# Tivo Mini at Bestbuy $119



## peter888chan

on sale at Bestbuy online for $119 - free shipping

also on their ebay store, but they add $2.99 shipping (free store pickup)


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## dave13077

peter888chan said:


> on sale at Bestbuy online for $119 - free shipping
> 
> also on their ebay store, but they add $2.99 shipping (free store pickup)


Cheaper if you have them price match with Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/TiVo-TCDA9200...UTF8&qid=1425736466&sr=8-2&keywords=tivo+mini


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## h2oskierc

This is, of course, the original Mini that comes with the IR remote. Not saying it isn't a good deal, by the way.


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## DarthOverlord

I lucked out when I price matched this in store and they matched it for the latest model. $119 for the 2nd version.


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## tarheelblue32

DarthOverlord said:


> I lucked out when I price matched this in store and they matched it for the latest model. $119 for the 2nd version.


That's a good trick.


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## Arcady

I was in Best Buy today and I noticed the artwork on the Mini box looks like the v2 Mini now. But they wanted $149 for it.


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## h2oskierc

DarthOverlord said:


> I lucked out when I price matched this in store and they matched it for the latest model. $119 for the 2nd version.


I thought about trying that, but I decided it was dishonest.

TiVo has kept the changeover very quiet. Obviously didn't want to have problems with old stock of v1 minis.


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## bedlamx

I just purchased 2 mini's v2 and they dropped the price to 119 because the sku numbers for the 9200 and the 9300 are the same. The manager told me the model numbers were irrevelant because BB has them all under 1 sku.


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## ajfjc

I recently purchased a Mini 2 direct from the TiVo web site for $149 and it included lifetime service. That seems like the best deal out there for the Mini 2, or am I missing something? I'm about to buy another Mini 2 from the TiVo web site for another room but will wait to see what some of you have to say. Thanks!

PS - I'm a TiVo newbie, just set up my Roamio Pro a few weeks ago and now the one Mini 2. Really happy with everything (except the 5+ hours of my time with TWC on the phone and in person to get cable card and tuning adapter delivered, working, and return TWC DVRs).


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## tarheelblue32

ajfjc said:


> I recently purchased a Mini 2 direct from the TiVo web site for $149 and it included lifetime service. That seems like the best deal out there for the Mini 2, or am I missing something? I'm about to buy another Mini 2 from the TiVo web site for another room but will wait to see what some of you have to say. Thanks!


Lifetime service can be activated on any Mini for free, no matter where you buy it or how much you pay for it. So people who got BestBuy to price match a Mini 2 for $119 paid $30 less than you did for the same thing.


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## DrewTivo

h2oskierc said:


> I thought about trying that, but I decided it was dishonest.
> 
> TiVo has kept the changeover very quiet. Obviously didn't want to have problems with old stock of v1 minis.


They have, but that's kind of odd - why not tout the new one, and acknowledge that you pay more for the RF remote? Maybe don't want to look they're charging $30 just for the RF remote?


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## Arcady

The retail price isn't more. The old one is cheaper because they want to clear them out.


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## trip1eX

Best Buy site doesn't even list the Mini for sale at BB any more. Just shows a 3rd party seller.


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## BBHughes

I went to Best Buy on my lunch break and they had probably 5 Tivo Mini 2's sitting on the shelf with a price tag that read Tivo Mini 114.99. I immediately took one to the register right nearby to purchase but it rung up 149.99. I told the salesperson the price tag on the shelf said 114.99 and without any trouble or argument she made a price adjustment to the lower price. I don't feel too guilty, they had it clearly marked at the lower price. If they would have insisted on the higher price I would have passed for now. To her credit she knew exactly what happened and knew there was a new model and said someone forgot to change the price tag to the new Tivo Mini 2 and took off the old tag when she was done with me so she could make a new one so they don't have to do that for anyone else.


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## gespears

I went to a local Phoenix BB and they didn't have any plus they tried to look them up on the computer to see if there were any around town and they couldn't even find the correct sku number in the system to check and see. Very frustrating.


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## tarheelblue32

gespears said:


> I went to a local Phoenix BB and they didn't have any plus they tried to look them up on the computer to see if there were any around town and they couldn't even find the correct sku number in the system to check and see. Very frustrating.


Post #8 of this thread says that BestBuy uses the same SKU for both the old Mini and the new Mini.


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## h2oskierc

tarheelblue32 said:


> Post #8 of this thread says that BestBuy uses the same SKU for both the old Mini and the new Mini.


That post is wrong. The new mini rings up as a mini 2...

TIVO MINI II
SKU: 3784034
Quantity: 1
$149.99

This is from my reciept when I bought the first mini 2 I saw in store.


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## gespears

tarheelblue32 said:


> Post #8 of this thread says that BestBuy uses the same SKU for both the old Mini and the new Mini.


Well I did find the correct sku and called my local store but they didn't have any but found a couple at some other stores so tomorrow I'm going to go and see if they are the V2 or V1 and see if they are marked 119 or 149.

We'll see.

Update: Went to the BB in Arrowhead and the shelf price is back up to 149. So it looks like the deal is over.


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## krkaufman

gespears said:


> Well Update: Went to the BB in Arrowhead and the shelf price is back up to 149. So it looks like the deal is over.


The local Best Buy had 8 TiVo Minis on the shelf, all grouped together, with a single tag indicating the old Mini (v1) SKU and model number (92000), and a price of $150 -- even though the BB website is currently selling the Mini_1 for $127. So Best Buy would charge anyone unaware of the online sale the full $150 for the old model Mini.

Of course, this is balanced-out by Best Buy apparently not having their inventory management in order, and allowing price matching of a new Mini 2 against their own online sale price for a Mini 1. (The Best Buy website still doesn't offfer the Mini 2 for sale.)


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## gespears

krkaufman said:


> The local Best Buy had 8 TiVo Minis on the shelf, all grouped together, with a single tag indicating the old Mini (v1) SKU and model number (92000), and a price of $150 (The Best Buy website still doesn't offfer the Mini 2 for sale.)


Oh well, such is life. I missed this deal. I need a couple of mini's but don't want to pay the 140 each for them. I guess I'll hold out and see if they go on sale again for 99.


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## tarheelblue32

gespears said:


> Oh well, such is life. I missed this deal. I need a couple of mini's but don't want to pay the 140 each for them. I guess I'll hold out and see if they go on sale again for 99.


Amazon still sells the old Mini for $114.88. You might be able to get BestBuy to price match that to the new Mini.


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## gespears

tarheelblue32 said:


> Amazon still sells the old Mini for $114.88. You might be able to get BestBuy to price match that to the new Mini.


It may be worth a try! Thanks.


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## krkaufman

tarheelblue32 said:


> Amazon still sells the old Mini for $114.88. You might be able to get BestBuy to price match that to the new Mini.


Our local Best Buy dropped the price on the Mini, today, to $114.99. YMMV on walking out w/ a Mini 2 at that price, but certainly worth a try if they can't be bothered to log them as distinct models.


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## Rugged Ron

krkaufman said:


> Our local Best Buy dropped the price on the Mini, today, to $114.99. YMMV on walking out w/ a Mini 2 at that price, but certainly worth a try if they can't be bothered to log them as distinct models.


That was my plan today in Columbus, OH, but no-go. The price was dropped to $114.99, but the only unit on the shelf was the original Mini.


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## trip1eX

Yeah doubt they would let (me)walk out with a new Mini for pricemath of old on Amazon. 

IF the Amazon (listing) didn't say OLD MODEL in large letters maybe. Or if itdidn't give a different model number in large letters. 

On the other (hand) if I bring it up on my phone, and scroll down a bit. I get rid of those things and maybe I could flash them that for a price match? 



I want the new one but don't want to pay $50 more for (essentially just) the RF remote. Something closer to a hundred (dollars)I can justify since that's (closer to what I ca)n offload my old ones for. Probably be waiting for a deal (on the new models.)


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## gespears

So I stopped by Best Buy today to check and see if they had the pricing at 119, they didn't. It was 149. So I asked the guy if they matched Amazon's pricing. He said yes and looked up the mini. First he looked it up on BestBuy's site and said it was 124.99 and then he looked up the Amazon price and said he couldn't match it because it was "last year's model." So I told him I'd take "This year's model" for the 125. Got it home and he had given me the old model. The first box had a bad dent so he went and got another one. And of course it's the old one. Just my luck. I'll take it back in the morning. 

Anyway the interesting part is that he said the guy said V2 mini's are 124.99 on Best Buy's site.

Update: I took it back and successfully changed it for the later model but it took half an hour because the guy that checked it out just rang up the newer model so when I tried to return it the system said I didn't purchase the older one. But they finally straightened it out. And now I have the latest model. Now I just have to get it put in.


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## osu1991

Sent my business partner into Bestbuy this afternoon to get a mini for his setup that I'm helping him with. He called me and said they were listed at $114. I said that would be the old one and his said no that it was the new ones model #9300, so I told him to get the 2 on the shelf. 

He went to check out and they rang up at $149, he told them they were marked $114 on the shelf, so the cashier said she would get a manager to override and the manager approved the $114 price for both of them. So it was a good day at Bestbuy and glad he didn't just order it online this morning for store pickup. 

Now to help him with his cable card and tuning adapter tomorrow. His wife wasn't about to let us try getting it all setup tonight and risk missing her shows.


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## krkaufman

gespears said:


> Anyway the interesting part is that he said the guy said V2 mini's are 124.99 on Best Buy's site.


It's recent, but Best Buy's website now has distinct listings (including unique SKU and model #) for the two Mini variants.


Mini 1 (Model: TCDA92000 SKU: 8505056) on sale at $126.99 (though my local store has them tagged at $114.99)
Mini 2 (Model: TCDA93000 SKU: 3784034) at $149.99
That said, the stores don't seem to be managing this change well, to the advantage of some.


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## kettledrum

Sadly, my Best Buy got things figured out. I went by there yesterday and checked these out, but all they had were the new ones at $150, and the old ones were no where to be seen.


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## Rugged Ron

I have been reading several posts here about people going into Best Buy and finding new models with old model prices, but I kept thinking, "These things never happen to me." Today I went to BB to pick up an order I placed online and took a quick cruise through the Tivo equipment and noticed a row of mini's that had a price sticker of $114.88 on the shelf. I picked one up and checked it, and it was the new model! Just then the sales bot came by, and I asked him if that was the price. He said he'd have to check, but it may not be correct. He went to the computer and brought it up, and told me it is $149.99, BUT, since it was labeled at $114.88, that is what he would have to sell it to me for. I didn't even have to ask! As I was leaving, he was taking the price tag off of the shelf, and jokingly told me that I was going to be the last person to get that deal! So, don't try it at the BB store in Reynoldsburg, OH. I have ruined for you!


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## Tinker15

bedlamx said:


> I just purchased 2 mini's v2 and they dropped the price to 119 because the sku numbers for the 9200 and the 9300 are the same. The manager told me the model numbers were irrevelant because BB has them all under 1 sku.


I thought that would be dishonest too but now I see this I wish I would have asked. Bb matched the price for the basic roamio 145.00 vs 199.00 retail but to think I could have saved another 30.00!


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## altern8545

is the tivo mini in BB include lifetime?


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## Tinker15

altern8545 said:


> is the tivo mini in BB include lifetime?


Yes! They and everyone are offering this special till may 4 2015


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## altern8545

thank you everyone! picked up a 9300 and price matched it against amazon


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## dave13077

altern8545 said:


> thank you everyone! picked up a 9300 and price matched it against amazon


It looks like it is listed (new version) at $149 on Amazon. How much was it at Bestbuy?


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## altern8545

a funny thing happened at bestbuy - i picked up a v1 and ask the associate why it is at the higher $149 price and show him the bb website price, he told me to have it price adjusted at the register and on my way there, i noticed the box had a tear on it so i went back to the aisle and picked the next unit on the shelf. while waiting online at the register, i looked up amazon's v1 price and decided to use that since it was even cheaper. only when i got home and looked at the remote did i realized i picked up a incorrectly placed v2 unit.

i guess the store themselves co-mingle both v1 and v2 and if i did not make the switch, i wouldnt have known the wiser or at worst, paid $149 for a v1


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## HenryFarpolo

The old model is currently selling for $99 with free shipping at Vizase store.


EDIT 4/20....Although this looks like a valid website it may not be. I wouldn't jump on this yet...I did and am doing further research.

EDIT 4/21....Disregard this site...not a valid offer.


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## heifer624

There's currently 10+ available items of the new Tivo Mini version with RF remote on ebay for $115. 

Do a search for....

"TiVo Mini (New version with Roamio RF remote) , includes Product Lifetime Service"


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## kettledrum

Hmm, what's up with that? Grey market or a scam?


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## heifer624

Caveat emptor on anything from ebay/online. 

I think ebay may have a scam guarantee of some kind but I've never had any troubles and never had to use it.


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## HenryFarpolo

Use PayPal to pay. They offer purchase protection.


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## Rugged Ron

What's interesting is that, supposedly 35 have been sold, but the seller has no feedback for over a year. Hummm....


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## Tinker15

dave13077 said:


> It looks like it is listed (new version) at $149 on Amazon. How much was it at Bestbuy?


149.00 at BB v2 and 114.00 v1


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## mae

Rugged Ron said:


> What's interesting is that, supposedly 35 have been sold, but the seller has no feedback for over a year. Hummm....


There's another vendor selling them for $119.98 with lots of current feedback, http://www.ebay.com/itm/TiVo-Mini-N...494?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa6352366. Only negative one was resolved. I ordered 2 yesterday, they were shipped today. I'll post when they arrive.


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## lessd

heifer624 said:


> Caveat emptor on anything from ebay/online.
> 
> I think ebay may have a scam guarantee of some kind but I've never had any troubles and never had to use it.


I just got an item (non TiVo) that was not as described, one compliant and I was E-Mailed an E-Bay return label, put the item back in the box and mailed it out, got my full money back, was painless and very easy.


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## osu1991

I ordered one of the $115 mini's from the ebay seller Monday afternoon. It shipped yesterday from Ft Worth and is on the truck for delivery to me in Tulsa today. Just waiting for the UPS guy. Usually around 3-4pm when I get UPS deliveries.


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## osu1991

Mini showed up 30 mins ago and now I am pissed off, going to be my first problem with something bought from ebay. The Mini was shipped directly from Tivo with a Tivo packaging slip and would appear to be new with all accessories, but it is a refurb or a return. 

Someway it is showing activated on another account. So now I have to wait 3-5 business days for them to manually deactivate it from whatever account it was on and move it to mine.


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## kettledrum

Is this likely to be a version of this scam, since it was shipped directly from TiVo? Who does the packing slip say the buyer is?

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10383326#post10383326


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## osu1991

It only has my name on the Tivo packing slip. 

I just got an email saying my Tivo account had been updated. Logged in and the new mini was showing on my account. I just plugged it into my network and went through setup and everything worked as it should. 

Congrats to Tivo for the speedy work, the CSR was nice and knew what he was doing and I thanked him for the help, but I was ticked off when he told me it could take 3 to 5 days. I was hoping it wouldn't be more than 24hrs, so 3hrs makes me happy again.


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## heifer624

You should leave that guy on ebay negative feedback as he should have marked those items as a "Manufacturer refurbished" or as "Seller refurbished". Or ask for a partial refund. Definitely not a "NEW" item especially if tied to someone else's account.


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## mae

As I posted earlier, I order two from the other seller on ebay for about $120, thinking the $5 was worth it for the more recent positive feedback.

It was shipped Fedex ground the next day and arrived well packed today. The units were factory sealed and the same as the one I bought from BB.

They activated with no issue. I've installed one and it completed Guided Setup and is working fine. I won't get to the other one until tomorrow, but since the TSN activated and I received a confirming email, it should be OK.

Just a data point, but this seller seems OK.:up:


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## kettledrum

Thanks for the update, Mae. The more data points the better. 

I still wonder where they are getting these from to be able to sell them at $120 for a profit? No retailer has discounted them at all yet, have they?


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## TazExprez

Do these $115-$120 Minis have the v312 NetFlix error that some users are posting? This problem seems to be occurring to the Minis bought directly from TiVo and not the ones bought from Best Buy.


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## AuburnTivo

HenryFarpolo said:


> The old model is currently selling for $99 with free shipping at Vizase store.
> 
> EDIT 4/20....Although this looks like a valid website it may not be. I wouldn't jump on this yet...I did and am doing further research.
> 
> EDIT 4/21....Disregard this site...not a valid offer.


FWIW, I ordered a Fire TV from that site and got it without any issues in about a week. What's really weird is that the Fire TV was actually drop-shipped from Best Buy. I was nervous buying from an obscure website, but since I had Paypal protection I decided to give it a shot. It even came with a Best buy packing slip, so I bet I could return it to Best Buy if I needed to. My concern is that the person running that site is actually using other people's stolen credit cards to make the purchases and fulfill orders after reading up on some similar scams. I'm not sure I would order from them again in good conscience.


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## emp

AuburnTivo said:


> FWIW, I ordered a Fire TV from that site and got it without any issues in about a week. What's really weird is that the Fire TV was actually drop-shipped from Best Buy. I was nervous buying from an obscure website, but since I had Paypal protection I decided to give it a shot. It even came with a Best buy packing slip, so I bet I could return it to Best Buy if I needed to. My concern is that the person running that site is actually using other people's stolen credit cards to make the purchases and fulfill orders after reading up on some similar scams. I'm not sure I would order from them again in good conscience.


It probably is stolen credit cards, this fraud happens all the time and takes a while to report since the customers are happy because they get their product quick and expected condition. Since everything turned out ok (for them) they usually overlook the weirdness like "drop shipping" from best buy. They only get caught once many chargebacks start to happen and then they just shut down and start up a different site/user and start all over again. They have the money long gone by the time that happens so no way to recoup losses and best buy and the other "drop ship" retailers are the ones who lose all the money.


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## lessd

emp said:


> It probably is stolen credit cards, this fraud happens all the time and takes a while to report since the customers are happy because they get their product quick and expected condition. Since everything turned out ok (for them) they usually overlook the weirdness like "drop shipping" from best buy. They only get caught once many chargebacks start to happen and then they just shut down and start up a different site/user and start all over again. They have the money long gone by the time that happens so no way to recoup losses and best buy and the other "drop ship" retailers are the ones who lose all the money.


My E-Bay Mini v2 came directly from TiVo with a TiVo packing slip, because all direct TiVo minis are already activated I had TiVo move the Mini v2 to my TiVo account, TiVo CSR did it without any problems (for me). As I paid $114 (inc. shipping) for this new Mini v2 the seller must have some great deal with TiVo, or something else is going on as he had to pay E-Bay/PayPal at least between 9% to 13 % on the transaction.


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## BigJimOutlaw

V1 Mini is currently $108 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/TiVo-TCDA9200...UTF8&qid=1432963387&sr=8-2&keywords=tivo+mini


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## telemark

There are a few (not a lot) legitimate reasons to dropship from bestbuy. 
Like burning through expiring credit card rebates or gift cards.

If you can find out how much was paid, it might differentiate fraud vs legitimate.

Paying more and selling for less = suspicion of fraud. 
 Paying less and selling for more = arbitrage.


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## lessd

telemark said:


> There are a few (not a lot) legitimate reasons to dropship from bestbuy.
> Like burning through expiring credit card rebates or gift cards.
> 
> If you can find out how much was paid, it might differentiate fraud vs legitimate.
> 
> Paying more and selling for less = suspicion of fraud.
> Paying less and selling for more = arbitrage.


But who is responsible for any fraud in your example, the buyer or seller??, and for sure the buyer not responsible to find out the seller cost.


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## telemark

I'm not sure what kind of responsibility you mean, but that's starting to get into legal questions, where lawyers should be instead answering.

I'll describe the process when it's a stolen credit card. The credit card owner, will notice the charge 30-90 days later. Notify their bank, which issues a charge back request via the credit card network, which freezes funds in the merchant's account. The retailer and the credit card owner present evidence and a decision who pays what is made by the bank. Typically the CC owner did nothing wrong, and doesn't pay anything. The merchant is often forced to fund the refund which they then have a loss and compensate with higher prices. Sometimes, a credit entity funds it and covers the costs with their 3% fees, but I don't think it's common.

Based on that, it might tell you who owns unauthorized purchased electronics. When I have a straightforward legal question I go on to legal boards, many are free like avvo.com.

Credit card theft is rampant so once the industry figures out how to eliminate fraud, eCommerce in the US will get even better than it is now.


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## lessd

telemark said:


> I'm not sure what kind of responsibility you mean, but that's starting to get into legal questions, where lawyers should be instead answering.
> 
> I'll describe the process when it's a stolen credit card. The credit card owner, will notice the charge 30-90 days later. Notify their bank, which issues a charge back request via the credit card network, which freezes funds in the merchant's account. The retailer and the credit card owner present evidence and a decision who pays what is made by the bank. Typically the CC owner did nothing wrong, and doesn't pay anything. The merchant is often forced to fund the refund which they then have a loss and compensate with higher prices. Sometimes, a credit entity funds it and covers the costs with their 3% fees, but I don't think it's common.
> 
> Based on that, it might tell you who owns unauthorized purchased electronics. When I have a straightforward legal question I go on to legal boards, many are free like avvo.com.
> 
> Credit card theft is rampant so once the industry figures out how to eliminate fraud, eCommerce in the US will get even better than it is now.


I was referring to the responsibility the buyer has in (knowing) purchasing stolen stuff or stuff purchased from a stolen credit card, in most cases the buyer would not know unless he purchased from the truck of a car in a parking lot for cash, even that could be problematic if the purchase was made using Craigslist with a parking lot exchange.
With E-Bay and Craigslist I would guess most fences are out of business.
I read about E-Bay sellers being charged with selling stolen stuff or knock-offs, but I never heard of any E-Bay buyer being charged or forced to return after purchasing what was later found to be stolen stuff.
I am sure lawyers are stymied by this also, as all they can say is don't purchase stolen stuff.


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