Best Buy Promotes Black Friday Price Guarantee, but Lower Prices Found Elsewhere

Best Buy trumpeted $229 4K TVs in a customer email blast Friday. When customers clicked on the “Shop now” tab, they were directed to a page that didn’t disclose the brand or model of the $229 set. Instead, there was another “Shop Now” tab. Observant shoppers noticed a banner on the left side of the page for “Black Friday prices guaranteed now on select premium TVs and home theater products” through Oct. 20. If the price of qualified products goes lower before Black Friday, “we will send you a refund for the difference,” the copy reads. The 16 products appeared to be mostly from brands or higher end models that aren’t highly discounted: four Sony TVs (three OLED), four QLED Samsung TVs, an LG NanoCell TV, speakers and subwoofers from Definitive Technology and MartinLogan, a Denon receiver, Sanus wall mount and Panamax power products. Best Buy’s $2,499 Black Friday price on the Sony XBR75X950G 75-inch LED TV was a dollar more than the price at Crutchfield and matched those at P.C. Richard and Rakuten, we found. The 82-inch Samsung QN82Q80RAFXZA QLED TV was shown at $3,499 Friday at bestbuy.com and Samsung.com, $3,497 at B&H Photo and $3,074 at Office Max. Rakuten beat the Best Buy price on the LG 75-inch 75SM9070PUA LED TV by $200 Friday, Crutchfield came in under by three bucks. Meanwhile, the $229 4K TV, once shoppers got past the Black Friday advertisement, was revealed to be a Vizio 40-inch V405-G9 smart model at $70 off suggested retail.