I think that many of the people posting in this thread are mis-classifying themselves as "devils". Taking advantage of a sale on CDs or legally using a rebate does not, by itself, class you as a devil. The "devil" is a customer who buys multiple items as loss-leaders only to resell them on Ebay, or someone who buys a rebated item, returns it after submitting the rebate, and then attempts to re-buy the item after it is marked down as "opened" I really don't swallow the idea that 20% of Best Buys customers are doing this. Mainly because the average bargain shopper doesn't have the time to run around buying, snipping, mailing, rebating, returning, rebuying... for what? Maybe $10 here, $50 there. I think that what Best Buy is not saying directly is that it is considering a move towards higher-end sales driving most of their business. This might mean cutting out price-matching all together or reducing the number of loss-leaders advertised or changing the profile of merchandise that they stock in store.
Personally, I think that this is a bad move for their business. If you alienate your customers at one point in your business cycle, you are not likely to EVER get them back. A bargain shopper who is currently in college and only buys CDs on sale or shops around for a rebate on a video card or office chair, will eventually graduate and get a family and a better job. If he/she has a positive history with BB, then they will be much more likely to consider that same store when they have the money and the "need" for new appliances or a plasma screen TV. Shoppers circumstances change over time. If it were my company to run, I would think long and hard about "firing" any of my customers.
|