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I know. Calling a major chain’s policies “a lie” is pretty strong. Well, I have proof.

My girlfriend and I just got off the phone with Future Shop, a major electronics and appliance retail chain here in Canada. We’re in the market for a new motorized projector screen and were looking at the affordable Accuscreen 106″ model. Future Shop has it listed for $670.99. But it’s much cheaper at Tiger Direct.ca. It’s priced at $242.99 to be exact. But we like dealing with Future Shop. We’ve been shopping there for years. We’re loyal customers with online accounts and a great deal of customer loyalty. Well, this mornings ordeal might have just changed all of that.

Future Shop offers a “Lowest Price Guarantee“. They’ll beat any advertised price from a competing retailer in Canada by 10% of the difference. So, of course, we decided to order the screen through Future Shop and contacted them about matching or beating Tiger Direct.ca’s lower price. The web-support team instructed us to call in and place the order and that the retailer would hold true to their guarantee if all conditions are met (email reprinted below). After 40 minutes on the telephone, we learned this to be untrue.

Apparently, Future Shop’s cost on the screen (almost $400 we were told) is above the Tiger Direct.ca retail price which, according to the supervisor of the poor representative who was stuck on the phone with us, is way too low for the retailer to beat. That’s right – Future Shop’s “Lowest Price Guarantee” doesn’t count if that price is TOO low. Even when all of Future Shop’s conditions are met!

The Future Shop rep on the phone agreed that the “Guarantee” should apply to the purchase. All of Future Shop’s conditions were met. She double checked both listings. Double checked all of the details. Went back and forth between web sites to ensure that everything was on the up-and-up. And when she had cleared us to make the purchase with the price beaten by 10% of the difference we went ahead and gave the VISA card a work-out. It was then, after the purchase had been made, as the rep was trying to apply the discount that her supervisor stepped in and told her that it couldn’t happen. That the retailer would be losing too much money if they held true to what they had promised us. If they held true to their “Guarantee”. Future Shop was not going to beat or even match Tiger Direct.ca’s lower price. She apologized and asked if we still wanted the screen for their price of $670.99. We politely declined. As we will decline any further opportunities to purchase anything from Future Shop.

For the record – Tiger Direct.ca is an authorized dealer in Canada. The price of the screen is advertised in Canadian dollars and is not a promotion. $242.99 is their regular, everyday price for the screen that Future Shop is selling for $670.99.

The email we received from Future Shop:

Hi

We will gladly price match against any other retailer as long as they are an authorized dealer in Canada, advertised in Canadian dollars, and the item is not involved with a special promotion, such as limited time or limited quantity sale or packaged deal.
If you would like to have the Lowest Price Guarantee applied to your online order for shipment, we suggest contacting us at 1-800-663-2275 at any time, as we are always available to take your call. We are also more than willing to assist you if you wish to verify the eligibility of this request prior to placing an order.
For in-store purchases or online orders for In-Store Pick Up, we request that you bring the flyer or advertisement to a store associate during the time of sale. They will ensure all criteria matches and provide the lower price, if applicable.

Sincerely
John
Agent ID XXXXX
Future Shop

From Future Shop’s website:

Our Lowest Price Guarantee

Get it for less. Guaranteed™.
We will beat any advertised price by 10% of the difference.
3 great reasons to buy at Future Shop.

1) If you find a lower advertised price we will beat it by 10% of the difference.
2) If you find a lower advertised price within 30 days* of your purchase we
will beat it by 10% of the difference.
3) If our own price is reduced within 30 days* of your purchase, bring in your
receipt and we will refund the difference.

* 14 days for computers, laptops, monitors, printers, camcorders, digital cameras, portable DVD players, radar detectors, projectors and air conditioners.
Here’s how it works.

If you are purchasing today:

• Present us with a copy of the competitor’s current ad.
• Our associates will verify that the item is in stock and available for
  immediate sale and delivery at the advertised price.
• We will beat the competitor’s price by 10% of the difference.
• If you purchase the item from futureshop.ca and there is no Future Shop in your area you can contact us at 1-800-663-2275 or by email at websupportcan@futureshop.com

If you made your purchase in the last 30 days*:

• Present us with a copy of the competitor’s current ad and your original invoice.
• Our associates will verify that the item is in stock and available for
  immediate sale and delivery at the advertised price.
• We will refund you the difference and give you an additional 10%
  of that difference.
• If you purchase the item from futureshop.ca and there is no Future Shop in your area you can contact us at 1-800-663-2275 or by email at websupportcan@futureshop.com

If our own price is reduced in the last 30 days*:

• Present us with a copy of our original invoice.
• We will refund you the difference between the purchase
  price and the current price.

* 14 days for computers, laptops, monitors, printers, camcorders, digital cameras, portable dvd players, radar detectors, projectors and air conditioners

Here are a few terms and conditions.

The advertised item must be for the same brand and model and the product must be new and factory sealed, and subject to a manufacturer’s warranty applicable in Canada.

Advertised prices must be in Canadian dollars, and will be calculated as including all charges applicable for next day delivery to your home address.

The advertised item must be sold through an authorized dealer located in Canada. The terms and conditions of “Get it for less, guaranteed™” are subject to change without notice.

Our lowest price guarantee does not apply to advertising errors or misprints, special educational prices, restricted offers, mail order offers, rebates, coupons, premiums, free or bonus offers, OEM products, limited or minimum quantity or limited time offers, close-outs, liquidations, clearances, financing or other special offers.

If you are not completely satisfied, please talk to our store General Manager. If you need more help call 1-800-663-2275 for further assistance.

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Warner Home Video and their PR partners-in-crime gather journalists together at fantastic events every quarter to present their upcoming wares. In this case, Warner’s Q4 offerings – a host of titles we’re expecting in the coming months like Rome: The Complete Series Box set, The Sopranos: Season One, Gone With the Wind, North By Northwest, The Hangover and the new offerings from the Harry Potter franchise, including the most recent film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as well as brand new Ultimate Collector’s Editions of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. This time around, however, they had more to say than just product introductions. They were all about Blu-ray!

Blu-ray Smarties!!!

There were Blu-ray demos, Blu-ray smarties, Blu-ray table settings and even a Blu-ray girl! All the reps were dressed like scientists and the room was gussied up to look like a lab. We drank Blu-juice from test tubes and marveled at an SD/HD comparison of the Wizard of Oz (It looks amazing! Took my breath away. Definitely a contender for Blu-ray disc of the year!) There was a lengthy presentation about the ins-and-outs of the technology and a Blu-ray collection giveaway. And as we departed, we were all given black t-shirts with a sound activated Blu-ray panel on the front.

The Blu-ray girl!!! Seriously…This girl is covered in Blu-ray discs.

These things are always a fun time. And lord knows, I enjoy chatting about movies and Blu-ray and movies on Blu-ray, so I kind of felt like Warner was throwing a little party just for me! Can’t wait for the next one!

Blu-ray Sushi! Blu-ray Star-Fruit! Blu-ray Coconut Chicken thingies!!

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Zat shop over zere, just down ze Champs-Élysées has a delightful selection of Jerry Lewis films on ze Blu-ray disc!

We’re back from vacation and ready to play catch up with all the Blu-ray and High-def news and reviews that we’ve been missing this past week!

Things have been crazy here, at TBRB central – we’ve been out of town, pimping Wednesday Comics at Fan-Expo in Toronto, performing with Wainwright cousins The Mittenstrings in Montreal and moving from a cramped apartment to a lovely small house in the east-end, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve area of the city. It’s a crazy amount of stuff to pack into seven days. But now we’re back in business and there’s a lot of news to report on. We’ve also got a few reviews coming up in the next couple of days including Disney Nature‘s Earth and Paramount‘s much-maligned Gladiator Blu-ray discs. As soon as the projector is up and running we’ll let you know what we think!

Thanks for sticking with us! Happy September!

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It was over a week ago that our ISP suffered a major outage which took our site down. They worked overtime and had us back online within the day. On the surface, everything was back to normal. Little did we know that the site was completely frakked under the hood. We couldn’t post. Couldn’t update. Couldn’t tweak the site. Couldn’t even let you know we were really down (outside of our twitter updates, that is). It seemed there was only one recourse – a complete overhaul of the Blu-ray Blog from the ground up. Starting again from scratch. Luckily, before we had a chance to do anything drastic, our ISP performed a cylon miracle and magically restored our WordPress powers! So we’re back in business today, with the site firing on all cylinders and all previous posts in their right places. We’ve got a lot of news and reviews to catch up on so bare with us.

And welcome back!

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