any luck?

A wasn't able to make it out to Tyson's, but I tried the Bailey's Crossroads BB. I was RUDELY denied there. A manager named Merril pretty much just told me "No" and walked away. I had to chase her down for a further explanation. I stressed that I wasn't trying to return them for money or store credit, I just wanted to exchange them for their Blu equals. It didn't matter. I asked if it was just b/c they were HD DVDs and she said "No, all items in the store require a receipt for return or exchange, even after the Holidays."

Seconds later, my wife left the store w/ $280 of store credit after returning an Xbox harddrive, game and.... Blade Runner on HD DVD - all gifts that did not have receipts! I was left w/ my small pile of unexchanged HD DVDs and decided to call it a night.

On a sidenote - I think one reason that they are so vehemently against exchanging HDM w/o a receipt is b/c of recent promotions involving 5 free HD/BD w/ player purchase. The fact that I am trying to exchange exactly 5 Kubrick films probably does not help my case much.

I just returned to my Best Buy in Buckhead, Atlanta, my 4 Harry Potters and Syriana from Amazon, in exchange for the BD versions. They did take my drivers license, so I guess that's my one exchange for the year. It was pretty easy tho, like the woman had done this before. So, I think it really depends on what cashier you get.

she may have made that ****y decision as a manager, but that's not Best Buy policy storewide. There is a time frame to do receipt less returns after X-mas/New Years, but for her to be that vehement, is rather crass.

Yeah, I agree. We might try Tyson's tonight. If I get rejected there, I'll just keep them. I feel no need to panic sell all of my open HD DVDs (on the contrary, most of them are exclusives for the time being - which I am happy to have) I just feel that since these ones are sealed, and they were gifts, I should be able to exchange them. Hell, my grandfather has taken back just about every gift he's received for decades. I've never known a gift exchange to be such a hassle.

Funny thing: I was at BB doing an in-store pickup the day WB made their announcement and, while there, a guy came up to the return window with an A3 and told them he needed to return it due to the decision by WB. I was just a little amazed at how quickly the word spread and people started returning them like they were about to explode.