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-   -   My ordeal finding "Spirited Away" (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/store-forum/286340-my-ordeal-finding-spirited-away.html)

Daytripper 04-15-03 07:36 PM

My ordeal finding "Spirited Away"
 
How's this for a nightmare:

On the way to work this morning, I stop in at Borders to waste time because I'm early (for work). While brousing the DVD's, I noticed a display/sign for "Spirited Away" on the counter, but couldn't find the DVD anywhere. I started from one end of the section and went to the other. It was no where. I didn't ask anyone who worked there. I really wasn't planning on getting it (there). I just wanted to see how much they were selling it for. All other titles that were released today were on the shelf. After work, I had planned on stopping at Best Buy. Not my favorite store, and it's quite a nightmare getting in and out of the closest one to me. Get in there. Couldn't find it anywhere either. I went up and down each aisle (twice). Oh sure, there were plenty of them on video. So a BB employee walked by when I noticed the videos and I said to him "Excuse me, where is this title on DVD?". His response, "Oh we sold out, we only got seven copies". I said to him "Are you f'n kidding me?" (and I'll tell you why I responded like that in a second). He said "Well, all the other Best Buy's got several copies". And I said "And why is that!?". And he just looked at me blankly and I said "This store is the worst" and walked away. But alas, not spirited. Sorry. O.K. The reason why I got so angry with his answer, this was the third time I've gone to this store the day a movie was released on DVD were sold out. And their explanation each time was that they only got a few copies. And I'm talking about big name movies too. First time I gave them the benefit of the doubt. The second, I grew suspicious. Third? No excuse. None. I have a Target right by my house so I thought I'd give that a shot too. Stopped in. Nope, they were sold out too(!!) In fact, they had two shelves marked with the title of the movie. And all were gone. What the hell is going on? I got on my cell phone and called the Best Buy further down the road. The guy I spoke with said they had a few copies. I rushed over there to find about 50 on the shelf. FINALLY!

I was so anxious to get this movie. I can't wait to watch it tonight. Was wondering if anyone else had the same problem as me. As for the Best Buy that doesn't get but a handful of copies of new releases, I'm never stepping foot in that store again.

gutwrencher 04-15-03 08:04 PM

sad indeed. but my BB had about 500 copies and never has been sold out of a title on release day, at least that I was after. as for Borders, where I shop alot, on Tuesdays, they never seem to get all the new ones out until late in the day...sometimes not till the next. and it happens here at my store every week. no big deal....but you have to ask someone.

Panda Phil 04-15-03 08:13 PM

That just sucks. But at least you got a copy, so it had a happy ending. :)

Guess I'm lucky. We have a Fred Meyers store near where I work that's very good about getting all the major titles in on release day. They open at 7AM, and since I get off work at 6, well....

jarofclay73 04-15-03 08:24 PM

I have been burned many times like that as well. Since then, I have learned to either go to the midnight release or call before making the trek. They usually can't hold a title for you but it saves a LOT of gas and time to call ahead of time if it's sold out.

whaaat 04-15-03 08:26 PM

According to my local retailer, a lot of retailers got short shipped on this item.

speedy1961 04-15-03 08:37 PM

We only got 6 in at my Borders... As few of us ARE trying to change things though.... Hang in there...

samurai7 04-15-03 08:45 PM

I went to Hollywood Video to rent it along with The Transporter and Rabbit Proof Fence with one of those handy dandy $.99 coupons, and they didn't even have it to rent even though it was prominently displayed on their coming soon calender. Guess they got shorted also. But, they didn't have Rabbit Proof Fence either.

I was really bummed.

reubs82 04-15-03 08:47 PM

THe only time I've been somewhere and a disc has been sold out on release date is CC for Red Dragon Director's Cut. I wasn't gonna get it anyway, I just wanted to see if it was in a single or double case (plus I was bored so figured I'd stop in).

Best Buy is right behind where I work, so I just go over there after I get off on Wednesdays (no need to drive out there on Tuesday...disc is still gonna be the same price a day later) and check to see what they have. I'm really gonna try to start staying away from BB, though...I hate that store so much it's not even funny. THe only way I can justify spending money there is during release week so that I can capitalize on their lost leaders (those being the cheap DVDs that they make no money on).

But, as for your story, that stinks man. Hopefully they'll have it at the one here in town as I'm looking forward to seeing it.

jasonnaper 04-15-03 09:24 PM

Daytripper,
Stop going to that Best Buy :)

Man, where do you live? A town with a population of 20? :)

I would be crazy if I went to Best Buy and left empty handed. But here in the Philadelphia area, thats kind of rare...

Deep Discount DVD might be a good alternative for you :)

Daytripper 04-15-03 10:05 PM


Originally posted by jasonnaper
Daytripper,
Stop going to that Best Buy :)

Man, where do you live? A town with a population of 20? :)

I would be crazy if I went to Best Buy and left empty handed. But here in the Philadelphia area, thats kind of rare...

Deep Discount DVD might be a good alternative for you :)


Population of 20? You'd think so huh. Actually, I live in little known place called Washington D.C. So I don't know what I was thinking ;)

Back to more Best Buy bashing, it's the only store I will go in to buy CD's and DVD's. But they are getting worse. Right after I got my DVD player, I bought almost everything online. But then a few of the stores I shopped at went belly up. And the service at most of the places I continued to shop at went south. Remember when online stores shipped new titles a few days before they were released and you actually got them delivered to your house the release day? Or sometimes, a day or two before? Now THOSE were the days :) I posted a note last week about getting a Standard/Full screen copy of "Red Dragon" in a Widescreen marked box (at Best Buy) and had to take it back the next day. Have you ever been to the return/exchange counter at that store? It's a nightmare. There I was standing just to swap the damn thing, waiting up to 15 minutes (no lie!) and I looked around the store and saw a sea of employees just standing around. God forbid one of them jumped behind that counter to help. But to answer your suggestion jason, I do still buy online sometimes. And the only two stores I shop at are Deep Discount and DVDEmpire. Thumbs up on both. I've never ever had a problem with either. And the only reason why I go to Best Buy instead of giving both of those places all my full business, BB does have some pretty good deals the first week a movie or CD is released. And sometimes I really do like to get a new release the day it comes out. Both of the said online stores usually ship new titles the day or day before the release date. So I get it two days later :(

One last thing. I belong to Netflix too. And how cool is this? I put "Rabbit Proof Fence" in my queue last week and it was waiting for me when I got home today. Wasn't it too released today?? Way to go Netflix!!!!

Puzznic 04-15-03 11:52 PM

I could find Spirited Away in abundance but the other 2 were a huge pain. I couldn't believe how many copies of Drumline these places had. Its like they thought it was The Two Towers or something. i can't imagine that many people buying that movie

pdjennings 04-16-03 08:22 AM

Hey Daytripper.... it didn't happen to be the Bailey's Crossroads store would it? They are HORRIBLE on first-week releases.

dyerjp 04-16-03 08:48 AM

hey daytripper,

where at in dc? i'm a cop over there. anyways, i went into the borders off of 14th and they had about 10 copies around lunchtime.

Daytripper 04-16-03 09:43 AM


Originally posted by pdjennings
Hey Daytripper.... it didn't happen to be the Bailey's Crossroads store would it? They are HORRIBLE on first-week releases.
Amazing! Yep, that's the location!!! They suck. I'll never go back there again.

And dyerjp, the Borders I stopped in is on 18th and L.

digitalboy 04-16-03 10:47 AM

DayTripper,

Because I work at BBY part-time, I can explain to you why you have to wait in line so long at customer service.

In contrast to actually ringing up cusomer, which just about everybody in BBY can do in a pinch, only a relative few folks (higher level customer service reps) actually can process returns/exchanges. Oftentimes, folks in line are returning/exchanging something that has to be "checked" by a technician(like me). That alone can slow up the process. Those other folks that are seemingly doing nothing couldn't help you anyway. -rolleyes-

Mr. Toast 04-16-03 11:30 AM

I have to completely agree about Best Buy. I too am fed up with them and have vowed never to go back. The problem principally lies with the store closest to my house but I don't want to drive 25 minutes further down the road just to get a dvd. My store did have (literally) a couple of copies of Kiki's and Spirited Away left when i went over after work, but were out of Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke. The only reason I really even wanted to go to BB for these titles is that I would be getting a free Mononoke (which i already owned but could happily give it away as a gift). The kid in the dvd section told me to go to "customer service" (the signage in the store only identified as returns/exchanges) and get some sort of purchase slip, where i would pay for a disc they didn't have and then i could come back and get it later, when more arrived. Even though this was not what I wanted to hear, I waited in line for over 10 minutes while the 1 person working these registers struggled to help an older couple pay for a vacuum cleaner. meanwhile there's a quickly growing line of about 8 people behind me and yet no progress can be made on the vacuum transaction can be made. At the point that the girl at the register had to call the manager to help her I put down the discs and walked out. BB consistantly underorders on advertised new releases and almost never has any other new releases until a week or so AFTER they come out. I'm going totally on-line for DVDs now (unfortunately DDD is also sold out of Spirited Away, so my wait continues). Sorry to rant but I'm just sick of this crap.

chesola 04-16-03 11:39 AM

Jeez, what a story. The Best Buys near me always seem to have hundreds of copies of whatever the big new release is. Our Circuit City, however, is a completely different story. If you're not there when the store opens on Tuesday, you lose.

Daytripper 04-16-03 11:54 AM


Originally posted by digitalboy
DayTripper,

Because I work at BBY part-time, I can explain to you why you have to wait in line so long at customer service.

In contrast to actually ringing up cusomer, which just about everybody in BBY can do in a pinch, only a relative few folks (higher level customer service reps) actually can process returns/exchanges. Oftentimes, folks in line are returning/exchanging something that has to be "checked" by a technician(like me). That alone can slow up the process. Those other folks that are seemingly doing nothing couldn't help you anyway. -rolleyes-

So, would it not make sense to train more of these people that are just standing around to help out where needed? I mean, let's look at the big picture here. We have a line of customers at the return/exchange counter that is not moving. Sometimes up to 7 or 8 people. Or MORE! And then those employees that are on the floor just to answer questions and work the registers when needed. Too many of them if you ask me. Something's not right here. There also should be a separate line for people just exchanging a CD or DVD. Why should I have to wait for someone to trouble shoot a technical problem to do this? Better yet, why can't my exchange be done at a regular check out register??

ctyankee 04-16-03 12:20 PM


Originally posted by speedy1961
We only got 6 in at my Borders... As few of us ARE trying to change things though.... Hang in there...
Which Borders? Manchester, Fairfield, Danbury or Wilton?

ctyankee 04-16-03 12:48 PM


Originally posted by Daytripper
I posted a note last week about getting a Standard/Full screen copy of "Red Dragon" in a Widescreen marked box (at Best Buy) and had to take it back the next day. Have you ever been to the return/exchange counter at that store? It's a nightmare. There I was standing just to swap the damn thing, waiting up to 15 minutes (no lie!) and I looked around the store and saw a sea of employees just standing around. God forbid one of them jumped behind that counter to help.
Some stores get it, some stores don't. Regional management won't care. They don't want to make it convenient for you to return things. They look at it from a standpoint that if you have to wait (and know you have to wait) that some people would rather put it off and forget it or give the item to someone they know.

The chains that all have separate return areas are generally understaffed. If they are going to keep costs down they will certainly do it in this area waaayy before messing with first-time sales.

Other clerks running over to help? Some returns (such as CompUSA are so deliberately involved that they are not trained for it. Others won't ever come over because they are getting commissions on sales ... not returns.

But, let's be self-critical for a moment ...

Many of us (including myself) go to the store spending time on these purchases. Why? Certainly, we are all guilty of the need for immediate consumption sometimes. Also, we like to browse and see titles we might not be familiar with. But ....

Isn't your time worth something? Certainly finding and purchasing a DVD takes more of your personal time than a like purchase on DDD. Why not tack that on the cost of your local purchase.

What about the cost of transportation to get there and back? Sure, sometimes you are out and about but the Tuesday posts clearly show that many of us make a trip before work, lunch or after work for the clear purpose of getting the flicks.

If you only travel 5 miles (back and forth) to get the DVD(s) what does your car cost? It's not a fixed asset (even if paid for). You still have depreciation on the car, insurance, taxes, and gas etc. to consider. Even a very cheap car that is an additional dollar to the cost of your purchase.

Now add on the Sales Tax and perhaps purchasing on-line sometimes outweighs the Florescent Light circuit ....

matome 04-16-03 01:32 PM

My Best Buy is pretty well stocked with the A-list new releases, so you can pretty much get them even the weekend after release. However on the mid-level new release or smaller catalog titles, I've been burned plenty of times even trying to get there on the Wednesday after release.

eugkim 04-16-03 04:48 PM

I went to the BB on 6th Ave and 23rd in NYC around 5 on Tues and of course there were no copies of any of the films.

Wound up getting a raincheck, although the rep said to try fri or sat. What good is that if you want the free PM?

sugarbooger 04-16-03 09:01 PM

i went to that best buy in nyc also and got the rain check. they rainchecked the free mononoke too.

had to raincheck drumline as well. they had the transporter, but i want to do the two-fer $5 off deal, so i hope they still have some when they get restocked, and i hope it happens by saturday.

ben12 04-16-03 10:24 PM


Originally posted by Daytripper
Population of 20? You'd think so huh. Actually, I live in little known place called Washington D.C. So I don't know what I was thinking ;)

Which location is the crappy one? I'm originally from the DC area (Rockville). Now I live in Los Angeles, where the BBs look exactly the same, but the Game Boy game selections aren't as good.


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