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In a shamelessly clever marketing gambit, Best Buy is selling shrink-wrapped AT&T Broadband digital cable kits for $10 a throw. The truth: There's no "kit" inside, just a brochure with an 800 number and five pay-per-view movie coupons. Best Buy used to hand out the AT&T kits for free, but it found that customers were more likely to order service if they had financial incentive and something shiny to put in the shopping basket. Upon subscribing, they get their 10 bucks back, and Best Buy collects a handsome fee from AT&T. (When a customer doesn't sign up, the retailer keeps the $10.) Savvy shoppers, however, note that all the information in and on the box can be had for free at www.attbroadband.com. "Best Buy is about boxes - we've got people coming into the stores to purchase them," explains Jeff Stratman, a senior buyer. "The digital cable kit isn't the only product we sell that's essentially air." Indeed, the company also packages Netflix, assorted service contracts, and computer courses. The choice is yours: money for nothing or clicks for free.
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