Circuit City No price match on HD TV at local circuity city! Bridgewater New Jersey

I work with Circuit City, and their Unbeatable Price Guarantee is explained fully on their website. http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/lookLearn.do?cat=-13318&edOid=105471 The FAQs are helpful in explaining the details, but it's pretty straightforward. If you have any issues with Circuit City in the future, feel free to send an e-mail to consumer_affairs [at] circuitcity.com. They should be able to help you out.

"Find a lower advertised price from another local store with the same item in stock, and we'll gladly beat their price by 10% of the difference. Plus, if you see a lower advertised price within 30 days of your purchase with us, we'll refund 100% of the difference.

Circuit City's Unbeatable Price Guarantee does not apply to services, nor does it apply to special offers or promotions, including rebates, mail-in offers, free-with-purchase offers, limited quantity offers, bundled promotions and special financing. Circuit City's Unbeatable Price Guarantee does not apply to products and services offered by third parties operating in Circuit City's stores."


I would assume when they say it does not apply to promo's it means sales which may be why they would not do it.

I was in a Naples, Florida Circuit City store earlier this afternoon (05/10/08) and wanted to relate what a poor experience I had when attempting to purchase a television. A friend purchased a Magnavox 32" LCD TV ( Model# 32MF337B, UPC# 609585126893) from Wal Mart on 05/08/08 for $399.00 .( it is a rollback special, discontinued item) I took his valid receipt with valid UPC (# 609585126893) into a Circuit City and was basically laughed at because that particular TV was 799.99 on the Circuit City shelf and 599.99 on Circuit City web site. ( which is odd in and of itself that the web site price and store price would be that much different on the same identical TV, bigtime frigging scam there) .
Shaun in the TV/Electronics department alledgedly spoke to his direct manager and then came back and stated " No , we cannot sell the TV for that price because we paid more then that for it." I told him you've got to be kidding me!!!! I'm very sorry to hear your profit margin is not what you would like it to be, nor that he would not get as large a commission as he would if he sold said TV at 799.99 but WTF. What a horrible experience. I was going to get a TV TODAY. Now I will go to one of the competitors BECAUSE of this particular incident!!!!
What a joke Circuit City's "unbeatable price guarantee" is . Why do they even bother to advertising something that they have no intentions of honoring? Can you say false advertisement? They should do themselves a favor and take that slogan down before someone ends up suing them for false advertisement AND winning.
What a scam .This is an in stock TV that is currently being phased out and was advertised by WalMart. It is being discontinued because it a 2007 model to make way for the 2008 models (Model# 32 MF 338 B ) .

I would've bought it at Wal Mart but all the local stores were out of stock already and I couldn't find out in two counties. I thought Circuit City could AND would do better, I was obviously wrong. How sad that they have employees more concerned with commission in their pocket and money in their till then a happy customer walking out their door and WANTING to actually return next time they need an item. I must say today was an eye opening experience into how these stores operate and how much of a scam Circuit City Stores are. To be blatantly honest I seriously doubt I will ever set foot in a Circuit City again, I will go elsewhere to find things I used to enjoy getting at their chains.
Quite the scam they have going . Stacy

this is not even worth it. if CC did not want to give you the tv for the sale price of the competitor then you should just have buy it at the other cometitor store.

You could certainly try and name the competition as many others have named companies with no problem. Your excuse is just really lame and lacks credibility and the chance for people to investigate. Or even go to the competitor and pay an alleged good price on a TV. Really see no harm in that and it would accomplsh what you want to do with this report and that is deny CC customers. I don't HAVE to take any jibberish written on the internet a a fact-especially when some ignorant a*s says I have to.

CC stated they couldn't sell the unit to you at the price because they would not make any money according to your own report. That would indicate to a reasonable person that the price you were asking them to sell it for was their cost. THAT'S what says they would be selling it at that. Unfortunately, the consumer is not the one in the position to determine if a company makes money by "X" profit margin.

As the consumer, we really do not know what their profit margin would be because we do not hold their invoice in front us. It is very reasonable to say that possibly the competition got a better deal on the TVs because the company bought a larger quantity than CC. That's how it works alot of the time in retail.

So you also state that the competition is local, yet your excuse for not going to them to get this great deal was that they were not accessible yet CC was. Kind if a contradiction. And no one is going to pay you time and gas to go shopping. That's just a retarded assertion to make. Do you charge the grocery store for time and gas to shop there? I read carefully and that is why there are questions. It's funny watching someone get all worked up because they didn't get what they wanted.

Now, go attack the other rebuttal that doesn't agree with you.

You could certainly try and name the competition as many others have named companies with no problem. Your excuse is just really lame and lacks credibility and the chance for people to investigate. Or even go to the competitor and pay an alleged good price on a TV. Really see no harm in that and it would accomplsh what you want to do with this report and that is deny CC customers. I don't HAVE to take any jibberish written on the internet a a fact-especially when some ignorant a*s says I have to.

CC stated they couldn't sell the unit to you at the price because they would not make any money according to your own report. That would indicate to a reasonable person that the price you were asking them to sell it for was their cost. THAT'S what says they would be selling it at that. Unfortunately, the consumer is not the one in the position to determine if a company makes money by "X" profit margin.

As the consumer, we really do not know what their profit margin would be because we do not hold their invoice in front us. It is very reasonable to say that possibly the competition got a better deal on the TVs because the company bought a larger quantity than CC. That's how it works alot of the time in retail.

So you also state that the competition is local, yet your excuse for not going to them to get this great deal was that they were not accessible yet CC was. Kind if a contradiction. And no one is going to pay you time and gas to go shopping. That's just a retarded assertion to make. Do you charge the grocery store for time and gas to shop there? I read carefully and that is why there are questions. It's funny watching someone get all worked up because they didn't get what they wanted.

Now, go attack the other rebuttal that doesn't agree with you.

You could certainly try and name the competition as many others have named companies with no problem. Your excuse is just really lame and lacks credibility and the chance for people to investigate. Or even go to the competitor and pay an alleged good price on a TV. Really see no harm in that and it would accomplsh what you want to do with this report and that is deny CC customers. I don't HAVE to take any jibberish written on the internet a a fact-especially when some ignorant a*s says I have to.

CC stated they couldn't sell the unit to you at the price because they would not make any money according to your own report. That would indicate to a reasonable person that the price you were asking them to sell it for was their cost. THAT'S what says they would be selling it at that. Unfortunately, the consumer is not the one in the position to determine if a company makes money by "X" profit margin.

As the consumer, we really do not know what their profit margin would be because we do not hold their invoice in front us. It is very reasonable to say that possibly the competition got a better deal on the TVs because the company bought a larger quantity than CC. That's how it works alot of the time in retail.

So you also state that the competition is local, yet your excuse for not going to them to get this great deal was that they were not accessible yet CC was. Kind if a contradiction. And no one is going to pay you time and gas to go shopping. That's just a retarded assertion to make. Do you charge the grocery store for time and gas to shop there? I read carefully and that is why there are questions. It's funny watching someone get all worked up because they didn't get what they wanted.

Now, go attack the other rebuttal that doesn't agree with you.

You could certainly try and name the competition as many others have named companies with no problem. Your excuse is just really lame and lacks credibility and the chance for people to investigate. Or even go to the competitor and pay an alleged good price on a TV. Really see no harm in that and it would accomplsh what you want to do with this report and that is deny CC customers. I don't HAVE to take any jibberish written on the internet a a fact-especially when some ignorant a*s says I have to.

CC stated they couldn't sell the unit to you at the price because they would not make any money according to your own report. That would indicate to a reasonable person that the price you were asking them to sell it for was their cost. THAT'S what says they would be selling it at that. Unfortunately, the consumer is not the one in the position to determine if a company makes money by "X" profit margin.

As the consumer, we really do not know what their profit margin would be because we do not hold their invoice in front us. It is very reasonable to say that possibly the competition got a better deal on the TVs because the company bought a larger quantity than CC. That's how it works alot of the time in retail.

So you also state that the competition is local, yet your excuse for not going to them to get this great deal was that they were not accessible yet CC was. Kind if a contradiction. And no one is going to pay you time and gas to go shopping. That's just a retarded assertion to make. Do you charge the grocery store for time and gas to shop there? I read carefully and that is why there are questions. It's funny watching someone get all worked up because they didn't get what they wanted.

Now, go attack the other rebuttal that doesn't agree with you.

To make sure there is no confusion, in your first response you stated

"I told them exactly what the situation was - that the ad showed the LCD TV to be on sale only on the 31st."

You say you had to tell them what the ad showed. Does this mean that you did not take the physical ad in with you on the 30th to ask about the price match.

Okay, here goes my reply to the last rebuttal: I do not mention the competition because there is no need to and maybe the editorial staff would remove the name anyways. Just believe me that I am telling the truth. There is competition - take it for a fact. There were NO OTHER conditions of the sale. Show up on that day, have the money to pay, and buy the TV at the price. I know because I already did this on another High Def LCD TV advertized for a longer number of days by that same competition (without any loopholes, limited quantities, or other "condition" as you imply there would be. It was a different TV but was also a very low price - in fact lower than any advertized price for that TV at any retail store in my area AND also online. I have had the TV for several weeks and it seems fine.

NO mail in rebate was needed for either advertized TV. Who said they gave it away at cost? It was a great price but if one assumes that the wholesale cost to them is say, between 40-70% of the selling price, I would say they still made some money on the sale. Why should another company do the same? BECAUSE THEY SAID THEY WILL --- IN WRITING. It's not me (or any other consumer) who came up with their written price matching policy.

Why is my vendetta jaded?? You say since I didn't buy the TV, I wasn't ripped off. Well I don't have it do I? Why not you may ask? Because I couldn't leave work to drive to the competiton AND CC didn't follow through on their price-matching policy that THEY wrote!!! So, to me, that is getting ripped off. And by the way, CC didn't volunteer to pay me for my time and gas to go to their store so they could tell me they won't honor their written business policies.

Read carefully. There were NO other conditions, rebates, height and weight (of the customer) restrictions on the sale. Sorry if you don't want to believe me. It's fact.

price matching, the first result is their policy. There seems to be some interpretation needed. I also think that you can not bash them in a report and not provide the alleged competition and exactly what their conditions were. I suspect there was some sort of mail in rebate and CC states that is not to be considered, etc but I'm sure you will state there is none.

You should have just bought the TV at the competition's store. If they had no problem giving the TV away at their cost and make absolutely no money, that's their loss. Why should another company do the same? Your vendetta just seems jaded. You certainly were not ripped off. You didn't even make a purchase.

price matching, the first result is their policy. There seems to be some interpretation needed. I also think that you can not bash them in a report and not provide the alleged competition and exactly what their conditions were. I suspect there was some sort of mail in rebate and CC states that is not to be considered, etc but I'm sure you will state there is none.

You should have just bought the TV at the competition's store. If they had no problem giving the TV away at their cost and make absolutely no money, that's their loss. Why should another company do the same? Your vendetta just seems jaded. You certainly were not ripped off. You didn't even make a purchase.

price matching, the first result is their policy. There seems to be some interpretation needed. I also think that you can not bash them in a report and not provide the alleged competition and exactly what their conditions were. I suspect there was some sort of mail in rebate and CC states that is not to be considered, etc but I'm sure you will state there is none.

You should have just bought the TV at the competition's store. If they had no problem giving the TV away at their cost and make absolutely no money, that's their loss. Why should another company do the same? Your vendetta just seems jaded. You certainly were not ripped off. You didn't even make a purchase.

I don't get it folks. When it comes to any store's policies on guarantees, including price-matching, whatever is in fine print (or ANY print for that matter) is what matters. NOWHERE in CC's written price-matching policy does it mention that they won't price match if the sale price is only for one day. Have you ever seen a SALE price that isn't limited by time in some fashion? How is a SALE defined? Isn't it a essentially a LOWER price for a limited period of time? Where's the DUH in expecting them to price match a SALE price.

What does the amount of time the SALE is on have to do with it? IF CC specifies that ONE DAY sales don't qualify for price-matching, that would be different. CC does NOT specify this in writting anywhere. So, ipso facto, the price should be matched!!! No ifs, buts, or whatever.

If you folks would like to contact CC and tell them you want to re-write their price-matching policy to suit what you feel is fair to them, then I suggest you do that. Until then, in a court of law, what is in writing is what CC would be held accountable for. And I have already indicated that the item is one normally carried by the store with the low price. It was advertized the next day at a similarly low price so and should have been in stock on the day FOLLOWING the day in question! I just didn't see this ad in time to react.

Price matching does not mean CC will match the price of some one-off item at a store being sold for one day only. That's not a serious price by any stretch of the imagination. If that store had several of the items being sold for the week(as ALL sales are done), then CC would do a price match. The fact that the store only offered the item for one day is your clue.

DUH!!!

"CC only price matches when it feels like it (when they can still make a healthy profit as they see it)"

This makes good business sense to me, I would do the same.

I admit it my description of the situation was somewhat misleading. I went to Circuit City on Sunday, the 30th of December and asked if they would price match on the 31st of December, IF I CAME BACK on the 31st of December. I told them exactly what the situation was - that the ad showed the LCD TV to be on sale only on the 31st. So, they knew it wouldn't be until the next day. I was going to be working on the 31st but would have been able to go to the Circuit City on the 31st at lunch time to make the purchase if they told me they would be willing to price match on the 31st. They told me they would not be able to do that as I stated in my original complaint on this site. I knew ALL the issues you expressed in your rebuttal before I went there. None applied. They was NO mention of limited quantities in the competitor's ad for the one day sale. In fact, as I mentioned, the TV is a very popular brand, a current model, and was advertized in sale again on the following day at the same store for a little bit more (New Year's Day). I knew that if C.C called the other store and it wasn't in stock, they would not have to price match (true test of limited quantities). This TV was NOT discontinued or an off-brand or obsure model, as I said before. Also, nothing in their price-matching policy says that if it is a "big ticket" item, I would be given a hard time in trying to get a price-match. Sorry, but this is an absurd argument in a rebuttal. They would need to carefully specify that the price-match policy is null and void if the item costs above $xx number of dollars, or something to that effect. So, all in all, except that you didn't fully understand what I was saying, there is no substance whatsoever to your rebuttal!!! CC only price matches when it feels like it (when they can still make a healthy profit as they see it)

I admit it my description of the situation was somewhat misleading. I went to Circuit City on Sunday, the 30th of December and asked if they would price match on the 31st of December, IF I CAME BACK on the 31st of December. I told them exactly what the situation was - that the ad showed the LCD TV to be on sale only on the 31st. So, they knew it wouldn't be until the next day. I was going to be working on the 31st but would have been able to go to the Circuit City on the 31st at lunch time to make the purchase if they told me they would be willing to price match on the 31st. They told me they would not be able to do that as I stated in my original complaint on this site. I knew ALL the issues you expressed in your rebuttal before I went there. None applied. They was NO mention of limited quantities in the competitor's ad for the one day sale. In fact, as I mentioned, the TV is a very popular brand, a current model, and was advertized in sale again on the following day at the same store for a little bit more (New Year's Day). I knew that if C.C called the other store and it wasn't in stock, they would not have to price match (true test of limited quantities). This TV was NOT discontinued or an off-brand or obsure model, as I said before. Also, nothing in their price-matching policy says that if it is a "big ticket" item, I would be given a hard time in trying to get a price-match. Sorry, but this is an absurd argument in a rebuttal. They would need to carefully specify that the price-match policy is null and void if the item costs above $xx number of dollars, or something to that effect. So, all in all, except that you didn't fully understand what I was saying, there is no substance whatsoever to your rebuttal!!! CC only price matches when it feels like it (when they can still make a healthy profit as they see it)

I admit it my description of the situation was somewhat misleading. I went to Circuit City on Sunday, the 30th of December and asked if they would price match on the 31st of December, IF I CAME BACK on the 31st of December. I told them exactly what the situation was - that the ad showed the LCD TV to be on sale only on the 31st. So, they knew it wouldn't be until the next day. I was going to be working on the 31st but would have been able to go to the Circuit City on the 31st at lunch time to make the purchase if they told me they would be willing to price match on the 31st. They told me they would not be able to do that as I stated in my original complaint on this site. I knew ALL the issues you expressed in your rebuttal before I went there. None applied. They was NO mention of limited quantities in the competitor's ad for the one day sale. In fact, as I mentioned, the TV is a very popular brand, a current model, and was advertized in sale again on the following day at the same store for a little bit more (New Year's Day). I knew that if C.C called the other store and it wasn't in stock, they would not have to price match (true test of limited quantities). This TV was NOT discontinued or an off-brand or obsure model, as I said before. Also, nothing in their price-matching policy says that if it is a "big ticket" item, I would be given a hard time in trying to get a price-match. Sorry, but this is an absurd argument in a rebuttal. They would need to carefully specify that the price-match policy is null and void if the item costs above $xx number of dollars, or something to that effect. So, all in all, except that you didn't fully understand what I was saying, there is no substance whatsoever to your rebuttal!!! CC only price matches when it feels like it (when they can still make a healthy profit as they see it)

I admit it my description of the situation was somewhat misleading. I went to Circuit City on Sunday, the 30th of December and asked if they would price match on the 31st of December, IF I CAME BACK on the 31st of December. I told them exactly what the situation was - that the ad showed the LCD TV to be on sale only on the 31st. So, they knew it wouldn't be until the next day. I was going to be working on the 31st but would have been able to go to the Circuit City on the 31st at lunch time to make the purchase if they told me they would be willing to price match on the 31st. They told me they would not be able to do that as I stated in my original complaint on this site. I knew ALL the issues you expressed in your rebuttal before I went there. None applied. They was NO mention of limited quantities in the competitor's ad for the one day sale. In fact, as I mentioned, the TV is a very popular brand, a current model, and was advertized in sale again on the following day at the same store for a little bit more (New Year's Day). I knew that if C.C called the other store and it wasn't in stock, they would not have to price match (true test of limited quantities). This TV was NOT discontinued or an off-brand or obsure model, as I said before. Also, nothing in their price-matching policy says that if it is a "big ticket" item, I would be given a hard time in trying to get a price-match. Sorry, but this is an absurd argument in a rebuttal. They would need to carefully specify that the price-match policy is null and void if the item costs above $xx number of dollars, or something to that effect. So, all in all, except that you didn't fully understand what I was saying, there is no substance whatsoever to your rebuttal!!! CC only price matches when it feels like it (when they can still make a healthy profit as they see it)

The thing that does not make sense is your timing. You said you had to go into the Circuit City last night, because you had to work on December 31st. If it was a one day sale for December 31st, then why would you go into Circuit City on December 30th and expect them to price match. If it was a 1 day sale on December 30th, then why would it matter if you had to work on December 31st.

In most cases it is very hard to get a company to "Price Match", especially the big-ticket items. In your case since it was a one-day sale most likey somewhere in the ad it said "limited quantity", which a majority of these 1 day(door-buster) items will be. One item that Circuit City(and most other stores) exclude is any limited quantity sales.