Hidden camera investigation: Best Buy electronics (Marketplace)

Best Buy says refurbished tech on its third-party seller marketplace is like new at a lower price. We tested that claim and went inside stores with hidden cameras to find out what employees think about the products.

#Refurbished #Tech #CBCMarketplace

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[kayhud]

Honestly Best buy shouldn’t have marketplace included with their website, it should be a separate business altogether

[dr]

What's worse is many of these broken "refurbished" things are only on discount for a small amount. At that point, you might as well just buy new.

[jamesyount]

Telling non-tech-savvy people to install freeware diagnostic tools on their pc is dangerous considering all of the malware out there.

[DrcJr]

I'm retired from over 2 decades of working on phones and computers. The only problem I see is the listing. You have A, B, and C stock items. So far the problem I see is the inaccurate listings from sellers. There is no general standard of these grades. It always falls back to, "You get what you pay for" mentality. My opinion of these grades are as follows: A (Mint Condition - works Perfect) B (light cosmetic defects - works perfect) C ( light to heavy cosmetic defects - works perfect ) In summary the grade is only for cosmetics. If it is for sell it should always work perfect or it is to be parted out.

[Bremend]

Never buy anything refurbished with a battery that you cannot easily replace

[brandon]

Step 1: turn on sold by best buy
Step 2: don't buy refurbished.

[jamesbones]

As someone who worked at best buy selling computers, I knew the open box computers were unreliable. I never sold them until my managers basically forced me to and got mad. The open box computers are supposed to be checked over or certified by geek squad to ensure their functionality. Out of quite a lot of open box that I sold, I would say well over 70% of them were brought back or returned with issues. From my personal experience with open box, Ive never had good experiences. I know this is not a refurbished item but if their open box is like this, I cant imagine how good their refurb products are.

[mrgoats]

Did you really just do an entire piece on an old couple that complained that their iPad is telling them to charge it every few days?

[kylethenerd]

I used to work for Best Buy for almost 7 years, and was in customer service for part of that time. I completely echo what the other employees said about marketplace and used to tell customers the same thing. Two things need to happen. First, Best Buy needs to start making their messaging more clear and transparent regarding the condition of marketplace items. Second, consumers need to start paying better attention to who they’re buying from when they shop online. Research is important especially as we move further and further into this age of e-commerce. Amazon and Walmart have a marketplace section too, so always check who the product is shipped and sold by.

[GankTown]

Chris standin on the hill staring at the best buy that finessed him

[lucianorosel]

Great investigative reporting, I'd rather spend the extra money for new than to struggle with a refurbished unit.

[roxcyn]

I didn’t even know Best Buy had a third party area. Thanks for letting me know, guys.

[eyuzik]

Weird how a tablet would need to be charged every few days...

[davisbyer]

These 3rd party sellers are basically built to take advantage of those who aren’t savvy shopping online, and the retailers like BB and Walmart are profiting off it too, as they are taking a cut of the profit to host the sellers listings.

[jayc]

I love that this show exists and try’s to hold companies accountable.

[TravJam]

I used to work at a competing retailer and I felt the same thing about marketplace items on our retail site. I discouraged people from even buying new items, because I'd seen so many customers who were left with nothing because some of the marketplace companies either made returning items difficult, wouldn't accept returns or were unable to be reached for a return at all. I've often wondered if other retailers had this problem with their marketplace, and I can see that (at least in the case of Best Buy) they do.

[MichaelRockfez]

Props to the BestBuy employees for honesty and their knowledge.

[UNKA]

yea, I typically NEVER do refurbished items, at all. the cost is typically not that impressive, and you never know what kind of wear and tear they were put through prior.

[jimorangecityfl]

Most interesting. I've worked in the Automotive industry for over 40 years.
In the Automotive industry, there are 4 different grades for replacement parts & products. New, Remanufactured, Rebuilt, and repaired.
Remanufactured is considered the highest level below New and is a part or product that has been thourouly disassembled and reassembled replacing anything necessary with new parts to bring the unit back to New specifications.
Some examples would include Alternators, Starter Motors, Brake calipers, etc.

[steelsteez]

With a lake front house like that, with that view, a broken tablet purchased form a third party seller would be the last thing on my mind.