Best Buy, sells worst buy for Nexus 5 no contract.

[ACTIONpack]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/2/5058086/best-buy-charging-799-for-nexus-5-off-contract

10

inShare

Buying a Nexus 5 without a contract at Best Buy is going to be expensive. Very expensive. The massive US retail chain has priced off-contract purchases at an eye-popping $799.99 according to a new Sprint listing on its website. That's for the 16GB model, which sells for $349 at Google Play. Even Sprint itself isn't asking for that much; the carrier is charging $449.99 for the device at full cost ? $100 more than Google. Best Buy has tacked on an extra $350 to that figure, instantly putting off-contract purchases out of reach for most customers. The company routinely prices "replacement" devices well above their normal suggested retail price, but we've rarely seen a gap as massive as this one.

Best Buy has stayed relatively mum on its Nexus 5 plans since Google's announcement, so the listed replacement price may be some sort of placeholder or error. There's also the possibility that the retailer will offer the Nexus 5 alongside other Google hardware (Chromebooks, Chromecast, etc.) at a lower rate. Many Best Buy locations now feature special Google sections that showcase the company's offerings. After Thursday's announcement, many had hoped that the Nexus 5 would appear there at its more affordable $349.99 price point. We've reached out to both Best Buy and Google for clarification on Nexus 5 pricing and availability.

Thanks, TheLightDivided!

Update: Several hours after this story was posted, Best Buy quietly lowered the Nexus 5's off-contract price to $449.99. This matches Sprint's MSRP and is far more reasonable than the original $799.99 pre-order r

[Growled Member]

They aren't called Worst Buy for nothing. Just wow. I'd just buy from Google.

[webeagle12]

Best Buy is a last place I would go to buy anything tech related.  Worst store ever!

[Ironman273]

I don't know what you're all on about.  It's a great store!  I go there and browse thousands of items to purchase before I go home and order them from Amazon!  Great store, I tell you.

[techbeck]

Best Buy changed their price.  They are only marking it up $100 from the Play store price.

[Dot Matrix]

Best Buy changed their price.  They are only marking it up $100 from the Play store price.

It's retail. Everything is always marked up compared from buying direct, no matter which retail outlet you go to. They need to turn a profit.

[techbeck]

It's retail. Everything is always marked up compared from buying direct, no matter which retail outlet you go to. They need to turn a profit.

 

Of course, but marking it up $350 was insane.

[Growled Member]

It's retail. Everything is always marked up compared from buying direct, no matter which retail outlet you go to. They need to turn a profit.

 

It's still too high. This is the reason that Worst Buy is having financial problems. They charge too much for everything.

[Randolph]

LOL

[Shiranui]

I don't know what you're all on about.  It's a great store!  I go there and browse thousands of items to purchase before I go home and order them from Amazon!  Great store, I tell you.

As far as I'm concerned, physical stores don't exist anymore - only showrooms.

[Rohdekill]

Whatever happened to them price matching?  Or, do they jack up the prices to rip off everyone that forgets to ask about the price match?

 

I too, use the store for the sole purpose of try-before-buy, then order on-line.  Just because they are local and can match a price does not mean I want to deal with their stupid support policies when something goes wrong.

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

Retail stores don't usually price match web stores anyway, they have strict rules about them. Like they'll only match a store if it's within a certain mile radius and they'll only match selected competitors. I don't know how Best Buy's works but I'm willing to bet it's very strict.