Best Buy Says Free Shipping And Free Delivery Are Two Different Things

Okay maybe I'm the idiot for thinking that 'Free Shipping' meant 'Free Shipping'. If someone is dropping off an item (that I paid for) at my place, that counts as shipping. But the folks at Best Buy say there are some distinctions. 

Kenny was a Best Buy customer who wanted to purchase a 50" Plasma TV from the store's website. The site was offering a free shipping promotion, but he was still charged a $70 'delivery' fee. Apparently there is a distinction between 'shipping' and 'delivery' at Best Buy.

Kenny detailed his experience in a letter to Best Buy that was posted on the Consumerist website. Apparently 50" TV's are roped in to the same category as other appliances that must be delivered. Unlike smaller items (like cameras or video game systems) which can be shipped.

Of course that distinction isn't made on the website. According to Kenny, "News to me, I never heard a company, like amazon where I am an avid customer, tell me that their super saver shipping wasn't available for items that were too big because those items require delivery, not shipping...what's the difference?"

Kenny said he ended up taking his $750 purchase to a rival retailer.

Perhaps this isn't the best news for a company that has had to lay off employees, close stores, and overall has had a bad year facing on-line competition.

So what do you think? Do you think they should make things clearer when it comes to shipping, or do you think Kenny is a idiot? Take the poll below.