post X-mas exchange period with no receipt

[limacharliewhiskey]

Hi to all,

I thought this might be worth posting as a possible way to exchange any defective DVDs you have that are well past the regular 30-day return/exchange policy that most stores have.

Now through January 15, Best Buy offers an exchange period for items, even if you have no receipt. Obviously, some of this is due to returning unwanted X-Mas gifts, but only items with receipts can be returned for refunds or store credit. But if you don't have a receipt or it's well past 30 days since buying your DVD, you can still exchange it at Best Buy for another copy of the same exact item.

I had to do this because I bought a glitchy version of Shrek 2, which locked up my player at about the 30 min. mark. Due to my laziness of not watching it immediately, I didn't watch it until 32 days after buying it, and upon returning it on the 33rd day, I could not get the exchange. As a note of interest for future reference, Best Buy does exactly enforce the 30-day return/exchange period. Bring it in on the 31st day for an exchange, you're shit out of luck.

Fortunately, the customer service rep was able to tell me about this post X-Mas "no-receipt" exchange period that runs from December 26 to January 15.

This only helps people if your DVD is still being released and is in stock at Best Buy. If you have a glitchy disc that is OOP, you're out of luck. But if you've got a glitchy Vertigo disc like I've read some people mention, you might be able to exchange it at your local Best Buy for a new copy, assuming the disc is in stock and is the same exact version.

Since I'm new to doing returns and exchanges (never had to until I starting collecting DVDs), I'm not familiar with the policies of other stores like Target, Wal-Mart, or Circuit City. They might have similar policies for exchanges, but dates for when this is allowed may vary.

When we buy DVDs, we don't expect our discs to go bad after 6 months or a year, and we shouldn't be forced to buy the same thing again, especially when it shouldn't have gone bad in the first place. But sometimes it happens, and this is one easier way to deal with the issue of DVD rot and defective discs.

Obviously, it would be nice to do the exchanges at stores where you shop often, and a little bit of post X-Mas goodwill from the store, such as exchanging defective DVDs for a new DVD, ensures that I'll continue shopping there in the forseeable future.