Michael Myers

Foursquare + Redlaser saved Joe Mescher $25 at Best Buy

In #Foursquare, #misc
04/17/2011
3 Min read
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I was recently doing some research online and came across a great post by Joe Mescher who shows a great example of yet another type fo social commerce. I’ve already posted about the two types of social commerce, but love this example. @joemescher was kind enough to let me put his post on my site. Check out his site when you get a chance. And now for the story . . .

Anyone who needs a good reason to use Foursquare — listen up.

Friday night my wife and I went to Best Buy to check out a few DVD’s she wanted to pick up (‘The Blind Side’ and the TV series ‘Weeds’). I’m in the habit of using Foursquare to check-in at places like restaurants and retail stores because I usually find cool tips from friends who’ve been there. I couldn’t have predicted what would happen next.

Community tips equal cash in the bank!

In case you aren’t familiar, Foursquare lets you add tips to any location you can check in at. So when I popped a note together saying I was at Best Buy, a message appeared on my iPhone from a local user that read, “Check out the Redlaser app before you make a purchase, because Best Buy offers price matching.”

I did a quick calculation in my head and reasoned that the $0.99 it costs to purchase the app would pay off instantly, because stores like Walmart and online retailers like Amazon.com generally sell for less than the other big box shops. With the click of a button I bought the app and scanned the DVD’s we were all set to purchase (I literally scanned them as we were walking up to the register).

Score!

Redlaser is incredibly simple to use. You just line up the barcode of the item you want to price check with a box that appears on your iPhone, and the app delivers both local prices from retail stores as well as online pricing.

I have to give credit to Best Buy, too.

The lady at the checkout counter was well educated about the price match option and the entire process was hassle free. If I’m reassured that I won’t be overcharged for a DVD, or anything else for that matter, I’ll continue to shop at retail stores when I’m out and about.

Still, I would never have realized how important apps like Redlaser are without a mobile tool like Foursquare. So if you haven’t bought into the hype, give it another look.

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By Michael Myers 04/17/2011
282 comments
Michael Myers