Wall-E came out today, in both DVD and Blu-Ray flavors. Great movie + Pixar + high quality computer animation = 3 disc Blu-Ray edition. No brainer.

Went to Best Buy at 9am. Oops. They don’t open until 10am. No big. Go home. Come back. Walk in at 10:02am…

Best Buy: FAIL!
“Sorry, sir. We received 196 of the DVD version, but only 15 of the Blu-Ray.”

They have big store displays for Wall-E. Big “Blu-Ray” signs everywhere. They are playing a fucking copy of the Blu-Ray on their HDTV setup. None in stock. Nope. Only got 15. Way to think ahead, Best Buy. Fine. I’ll go to the other side of the Burbank Empire Center to Target. They’ll have it…

Target: FAIL!
“Sorry, sir. We only got six of the Blu-Ray 3 disc versions according to the computer.” “OK, Where are they? Did it sell out?” “No, sir, we can’t find the box they were shipped in.”

Seriously? WT-Fucking-F!?! They only got six!?! The Blu-Ray selection at Target “Greatlands” is almost larger than the DVD section, yet they only had the presence of mind to order six copies of the deluxe edition!?!?!?! Fine. Fuck it. I’ll go around the block to CostCo. They won’t let me down…

CostCo: FAIL!
“Sorry, sir. We only carry the two disc version.”

Fuck! Fine. Let me now go for the joke, and go to Circuit City. They still have a store in Burbank.

Circuit City: FAIL!
“Sorry, sir. We only carry the two disc version. We’ve already had a few people looking for the three disc version, but we don’t seem to be selling it.”

Best Buy. Target. CostCo. Circuit City. Leaving out Wal-Mart, those are some of the largest fucking retailers in the USA! Best Buy and Circuit City had huge posters, banners and displays, yet no product! All four stores had employees that were rather surprised that they even had to say that they did not have the damn thing in stock!

Who do you blame? Is it the recession? All of these stores are pushing Blu-Ray, yet they don’t stock the shit? Are the stores bordering on failure? Is it Disney’s fault? This city is the HOME of Disney, and you can’t find a damn copy of their BIG CHRISTMAS release in stores? It’s not like the stores sold out of hundreds of copies. Two don’t carry the deluxe version, and the other two ordered a combined total of 21 copies! Fuck.

What is the moral of this story? Big box retailers suck. They have huge sale prices, but they never have the items in stock. They don’t sell out of the item; they just don’t have them to begin with (I have asked some various store employees, on the down-low, what the hell is the deal, and they have told me the “real” story). Instead, they figure “well, we’re sorry that we are sold out of Item X, but while you are here, you want to buy a new TV, or some Monster Cable?”

Who is the savior in this story? A mom-and-pop retailer! I paid almost full retail fucking price, but at least the people had it! I called, and got helpful people on the phone, happy to hold a copy for me for 48 hours!

AMOEBA: FTW! (”for the win”, for those of you not up on your ‘net jargon)
Had what I needed. Very helpful (as always). Sadly, never have good prices on new items, but - fuck - at least they had the damn thing.

If you have stock in Best Buy, CostCo, Circuit City, Target or Disney, sell!

Oh, and the “FAIL” picture at the top was perfect for the day. As I went to park at Amoeba (quick, easy across-the-street parking), I was going to feed the meter, when I saw it flashing “FAIL”. Summed up the fucking day quite nicely!