Stuey made a big purchase at Sears and ended up with a huge stack of Sears/Kmart ShopYourWay rewards points to spend. Well, that he could theoretically spend. The problem was that he couldn’t find anything he wanted that was available, didn’t come bundled with things that he didn’t want, and was eligible for purchase with rewards points. What could he do? That’s not very rewarding at all.He picked out a nice camera, which was supposedly shipped from a Kmart store that had it in stock. Only they didn’t, so they canceled the order and forgot to tell Stuey. In the end, he just hasn’t bought anything at all.

Recently made a purchase through Sears and it included a bonus of points to spend at Sears. I thought it would work out because there were other things I was looking to purchase and I thought for sure Sears or K-Mart at least would have them in stock. I was way off on that one.

First I figured I’d check out some DSLRs since mine was damaged last year. I found the camera I wanted and was excited to find it. There were a few options and I looked for awhile into both of them. Finally I decided and it was in stock, and there was a big flyer saying the price and then how much it was after my Sears points were taken off. But wait. This has since been removed but it had a jumble of misleading wording saying that your points were not supposed to be used for third party purchases (Sears has a marketplace now) unless it was an authorized third party. There was nothing at all designating what was authorized and it told me I could use my points. I complained and it seems they took it down. Good for them. That stuff should not happen in the first place.

Then since Sears does not carry the camera I wanted – I decided to get a new PS3 since once again mine was old and not working right. So I tried to find one I liked on Sears but everything in stock was over priced bundles with stuff I did not want. The rest were not in stock for shipping nor are they available anywhere near me. So I went to the K-Mart website and finally found something I liked. It said it stock – I put the order through and got an e-mail saying I would get another e-mail but I would get my shipment within a few days. I never got my follow up e-mail so I decided to call and make sure – and the person I talked to said it was going to be delivered the next day. Awesome!

So today I was waiting at home for my shipment and the later it gets the more I figure that was not true. So – I called again. This time I get shuffled from person to person and on the phone for quite awhile with them trying to figure out my order. Seems they do not know what is going on at their own store. I was told it was “on hold” and I would need to talk to someone about getting an order number. I talked to them and they tell me the item was not in stock from the warehouse and they were going to ship it from a K-Mart store but apparently they did not have any. Days later and they just now figure this out?

So she said, “Sorry, I will have to cancel your order”. She did not offer to help find anything just said sorry canceled. So now I am stuck with a bunch of Sears points trying to figure out what is actually in stock and if I can actually buy something and then if I can actually use my points on this pathetic website.

Would suggest to others that Shop Your Way reward points are not worth much. I would rather have my money and spend it anywhere but Sears or K-Mart.

Oh by the way K-Mart STILL says they have the item in stock and ready to ship. You would also expect them to have newer items it stock and be up to date but that does not seem to be happening.

That’s often the case with store reward programs, and isn’t exclusive to Sears/Kmart. It’s very sad that Stuey can’t order something and actually get it, though.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.