GameStop...a necessary evil?

I'm bumping this because I love to ramble on about problems with this place.

So I called GameStop, to see if they had this game in stock. I had 3 games to trade-in. Motorstorm, Call of Duty 2, and Sega Superstar Tennis.

I was so close to buying "Scared 2" for Xbox 360 so I could enjoy the game finally with my dear friends, Mai and Joy. However, the "brand new" game was damaged to hell. Cracked case, covered in stickers, and the insert was damaged. I suffer from OCD, so kiss my clean butt for anyone who thinks it's just a game. I'm a sick man, I will shave your puppies because I am allergic to dog fur, so don't try me.

I asked how much it would be after the credit, the clerk says to me, $58. I was like, "O.o excuse me??" Credit value for those 3 lil games? Only $6 in credit. Yeah, I'm keeping the 3 games and they can keep their damaged "new" game while they're at it.

However, Who's to blame? I can blame myself, because I should know better since those three games are very common and not worth squat. Yet to butcher the credit was just plain sad.
 
Yea $6 seems really absurd. But that is why I stopped trading in stuff long ago. You will get much, much, more for your used stuff on Craigslist.
 
Very rarely do I buy games from Gamestop...and IF I do, I must INSPECT the disc before purchase.

I hate how their so-called "new" games have already been opened and have a nasty combination of sticker adhesivive and grimy kid slime covering the cases.
 
I generally hate Gamestop and all of their terrible practices. Much of what the guy in the "Zero Originality" series says about them is true. There are sometimes good things that come out of them, but generally I hate shopping there. Probably the last good thing I could remember was finding the PC version of Viva Pinata for $8 in the bargain bin. That was a deal and a half. Probably the latest screw-up from them was what happened with BlazBlue. I was in town and stopped by one of the Gamestops and just asked if they had gotten Blazblue in yet (this was about 4 or 5 days after it's release date). They said all they had were 2 copies which were both preordered. Apparently they were supposed to get a few extra copies (and only a few because I'm guessing they though no one would want an obscure Japanese 2D fighter), but UPS seemed to lose the shipment. The employee I talked to was mad about it himself because he wanted a copy of the game for himself. Then again, it seemed like everyone in my town had trouble getting that game. I got lucky and found it at Best Buy a few days later.

On another note, that same day I was in there, I heard the most hilarious thing. This is what a lady actually said, "If I bought the Wii Sports, do I have to spend another $250 for the Wii Fit?" I could barely hold in the laughs, while the poor employee had to explain to her what Wii Fit was, and why it was only $90 instead of $250.
 
Hylian7 said:
On another note, that same day I was in there, I heard the most hilarious thing. This is what a lady actually said, "If I bought the Wii Sports, do I have to spend another $250 for the Wii Fit?" I could barely hold in the laughs, while the poor employee had to explain to her what Wii Fit was, and why it was only $90 instead of $250.
Click to expand...

WOW! :lol This is how sad the Wii is treated. People think it's a toy that needs another entire Wii to work with another add-on.

Yet, that's what you get when you name every product "Wii".

Wii Sports
Wii Fit
Wii Fitness
Wii Zapper
Wii Willy Wonka
Wii Weally Need a Better marketing scheme
Wii print Money.
 
MegaDrive20XX said:
WOW! :lol This is how sad the Wii is treated. People think it's a toy that needs another entire Wii to work with another add-on.

Yet, that's what you get when you name every product "Wii".

Wii Sports
Wii Fit
Wii Fitness
Wii Zapper
Wii Willy Wonka
Wii Weally Need a Better marketing scheme
Wii print Money.
Click to expand...

OOo, Wii print da money.

In all seriousness though, their marketing is working to an extent.
 
Fr0dus Maximus said:
OOo, Wii print da money.

In all seriousness though, their marketing is working to an extent.
Click to expand...

I agree, Yet it's confusing the average consumer like a monkey that's color blind while standing at the fruit buffet from what Hylian explains here.
 
After reading this report, I see why some developers hate GameStop.

"With Crackdown we sold about 1.5 million copies, but even at that we pretty much only managed to break even," says Dave Jones, boss of developers Realtime Worlds. "It was due to the amount of factors that were out of our control as the developer, influences such as GameStop's amazing used-game sales; we know 1.5 million new copies were sold, but it's likely there were 2.5, three million sold when you include used."

And you wonder why developers and publishers hate GameStop?

http://kotaku.com/5315625/crackdown-wasnt-the-success-you-think-it-was
 
I only like going to the local gamestop since everyone is nice there and I know 'em. The one at the mall though, Don't like their employees too much.

If it wasn't for gamestop though I wouldn't have tried some of my favorite games like Disaster Report, Raw Danger, and Neo Geo Battle Coliseum.
Do miss EB Games though.
 
Resurrecting a dead horse to beat. I saw this article and I couldn't help wonder how much of a lie this is.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3180364

Many gamers have griped about GameStop's lucrative used games program. Now a company spokesperson has claimed they don't even like the program themselves, but it was necessary to survive in the marketplace. GamesIndustry.biz reports that Niall Lawlor spoke at the Develop conference, and called out InstantAction CEO Louis Castle regarding digitial distribution. Castle had made remarks earlier in the year calling GameStop's used model "parasitic," and compared it to "thievery."

"We discovered the used business was a way of preserving our margins," Lawlor said. "We don't like being in the used business, it's very difficult to manage. If we hadn't got the used business, we wouldn't be there." Lawlor added that GameStop "evangelizes" for the industry by its existence. "We have to be in it, otherwise if you take a look at our margins you'd realize we need to be in used." Castle maintains that the used business is accelerating the death of retail and the decline in publisher profitability.

It's hard not to notice that GameStop isn't just surviving thanks to used games -- it's thriving. The industry itself has seen month after month of declining sales in the past year, while GameStop's revenues have steadily climbed. Perhaps the used market was a necessary move to stay in business, but most gamers probably won't feel pity given the company's rising profits.
 
I probably spend more time at Gamestop than at home. :lol

And this horrible, cheating, terrible company (which is literally every single company that makes money), is having an awesome sale right now! Many games are 50% off!

Really though, I have no problem with used games. As I've said before, I have a PS3 so I don't have to worry about scratches or marks on my games. :D
 
Dude. I actually really miss Gamestop right now. There is no used/trade in or any game stores around here for English speakers at all. :(
 
I'd like to bring this back with my 180 degree change in attitude?? :lol

People say what they want about GameStop, but at least they have their preorder program together. I mean $5 and they hold the game for you. Very simple.

Best Buy claims to do the same thing, but do you know what happened when I went to pick up the game I preordered?? They pulled my copy from the sales floor. That's right, they didn't even set it aside so that they wouldn't accidentally sell it.

Now I know GameStop really only holds preorders for 24 hours (longer if they are nice) but for Best Buy not to put them somewhere on hold at all is like...what is this madness. I think there are some people that work at Best Buy at this site, so let me know if I just happened to preorder from a crappy location.

Either way, I'm not going to preorder with them again, even if they have the best preorder bonus. :hh
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top