Here is how I get a lot of expensive items for less at one of the biggest chains that is in most cities and areas. Best Buy has a practice of putting things on the shelf that are known as "open items". What is an open item? It is an item that may vary in the status of it having been opened, returned, a floor model, last one in stock, discontinued model, missing: manuals, accessories, cables, connections, or cases, or the box and/or packaging itself. Some items that will not be made open items out of shelf stock, are certain very high end cameras and laptops that actually belong to the manufacturer who places them there for the display. Sometimes, the brand name company will not want substandard units to be sold at all. However, Ipads, Macintosh's, Dell, most of those are fair game. So here are some tips and tricks to be aware of when you are buying "open items" from best buy and how to get the best bang or keep from losing money on them! The first thing to remember is that Best Buy is a customer service based NON-COMMISSION environment, so in this case there are a couple things to expect from them and call them out on. One is to always make sure that, since people are people and sometimes errors can occur: that the items that are "open items" have been inspected, and the status of that item is with all the needed information about what stuff it may be missing like cables, lithium batteries, remotes, etc.. are listed on the sticker that clearly states "open item" which should be affixed to the product. Always get an associate to help you when buying these items. The good part is, that items like tvs or cameras, very high end items, that were either shelf items or returns and do not have a cable or battery with it, may be deeply discounted. So for example, you find a shelf item, like a high definition Samsung tv flat screen model 1080p, 160hz, 32", normally selling at 400 bucks brand new, you can often find it for around 230 dollars if it does not have a cable, or a remote. Be sure to have the associate turn it on and demonstrate all of it's features and go in the back and look for these items, which they usually do. The way to find these deals is for sure to go there a lot when your in the market for a high end item. You can usually return an item that is an open item, and you can also place the repair plans on them as well, so be sure to double check the time frame for those things, because there might be some restrictions, especially during the holidays. The best things are things like DSLR cameras, TVs, but anything really, because if your dishwasher broke and they have a floor model, you really save a bundle. Some things to look out for though, would be to fully test the item in the store. In cameras, remember that availability and price of lithium ION batteries for open items that don't have them, can make the discount not such a good idea, most lithium ion batteries are around 40 to 60 dollars, so that Fujifine pix for 30 buck as an open item without a battery could end up costing the same as a brand new one.
We have purchased a flat screen TV that was a floor model at a deep discount because it was the floor model and had no remote with it. That is a good way to save some when purchasing big ticket items.
