Toy vs. Tool?

HughesNet · Jul 3, 2014

Best Buy uses an automated process that many other retailers use such as Amazon. It tracks the returns you do related to the actual purchases. Certain kinds of returns flag higher such as high dollar value or buying and returning the same product more then once. IE someone buying HDTVs and then returning them a few times.

Based on your description you are probably pretty close to the line if you don't also buy a good number of items and keep them. I say this as an Elite Plus member who has myself already spend $12k at Best buy this year and who last year almost hit $40k. I have never once triggered the return blacklist but I buy such a large number of high value items from them that I would be very surprised if I did. I did ask a few of them how that process worked a couple times out of curiosity. Unfortunately I will be returning my Samsung Galaxy S 8.4 today though as the battery life and CPU just can't be justified for me over my iPad Mini Retina with Cellular Data for my needs. I really wanted them to though with that screen.

In just this month I have bought from Best Buy
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 (quantity 3) for my 2 sons and wife
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 for myself as a trial to replace my iPad Mini Retina
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 To replace my Lenovo Yoga Pro 2
Microsoft Surface 2 for my father in law
Nokia 521 Phone for my older son

mitchellvii · Jul 3, 2014

HughesNet said:
Best Buy uses an automated process that many other retailers use such as Amazon. It tracks the returns you do related to the actual purchases. Certain kinds of returns flag higher such as high dollar value or buying and returning the same product more then once. IE someone buying HDTVs and then returning them a few times.

Based on your description you are probably pretty close to the line if you don't also buy a good number of items and keep them. I say this as an Elite Plus member who has myself already spend $12k at Best buy this year and who last year almost hit $40k. I have never once triggered the return blacklist but I buy such a large number of high value items from them that I would be very surprised if I did. I did ask a few of them how that process worked a couple times out of curiosity. Unfortunately I will be returning my Samsung Galaxy S 8.4 today though as the battery life and CPU just can't be justified for me over my iPad Mini Retina with Cellular Data for my needs. I really wanted them to though with that screen.

In just this month I have bought from Best Buy
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 (quantity 3) for my 2 sons and wife
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 for myself as a trial to replace my iPad Mini Retina
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 To replace my Lenovo Yoga Pro 2
Microsoft Surface 2 for my father in law
Nokia 521 Phone for my older son

As with most things there are a number of ways around the BestBuy return ban.

1) Use a different photo ID. They track the ID number not the purchase number.
2) Have a friend return it for you.
3) Just tell them you don't have your ID but you have a receipt (not a guarantee but has worked for me).
4) Wait for a Geek Squad guy to do the return. They can't be bothered with all ID stuff and will often just process it without even checking.

The point is this whole system is bogus. I can understand if you buy a $3000 TV the day before the Superbowl and return it the next day or buy a computer every 30 days and return it. But BestBuy dings you if you return something with a clear physical defect or if you simply decided you did not like something which is the entire point of having a return policy. The program is to prevent criminal activity but it spreads far too wide a net to include good customers. This is how I can be an Elite Plus Member and yet still received bans. I once went an entire year without a single return despite buying many items. Finally I bought a laptop that had a chip on the back right out of the box. I went to exchange it and they tried to issue me a 90 day ban despite no returns for a year. As you might imagine this pissed me off. Never a good idea. I raised hell with corporate and got the ban removed plus my entire return history wiped.

P.S. One tip. If you return an item with a defect make sure the clerk notes in the return that the item was defective. This can help.

HughesNet · Jul 3, 2014

mitchellvii said:
As with most things there are a number of ways around the BestBuy return ban.

1) Use a different photo ID. They track the ID number not the purchase number.
2) Have a friend return it for you.
3) Just tell them you misplaced your ID but you have a receipt (not a guarantee but has worked for me).

The point is this whole system is bogus. I can understand if you buy a $3000 TV the day before the Superbowl and return it the next day or buy a computer every 30 days and return it. But BestBuy dings you if you return something with a clear physical defect or if you simply decided you did not like something which is the entire point of having a return policy. The program is to prevent criminal activity but it spreads far too wide a net to include good customers. This is how I can be an Elite Plus Member and yet still received bans. I once went an entire year without a single return despite buying many items. Finally I bought a laptop that had a chip on the back right out of the box. I went to exchange it and they tried to issue me a 90 day ban despite no returns for a year. As you might imagine this pissed me off. Never a good idea. I raised hell with corporate and got the ban removed plus my entire return history wiped.

#1 and #3 will not work. Some few may let you do it without an ID but they usually will not as it is a written condition of their return policy. #1 will not work because though they do track by ID they link the different IDs together into a single profile for you in the return system and tie them to your best buy account.

mitchellvii · Jul 3, 2014

HughesNet said:
#1 and #3 will not work. Some few may let you do it without an ID but they usually will not as it is a written condition of their return policy. #1 will not work because though they do track by ID they link the different IDs together into a single profile for you in the return system and tie them to your best buy account.

Really? I had a ban in place and used a military ID to return an item and it went right through so I guess it does work. Actually their policy says "may require an ID", not "must" so there is discretion. Saying I didn't have my ID has worked for me on several occasions even with a manager. BestBuy does not even run this program. It is done by a shady outside company called Retail Equation. You don't even know these people and BestBuy gives them all your identity information. Most people are not even aware this is happening.

Remember in business EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE. When I went to trade in my EVO View they at first said no because it wasnt a tablet they sell. By the time I was done with them they had traded in my tablet. You just need to know how to talk to these people.

Its a bad policy poorly implemented. You owe it to consumers everywhere to stand up and beat the system.

mitchellvii · Jul 3, 2014

OK since this isn't the Evil BestBuy thread let's get back on topic ?

dorpmuller · Jul 10, 2014

mitchellvii said:
I so did not "need" a $500 tablet. I have a desktop computer, an ultra book with pen capability and a Note 3. My access to all the Internet has to offer was not limited. And yet I walked into BestBuy of my own free will and handed them a pile of hard earned cash for this tablet. Why?

1) Tech lust. It was shiny and new and oh that screen. Face it, that screen isn't fighting fair.
2) I like viewing the Web in portrait. Why? I guess because I always had this fantasy of a future where I could sit and read an electronic newspaper. In portrait the Web feels like that. None of my other tech allowed me to do that like this 10.5 does.
3) Unboxing. Silly but I love the experience of Unboxing a new tech toy. I can see why people actually post videos of this on YouTube even though everyone knows how the story ends.
4) For me, this tablet is pure toy. I suppose I could do work on it but I doubt I will. I wanted a consumption device. I wanted eye candy. I wanted Netflix and YouTube in HD+.
5) I can sit back on my sofa with my cup of coffee and read on it like a book. Again the portrait thing.
6) I wanted clean clear deep black fonts with no fuzzies. I HATE fuzzy fonts. I guess because it blows my fantasies of the electronic newspaper.

5 years ago I almost died of cancer. As I lay in my hospital bed after hearing the bad news one of the things I thought of was how disappointed I was that I would not live to see the technology I had always imagined. Dumb right? Here I lay dying and I'm worried about never owning a Tab S. Lol, I'm ridiculous.

My next tech fantasy? Perfect robot girlfriend of course, but I think that one will take a while

So, is your new Tab S (boring name for the fulfillment of a long term dream) a toy or a tool or both?

I relate completely... these tablets are more addictive than crack! I returneda Surface Pro 2-didn't like it-and got both Tab S's.

Rich

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Toy vs. Tool?

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