Aaron Amos

This week I went into my local Best Buy hoping to get the Tombstone: Vista Series for 17.99. and use my $3 off coupon for it in the Pearl Harbor DVD. I found out that they were sold out and got a raincheck. They said they would call me or send me mail that my item is in . With my job at the Travis B/X I have to tell people it will take a week or two(depending on what item is on sale). I also have to call them or someone in my department calls them when the item they got a raincheck for in to be picked up.

So how is Best Buy when it comes to rainchecks for items they put on sale? Anybody care to share their experinces with rainchecks and Best Buy?Do they really call you when your stuff is ready to be picked up? Or call you?

eau

It depends on the BB store. Some stores would mail you a notification postcard when the item comes in. Others would not mail you anything nor call you at all. In either case, you should have gotten a raincheck which you can use at any BB store when you see the item in stock. As for how long the raincheck is good for, there was one BB raincheck that I used with no problem at all even after almost a year.

speedy1961

I have gotten a total of 3 rainchecks from Best Buy to date and no one from that store (Orange, CT) has ever contacted me by mail / e-mail / phone.

Results may vary at different locations. I've had no success with this store.

Mr. Gore

I have gotten innumerable rainchecks from various BB stores in the D/FW area over the years. None has ever attempted to contact me in any fashion. Some even put out the forms on items they know they don't have in stock. Having said that, just keep checking back periodically and you can usually pick up the item at any location eventually. My best experience was last summer when they had an Aiwa portable DVD player on sale for $399.99 from $499.99. After checking a dozen stores over the week of the sale and having a completely horrible time with BestBuy.com and the in-store pickup option (never again!), no one near me ever got the thing in. Unfortunately, the flyer said no rainchecks. I got one store to give me one and picked up the form off the shelf at a Dallas store. I would check back weekly wherever I was. Also, I always had to ask if they had any because they never had the players out on the shelves. I went at a Fort Worth store one Sunday and, lo and behold, they had just gotten some in. I didn't have my raincheck that particular day, but the electronics guy remembered the ad from a few weeks ago and gave it to me for the sale price without me even having to plead with him. Sure, BB can be a pain, but sometimes you can get lucky.

POWERBOMB

It does vary from store to store, but there are 2 items that hasn't been mentioned here.

1st, the rainchecks should be typed electronically into their computer system. They started doing this about a month or so ago. This is suppossed to place an order for the item specifically for the customer to whom the raincheck is entered for. They even give you a print out of the electronic raincheck. They still put out those three copy paper rainchecks, but you increase your chances if you get an E-Raincheck.

2nd, most people don't know this, but Best Buy only hold on to your raincheck for 45 days from the date it was issued. I guess they believe that they will get the rainchecked item in and have enough time for the 14 day waiting period they notify you with. Most of the employees don't even know about this, hell for all I know it may not even be true except for the fact that several different employees at different stores mentioned it to me.


Your best bet: Call after about 2 weeks and every other day after that to see if it came in. I haven't had any luck with any retailer contacting me and if the product is worth the price I generally don't mind calling.

Movie_Man

I have only got one raincheck from Best Buy, and I never really expected to ever hear back from them. So I just put it in my pocket every time I happened to go there. About 2 weeks later, they had what I wanted so I picked it up. And nobody ever did contact me.

vwbeetlvr

to be honest with you, the best buy that i work at usually doesn't have time to send out rainchecks. With all the other stuff we have to worry about we never have time to do it. I fell bad but i wish there was more time in the day to get to that stuff. We ALWAYS accept rainchecks that customers may have, and occassionally send out responses.

explorer2000

I have to agree with POWERBOMB. The rainchecks if done electronically are excellent. I had requested a raincheck and it was typed into the computer. You can choose either to be notified by email or regular mail. And within a few days I was notified that the items were in stock. I had already pricematched somewhere else so I didn't use the raincheck. A couple of weeks later, I got a second raincheck notice about the items and was given a set date that the items needed to be purchased by.

So if you need to get a rain check at BB, I'd definitely suggest that you make sure that it is inputted into the computer. That way you will get one notice & possibly a second notice when your items become available.

Josh-da-man

The service at Best Buy varies from store to store.

There are two stores near me. One has excellent service. I refuse to buy anything from the other one. (Yes, I had a bad experience there. It involved returning a defective item.)