Best Buy Manager Told Stores to Limit Xbox 360 Sales to Bundles

Best Buy has admitted some of its employees stepped over the mark when it launched the Xbox 360.

People who queued up in the Pacific Northwest lined up for hours in the cold to get one, clutching adverts promising list price, got a rude surprise. Most of the people who queued up went away empty handed, because the advertised list price was not what they actually had in stock. Best Buy would not sell them for the advertised price, but only with a bundle that just about doubled the cost. Games, controllers, cables, and other high margin knick-knacks so if you didn’t pay $800 you couldn’t get an Xbox 360.

Best Buy corporate PR told the INQ that cases were isolated. A Best Buy representative said: "We are aware of instances where Best Buy employee action was inconsistent with company guidelines for promotional activities surrounding the sale of Xbox 360. We will accept returns or exchanges for any unwanted Xbox 360-related purchases. In addition, we have taken appropriate measures to ensure this situation will not occur with future Xbox 360 promotions. We extend our sincere apologies to our customers."

the Inquirer