Great site with wonderful selection, aggressive pricing, and free shipping!
Written: Jan 18 '04
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I felt compelled to write a review on this site based on my experiences. I see several other, very short reviews which are hacking and slashing BestBuy.com based on performance. I categorically disagree with these opinions, and feel that the site has excellent shipping, rebates, and service. I hope you weigh the date of this review and the number of my experiences against the others and give them a try, if you find something that you would like at their site!
Overall
BestBuy.com is a good website designed for online shopping. It is nicely laid out with great search features and good checkout system. This site is my second most used online computer parts ordering store, second only to Newegg.com.
Why do I utilize BestBuy.com?
I utilize BestBuy.com to buy computer parts at good prices. I usually stop by BestBuy.com, CompUSA.com, and Circuitcity.com early Sunday morning and check out their weekly ads. Since I live in rural Montana, I do not have a physical store nearby, so this is the only way I have to get cheap parts with rebates. I have bought 14 items from BestBuy.com in the past year in this fashion, and all but 1 order was filled with absolutely no problems.
Site Layout
The BestBuy.com site is mostly blue with the Best Buy logo in the upper right corner. The center of the homepage is filled with specials for your viewing interest. Along the top of the screen are some tabs that you can use to find items of interest. These include:
Computers
Music, Movies & Games
Electronics
Cameras & Camcorders
Home Appliances
Phones & Communications
Office Products
My wife and I have bought something from pretty much every category they offer, although most of our repeat purchases are in Computers or Electronics. Each one of these tabs can be clicked on to take you to that area. You can also hover the pointer icon over the tab and a dropdown menu appears with a subset of categories under each one.
While this is helpful and nicely laid out, I generally go to BestBuy.com strictly to see the weekly ad. On the homepage in the upper left corner there is a selection that simply states ‘WEEKLY AD’. Clicking on this tab will bring up another window with the current weekly ad. If you have never done this before, you will have to type in your local zip code to get the closest physical store’s advertisement, as they do sometimes have local specials as well. The Weekly Ad changes every Sunday Morning, and contains all sorts of items, from computer systems to appliances to software and music. It is generally 20-28 pages in length and has something for everyone. Today, for instance, there is a 120GB Western Digital harddrive that I am buying for $69 after rebates. You can find this by leafing through the whole ad (which is what I do) or by simply clicking on the ‘Computers and Peripherals’ tab.
Overall I like the layout of this site, and really enjoy the search engine. You can search for your item by clicking on the department across the top of the homepage and then narrowing your search by drilling down through successive screens. The CompUSA.com drilldown menu works better in my opinion, but BestBuy.com is certainly not difficult to use. You can also simply type in what you are looking for in the search entry line at the top of the page and have it pop up by itself.
One little used item by most people I know is the research center. It is a tab at the very top of the screen, about the center. If you click on this, a menu will appear that will allow you to see reviews of movies, games, etc. More importantly, under the electronics, computers, and other tabs, you will find user guides and FAQ’s to help you understand items in more depth. Interested in how to wireless network your home? Aside from Epinions, you can also get information at BestBuy.com There are several areas of interest you can research here, so take a look!
Ordering page
I decided that I wanted to buy the 120GB hard drive, and then proceeded to my cart for checkout. The site gives you two options, either to create/use an account to checkout or check out without creating an account. As I have ordered from here before, I plugged in my account name (email address in most cases) and password, and I was in my cart ready to check out.
The site guided me to checkout. The checkout screen will automatically bring up your address and credit card information, if you have entered it in the past and asked the site to remember it. The first screen is Delivery or Pickup, where you choose to go to the store to pick up the item or have it delivered. I always deliver, as I live hundreds of miles from a store. The next screen is Shipping method, where you plug in which shipping method you would like to use. I will talk more about that later. Next is the Payment Options screen, where you can change your method from the saved credit card if you would like. I did not, so I proceeded forward to the submit screen. However, you cannot simply proceed from this point to pay for the item, as there is the potential for someone to steal your password to the site. Therefore, the site uses the CID number on the back of the credit cards to ensure that you are the proper person to use the method of payment.
After you enter all information and press Submit to place the order, it brings up a confirmation page with your order confirmation number attached. The site asks you to print the page, which I always do. It also tells you that a confirmation email will be sent shortly to your account. I timed it today, as I was preparing to write this review. It took a little over a half of a minute to generate the email and fly through the internet to my account. This is about as fast as it gets. The day that your order ships out, you will receive a shipping notification as well. Also, if your order is backordered, the site is very good about letting you know this so that you do not have to constantly go back to the site to check on this.
Shipping(and Handling)
Shipping at this site is second only to Newegg.com. The site allows for free ground shipping, which in my experience takes approximately 5 days to reach my house from the day the order was placed. Newegg is also free, but takes between 2 and 3 days. Not a big deal, as they are both free, but it is noticeable. You can also accelerate the order by getting second day delivery for a $3.00 charge or next day air for only $6.00. Does that seem unreal to anyone else? Only $6 for next day? Like I said, it is second only to Newegg!
On the shipping confirmation email you will find a link to your account, from which you can track the package. You will need to open a new window with the order details on it, and then from that page open yet another page to the tracking information. Not a big deal, but at CompUSA.com you have all the information including tracking right there on the first page that comes up.
All of my packages have been shipped securely and safely. The packages always have several air packs in them to keep the sensitive electronics from bouncing around and breaking. The boxes are taped together well and have never come apart.
Annoyances/Areas to Improve
There is very little that I think BestBuy.com could improve on. One minor annoyance is the fact that through the course of searching and ordering, your browser will open up several new windows as you go. First of all, the Weekly Ad tab opens a new browser. Now if you select an item to get more detail on, it will go back to the original window and open the details on the item. During checkout it will pop up a new window at least once, and when you come back to track your package, you will open a minimum of three windows.
The only other improvement would be to create an email listing that would send out specials/announcements email when sales come up. This may exist, but I have not found it yet. I know that this particular item has sucked me in to buy items from OfficeDepot.com and OfficeMax.com in the past, so it appears to be a good gimmick.
Customer Service
I mentioned above that I have had one poorly executed order out of all of my orders. It was actually not a big problem, but a minor annoyance. I found a hard drive on a Weekly Ad that I wanted, so I ordered it. Usually the ad will tell you when the item is out of stock and will not allow you to order. In this case, I must have been right under the wire and I was able to place the order. I received the email with the order confirmation, and a few days later an other email stating that the item was out of stock and would not be sent for another 10 days. This particular item was a good deal on rebate, and not so good without it. I immediately called the customer service line and cancelled the order, with no problems whatsoever. The contact information is below:
Phone: 1-800-BEST-BUY
Mail: BestBuy.com
Customer Care
P.O. Box 949
Minneapolis, MN 55440
Email: There is a form on the site to send emails, to which they respond very quickly.
By phone, the person was very helpful and understanding. They even spoke English, and very well! The order was cancelled, the charges were reversed, and there were no fees or questions regarding why.
The Final Word
BestBuy.com is a very good site with great shipping options and second to only one delivery time. This is one of my most frequently used web stores, and only trails the real thing by a little bit. You cannot replicate the feeling of walking through an Electronics superstore in your home, but this is close!
I hope this review helps you, and please leave me feedback ratings or comments!
Other reviews of interest
My best friend, Newegg.com:
http://www.epinions.com/content_124769439364
CompUSA.com, a good electronics parts store:
http://www.epinions.com/content_125633334916
OldNavy.com, a great clothing outlet online:
http://www.epinions.com/content_126399581828
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? All types of items over the past year
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