Best Buy, Sears, and Circuit City all promise fast and easy in-store pickup for online orders and are willing to pay if they fail to deliver. Mouseprint scoured the fine print of each guarantee in search of loopholes.

The guarantees vary significantly.

• Sears: If your item is not delivered within five minutes, you get a $5 gift card. No fine print.
• Best Buy: If your small item is not delivered withhin one minute, or your large item within five, you get a $10 credit. The guarantee comes with an exact procedure that must be followed before the credit can be redeemed.
• Circuit City: The worst of all offers, Circuit City is confident that they can track down your item 24 minutes after you receive your confirmation email. If they can't, their guarantee is so ambiguous that you stand little chance of redeeming the promised $24 gift card.

Preparation boosts your chance of holding any retailer to their guarantee. Before bolting from your house, print out the time-stamped confirmation email and any fine print you can find. Grab a stopwatch and head to the store. Follow any listed procedures listed, and have the offer details handy if the store refuses to honor their offer.

Have in-store pickup guarantees worked out for you before? Tell us in the comments or send your story to the tipline.

Etailers' Promise: 1 to 24 Minute Pickup Guaranteed [Mouseprint]
(Photo: Wikipedia)