I have read this several times now on other blogs and have to ask. Have any of you experienced a malfunctioning computer that was supposed to be new from Best Buy? An acquaintance of mine said she bought a computer that had issues as soon as she took it home. When she powered it on, it immediately asked her to call tech support for problems. She felt that it clearly had been used, and maybe someone returned it, they dusted it off and repackaged, then sold it at full price. I also know someone who bought a standard windows PC on black Friday of last year, and the poor guy's computer is literally falling apart here and there. The fact that I KEEP reading these stories online is starting to make me really wonder. It sounds so unethical. Has anyone else experienced this?
I will never buy a computer from Best Buy because of all the bloatware they put onto computers as well as trying to force their Geek squad service down your throats. I think they are marketing an image of selling electronics (which they overprice as well) to the not so tech-savvy, and so far it gas worked. Now, they are trying to take advantage of that market by selling them substandard products in the hope that they don't notice. This behavior is unethical and just plain vile. No part of Best Buy's service is worth the cost.
This doesn't surprise me because I remember that the Best Buy Geek Squad has in been in the news for overcharging for unnecessary services and for stealing private photos and adult content from customers' computers. A consumer watchdog took a computer with one data cable unplugged from the hard drive to Best Buy and instead of plugging it back in, they tried to talk her into buying a new computer. I don't trust Best Buy at all.
I have heard so much negative about best buy. This is one store I will NEVER go to. I think people just go there to test electronics. who wants to pay their high prices and then their electronics malfunction? Not me I don't think best buy has long before they finally shut down. Does anyone really still shop at that store?
I bought mine there and I think it's fine. It depends on the store, but I bought online and picked it up at the store. Using the geek squad can be hit or miss depending on what you need and know. If you go in person it helps as they want to get rid of you and sort out the problem, but it's still cheaper than most places to get advice and service. If your store has good tech people you are fine, but some don't. A friend has the geek squad, but she talks so much they would sort it out to make sure she doesn't come back.
I feel like I've been living in outerspace these past few month. I have honestly never encountered such articles and stories of Best Buy. I did hear some PC shops adopting this as a modus operandi, but could not confirm how much of it was true. Looking back on all those times we had our bought computers or had them repaired, I'm starting to believe the stories. It's not just Best Buy. Most of the local PC shops in our city seem to have been afflicted by this deceitful disease. I just wonder how they'd deal with their karma.
I don't trust Best Buy either. It really does not surprise me that they would do something like this to make a buck. I had a friend who worked there and they didn't treat their employees very well either, making him close, then open a mere 6 hours later for their grand opening. Seriously??? Companies like that usually do lots of other unethical things. I got my computer at Radio Shack instead and I am very happy with them as a store. No Best Buy for me thanks.
I guess I should be thankful. My computer works okay for a basic one. It's just that the processor sucks but I suppose you can't expect better for 300 dollars can you? I probably don't have a case to argue even though I told the guy I was looking to play Sims 3 with my new computer. I miss my old one which had also been purchased from there. It was about 600 dollars but it seemed better in every way not just twice as better. I'd still have it if I hadn't have gotten so many viruses.
I also have heard many bad things about Best Buy when it comes to selling and buying computers. I haven't purchased from them in a long time because of the bad experiences we have had. Not just computers... tv's, software you name it. They just have gone downhill lately and I don't trust the products they sell. Danyel
Yeah, I stopped purchasing anything from Best Buy like 10 years ago, because their prices are overpriced and service is mediocre. I do my electronic shopping at other stores, or online sites. Mostly I do online shopping, because I verify a seller's reputation first and then I'll purchase any of their products; also, online sellers tend to be more honest, because he or she who runs the operation cannot afford bad customer reviews from doing shady business, while corporate stores blow it off easily. But nothing is perfect, and sometimes I do get defunct things from internet sites, but I always check for money guaranteed back offers in case this happens. On a side note, I had a friend who worked at a Best Buy for ten years and the management there 'never' even considered putting him in a supervisor position, even though he was one of the most senior employee, being that he started when that particular store opened. He quit and found a better job. Goes to show how bad Best Buy management are to their employees and customers, to things that will eventually cause any business to ultimately fail.
I hadn't heard about this. Good grief. I would never buy a computer from a place like Best Buy. I will warn my family members and friends.
I bought my current desktop system, a Lenovo all in one, at Best Buy 2 years ago - but the only reason I went there was because I lived right by it, and I could not drive at the time and I needed a computer quickly as my current one had died on me unexpectedly. Believe it or not, they actually screwed up in my favor, and sold me an $850 computer for like $550. They had a $550 model on display, and I was going to just buy that to tide me over until I could get a better computer, but when the store associate went to get one for me from the shelves above, he pulled down a more expensive system. I tried to explain to him several times that it wasn't the model on display, but he insisted it was. When I looked over the specs on it, they were actually much better, so I went along with him and he rang it up for $550. When I got home and looked up the prices for my system elsewhere, it was around $300 more than what he sold it to me for. Their loss, I tried to warn them. The computer has served me well for about two and a half years, and I've since bought two more Lenovo laptops and had really good experiences with them too. It could just be an issue with the brand of computers you are getting. Something else to keep in mind is that the NSA is intercepting all computers sold in the US and implanting chips in them to spy on users then re-sealing them to look like brand new. So it's possible they screwed something up when doing this to your computer. However a friend of mine did get two Toshiba laptops from them dirt cheap during their black friday sale about 10 years ago, and they both died on him within months of purchasing them. So I would be somewhat wary.
I'm a mac user and I don't see any point in buying anything from Best Buy. I just don't find their product selection or prices all that impressive. I'd rather just buy from the MacStore. The customer service is much superior with Apple than it is with Best Buy. And I don't have to worry about issues such as this. If they are selling old computers disguised as new ones, that's some extremely shady business practices and should definitely be looked into.
I only buy earphones from BEST BUY, as I'm turned off by their Geek Squad, who look and sound like the most computer illiterate people ever! Plus the fact that you need around 900 pieces of ID before you can return an item, that's why I give this place a wide berth. Bring back The Wiz,Crazy Eddie's and Sam Goody, puuleeezzz!!
