So you heard about these E3 pre-order promotions and want to get in on it. But which retailer do you go with? It’s easy to choose one over the other if they have different titles available, pre-order bonuses or one is offering a deeper discount. But what if all things were equal? Why would people choose one retailer over the other?
Let this comparison table tell you why:
[table id=1 /]Explanations
Low Price Guarantee
Both offer Low Price Guarantees but only BestBuy offers a 30 day window beyond the release date.
Release Date Delivery
On of the biggest differentiators between the two stores. If you want your game on or closest to release date, go with BestBuy.ca.
Cancel Individual Items
Change your mind about the fourth or fifth game in your giant E3 order? Cancelling individual items is easy as pie with Amazon.ca and if you maintain the minimum amount of games (usually 3), it will retain the promotion.
BestBuy requires you to contact their phone support. They usually can do it but remind them that you have a promotion on the order just in case.
Updating Billing Info
Updating your billing info just works with Amazon.ca’s system. BestBuy’s website has that capability but it is error prone with certain orders requiring the help of BestBuy’s customer service representatives.
Returns
Bad reviews making you regret your purchase? Both retailers have you covered but BestBuy is the only one with an in-store presence.
Customer Support Options
Amazon.ca’s chat options is probably the best in the business and they’re equally as capable regardless of preference.
If you want immediate action, it’s often better to contact BestBuy via their phone support.
Other Perks & Benefits
Historically, Amazon.ca has been prone to pricing errors including the doubling of discounts. One of the best examples of a price error was the inexplicable price adjustment of Xenoblade Chronicles X down to $19.99 ($55 off). And the best part? Everyone who pre-ordered the title had their orders automatically adjusted to the new price plus the 30% off E3 promotion.
BestBuy has its share of price gaffes but they’re usually involves the mislabeling of special editions with standard edition prices — not terribly exciting. BestBuy does have a leg up on pre-order bonuses and their Reward Zone program though.
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Hopefully this little comparison helps you with your pre-ordering decision. Got more points of comparisons? Did I get something wrong? Leave a comment below.
NuffDREW4two
Does Best Buy auto price adjust as well if the price is reduced between pre-order date and release day? It may have been back in the Future Shop days, but I swear they only did it if the new price was less than the E3 promo price. For example, my Amazon Dark Souls 3 order from last year started at $80 – 30% promo, but the game dropped to $72 at one point so I got it for $72 – 30%.
No_Style
Yes but only if it’s an official price drop/adjustment. Your Dark Souls 3 order experienced one of the wonderful/random price fluctuations that Amazon.ca are known for.
DJGhostmare
If you have Amazon Prime (and that’s a big IF), you are pretty much guaranteed to get it on (or before) release day. If you don’t, then you are covered by their delivery guarantee which can translate to free extensions to prime or additional discounts—no argument required. They will simply offer it if you call them on it
Returns on the other hand are weird. You can get hit with a restocking fee that seems random. Sometime they will tell you in the estimate or only after the return is complete. I haven’t been able to tell what triggers it so I am curious if anyone has any insight.
Christian Laviolette
Best Buy do oversell very often.
It happened a lot of time to me and some friends.
They do this on any items, most of time, they cancel the order and don’T do anything for you after.
Item can pop up in stock 5 minutes after they cancel, but they don’t care, you need to reorder and maybe they will have stock, maybe not, another cancelled item…