In-Store Pickup Guarantees

I knew that many bricks-and-mortar stores with online storefronts let you order online and then pick up your merchandise at your local store -- saving yourself the wait for mail delivery. Sounds good to me. But since I hadn't yet taken advantage of this option, I didn't realize that many such stores offer service guarantees -- until I read about them at consumerist.com.

Here are three examples the website noted:

Sears (Nasdaq: SHLD): "If your item is not delivered within five minutes, you get a $5 gift card. No fine print."At Best Buy (NYSE: BBY): "If your small item is not delivered within one minute, or your large item within five, you get a $10 credit." (You have to follow a particular procedure to get the credit, though.)Circuit City (NYSE: CC) was deemed to have the worst guarantee of the bunch, offering $24 if you don't get your item within 24 minutes of your confirmation email. The problem was ambiguous wording. Still, it's worth trying for this, as $24 isn't chump change.

And here are some other opportunities:

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) at your local Borders (NYSE: BGP).Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) offers "site-to-store" service, which is translated into "free shipping." You'll have to wait a week or two for your stuff to arrive at the store, though.Even luxury leather retailer Coach (NYSE: COH) offers in-store pickup for online orders.

Maximize your odds of collecting by bringing time-stamped confirmations and receipts with you, along with a photo I.D. and the credit card you used. The folks at consumerist.com suggest bringing a stopwatch, as well.