Anyone work at Best Buy/Circuit City (or know someone who does)?

**BigGreen** · 08-21-2003, 07:04 AM

If so, could you either post here or PM me. I'm considering working a few hours a week at one simply to defray the cost of redoing my home entertainment center. Yeah, I'm cheap like that...i worked at JCrew a lot of summers and most xmas breaks to revamp my wardrobe and I think i'll be doing the same thing for the entertainment center. I know both chains give generous discounts (Best Buy actually gives all employees products at cost!) As such, the better discounts come on high end items or components, where the most markups occur (ie, a PS2 and a PC is sold at cost, but high end monster cable or PS2 ancillary is dramatically marked up).

The big cost here for me is the TV. I don't want a plasma, as I think thy look foolish just hanging on a wall unless you have professionals install and do up the whole living room (being in an apt I'm not going that route). So, what I want to do is go with the widescreen LCD HDTV. They aren't as bulky and heavy as a traditional widescreen projection (they're about a quarter as "deep" in the back) and border on the look of a plasma but stand alone). It retails for about 3500-3800 bucks and I suspect the markup is significant, but I don't want to go into an "interview" specifically asking what the discount on that would be. It's a prick move I know, but i'm basically planning on working however long it takes to get the discount, buying the TV (if the discount is worth it) and quitting the very next day. I'll post a link to the model for shits and giggles, but could REALLY use the input of an employee of one of these places so I can start to get an idea of whether the discount would warrant my wasting my time. THanks.

**BigGreen** · 08-21-2003, 07:10 AM

This is sorta the idea...i don't want one this big, but the LCD is the key

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....2&type=product

**Strut99GT** · 08-21-2003, 07:26 AM

I don't work there, but a friend worked at CC in High School. They get stuff at cost as well.

**BigGreen** · 08-21-2003, 11:25 AM

Here's pretty much the exact model I was looking at at the local Best Buy:

http://www.dtvexpress.com/lcd/panasonic-45lc12.html

**BigGreen** · 08-21-2003, 11:28 AM

Oh, I should also add that Gateway does some incredibly priced Plasma TV's. Anyone know anything about their reliability? I know if something is priced well below all else, it's usually too good to be true, but Gateway's a reliable company.

http://www.gateway.com/home/ce/tv_pl...pping*HOMEPAGE

**dizzle** · 08-21-2003, 11:50 AM

Have you compared prices to ebay. My cousin works at best buy, and they have to pay 3-5% above cost. Sometimes ebay's cheaper depending on what you get. I was going to get an in dash car lcd dvd player, but it was way cheaper on ebay.

**BigGreen** · 08-21-2003, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by dizzle

Have you compared prices to ebay. My cousin works at best buy, and they have to pay 3-5% above cost. Sometimes ebay's cheaper depending on what you get. I was going to get an in dash car lcd dvd player, but it was way cheaper on ebay.

No I haven't, though I will be doing that right now. I've never used it before for anything other than inkjet cartridges...I assume in dealing with the big electronics, the policies in place keep it just as safe in terms of protecting the consumer??

**BigGreen** · 08-21-2003, 11:58 AM

Holy shit...i've been on there for all of two minutes and I'm literally blown away. You may have saved me at least two grand and/or a crappy month long tenure at Best Buy!

**symatech** · 08-21-2003, 02:50 PM

my freind used to work for best buy and this girl i know still works for circuit city. both tell me they run those places like the fuckin third reich

**Rickson** · 08-21-2003, 03:32 PM

Go work for the place you are going to buy a car from and really save some money.

**dizzle** · 08-21-2003, 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by Rickson

Go work for the place you are going to buy a car from and really save some money.

Rickson's got a good idea. or maybe even better, my friend works for a division of bank of america, where they reposses cars from people who missed payments. He just got a 2002 Caddy Escalade with 20" rims for $28K, and it only had 17K miles on it. They're like $50K+ brand new. I wish I knew about that a few months ago.

**dizzle** · 08-21-2003, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by BigGreen

Holy shit...i've been on there for all of two minutes and I'm literally blown away. You may have saved me at least two grand and/or a crappy month long tenure at Best Buy!

There's a ton of electronics places that just blow stuff out at wholesale prices on ebay. They had these brand new, Kicker Subwoofers for $125, and they were $200 at my local stereo store. I asked the local stereo store if they could price match it, and they were trying to say how there "cost" was $150. Computer and parts are pretty cheap too, I bet you could have saved a couple bills off your vaio.

**bermich** · 08-21-2003, 04:35 PM

Yeah. Pretty soon BG will be working at Honda, Customs, Best Buy, JCrew, Starbucks, and GNC.
All only each an hour a day so he will still have time to come here and visit. Did I leave something out BG?? Should we throw in Mcdonalds for ya

**BigGreen** · 08-21-2003, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by bermich

Yeah. Pretty soon BG will be working at Honda, Customs, Best Buy, JCrew, Starbucks, and GNC.
All only each an hour a day so he will still have time to come here and visit. Did I leave something out BG?? Should we throw in Mcdonalds for ya

Exactly! All i've done all day now is look at place like a hungry wolf or something wondering how much i could rip them off pretending to want to work for them. I actually spent many a summer at JCrew, and at the end of the summer I tallied up my paychecks AND the amount of money I spent on clothes...i think I ended up giving them back my entire pay plus about thirty bucks. I'm to the point now where I'm looking at future careers based not on salary, potential for advancement, challenging environment or even prestige, but rather, what "wink-wink" perks I can get from it. Law school and working my way up to judge sounds pretty good right now.

**BigGreen** · 08-21-2003, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by dizzle

Rickson's got a good idea. or maybe even better, my friend works for a division of bank of america, where they reposses cars from people who missed payments. He just got a 2002 Caddy Escalade with 20" rims for $28K, and it only had 17K miles on it. They're like $50K+ brand new. I wish I knew about that a few months ago.

I assume you actually have to work there or be once very-closely-removed from someone who does (like be the wife of an employee) to even dream of scoring something like that. I do have a lot of time on my hands, so maybe i'll actually start looking into stuff like that.