BestBuy.Com

[rnjs2009]

A couple of weeks ago I was checking for a product availability on bestbuy.com periodically throughout the week.  The product showed "UNAVAILABLE" online.  On a Thursday afternoon, the product showed "IN STORE ONLY".  In the past I've seen products show "AVAILABLE".  So I just assumed that the item was only available at the store??  I went to best buy and inquired about the product, since I had some other shopping to do there, but an sales associate told me that the product I was looking for was not available and wouldn't be for a couple of weeks??  I told them that the website showed the item as "IN STORE ONLY".  I was then informed that unfortunately it was not available and they wouldn't be receiving it for awhile and to check back in a couple of weeks. 
I've worked in retail before and know how shipments work with inventory and product availability.  Sometimes an item may have been scanned as received in the receiving department, but may take a day or two to get on the shelf, but is bestbuy.com glitchy or something?  If the website shows availability in store, why would an associate say they don't have the item in stock, but not say the website was incorrect.  It could be that rainchecks or product waitlists may have to be fulfilled before they allow for other customers to purchase the item.  Is bestbuy.com reliable to current inventory in store?

[koppes]

I have a similar issue, but with a different label.

I've been wanting to buy a computer on BestBuy.com, but for the past 5 weeks, the item has been listed as "Coming Soon".  I called customer service, and the representative told me the exact same thing--"coming soon"... clearly they don't give their call center any more details than I can find on the website, which means that service is useless.

Can I even get a ballpark figure of when something "might" come in?  Like a couple of weeks or months?  I need a computer, and this one fits the bill exactly.  Dear Best Buy, please let me buy this computer.  I WILL GIVE YOU MONEY.

[Yellowsubmarine]

Did you check to see if it was available at the store you went to? In store only doesn't mean every Best Buy will have it available, but some will. Which is why there is a 'check stores' Burton, to see if it's available near you.

[Ryan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello rnjs2009 -

Jesse from our Social Media team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern. Thank you for your continued patience!

[Jesse-BBY Community Connector]

Hi rnjs2009,

I can understand how this would be confusing and hopefully I can help clear it up for you.

Sometimes we have items that are going to be replaced by another product or a newer model of the same item.  In some of those cases we don’t have inventory available everywhere and it may only be available in-store.  You should always check with your local store to ensure that it is available which can be done on BestBuy.com. 

The site is matched up as closely as possible with store inventory levels, however there are different things that can affect this.  If someone is in the store at that time looking at that same item and they decide to purchase it well than that will not reflect on our site for a period of time.

I am curious as to what item you were specifically looking at and at what store?  Maybe I can offer more detailed information based on that.

Respectfully,

[Jesse-BBY Community Connector]

Hi Koppes,

I would like to see how we can help you out as well.  What SKU were you looking for and what store are you looking to purchase from?

[tgblackw]

Hi Jesse,

I encountered the same issue today. I am trying to find a local Best Buy store (zip code 28269) that has a 16gb Verizon iPhone 4s. I have been checking the stores all weekend and have been disappointed to see that the product was "unavailable".

First thing this morning I checked again and says "In Store Only" for all of my local Best Buy locations. Excitedly I called several of the local stores to confirm the inventory and each time I was told they they in fact DID NOT have any of the product and did not know when it would be available. Any idea as to why the website doesn't just say "unavailable"?