Best Buy Raincheck - Need Advice

[MooMooMooMoo]

I received a rain check several weeks ago at BB for an item they were out of stock on.

The store has not gotten it in. BB's website shows that their warehouse has the item in stock. The store has told me that the raincheck is not good on the website. The store tells me there is nothing they can do but wait.

The BB website says the closest store to me that has the item is about 60 miles away; the gas would cost more then the $15 savings.

Any advice from those who've dealt with this would be appreciated.

[RevKarl]

You might check with your local store to see if you can order it from BestBuy.com, return it to the store for a refund (minus the shipping cost) and then re-purchase it in-store with your rain check.

[dollfins1]

hang on to the raincheck. when they finally get the item in stock in your local store use it. you could call bb customer service as well to see what they say. btw this should be posted in the store forum not in bargains.

[Neil M.]

Another thing you could do is try going to another chain store and see if they'll match the rain check. Circuit City has done this several times for me.

[cinemaphile]

I agree with the previous post: (Don't check with them first though, just do it)

Buy it online (but use ship-to-store and there will be no shipping charges), then when you pick it up, immediately return it.
Either you can tell them you want to re-buy it immediately with the raincheck, OR if you're worried they'll give you trouble, just go back in the next day when they've returned it to the shelf!

[RevKarl]

I know Walmart has a "ship-to-store" option, but I cannot find it at the Best Buy website.

Best Buy does have an "in-store" pickup option, but that's only available if the item is already in stock at the store you select.

The reason I suggested the OP check with the store first about buying the item online for an immediate return/repurchase was that I wasn't sure how Best Buy stores handle their online returns. Some merchants simply add returned items purchased online to the store's stock; others, however, have a strict policy of shipping all such items back to their online store's warehouse.

[rfduncan]

Buy it online (but use ship-to-store and there will be no shipping charges), then when you pick it up, immediately return it.
Either you can tell them you want to re-buy it immediately with the raincheck, OR if you're worried they'll give you trouble, just go back in the next day when they've returned it to the shelf!
Even if that was how they handled in-store pickups, you'd end up wasting so much on gas that the trip back the next day would potentially eat up any savings (not to mention the cost of your own time).
I know Walmart has a "ship-to-store" option, but I cannot find it at the Best Buy website.

Best Buy does have an "in-store" pickup option, but that's only available if the item is already in stock at the store you select.
Correct. The "in-store" pickup option is only available for locations that have that item in their inventory. If it is out of stock, the option is grayed out when you order.

[MooMooMooMoo]

While I put out way more effort then I wanted to this had a good outcome. I first tried Neil's idea re: Circuit City but they also didn't have the item. As today's just under 1 month, I went into the store a second time, & after getting the same runaround asked for a manager. BB's RC's say they can be used for something else if the item is unavailable, so I asked for a $15 in store credit, which was the amount of the discount. Instead, they just gave me a gift card with a $21.75 value, which is what I would have paid for the item they were out of! Now just to decide what to use it on...... One option is to order the same item at BB online which would now cost me about $8 + the giftcard.....