Best Buy rewards HD DVD buyers

Retailer gives gift cards to purchasers, returners

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 3/19/2008

MARCH 19 | Best Buy is helping make some winners out of those who bought into the losing HD DVD format.

The retailer will send $50 gift cards to customers who bought an HD DVD hardware device anytime before Feb. 23 of this year at Best Buy. Most customers will receive the cards by mail, as Best Buy will scour its files to identify past purchasers of HD DVD players and attachments, which spans stand-alone set-top players and the Xbox 360 drive.

Best Buy HD DVD customers who are Reward Zone members, purchasers of HD DVD warranty plans, or those who bought players on the chain’s Web site should receive gift cards in the mail by May 1. Those who want to ensure their card is on the way can call 888.BEST.BUY (888.237.8289) and provide proof of purchase through a receipt or credit card documentation.

Additionally, customers who purchased HD DVD players and titles from any retailer, not necessarily Best Buy, can trade in their goods for Best Buy gift cards. People looking to toss their HD DVD merchandise can visit Best Buy’s Online Trade-In Center at www.bestbuytradein.com to get value estimates of the items they want to discard. After Best Buy has received the product, it will issue a gift card matching the store’s value estimate.

Conceivably, Best Buy’s HD DVD adopters can get two gift cards, one for purchasing the player and the other for getting rid of it.

Yet Best Buy executives designed their HD DVD gift card program to allow people to hold onto their HD DVD players if they choose, but at the same time make them feel better about buying into a now dead format. HD DVD hardware does upconvert standard-definition DVDs to higher quality picture and sound.

“We know that many people who purchased these players have HD DVD movies that they would like to continue to watch,” said Barry Judge, chief marketing officer for Best Buy. “We’re telling our customers they can keep their players to play these movies as well as their older DVDs and use the $50 to treat themselves to anything else in the stores.”

Best Buy management stopped short of suggesting customers use the $50 to purchase Blu-ray Disc products. But an underlying idea is that this financial incentive will lift HD DVD customers’ spirits and keep them excited about purchasing new technology. That would arguably include Blu-ray, as it is now the only choice for high-definition home entertainment.

 “The DVD format war has divided our customers in a way we haven’t seen since Betamax took on VHS more than 20 years ago,” said Brian J. Dunn, Best Buy president and chief operating officer. “At Best Buy, we understood and shared our customers’ frustrations as they were being asked to choose one format or the other. Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs.”