Best Buy Responds to my Bashing by Eliminating Restocking Fees

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On December 15, I absolutely ripped Best Buy’s return policy (calling it one of the 5 worst return policies) for it’s excessive re-stocking fees and short return time-frames (only 14 days on many electronics). I made the following statement:

Best Buy’s return policy in both prohibitive in the number of days you have to return and also complex in what items you can return within those time frames. Throw in re-stocking fees, and you provide a very poor all around customer experience. I’m not sure how long this particular policy has been around, but with Circuit City closing shop, Best Buy has a dominating market position in brick & mortar consumer electronics that has allowed them to institute/keep this type of policy without losing ground to the competition.
As I highlighted last week, Costco’s return policy, allows 90 days on all electronics and unlimited on everything else. Simple, customer friendly, and reasonable. All of which, Best Buy’s return policy is not.

On December 17, just two days later, Best Buy released a company statement:

Best Buy continually listens to our customers, and they told us they want to give confidently this holiday season and every other day of the year — and with that comes easier returns. Effective Saturday, December 18, Best Buy is improving its return policy by removing restocking fees for all products except special orders.

I’m not going to single-handedly take credit for the change, but just two days later? It’ll boost my ego if I say it is more than just coincidence.

Props to Best Buy for listening. You made a step in the right direction, but you’re not all the way there. Just 14 days to return computers, monitors, projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, iPad, tablets and radar detectors is way too few. Costco is 90 days – don’t you think you could at least boost it to 30? If you do, I’ll take you off my retailer shit list. Come on, you can do it. Tis the season for giving.