Best Buy offering free 'future proofing' for one week

MINNEAPOLIS -- Best Buy announced that through Feb. 12 it is offering customers its buy back program for free. To promote the offer, Best Buy has launched a multi-media campaign that began with its Super Bowl spot featuring Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne and Justin Bieber.

Best Buy officially launched buy back in January as a solution for customers who want to keep up with the greatest gadgets but are concerned that their gear will become obsolete, the company reported. Best Buy customers may purchase the buy back program when buying a new product at Best Buy and redeem it at a later time, for up to 50% of the original purchase price paid in the form of a Best Buy gift card, as long as the device is in good working condition and includes all original parts.

“We have abundant evidence that one of the biggest barriers to buying new tech devices today is fear of obsolescence,” said Brian Dunn, chief executive officer of Best Buy. “We don’t think that should get in the way of benefiting from all that today’s technology has to offer. So to celebrate the arrival of this program, we’re offering it free on everything from mobile phones and laptops, to tablets and TVs. The buy back program is not only unprecedented for Best Buy, but we believe it can transform CE retailing as we know it today.”

Best Buy is waiving its upfront Buy Back Program price from now through Saturday, Feb. 12 on the complete range of consumer electronics covered by the Buy Back Program, including post-paid mobile phones, laptops, netbooks, tablets and televisions. Ordinarily, the cost of the Buy Back Program varies by product category, with protection for any laptop, netbook or tablet, for example, being $69.99.