They often are the best buy available on electronics
Written: May 27 '07 (Updated May 28 '07)
| Ease of Ordering: |
 |
|
| Customer Service: |
|
|
| Selection: |
|
|
| On-Time Delivery: |
|
|
|
| Full Review |
Pros: Competitive prices, pick up available two miles from my house
Cons: Online store inventory is not always accurate.
What have I bought from Bestbuy.com?
Since they opened up a store within 2 miles of my house, I have bought a lot of stuff from the store. Once I get a good idea of what I am looking for, I check various online vendors for price. If bestbuy.com is competitive on the unit I want, I order the items through bestbuy.com and specify store pickup. I do this because Bestbuy’s online prices are often less expensive that the store. Also, I get a 1% rebate when I access bestbuy.com through the Ebates.com web site
In the past, I’ve bought supplies such as 50 packs of CDs, headphones and boom boxes. More recently, I’ve bought a couple of shelf systems: The RCA RS2664 shelf system and the LG LF850 sound system.
I couldn’t buy the latter online, as it was showing as stocked out at my local store. However, I had been to the store earlier, knew that the item was in stock and went in with a printout of the online price. The store matched it, as they always do.
How is site navigation
It is easy to identify categories and they have good search functionality. As is the case with most good sites, you have the ability to sort several ways. Me? I usually sort based on price low to high. The site is very speedy.
Check out is quick. With store pickup, I don’t even need to enter my address – just the credit card number.
It is verified by Verisign and there is live chat functionality and an 800 number. I have not used either. I generally shop the store if I am not sure about something and then go home and order it.
I was a little disappointed that it did not show the LG unit as being in inventory, so I couldn’t order it online and get the 1% rebate. Still, I knew from experience that they match online prices.
How about customer service
I really haven’t needed online service. That’s the beauty of having the store nearby. I order in the morning and can pick it up that afternoon. Or, as I have done on a few occasions, I picked the item myself and brought the order form to customer service for pickup. So, I would say that’s great service.
Returns are no problem, either. I take it to the store, where I can deal with a live person, which I prefer over internet or phone. It’s much harder to say no to a live person that it is over the phone.
In-store fulfillment and customer service has been very good.
Final Thoughts Using the site and buying in store is the best of both worlds. I get the internet price and Ebates rebate, but get in-store fulfillment and service. The only disadvantage really is against a competitive vendor with no sales tax (mine is 8.75%) and no shipping charge. This scenario has worked really will for me.
They also have a rewards program where you earn points for purchases and get a $5 gift card after 250 points (for $250 in purchases)
Best buy is not always the cheapest. Depending on the item, I might compare to CircuitCity.com, Buy.com, Newegg.com, and some others, using various comparison portals like shopping.com. Still, when they are competitive, they are a great choice.
4 stars.
Thanks for reading. God bless!
Please check out these related reviews:
Auctionsniper.com
Auctionstealer.com
Half.com beats the heck out of buying and selling at college bookstores
How to buy a decent musical instrument on Ebay
Buildabear.com
Circuitcity.com
Ebates web portal
Sheetmusicplus.com web store
Nashbar.com Online Store
Music123.com
Performancebike.com Online Store
Walmart.com
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? LG LFU850 Shelf System
|
|
|
|
|
View Information
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.