PriceRunner.com Harshes On Black Friday Sales
- November 29th, 2006
- 2 Comments
Here are a handful of the site’s other findings, though:
— A popular Philips 50PF7320A HP Plasma TV was advertised by Costco for $1,999.99, while the exact same product can be found online for only $1,645.00, an 18% and $355.00 savings.
– Another popular HD Plasma TV - the Panasonic TH-50PX60U - was advertised by CompUSA for $2,499.99, while it could be found online for only $1,845.11 - saving a whopping $655.00!
– Consumers could save over 20% and $180.00 by buying the Canon EOS 400 Rebel XTi digital camera online at $719.00, vs. Best Buy’s advertised price of $899.99.
– Holiday budgets are sure to be stretched if consumers buy their Vizio 50″ P50HDTV10A HD Plasma TV from Circuit City at $1,499.99 rather than online, where the lowest price found was $1,898.00 - a nearly $400 and 21% savings.
What really hoses this comparison for me though is that it didn’t take into account shipping charges or taxes. So you may or may not be getting as good a deal as the site nets you.
Ed (Who am I?)
1 year ago
The other thing I bet they don’t take into account is the number of scammish shops out there, that, while they might be selling you that product at a great discount, will call you and try very aggressively to sell you accessories. If you decline you either get threatened or your order gets cancelled.
I don’t know which store Pricerunner is referencing when they talk about the Rebel XTi for $719.99. They don’t list any stores selling the XTi+Lens kit for that price on their site. All are above $720 except “Zoommania” which is selling it for $649, but has a 3.75/10.0 score from ResellerRatings.com.
Maybe they’re doing an apple and oranges comparison, and comparing the price of the XTi without a lens online to the XTi kit at Best Buy, in which case they’re probably talking about ZipZoomFly.com. ZZF is a fairly reputable retailer, but what they’re selling is NOT the same product Best Buy was selling.
Now, I’m a bargain hunter. I buy as much as I can online. And you could get the XTi+Lens from B&H for $780, a big savings over BB’s price. But this press release from PriceRunner is very misleading, and it picks and chooses the worst black friday deals to compare against not-quite-comparable online prices, not including shipping.
So boo, pricerunner. Shame on you.
Johnal (Who am I?)
1 year ago
100% agreed with ED. He beat me to the punch, but definitely got the point accross.
P.S. I’d gladly pay an extra couple hundred bucks for an item at Costco simply because of the amazing return policy they offer.