Best Buy Charging to Install PS3 Firmware Update

[icepick314]

Best Buy maybe in the wrong but it's all upto the consumer to catch such thing...

they say something about fools and money being parted....

 

[kuharski]

99 isn't just for an optimization, it's restore disks, and having their antivirus installed and verfiying the machine is working properly. The reason they have them pre-setup is for the customer. Some people want it and can't wait 4 hours for the computer to be setup.

No one that sells those computers are your finacial advisers, if people didn't buy it... they wouldn't sell it period. The value is in the eye of the beholder. The fact that most people pay 40ish dollars for an oil change is crazy in itself right? Pull plug...oil drains...put plug back in...fill oil. Hard? Some people just don't know or don't want to mess with it. So to call this a scam is just silly. How much have you paid a doctor in the last year to tell you, you have a cold? Is that a scam as well?

 

[ssddx]

GeekSquad-America is a joke. $30 for an upgrade included on all media you buy that requires it is also a joke. $50-100 for an hdmi, surge protector, etc...is also you guessed it... a joke.

That said, there are benefits of walking into a brick and mortar store. I prefer to handle/look at products in person instead of trusting a generic image on a website. Internet-based stores are effectively killing alot of BB's market share; perhaps this is why BB is acting up more lately. I would like to see BB act respectable (like Newegg) but i'd rather have it stay as is then to totally lose a B&M store.

 

[masterasia]

Who the hell still shops at Best Buy?

 

[extremepcs]

[citation][nom]masterasia[/nom]Who the hell still shops at Best Buy?[/citation]
People who refer to Google as "The Google", i.e. our parents

 

[theroguex]

Um. I think you guys are missing something here. The $329 price is for a bundled refurbished 120GB PS3. The sign is just there to show that it has the new firmware on it and can do those things. If you look to the right you can see the bundle sign that was cut off (likely on purpose) by the photographer.

I'm not trying to defend Best Buy's tactics, here, but you need to at least pay attention to the facts. Those are refurbished 120GB PS3 slims, which as their website shows, are priced at $239. Then you bundle in a second Dual Shock controller ($60) and a $30 game and that's where the $329 price comes in.

Sometimes I shake my head in shame when I see supposedly smart people posting blind ignorance on this site.

 

[thlillyr]

I was also rejected from working at best buy because I was overqualified. Do you know who got the job instead of me? A dumb blond chic I know who's computer I had to fix once cause she couldn't figure hot how to plug in the power corde. true story. Toms I would love to see you do an undercover review of nationwide computer repair chains such as geek squad data doctors and walmart up and coming one.

 

[dman3k]

BestBuy is becoming more Apple-like by the minute.

 

[gormacil]

This is nothing new, best buy has been doing this for about 2 years now. They've always mixed some of the truth with deceptive marketing tactics to sell the product/service, nothing really new here.

 

[gormacil]

@ theroguex
No, they do charge 29.99 for fireware updates, and try to push their associates to sell the "pre-setup" ones as shown in the picture. They are not bundled with extra controllers, nor anything of the like. Also, they aren't refurbished either (though shadier stores will try to pass returned ps3s/pcs as new after doing a pre-setup). As a former supervisor there, I can confirm all of this.

 

[thechief73]

No surprise that Worst Buy is doing something like this every thing about them is a scam, but as some others have said how can they even be allowed to do this? I belive Sony should put an end to it, just for thier own customers and to promote a good reputation on themselves.

When will the day come that Worst Buy customers will get smart and stop willingly throwing thier money at them just to be scammed / lied / and cheated again and again.

I for one cannot wait for the day that Worst Buy screws up so bad that some legal action is brought against them for their shady business practices or the thier ignorant customers wise up enuff that it finally closes the doors of this tech abomination.

 

[Camikazi]

[citation][nom]scipha deias[/nom]You need to go back to your store and get your $99. back. I use to work at BBY. It's against the law for them to force you to buy or deny selling you a PC thats preoptimized at the regular retail price because their is no other of that particular sku on hand without optimization. They try to force it on you so that they can push numbers for Dept/Management and district. It a very shady practice but when in doubt always remember the better business bureau.[/citation]
He did, he says he had them deduct the $99 cause he refused to pay for it.

 

[Guest]

I know what store I am boycotting.

 

[cronik93]

Why would you pay for free firmware

 

[theroguex]

@gormacil - I'm glad you're a former supervisor. But if you look at the image, you'll see that you're not paying attention to facts. Maybe they *do* charge $30 for firmware updates, but at the same time, that's not happening here, unless you're trying to tell me that they sell refubished 120GB PS3s for $299.

That is a refurbished PS3 that is bundled. The bundle flyer is RIGHT NEXT to it. Look at the image! Oh, and for the record, it's illegal to claim an item as refurbished if it's not actually refurbished. Taking in a used system, returning it to its factory defaults, upgrading its firmware, and cleaning it well *can* count as being refurbished.

 

[pjumpleby]

I would have thought that the news is everywhere that for $30 you can now hack your ps3 they would be chargine a premium for ps3 without the latest firmware version installed.

Perfect example the Google Ads below "submit my comment" says:
PS3 jailbreak only $29.99

 

[omnimodis78]

Or, you can tell them that you're going to get a service plan on it but ONLY IF you get the upgrade for free, and they give you $25 off the console, and 50% off your choice of game. Trust me, the agent will agree because they don't care about the product, they care about service plans.

 

[triculious]

I call it the "ignorance fee"... obviously most of us readers of tech sites, tech savvy individuals are hell bent on NOT paying it and consider it offensive
of course Best Buy's offer is unethical to say the least but I can assure you a very large number of people will be paying hard cash for it and be HAPPY to do so... either honest-to-god people which I feel sorry for as well as your regular snob who knows nothing about anything but will always have the most expensive stuff (not the best nor up to date, just the most expensive) for which I would be happy to charge 100 for the same "service"

 

[JonathanDeane]

[citation][nom]scott_madison1[/nom]Agreed, I applied there once and was over qualified because i had the A+ certification...[/citation]

I had the same thing happen to me.. I mean I have more certs but most techs would laugh at those.... Anyone ever asks me if they should take a PC to best buy to get it fixed I tell them "No.... that would be a mistake."

So if they only hire unqualified people then how could I recommend them?

Also this 30$ update on a system is a total scam... a USB thumb drive and like 2 minutes is all it takes. IF they charged at all it should be something like $5 at most. (My personal feeling is that it would be great customer service if something like this was free....)

 

[boogalooelectric]

Geek Squad indeed sucks.

I have three stories to share concerning them.

The first encounter was when I was returning dvd I received and already owned. The return counter at my best buy is close to the Geek Squad counter so when I was waiting in line I saw the Geek squad girl scan a hard drive on a PC she was working on, first she copied all his music, then went through is pictures and was looking for movies and such when I asked her "When you find his passwords are you going to steal those too?" She gave me a sharp irritated look then turned the monitor away from me so I couldn't see it.

Second about a year and a half ago I was having an issue with my home system, I had it narrowed down to the PSU or the mother board. I didnt have a power supply tester and all the decent private pc repair shops were closed in my area so being elbow deep in taking components out of my PC I asked my wife to call Geek Squad to see if they had a tester. My wife had the guy on speaker phone and asked him directly if he had a PSU tester. The Geek Squad dunce said "Sure bring it in we can test it, it wont even take very long."

I took my PSU out and drove all the way down there, I held it up to the Geek Squad guy (the same guy who had answered the phone I recognized his voice). He looked at he power supply and asked "Whats that?" I looked at him incredulously and told him my wife had talked to him he had told us to bring it in I had heard him say it myself on speaker phone. His stuttering, stammering reply was "I meant for you to bring the whole PC in, I can test that." I told him, "you dont even know what a power supply is why would I give you a whole pc, I obviously know more that you."

The third was my wafe wated a new laptop, we researched it and best buy had a great deal on a compaq she wanted. Only the ones on the shelf were $70 more than the add. When i inquired I was tole they had been optimized by Geek Squad, when I asked what that meant I was told they get rid of bloat ware and make the PC run faster. I laughed in the sales guys face and said "you mean they charge $70 bucks to hit the delete button on a few programs and do a defrag (I didn't know at the time Win 7 defragged itself)? Please find me one that has not been ruined by Geek Squad." The guy gave me a funny look but did as I asked.

In other words Geek Squad is (at least the ones near my home) a groups of thieves who probably dont even know how to take the side panel off of a case. And they over charge for the simplest thing.

It does not surprise me to see them fleecing people over a PS3 firmware upgrade.