Best Buy Mobile to sell Palm Pre for $199.99 without mail-in rebate

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

While many were thrilled to finally learn the price and release date of the Palm Pre on Tuesday, some of that excitement was deflated by the fact that Sprint's $199.99 price tag came only after you sent in for a $100 mail-in rebate. Fortunately, Best Buy isn't taking the same approach.

The consumer electronics retailer has announced that it will offer the Palm Pre for $199.99 outright. You will, of course, still have to sign a two-year contract with Sprint, but at least you won't have to deal with the hassle of a mail-in rebate.

Like Sprint, the Pre will be available on June 6 at Best Buy Mobile stores, which are in 1,067 locations in the U.S. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a better deal to me. The question is, how many phones will be in stock? Especially after Sprint CEO Dan Hesse talked of Pre shortages.

[hafenbrack]

Intersting to see Best Buy do this. I wonder if will propmt Sprint stores to follow suit, since they will most likely lose out on many sales if a BB is nearby any of the Sprint store locations?

[djstewpac]

I called this. check the comments from the pricing announcment post.

ftw.

[gftdpnut]

Does Bestbuy handle phone upgrades too, or will i be forced to go to a Sprint store?

[djstewpac]

of course.

[peterwhite]

Back in the day, Radio Shack often was a cheaper source of Sprint phones and accessories and so I'm not surprised that Best Buy see's an opportunity to drive traffic to themselves while remaining relevant in the cell / tele communications realm.

[djstewpac]

radioshack still is, plus they match any ad on a flyer.
also with no mail in

[jamesreb]

This is always the way Best Buy operates. I went to a corporate Sprint Store around the corner from the Sprint HQ Campus of all places and they wanted $99 after rebate for a BlackBerry Curve. Go to the Best Buy around the corner and got it for $49.99 no rebate required.

I would never buy my phone directly from the carrier's b-n-m store. They want to bilk any money they can out of you. The commissions paid to and overall cost for the authorized reseller may be lower than at corporate stores too once you factor the employee and store overhead. I don't care if my car charger doesn't say Sprint on it. Just don't charge me $30 for something worth $15.

[schmidtdustin]

I can't imagine why sprint and Palm would not want to have plenty of units for launch. They think that they will be able to take out the iphone if a small number of people get the phone. Give me a break, they need to get this into as many hands as possible in the first 2 days, because after the Apple announcement there is no way people will go to sprint. Don't get me wrong i'm buying a Pre but the Apple bug will get everyone if Palm and Sprint think they can wait.

[chrispapa101]

it is a trick to get you at sprint door right away when the phone is realese, think about it...you will want to go get the phone right away if you think there is a shortage.

[Paodi]

I am torn. I currently have Sprint, and my contract is up soon. I have an iPod Touch and love it, and am thinking about going for the next iPhone, but the Pre is very tempting. I can't wait to see a head to head with the Pre whatever Apple brings out next.

[qst4]

I'm sort of in the same predicament. My touch has some pretty good apps, and plus apple is selling 16GB iphones for the same price as the pre. However Sprint has the $70 everything plan that I'm pretty happy with and a keyboard. I'll say its good to have choices.

[WalksInTheSky]

That is fantastic news!! I can't think of a single person that finds enjoyment in waiting for their rebate check. Does anyone know if the $199 price at Best Buy is applicable to current customers seeking to renew for a 2-year term? Thanks Bonnie!

[txag1981]

I have upgraded at BestBuy before. It was less painful than at a Sprint store. I've purchased/upgraded a couple of phones at BestBuy. I chose them because they had the lowest price and I didn't have to mess with the mail in rebate. At BestBuy you can upgrade, extend contracts, and I suspect most anything else and not have to deal with a Sprint store.

[myles taylor]

Does this mean that Best Buy is eating the extra $100 to get customers and then doing the rebate itself?

[djstewpac]

it simply means they aren't making any interest off the 100 dollars they get from you while it sits in a bank and you fill out the rebate form...

[kholloway005]

Will I have to wait in line on June 6th with the possibility of being turned away or will Best Buy take Pre...pre-orders? Sending out less hardware then there really is will only make consumers angrier. They took their sweet time with the launch, now they expect everyone to wait until they decide to make them more readily available? Seriously. I talk all this crap, but I still want the phone. I guess their scheme is working.

[ewifiowehfiwefhwi]

If you are a business customer, which you should be if you are getting this device since it is a business phone, you get this phone for $199.99 no mail in rebate through Sprint if you are eligible for an upgrade or if you get a new line of service through Sprint. Best Buy is not offering anything spectacular here.

[oneAwake]

Correct, not only do you get the instant credits, if Sprints website offers anything additional, (i.e. another instant credit of $100) a business customer gets that as well.

[ewifiowehfiwefhwi]

The $199.99 includes the $150 2 year savings, $100 instant savings and the $100 mail-in rebate. The program allowing this is called Business Device Select pricing and is for corporate-liable customers with 1-99 lines.

[bartmoore]

What is a "Best Buy Mobile" store? When I googled for a store locator it looks like they are only in 12 Eastern states, the nearest store being more than 800 miles from houston!

[best_buy_tom]

Any BestBuy store will have BestBuy Mobile.

[djstewpac]

same price @radioshack as @best buy

but only new jersey newyork texas and california stores are going to carry it at launch.

[nevadamarcus]

The Palm Pre is now on Best Buys web site, but showing a price of $849.99.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9337595&st=palm&type=product&id=1218087261903

[best_buy_tom]

$849.99 is the phone's "Regular price". When was the last time you paid "Regular price" at a BestBuy?

[J-M-N]

I'm curios as to how many will be at each store. Given the fact this will be a very popular phone, from what the consumer and media reaction has been thus far, it's not going to be a very nice launch if they only have a handful at each location, whether it be at Sprint or BBYM.

"What is a "Best Buy Mobile" store? When I googled for a store locator it looks like they are only in 12 Eastern states, the nearest store being more than 800 miles from houston!"

Most Best Buy stores have Best Buy Mobile stores within the actual store itself. I check bestbuy.com, and the Best Buy at The Galleria (store 291) has a Best Buy Mobile Store within it, as does the Gulfgate store. Hope that's of assistance. The reason why they didn't come up but the East Coast BBYMs stores did was that the BBYMs stores are stand alone, vs. being inside another Best Buy, like most of the BBYM stores are.

- JMN.

[1trousers]

How do I buy a Palm Pre, from where please?

Why is there no contact us link?