I made a few phone calls around town and it seems the best course of action is to wait for a "truck" to show up, have it checked in at the store, and have them hold it then drive over there and snag it. Or, be there right when the truck is unloading.
I was told their inventory system is electronic and automatic. When they sell items that registers back to some warehouse. So if they sell out of an item, or they are very low on higher stocked pieces, the "order" for more is automatic. The clerks do not have access to that system - only what they have "in stock" there. If something is out of stock they can't find the work flow for more coming. That seems weird to me, it would seem someone somewhere there would be able to log in to a computer system that would show what they have coming. Same goes for what time the stock truck shows up. They could tell me the day the trucks were scheduled to be there, but not what times or ranges (not even morning or afternoon).
I was able to get a clerk at a store to hold a saw for me. However, it was going to take 5 hours out of my day and 140-150 miles of driving/burning fuel. So its on to play the "game".
On the up shot to this - now I know how hard they are to get and I, for one, am not in immediate need for it. Now, had I had my steel and aluminum ordered in and the full weekend ahead of me to put the saw together and get to fabricating I'd be really ticked. I still have a few weeks to play the game - I'll cross my fingers I can come up with one and not have to drive across the state or to another state.
I'm still not wanting to order one online and have it sent here. There are things I don't like to get from HF - and this saw is close to that category, but low enough priced I am willing to go for it. I won't take a chance on not being able to open the box and take a look at things/take inventory before walking out of the store with it.