Best Buy is a name I’m sure you’re familiar with. Let’s take a look at the chain and why anime and game fans may want to be shopping there if they aren’t already.
Overview
Best Buy is the largest consumer electronics chain in the U.S. It has about 1,000 stores when you combine their Best Buy and Best Buy Outlet locations, and it has another 200 full-size and small/phone-only locations in Canada and Mexico.
Best Buy stocks electronics, appliances (big and small), and entertainment-related items. Best Buy.com expands their selection even further, and they also sell on eBay. They also have services like electronic troubleshooting and trade-in.
Merchandise Selection
Best Buy competes with a variety of retailers. Although they have been largely associated with media, shoppers can buy the latest Blu-rays, upgrade their refrigerators, buy the latest phone, and show off their geek side with a collectible figure. Most locations also have a bit of a showroom aspect to it with sections dedicated to names like Amazon, Apple, and Samsung.
Unlike many of their competitors (Amazon, Target, Walmart), Best Buy does not have third-party sellers on their online store. This means their site is much smoother to navigate with clear pricing and arrival time. They also feature some useful filters like being able to search by company or studio.
Anime fans will find a selection of releases at stores, but the size will depend on the location. Some places will just have a few titles; others may have a full-size rack. Best Buy puts much more focus on gaming, stocking and heavily promoting the various consoles and new releases. Best Buy will often have preorder bonuses like exclusive trinkets or DLC to get you to buy games in advance from them. They have also teamed up with Limited Run Games to be the only physical retailer to stock releases from them. However, these will only be the standard editions and represent only a portion of Limited Run Games’ catalog (mostly indie games).
Pricing
Best Buy puts out a weekly ad on Sundays with various sales and offers. They also regularly have short-term sales, whether it be for a few hours or a few days. These are more often around various holidays or events like the Super Bowl or Mother’s Day, but if there’s something you are interested in, you may want to check it every few days to see if the price goes down (or back up!).
Sunday also features a lot of unadvertised sales, so it is very common to see games and Blu-rays unexpectedly drop in price. Prices for movies and games are normally around MSRP, but Best Buy can have some very high discounts. As of this writing, many Sentai Filmworks releases are $9.99, at or near their lowest prices ever anywhere. At other times, though, there may be less than 10 anime or anime-related releases on sale — and some “sales” may be only a couple of bucks off. It just varies.
Game-related sales are usually larger in both amount of titles and dollars off. However, some weeks will still feature a limp lineup of discounts. But if you are interested in upcoming releases, the chain regularly offers $10 in rewards discounts or a gift card if you buy from them.
Another deal you may want to keep an eye out for is the various entertainment gift card deals. For instance, a recent offer was a free $10 Best Buy gift card with a $100 Hulu gift card purchase.
If you’re a college student, you can sign up for student discounts. They often send out coupons for computers, computer accessories, small appliances, and more. Other customers may also occasionally receive special anniversary coupons or similar discounts.
Finally, on some game accessories, electronics, and appliances, Best Buy may offer open box items. These may be customer returns, displays, damaged boxed, or refurbished products. Read the description, and if you aren’t satisfied, they are still return eligible.
Price Matching
Customers otherwise can ask for a refund if the price drops on their purchase during the return period. Best Buy tries to keep their in-store pricing the same as online. If online is lower, customers can request the lower price with a worker. Best Buy stores will also price-match local retailers (and their websites) and a few online sites, most notably Amazon.com.
Price matching is not allowed around the Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday holiday.
Shipping & Payments
Best Buy accepts all major credit/debit cards. They also offer their own credit cards: one that can only be used at Best Buy and one that can be used anywhere. Both offer either 5% back on Best Buy purchases or interest-free payments on large purchases.
Shipping is free on orders of $35 or more and usually arrives in about two business days. They have been offering free shipping on all orders during November and December for the past few years. Customers also have the option to choose store pick-up on most orders. Depending on availability, items can be ready in as little as two hours. If it’s not already at the store, items will take about three to five business days. That does mean it is often better to get purchases shipped to your home since it’s faster.
My Best Buy
Best Buy has a free membership program called My Best Buy. Signing up lets you earn a $5 certificate after earning 250 points. How fast you earn those 250 points depends on your level and if you are using the My Best Buy credit card. At the base level, you need to spend $500 to earn a $5 certificate. The higher tiers unlock after spending $1,500 and $3,500 in a calendar year and offer enhanced benefits like free shipping on all orders and an extended return window.
While for a lot of people $500 is a lot of money to spend to earn a $5 coupon, it is free to sign up, so it doesn’t hurt to join. It is also required to earn the various $10 game preorder rewards, and they have sent out bonus rewards at time. These are awarded randomly, though, but it is likely that if you aren’t a frequent shopper at Best Buy, your chances of getting a mystery reward is higher.
In addition, My Best Buy members get coupons. While anime and game shoppers may not be interested in a lot of these, offers like a 25% off toy and collectible coupon have come around now and then.
Services
Best Buy also has a trade-in program for game and electronics. You can check values and submit trade-ins online or in-store. Some trade-in values are very reasonable, and they do have bonus offers from time to time.
Returns & Exchanges
For most customers, Best Buy only offers a 15-day return policy. You can return online purchases to the store. If an online purchase was damaged or incorrect, you will need to call them to cover shipping. Otherwise, items are better off being returned to store to avoid return shipping charges. (And agents may try to push you to return to store anyway even if it’s their fault.) Fifteen days is not a lot, so be sure to return your item quickly if you need a replacement or just change your mind.
Final Thoughts
For years, Best Buy was my go-to store for games with their now-defunct Gamers Club Unlocked. Plus, years back, My Best Buy points (which used to be called Reward Zone) were much easier to earn ($250 for a $5 reward, $125 for a $5 reward with Gamers Club Unlocked), and they used to offer $1 off if you chose store pickup over free shipping.
Unfortunately, times have changed. I will still be a Best Buy shopper when there are good deals, but it will be greatly reduced. Walmart and Amazon often have the same (or lower) prices on new game releases, and Amazon is just more convenient for me as a Prime member.
However, some of my best deals from this past holiday season were from Best Buy, not Amazon. Some of their anime sales have been very good in recent months. I also find it easier to browse Best Buy than most other stores since I don’t have to worry about third-party or widely unrelated items clogging up the search results pages. That makes me more likely to find something to fill my cart to reach that $35 minimum in the cases where I’m worried something will sell out or when Amazon is not price matching. Other stores really could take a cue from their website.