I was asked a few months ago about the "Optimization" charge Best Buy adds to it's laptops, but didn't look into it until a couple of weeks ago when I purchased an advertised laptop. I should have seen it coming. There wasn't a single laptop that didn't have something "extra" done to it. The charges ranged from $39.99 to $99.99. I have heard the price can go as high as $219.99 for some PC's and Macs. The Consumerist has a great article where secret shoppers are used to investigate the mysteries of the Pre-Optimization. The first salesperson did not mention the optimization at all. I saw the sticker on the box and figured "Well if he doesn't bring it up, he may waive it." WRONG, he rang it up at the ad price plus the $69.99 this particular model had tagged on it. I asked him why it was more and he said "Because it's optimized". I told him I didn't want an optimized one. He said it would be a mistake to buy one without it because there would be problems and that I would "have trouble" doing all the things they did. I then informed him I have been in IT for over 20 years and built more pc's from scratch than they had in stock. So I asked for a manager. The Manager asked what he could help with and I simply said "I want to buy this laptop, but do not need a pre-optimized one - said simply, pleasantly like it wasn't an issue. He looked to see if there were any non optimized ones and then came back and said they didn't have any. I said "yes, I know, but this is the one I want, so can you call another store that has a non optimized one I can go buy". With this he took me to the checkout, waived the fee and I went on my way. I know for some it is not that easy. So here are a few suggestions:
1. Call first and talk to an employee or manager that can verify they have non optimized ones. If they don't, ask for a manager and say you want to buy today to see if he'll offer it.
2. Ask for them to contact another store. They want the sale, not sending customers to another store, because that means next time you'll go to the other store.
3. At checkout ask them to waive the fee and pretend it is no big deal for them to waive it. Be nice of course, the answer is always no until you ask. If they say no, simply ask who you can speak to to get that waived.
You might not be 100% successful, sometimes they will agree to reduce the fee 50% or so. Remember getting angry will usually not help the situation. More flys with honey. Remember attitude is contagious, so if you have a good positive one, the experience will be that much better.
REMEMBER - Best Buy's return policy is only 14 days on PC's, so don't buy it before that big trip. Really test it out in the first few days and document any issues. Do not be afraid to return it. I used to be shy about some of those things and needlessly spent more $$. Now I can say I have saved thousands of dollars by effectively utilizing return and exchange policies to MY benefit as well as warranties. Please comment or ask any questions, hopefully I can get all my archived Q&A's onto this new site.
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