Best Buy Contracts?

[Aswald]

Browsing through a very recent video gaming magazine (so I have at least some idea of what is currently happening in the video gaming world), I came across an interesting article about Best Buy (I think- guess the memory ain't what it was).

It involved a contract you paid extra for when buying a Playstation 2, essentially that if Sony released a Playstation 3 within two years (I think), you could exchange the PS2 for the 3. It was something like that.

Can anyone shed some some light on this? Especially the details I'm fuzzy on?

[agbulls]

This is also known as the bullshit that some Best Buy sales people sling at customers when selling their warranties. I believe the actual policy is that a product that has been discontinued (and therefore no longer carried by Best Buy) will be replaced with an equal value product within the time of the warranty. This is definitely not the exact verbage, but it is loose-enough contractually that Best Buy has used it as a way to gain margain by selling more policies for years. I'm not a big fan of this.

Interestingly enough, I've never known a sole who has actually gotten an upgraded tv/washer/dryer/fridge/dvd player/ or game system through this clearly poorly worded policy.

[Aswald]

Well, right off the bat, unless specifically mentioned, I can see an obvious loophole- a PS2 AT THE TIME THE PS3 COMES OUT will not be worth the same. Unless they mention at the time you purchased the PS2, that's a good one.

Also, what if they just initially sell the PS3 for, say, one dollar more than the PS2 was sold? Technically, they are then not the same value.

[FantasiaWHT]

This is also known as the bullshit that some Best Buy sales people sling at customers when selling their warranties. I believe the actual policy is that a product that has been discontinued (and therefore no longer carried by Best Buy) will be replaced with an equal value product within the time of the warranty. This is definitely not the exact verbage, but it is loose-enough contractually that Best Buy has used it as a way to gain margain by selling more policies for years. I'm not a big fan of this.

Interestingly enough, I've never known a sole who has actually gotten an upgraded tv/washer/dryer/fridge/dvd player/ or game system through this clearly poorly worded policy.

I actually took advantage of it!

I don't remember model numbers, but I bought a Sony Cybershot camera when I worked at Best Buy and could get the insane discount on those PRPs (the discount is X% above cost... I literally paid less than 10% of the retail price for the PRP- that shows you how much of a rip off they are). It had maybe 1 mega-pixel resolution.

It broke down near the end of the plan (2 or 3 years, I forget) so I took it back, and they actually replaced it with a much nicer camera, another Cybershot with somewhere around 3 megal-pixel resolution because they no longer carried the original model.

Conceivably, the same thing could work for a PS2-PS3 conversion, but they would have to no longer carry PS2's at the time and be unable to repair or replace it, or maybe even be unable to get a new PS2 from another source, which seems pretty unlikely (it wasn't hard to get a PS1 in 2003).

[skaar]

Way back in the early days of CDRs, I bought a 2x CD writer for $700 from the local future shop, and paid $100 for a 3 year warranty.

I ended up exchanging the drive about 4 times over the next 3 years (I was doing a LOT of burning for pretty much everyone I knew, plus an extra copy of stuff for me at them time - and this was when blanks were $7/each in BULK)

At the end of it I had an 8x writer.

A few years later, I did the same thing with a DVD writer. 3 swaps later...

So yeah. For consoles... I dunno. But for computer hardware, it's a great program to abuse the hell out of if you're going to buy retail.

After all, who wants to be an Angel customer?

(for anyone who remembers that Best Buy interview )

[thetoxicone]

basically the replacement plan gives you a voucher equal to the amount you spent on the item. so if you bought a PS2 for $200 and eventually if broke down, you would get a voucher for the $200 plus taxes then you could use it on what you please whether it is a replacement ps2 which would still leave you with $70 or you could use the $200 toward a PS3. Thats why employees say you could upgrade if something new has came out.

[smork]

I took advantage of it, a long time ago. I had a demo PC I bought, got the 3 year warranty for $39. Said computer died 2 years later, got the $1200 purchase value towards a new PC, which was a considerable upgrade. That one died in a few months, they honored the ORIGINAL warranty (all this was stapled together), and I paid a bit extra to get another upgraded PC.

Prolly why they don't charge $39 anymore, heh. Not my fault the Compaqs of the day were so poorly made!

[ProgrammingAce]

My dad did the same thing with a plasma screen TV. Went from a 48 in to a 54 in when they couldn't get the parts to fix it.

[Oobgarm]

basically the replacement plan gives you a voucher equal to the amount you spent on the item. so if you bought a PS2 for $200 and eventually if broke down, you would get a voucher for the $200 plus taxes then you could use it on what you please whether it is a replacement ps2 which would still leave you with $70 or you could use the $200 toward a PS3.

This is completely correct. The only thing that should be mentioned is that the plan is for units that are malfunctioning from normal use. One mention of abuse, accidental damage, or unorthodox usage and the plan won't be honored.

Thats why employees say you could upgrade if something new has came out.

Though, someone saying that it can be used as an 'upgrade plan' is incorrect. That could land them in hot water with management. I've seen it before at the store I work at. Of course, most people's items coincidentally 'break' when a newer, better product comes along; it's just a loophole.

I'm personally not a fan of them, but I understand why getting one with a newly released game machine is a good idea, along with portable electronics. The accidental damage plans on cameras are sweet, though.