Best Buy price matching

[Ruthie5671]

Has anyone used Best Buy price matching? My DH is going back to school and we're going to be purchasing a MacBook for him. I saw that they had a price matching guarantee, but I was wondering how challenging or irritating that process might be vs. just purchasing it for less at another store. I don't mind to do the research to find a cheaper price if the price matching isn't a total pain.

 

[disfanforlife]

I used it when my DH bought an IPAD. We saw a lower price at walmart online. All they had to do at Bestbuy was look online to verify the price and that it was the same model. It wasn't difficult at all.

 

[Bree]

He can get up to a $200 discount directly from Apple with a student ID. We just purchased me a MacBook pro last month using my DH's student ID. We got the full $200 off.

 

[ICF]

Piece of cake....twice I've had them match Walmart. I just had to show them the item on my phone. Quick and painless.

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

I did the price match with Amazon pricing. BestBuy only accepts Amazon direct purchase from Amazon, not any 3rd party seller.

 

[sunflare]

I price matched my new cell phone to the Costco around the corner from our Best Buy. It was very easy, and a good deal.

 

[MillauFr]

I price matched my new cell phone to the Costco around the corner from our Best Buy. It was very easy, and a good deal.

Why wouldn't you just but it from Costco instead? Their service and return policies are much better than Best Buy. I though Best Buy was basically just a showroom for people shopping on Amazon?

I stopped shopping at Best Buy long ago because I didn't want to explain to the salesperson that buying a $50 service plan on a $70 product was crazy and outrageous.

 

[got2sammies]

He can get up to a $200 discount directly from Apple with a student ID. We just purchased me a MacBook pro last month using my DH's student ID. We got the full $200 off.

This! You can register with a school email through best buy and they will send you discounts/coupons but it must be an .edu account

 

[sunflare]

Why wouldn't you just but it from Costco instead?

Because the Geek Squad service plans cover more and are cheaper than the standard Sprint service plans. I'm hard on my phones and I'd like to make sure things will get fixed at a reasonable rate.

 

[peg110]

If you want to maximize the "Best Buy" price match, you need to "Buy It" then Return it with the reason that you found it elsewhere cheaper. Why? Because they only Price Match it if you are buying it now, but if you return it they Price Match PLUS 10% (or at least they used to.)

Personally, I hate the "Price Match" game. If I have to go find it cheaper elsewhere, that's where I will usually buy it.

 

[barkley]

best buy will also negotiate on prices if you like to haggle. some items they can't lower the price on b/c of manufacturer contracts but most can be negotiated down if the want to make a sale bad enough. it's best to go in with someone else so you can play "enthusiastic buyer" and "cheapskate" and start looking at the lower end version of what you want. then the enthusiastic buyer asks about the item you've actually come in to buy (and researched ahead of time to know a reasonable price on). enthusiastic buyer and sales person end up talking up the item and how much better it is-cheapskate says it's too expensive and says they don't want to spend that much.

it goes on for awhile back and forth, but if it's near the end of the month and the salesperson wants to boost their sales they will make a deal (especially if you say 'lets just go home and think about it). I'm the cheapskate in these scenarios, and the last time we made a large purchase at best buy we got a large flat screen for several hundred dollars off the best price I could find anyplace else, they threw in a free calibration appointment, and a free blue ray player and 2 blu rays of our choice. it was well worth the hour or two we were there.

 

[tvguy]

He can get up to a $200 discount directly from Apple with a student ID. We just purchased me a MacBook pro last month using my DH's student ID. We got the full $200 off.

When we bought DD's Macbook everyone had the exact same price, to the penny. We went with Best Buy because they had a promotion going that they kicked in an iPod for free. And they gave us the $200 Apple Education Discount.

 

[pandamom]

I use price match all the time at Best Buy and love it. Yesterday I saved $20 on a router that they price matched to newegg.com. I usually know what I want and research prices before going to the store. I have the item/site I'm matching ready on my phone and they usually just glance at it and match the price. I also check for price drops on items I buy and get an adjustment if they go on sale (have had hundreds refunded.)

 

[MillauFr]

Because the Geek Squad service plans cover more and are cheaper than the standard Sprint service plans. I'm hard on my phones and I'd like to make sure things will get fixed at a reasonable rate.

The Costco Service plans are free. The Best Buy service plans were outrageously priced when I stopped shopping there. Have they changed their service plans and now they are free like Costco?

 

[MillauFr]

I use price match all the time at Best Buy and love it. Yesterday I saved $20 on a router that they price matched to newegg.com. I usually know what I want and research prices before going to the store. I have the item/site I'm matching ready on my phone and they usually just glance at it and match the price. I also check for price drops on items I buy and get an adjustment if they go on sale (have had hundreds refunded.)

I am from Washington State where you can avoid the 10% sales tax by buying from internet retailers.

 

[sunflare]

The Costco Service plans are free. The Best Buy service plans were outrageously priced when I stopped shopping there. Have they changed their service plans and now they are free like Costco?

Where did you see that Costco offers service plans? That's not available where I am. You have to opt into the Sprint-provided plans if you want one.

 

[MillauFr]

Where did you see that Costco offers service plans? That's not available where I am. You have to opt into the Sprint-provided plans if you want one.

Every time I've bought electronics at Costco I got a free 2 year service plan. My laptop broke once and they mail you a box so you can ship it back to them and they fix it for free.

 

[sunflare]

Every time I've bought electronics at Costco I got a free 2 year service plan. My laptop broke once and they mail you a box so you can ship it back to them and they fix it for free.

Oh, I know what you're talking about! The SquareTrade warranties. They don't offer those on the cell phones - only things like TVs and cameras - things that they actually physically sell. They're just a third party dealer for phones, so you have to go through your cell carriers to get the actual electronic device covered.

 

[Cadiewampus]

Best thing that ever happened to me was my son getting a job at best buy. I never look anywhere else for things I can get there.

 

[dsnyfn1022]

If you want to maximize the "Best Buy" price match, you need to "Buy It" then Return it with the reason that you found it elsewhere cheaper. Why? Because they only Price Match it if you are buying it now, but if you return it they Price Match PLUS 10% (or at least they used to.)

It may vary by location but I don't think they do the 10% additional anymore.

best buy will also negotiate on prices if you like to haggle. some items they can't lower the price on b/c of manufacturer contracts but most can be negotiated down if the want to make a sale bad enough. it's best to go in with someone else so you can play "enthusiastic buyer" and "cheapskate" and start looking at the lower end version of what you want. then the enthusiastic buyer asks about the item you've actually come in to buy (and researched ahead of time to know a reasonable price on). enthusiastic buyer and sales person end up talking up the item and how much better it is-cheapskate says it's too expensive and says they don't want to spend that much.

It'll be hard to haggle the price down on Apple products because Best Buy hardly makes any money on those as is (as opposed to like HDMI cables). It's still doable depending on the salesperson and manager that you're working with. You'd be more likely to get discounts on accessories than on the MacBook itself if you're going to haggle.

But all in all the price matching is a very easy process! They just have to verify the model and make sure that the place you're price matching has the item in stock. Coming in with it pulled up on your phone makes it easier all the way around.