Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm probably going to check out Amazon.com from now on. I use them for movie purchases, so perhaps it's time to use them for game purchases as well.
I've always tried to support local brick-and-mortar stores... I like being able to walk into a place, ask questions from the sales staff, etc., but this experience has really soured me on the value of local stores. One of the primary advantages was being able to find someone you could trust, and this fiasco has shown me I can't trust Gamestop. All I needed was an apology, but I was basically told I had to get to the back of the pre-order line. Heck with that... I'm going online except for major hardware purchases.
How does the old engineering motto go? "That which does not kill us, makes us stronger."
Or was it "that which does not kill us, weakens us for that which will?"
At least I still have my sense of humor. 
