4 Things Best Buy Employees Say Shoppers Miss
Best Buy is widely considered the go-to place for consumer electronics and gadgets. Whether you're in the market for a new car stereo, an upgraded washing machine or some human expertise to assist in setting up that video game console, you can't go wrong at Best Buy. Or can you?
We spoke with Best Buy employees Nick and Hannah (using pseudonyms) to unearth four insider secrets to help you shop smarter, avoid pitfalls and elevate your overall experience.
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1. Timing Is Everything
When it comes to deals, Best Buy offers daily, weekly and annual promotions, so look out for those.
Daily promotions occur every day on different items and are available for 24 hours or until the item sells out. Unfortunately, you won't know specifically which items since this info is never disclosed ahead of time -- even to employees. Therefore, it's important to refresh your browser each day. There are also weekly promotions that drop every Sunday and last until Saturday night, making Sunday an excellent day to shop.
Annual promotions are typically timed with holidays or seasonal events. For instance, discounts on laptops occur in August and September for back-to-school specials, sales on TVs occur right around Superbowl Sunday, and markdowns on almost everything happy around Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
2. Don't Trust Geek Squad Counter Agents
While Geek Squad's repair agents are highly knowledgeable and sophisticated, the counter agents often don't have the same expertise. Most are new and trying to learn on the job so they can ultimately work their way up to repair agents. This means it's not uncommon to feel as though they're not particularly helpful.
But while counter agents do try their best to assist, they may inevitably wind up pointing you in the direction of a repair agent, creating another expense.
3. Consider Open-Box Items
"It's not groundbreaking, but open-box items commonly go overlooked when it comes to savings," Hannah said. She also explained that how much you can save depends on a couple of factors. The first is the condition of the item, which is determined by an in-house ranking system.
The other factor is if you are purchasing a second item. Often, the store is desperate to get rid of high-risk inventory. If you make a second purchase in addition to an open-box item, Best Buy may give you the open-box item at cost (which can be as much as 50% less than the original ticket price).
4. Employees Have Incentives To Sell Accessories
Best Buy doesn't make money when you buy a computer. In fact, the company may lose money. This means the store needs to sell you items like accessories and protection plans to turn a profit.
Fortunately, most customers will need some of these items anyway for their devices to function properly, so it's not a total scam. Just be mindful of what you're buying, and don't purchase every add-on or cool accessory an employee shows you.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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