Best Buy Backtracks: Kindle Fire NOT Available Today? Double Check.

Over the weekend, Best Buy lured Amazon Kindle Fire buyers by baiting a hook with the promise they’d have the hotness in-stores on November 15th. People like me, who wanted the Kindle Fire as early as possible, figured we could get the Fire a full day in advance since Amazon SHIPS the devices on the 15th meaning you’d receive it the 16th or later. Early adopter addiction.

So I stood at Best Buy waiting for it to open. I walked in with my wallet. And I walked out with… nothing.

“We don’t have the Kindle Fire in stock yet. Our computers say it’s shipping.”

That’s the answer I got from the Best Buy rep at the Inner Harbor store in downtown Baltimore. There were a few others around me who were visibly irritated so I took the initiative to speak up. They sent out an E-Mail indicating they would be available in stores on the 15th. But surely the shipment was on the way, arriving momentarily, or at least by the end of the day- right? Wrong.

When asked when we could expect the store to get the Kindle Fire, this was the answer we got:

“It says shipping. That’s all we know. That means it could get here in 1 hour,  by 5pm today, or 3 weeks from now. We’ll know when we’re getting it when they walk through the door with them.”

Three weeks? Really? Yup- he confirmed my disbelief. At this point, it seemed like nothing more than a ploy designed for us to bypass Amazon in favor of Best Buy, with blatant disregard to whether or not they could actually fulfill our expectations. Maybe the decision went something like: “Promise them the Fire on the 15th, and maybe we’ll get it maybe we won’t, but at least they won’t buy it from Amazon and we’ll have them in our store.”?

I kind of laughed it off, wished everyone luck, and rolled out. Shipment delays happen, but this one just didn’t sit right with me.

I drove home and my phone dinged: E-Mail. I opened it up and read the most recent title:

Your Amazon.com order of 3X “Kindle Fire, Full Color 7″…” has shipped!

These Fire’s are for a contest- much like the one we had yesterday (stay tuned for more). While I’m fortunate enough to have Fire’s coming to my doorstep tomorrow, the rest of my Baltimore comrades are left wondering: should they go home and pre-order it for rush delivery? Or hope Best Buy gets them before the 3 week possibility they suggested?

DING! I then got ANOTHER E-Mail from Amazon… an E-Mail saying the Kindle Fire was now shipping for $199, just as they had promised the entire time.

Amazon has the formula down: under promise, over deliver. In fact, they started shipping some of their Kindle Fire’s yesterday (one day early). Some will read this article as whining but it’s meant to be read as warning: CALL your local Best Buy BEFORE you drive to the store to purchase the Fire. Make sure they have it in stock.

I understand things happen, but things fell through on one too many levels here:

What a bummer.

I’d also like to use this opportunity to endorse the heck out of Amazon.com: by far my favorite place to shop and where I’ll be doing most of my holiday shopping.

Did you show up early at Best Buy? Did you get your Kindle Fire? Tell us about your experience! And don’t forget to visit our KINDLE FIRE FORUMS!

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