Best Buy and Circuit City deals aren’t as good as you think
Being a techie I am obviously a big proponent of online shopping. But I don't just do it because I can. I do it because it is both efficient and economical.
Here's a perfect example. Both Best Buy and Circuit City have ads in this week's Sunday paper. Both advertise Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 for $99.99, discounted from the regular price of $149.99. $50 off. Not a bad deal, right?
Wrong.
A quick search for office home and student 2007 on Amazon.com will show you that it is selling today for $84.99 with free super saver or Amazon Prime shipping. $15 cheaper than both Best Buy's and Circuit City's supposed good deal.
More than just the list price
But the savings don't end at $15. I don't pay any sales tax on Amazon.com. I pay 7% sales tax at Best Buy and Circuit City. There's another $7 to add on to the brick and mortar price.
And let's not forget the cost of gas to get to Best Buy or Circuit City and back. The closest store to me is Best Buy, about a 10 mile round trip. Conservatively, that's another $1.50 to add to the brick and mortar price.
If you're keeping track at home, the brick and mortar price is now up to $108.49.
Lastly, I owe it to myself to account for my time. I can order something at Amazon.com in less than 5 minutes. My trip to Best Buy? Probably somewhere around 20 minutes. And again, that's pretty conservative. Total time difference: 15 minutes. Let's keep the math simple and say as a techie I can pull in $60/hour. That's another $15 to add to the brick and mortar price.
Final results
Let's compare Best Buy and Circuit City to Amazon.com one more time:
Total price at Best Buy or Circuit City: $123.49
Total price at Amazon.com: $84.99
Amazon wins with a savings of $38.50.
Case closed.
2 comments for this blog post so far...
August 19, 2008 at 10:36 pm
bnpositive
Good call! Also, when I go to the brick & mortar stores I usually “shop” more and end up buying something else while I’m there. I find most of my online purchases are for the single item I was intending to purchase in the first place.
August 19, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Patric Welch
@bnpositive Great point. Although to be fair to the brick and mortars, at least they don’t hit you up with “people who bought x also bought y” mailings after your purchase!
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