Best Buy Sorry for Price Gouging Water During Hurricane Harvey

TMZ ^ | 6-30=2017

[Snickering Hound]

One of the Best Buy stores in Houston offered Hurricane Harvey victims bottled water ... for a price, a very high one and now the company's apologizing.

The store was caught selling 12-packs of Smartwater for $29.98 and 24-packs of Dasani for a whopping $42.96. A photo of the display went viral this week, amid allegations of price gouging in the wake of the Harvey.

Best Buy now admits, "This was a big mistake on the part of a few employees at one store on Friday. As a company we are focused on helping, not hurting affected people. We’re sorry and it won’t happen again."

A rep for the retail tech giant added ... Best Buy doesn't normally sell water, and that the employees at this specific store were pricing the packs based on single bottle prices.

[Jim from C-Town]

Because the management is a bunch of pussies. They usually are.

They could have easily said that it was the same price they charged at the register. As a matter of fact, they did say that and they apologized, because in today's’ society that is the knee jerk reaction.

Best buy is not in the business of selling water. They sell electronics. They just sell it at the check out. In this instance they where allowing people to buy full cases for their convenience.

[dragnet2]

I see, Best Buy apologized because they’re pussies.

Got it.

[Jim from C-Town]

Best Buy is not a government or a charity. They are a for profit publicly traded enterprise with a fiduciary responsibility to their investors and stock holders to maximize profits. To do otherwise would be unethical.

[eyedigress]

That’s why Best Buy sells water.

[dragnet2]

They just sell it at the check out. In this instance they where allowing people to buy full cases for their convenience.

For their convenience? Ya mean profits don't ya? Ya see, Best Buy don't put anything in their stores as a "Convenience". It's for profit. Learn it.

[TTFX]

For their convenience? Ya mean profits don’t ya? Ya see, Best Buy don’t put anything in their stores as a “Convenience”. It’s for profit.

---

Those two go together. If you make things convenient for customers, they’re happy and come again.

[Jim from C-Town]

Believe me, we will be giving HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS from the national government to help Texas. We do it all the time.

That being said: Best Buy is not the government or a charity and they are not under any obligation to sell water to anyone at any price. The fact that they would sell the water in packs at the same retail price as they would sell it per bottle is a convenience to those who may want to buy more than one bottle.

They didn't raise the price. They did not price gouge.

[Jim from C-Town]

They also sell TV’s and Stereos. Sometimes they sell a TV with a home suround system as a CONVEININCE and also for profit.

They are in business. The ultimate goal of a business is profit.

No profit, no business!

[dragnet2]

You said Best Buy did nothing wrong and the only reason they apologized is because Best Buy are pussies! I get your position. No problem.☺

[dragnet2]

You said Best Buy did nothing wrong and the only reason they apologized is because Best Buy are pussies! I get your position. No problem.☺

[Jim from C-Town]

No their management is pussies. They generally are.

They simply should have said that our employees allowed people to buy the waters in the case for their convenience in this time so they can easily carry them. We sell them for $2.49 every day or $1,.79 every day individually at the register. This is not price gouging. It is a convenience.

[dragnet2]

It get it. Best Buy are pussies and only apologized because that’s what pussies do!

[Jim from C-Town]

That is really not my position. It is a very simple fact.

All that Best Buy management had to do is explain that this is the retail price they sell water as a convenience for every day.

Who the Hell goes to Best Buy to buy water anyway?! Should you go to Home Depot to buy Slim Jim? NO. You buy a Slim Jim at Home Depot, because you went their to buy a hammer and , ‘hey they have Slim Jims, I think I'll buy one at three times what I could get one for at Kroger's and now I don't have to go through the drive through at Wendy's to slake my hunger. Wow That is convenient!’

The fact that they sell it at all is a convenience.

[dragnet2]

We’re talking about a historic disaster with tens of thousands caught up in it. Not prices at home depot or wendys during normal times.

Try to keep up. Gezzz.

[Jim from C-Town]

Are people generally waiting on line at Best Buy to purchase water? NO ONE goes to Best Buy to buy water. They just happen to have it for sale as a convenience for the customer.

The fact is that Best Buy sells water at $1.79 per bottle and Smart water at $2.49 per bottle and you are welcome to purchase that by the bottle in the cooler or in quantities of 12 or 24 right there under that nicely printed out sign. If you buy it in 12 or 24 you get a nice shrink wrapped case for FREE to carry them.

Same price as before the disaster. No Price Gouging.

They probably sell wind up emergency radios as well. Since it is a natural disaster, should they be giving them away at a further discount or for free?

[Jim from C-Town]

They will be fined up to $20,000 per occurrence and up to $250,000 per occurrence against someone age 65 and older. Selling 200 cases of bottled water could cost Best Buy $5 million. And, Best Buy better not tamper with those receipts. No they won't. They aren't price gouging they sell that water for the same price every day. $1.79 a bottle or $2.49 a bottle.

[Jim from C-Town]

Look by the cash registers the next time you go to a Best Buy. They usually have a glass front cooler with pop and water in it. They sell it every day. It is the same at Home Depot and many other stores that are not in the business of selling food stuffs.

It is a convenience to the customer and a high profit item for the store. It is a win-win all the way around.

[Jim from C-Town]

; it is not the choice of someone to get caught in a bad storm and grow dehydrated. Actually it was their choice not to evacuate. It was also their choice to live in a Hurricane prone area. Neither is something I would or have chosen. It was also their choice not to have a week of food and potable water available in the event of a natural disaster. This is DRILLED into people's heads regularly, especially since Katrina. I have all these things and when we get a couple feet of snow, as we do every few years, and the city is shut down, I hunker down and live off the food and supplies I have on hand. And I have them on hand for six people. Every member of my family. I even have extra. Just in case. Those things I do not have, I would gladly pay a higher price than normal for as I also have a good supply of cash on hand. If I think the price is too high, I buy less of it OR I GO WITHOUT. No one was surprised by this storm. They all had days to prepare or leave! None of the people who stayed are desperately trying to get to the local Best Buy to purchase water.

[wgmalabama]

I think both Disney and six flags ban outside water and sell for 4+ dollars a bottle. Hell, the movie theater does too. Any rage against their price gouging? Last time I was groped by TSA, I was forced to abandon my water in order to prop up airport sales of 4+ dollars a bottle so Best Buy is cheaper than all of them.

[Jim from C-Town]

We are talking about Fake News.

The idea tat Best Buy is price gouging because they are selling water at $1.79 a bottle or Smart Water for $2.49 a bottle is a LIE! They sell it for that price every day!

Are they price gouging today because there was a hurricane or where they doing so last week when there wasn't one? Either way the price remained the same.

Same thing if Home Depot decided to sell an entire 100 piece case of Slim Jims for $249 to a guy buying plywood to board up his home prior to the storm, or a water pump to pump out his basement after the storm. They sell the same Slim Jims every day at $2.49 each. Are they price gouging because they would allow someone to buy 100 at a time conveniently enclosed in a box at their everyday retail price?

Is that price gouging?