On every hot deal there is complaining that when a member goes into BB the item has not yet been reduced to it's lowest clearance price or at Staples that the hot bargains sell out right after the store opens.
At BB once a item is tagged as clearance (discontinued) price reductions in increments are set. They usually go into effect at all stores nationally within 30 days but individual stores start marking them down through the series of increments. A few just go straight to the bottom price immediately. The important thing is to know this is coming, not that it's already happened. Once a store's price hits the final clearance price, which is about 90% off, the store employees buy them- (wouldn't you- most of these folks make about $7 per hour.) BUT BB has a 30 day Price Guarantee policy which is very easy to get honored (price matches to other stores are not so easy at some stores).
Once you know a BB item is clearanced from FW or SD you usually also know what the final clearance price will be. Many stores will pricematch to other BB's in their district or region that already have the 90% off- many will not. It usually depends on the distance to the other BB and how many they have in stock. For example- Right now the My Book Premium 500 ( a network storage drive) has been clearanced. It's original BB price is around $350 or so. eBay price is $150. Most BB's have it for about $175 now. In the Maryland didtrict one store- Salisbury has it already down to $49. Stores around DC won't honor the price because Salisbury is 100 miles away, even tho they have several in stock for that price. But every BB nationally will be at the bottom price ($49 or lower) within the 30 days. The day the item hits that bottom price they will be bought by employees. Thus it is a blessing in disguise when you find a BB with stock at a higher price. Get the item, don't unwrap it so you can return it if neccessary, and certainly by the 29th day check back with them and get a very pleasant surprise- a refund of the difference to the final clearance price (you don't have to have the item with you- just the receipt). 30- Day BB Price Guarantee is much more important than price match at every store.
Staples doesn't have the same incremental clearance but often they have price leaders in ads that sell out fast. Through FW and SD you see these often a week before. They technically don't have price guarantee but have 30 return. Get what you want and after the ad is out return to a Staples and get a refund/repurchase- it's the same as a Price Guarantee. Must have the item with you unopened.
I've used this dozens of times- it's worked 100% but here's two recent examples:
At BB we've had a thread on for some 10 weeks about a $365 Bush tv stand clearanced out. Originally the lowest clearance price was $65 and most BB's didn't have it for that but most districts had at least one store where it was that and many people could get pricematches to that price. Many that couldn't complained a bunch on the threads but the smart ones bought and waited the 29 days. By day 29 the national BB clearance price had not only dropped to $65 but to $19.99 at every single BB! We all went in and got our refunds of the difference in 5 minutes. But members post 10 times a day that they can't find any instock for the $19.99. Previously they cried that their store wouldn't honor the clearance price while they were in stock. Guess what- a $365 stand for $19.99 lasts on the floor for maybe a minute IF the salesperson doesn't buy it which is the case 99% of the time.
Staples recently advertised the Western Digital external 400 GB drive for $50 after a $45 Staples Easy Rebate (they are). The rebate had a limit of 10, as most Staples rebates do. The ad was on sd and fw over a week ahead of time. I got the number I wanted on Tuesday and after Sunday went in with the unopened items and got return/repurchase refunds for the difference. Staples all sold out within 1 hour of opening on Sunday.
At Staples you can check inventory of items at each store online, but at BB you cannot on clearance items as they are discontinued. At BB you must go into a store and go to the department or customer service where they can easily check on their store computer for availability and price at every BB.
Sorry if I've given the eBay resellers secret out to the common folk but I hate to see all these disappointed members who drive all around tracking dowm deals, usually to be disappointed and waste a lot of gas.
What if I find a lower price at another Best Buy store or on BestBuy.com?
If an item you purchased at Best Buy is advertised at a lower price at another Best Buy store in your local area or on BestBuy.com within 30 days of your original receipt purchase (14 days for select categories*, 60 days for HDTVs purchased from 6/3/07 through 9/29/07), we will refund you 100% of the price difference. Simply bring in your original Best Buy receipt to the customer service counter while that lower price is still in effect. Clearance items, open-box items or Web-exclusive offers advertised on BestBuy.com are not eligible for price matching.
It's hard enough to get BB to honor their actual policy. Getting them to go beyond it is highly YMMV.
What if I find a lower price at another Best Buy store or on BestBuy.com?
If an item you purchased at Best Buy is advertised at a lower price at another Best Buy store in your local area or on BestBuy.com within 30 days of your original receipt purchase (14 days for select categories*, 60 days for HDTVs purchased from 6/3/07 through 9/29/07), we will refund you 100% of the price difference. Simply bring in your original Best Buy receipt to the customer service counter while that lower price is still in effect. Clearance items, open-box items or Web-exclusive offers advertised on BestBuy.com are not eligible for price matching.
It's hard enough to get BB to honor their actual policy. Getting them to go beyond it is highly YMMV.
Think a sec- You would just have to do a return/repurchase if some manager in a BB I've never heard of didn't honor this because of clearance. That's how Staples does it- you have to have the item with you unopened but it's all one return/repurchase transaction. BB saves themselves a headache by just doing a refund for the price guarantee. It's 6 of one/ half dozen of the other. BB just wants discontinued stuff out of their stockrooms.
What if I find a lower price at another Best Buy store or on BestBuy.com?
If an item you purchased at Best Buy is advertised at a lower price at another Best Buy store in your local area or on BestBuy.com within 30 days of your original receipt purchase (14 days for select categories*, 60 days for HDTVs purchased from 6/3/07 through 9/29/07), we will refund you 100% of the price difference. Simply bring in your original Best Buy receipt to the customer service counter while that lower price is still in effect. Clearance items, open-box items or Web-exclusive offers advertised on BestBuy.com are not eligible for price matching.
It's hard enough to get BB to honor their actual policy. Getting them to go beyond it is highly YMMV.
That has not been my experience. I've gotten adjustments from them many times on clearance items. The very few times I got static about it I simply say I'd like to return it. At that point they've always given up and just done the adjustment.
I guess the eBay resellers forced fw to move this out of hot deals to where no one could see it. Shame. I spent a lot of time on this thread and on sd it's the Number 1 Thread.
we've been doing this for a few years now, it works exactly like the op says.
tomdc said: Sorry
apology accepted. while this information is considered common knowledge to those of us with the slightest bit of intelligence, I knew it was bound to be broken down for the masses sooner or later. There are still plenty of other ways to get deals which haven't even been touched on, as well as new ways to get deals in the making. so your info hardly makes much of a dent into resellers' bottom line.
RapaciousEbayer said: we've been doing this for a few years now, it works exactly like the op says. Exactly. In fact, I just carry the receipt to do a price adjustment, never been asked for the actual item.
bozo007 said: RapaciousEbayer said: we've been doing this for a few years now, it works exactly like the op says. Exactly. In fact, I just carry the receipt to do a price adjustment, never been asked for the actual item.
bingo. I have a folder in the range rover full of worstbuy reciepts, on average I pricematch 3 or 4 items a week (multiple quantities per item). have to be careful though, that thermal paper gets funky in the elements. a good idea is to place a regular piece of paper in between each reciept, the reciepts have a tendency to wear off when they rub up against each other.
gskvarma
Member
posted: Sep. 29, 2007 @ 12:18p
Thanks for the info
aryavat
Member
posted: Sep. 29, 2007 @ 2:06p
About the BB price guarantee - Do they have to have it in stock the day that you went back to get the price adjustment? If not, how do you know that the store even sold any of the items at the lowest price. for instance, if a few days earlier someone got the BUSH TV stand for more than 19.99, then how would you know to go to the store and argue adjusting it to 19.99 a few days later, when the store may tell you that they did not sell any units at that price and went OOS long before reaching the final markdown price. If they have not advertised the lowest price - what do you get a price adjustment based on.
So where can we check the Staples in-store inventory online?
tomdc said: On every hot deal there is complaining that when a member goes into BB the item has not yet been reduced to it's lowest clearance price or at Staples that the hot bargains sell out right after the store opens.
At BB once a item is tagged as clearance (discontinued) price reductions in increments are set. They usually go into effect at all stores nationally within 30 days but individual stores start marking them down through the series of increments. A few just go straight to the bottom price immediately. The important thing is to know this is coming, not that it's already happened. Once a store's price hits the final clearance price, which is about 90% off, the store employees buy them- (wouldn't you- most of these folks make about $7 per hour.) BUT BB has a 30 day Price Guarantee policy which is very easy to get honored (price matches to other stores are not so easy at some stores).
Once you know a BB item is clearanced from FW or SD you usually also know what the final clearance price will be. Many stores will pricematch to other BB's in their district or region that already have the 90% off- many will not. It usually depends on the distance to the other BB and how many they have in stock. For example- Right now the My Book Premium 500 ( a network storage drive) has been clearanced. It's original BB price is around $350 or so. eBay price is $150. Most BB's have it for about $175 now. In the Maryland didtrict one store- Salisbury has it already down to $49. Stores around DC won't honor the price because Salisbury is 100 miles away, even tho they have several in stock for that price. But every BB nationally will be at the bottom price ($49 or lower) within the 30 days. The day the item hits that bottom price they will be bought by employees. Thus it is a blessing in disguise when you find a BB with stock at a higher price. Get the item, don't unwrap it so you can return it if neccessary, and certainly by the 29th day check back with them and get a very pleasant surprise- a refund of the difference to the final clearance price (you don't have to have the item with you- just the receipt). 30- Day BB Price Guarantee is much more important than price match at every store.
Staples doesn't have the same incremental clearance but often they have price leaders in ads that sell out fast. Through FW and SD you see these often a week before. They technically don't have price guarantee but have 30 return. Get what you want and after the ad is out return to a Staples and get a refund/repurchase- it's the same as a Price Guarantee. Must have the item with you unopened.
I've used this dozens of times- it's worked 100% but here's two recent examples:
At BB we've had a thread on for some 10 weeks about a $365 Bush tv stand clearanced out. Originally the lowest clearance price was $65 and most BB's didn't have it for that but most districts had at least one store where it was that and many people could get pricematches to that price. Many that couldn't complained a bunch on the threads but the smart ones bought and waited the 29 days. By day 29 the national BB clearance price had not only dropped to $65 but to $19.99 at every single BB! We all went in and got our refunds of the difference in 5 minutes. But members post 10 times a day that they can't find any instock for the $19.99. Previously they cried that their store wouldn't honor the clearance price while they were in stock. Guess what- a $365 stand for $19.99 lasts on the floor for maybe a minute IF the salesperson doesn't buy it which is the case 99% of the time.
Staples recently advertised the Western Digital external 400 GB drive for $50 after a $45 Staples Easy Rebate (they are). The rebate had a limit of 10, as most Staples rebates do. The ad was on sd and fw over a week ahead of time. I got the number I wanted on Tuesday and after Sunday went in with the unopened items and got return/repurchase refunds for the difference. Staples all sold out within 1 hour of opening on Sunday.
At Staples you can check inventory of items at each store online, but at BB you cannot on clearance items as they are discontinued. At BB you must go into a store and go to the department or customer service where they can easily check on their store computer for availability and price at every BB.
Sorry if I've given the eBay resellers secret out to the common folk but I hate to see all these disappointed members who drive all around tracking dowm deals, usually to be disappointed and waste a lot of gas.
thanks op, using ur tip on the apc laptop battery...
shopandhavefun
New Member
posted: Sep. 29, 2007 @ 8:16p
Hi, I am not sure how to check Staples local store inventory online, can you please tell us. I have been able to check Bestbuy inventory for stores. Thank you.
I agree. Only a moron will completely depend on BB for his business. OP though provided very great info and hence satisfied his ego, there is absolutely no harm to resellers as such. Now, show me red and get satisfied
RapaciousEbayer said: apology accepted. while this information is considered common knowledge to those of us with the slightest bit of intelligence, I knew it was bound to be broken down for the masses sooner or later. There are still plenty of other ways to get deals which haven't even been touched on, as well as new ways to get deals in the making. so your info hardly makes much of a dent into resellers' bottom line.
Thanks for the information on the Best Buy clearance 'schedule' of sorts. Will definitely try it out.. This comes in handy, especially with the recent BB clearance threads.
shopandhavefun said: Hi, I am not sure how to check Staples local store inventory online, can you please tell us. I have been able to check Bestbuy inventory for stores. Thank you.
You cannot online....HOWEVER
DO NOT CALL LOCAL Staples STORES TO CHECK INVENTORY! Employees will take all the good deals!
To check inventory, call the national number and the call center reps can tell you what inventory shows for your store. 1-800-3STAPLE (Hit 3, and then if you hear another recording hit 2 - sometimes 3 gets you a rep right away, other times you must hit 2 in addition)
aryavat said: About the BB price guarantee - Do they have to have it in stock the day that you went back to get the price adjustment? If not, how do you know that the store even sold any of the items at the lowest price. for instance, if a few days earlier someone got the BUSH TV stand for more than 19.99, then how would you know to go to the store and argue adjusting it to 19.99 a few days later, when the store may tell you that they did not sell any units at that price and went OOS long before reaching the final markdown price. If they have not advertised the lowest price - what do you get a price adjustment based on.
jqgtt
Member
posted: Sep. 30, 2007 @ 12:50p
Great effort on writing all these up and share with FW fellows.
ersatz
Member
posted: Sep. 30, 2007 @ 1:10p
This is a big YMMV. Seems like a lot of stores are enforcing the PM policy and exlcuding clearance prices. It's even difficult to get them to PM to another BB store just 7 miles away. In the past they would PM without an issue but now with these HD deals they won't and won't let you return them either unless it's at the store where you originally purchased them.
koolkinkajou
Member
posted: Sep. 30, 2007 @ 2:56p
tomdc said: On every hot deal there is complaining that when a member goes into BB the item has not yet been reduced to it's lowest clearance price or at Staples that the hot bargains sell out right after the store open...
Thank you! Great Post! This explains a lot!
Zaos
Shopaholic Member
posted: Sep. 30, 2007 @ 3:24p
There's also the chat online feature which I used once, but I can't find it now. Anyone?
pueywei said: There's also the chat online feature which I used once, but I can't find it now. Anyone? Chat is only available on weekdays. On nights and weekends they take away the link.
Do we really need a spoonfed guide for something like this? I'd much rather have BB have to piece together posts from all sorts of threads to reach some guess on what we do to try to get a deal than have an all-in-one thread screaming BB LOOK, OUR SECRETS REVEALED!
Note to BB/Straples: My post is fake. We do not have any secrets and this thread does not have any relevant info. Really. So dont read it, ok?
user0001 said: Do we really need a spoonfed guide for something like this? I'd much rather have BB have to piece together posts from all sorts of threads to reach some guess on what we do to try to get a deal than have an all-in-one thread screaming BB LOOK, OUR SECRETS REVEALED!
Note to BB/Straples: My post is fake. We do not have any secrets and this thread does not have any relevant info. Really. So dont read it, ok?
it's a matter of progression and we all knew it would happen eventually. many officemax/Office Depot stores now have "all sales final" marked on clearance item purchases for this reason (of course, there's ways to get around that).
I fully expect BB/Staples to follow suit as well. I could care less about this dissemination of information, but people who start threads like this need to know that this information will eventully make its way back to corporate and they will come up with a way to stop it. Two people I know who work at BB in authoritative postions are well aware of this, as people were coming in all weekend to have items pricematched.
the point here is to get while the gettin's good; it's now only a matter of time before the clamps come down.
A good example is the Office Depot ink cart program earlier this year. For a while we all were smart enough to keep it under wraps as OD was losing money hand over fist with this deal. Of course, sooner or later it was posted on the deal sites. as soon as that happened, everyone and their brother were buying carts off of eBay and turning carts in and the wheels were set in motion to shut down the program.
user0001 said: Do we really need a spoonfed guide for something like this? I'd much rather have BB have to piece together posts from all sorts of threads to reach some guess on what we do to try to get a deal than have an all-in-one thread screaming BB LOOK, OUR SECRETS REVEALED!
Note to BB/Straples: My post is fake. We do not have any secrets and this thread does not have any relevant info. Really. So dont read it, ok?
BB knows they have a price guarantee policy and Staples knows they have a refund/repurchase policy. BB justs wants dead items out of their cluttered stockroom. Uncle Sam pays most of any legitimate deal loss but won't organize their stockroom for them.
BB is more mad at store managers who are slow to clearance discontinued stuff. I;ve spoken to regional sales managers of BB about this. Sally tells Jane that she got a great tv stand at her BB for $365, Jane tells Sally she got the same stand at her BB for $19.99- repeated 100 times a day on fw and sd posts- eye on face for BB, bad p.r.
Staples has Just-In-Time inventory so no stockroom to speak of but resellers scoop up Sunday doorbusters on Saturday to refund/repurchase after Sunday and Staples opens oos on the price leaders. I've seen Sunday price leaders oos at Staples by the previous Wednesday (I know I was trying to get them on Thursday.) So they've told store managers, in their discretion to limit refund/repurchases to 1 or 2 of price leaders, especially if the customer appears to be a reseller. It's still not always enforced. BB is trying to come up with a policy to cut down on clearance sales to resellers. Will probably be like Staples- if it's ever implemented. Otherwise they just want dead items out asap.
Did my weekly trip to BB today- one of the suburban MD ones. Got a refund price reduction on one of the tv stands that was originally $365 that I got last month for $65. Now down to $19.99. Also got a refund price reduction for the 2 Altec Lansings I got that day when they were $55, now down to $16.99 Just showed receipt, took 5 minutes as usual. Of course both items oos two weeks ago. I got two of the Passport 120's and noticed they were back to regular price $119 now- very very strange since they were "clearanced" last week. Never seen a clearance go back to regular price before. Either it was really a sale, not clearance, or it has something to do with BB having their inventory last Sunday. Got two anyway to see what's up in 30 days- I suspect they are clearance since the 160 came out for the same price. Hopeing they hit the $23 mark in 30. Got one each of the GeForces and one of the ATI 1550. Whichever one is best deal in 30 days is the one I'll keep. Told the salesperson this and he agreed that's the smartest way to do it. Also got 3 of the universal laptop batteries (rang $74 each)- I know these will be $24 in 30 days and they're gr8 to have. They were oos of the Seagate 750 internal, the clearance 500 MyBook, the clearance 1 TB MyBook, and there was an asian gentleman buying the last 15 Seagate Pro 320's. I let him have the fourth external battery I was going to get and he let me have one of the 320's. Forgot the price but doesn't matter as I'm sure this will be $33 in 30 days. Searched high and low for the Klipsch speakers that are supposed to go to $19.99. Found one pair that said 2.1 Ultra that scanned as $99 but didn't buy since we don't have the SKU for these on the other thread for deals yet. Maybe should have as they only had one box but they're a very big box that would take a lot of room in the trunk of my car where these stay for the 30 days. All the receipts go into a Maximum PC mag that is really my file for sd price guarantee receipts and list of sku's to check each week. Looks less sinister in the store than a manila folder!
All the employees, including the policeman at the front door(!) and especially in computers, were very nice and interesting to talk to, as were some of the customers. BB computer dept on Sunday- rendezvous point for geeks talking geek. One off the employees, an asian kid, was in college and obviously not banking much at BB but envious of a lot of the tech stuff. I gave him a my sku printout list with ultimate clearance prices (I can print another) so he can possibly grab something while working and he promised to keep an eye out for the Klipsch speakers and any more Seagate 320's till next week and hold them (secret stash spot) for me if he sees one. He understands he's just working for the man (at $7/hr) and doesn't feel any great loyalty because of the 10% additional discount he gets. Glad to help deal hunters, as many employees are. (definitely not all), and appreciative of info he may be able to use himself. I didn't even pay attention to the prices as they rang up to my card because all I care about is the 30 day price. Usually they're all 90% off by then- if not I'd refund. You can ask an employee point blank- "If the price goes even lower in 30 days can I get the difference refunded" if you feel queazy about it. The answer's always going to be "yes, of course." A completely unstressed and enjoyable way to deal hunt with no risk or searching multiple stores ( I would have stopped at another BB looking for those elusive $19.99 Klipsch's- we have 30 or 40 stores in MD/DC/NoVA- but I had to get to Ikea for a huge bargain (literally and fiscally- a $1500 10-foot wardrobe system for $29 they were holding for me.)
An easy way to actually get all the hot deals I want. Been doing it for over a year. If the Passport 120's don't go to $23 within 30 days it'll be the first time ever it hasn't worked for me, why I'm pretty confident on even those. And I'm doing it the way BB approves of, believe me. I'm a regular loyal customer, I'm friendly with the staff (at least the ones you can be friendly with) and I don't get large quantities of one clearance item which would make me appear to be a reseller. I'm just shopping the way an informed intelligent shopper does and everyone I know at BB respects me for it. I would not buy at a store that wouldn't guarantee a difference refund if their price goes lower in 30 days. That's bottom line for me and most intelligent shoppers.
RapaciousEbayer said: user0001 said: Do we really need a spoonfed guide for something like this? I'd much rather have BB have to piece together posts from all sorts of threads to reach some guess on what we do to try to get a deal than have an all-in-one thread screaming BB LOOK, OUR SECRETS REVEALED!
Note to BB/Straples: My post is fake. We do not have any secrets and this thread does not have any relevant info. Really. So dont read it, ok?
it's a matter of progression and we all knew it would happen eventually. many officemax/Office Depot stores now have "all sales final" marked on clearance item purchases for this reason (of course, there's ways to get around that).
I fully expect BB/Staples to follow suit as well. I could care less about this dissemination of information, but people who start threads like this need to know that this information will eventully make its way back to corporate and they will come up with a way to stop it. Two people I know who work at BB in authoritative postions are well aware of this, as people were coming in all weekend to have items pricematched.
A lot of people come in every store everyday to get pricematches and adjustments. Sorry if you consider that devious but it's just intelligent shopping, and intelligent people usually have more $ to spend so are sought after as regular customers. I would never buy from a place that wouldn't guarantee a difference refund if their price goes lower in 30 days and I can't imagine anyone who would. Do you live in a fly-over state? This may be a cultural difference.
I really think you guys over-estimate how much BB cares about you. Clearance items are designed to get out of the store asap. BB spends millions of dollars to get you into the store. If you people spend 4-5 trips to BB a week to get price matched, chances are you might end up buying something else each time. Not all of us have the time or inclination to drive back to BB to get refunded $10 each time. BB is more than happy to have you set foot in their store again. It is the people that waste a manager's time or resources that will eventually have every store charging for restocking fees.
i know of an item at bb that has been on clearance for over TWO months (don't worry, it's a terrible price right now, so no need to reveal its identity). but this discussion has been quite interesting/entertaining. thanks for the thread!
jcb193 said: I really think you guys over-estimate how much BB cares about you. Clearance items are designed to get out of the store asap. BB spends millions of dollars to get you into the store. If you people spend 4-5 trips to BB a week to get price matched, chances are you might end up buying something else each time. Not all of us have the time or inclination to drive back to BB to get refunded $10 each time. BB is more than happy to have you set foot in their store again. It is the people that waste a manager's time or resources that will eventually have every store charging for restocking fees.
Some retailers clearance items with the intent that shoppers will purchase more than just that one clearance item. For example, you find a $200 on clearance for $100. You save $100 and (they hope) mentally you want to spend the $100 you saved on other items.
If you buy more items, the overall margin of your ticket may even give the retailer a profit.
I believe this scenario happens as often, if not more often, than just purchasing the clearanced item.
tomdc said: RapaciousEbayer said: I fully expect BB/Staples to follow suit as well. I could care less about this dissemination of information, but people who start threads like this need to know that this information will eventully make its way back to corporate and they will come up with a way to stop it. Two people I know who work at BB in authoritative postions are well aware of this, as people were coming in all weekend to have items pricematched.
Sorry
once again, apology accepted. although, there's no need to apologize, you need to start trying to stand up for yourself a little more. BB's stance on devil customers includes people who only come in to buy/PM clearance items. While BB is devious for many reasons, there's nothing devious about this particular situation; in fact I'd do the same thing, as this is smart business decision.
Something as simple as a policy change @ BB would be all it would take to solve this; for instance, the price guarantee drops from 30 days to 14(which has already been done on certain categories), or they enforce the clearance exclusion already listed on their price guarantee policy.
PM me if you need more advice on business management; if you'd like I can use crayons
on a side note, just as I had this thread moved here, I also had the thread in SD removed from hot deals at is not a hot deal at all. I'd be happy to explain the difference between a hot deal and a deal discussion if you'd like.
tomdc said: Did my weekly trip to BB today- one of the suburban MD ones. Got a refund price reduction on one of the tv stands that was originally $365 that I got last month for $65. Now down to $19.99. Also got a refund price reduction for the 2 Altec Lansings I got that day when they were $55, now down to $16.99 Just showed receipt, took 5 minutes as usual. Of course both items oos two weeks ago. I got two of the Passport 120's and noticed they were back to regular price $119 now- very very strange since they were "clearanced" last week. Never seen a clearance go back to regular price before. Either it was really a sale, not clearance, or it has something to do with BB having their inventory last Sunday. Got two anyway to see what's up in 30 days- I suspect they are clearance since the 160 came out for the same price. Hopeing they hit the $23 mark in 30. Got one each of the GeForces and one of the ATI 1550. Whichever one is best deal in 30 days is the one I'll keep. Told the salesperson this and he agreed that's the smartest way to do it. Also got 3 of the universal laptop batteries (rang $74 each)- I know these will be $24 in 30 days and they're gr8 to have. They were oos of the Seagate 750 internal, the clearance 500 MyBook, the clearance 1 TB MyBook, and there was an asian gentleman buying the last 15 Seagate Pro 320's. I let him have the fourth external battery I was going to get and he let me have one of the 320's. Forgot the price but doesn't matter as I'm sure this will be $33 in 30 days. Searched high and low for the Klipsch speakers that are supposed to go to $19.99. Found one pair that said 2.1 Ultra that scanned as $99 but didn't buy since we don't have the SKU for these on the other thread for deals yet. Maybe should have as they only had one box but they're a very big box that would take a lot of room in the trunk of my car where these stay for the 30 days. All the receipts go into a Maximum PC mag that is really my file for sd price guarantee receipts and list of sku's to check each week. Looks less sinister in the store than a manila folder!
All the employees, including the policeman at the front door(!) and especially in computers, were very nice and interesting to talk to, as were some of the customers. BB computer dept on Sunday- rendezvous point for geeks talking geek. One off the employees, an asian kid, was in college and obviously not banking much at BB but envious of a lot of the tech stuff. I gave him a my sku printout list with ultimate clearance prices (I can print another) so he can possibly grab something while working and he promised to keep an eye out for the Klipsch speakers and any more Seagate 320's till next week and hold them (secret stash spot) for me if he sees one. He understands he's just working for the man (at $7/hr) and doesn't feel any great loyalty because of the 10% additional discount he gets. Glad to help deal hunters, as many employees are. (definitely not all), and appreciative of info he may be able to use himself. I didn't even pay attention to the prices as they rang up to my card because all I care about is the 30 day price. Usually they're all 90% off by then- if not I'd refund. You can ask an employee point blank- "If the price goes even lower in 30 days can I get the difference refunded" if you feel queazy about it. The answer's always going to be "yes, of course." A completely unstressed and enjoyable way to deal hunt with no risk or searching multiple stores ( I would have stopped at another BB looking for those elusive $19.99 Klipsch's- we have 30 or 40 stores in MD/DC/NoVA- but I had to get to Ikea for a huge bargain (literally and fiscally- a $1500 10-foot wardrobe system for $29 they were holding for me.)
An easy way to actually get all the hot deals I want. Been doing it for over a year. If the Passport 120's don't go to $23 within 30 days it'll be the first time ever it hasn't worked for me, why I'm pretty confident on even those. And I'm doing it the way BB approves of, believe me. I'm a regular loyal customer, I'm friendly with the staff (at least the ones you can be friendly with) and I don't get large quantities of one clearance item which would make me appear to be a reseller. I'm just shopping the way an informed intelligent shopper does and everyone I know at BB respects me for it. I would not buy at a store that wouldn't guarantee a difference refund if their price goes lower in 30 days. That's bottom line for me and most intelligent shoppers.
Where can one get the "sku list with ultimate clearance prices"?
FrugalFreak said: Technologist said: not really.... WE have ways of making it go through, at the lower price....
wasn't aware FW was for I's, I thought it was for non-selfish consumers who shared info/deals and helped each other. Hence were are called Community. Some people are selfish birth to grave and karma will give them theirs.
Sorry I didn't get back to respond quickly.... I was a little busy. FF, if you look around (and I know you see my posts in FWF), I am one of the LEAST selfish people...
FrugalFreak said: Technologist said: not really.... WE have ways of making it go through, at the lower price....
Return unopened item, and rebuy for lowest price with proof of lower price such as reciept. Ignore the stingy selfish people here, They know NOTHING that REALLY matters!
Actually, that works, but you can run into problems... return / rebuy SOMETIMES forces them to put your item back on the shelf first.... the way I do it is:
Take the receipt ONLY back in.... tell the CSR that you screwed up and bought the item on the wrong credit card, and that if your wife sees it, she will kill you! BIG SMILE, and a chuckle at this point doesn't hurt.... Whip out another credit card, and ask if you can void the first transaction, and put the charge on your OTHER credit card. She voids the first, then since you don't have the item with you, she types in the sku, to charge it on your 2nd credit card.... IF the price is lower, you NOW get the lower price! If not, no harm, no foul! IF HIGHER, you say "WTF???", and they price adjust it back to what you originally paid for it! AND, it starts the return clock all over!!!!!
You're welcome, now take back the nastiness...LOL!
PS, some people don't want this getting out, because BB will change the rulz (sorry, rules) if they see it happen too often!
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