Best Buy responds to alleged iPad 2 sales freeze divulged by Best Buy staffers [updated]

this whole “shortage” by Apple has been a old Marketing trick. create the allusion of unobtainable to create a ‘Lust”.

ahhh the iSheep just keep falling for it.

Best Buy is a business looking to make money, they are allowed to hold on to any stock they want to hold on to.

Apple also holds back product so as to create demand and media mention. this whole story is dumb

a promotion for an iPad 2?

ill have my eyes peeled on the sunday ads!!!

“The communication, which is claimed by our source to have been delivered by Best Buy management via SMS, instructs employees to hold all iPad inventory except for pre-orders.”

Really? Where is it that management would communicate with their staff via SMS?

Apple is “shocked, shocked they say” to hear somebody is manipulating Apple products.

That was my exact experience. I was told they has one…the sales lady walked around the corner and completely disappeared. I got three managers in on the confusion…only to be told the sales lady was misinformed and they weren’t allowed to sell their current stock. I was like…what?! Finally I left…went on craigslist and bought a new one from a guy who picked his up from the very same best buy an hour before me! Something isn’t right with how best buy is handling this. I will say…I miss circuit cities customer service. Best buy’s sucks.

not to be a prick… but please stick to reporting ‘meaningful’ tech news… thanks

The whole premise of this being news is dumb. If a written advertisement shows a promotion or package and states minimum quantities per store then Best Buy is legally required to have that many available when stores open the first day of the sale. I seriously doubt Best Buy employees are being told to lie to customers as general company policy. Even if a sales quota were to exist it would be on a monthly basis not daily. They’re a 40 billion company not somewhere you go to buy radio controlled toy cars. This must only be news cause somebody at BGR got pissed at a 16 year old kid working part time who was too busy trying to pick up girls to be any help to some dude asking more than a few simple questions. Shop where you want but I’ve always been able to find the kindof help and prices I need at Best Buy as long as I don’t expect every employee to act like they’re getting paid 20 bucks an hour. (Hint: ask someone who’s pants are at their waist for better results) I guess you could go to walmart and stare at the iPad behind the glass until someone from lawn and garden walks by… Don’t complain about the service you get anywhere in the same breath you complain about needing a discount.

I don’t mind Best Buy holding inventory for a promotion — that’s their right.

However, the fact that Best Buy employees have been told to lie to their customers is a serious issue. It shows that management has a complete lack of ethics. If this is occurring, there is no way to trust them for anything — they are either liars or they are not.

As to customers — caveat emptor. This is proof you cannot trust anything a Best Buy employee says, ever!

Um If they have not units to sell how is that misinforming a customer, that is actually informing them

Best Buy has a history of lying to customers and manipulating the truth. Remember the release of the PS3–or was it the Xbox360 (I can’t recall which)–where Best Buy advertised it at a special release-day price, then when you got there to buy it they **REQUIRED** you to purchase 3 or 4 additional items in order to get the special pricing, and if you declined to purchase those items, Best Buy would literally that the game console out of your hands and tell you that you were not entitled to purchase it at the advertised price?

Why they are choosing to do what they are with the iPad2 is probably the same stupidity I’ve run across from other managers with other businesses: “If I sell these today, I won’t have any to sell if someone comes in tomorrow to buy one.” So, what? If you’ve sold it, you’ve sold it. It doesn’t matter profit-wise if that is today or tomorrow. It only matters to some idiot bean-counter who see’s “zero sales” on specific days. I just don’t understand the mentality of managers and companies who will actively offend 10 people in order to avoid offending 1 person.

That’s interesting and all.. but an SMS message sent to each and every employee? That seems to be a rather unlikely means of communication, doesn’t it?

So I learned that the Apple iPad 2 was on the front cover of the latest Best Buy cirular on April 17th ( the front cover !!! ). So I went to my local Best Buy and waited in line for the store to open – yes I was the first in line. When they opened the doors we all learned they had ZERO iPads and were only taking $100 to reserve, which I reluctantly did ( since I waited 1.5 hours in line ). I called every Best Buy in my area, I live in South Florida not rural Ohio, and not a single Best Buy received iPads for the days front page ‘promotion’.

Are you kidding me !! You advertise something on the front page of a flyer nationwide to have nothing in stock? What kind of business tactic is that? I have even read online that Best Buy can be in trouble legally because to run a Nationwide promo on the front page there must be a minimum stock of 3 units at each location.

Really sad Best Buy, really sad. Great way to over promise and under delivery.