTF! After paying for it I opened up the box at the register only to find out the sticker that's on the antistatic bag is already broken off. So I tell the sales girl I wanted to get another one since the sticker is broken off. She tells me to go stand in the customer service line to get another one. I walk over there and quickly decide it's not worth getting another one because what if the next one is a returned item as well since there was only 1 left on the shelf. I got a refund to my credit card and they gave me another gift card. I know some other member posted in here months ago or maybe it was a year ago about buying a hard drive from BB and when he opened up the box there was a Samsung hd in there.

So beware whenever you buy a hard drive from BEST BUY, open up the box at the register after you've paid for it to make sure you're actually getting the correct brand/model. And also make sure it wasn't a returned item.

BEST BUY knowingly put this back on the shelf to **** over a customer. And yet they wonder why their corporation was sued by 12 states for unfair business practices. My understanding is BEST BUY has a so called blacklist of customers names who return too many items. If your name is on that list you''re not allowed to return anymore items. Now that's so messed up because in my situation I returned the hd because it was a returned item that they tried to pass of as brand new. So therefore would my name appear on that list some time in the future should I return anymore items? WTH! It's all about the mighty dollar and **** the customers! I'm done ranting now!

I wish a FRY'S ELECTRONICS would open up in the old location of the Honolulu CompUsa! It would give BEST BUY & CIRCUIT CITY some good competition.

[Ethlred]

There used to be mentions at Fry's of the possibility of a store in Hawaii. Haven't heard it mentioned in a couple of years at least. Fry's seems to have cut back a bit on expansion.

And should you shop at a Fry's don't kid yourself. There are returns and sometimes the boxes aren't marked at least on the outside. USUALLY they are marked on the outside. If one is marked on the inside that is SUPPOSED to have been an unopened return. However some people are getting way too clever in attempting to return stuff that has been abused. Not all returns employees check properly.

Those checks do take time, at least when done right. Thats one reason for the complaints about returns at Fry's. Some of the stuff we do there makes no sense until I try to look at it from a security point of view. The crap people pull is amazing and it potentially can include collusion by employees. Many of the returns are perfectly O.K. just someone changed their mind.

Still I won't buy a returned item if it can be avoided. Especially a CPU. They often have nothing wrong EXCEPT the original purchaser ruined the thermal paste. I bought one of those myself. Couldn't get it to work but it was almost certainly incompatible with my old motherboard and it turned out it was my three month old power supply that was the problem and not my ancient ECS motherboard.

On top of all that people steal stuff. Sometimes it doesn't show either unless you check the seals carefully. So buyer beware. Check the boxes first. I check every box I pick up that I find in the wrong place but many if not most do not.

[jagabo]

BEST BUY knowingly put this back on the shelf to **** over a customer. :smash: And yet they wonder why their corporation was sued by 12 states for unfair business practices.

No, they don't wonder. They have simply decided that the cost of the lawsuits is less than the money saved from screwing customers. A simple business decision.

[Faustus]

Never had that at bestbuy before but then... I don't shop there often anymore.

Fry's is awesome but you gotta watch out for yourself. It seems like a good deal until you realize it returned or that cheap memory is CL6

[jman98]

Sorry about your experience, but I would hope that you don't honestly think that Best Buy is the only retailer that your scenario would have happened with. It could happen with any of them. As far as the blacklist goes, I'm sure it does exist (I've heard that even WalMart has finally started doing this too), but 1 return does not get you on the list. I would guess that you have to trigger some counter like so many returns in a month or year to get on the list. I bought a PC from them in the summer of 2004 and I had to return it because after I got home and set it up, I found out there was a manufacturing defect and the PS2 keyboard connector was useless. They checked it and admitted it was a defect and gave me a new model of the same PC with no hassles. I've bought stuff from them since then and had no issues.

I wouldn't count on any expansion from Fry's into Hawaii. Fuel costs are making everything more expensive now and I bet it doesn't make sense to open a store in Hawaii just because it will cost a fortune to ship goods to it.

[jagabo]

I would guess that you have to trigger some counter like so many returns in a month or year to get on the list.

Or piss off the right person.

[bendixG15]

Newegg has been doing this for a long time.
I went into My Account and they have a RMA Status that for me went back to an item I returned in 2001.

[Ethlred]

Keeping track of returns is normal. ALL sales are recorded. It would be stupid if they weren't If you don't want to be tracked as a person it's easy. Pay cash and never give your name. We don't insist on a name at Fry's but we do need some sort of name to make a quote. Otherwise there would be no way to tell who gets the products that you can't carry up to the front.

Most likely there was nothing wrong with the drive. It's still under manufacturer's warranty. It costs money to throw out perfectly good merchandise. Consider how many people change their minds. Tossing that stuff into a dump would be a ridiculous waste.

Some people do return an awful lot. Some are "borrowing" without bothering to actually pay any rent. Buy a camera before Christmas and return after for instance. I have never heard of a person going onto a blacklist at Fry's for returning. Doesn't mean it hasn't happened as some people sure abuse the policy.

I am not trying to support Best Buy here. I am just pointing the way things work in general. People return stuff. Most is perfectly good. Some isn't. Most is tested first. Not all as its not always feasible to test a product.

To give an example:

PS3 are sometimes returned because the customer is getting a black screen. There is almost never anything wrong with the PS3 except that the customer somehow got it set to use HDMI. To reset it I am told that you hold down the power button for a few seconds. I suspect the manual says that but few RTFM. On top of that some the people working returns didn't know this so they marked the PS3 Return To Vendor (RTV).

No one can know everything so it's not as stupid as it may sound. I think they have it through their skulls now. They should now be resetting the machine, showing the person, recommending that they RTFM in somewhat politer terms, and then sending the customer with the same perfectly good PS3 they brought in to return.

Nevertheless I have seen some claims about Best Buy that make me wonder. Some may even be true. I know some of the claims about Fry's are either are or were true. Even limited liability corporations can learn better ways to do things.

[zzyzzx]

Best Buy is famous for doing this. Welcome to 1999!

[Faustus]

Welcome to 1999!

man I WISH

[budz]

Sorry about your experience, but I would hope that you don't honestly think that Best Buy is the only retailer that your scenario would have happened with. It could happen with any of them. As far as the blacklist goes, I'm sure it does exist (I've heard that even WalMart has finally started doing this too), but 1 return does not get you on the list. I would guess that you have to trigger some counter like so many returns in a month or year to get on the list. I bought a PC from them in the summer of 2004 and I had to return it because after I got home and set it up, I found out there was a manufacturing defect and the PS2 keyboard connector was useless. They checked it and admitted it was a defect and gave me a new model of the same PC with no hassles. I've bought stuff from them since then and had no issues.

I know Best Buy isn't the only retailer who rips off consumers. There isn't much here in Honolulu as far as DIY computer parts store since COMPUSA shut down. The local pc shops charge a arm and leg for computer parts so most of my purchases now are done w/online retailers. I can say I've returned maybe 1 or 2 other small ticket items to BB in the past.

I wouldn't count on any expansion from Fry's into Hawaii. Fuel costs are making everything more expensive now and I bet it doesn't make sense to open a store in Hawaii just because it will cost a fortune to ship goods to it.

As far as FRY'S ELECTRONIC's goes I know of horrid stories of returning items there as well. With the price of fuel rising everyday that doesn't stop TARGET, COSTCO, CIRCUIT CITY & LOWE'S from opening up more locations on Oahu. TARGET has committed to opening up 2 stores on Oahu where construction has already begun, CIRCUIT CITY will open up their second location in Kapolei, COSTCO will also open up another store in Kapolei & LOWE's will open up in Iwilei. Also WHOLE FOODS will open up their first store in Honolulu at the Kahala Mall this summer & their second store will open sometime in the fall at the Victoria Ward shopping centre area. Therefore it's not wishful thinking on my part to have a FRY'S ELECTRONICS in Honolulu. It would seem unlikely with the cost of fuel but everything the state of Hawaii gets is shipped to us anyway and the cost is passed on to us.

[Ethlred]

Therefore it's not wishful thinking on my part to have a FRY'S ELECTRONICS in Honolulu.

For the time being it is.

Fry's stores are very large. Much larger than a CompUSA. More like a Walmart. They require a large population to support them. The one in Anaheim CA used to be an aircraft assembly plant and the newer stores are even larger.

Also there seems to have some problems with a divorce.

http://oc-divorce.typepad.com/california_divorce_and_fa/2006/05/divorce_battle_.html

I that think was the same time a number of rumored plans suddenly became unrumored and pay scales were downscaled.

[hech54]

There ARE "customers"....to use the word VERY loosely....who do nothing but abuse return policies of a company. It makes them think their penis is actually bigger than it is or something stupid like that....and quite a few of them have bragged about such things here at VH....we've all seen it.
WE are the ones who pay for this stupidity first and foremost...then the retailer.
There was a story about a Home Depot that had a car tire hanging above their return/service desk.....the sign on the tire said "We don't sell tires here but we return them".
Pathetic.
What do you think that does for the morale of the employees?
Talk about "emboldening the enemy"....that is basically a written invitation to the habitual "returners" who by new patio furniture every spring and return it in the fall for no other reason other than the store allows it AND the habitual returner doesn't need to store the furniture over the winter or clean it next fall.

Fault lies in many places....not just the retailer.

[zzyzzx]

I wish we had Fry's in the Baltimore - DC area.

[Faustus]

Fry's stores are very large. Much larger than a CompUSA. More like a Walmart. They require a large population to support them. The one in Anaheim CA used to be an aircraft assembly plant and the newer stores are even larger.

The Dallas / Fort Worth area has like 4 Fry's stores. 8)

[budz]

Fry's stores are very large. Much larger than a CompUSA. More like a Walmart. They require a large population to support them. The one in Anaheim CA used to be an aircraft assembly plant and the newer stores are even larger.

The Dallas / Fort Worth area has like 4 Fry's stores. 8)

The original Fry's Electronics in Palo Alto, CA. is very tiny compared to their store in Campbell, CA. Then you have the Fry's in Las Vegas that is huge with a indoor cafe in the middle of the store! The Bay Area of S.F. has many Fry's which I enjoy checking out when I'm vacationing there.

[zzyzzx]

The Bay Area of S.F. has many Fry's which I enjoy checking out when I'm vacationing there.

I've done that too.

[Noahtuck]

Best Buy Bites!

I'm sorry... are you new ??




:P



I just picked up the same drive about two weeks ago, SG Barracuda 500gb, from circuit city, it was on their website for something like $110.00 but in the store it was marked as 140-150 ?
Quite a bit more so i had to go to the service desk and get a price adjustment, i paid for it & then told the guy stand here and watch.... i then opened it and took it out of the box, he goes whats up ??
And i just stated, just making sure whats in the box is whats supposed to be in the box
Thank you have a nice day 8)

[lordsmurf]

The original Fry's Electronics in Palo Alto, CA. is very tiny compared to their store in Campbell, CA. Then you have the Fry's in Las Vegas that is huge with a indoor cafe in the middle of the store! The Bay Area of S.F. has many Fry's which I enjoy checking out when I'm vacationing there.

Some of the Fry's in Texas are like that too. The one on the east side of I-635, in DFW, if I recall correctly. Not been in years. Amazed at how much extra stuff is in some of those places. Many of them are housed in old warehouses or large stores that went out of business or moved to a new location.

[Epicurus8a]

I haven't had any problems at Best Buy, however some of their sales people aren't too experienced.... Fry's is amazing! I could spend a whole day there.

[stiltman]

I was in BB today, and while I was there I wanted to see what they had in the way of printers that can print to DVDs...They had 1 HP for $140. I asked the guy if they had any others that were cheaper. He told me that they only carry one because printing to DVDs is going away and being replaced by lightscribe DVDs.

[rallynavvie]

I still use Best Buy for all of my BluRay and DVD purchases. Only occasionally do I order from Amazon and then usually only because of pre-order specials. However Best Buy has some interesting bonuses on their pre-release orders that sometimes become neat collectibles.

I also use Best Buy for big-ticket home theater equipment. The reason why? Service plan. The 37" 1080p LCD I bought last year went out on me a few months ago and after a few weeks of follow-up they decided to replace it rather than repair it. And since they no longer made anything that fit the same requirements (37" 1080p LCD with DVI inputs and no tuner) they just gave me a price limit that was the same as my purchase price to find another TV. I ended up with a 47" 1080p LCD with 4 HDMI inputs and an HD tuner. Granted I had to buy another service plan for the new TV as replacement fulfills the contract but, hey, it's $150 to upgrade my TV otherwise I would have been out a lot more.

I do agree that many BB employees are imbeciles. I once had one try to tell me that digital zoom on a digital camera was every bit as good as optical zoom. I mean really? Where do they find these people? I even had one tell me that my PS3 could play HD-DVDs! Craziness. I just avoid them, I usually know what I want before I enter that place anyway.

[lordsmurf]

Fry's employees are dumbasses too. I fondly remember laughing myself to tears one time, after overhearing an employee tell a customer something along the lines of "DVD+R has better audio than DVD-R". Or "Memorex is one of the best brands you can buy!"

[Noahtuck]

Fry's employees are dumbasses too. I fondly remember laughing myself to tears one time, after overhearing an employee tell a customer something along the lines of "DVD+R has better audio than DVD-R". Or "Memorex is one of the best brands you can buy!"

Oh F$^%

But seriously, i have seen some pretty F'n dumb people at pc stores around town also.... people who are supposed to be trained professionals at pc repair....

I had a motherboard go out about two years ago and i was not sure if it was the mobo or cpu and that one mobo/cpu combo was the only one i had so i could not drop the cpu into another one of my other pc's to check it so i took it down to a local pc only repair shop.....

Told the "kid" working there what happened.... asked if he could check it for me... he goes yeah, pulls out a brand new mobo and puts it on the rack they have for testing, hooks up the mobo, drops in my cpu....

He then proceeds to use a screwdriver to jump the pins to start it up

POOF!!!!!!!!!!! a big puff of smoke rolls off the mobo!!!!!!!!!!

He pulls my cpu off the mobo and goes, yeah it's fried... and i was like F#$K!!!!!!!!! if it wasn't before it sure as hell is now!!!!!!

SO i roll down to another shop about 10 miles away and ask them to test the cpu, they actually had a rig set up with actual switches so they did not have to monkey around with a screwdriver

Fired it up and it worked fine, to this day that same cpu the monkey assed kid said was fried is still running in one of my backup/extra pc's 8)

I always wonder if that dumbass had to pay for that $90.00 mobo he took out of the box off the shelf and fried