I got the Fullscreen Spider-man dvd as a gift and wanted to exchange it for the widescreen version at BestBuy without the receipt. I ran into a problem since the dvd is now 20 bucks and it was on sale a few weeks ago for 15. The girl was trying to get me to pay the 5 dollar difference which was just unacceptable to me. They were trying to say that they were actually different items and if I was trying to exchange fullscreen to fullscreen it would be fine. This is just ridiculous because BB could possibly make 5 bucks off of this, while there is no way that I could make a dime. If I was trying to get a completely different dvd, I would understand the problem, but the fullscreen and widescreen copies of dvds are constantly the same exact price, so they should be considered the same item.

Finally after a bit of arguing with the girl and her manager, they let me do it because they were sick of trying to convince me.

Do stores usually consider fullscreen and widescreen dvds as being totally different items?

Not sure if they should be considered different items. But I'm glad you were able to 'convince' BB manager to let you do the exchange.

I would consider them technically different since they have different UPC numbers and WS/FS is not just an 'attribute'

I got my "A Beautiful Mind" FS exchanged at Circuit City for a WS without any problem. I think the lady that exchanged it for me noticed the differant UPC's but went ahead with the exchange anyway.

They are different items from an inventory standpoint, since the DVDs do have different bar codes/part numbers for the store to keep track of. And maybe that Best Buy is ultra anal about their inventory. I work part time at a video store and had to do an exchange for somebody who got a full frame LOTR and wanted the widescreen, so I gladly let him go over and pick out a new widescreen and put his sealed full frame version back on the shelf. Hell, I didn't even do a credit for the exchange in the computer or have him sign anything, and I let the store manager know what I did and that we'd be short one ws and over one p&s and she was cool with it. But then again, we aren't ultra anal about the small details like that on inventories. Now if the copies just come up missing all together without any explanation or offset...

I don't understand why Best Buy would give anybody hell for exchanging sealed copies. And I've read posts here where people got good service with such requests. I guess it varies from Best Buy to Best Buy and the anal retentiveness of the employees/managers there.

As has been stated many times on this forum, Best Buy's customer service policy is in dire need of an overhaul!

In the case of your SPIDER-MAN, the girl was technically correct--both the FS & WS versions are different since they each have separate UPC numbers. But what the girl didn't indicate that since the widescreen version is $5 higher THIS week, but so is the fullscreen one, as well. So it really doesn't make any difference to BB's return policy if you are returning a title (without a receipt) if it is a format problem or just a replacement for the same item (such as a damaged disc).

BB's customer service policies see everything in black-and-white and just don't get "the big picture." They have a CS policy, but prefer to add their own interpretations (for their own benefit!).