Scalping has been a big issue so I'm happy that Best Buy has been taking action so that more legitimate customers instead of bot farms have been able to purchase hardware. I think the current system may not be adequate for how advanced software has become. The random nature of release times for hardware means that places like nowinstock.com are the only hope for regular customers.

 

Lottery System

In Japan they use a pre-order lottery system to sell high demand items. How this works is that customers can opt-in to a pre-order lottery. From that lottery, emails are sent out to winning tickets that allow them to make the purchase. 

 

How this can help combat scalping and be a better buying experience

• Purchases will be distributed randomly instead of concentrated within a release window.
• Even though some bots will get through, bot/scalper purchases will be limited naturally by random selection.
• Right to purchase is determined randomly rather than speed of clicking or noticing when a button lights up, which bots are now able to do. 
• Prevents massive server stock requests from bot farms scraping inventory. 
• One ticket per account/per item/ per household limits physical scalping
• Winning accounts will be flagged for purchasing, and customer will be emailed
• Customers can then be allowed a wide window (24 hours) to purchase the item. Otherwise a new lottery winner will be chosen and that stock can go back into the general pool.
• Reduces stress and stock tracking for customers and is more convenient based on their schedule.
• By having a large lottery opt-in window (about an hour) more people can at least have a chance to purchase the items.
• Lottery numbers are not chosen on the day the tickets are available, but rather later. This allows accounts to be flagged for botting or scalping.
• The buffer for purchases created by a lottery will let Best Buy announce when new stock is received/email notifications to customers that won't be made false by rapid purchases minutes later. 

Let me know what you think. I've been trying to get a 3070 and 5600x for a while. I think a lot of people are frustrated by the current situation and would like more to be done about the situation. I wonder if something like a lottery could be tested out. 

We Don't Want A "PROMOTION!" We Want A Benefit!!!

Make the $20 Reward Zone For Game Club Members, a permanent benefit.

The concept is simple and easy as one, two, three. 

 

1.) $20 Reward Zone On Select New Releases For Gamer Club Members Only.

2.) $10 Reward Zone On Select New Releases For None Game Club Members.

3.) New Titles To Be Added Regularly For All Current Gaming Systems.

 

See, It doesn't need to be complicated.

The overwhelming general concensus is that Gamer`s Club Unlocked(GCU) is a great program(arguably the best one out) but at $120 upfront for 2 years a little overpriced. And with benefits/perks of the previous program being reduced or completely eliminated while the upfront cost has increased 4x per year it`s a little underwhelming honestly. Most consumers would accept a price increase even to $120 IF the benefits warranted the increased cost.

Offering $15 credit(750 MyBB points) for every $150 spent on gaming related items would immediately provide tremendous value to GCU along with further encouraging customers to make all of there gaming purchases at BB. This benefit would be a big perk to tip the scale in BB`s favor whenever all thing s are even retailer to retailer. And customers who are aware their $5-$15 away from another $15 and/or about to make purchase that will net another $15 credit would certainly pick up an extra item or two to get the added credit. Plus knowing there`s a 15 day wait for the points to post we`d wanna get the clock started that way when a deal pops up the credit already available.

Another way to put this in place and strengthen GCU could be to allow the pc to auto-generate a $15 BB giftcard when $150 pre-tax is reach in-store/online. If you`re going to allow free Gamer`s club to recieve a simliar benefit it should be less than $15 per $150 & the instant GC option should NOT be available to them. That way you`re rewarding paying members & enticing free members to upgrade to GCU.

In all honesty the videogame trade in process is a mess time wise & structure wise, most trading regulars could complete a trade better & correctly than the reps at CS. And since we`re still waiting to see if BB will rethink the decision to backtrack on removing the gaming counters with dedicated game reps(horrible decision already has an existing ideax thread) here`s an alternative. http://www.forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Best-Buy-IdeaX/Please-bring-back-the-video-game-trade-in-counters/i...

If we could just go onto BB.com, select the games we wanna trade in & get a full print out to bring to CS that would save ALOT of time. All the rep would need to do is scan the barcode which would already have the amounts INCLUDING the 10%(which has been a MAJOR issue just search the forums). If there`s 10 games all they have to do is confirm the games in the cases are the same & get the ID. If one or more of the titles are not correct they can simply scan the barcode next to whatever title(s) are incorrect to remove them from the trade.

Even better existing traders would have the option to "load" their ID info right on the page too which would be barcoded for safety. That way a CS would only need to verify each game(s) & then scan the complete trade barcode and/or the 10% GCU bonus barcode & customer ID info barcode. By reducing what the rep.needs to do there`s less chance of error or employee giving bad info which can only speed up the process by "dummy proofing" it & allow the pc to do all the work. Alot of companies try to remove the "human element" for some of the same reasons not to mention cost cutting, but once this would go into place it would greatly reduce the # of customer complaints on the forums boards from customers who clearly know what/how to do to complete a trade.

Offer an additional $1 per trade for doing the online pre-trade since it ensures a trip in-store which can lead to a instant in-store sale. If you had the gaming counters you`d be able to coach up the staff on how to upsell to customers recieving giftcards which will pay for itself very quickly if done correctly.

Speed up, dummy proof & profitize the entire videogame process in 1 move which will strengthen Gamers Club Unlocked(GCU) all in one motion.

Since the 20% GCU discount on new games does not apply to digital purchases, how about giving GCU members 20% back in reward points for digital purchases?  It keeps people buying games (or other merchandise) from Best Buy and doesn't leave them out of the rewards system for being a GCU member.  In a way, it kind of reminds me of the Shop Your Way rewards system they have at Sears/K-Mart, which is very popular amongst gamers, only it allows people to purchase their games the way they want.

This is basically a customer benefit for locking most if not all of their yearly day 1 game purchases in at BB. If a customer pre-orders/purchase a pre-set amount of games then once the final game purchase has cleared that added bonus is attached to that purchase.

A customer places 5 eligble titles into their shopping queue(say 5 of the current $10 pre-order titles) & once they pre-order/purchase all 5 the fifth game would recieve $60 in myBB points, $40 bonus for the previous 4 games & $20 for the final game(the reg. $10 + $10 bonus).

Maybe the # of games would need to increase to 10 resulting in $200 total credit or a possible way to allow all game pre-orders to recieve some credit compensation.

Either option is a huge financial committment to BB & $120 GCU, $300 or $600 annually, but BB has the benefit of larger pre-orders amounts which should equate to cheaper per unit orders.

Being able to advertise "EVERY NEW GAME IS $47.99 WITH $20 CREDIT" would completely remove key competitors in the gaming market. And the added affects on GCU with mybb points leading to non gaming sales & more active trade in volumes serves to strengthen the entire program. Also, this would be an equally potent benefit combined with 20% off there would no longer be any reason not ro fork over $120.

Wolfenstein pre-order numbers should provide insight to how strongly the lure of $20 credit with 20% can be.

Its been a very hard for the avrager perosn to get there hands on a Nivdia 30 series GPU. Giving My Best Buy Elite/Elite Plus memberse a timed window, lets say 5~8 hours to buy the stock before the general public could when new stock becomes avalible when be a novel way to: fend of scaplers, given more of an avrage working joe time to get a card, grab some postive prasie from the from the online communtiy.and help encorage shopping @ BBY to keep youre level up.

 

Can definitly say, Evga implamernting there queuing system has bought a lot of good sentiment to the company during this crazy release. 

 

Feels bad to miss the drop for the cards by 30 min~ and then turing around and see them imidelty relisted on eBay agian.... 

 

Would assuyme also there would be some limit 1 30 series card per houshold / account during this timned window and if you hand already oreded 1 you would no longer be eligable for hte timed window during hte next stock drop.

I’d like to propose that BestBuy create a back order list by invitation only to My Best Buy members, starting with Elite Plus and moving down from there. Too may of the consoles being released through BestBuy.com and other retailers are being poached by scalpers, and resold for sometimes twice the retail price. I have literally been checking every day for almost a year to get one. It seems like Best Buy would want their best customers to be the first to benefit from their new stock, rather than a bunch of scalpers. Thoughts?

This is a MAJOR franchise and should most certainly be one of the first new 2014 releases to be added to the $10 pre-order/purchase promo or have $10 instant giffcard attached. There`s now a huge GCU customer base to feed and we`re quite hungry...Just beCAUSE. http://www.gamrreview.com/news/92123/just-cause-3-coming-to-ps4-xbox-one-amp-pc-next-year/

Because of how long it has been taking to recieve these coupon packs & most people are trying to time the coupons with the right sale BB should have them avail. in-store for purchase when you become unlocked. Cross promote the coupons along with the weekly ad & make sure your game reps are aware that way unlocked memberships will increase as a result of the exposure. If a person can make use of the program on day 1 when spending $15 upfront then the chances of them joining increase.

 

If BB were to sponsor special coupons packs that would also be avail. in-store this would generate instant revenue from the sponsers, increased sales & increase unlocked memberships as well.

 

Make it so BB make it so.

This is getting a little bit irritating, but 99.9% of the titles for Gamer's Club Unlocked happen to be for 360 and PS3. Sadly, Nintendo titles tend to be left out of this promotion and makes this membership useless if they don't buy 360 or PS3 games. Adding more Nintendo games and extending the promotion to handheld games would boost sales and spread to a bigger audience. Extending it to the 3DS could be a great idea. I know the games cost less, so the promotion could potentially be lowered to $10.

 

Suggestions: Wii U
Super Smash Bros 4

Mario Kart 8

Mario 3D World

Wonderful 101

Sonic Lost World

Donkey Kong Tropical Breeze

Bayonetta 2

X

 

Suggestions: 3DS

Sonic Lost World

Super Smash Bros 4

Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Yoshi's Island

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

 

 

Adding 3DS or Wii U titles to the mix would be enough to make me subscribe. I know a lot of others would too if Nintendo games were added.

Best Buy should sell this DLC stand alone for the Vegito character.  Its sold on ebay for up to 135 dollars!! I'd gladly pay 10 to a reliable/trustworthy source like Best Buy rather than risk an ebay scam!  Namco doesn't seem to plan to release it in USA on the PSN and i understand your company has a contract with bandai Namco for this item.

Dragon Age is a major multi-platform title from EA that will have multiple versions this October for PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, and PS4. It's a perfect candidate for this promotion.

As everyone knows, the bots are buying up all the PS5 within minutes after they come online. As an elite plus members, we should get something like, for the 1st hour only elite plus members can buy. Or we should be able to backorder it. Pay now and when it becomes available an email will be sent on how to receive the PS5.
Please help out the members that spend the most at your store.
Thank you

Why does BB allow users to review items that haven't even been released?  Take a look at the preorder games and most already have a few reviews.  What is the point of that?  User reviews are supposed to be a usefull tool for the consumer to judge if they want to buy something or not.  When you allow reviews to be posted on something nobody possibly has any hands on time with you devalue the entire review and star rating system.

I was wondering if there was any way to implement a filter to hide the used video games that are not available for shipping.  3,400 games at 50 games per page takes an extremely long time to click through, especially when the majority of the games say they are not available for shipping.

 

A checkbox under "Narrow Your results" that says "In Stock For shipping" and pulls all the BBY.com in-stock items would be greatly helpful and would most likely boost sales from others who also dread scrolling through all 68 pages of used games.

 

 

You`ve increased the cost of GCU from $30 for 2 yrs to $120 but you decreased the value in the welcome coupons. Doesn`t really make sense does it? You should be INCREASING the valiue of EVERY ASPECT of GCU not decreasing or eliminating key perks/benefits. Basically, you`re giving us a bionic body but not putting fingers on the left hand & no right foot. Most people would prefer their regular non-bionic body vs this "upgraded" option.

 

 

However, this is an easy fix you need to make the coupons unique, diverse, valuable & consistantly tempting. Here`s how;

1- You need staple couples that will entice ALL types of gamers- B2G1 on used, B2G1 on new, 50% off a game guide, 10% off PSN/XBL/PS+/Steam, 50% off 1 used game, extra 40% bonus trade in credit, 3X RZ point booster on 1 game purchased during release week, $25(1250 RZ pts) w/purchase of $250 on gaming, 5X RZ pts booster on all games/accessories when purchased with a system & a 15% off birthday coupon. These should be valid for 1 yr & a new set should generate for the 2nd yr of GCU. They should be available in-store at the time of purchase or by email the choice of the customer.

 

2-You need 12 unique coupons(1 per month) sort of use em or lose monthly enticement coupons. These will get you loyal customers. And a new set of 12

The combination of product shortages and scalping has made it nearly impossible for the average customer to purchase Graphics Cards and Next Gen Consoles from BestBuy. These items come in stock every so often but seem to be sold out within minutes (if not seconds). I have a few ideas that I believe can help reduce frustration for your customers and prevent scalpers from buying up all of the product that drops.

 

1. Pre-order options:

 

This would reduce customer frustration as they won't have to constantly monitor the product only do be disappointed when they aren't quick enough to snag their desired GPU/Console.

 

2. Link GPU/Console purchases to some form of photo ID (driver’s license):

 

This would more effectively allow BestBuy to limit the number of these high demand products that a person can purchase in a certain time frame. It prevents people from using multiple accounts and names to make these purchases. It would also make it much harder for bots to buy the stock within seconds.

 

3.  Make high demand items like these only available for purchase/preorder in store or on the phone:

 

As stores are now open for in person purchases, this would make it impossible for bots to buy all the stock. It would still provide people who cannot come into the store a way to purchase.

 

These are my suggestions, hope it can help.

 

*I am an employee. I know that BestBuy wants to be "customer obsessed" and help their customers in every way possible. I feel like these ideas can help BestBuy to assist our customers who are trying to obtain these hard-to-find items. 

It would be awesome if Best Buy Stores will stop putting price tags on the DVD/Blu-ray sleeves as they are a major pain to remove without ripping the sleeve apart. When ordering movies from sites online (including Best Buy.com), the price stickers are never on the sleeves. Other stores sometimes have stickers on the sleeves as well but they are nowhere as hard to remove as the Best Buy one. Another electronic retailer, Fry's Electronics, puts their price tags on the plastic shrink wrap of a movie instead of the sleeve which I think is an amazing idea when I found out about it. It's just a pain if someone has a movie collection and there's a giant price tag on it that can't be removed