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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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368 Reviews

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MindyV Lubbock, TX

Best Buy has the WORST customer service ever!!!!! When I do go in to my local store, it's nearly impossible to get anyone to help you. They'll stand around visiting and ignore the customers. They also lie to their customers. I've bought laptops from Best Buy in the past and I've always bought the warranties. When I have a problem with my laptop and take it to Best Buy, they usually lie and tell me that it's covered under my warranty. Then a week later, they call me to tell me that it's not covered under my warranty and they haven't sent it to be fixed. They can rarely fix things in house, they always have to ship things off to someplace else to be fixed, which takes forever. I honestly don't trust Best Buy at all!!!!!!!!!

5 years ago

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Sav Flo Salt Lake City, UT

If I need to find a piece of technology I tend to go to Best Buy. They have many locations throughout the US and they carry the same items. I am able to search for what I need and ask questions and for the most part the employees are able to answer my questions about the quality of the product. I do to Best Buy to see the item in person and then sometimes check on Amazon for cheaper prices because the prices in the store are more expensive.

9 years ago

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Chris Bright Tempe, AZ

Best buy has really gone down hill. Electronics and parts are grossly overpriced, if they even have what you need in the first place. I have stopped going and make my Best Buy like purchases on Amazon

5 years ago

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Zabsanti Slidell, LA

Best buy has been a decent company for me. I can find multiple products that I need however what turns me down a lot is the prices. Much of what they sell I can buy cheaper and in better condition in other stores

6 years ago

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Julie Firkins Orem, UT

i recently upgraded phones for our at&t service, the people were nice but not very knowledgeable. i ended up at the at&t store after wasting over an hour at best buy.

9 years ago

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Cole Warnick Eagle Mountain, UT

Fun store but their return policy and service was not good. I would look at other electronic stores first.

6 years ago

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A Craw Draper, UT

Poor warranty and geek squad service. Why not just buy electronics directly from apple, etc.

8 years ago