Not allowed to buy TV model for the advertised price

Question

My current TV stopped working and I found on BestBuy.com a Samsung 55" 1080p Smart 3D model that asked for my name and email before I could receive a price. Once doing so I was told the 55" was no longer available, so I tried the 60" and was quoted $1104.99 (SKU:4327014). I decided to stop by my local store (New Hope Commons, Durham, NC) who said they were out of stock for that SKU and didn't have a like comparison for under $1,200.
Before leaving the store, I decided to purchase what I had in my online cart from my phone. Checkout would not complete the order stating item not available for shipping to your store. So I tried a different store and tried shipping to my home address. I could not find a store in my state, that it would ship. So I called the customer service number and was told that model is no longer available in my region. Even though the site asked for my information before I continued to check out and had some basis for inventory since it knew that the 55" I originally wanted, was not available. 
While the customer service rep was looking up similar models for an alternative, I walked passed a Samsung 55" 1080p Smart 3D on the wall as a display unit being sold as an open item for $1439 (SKU:4323036). During the "negotiation" over the next 30 min, with me attempting to have Best Buy honor something close to it's advertised price. The instore representatives (professional and courteaous) would only reduce the open box item to $1263 (No accessories, I would still have to purchase 3D glasses). Even though the same piece of paper was advertising the 46" and 60" of the same model NEW for $1,199 (They are just not available). My apoligies I didn't catch the SKU of the 60" version on the instore ad, though I did get a picture of it. 
So, you have the TV I want in my local store, but want to charge me more than the next size up for the current sale? The 60" shows as available online, but the phone representative stated Best Buy was not willing to ship it from "a warehouse in a different region". 

Answer 1

Hello dp0akley-
When searching for my last TV, I did a lot of comparisons around picture quality, size and definitely pricing, so I can understand your frustration at finding the TV you wanted, but not at a price you would have liked.
There are occasions where a promotion with the manufacturer or the pricing from the manufacturer may cause a larger size TV to be cheaper than smaller TV’s.  In those situations, we are not able to lower the price of a smaller TV to match that of a larger TV.  In general, open box pricing is not negotiable and is set, so hearing that the store was willing to work with you to find a good price is nice to hear.  The open box TV you listed is not available on BestBuy.com, so it wouldn’t have been the same price as the one you saw on BestBuy.com.
BestBuy.com represents the entire US, so depending on the product, it may not be available everywhere.  In this case, the 60” TV you were looking at is a discontinued model, so would most likely explain the lack of availability in your area.  We do not ship TV’s of this size from store to store unless the stores share a common warehouse. 
It sounds like in this case, of the TV’s you are interested in; your best bet may be the open box one the Durham store has available.
I apologize for any disappointment that this may cause you.
Sincerely,
Bill|Senior Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
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