Best Buy Delivers HD DVD

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I slept in last Friday and missed out on Walmart’s $99 HD DVD player. However, John tipped me off to a similar online deal through Best Buy for Business and I pulled the trigger. Between the stagnant order status page (“In Process”) and seeing 90,000 HD DVD units move last weekend, I figured I’d be out of luck. But… Best Buy has come through:

You are receiving this email because you recently ordered a Toshiba HD DVD Player (model: HD-A2) and your order was placed in a backorder status while we awaited additional inventory. Unfortunately, the manufacturer has discontinued this item and we are not anticipating receiving any more inventory. Because we value your business, we will be fulfilling your order with the next generation Toshiba HD DVD Player (model: HD-A3) that is replacing the HD-A2 in Toshiba’s lineup of HD DVD Players.

Nice job, Best Buy (and Toshiba?) — I’m impressed. 100% of the time, under similar circumstances, other (online) retailers have canceled my orders and left it at that.

At $100, the purchase was an easy decision to make… As Michael Gartenberg writes:

At that point, it’s not a competition between HD-DVD and Blue-Ray, it’s a competition (correctly so) between HD-DVD and DVD.

Since killing the HTPC and dumping the LG STB (HD tuner + DVD player), we haven’t had any DVD playback capabilities in the living room other than the noisy Xbox 360. So, with a cost similar to many upscaling DVD units, it’s a no brainer to get on board now with HD DVD… even if Blu-ray ultimately triumphs – which I wouldn’t wager on at this point. Once the dust settles after the holidays, enough units of both platforms may have saturated the market that the industry will be stuck supporting multiple formats.

12 thoughts on “Best Buy Delivers HD DVD”

  1. I got the same e-mail. Great job Best Buy (for Business)! According to a CS rep, BBFB received 5000 orders before pulling the deal, so it’s even more impressive that they are honoring the deal (and upgrading).

    The A3 has 2 movies in the box (300 and The Bourne Identity), plus you can send in for 5 more movies free.

    After placing this order I saw Sunday that Best Buy was offering 10 free movies with the A3 @ $199, so I jumped on that deal also (in-store pickup). I’ve been enjoying the A3 and Transformers is a must see in HD.

    This A3 will become a Christmas gift.

    John

  3. Does anyone wanna trade me my vintage 1981 BetaMax VCR for their new $99 WalMart HD DVD player? I will even throw in a couple of Sony MiniDiscs.

  4. I really wish I’d known about the bestbuy.com option before it was too late. Heck, I’d even have been happy with a hundred-dollar A2! But yes, this is exceptional customer service. (I strongly suspect Toshiba is making it worth their while, and they’re not eating the huge expense alone.)

  5. Best Buy did actually have a $200 A3 last week online. I picked one up, included 2 free HD DVD’s instantly, 2 free in the A3 box, and 5 via mail in offer.

    Best Buy then ran an ad Sunday for 3 free HD DVD’s instantly with the purcahse of any HD DVD player, so I went to pick up another in store.

    10 HD DVD’s x $25 avg price = $250. I paid $224 with tax and shipping for the player, so I’d say it was a pretty good deal. :)

    Chris

  6. It’s fate. A Wal-Mart representative would have said “Have you tried Sporting Goods”?
    So good for you. You get a superior product and didn’t have to go through Satan Wal-Mart to get it.

  8. I went to Walmart and was 2nd in line for the deal – was out of there w/in 30 mins. Waiting on my HDMI cable – I ordered that through the net thanx to Dave. Walmart, BB and everyone else is price gouging on the HDMI cables – price at BB approx $50. Price ordered through the net – $6. Huge difference.
    Thanx again Dave and others for the heads up!

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