(Short version: Best Buy makes attempt to alienate the last few customers that they have left, and succeeds.)
Best Buy has a $50 off $100 coupon that is valid in-store only. You have to pay with a Mastercard, expires 1/27. BestBuy.com orders are not eligible, even with store pickup. There are many exclusions (see below), but amazingly gift cards are not excluded and Amazon or Amazon Kindle gift cards are sold at Best Buy stores. However, some store managers are denying them anyway without reason. Credit to SlickDeals.
Here is the e-mail that was sent out. Here is the original PDF coupon hosted on BestBuy.com. Here is a Facebook discussion (now deleted by Best Buy) where Best Buy agrees it’s legit, while simultaneously people report select store managers freaking out and rejecting the coupons. Good luck to those that decide to try it out.
Update: The coupon was completely neutered. “We printed the wrong things that were valid, the wrong things that were invalid, the wrong expiration date, the wrong everything.”
To qualify for the discount, MasterCard must be used on a purchase of $100 or greater. Coupon excludes the following: Home Theater: Bose® audio products; Polk Audio; Denon; Boston Acoustics; select Samsung home audio, TVs, Blu-ray DVD players; Sony home audio & headphones, TVs & 3D glasses, Blu-ray players, DVD players & set top boxes; Magnolia Products: Samsung TVs and Blu-ray players, Sony TVs, Blu-ray players and projectors, Sharp 90” TVs, Epson projectors, URC, Sennheiser, Sonance, Bowers & Wilkins, MartinLogan, McIntosh, Oppo and SpeakerCraft Audio and special order merchandise; Portable Electronics: Apple® iPods and Bose products; Digital Imaging: Sony camcorders, digital cameras, NEX cameras, DSLR cameras, lenses & flashes; Nikon DSLR & compact system cameras, lenses & flashes & P510; GoPro cameras; Phones: no-contract phones, broadband and airtime cards on all carriers, no contract airtime cards; gaming hardware; Pacific Sales products; Geek Squad®: C.O.D. Geek Squad services. Not valid on any BestBuy.com order, including store pickup. Best Buy employees are not eligible for this promotion. No dealers. No copies. No cash back. No cash value. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase.
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I posted this initially because I thought it could be a good deal, then pulled it because some store managers are denying customers even though it’s clearly a legit coupon that BestBuy sent out themselves and I didn’t want people wasting their holiday dealing with this. It’s back up, but please temper your expectations. Many people are reporting success, it just depends on the store.
This is pretty much all of the good products that Best Buy actually sells. I don’t see a good deal here. No wonder Best Buy is hurting financially. They can’t even do a coupon deal correctly.
No Best Buys are taking the coupon now. Corrected terms and conditions:
http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Best-Buy-Geek-Squad-Policies/50-MasterCard-Coupon-Correction/m-p/652207/highlight/true#M84766
I went to my local Best Buy and there were a few people who had these coupons. Their cashiers were having problems, mine went right through without a problem. Combined with some gift cards, I got a pretty expensive Keurig for very cheap! Thanks for the tip!
@Squinky86 – Thanks for sharing. Wow, they should have just said this:
“Promotional Offer was sent out with incorrect product inclusions, product exclusions, single product call out and end date. Oh, and, the coupon is actually valid for Circuit City stores only. Yes, we know they no longer exist. Have a nice day.”
@Nick – I’m glad you were able to take advantage of this deal.
@BestBuyExecutives – If you don’t have a superior customer experience, why would anyone ever shop at your store? Think about it.
I’m definitely considering shorting Best Buy stock right now. 🙂
@Jonathan – I’m a frugal PhD student and have visited Best Buy only twice in the last 6 years (story on me here: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-genius-phd-student-paid-his-tuition-almost-entirely-with-mail-in-rebates-2012-9). The first time was to pick up a store order for my dad. In line, the “Geek Squad” was taking advantage of an old lady who had just purchased a printer that didn’t work. They tried to get her to pay a $50 diagnostic fee before they’d look at it to see if it is covered under warranty. I told the lady I’d “diagnose” it for free right there. The printer didn’t even turn on when I plugged it in, and I demanded to speak to a manager who apologized and refunded the poor old lady. The second time was to spend a “gift card” that a family member bought me. You won’t catch me in this sorry excuse of an electronics paradise often.
My only regret is that I didn’t know what “selling short” meant until a few months ago. It may make a good blog post if you haven’t done one already.
PS: I’ve been following your blog for years now – joined back in the “revolution money exchange” days (2008). I really feel that we’ve progressed financially together, and sincerely thank you for the great deals and tips you post on this blog!
I was able to use the coupon last night on a Westinghouse TV and an AppleTV we bought. The receipt showed it coming off of the TV. Also, we had $40 in reward zone points fro a MacBook Pro that we bought at Best Buy before Christmas. Everyone was very courteous and helpful at the store and accept the coupons not questions asked. No override .. it just went through. Our Best Buy recently had a rennovation and it is stocked with high end kitchen appliances. I haven’t been much in recent years but it seems fresh compared to a few years ago.
@Squinky86 – Sad story at Best Buy, cool story of your own. Seems like explaining yourself to BusinessInsider commenters was more work than doing the rebates! 🙂 Thanks for reading!
@Mary – Also glad you were able to benefit. I do think it depends very strongly on the individual store managers and their customer approach.
@Squinky86 You know, that as part of the rebate terms you’re supposed to be the end user, and agree to not resell the product. Not like they’ll catch you, but I’d still not go advertising it.
@csdx: Ones that prohibited reselling were given away or bundled with computers I built for others. Ones that required end-user purchases were installed on a VM and not activated so that I was the end user. I pay the Alabama Use Tax on all purchases, so by law, I am the end user and resell under the First Sale Doctrine for those cases. Then, all ebay sales are taxed at local and state levels as personal income (not business reselling). It’d be cheaper to set it up as a business and avoid the 4% use tax, but then I wouldn’t be considered the “end user” and would then be considered a “reseller” for legal purposes.
PS: I hate tax time. Every time I hold my nose and fill out the Alabama Use Tax, I think, “There it is – the tax on honest people. I wonder how many Alabamians actually fill this out…”
Most of the legal questions are answered in the Business Insider thread, where many people were convinced I was doing something illegal.