Best Buy mum on DROID 2 Global, Pro removal; Verizon not involved

By on Dec 16, 2010 at 7:01 PM
Retail December 16, 2010

Earlier this morning, we told you that retail giant Best Buy began pulling Motorola’s DROID 2 Global and DROID Pro from store shelves. Although the cause was initially rumored to be a handset pricing dispute between the two companies, that simply is not the case. In an email to BGR, a Verizon Wireless spokesperson noted that the company has not mandated or otherwise requested Best Buy to remove the devices from its shelves. The spokesperson went on to emphasize that there is not any kind of recall (hardware, software, or otherwise) that would explain such an action. To hammer that point home, Verizon’s official Twitter account let this 140-character cherub loose this afternoon:

DROID 2 Glob and DROID Pro are great phones. Stop by your Verizon Wireless store and try ‘em out! #droid

Best Buy has yet to respond to BGR’s request for comment. For the time being, Best Buy is playing this one pretty close to the vest.

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  • Anonymous

    to DOES or to DOESN’T, that is the question…

  • http://twitter.com/ncsurob Robert Marshall

    I like when an article says “Read More” and you click it and there is nothing more to read.

  • ErIcg1840

    I work at a Best Buy Mobile I’m pretty sure there are just issues activating the phones in our systems. I haven’t heard of any other reason. 

    • Anonymous

      Motorola and Verizon have specific guidelines for advertised pricing on the two devices that Best Buy must follow. Since Best Buy advertised both phones below that price, they were in breach of the contract with VZW and Moto. Best Buy can not sell either device for 6 months. Even if they tried to sell one out of their system, the MEID would be locked and wouldn’t active on the VZW Network.

      Someone at Best Buy HQ should have looked into the allowed advertised price before the ad, now they are going to have to look for a new job.

      • Someone Who Knows

        Clearly you speak but the words coming from your lips are jibberish. Indirect retailers, which is in fact what Best Buy is, is able to set their own pricing on devices, which is why in many cases you will see devices at Best Buy which are cheaper than what they are at the direct stores or the manufacturer. Otherwise, what is the incentive for an indirect to take on a license? Any issues going on with Best Buy are localized to Best Buy only.

      • Anonymous

        Clearly you can’t read.

        I stated that the “Advertised Prices” can’t be below a certain number. When Best Buy “Advertised” both phones in a flyer below the price, they were in breach.

        The phones can be below the price in the store, there is no problem with that. Many times you will see a flyer with a price listed as “Too low to advertise”. That is what Best Buy should have done in this case.

      • http://financial-alchemist.blogspot.com Turley Muller

        I agree. Indirect prices are often much cheaper than company stores. Look at WMT, AMZN, and BBY prices compared to the carrier. They use the commission to price lower than carriers.

      • Anonymous

        Verizon says they have nothing to do with it, and Best Buy is free to do with its inventory as it pleases.

  • Norm

    please rest assured that all DROIDs DOES just fine. It is a problem with best buy, not DROID or VZW. Since VZW has the nation’s greatest and most best map, you can rest assured that any choice to DOES DROID will be a win. DROID DOES!

    • Anonymous

      Norm. Normy. You’re losing your edge. You’ve got to give your material a refresh. Maybe take a few days off. DROID might DOES, but NORM DOESN’T, as of late.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=506195779 Bryan Pizzuti

      Unfortunately, DROID DOESN’T do AT&T, because Verizon doesn’t do my condo, my office, my parents’ place…the greatest and most best map, huh? I notice you don’t say anything about it actually covering people. :)

      • Joebutler85

        Nationally Verizon is proven to have the best coverage out of all the American Wireless Providers. There will be exceptions in very specific areas where one carrier may have better coverage than the other but Nationally it is a proven fact that Verizon has considerably more coverage than AT&T.

      • http://financial-alchemist.blogspot.com Turley Muller

        I wouldn’t say VZ has considerably more coverage since AT&T covers more than 97% of the population. In geographic area, VZ has more coverage but that is places that are very remote and barely populated.

    • michael scott

      Hey Glansburg, why are you posting as Norm?

    • sirpaul

      Pretty sure this isn’t the real Norm. His profile has no activity.

  • http://www.facebook.com/sc0rch3d Ashley W. Keith

    i went to best buy this morning after i read this story. the salesmen told me that VZW told them to pull the phones since best buy was charging a far less price for them than what VZW wanted.

    so as for VZW being mum…..LIAR

    • sirpaul

      Title says Best Buy is mum about it, not VZW.

  • PR

    Just because verizon didn’t ask best buy to pull doesn’t mean it isn’t a price dispute. Best buy probably has more leverage than we know.

  • ATLinsider

    Best Buy is having a problem in their activation system (Beast) nothing is wrong with the phones and Verizon has nothing to do with it. I work for Best Buy Mobile.

  • Dave Brown

    The Droid 2 Global was the biggest Piece Of Shit excuse for a phone I ever owned. I bought one early November and went through it and two replacements for all the problems they have with the usual software answers of ‘fixed in the next release’. I don’t have the time to wait for those fixes and along the way go over my 30 days and be stuck with the POS, getting the ‘opportunity’ to buy a different for the wonderful $500 – $600 average retail after being stuck.

    I’d stay away from that POS until at least MR2, ‘scheduled’ for 1Q2011. Yeah, right. I love Android but Motorola is turning out shit product. Go buy something from HTC like I’m going to.

  • http://rmbo47.myopenid.com/ rmbo47

    Both models suffered from an unusually high rate of failure on the earpiece speakers, at least on the first production run. That would be my guess as to why they’ve been pulled at Best Buy. Of course if Verizon is still selling them like normal it kind of shoots my earpiece speaker idea down in flames, huh? That would lend credence to the Best Buy system simply having activation issues.

  • …….

    im betting its going to be the free smartphone of the week at best buy mobile starting sunday and bestbuy is just holding em to have plenty of inventory for the week?????

  • Smitsmit

    look at it this way…why would the phones b pulled from only best buy AFTER they have purchased them from vzw..there are no software problems..think about it

  • billy

    hey maybe becuz u shut stupid up u dont no stfu idiot and then if you can so your stupid face fuck idiot

  • connected world

    As a manager i try to observe this site and not involve but for those wanting the truth in simple sentences:

    Bestbuy would love to sell these devices however the ESNS sent to Best buy locations and best buy standalone stores are registered as prepaid esns in the system and whether best buy uses their beast system or the carrier site eroes….the devices are stated as being “ESN locked due to prepaid service restrictions,” and when called in you are directed to tech support to say that it is a known issue for VZW and to temporarily pull the devices off the floor to avoid disappointing customers and having them sit for 25 minutes for a phone they can not have. NO ETA. Have a great night everyone on BGR!

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