Oops. A Best Buy store in Princeton, NJ, was caught out the other day lying to customers about the availability of Wii consoles. And not just lying...lying through theatre. Consumerist reader John writes:
I was standing near the back of the store when one of their salespeople came strolling from a back door holding a Nintendo Wii over his head, and started walking the aisles announcing that it was their last unit. I followed, wondering both how quickly would it get snatched up and how quickly could I decide if I wanted to buy it. It took a few minutes for a couple to come rushing up to claim it, exclaiming how happy their kids were going to be.
Good for them! Thing is, half an hour later, another employee did it again. And again. And, most likely, again. They didn't have one Wii console left. They had loads. If you live in that area, be a dear and don't shop there.
http://kotaku.com/gaming/best-buy/best-b...322440.php
Does anyone else think that this is a way for Best Buy to keep the hype of the Wii up and running. I mean if people came into a Best Buy store and saw 30, yeah they might sell out pretty quick, but what happens when you come back a couple days later and there's 30 Wii's sitting there. All of the sudden it isn't a hard to get system, and people don't frantically go out searching for them.
The more we hear about these schemes of Best Buy and the other crap they pull, I think it would be a pretty good idea to go some place else to buy your electronics if you can.
Well, that IS a little scam they have goin' on there...but who are they hurting, if any body?
The people who got the Wii end up thinking they hit the jackpot. I bet that feels pretty good.
Not annoucing that they had many in stock, might have been a good move. That prevents people buying several a time and then turning right around and selling them for more on Ebay. In that sense, they've protected the fan and kept out the schemers from feeding off of honest people who just want to get their kids or themselves a Wii.
The Best Buy I went to, didnt pull that little stunt you described. However, they only put out two at a time. So, the shoppers who saw one there were so sure they'd come across a miracle, that they didnt make a lot of noise or draw attention to the fact that there were still Wii's left. I went to the Nintendo section not even expecting to see a Wii, much less get one, and as it was, I caught a woman walking by with a big smirk on her face. I thought to myself how odd that was, looked in her arms, and lo and behold, a Wii! I grabbed the "last" and ran like the wind. I remember the joy of that moment, and...I gotta say it felt good.
Best Buy is probably facilitating a lot of those little moments, and preserving those to come, by doing that. While its a little sneaky, because it might cause an unnecessary panic on the part of the consumer, and thats a little deceptive, at the same time, its preventing those Ebay scavengers we all hate so much who snap up more than one at a time of a new system to make a few hundred bucks.
Not to mention, is keeping up the hype of the Wii all THAT bad of a crime? On the part of Best Buy, thats just a good business move. For the consumer, it serves to draw out the number of Wiis and keep availability up and prices down....again I ask, whats so wrong with that?
It's a GREAT way to sell stuff. Believe me, I know.
It does make them easier to sell though they don't really need to do this since there are so many people still looking for one. It reminds me of the old commercial for Kit Kat I believe with the truck that says "just one more" and in the store the lady put out only one and then another after the customer leaves. Also, if people know that they are doing this then maybe they'll wonder around the store waiting for the next one to be out and see something else they may like and buy it and other stuff.
The more we hear about these schemes of Best Buy and the other crap they pull, I think it would be a pretty good idea to go some place else to buy your electronics if you can.
I wish i could, but I do not have a circuit city in my area and the only alternative is online, (thats if you are thinking about electronics in general cause there are a few gaming stores around.)
Also I can see them having only 4 or 5 sitting out cause there are usually more than just one person in the store willing to buy a wii. And if they just bring out one at a time they is the chance they will lose customers.
The more we hear about these schemes of Best Buy and the other crap they pull, I think it would be a pretty good idea to go some place else to buy your electronics if you can.
I wish i could, but I do not have a circuit city in my area and the only alternative is online, (thats if you are thinking about electronics in general cause there are a few gaming stores around.)
Also I can see them having only 4 or 5 sitting out cause there are usually more than just one person in the store willing to buy a wii. And if they just bring out one at a time they is the chance they will lose customers.
Circuit City blows anyway. I live in the freaking nerd and electronics capital of north America, and yet our CC here has very little selection, half the items did not have a visible price tag, AND what did have a price tag, was more expensive than Best Buy anyway. I stopped wasting my time even going there.
As a salesperson I can understand their need to sell a product. But there's a better way to do it. I mean, that's pretty stupid. I betcha those employees were fired.
And CC sucks balls. I stopped going there years ago. Sometimes I shop at best buy, the one that's closest to me is okay.
We all know people are much more likely to pick something up if they know it's in short supply. So in these cases with Best Buy and the Wii, someone who may not be sold on actually buying one might do so simply because they think there's "only one left". It's the competitive nature of us all. We want something the other guy can't have.
Hey, more power to 'em, I say--the more hype and demand for the Wii the better. I don't care HOW it's generated--this isn't illegal (to my knowledge...) and like Holly was saying, those bloody eBay scavengers can't get 5 of them at a time. Besides, come Black Friday they'll make sure to sell ALL of them, and that's in less than two weeks!
speaking of which, can you believe the Wii will be a year old on Monday?!
hmm... glad I shop at walmart I guess
That's weird. I wonder how many people figured that out.
ha, I say to to FS or Wally world to get one.