Being a digital nomad and working entirely from my office that fits in a box, frequently I have a need for this electronic or that because sh*t happens: electronics crap out, coffee spills on keyboards, phones fall in puddles… you get the idea. While I wish my technology budget was unlimited, it is not, and over the years I have had to get creative in finding discounts on products I couldn’t do my job without.
Enter: Best Buy Open Box.
What is Best Buy Open-Box?
Have you ever returned an electronic to a big box store? TV too big for the space on your wall, Christmas present that was tossed aside and never used, smart watch that just doesn’t have the capabilites you were looking for.. maybe you even packaged it up perfectly, to the point where you couldn’t tell it had been open. You get a pat on the back for that, but what you might not know is the store probably couldn’t sell it again as “new” despite your superb packing efforts.
When one of these electronics is returned to Best Buy, they turn around and sell the product as an “Open Box” product. There are different levels of “newness” which dictate the amount of discount you’ll get on any given item. Frequently the “like new” items offer a substantial discount off the list price, and you’re getting a discount simply because the box has been opened by another customer outside of the Best Buy store. The lowest levels are products that may or may not be in the original packaging, and may or may not have all the original accessories. Best Buy makes note of what’s missing, so that you’ll know what else you might need to buy to have a functional piece of hardware.
Some of the deals are available online but frequently it pays off to ask directly in store what is available as an open box product. They usually have a shelf full of different types of technology ready for you to take home at a substantially discounted price. In store associates may also sometimes be able to give a further price break, to get the item off their hands. It always helps to ask what they can do for you — as my mom always says, “if you don’t ask, you don’t get”.
Amazon offers a similar discount deal, and I would wager a bet that local stores might have similar options if you ask politely.
So far with Best Buy Open Box I have purchased:
→three laptops
→two cell phones
→a Samsung camera
→PowerBeats headphones
and I have probably saved over $500 total on like-new products I needed to purchase anyway.
Have you ever used Best Buy Open Box? What big savings deals did you find to replace your old tech? Comment below!
