Well, I gotta post the resolution to my story, because the deal I got is...
UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE!!!
First, the background: I called Office Depot last Monday, and the salesguy said he had 2 of the 40 gig drives in stock, so I asked him to put them on hold (for me & my friend Ashley). We go in there after work, and they aren't the right drives -- they're 5400 rpm instead of 7200. So I leave my name and number at the service desk, and they promise to call me when they get more in. I don't hear anything for days. On Thursday, I read a post in this thread by someone who says he picked up a drive from my local store on Tuesday. After PMing him for details, he says that they had 4 in stock when he bought his! So I'm pissed, and we go into OD again after work on Friday. There are no drives in stock, so we explain the situation to the manager. He tells us to come in next week, and he will give us the proper deal, and he will just eat the cost of the rebates and coupon (he even promised to accept the online $20 coupon!). So I left with him my stack of paper: two $30 rebates and a $20 coupon.
So, I called the store yesterday (Tuesday) morning, and a sales floor guy tells me they have 2 drives in stock, but the manager wasn't in yet. So I called in the afternoon to talk to the manager, and he checks their stock. The sales guy was wrong again -- he was referring to 5400 rpm drives. But the manager tells me to come in anyway after work, and he will hook us up with
this 60-gig drive instead! So we go in after work, and the manager brings out the drives and takes us to the cash register. He rings up the first drive, and over-rides it to $59.99, preparing to then subtract the $20 coupon. I then inquire whether he is aware that there are two separate rebates for $30 dollars each. Judging by the shade of white that his face turned, I gather that he was unaware. It's not my fault -- I said it last week, and he had all the paperwork in his hands. He says, "So these drives are basically free?" And Ashley replies, without skipping a beat, "$9.99." After about 10 seconds of awkward silence, he starts printing the receipt, and says, "$9.99, that's $10.74 with tax."
After the receipt finishes printing, a rebate form prints out... there's a $20 rebate on the 60-gig drive this week! But he says, "I don't think I need to give you this." Fair enough... we can just print it out from the website.
A 60 GB drive, and we make $10 on the deal (after rebates)???
D*mn.