Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) says that its sales will fall fast. But that creates opportunities to snag bargains if you've got the cash. I think the key is to go into your local Best Buy armed with information about the lowest prices on the item you want to buy. Then ask the manager for a price break.
How much trouble is Best Buy in? It cut its earnings estimates 29% from between $3.25 and $3.40 per share expects to between $2.30 and $2.90 for the fiscal year ending in February. And its same-store sales dropped 7.6% in October -- a situation that prompted CEO Brad Anderson to complain that "seismic" changes in consumer behavior have created "the most difficult climate" his company has ever seen.
What's sad for Best Buy could be good for you though. Let's say you want to buy a flat screen TV. Wholesaleconnection.com offers the Sharp LC 32D43U 32" LCD TV for $577.54. Best Buy offers what looks like the same item for $599.99 on its web site. I don't know whether Wholesaleconnection.com is a reliable vendor or even whether there's a better deal out there.
But I think it would be worth trying to bring the better offer in to your local Best Buy store and ask them to match or beat it. If you have a better idea, please comment below.
Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-12-2008 @ 10:47AM
andyg8180 said...
Best Buy's policy is to not match online retailers... And ive been into numerous BBYs where employees and managers alike are TO the book...
I would recommend mentioning some accessory purchases so you can get a match. Some struggling managers will bend over to make numbers...
11-12-2008 @ 11:25AM
Ryan Healey said...
I recently visited a Best Buy to purchase a laptop. It took 30 minutes to get help from an employee and then waiting while they tried to find stock of the one I had selected, paged a manager (who never responded), etc. I left empty handed and purchased elsewhere. If THIS is how they are running the stores, their days are numbered.
11-12-2008 @ 1:37PM
GORMAN THOMAS said...
I THINK BBY IS A GREAT COMPANY, THINGS MAY BE LOOKING TOHGH AS OF NOW, BUT I'LL WILL STILL BUY STOCKS FROM BBY. AS FOR SERVICE YES @ TIMES IT HARD TO GET GOOD SERVICE I PURCHASED MY PC FROM BBY 6 MONTHS AGO SERVICE COULD OF BEEN BETTER, THIS COMPANY WILL BE AROUND FOR A LONG TIME