WORST BUY?

This Christmas I received gift cards, a lot of them. Some were for Best Buy, others for Dick's Sporting Goods, Cabela's, Barnes & Noble, and EBay. This morning I decided to take a look at Best Buy for a digital camera. I don't want anything extravagant, and figured that the $150 worth of gift cards I have for Best Buy would get me just what I wanted, a Canon Power Shot A590 IS. Since I had just picked on up for my son from Del at about $130 (including tax, shipping and an add on 4 GB memory card) I figured I would get close to the same price at Best Buy. I mean after all there name is BEST Buy, isn't it? In addition I knew they had a price match guarantee, so how could I go wrong.

Where to begin in answer to that. I guess the first place to go wrong was that the gift giver of those Best Buy gift cards, through no fault of her own, thought like me. In what regard? Well, that they have a price match guarantee at BestBuy.com so they must have highly competitive prices - right! WRONG at least from what I can tell. BestBuy.com has some of the highest prices of any of the larger retailers that I checked for the item for which I am shopping. This also held true for their store in my area, where I did some Christmas shopping - but no buying. As for the camera, I also checked price some other cameras, you know - figuring maybe it was just the one item that seemingly was overpriced at BestBuy.com in comparison to the rest of the market. Again I was wrong in my thinking. All of the other cameras on which I checked the price at bestBuy.com, even those for sale like was the Canon Power Shot 590IS, were more at BestBuy.com than at other large retailers. The asking price of the Canon A590 IS was $142.49 AND that was the SALE price. Large retailers have it at lower prices like: Dell has it advertised for $109.00, Costco has it for $129.99, WalMart has it for $139.47. Even smaller specialty retailers have it for less: J&R for $109.88, B&H for $109.95. (All prices found at except for WalMart's were found the following link, WalMart's price was found on the WalMart site:

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-a590-is/4014-6501_7-32826173.html?tag=rtcol;shop

Okay, BestBuy.com has what they call a PRICE MATCHING/PRICE GUARANTEE. I figured I could use my Best Buy gift cards wisely and use their BestBuy.com price matching/price guarantee to match a price like that offered by Dell. Good idea - right? WRONG!!! The price matching/price guarantee offered by BestBuy.com apparently applies only to prices offered by Best Buy stores and or BestBuy.com itself! Did you get that? I did not at first either, then I carefully read their price matching/price guarantee. If it is not the most bizarre, or at least not the most brilliant piece of marketing bullshit, price match I have ever read then I have never read another price match policy. Please allow me to assure you that I have read quite a few before I saw that of BestBuy.com. Here is a link to it:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=page&contentId=1043363603302&id=cat12098#01

Now, just in case they change it yet keep the same link address, let me print it here for your information:

"BestBuy.com Price Matching/Price Guarantee

If you've made a BestBuy.com purchase and discover a lower price offered on our Web site or at a Best Buy store on the same available brand and model, let us know and we'll match that price on the spot, tax included.

Exclusions: The BestBuy.com Price Guarantee does not apply to competitors' offers; third-party offers; online auction sites; shipping charges; clearance, Outlet Center and open-box items (when price matching with a Best Buy store); items for sale November 27th through 29th, 2008; special offers or promotions such as mail-in incentives, gift-with-purchase and financing offers; services such as installation; or typographical errors. Best Buy stores in Puerto Rico have their own price match policy."

(Please note that the red color and boldface added by me for emphasis. GRB)

So what are they saying with their PRICE MATCHING/PRICE GUARANTEE. They are telling us that they will match their own prices between their retail store and their .com business, or between their .com store on one day with one price and on another day with another price - but they apparently will not match the prices offered by competitors. Wow how munificent of them! Whom are they fracking kidding? Why bother having a price matching policy at all if that is all they are offering? I'll tell you why I think they have it - I think it is so they can bamboozle their customers into thinking they are getting something at a good competitive price, but that is just my opinion - you can make up your own mind after reading their guarantee. I figure that like me most folks just see they have a price matching policy and figure how can they go wrong - that of course without actually reading it.

Here again, we have what I believe to be a prime example of why American businesses are doing so poorly. Why - because their policies toward their customers suck - that's why. Either the American retailer or manufacturer, or other business sticks us, the customers, with things like bad promises, come on deals that fall through, crappy merchandise, or gimmick guarantees like this one. To me this price matching means virtually nothing to the shopper like me who is truly trying to save money and really get a BEST buy. I mean come on now - what kind of a price match is it when they will only match their own prices?

Now mind you, I am not faulting the person who bought me those gift cards - not at all. I love my wife dearly and have to live with her, and I complain too much while around her, so I want to make it absolutely clear I am not in any way complaining about her or about her purchase of these gift cards. It was a nice gift, and a nicer thought that went into buying them. It is only against Best Buy that I am targeting my disappointment when I say, that without a doubt in my opinion, Best Buy has the worst price matching type guarantee I have ever seen. Best Buy = Worst Buy as far as I am concerned.

Who knows, maybe I can get lucky and find some sap of a customer at one of their stores to buy the $150 worth of gift cards from me for $145 cash. I can only hope so. I'd still be saving money by giving a deal like that.

All the best,
Glenn B