I started this thread because I noticed that although BB used to have the best price on new release titles, now they rarely have them.

Perhaps it would be more honest if BB would use another name rather than "Best Buy."

dvdirv,
I've noticed the same trend. In the past I recommened people check out BB on new releases because they were the cheapest. Also, they dont put as many new TV on DVD sets on sale.

I am wondering how this is news. I noticed Best Buy started to raise their prices shortly after the introduction of the Rewards Zone card. They have not been the "best buy" in quite a while. If I go there, it's mainly to just look at the physical product to see what may have slipped past me online, and then I find a better deal online. The only DVD I bought from them in the last long while was the OOP 2 disc Jarhead, but that was unavailable online at the time, so they were good for something, but they aren't good for much.

I knew it!

Who cares what their prices are and if they are the lowest? They pricematch the lowest B&M (without too much difficulty) and offer a great rewards program (does anyone else do that at all)?

I wouldn't call a 3-1/3% discount on purchases a "great reward program."

especially on that costs 10 bucks...although I got my current membership and its renewal for free.
I still like going into Best Buy just because it's a big store with lots of stuff and I sometimes like to browse, but unless I have a coupon/gift card, I increasingly find myself purchasing elsewhere [DDD, Amazon, CC, etc]. I don't go often enough to hassle with pricematching, and I don't get the paper so I can't easily bring a printout of the other store's price.

I'm not a big fan of BB, but I got my Reward Zone card free (as well as a renewal), and if you combine that, coupons, and price-matching, you can usually come out with a decent deal. Besides, they seem to be better stocked than Circuit City.

Who else offers anything close to that?

It's better than 0% discount, which is what you get everywhere else.

And you do get double points, bonus points, etc. pretty often. I've earned almost $100 in certs since I joined last April, and I'm not that big of a spender.

At the top of my head, Barnes and Noble offers 10% off on all their DVDs with their reward card.

I think that the main reason that Best Buy no longer has the lowest prices on DVDs is that they no longer have to. They pretty much established themselves as the low price leader on DVDs to American consumers with their low prices in previous years. Now that they have established thems selves as the low price leader, they no longer have to actually be the low price leader. Ironic isn't it?

How are Barnes and Noble's prices? And do they pricematch so you are guaranteed to get the cheapest B&M price?

Look, I don't love BB (I liked them better before moving to CA) but this seems a silly argument. BB offers an easy means to get the lowest price each week and 3% back. With those two policies, I could care less what their published prices are or how high they are.

If you want to pay MSRP and THEN save 10%....go ahead. Thats still 15% more then Best Buys normal prices. Next you're gonna tell me about Borders discount card.

I would agree that many of B&N's prices are MSRP, but new releases of popular titles are usually discounted.

Frankly, I'm not a real fan of B&N's 10% card program either, especially since they charge $25 for the privilege. And I agree about the "benefits" of Border's new program.

But the bottom line is that I can't get excited about BB's Reward Zone program when they only offer you about a 50-cent discount on a $15 DVD--and you need to wait 2 months for that benefit!

I pretty much exclusively shopped at BB due to their low prices (some through price matching) and the fact I was beholden to the RZ points. But ever since they jacked up how much you have to spend to qualify for a reward certificate in Ohio last year, I've found that I shop more at Target, CC, Wal-Mart, etc.

Paying $25/yr to get 10% off a full MSRP DVD. No thanks! I do have a a BN card, but I use it for books, magazines and coffee, and I buy so much there in a year that it saves money. For DVDs though? That store is a rip off, and even with the discount you're paying $7-12 more than anywhere else.

BB's RZ membership was free. When I bought my plasma there last year (already discounted and on sale) I got a deal for triple points, which got me about $500 in RZ certificates, making it even that much cheaper. I don't see CC or anybody else doing that.

I agree though, their DVD prices have not been as good as they have been in the past, but with a free RZ, they offer more incentive to go there than anywhere else.

If Circuit City ever offered a reward zone type card, I would quit going to Best Buy PERIOD. I only go to BB to price match the usually better ads from Target and CC to get a handful of RZ points.

i think that even DDD prices are pretty bad now too though. I just wait a few extra months now and wait for more drastic price drops and better prices. I dont need everything on opening week.

This is the kind of bullshit that I warned about when they first started doing RewardZone, etc. Sure they give you 3.5% back (in th form of GC's, so its really not cash back anyway) and they have jacked up prices. Sure you can still do pricematching but now you are beholden to other stores having cheaper prices to insure you still are getting a decent price at Best Buy. People can't look past their "Free renewal!" to see they are getting screwed by ultimately higher prices. Furthermore, the GC's have less value as time goes by because of the higher prices.

Okay, first of all, their name doesn't mean that they are the "best buy" for everything they sell in the store... consumers should do their due diligence and shop around. I don't see anyone taking "bestprices.com" to task for their name.

Secondly, the reward zone is a bonus. Who says that the prices wouldn't be going up even without reward zone? The thing people SHOULD be complaining about: the two-tiered pricing system that they have every other week or so, where only Reward Zone members can get the lower price. For example, their price on the new Justice League season 1 set is the lowest around, but only if you have RZ. That's how they're going to eventually screw the customer into paying the 25 bucks a year, to get a membership that would give them good prices. Or the fact that we're giving them free marketing statistics everytime we use RZ. Those are valid complaints.

The price changes didn't come just with the introduction of the Reward Zone. The Reward Zone program has been in place for years now, and personally I don't think the prices have become noticably worse until maybe the end of last year.

During the first year of BB's Reward Zone program, they were offering a 4% discount. After everyone renewed, BB announced that the new discount was 3-1/3%.

During the first year you needed to buy $125 worth of merchandise for a $5 reward and after the second year, BB changed the minimum to $150. Of course, you had no option to cancel your membership with the lower discount. I even made a formal request to corporate headquaters with no response, of course!

BB has the right to change its rewards points discount--but to do so after all renewals were in place seemed very shady!

Well, to be fair, I doubt many people paid to renew the second year. Most people either got the free renewal, or got in on a deal where they got enough free points up front to pay back the cost of the card. The way they worded the increase, saying it was "because of customer demand" made my stomach turn, though.

I don't usually buy new releases i wait a few months until a movie is $10 or less which now a days doesn't take too long. Best Buy is not that close to me and i could care less. CC has great release prices often and good sales of $10 or less dvds. Target (across from CC) will often have some good deals. Plus i never have a problem PM a Target or on a rare occasion BB ad at CC. Unless i get a new cashier and i tell them i can pm at the register and 2 for $20 counts if am getting 2 dvds.