BestBuy.com

[jonnnn]

I can always add whatever the 1st time it seems, but that 2nd add to card feels like I have one milisecond to click it after randomly waiting for 5 - 15+ minutes.  Bots have no problems clicking that 2nd add to cart. Me, and most other humans are stuck here looking at the dreaded. "This item is not in your cart yet." Due to high demand..."  Then I have no idea if I should sit here, and click the still yellow "Add to Cart", or give up. 

It's not at all fair. If I wait patientily at the bestbuy site all Thursday morning, and then I am able to add something to my cart, why should I have to add again at a random time later?  Bots are not going anywhere. I can't comprehend how this 2nd step deters bots.  I can see how it helps them about 15 minutes after the sales starts. 

1st it was Bestbuy doesn't like Firefox, or Opera, then Bestbuy all of sudden needed a confirmation of my CC after not asking for one when I ordered other things earlier. All along, it's been that 2nd add to cart that's been the biggest hurdle though. 

Please rethink how you plan to help your customers. The resellers will always be there for you. The shortages are expected to be a least a year longer.  The bots have figured out how to get the majority of bestbuy stock every other Thursday. This has become just the worst experience. I even prefer companies that take no steps to help their customers. It's far better than this false hope because I know not to sit there and try.  

[nckhammond]

Pretty sure the bots are buying all the winning lottery tickets also. I'm not sure how they do it, but sence I never win, it must be the bots!!!!

[jonnnn]

Is just so your customers will be tied up while bots buy the actual products?  Every couple weeks I wait patiently to purchase from the BB site.  I add an item to my cart, then it says due to high demand, there is another step....

I wait for the second add to cart turns yellow so I can try to add to cart what I should already have in cart going by my place in the queue. Instead, bestbuy makes us humans wait. Sometimes it's 5 minutes, sometimes it's 10 minutes, sometimes it's 15 minutes, but eventually the 2nd add to cart turns yellow. I click it right away, and...

This item is not in your cart yet.

Due to high demand, we're having everyone go through one more step before it can be added.

Please try again.

Who is this extra step helping?  Bots don't go away. They don't take over 1 second to make that 2nd click. Your human customers might look away for a second, or get distracted. Going by all the cards that pop up on ebay, craigslist, etc after Bestbuy.com sales, I'd say this only helps those people cheating the system using bots to make purchases. There's not even a captcha.  Just whichever bot/program is fastest. 

I'm going to capture this next week. No plans to actually get one from bestbuy at least.  Just want to show how dumb this system is.

[bobberuchi]

The extra step is in response to all the people that claim bots are buying everything.

Nobody I have listened to has any proof that bots are getting everything, all they have to go on is other people telling them that bots are responsible. 

300 units become available nationwide for BB.  10,000 people try to get one.  

I am not an employee of Best Buy. All opinions and comments are my own.

[jdogg836]

@bobberuchi that’s exactly what is going on. The restocks are a fraction of the number of customers trying to purchase the item, so much so that only a small percentage actually complete the order. I’ve said it on this forum before, but until the manufacturers are able to significantly ramp up production the demand will not go down. It creates a frenzy from purchasers desperate to get their hands on the products and misplaced frustration. Bots have become that boogie man. I’m not saying there aren’t bots, but looking at the folks who come in to pick up the items most of these are real customers with real purchase histories.

Before bots were a thing, we had a guy pay homeless people to come wait in line for PlayStation 3’s. They each had cash and they were individuals so they were allowed to make a purchase. I guess I’m offering this up to say there will always be someone gaming the system, it’s not feasible with the profit margins on these items to add even more scrutiny. The only alternative would be not selling them in the first place.

I placed an order myself yesterday, went through the waiting time, added it again, had to authenticate with code sent to email, and was able to check out with no problems. I used no software tools, no bots, no apps, just my fingers and my 150mbps internet connection.