Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[Jim_Mangham]

Yesterday at Best Buy I wanted to buy the display model of a discontinued
Panasonic product.  It was a machine that copied VHS tapes to DVDs.
The display model had no box, no instructions, and no power chord.
Other display Panasonic products had the same kind of power chords
but the store refused to include a power chord with the machine I wanted
to purchase.  They said I could buy a power chord from Panisonic.
I went to Best Buy because I wanted to walk out
with something under my arm that worked that day.
I did not make the purchase.
It seemed to me like Best Buy could have provided the power chord and made the sale
and that Best Buy would have not been under time pressure to acquire another power chord.  There were several boxed machins of the kind of display machine from which I
wanted to obtain the power chord for the machine I wanted.

[Dval]

Quick question for you:  How much did they have the model marked down to?  If I remember right, that one uses a figure-8 power cable instead of the usual 2/3 prong which we unfortunately don't carry.  I would have taken a cable from another model, but I would have to raise the price of the Open Box model because the original price was taking the missing accessories into account.  Would you have been fine if they did that?

[Ryan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello Jim_Mangham -

Blake from our Social Media team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern. Thank you for your continued patience!

[SlimJim77]

Personally, I would have just given you the power cord, but there are some sound reasons not to.

[Jim_Mangham]

You are correct about the figure 8 chord type which is not the usual three pronged computer power chord.

The needed chord which I found in the store was only about ten feet down the display shelf from the unit

I wanted.  The chord I found was loose on the display shelf but lying next to another Panasonic product

which was also an out of box display piece of equipment.

There were several boxed Panasonic products of the kind which had the power chord lying loose next to it.

Neither of the Panisonic products were the type of product which needs to be demonstrated before purchase.

I reasoned that Best Buy could have made a sale if they had provided the power chord with my purchase.

And that Best Buy would not need the loose power chord until all the boxed products were sold.

They wanted me to scrounge for a power chord instead of them.

If I wanted to wait on a shipment I could have gotten a boxed product for less than the store price.

Because the product I wanted was discontinued and out of the box with no instructions and no power

chord Best Buy was offering me 20% off.

I would have paid more if the power chord had been included but they said they could not move the power

chord from one product to another.

If I had known all this was going to happen I could have moved the loose power chord down the shelf

about ten feet and there would have never been a question but I did not realize the product was missing

a power chord when I fetched a salesman.

[LiquidTension87]

I agree with you that the store should have been more eager to make the sale, and something as little as switching a power cord would have done it. However, the unit was discounted additionally due to the fact it didn't have a power cord. Would you have really understood if the salesman said, "oh sure we'll add the power cord, but now it's only 10% off". Trying to move at risk and open items I tough when they are missing parts and most stores either store use them or write them off to avoid the end of life charges while it sits on the shelf.

[LiquidTension87]

And the worst part is is that the store probably just threw away the random a$$ tote full of cords that was sitting in the warehouse.

[Blake-BBY Community Connector]

Hello Jim_Mangham,

Welcome to the forums!

I can understand why you would be feeling frustrated and disappointed.  I'd like to personally apologize for how your situation was handled.  Are you still interest purchasing the item with us?  Is there a similar item available on BestBuy.com or only the floor model?  

I look forward to hearing from you!

[Jim_Mangham]

I went to another Best Buy in Atlanta and got the same item in a box with all the extras.

There was a manual, power chord and a couple of other device connector chords which

I am not using but may need some day.

The marked price was lower where I bought the product but I got no discount.

The discount was not an issue for me.

I was looking for the functionality and my new toy is working fine.

[SlimJim77]

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Jim_Mangham wrote:

I went to another Best Buy in Atlanta and got the same item in a box with all the extras.

There was a manual, power chord and a couple of other device connector chords which

I am not using but may need some day.

The marked price was lower where I bought the product but I got no discoGlad unt.

The discount was not an issue for me.

I was looking for the functionality and my new toy is working fine.

---

Glad it worked out for you!