Best Buy buyback program

[dumluk2002]

Was wondering if the Best Buy buy back program is worth it?

 

[Dark Jedi]

Read their policy on it and find out for yourself.

 

[Vihzel]

I'd definitely say no. Sell it yourself on Craigslist or Ebay and you're guaranteed to receive more money.

 

[PGP_Protector]

No, No Way, No F#$@^&( Way is the BB Buyback program worth it.
Best Buy's "Buy Back" Program Isn't Exactly A Great Deal - The Consumerist
http://www.walletpop.com/2011/02/07/best-buy-buy-back-program-is-it-worth-it/
http://dvice.com/archives/2011/03/why-best-buys-b.php

 

[gamergotgame90]

You don't get enough money for things there.

 

[lordofthereef]

It's not bad on TVs. You would be hard pressed to find someone that will pay 20% what you paid for your TV four years down the road as fast as tech is flying. We recently got rid of a DLP TV that we bought for $1000 about 4 years ago. It was tough to find someone to pay $250 for it. The only reason the TV was 1,000 (and not 1,300) is because my fiance works at Best Buy so she gets an employee discount.

 

[Vihzel]

It's not bad on TVs.

It depends on the TV. I believe a plasma 1080p TV will hold more value than a rear projection TV.

 

[_mw_]

It depends on the TV. I believe a plasma 1080p TV will hold more value than a rear projection TV.

Right up until you said Plasma.

 

[Vihzel]

Right up until you said Plasma.

You think a rear projection TV will be more valuable?

 

[_mw_]

I forgot the smiley. If I was looking for longevity I would definitely purchase a rear-projection over a plasma. There are more artifacts on a high end plasma in well under a year than there is on a low end wally world LCD at any point of its life cycle, and despite our rear-projection friends being SD they would probably still win in picture quality over the duration. Depending on what stage of its life the plasma was in, it's hard to say which would be worth more second-hand.

 

[Vihzel]

I think I'll be getting an LED for my new apartment when I move. Where I'm moving, it's all about managing space. I would choose a plasma but that would be a pain to try to mount with my 60yr old mom.

 

[lordofthereef]

Four years later, your TV is going to sell for next to nothing. Take a look at craigslist, find a 4 year old tv, and see for yourself. There is always some newer feature, be it silly or not, be rolled out convincing buyers that they need exactly that feature and can;t live without it. Take a look at the new samsungs. They are damn near paper thin. I argue I don't need this, but if I tried to sell my four year old samsung, I'd be happy to get $400 for it. The difference is, I am not looking to sell. The program is geared towards those that want the new shiny toys all the time.

 

[Vihzel]

No matter what... the Best Buy Buyback program is a total ripoff regardless of when you try to sell it.

I had a 2 year old plasma TV that sold for $650. Pretty good. I bought it for $1100, I believe.

 

[AT1988]

the Ebay selling policy is more worth it: I bought an Inspire 4G for 99.99 at ATT, with a 50 case/screen protector, rooted it, and sold it for 405 + 40 shipping, only of which 30 was spent. Thats a 300 percent profit. More than enough to get the Atrix with the same case/screen protector, which I did on another line's upgrade, but even if I couldn't have, I would have broken nearly even.

 

[lordofthereef]

No matter what... the Best Buy Buyback program is a total ripoff regardless of when you try to sell it.

I had a 2 year old plasma TV that sold for $650. Pretty good. I bought it for $1100, I believe.

Again, give it another 2 years and you might get $300 in a private sale if you are lucky.

It also depends a little bit on how much your time is worth to you. Best Buy will give you $220 for that 4 year old tv. To some people, peddling a TV on craigslist and letting a stranger into their house isn't worth the $80.

In short, I don't think it's worth labeling it as a ripoff. I consider selling your used game that you JUST bought a week ago for $30 cash or $40 credit a ripoff, but plenty of people don't, seeing as how there are always a steady supply of pre-owned games that are recent titles for $5 off the price of new.

 

[YankeeDudeL]

I'm a silver rewards member and I'm part of the buy back program. I didn't pay for anything, so for me, that's worth it.

A friend of mine just bought the Droid Charge because he got sick and tired of his OG Droid not being up to snuff. He has every intention on getting the Bionic when it drops. They told him he could bring in the Charge and get half of the unsubsidized price for it toward the Bionic. Might seem worth it to some people.

 

[dumluk2002]

Seems like for phones u want to upgrade in a short amount of time might be worth it.......

 

[jamor]

I forgot the smiley. If I was looking for longevity I would definitely purchase a rear-projection over a plasma. There are more artifacts on a high end plasma in well under a year than there is on a low end wally world LCD at any point of its life cycle, and despite our rear-projection friends being SD they would probably still win in picture quality over the duration. Depending on what stage of its life the plasma was in, it's hard to say which would be worth more second-hand.

This is true for much older plasmas.

Not true anymore!! Plasmas have very long life and don't suffer from artifacts or burn in anymore.

In fact I'd much rather own a plasma than an LCD. Much richer colors and deeper blacks.. better for gaming because of high refresh rate.. list goes on.

I've had a Panasonic Plasma for a while now and it is much better than any LCD I've seen still.

 

[lordofthereef]

I'm a silver rewards member and I'm part of the buy back program. I didn't pay for anything, so for me, that's worth it.

A friend of mine just bought the Droid Charge because he got sick and tired of his OG Droid not being up to snuff. He has every intention on getting the Bionic when it drops. They told him he could bring in the Charge and get half of the unsubsidized price for it toward the Bionic. Might seem worth it to some people.

I didn't know they did half of the unsubsidized price. That's VERY worth it IMO.

 

[YankeeDudeL]

I didn't know they did half of the unsubsidized price. That's VERY worth it IMO.

Neither did I. Of course, I haven't verified this for myself, but he's a pretty well educated cell phone user and is good about finding the right deal. I trust that this was what he was told.

 

[glowcode]

Be weary.. this offer may not last even 2 years, and you're not going to get the entire refund for what you paid for initially(you might get $50 back for a $200 phone) but it's better than nothing.

 

[lordofthereef]

Be weary.. this offer may not last even 2 years, and you're not going to get the entire refund for what you paid for initially(you might get $50 back for a $200 phone) but it's better than nothing.

Well, a couple things here.

You paid for the service, so they WILL have to honor it, or give you the money back that you spent on the service the day you bought the product.

Theoretically, you should know exactly what you are getting for the product the day you leave the store. You can literally map out 6 months - 2 years time.