Dear Best Buy: Please charge less for things.

As I have blogged over the last few days, I am endeavoring to convert my MythTV to a Windows 7 Media Center PC.  My router is not centrally located to my entertainment center anymore, so I needed a wireless card for the machine.

So I ventured out to Best Buy today in search of a Wireless G PCI card.  I headed back to that section of my local store, and found only options in the $40-50 price point.  I know for a fact that a decent, workable wireless card should cost between $15-30 based on past experience.  So I stop a guy and ask him if they had any cheaper alternatives for wireless PCI cards.  He pointed out a few of the USB options and said “these are only $40” and I told him that this was still just about twice as much as they needed to be.

He replied with a curt “sorry, that’s all we have” and walked away.  So I walked away too… back to the office to order a wireless card for a grand total of $17 from NewEgg.com.

Now to be clear: I accept that if I’m buying from a retail shop I might have to pay a bit more.  I’d even be willing to pay 20% more if it meant I could have it immediately.  But I draw the line at… well… double.  Being an informed consumer is fun, shopping at Best Buy is NOT.  It seems that the more times I go into Best Buy, the more times I end up leaving disappointed having purchased nothing due to price.