Best Buy's Anti-Sales Trick People Into Overpaying for Computers

How's this for scummy? Lately, Best Buy has been raising the price of and advertising one computer per week. People assume its on sale and get suckered into overpaying for items that drop in price the following week.

A Consumerist reader noticed the trend and broke it down:

In this week's ad, there is a Dell, sku 9693191, for $649.99. Regular price is $629.99. An HP, sku 9705373, is advertised for $699.99; regular price is $649.99. Last week, a Toshiba, sku 9705221, was advertised for $499.99, this week it's back to regular price, $479.99. Likewise, a Dell, sku 9693191, was advertised for $649.99 last week, and this week it's back to its regular price of $629.99.

Now, this isn't false advertising, as Best Buy never claims these items are on sale. But by sticking them in their weekly ads with the prices highlighted, they're certainly giving the impression that they are. So when someone sees the ad, assumes the computer they want is available for cheaper than normal and then buys it, they're essentially paying an idiot tax for not doing their homework.

It's pretty low, even for Best Buy. So much for building trust with your customers!