TheBang

Best Buy has extended it once again, this time through Mar. 2.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Global/L...at290300050002

It's still only for electronics and appliances. Not applicable to music, movies, other media, cell phones, etc.

TheBang

So, big news. This online retailer price matching is becoming permanent, beginning March 3:

http://pr.bby.com/best-buy-ends-show...ice-guarantee/

One big change is that they will pricematch in "all product categories and on nearly all in-stock products." So that means DVD's and Blu-ray's can now be matched.

Other big policy changes coming:

• Return and Exchange period shortened from 30 to 15 days (still 60 days for Premiere Silver).
• Post-purchase price matching (of Best Buy/BestBuy.com prices) shortened to 15 days for everyone.
• Price matching for competitive retailers now available only at time of purchase (not post-purchase).

Best Buy will price match the following online retailers:

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

E_v_i_l

In regard to price matching... the more options, the better. I was able to price match TigerDirect for a bluray a few weeks back and I'm really happy to have that ability in the future. Best Buy will probably get more business from me as a result.

PhantomStranger

There are some crazy rumors circulating, like Best Buy will actively discourage customers in their stores from scanning the bar code of an item to check its prices on the Internet.

E_v_i_l

I can't see that happening. Having employees approach customers to tell them to put their phones away would just anger those customers. Best Buy wants to get more people in its stores not drive them away in droves. Plus, they're pushing price matching now and you can't price match unless you look up the online prices. Unless you know exactly what you're buying before even stepping through the door, you can't possibly research every item in your purchase beforehand.

Brian Shannon

I am still not believing this will work.

Manufacturers aid retailers in discouraging price matching by creating special model numbers. I have had stores tell me before that it is not the same item and deny a price match even though the model number has a prefix or some other number/letter tacked onto the end.

And if Best Buy does not carry an item then a price match is irrelevant.

Deftones

I guess they are going to have to take out the bar code software from their own mobile app, then.

UAIOE

I just price matched a new mouse at Best Buy this week. $100 in store, $76 on Amazon.

Yeah I paid tax, but I also had the thing right away. Well played, Best Buy. Well played.

But part of me still thinks this is something they should have started 6-7 years ago.

maxfisher

While price matching works out well in a lot of situations, its long-term effect is actually to increase prices, as retailers can appeal to bargain hunters buy offering the lowest price, while charging everyone else whatever they think will create the highest profits. As all stores adopt the policy, it greatly reduces the advantage of any individual store advertising a low price to get customers in the door, as people will just go where they want and price match. Without that advantage, stores are less inclined to offer as deep of discounts. So while it'll be a good thing in the short term, it likely won't be in the long run, assuming Best Buy survives into the long run. Stores aren't allowed to openly collude on this type of thing, but once a couple major players make the move, it's likely not long until they all do.

Also, it's obvious the 15-day limit on price adjustments is to kill the deals people get on video games by preordering for the $20 credit, then adjusting down $10 - $30 within the exchange period. I was kicking around signing up for the gamers' club to get in on this, but this announcement pretty much kills my interest in it.

TheBang

While this sounds like it might happen in theory, I think in practice it doesn't actually work out that way. I think the main reason is because the vast majority of the consumer populace does not know about or does not take advantage of price matching. What price matching ends up doing is allowing a business to capture sales of savvy shoppers (like us) that it might otherwise have lost to a competitor.

Price matching local competitors has been around for a couple decades, and stores still have doorbusters and loss leaders, so I don't think the long-term evidence supports your conclusion that it drives up prices.

maxfisher

It's something I learned, not came up with. I don't have access to the research databases that I had when in grad school, but there have been studies capturing and proving the effect in the real world. Stores typically use price matching to achieve some/most of the benefits of low pricing while letting their competitors offering the lower prices incur the larger negatives. When it becomes prevalent, stores eventually realize they're not gaining anything substantial from routinely offering lower prices and they price more towards optimal revenue instead of using pricing as a tool to drive foot traffic and loyalty.


Unrelated, wasn't the spend level for RZ Premier Silver $1,500? I've had it for the last two years and know I haven't spent $2,500, which is what it's showing as now.

Trevor

^ I keep getting my Silver renewed even though I never spend the listed amount.

TheBang

I'd be academically interested in those studies.
Nope. It's been $2500 annually since the Premier Silver level's inception. I know, because I've specifically hit that level each year.

As Trevor says though, they often give it out to people who don't hit that spending level.

maxfisher

I read several in grad school for research on a marketing project, but have no idea how I'd go about in finding them without access to a research database that I no longer have. Google's not turning up much, though the effect is mentioned on the Harvard Business Review blog (http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/10/why_...ntees_can.html). IIRC, the studies I read dealt primarily with looking at relatively small markets, I think with five or less stores/chains competing in a specific segment. In addition, it's pretty commonly accepted knowledge in the marketing profession that a primary benefit of offering a price matching policy is being able to keep your advertised and regular prices higher, not that that necessarily proves out the larger effect I mentioned.

Weird. I know I spent the limit last year, because I was like $200 away before the holidays and made sure to shift some gift shopping there to hit it. Just didn't realize I'd spent that much at their store in 2012.

TheBang

Thanks!

Tarantino

Not true, as far as I know. I haven't seen anything related to that.

Classic Films

I thought Best Buy's price guarantee was for 30 days after purchase and if you found the item cheaper within 30 days they would match the price plus give you 10% of the difference. When did that end? When I read the e-mail from Best Buy with the new rules I thought wow they are really cutting back on the guarantee. I come here and everyone is saying wow they extended price matching beyond Christmas. What a deal. I know Target had ended price matching some time ago but had it last holiday season. I never knew Best Buy had ended it.

TheBang

No, you're misunderstanding a couple things, and you're mistaken in a couple facts.

Best Buy never ended price matching. What everyone was talking about is the fact that Best Buy was price matching ONLINE retailers (like Amazon.com), during the holiday period, something they had never done before. That policy of matching online retailers has now been made permanent.

The 10% difference price matching was discontinued sometime around 2004 or 2005, IIRC. Otherwise, the price matching policy was as you described (30 days, or more correctly, the return period of the item).

Now, with the new rules, effective 3/3, price matching of competitors' pricing is only at the time of purchase. And price matching Best Buy's own pricing is only for 15 days after the purchase (previously it was for the return period of the merchandise).

You're also mistaken about Target's price matching, but maybe that's for another thread.

Alan Smithee

Obligatory "Assuming they have it in stock!" comment.