How to pricematch against Costco? (1 Viewer)

[MickeS]

Best Buy here has the Panasonic 47" RPTV PT-47WX49 for $1699, interest free for 18 months right now.
Costco has it currently here for $1599.
I don't know if Costco has exactly the same model, but it looks like it (I will check closer when I go there today).
The salesman at Best Buy said they'd match Costco, but that I'd have to show them the Costco price myself, since Costco will not give the price over the phone. Is this correct?
How do I get proof that Costco is selling it for $1599 that I can take with me to Best Buy?
Need help quickly.
/Mike

 

[John Berggren]

I don't think that you can. You'd need a flier, and Costco isn't going to let you photograph their display. The only possibility is if he'll accept the website and the TV is there.

 

[MickeS]

I checked the website, the TV is not on there.
I was actually thinking about taking a picture of the display, you don't think they'd let me do that? I can tell them I'm a journalist.
The last alternative would be to simply steal the price tag on the shelf... I could return it after I'm done pricematching.
It would really bug me if I lost $110 just because I can't find a way to prove the Costco price, so any other suggestion is welcome...

 

[Bill Balcziak]

I can tell them I'm a journalist.

There's no reason to tell a lie.

Keep it simple: Walk in with a camera and a clipboard (and wearing decent clothes), take a photo of the display, and leave. If you act like you know what you're doing, I can assure you nobody will ask any questions. As long as you're carrying a clipboard, you will have full and complete authority to do whatever you want in a retail environment. And don't say a word. Nothing blows your chances like nervous chatter.

[As an aside, I find it hard to believe Costco won't quote the price over the phone. I've pricematched between Costco and Best Buy a couple of times and both parties were very professional about it. I think the trick is to have a department manager do the calling from Best Buy. They tend not to get too flustered--which causes the Costco manager's radar to go up and makes them start asking questions.]

 

[Malcolm R]

Why don't you just buy it at Costco?
I've never fully understood why people put so much effort into price matching. Why not just buy it where it's cheapest?

 

[MickeS]

Malcolm, beacuse I have a Best Buy card with available credit and I will get it at 18 months interest free, but I don't have cash to buy it at Costco (I could put it on a credit card, but then I'd be paying 20% interest on it).
Plus I get an additional 10% off of the difference at Best Buy. That's only $10, but it's something at least, no reason to pay more if I don't have to.
There's a chain in Sweden that has a 200% price match policy, I wish Best Buy had that.
/Mike

 

[RobertCharlotte]

Walk in with a camera and a clipboard

I'm guessing here, but are you by any chance a fan of Robert B. Parker?

 

[Jeff D]

MickeS, Actually BB 110% PM is only good for a product already purchased. They will PM it for the same cost if you haven't already bought it. Give it a shot though, sometimes it works in your favor, depends on the CS rep/manager.

Most BB's I've been to can call the store and get a price/in stock verification. I guess you could call the costco phone (on the website) and get your local store's number.

I find it hard to believe that BB will match them. But staples will. You might get some flak about the policy. I'd be sure to point out that an empolyee told you they would match costco. Stick to your guns on that point.

Good luck!

 

[MickeS]

Yeah, the BB salesperson pointed that out to me. So I said "OK, so if I show you the thing from Costco 30 seconds after I purchase the TV, you'll give me the 110%", and he said yes. I don't know why they can't just give the 110% right away...

Yeah, I've done pricematching on BB before where they've called the matching store and verified the price with no problem, but this guy said that Costco doesn't give out the price over the phone. I don't know if that's true or if he was just trying to get out of pricematching.

BB's pricematching says it has to be against a local competitor, so I don't see why they wouldn't pricematch Costco.

/Mike

 

[Jeff D]

Mike I know on the costco CS phone number they give you the option to call a local store for availibilty (and I thought pricing). Give it a shot. They may ask for a member number or something, just find out what they'll do before having BB try. Good luck!

 

[Patrick Sun]

The reason why a BB or CC won't price match Costco is because Costco requires a membership to purchase from them, and more often than not, I've heard this excuse used to not price-match items at Costco by either CC or BB.

 

[MickeS]

Patrick, yeah, but I do have the membership, so to me it's like any other store, and the membership is open to anyone. It says nothing in the pricematching information about membership stores being excluded.
I just called Costco and they said they do not give price quotes over the phone, "company policy".
They also said the model number on the TV was PT-47WX49S... hmmm... never seen that model number before. That probably means that Best Buy won't pricematch, since they have it without the "S" at the end. Anyone know the deal with that?

 

[Carl Johnson]

You'd lose on either count. I used to work at Circuit City and I'm fairly certain the no matching membership stores is posted in a public place, probably on the wall behind the service desk. And on the model number they have to be exact. The only difference in PT-47WX49 vs PT-47WX49S might be the size of batteries in the remote but it has to be the exact same model.

 

[MickeS]

Oh well, it was worth a shot. I guess I'll just have to pay the extra $100 and get it at Best Buy anyway. :frowning:

 

[David Lambert]

I went to Panasonic's website, looked up TV's, and looked up both model #'s. Only the non-S version was findable. However, I did a search on finding dealers for that model in your area (I used zip code 85741) and got Link Removed, including two Costcos (one at "0 Miles"). Clicking on the "next page" right-arrow in the bottom right corner shows more Costcos with the same non-S model #.
Changing the URL to add an "S" to the model # gets you the EXACT same results, even to the non-CostCo stores.
Best Buy wasn't listed in either case!
I'm sure it's good enough to match on, but if you're getting a hard time you might just bite the bullet and accept that the $100 increase is an acceptable trade-off for the 18 months no-interest. I know it's a C-note, but at the levels of money you're spending it is an acceptable difference (under 6% of the $1699 total).
Another tact you might take is simply to approach the Costco manager, explain to him that you pay Costco good membership money to get you the best deal around. In this case you are NOT getting the best deal around by making the purchase at Costco, and you don't plan to purchase the TV there in any case. "Now, sir, what I ask you to do is to help me justify my continued membership here by cooperating with me to provide proof to Best Buy that they should price-match you on this particular item. It will gain you my goodwill, which will result in the purchase of many higher-margin DVD's in the future, and my continued membership here."
You got nothing to lose...

 

[Bill Balcziak]

Are you by any chance a fan of Robert B. Parker?

Nope. I learned this trick a long time ago from a trusted mentor (hi Bob Dorland, if you're out there). You can get anybody to do just about anything if you wear a tie and carry a clipboard and ask nicely.

I find it's helpful to have a conversation stopper at the ready, too, something like: "well, if I get through this I can get headed home." It's a nice, generic nonsense comment that sounds vaguely authoritative to the general clerk or sales associate. They will invariably reply, "oh, yeah...right" and wave you on to perform your dirty work.

[Another trick I learned is to never walk anywhere in your place of business without something in your hand, even if it's a blank sheet of paper. When you have something in your hand, it adds subtle look of diligence and purpose to your bearing. I know it sounds stupid, but it makes a genuine difference.]

 

[RobertCharlotte]

Bill, I think you and I are going to get along famously.

 

[Bill Balcziak]

Right on, brother.

 

[NiravDesai]

panasonic will sell identical good with different model numbers to retailers and warehouse stores so as to prevent price match wars. i wouldnt be surprized if the costco model has a different serial number.

i ran into this problem with a dvd player the CV51, only it was called something else at costco. i called up panasonic and it took the customer care dept 4 days to figure out what i just told u above.

 

[David Lambert]

Gee, why would Panasonic even care? Once the store has paid them the wholesale price for the merchandise, it's not like they care what price the retailer sells it at.