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Best Buy

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Author: Kalicia Bateman

LAST UPDATED: April 12th, 2022

Founded in 1966, Best Buy rebranded in 1983 to become the company we know today, the now international consumer electronics store. It has locations and subsidiaries throughout North America including Mexico and Canada. It is also now not just a retailer but a family of brands and partnerships that includes brands such as Audiovisions, Future Shop, Geek Squad, Jiangsu Five Star, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and Cowboom. 

Best Buy sells consumer electronics such as televisions, computers, tablets, wearables, cameras, video game systems and more. It also sells accompanying products such as software, video games, music, cell phones, car stereos and home appliances. Under its Geek Squad brand, Best Buy offers customers hardware repair and replacement, warranty services, accidental service plans, tech support, and installations and setups. Purchasing Geek Squad Protection enhances your manufacturer warranty and gives you extended coverage when the warranty ends.

Need help setting up your Wi-Fi network or mounting your new TV? Best Buy can assist with these types of services as well. This array of tech and installation services combined with its massive product selection makes Best Buy an impressive force in the computer and electronics retail space.

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The Good

  • Excellent Customer Service 
  • Product Replacement Policy
  • Wide Variety of Products
  • Easy Shipping and Pickup Options
  • Price Match Policy

Excellent Customer Service

We liked the Geek Squad approach to customer service. In this medium, we found one of the most robust customer service platforms in the industry. Geek Squad is an owned subsidiary of Best Buy. In addition to providing customer service at every Best Buy store, customers can also get support 24/7 online or over the phone. Best Buy sells support packages with each item that is sold in a store. 

Product Replacement Policy

Geek Squad has a "lemon" policy. If your product requires three repairs during the life of your service plan, the Geek Squad will turn your lemons into lemonade by replacing the product with a similar model if your model is no longer manufactured. 

Wide Variety of Products

Best Buy offers customers a vast selection of electronic, home entertainment, gaming, and appliance products. This is very convenient and outpaces many competitors. We were impressed with its selection of Apple products and that the company offers sales on these items.  

Best Buy also had a wide variety of "wearable technology" available. These included sports training aids, sports watches, and activity monitors and pedometers. Some of the companies in the industry lacked the number of items from Best Buy. Best Buy also carried home assistive technology, items ranging from phones to computers that helped those in need live easier at home. 

There were more than enough accessories to make your computer user-friendly and ergonomic. When we looked at the keyboards and mice available through Best Buy, we found more than 164 pages of items, 97 items in total. We found a lot of good wireless mouse and keyboard combos, great for the person who wanted an ergonomic work center or specialized accessories for gaming. 

In addition to the consumer electronics products, Best Buy offers customers a huge selection of products for home: appliances, cardio equipment, sustainable living products for home, smart home products, home and office furniture, and more. 

We also liked the website's functionality, especially how it let customers sort through items. Customers could sort through items by brand, price, and other characteristics. Also, each item included a high-quality picture of the item.

Easy Shipping and Pickup Options

Best Buy goes above and beyond its competitors with its excellent shipping and pick up options. Thousands of items on its website are eligible for free, next-day shipping on a $35 minimum purchase. Next-day delivery is based on product availability and on the time of day the order is placed. The company also offers free standard shipping on orders $35 and up on qualifying items. 

And if you’d like your order even faster, Best Buy stores offer the convenience of in-store pickup and curbside pickup for free. 

Price Match Policy

Best Buy won’t be beat on price. It matches the product prices of key online and local competitors for immediately available products. At the time of sale, Best Buy will price match local retail competitors (including their online prices) as well as these major online retailers: Amazon.com, Crutchfield.com, Dell.com, HP.com, and TigerDirect.com. It will also match its own lower in-store, online or app prices during the return and exchange period upon request.

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The Bad

  • Poor Customer Experience
  • Customer Complaints

Poor Customer Experience

The in-store experience with Best Buy often leaves something to be desired. Some reviews online, as well as a recent Forbes article, listed this as one of the reasons Best Buy often struggles to keep customers in the store. The Forbes article commented on the typical customer experience at Best Buy. Often, a customer walking into a store for self-service (to purchase the items they know they need) will receive an experience pressuring them to buy more things. This was a trend in some of the reviews we read about Best Buy online.

Customer Complaints

Best Buy has received mixed reviews online. One customer complaint involved the purchase of an Apple MacBook Pro from a store. The customer found the 2012 model sticker on the inside of their computer, contacted Apple, and was told that they had purchased an "old-stock" computer. The inventories of some brands in stores are often older models that Best Buy has purchased in stock.

Another customer had purchased a $450 computer, according to a complaint, and it was not working after the 15-day Return and Exchange Promise. The customer was advised to go to the manufacturer or purchase a Geek Squad plan. Electronics are expensive investments, and consumers should have access to the best products available.

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The Bottom Line

Best Buy is a leading consumer electronics and home technology store in North America for a reason. You will find it has an incredible selection of home and personal technology products to offer and that its price match policy makes its prices highly competitive. You should check out its daily deals section for even better pricing on rotating items. 

If you are looking for help with installation or protection for your technology items beyond the limited 15-day return and exchange window Geek Squad is a great option. You will be able to see its services broken down by technology type and it even includes pricing for various services. We also were impressed with Geek Squad’s lemon policy. You should be aware of Best Buy’s return and exchange policy as it is fairly strict and limited without purchasing one of its plans for Elite members and Elite Plus members. 

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Star Rating

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4.4

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368 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

54%

4 grade

32%

3 grade

10%

2 grade

2%

1 grade

2%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

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Emerald Scott West Jordan, UT

Best Buy is honestly way overpriced. I only shop here when there is big sales going on. The customer service is alright, the employees will walk by asking how you are, but barely stick around to actually help you unless you chase them down. When there are sales though, they do have some of the best prices and you can usually find stuff here that you can't in a lot of other places.

8 years ago

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Corbin Short ,

I used to love Best Buy. I could go and get valuable information on different products. Now, it is easier to buy things online and get information there. I would give BestBuy 4 stars, but the last time I went, I stood there for 30 minutes waiting to get help from a sales associate, but there were 3 of them trying to upsell one customer. They would walk right past me. I don't know what the payment incentives are, but if they are causing them not to serve the customer like this, then it needs to be changed. Just to be clear, this was the Best Buy in American Fork, UT. Very frustrating experience.

5 years ago

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Caloway Salt Lake City, UT

Their products are always more expensive than anywhere else and when you go in to buy something they try to sell you some coverage or protection plan and then when you tell them no, they ignore you and continue to try and sell you the extras. Good products but you can find the same stuff for a cheaper price most other places.

5 years ago

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McKinzie Figueroa Provo, UT

A lot of times when we have gone to Best Buy their products are a little pricey, but the people they have on the floor are very knowledgeable about the products. It is a good place to go if you have questions about what you are wanting to buy.

7 years ago

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Angie L Hanzel Saratoga Springs, UT

My husband loves Best Buy but I feel like it is overpriced. They do run some good sales around the Holidays and you can get movies for really cheap. I have also found it is hard to get someone to help you when you need assistance. Overall, not my go to electronic store

7 years ago

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Jessica Chen Rockville, MD

Today, I went to Best Buy to buy a computer. Employees were great as they provided top notch service and I ended up purchasing a Mac laptop which was perfect for school. They provided great options with knowledge about the perfect computer for me. The only I hope the store is more organized as computers were not all in one area so I had to look around the whole store.

5 years ago

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Gavin Barkum Madison, MS

Great place to get electronics, music, appliances, and more. Although the downside is how aggressive the employees when greeting you in and asking if you need help. I can understand the need to help as an employee, but I feel that excessive use of "Need any help finding anything" sort of comes off as rude. Nonetheless, still a excellent store to find what you need. 👍

6 years ago

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Ryan Harpenau Fayetteville, AR

The atmosphere at best buy is always good and the have top quality products that I can always trust are going to perform to my expectations. My biggest complaint is the price of their products which is often high compared to their competitors.

5 years ago

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Molly Keogh Ogden, UT

Best Buy is a great place to go and look at electronics but we have not had good luck with their customer service. Usually we will wait forever for someone to help us.

6 years ago

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Shari Evers Lehi, UT

I have bought a couple of computers from Best Buy and regardless of how many bells and whistles we get for the computers the get crumby really quickly!

8 years ago

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Natasha Salt Lake City, UT

The customer service is great. I can usually find what I am looking for. They do price match which is nice because their regular prices are a bit steep.

8 years ago

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Danielle LeCheminant Lehi, UT

I have bought a few electronic items in the past at Best Buy. I prefer other places though because their prices aren't too competitive and I usually can find the same product cheaper else where.

6 years ago

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Madi Thompson Ogden, UT

I purchased my laptop from Best Buy and they really helped me out when I was deciding on which one to get. Their customer service is pretty good. I just wish their prices weren't as high.

8 years ago

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Angelina Hamilton Gulfport, MS

They usually have the things I need when I’m in a bind. I do like that they will price match with Amazon on most things.

6 years ago

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Jonathan Bountiful, UT

Be careful of the advise you get from these guys. They don't always know what they are talking about. Prices are average.

8 years ago

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Derrick Martinez South Jordan, UT

Very expensive but has a wide selection. You can get almost everything need. From TVs to dish washer you will find what you need.

8 years ago

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Jaelynn Florence Tallahassee, FL

Best Buy has everything you can think of on a technological basis, but I have found rates to be cheaper at other places for things like TVs and cameras.

5 years ago

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Bethany Rockville, MD

We used to visit Best Buy a lot but not in recent years, since this store is not as competitive as their competitors on brand computers, in terms of pricing.

5 years ago

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Taylor Hall Los Angeles, CA

Best Buy is the place I go when nobody else has what I’m looking for. Customer service is a bit slow, but I eventually end up leaving with what I need.

5 years ago

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CoachTrista Saratoga Springs, UT

Best Buy could improve by having more associates available to help when shopping for computers. Every time I am in there its a hassle trying to get someone to assist me.

5 years ago

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Amanda Sherwood, OR

I usually don't find them to be the least expensive but they do a lot of price matching which can be helpful! I just don't find their selection to be the greatest in store...

8 years ago

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Rebeckah Anestin Tallahassee, FL

I usually buy my electronics from here with no issues but recently I had issues with my laptop and the worker was not very helpful at all.

5 years ago

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Ashley Johnson Las Vegas, NV

Good selection of technology products, such as laptops and TVs. However, they are a bit overpriced compared to other places.

5 years ago

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John E Leadore, ID

We have found that they are often out of product, their help is not exceptional in our area, we found it more productive to go elsewhere

5 years ago

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Shante Reeder Herriman, UT

Best Buy used to be the only place we would go for electronic needs. More recently it always seems to be more expensive.

6 years ago

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Chase H Provo, UT

I love going in to look around, but at this point I would probably buy from Amazon. hard to compete with Amazon's prices.

8 years ago

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AlisaD Salt Lake City, UT

Easier to shop for items online and pick up if needed. Not a huge selection in stores.

4 years ago

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Cole Bailey Houston, TX

Best Buy is great to go to when looking for technology but their price is pretty expensive.

6 years ago

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Kurt Lucas Olney, MD

I like shopping at Best Buy, they have a great selection. All the models are on display to look at, and test out.

5 years ago

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Karridy Logan, UT

Their policies can be confusing on whether or not they can actually help you with your damaged items

5 years ago

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Gail Salt Lake City, UT

Best buy always has great customer service, always friendly and helpful. They have a good selection of products.

5 years ago

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MiKE McWilliams Little Rock, AR

Personnel on their sales floor are unaccommodating, and sometimes rude. They need more training in customer service.

6 years ago

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Tim Johnson Eureka, IL

Got credit card from them and because of low usage they lowered my credit limit

5 years ago

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wilma lyding Columbia, TN

Usually have what I am looking for. sales personnel are knowledgable.

5 years ago

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Amelia Gibson South Jordan, UT

I like this company because they are super diverse and it is fun to go inside and shop.

8 years ago