Gamestop stories

[diskoboy]

My assistant manager was HOT.

That's my Gamestop story! :)

[Icarus Moonsight]

My assistant manager was HOT.

That's my Gamestop story! :)

Was? Dude, ya shoulda preordered! Five dollar... Well, ya know. :D

[Voliko]

Yeah, rule of thumb is trade nothing in there. However, that trade 3 get one free deal that's ALWAYS running and they don't advertise is awesome. Trade any 3 games worth $8 or more in credit in and get a brand new preorder up to $70 fully paid for, no tax? Always a steal if you can get decent trade stuff cheap enough.

Wait a minute... That deal is ALWAYS going on?

[NaturalChemical]

I assume you barely ever shop there or I misunderstood your message. But they always swap the display copy out for a sealed one, unless the display copy is the last one available. It's not a new policy, at least up here in upstate NY. It's been standard operating procedure since the ones up here were Electronics Boutique years ago.

Are you saying the display case wasn't a gutted new game? I've only seen that when they wanted a physical game case on the shelf for preorders of big games.

Huh. The last few times I've bought a new game there, they didn't always give me a sealed copy; usually putting the disc in the gutted copy instead. It might change based on the store, but out here it hasn't been consistent.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

truthfully i think alot of you people exaggerate or walk in with the mentality that the workers there are automatically going to be dicks because of threads like this


maybe i just have good luck, at the gamestops i've been to, usually they guys are cool and knowledgable, once in a while i'll get some fucking jackass trying to tell me a game didnt come out for whatever system i asked about, like "beyond good & evil was a ps2 exclusive" which i can kind of forgive seeing as it wasnt a very popular game



only stories i have were the managers routinely wearing their xbox fanboy badge in front of me and playfully telling me to cross over into the darkside whenever i bought something for the ps3, but it was never done to the point where i would feel genuine anger for it, lol i'd just laugh and tell em go fuck himself (playfully of course, i was a regular a few years back)


they would even do me favors, like if they didnt have the game, they'd call a couple other stores until they found 1 with it and tell them to hold it for me, i guess my only complaint story ever was a new employee who was a dick about that, and when i asked if he could check other stores in the area for me he just bluntly said no and walked away to the backroom

[Smashed Brother]

How much does a retail outlet make per unit sold? I know they (retail) have to be making profit, else the product would not be sold...specially at work where employees get a commission from the sale (1%).

So a store has to make some profit, but how much? Probably like $20 or so per console?

Nope...more like $8. At least for an Xbox 360. When I did Loss Prevention management for one of the 'big 3' retailers, I had access to this info. In fact, the way my bosses explained it to me (and consequently, me to my cronies), if an Xbox 360 was taken, the store would have to sell about 32 more units to make up the difference.

Since they sell the systems for the same price at Gamestop, I imagine that the profit margin is similar. But then, maybe since Gamestop orders more in bulk, they might be given a better deal so there could be a little more money to be had.

[Diatribal Deity]

For systems like the 360/PS3 the profit is very minimal if anything because most retailers will look more at tie ratios. Your probably looking at $8-$10 profit per system sold, but most buyers will tell you it is basically nothing after all other expenses are factored in. If a system is sold with games and accessories they boost the profit margin considerably. That is why you see the bundles everywhere obviously. The Wii is a different story because Nintendo's development costs are significantly lower for the minimilistic system specs compared to the other two.

For NEW games (roughly):

Retailer makes 20% initially (before they start their manipulation of factoring in all other costs)

Publisher makes about $16 per sale on average.

Wholesalers typically pay around $30 per game.

Costs of getting the goods to the wholesalers, any co-op advertising or marketing, and return of good contingencies are roughly $14 per game, the publisher is going to typically get $16 for every unit sold as stated above.

Average development cost of medium to semi-high profile title for 360/PS3 title is +$15 million. Wii game is $10 million. With manufacturing, promoting and marketing these amounts jump to $20-$60 million and 15-20 respectively. Obviously these numbers can be considerably higher or lower.

Casual games built on flash can be as low as $25,000 to develop thus prices can be reduced significantly. This is often the case with Wii titles.

Lower profile titles can get by with 500k in sales to break even but obviously strive for the 1 million plus mark.

USED games:

Profit 40-50% (give or take factoring aggregate costs)

Going back some years, I started in a small town store only selling new systems, games and accessories generating 900k a year with a 18% profit margin annually.

When I left we were generating 2.3 million in sales per year with a 31-34% profit margin (greatly attributable to used or pre-played sales).

Trying to figure out profit margin for Gamestop or other big retailers is the equivalent of trying to figure out government or hospital billing/costs. Your not just paying for the aspirin, your also paying for the doctor's salary and everything else that they deem connected to it.

[Dobie]

truthfully i think alot of you people exaggerate or walk in with the mentality that the workers there are automatically going to be dicks because of threads like this


maybe i just have good luck, at the gamestops i've been to, usually they guys are cool and knowledgable, once in a while i'll get some fucking jackass trying to tell me a game didnt come out for whatever system i asked about, like "beyond good & evil was a ps2 exclusive" which i can kind of forgive seeing as it wasnt a very popular game



only stories i have were the managers routinely wearing their xbox fanboy badge in front of me and playfully telling me to cross over into the darkside whenever i bought something for the ps3, but it was never done to the point where i would feel genuine anger for it, lol i'd just laugh and tell em go fuck himself (playfully of course, i was a regular a few years back)


they would even do me favors, like if they didnt have the game, they'd call a couple other stores until they found 1 with it and tell them to hold it for me, i guess my only complaint story ever was a new employee who was a dick about that, and when i asked if he could check other stores in the area for me he just bluntly said no and walked away to the backroom

Same here. Maybe I'm just lucky, but my Gamestop isn't so bad. For every bad experience, I've had many more positive transactions.

[wingzrow]

The way I see it, most people who actually know anything about games are too smart to work at a gamestop in the first place. For what it's worth though, the gamestop I go to when a great pre order bonus rolls by ( scribblenauts hat ) is run by nice people and is a very organized shop. They've given me display items they were throwing out many times before and I barely even buy from them.

EDIT: I do remember recently having to correct someone selling a red wii mario bros. bundle to a guy at gamestop. It wasn't common knowledge but kinda annoyed me so I stepped in.

"Ok so you can only return it with your warranty for 30 days, after that you would have to go through nintendo for another 30"

"you know you can just register your wii on clubnintendo for free and get a year warranty right?"

"oh! I never knew that"

[Ponyponypony]

The gamestop in Laurel, MD, on two separate occasions, denied that I had pre-ordered games (Fable 2 and Halo 3), despite having the receipt. That particularly bothered me, but I'd only put $5 on them, so it didn't hurt.

I have had good experiences, mostly, though. I don't generally buy stuff from gamestop unless it's a pre-order that I really really want (fallout new vegas, MW2).

I was about 11/12 when Funcoland went out of business. I remember being very very sad about it. I used to love going to the store and getting the funcoland newspaper that had all their games listed, with the game's prices and finding games that I wanted that I could afford. That, to me, separates them from Gamestop. Gamestop, so far as I know, does not publish current game prices or trade-in values.

The majority of my business now goes to Movie Trading Company in Fort Worth, TX, or Book and Music Exchange in Louisville, KY. They will generally beat out Gamestop's prices, and they also carry Sega CD games. I'd forgive Gamestop all their sins if they'd carry Sega CD games. XD

[Porksta]

Yeah, rule of thumb is trade nothing in there. However, that trade 3 get one free deal that's ALWAYS running and they don't advertise is awesome. Trade any 3 games worth $8 or more in credit in and get a brand new preorder up to $70 fully paid for, no tax? Always a steal if you can get decent trade stuff cheap enough.

Yes, please tell me more about this.

[Sabz5150]

Walked into a Gamestop sporting my Play N Trade shirt a few days back...

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z72/dark361/haters-gonna-hate-32402-1270523864-286.jpg

Felt like that with how the staff was eyeing me :)

[kupomogli]

Stuff maxlords said.


Yes, please tell me more about this.

I'm interested in this as well. If you ask an employee at Gamestop are they required to tell you about it or do you have to bring it up whenever you're to put in a preorder?

[Therealqtip]

Anyone have any? Here's mine.

As a Chirstmas gift for my brother I decided to get him a psp, so I went to Gamestop the other day to buy a PSP-1000. Where I live there's quite a few Gamestops in my city (About 4) but only one of them had the 1000 model PSPs. As I'm checking out she rings me up and asks for my debit card and I tell her I'd like to actually look at the system first before buying it. Lo and behold it's missing it's analog numb that she somehow forgot to mention.

I tell her that it's missing a part, and ask her to get me another one or to just grab one off the other PSP. She comes back saying that she can't find it and that the other PSP is missing it's analog nub too! So I tell her I'd like to see the manager and see if I can get some kind of discount because of the flaws on this one, and while she is gone the other casher feels the need to butt into things and tell me straight up that there's no way I'm going to get a discount and that I should just take the PSP the way it is. I respond by simply asking is she's the manager and she responds "...yes, i'm one of them" although it was obvious that she wasn't the store manager. She then begins by giving me a real attitude about how there's nothing they can do about it and then actually tells me that they don't accepted used ones like that! So how the heck did it end up like that? Oh that's right, they must of lost it. I tell her is makes no sense that you shouldnt be selling that PSP at it's full price if it's missing a part and she then takes another customer in line.

My casher comes back and tells me that they can't give me a discount and I tell her "Okay then" so I turn to the girl that was giving me attitude and I say "I'd like to know your name". She then begins to tell me that there's nothing they can do about it (again, lol) and I said that it was fine, I'd just like to know your name at this point. After saying that the REAL manager pops up (Most likely because she realized that I was going to call in about this issue because I asked for a name) and tells me if it's a problem that they would give me a PSP Slim at the price of the PSP-1000 and of course I accept.

Seriously. What a scam... What if a parent came in looking to buy it for their kid and didn't know that it was missing a part? At least I ended up with a good deal in the end.

Wait wait wait, you got a PSP2000 or 3000 for the price of a 1000? What the fuck? Nice job, I have no idea how you did that they're like Activision with their money.

[Sabz5150]

Anyone have any? Here's mine.

As a Chirstmas gift for my brother I decided to get him a psp, so I went to Gamestop the other day to buy a PSP-1000. Where I live there's quite a few Gamestops in my city (About 4) but only one of them had the 1000 model PSPs. As I'm checking out she rings me up and asks for my debit card and I tell her I'd like to actually look at the system first before buying it. Lo and behold it's missing it's analog numb that she somehow forgot to mention.

I tell her that it's missing a part, and ask her to get me another one or to just grab one off the other PSP. She comes back saying that she can't find it and that the other PSP is missing it's analog nub too! So I tell her I'd like to see the manager and see if I can get some kind of discount because of the flaws on this one, and while she is gone the other casher feels the need to butt into things and tell me straight up that there's no way I'm going to get a discount and that I should just take the PSP the way it is. I respond by simply asking is she's the manager and she responds "...yes, i'm one of them" although it was obvious that she wasn't the store manager. She then begins by giving me a real attitude about how there's nothing they can do about it and then actually tells me that they don't accepted used ones like that! So how the heck did it end up like that? Oh that's right, they must of lost it. I tell her is makes no sense that you shouldnt be selling that PSP at it's full price if it's missing a part and she then takes another customer in line.

My casher comes back and tells me that they can't give me a discount and I tell her "Okay then" so I turn to the girl that was giving me attitude and I say "I'd like to know your name". She then begins to tell me that there's nothing they can do about it (again, lol) and I said that it was fine, I'd just like to know your name at this point. After saying that the REAL manager pops up (Most likely because she realized that I was going to call in about this issue because I asked for a name) and tells me if it's a problem that they would give me a PSP Slim at the price of the PSP-1000 and of course I accept.

Seriously. What a scam... What if a parent came in looking to buy it for their kid and didn't know that it was missing a part? At least I ended up with a good deal in the end.

A similar thing happened when I got my PS3... except I didn't open the box in the store. Should have, that thing looked like it had been tied to a truck and taken to the store that way. DEEP scratches, cover missing from the memcard slots and ho-lee hell was it filthy.

I called them up and fortunately they were very nice and gave me an instant replacement, this time opening the box for me to see at the counter.

I suppose its all in the employees and their attitude. Some actually care about their product, others just want to make money and go home.

[Flashback2012]

I was about 11/12 when Funcoland went out of business. I remember being very very sad about it. I used to love going to the store and getting the funcoland newspaper that had all their games listed, with the game's prices and finding games that I wanted that I could afford. That, to me, separates them from Gamestop. Gamestop, so far as I know, does not publish current game prices or trade-in values.

I've seen price changes happen daily. It would be marked one price on Monday and then the price changed again on Tuesday. It was extremely rare, but it DID happen. The Funcoland newspapers were printed once a month I believe. That's for the selling papers. I can't remember how often the trade-in pages were updated, every 2 weeks I think? It's been so long ago. ^^;

I always thought the papers were kinda neat but sometimes annoying. People always asked for the cheapest games on the list, which we didn't have 90% of the time. Plus, our DM really pushed the whole cleaning kit nonsense on us constantly. You can imagine how hard it was to try and convince someone with a stack of .19¢ Super Mario/Duck Hunts in their hands to buy a $15 cleaning kit. :frustrated:

[maxlords]

I'm interested in this as well. If you ask an employee at Gamestop are they required to tell you about it or do you have to bring it up whenever you're to put in a preorder?

I don't think they have to tell you about it at all. Here in Canada at least, it's always on, always going, but usually unadvertised. If they're willing to put it into the system for ya, it always works up here. Been doing it literally for YEARS....at least the last 3 years straight. All year round too.

Just trade in 3 games worth $8 each minimum, and bam...you can preorder any title and it's fully paid for up to $70. Works on anything in the computer system. Since it's trade, there's no tax either. Barter isn't taxable AFAIK. You can also cancel the preorders and have whatever the current preorder price is in credit. I've done that a couple times as well.
It's quite possible that some places don't know about it....I can ask and see if you guys want....the manager of the store I go to might know if it's valid in the States too. It's also possible that they know about it and don't want to do it. I mean...good luck proving that they're not honoring an unadvertised trade-in deal right?

[maxlords]

Sales stuff

Um.....from what I understand (having seen the wholesale price lists), the average retail store gets games at wholesale for $3-5 less than retail (this is not counting big stores like Wal-mart who get their stuff for under wholesale). So for a $60 game:

Publisher sells it for $30 to Wholesaler (makes $16)
Wholesaler sells it to game store for $55 (makes $25)
Retailer sells it to you for $60 (makes $5

No way man. It makes no sense that the lion's share of the money would go to the wholesalers.....something's off in your calculations. Maybe there's more to it than the above though. And there are NO retailers making 20% markup on their new games. NONE. Not even Wal-Mart. They all do it by volume.

As for used games, the profit margin is a LOT higher than 40-50%. EB/Gamestop for example pays around $5 or so for most used games. Some of the newer stuff $8-12 sometimes, so say an average of $7. They sell em for $30-55. That's a MINIMUM base profit margin of over 300%!

And some stuff is even HIGHER. If their profit margin was only 50%, they'd be paying $27.50 in cash for every item they sold used for $55. And on top of that, they only pay in credit...which makes the profit margin even higher if you buy used, because they only paid an average of $.25 on the dollar or less for the item you're buying at their markup price with credit!

Any used game store that only has a 40-50% profit margin will be out of business...fast.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Um.....from what I understand (having seen the wholesale price lists), the average retail store gets games at wholesale for $3-5 less than retail (this is not counting big stores like Wal-mart who get their stuff for under wholesale). So for a $60 game:

Publisher sells it for $30 to Wholesaler (makes $16)
Wholesaler sells it to game store for $55 (makes $25)
Retailer sells it to you for $60 (makes $5

No way man. It makes no sense that the lion's share of the money would go to the wholesalers.....something's off in your calculations. Maybe there's more to it than the above though. And there are NO retailers making 20% markup on their new games. NONE. Not even Wal-Mart. They all do it by volume.

As for used games, the profit margin is a LOT higher than 40-50%. EB/Gamestop for example pays around $5 or so for most used games. Some of the newer stuff $8-12 sometimes, so say an average of $7. They sell em for $30-55. That's a MINIMUM base profit margin of over 300%!

And some stuff is even HIGHER. If their profit margin was only 50%, they'd be paying $27.50 in cash for every item they sold used for $55. And on top of that, they only pay in credit...which makes the profit margin even higher if you buy used, because they only paid an average of $.25 on the dollar or less for the item you're buying at their markup price with credit!

Any used game store that only has a 40-50% profit margin will be out of business...fast.

While there may be instances of 300% profit on a complete used game trade in to retail sale conversion, you're failing to factor in the seemingly very large number of games that are purchased at a trade in price and then sit unsold in inventory for what may be years.

While GameStop's formula is generally a highly profitable one, there's ZERO percent profit made on a used game purchased and not re-sold or sold at a price lower than the trade in (or cash) value paid out for it.

Just because GameStop buys a used game for $5 and they mark that same used game for $29.99 doesn't mean that game is guaranteed to sell at that price.

I'm sure there are millions of dollars worth of games like that just sitting in GameStops company-wide inventory slowly off-setting profits as the games eventually reduce in price to $4.99 or lower.

Yes, I'm sure that GameStop has various outlets to move that type of stock in bulk ... but again, the point is that profit in the used market is never guaranteed.

[maxlords]

I'm not failing to take that into account at all. It's irrelevant. Yes, it's relevant from a business sales standpoint, but my statement was about base gross profit on items that ARE resold, in response to the statement made by Diatribal Deity.

It's assumed that everything we're talking about sells. There's NO way that we can account for non-selling inventory (new OR used) or the losses incurred by discounting due to non-sales in a basic thread like this. That's some people's whole JOB....to figure that stuff out ;) In fact, if we included all non-selling inventory, I'd bet that Gamestop is probably well into the red just from that alone.

All I'm saying is that WHEN they sell a used item, they GROSS 300%+ on AVERAGE above what they paid for it. I'm not an economics major or anything.

And profit in the NEW market is not at all guaranteed either. How many times have we seen games that have been heavily discounted just to get a LITTLE of the money they spent on them back out. Those are being sold at a LOSS. We can't factor in those costs either.

Just saying, there's a MUCH larger profit margin (if you want to say potential profit margin, that's up to you) in used than DD was stating. And a much smaller one in new games than most people realize. It's all about volume for both, but especially for new.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I'm not failing to take that into account at all. It's irrelevant. Yes, it's relevant from a business sales standpoint, but my statement was about base gross profit on items that ARE resold, in response to the statement made by Diatribal Deity.

It's assumed that everything we're talking about sells. There's NO way that we can account for non-selling inventory (new OR used) or the losses incurred by discounting due to non-sales in a basic thread like this. That's some people's whole JOB....to figure that stuff out ;) In fact, if we included all non-selling inventory, I'd bet that Gamestop is probably well into the red just from that alone.

All I'm saying is that WHEN they sell a used item, they GROSS 300%+ on AVERAGE above what they paid for it. I'm not an economics major or anything.

And profit in the NEW market is not at all guaranteed either. How many times have we seen games that have been heavily discounted just to get a LITTLE of the money they spent on them back out. Those are being sold at a LOSS. We can't factor in those costs either.

Just saying, there's a MUCH larger profit margin (if you want to say potential profit margin, that's up to you) in used than DD was stating. And a much smaller one in new games than most people realize. It's all about volume for both, but especially for new.

Okay, but instances of 300% profit resale conversions are all offset by a bunch of other things that diminish that profit after the fact.

Loss of revenue via unsold stock, payment of employee salaries, rent on store locations, loss prevention losses, etc.

These are things that every retail business deals with and none of them look at just the bottom line of profit per item sold.

If the crux of your issue is that you perhaps disagree with the concept of a business buying a used game for $5 and re-selling it at upwards of 300% profit, that's fair.

... my concern was only that, if you're taking the issue to any other level you can't ignore the losses and expenses end of the business and you need to keep in mind that when a game is sold it's typically not 300% in pure profit going to the company's bottom line unhindered. When that does happen it's easily offset by many many other expenses including but not limited to those listed above.

[maxlords]

Kinda but not really. My entire aregument is that DD's numbers were rather questionable. We just got sidetracked.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Kinda but not really. My entire aregument is that DD's numbers were rather questionable. We just got sidetracked.

Yeah, I can't speak to the specific accuracy of his numbers, but I do agree with his closing statement that trying to figure out the specifics of GameStop's bottom line is very tricky.

[mobiusclimber]

I don't have too many stories about lazy/incompetent/asshole sales clerks, and frankly I don't think that matters, since you find that just about everywhere you go nowadays. I'll just give a few examples of why I don't shop at GS:

1) A few Xmases ago I went in for their B2G1F sale. After spending an hour trying to find three games I wanted at what I thought were reasonable prices and were around the same price, I took them up to the counter. They (including the manager) could not find one of the games' disc and only offered a "go to another store" by way of help. Really, out of the three games I was intending to buy, I really only wanted one of them pretty badly: Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a New World. I left disgusted only to walk across the street to Best Buy (never the bastion of cheap prices) and find the game new for the same price GS wanted for it used.

2) My friend bought me Devil Summoner 2 for my birthday or Christmas or something, but the corner had a dent in it. So I took to to GS to exchange it. They had several copies but each and every one had some defect. I ended up just keeping the one I originally got.

3) After hearing about some of the great deals GS advertises for games on their website (that can only be purchased in-person in their store), I went specifically looking for some of them. Of them, PSO I+II for the Gamecube was the best deal I'd ever heard of. Come to find out, no GS sells this game b/c of its online component. They don't take them in trade, so they never get them, all b/c you can't play the game online anymore (never mind that the game is perfectly playable offline).

I just give up. Their prices tend to be higher (sometimes twice as high as) online after shipping, and that comes right to my door. Why should I bother?

[Doonzmore]

3) After hearing about some of the great deals GS advertises for games on their website (that can only be purchased in-person in their store), I went specifically looking for some of them. Of them, PSO I+II for the Gamecube was the best deal I'd ever heard of. Come to find out, no GS sells this game b/c of its online component. They don't take them in trade, so they never get them, all b/c you can't play the game online anymore (never mind that the game is perfectly playable offline).?

Wow, that explains why no store within a 100 mile radius of my house has any of the 3.

[Diatribal Deity]

Um.....from what I understand (having seen the wholesale price lists), the average retail store gets games at wholesale for $3-5 less than retail (this is not counting big stores like Wal-mart who get their stuff for under wholesale). So for a $60 game:

Publisher sells it for $30 to Wholesaler (makes $16)
Wholesaler sells it to game store for $55 (makes $25)
Retailer sells it to you for $60 (makes $5

No way man. It makes no sense that the lion's share of the money would go to the wholesalers.....something's off in your calculations. Maybe there's more to it than the above though. And there are NO retailers making 20% markup on their new games. NONE. Not even Wal-Mart. They all do it by volume.

As for used games, the profit margin is a LOT higher than 40-50%. EB/Gamestop for example pays around $5 or so for most used games. Some of the newer stuff $8-12 sometimes, so say an average of $7. They sell em for $30-55. That's a MINIMUM base profit margin of over 300%!

And some stuff is even HIGHER. If their profit margin was only 50%, they'd be paying $27.50 in cash for every item they sold used for $55. And on top of that, they only pay in credit...which makes the profit margin even higher if you buy used, because they only paid an average of $.25 on the dollar or less for the item you're buying at their markup price with credit!

Any used game store that only has a 40-50% profit margin will be out of business...fast.

While I admit my numbers are older as i have been away from it for some years now...there are many in-depth articles that have discussed this in the past. Obviously, take it for what you will but...(this is one of the more recent in depth articles I have seen, but there are others)....

"Just how lucrative is GameStop's used games business? For every dollar of revenue from pre-owned games and consoles, the company gets 48 cents of gross profits -- that's a margin of nearly 50 percent."

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23396

[Diatribal Deity]

As far as costs associated with who gets what as a piece of the pie, probably one of the best articles to read is this one...

"Retail: 20% ($12)
Most games wholesale for about $48, giving retailers like EB Games, or Best Buy $12 of markup; at best, a dollar of that may drop to the store's bottom line."

http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/19/ps3-xbox360-costs-tech-cx_rr_game06_1219expensivegames.html

[Beefy Hits]

I rarely go there anymore unless it's a game I want day 0 and don't want to wait 1 week+ for Amazon to ship it to me. (Dragon Quest series)

The one I go to has a cute girl that seems to live there. Whenever I go there, be it mid afternoon middle of the week or Sunday, she's always there. She knows me by name - I don't even have to give her my name or number for pre-orders and she recognizes me when I walk in the door.

[gepeto]

I have had decent experiences some things that stood out.

The fact that they charge a refurb fee on a disc that was in the same condition when they sold it. That pissed me off.

The opened games sold as new. I have spent thousands of dollars over the years. They come out with power up points for money spent. They should give me game informers for life as well as a 250 gifrt card. I know I am in the computer and they have tagged a history of my use with the edge card.


I don't like they high turnover. Nobody stays I can't develope a rapport. I want to preorder a 3ds but there are no friendly gamestops locally.

[gepeto]

I have another one.

Years ago about 2 years after the ps2 came out I had a good friend who was a manager at a gamestop. One day he showed me on the computer a list of unpicked up reserves \ Preorder.

There were tons of people that had paid off the bundles that weren't even picked up. Bundles at the time were like 500 dollars. The amount of unpicked up stuff is staggering.

[Collector_Gaming]

i got a funny one that happened like 2 years ago

My cousin (who was like 10 at the time) went to go trade in a game for credit right even though i told him you'd be better off selling it private if his mom (my aunt) did a yard sale or something
But he was determined so whatever i'll play big brother and watch him do his thing.

I forgot what game it was but he turned it in and was gonna get like 20 dollars for credit or something like that.
Turns out i caught something when they were ringing it up and everything. But i didn't say anything or acted strangely just normal to keep it a secret just incase i was right.

We walk out the door and looked at his receipt. The woman that was working there accidently gave him double the credit. So instead of 20 dollars. he got 40 dollars. SCORE!!

As far as game stop goes. This is the reason i wanna try to open a game buisness.

and heres a long story to show why.

My little brother (he was 21 and i was 23 at the time) pitched the idea 4 years ago roughly that vermont has no store at allllll that specializes in classic and/or collectible games on top of newish games. and i always loved picking and so to speak treasure hunting (that new show American Pickers is my favorite show too got me wanting to do it even more then i use to).
So i was like thats a great idea i would love to try that considering i actually do know a thing or 2 about video game history and its consoles and games.
Its picking which i like. It deals with history in some format which is like. and its video games which i love. And best part about it. It would be local and independent. Which i like meaning i am the boss (along with my brother as he wants to go in this as a partner deal). I know i got good management skills and and i am probably one of the fairest people you'll ever meet.
So yea i would love to do this.

Later on that year i went to my favorite place for halloween fun (Salem MA for halloween). And i love strolling through towns i rarely goto to check out stores and stuff that i don't normally see just to see if they have anything different. And then i found a shop called "Game Zone" not to be confused about a small chain i was told about with the same name. This is a independently own and ran Game store
Its in 270 Essex ST Salem, MA for those wanting to check it out.

I was there when the guy who owns it was there and he was a super nice guy and knew sooo much about his product. And had my brother come down and check this place out with me. we talked about how we wanted to do a business like this and he said he was surprised to hear how vermont doesn't have a outlet for a market like that. and he has EVERYTHING (last time i was there he had 12 rob the robots (1 still in box never been opened), a few never been opened NES's like 10 Virtual Boys, piles and piles of nes's, snes, genesis of all versions, sega cds of all versions, a half dozen sega cdx's, every atari ever made so on and so on this shop is a one stop shop for any collector looking for top items).
And he wished us good luck on our business adventure and that was it.
and to me thats exactly how a store should be ran.
Friendly customer relations. The higher ups should know about their product instead of pointing to employees and tell them to deal with it. They should also know bout the job just as much if not more so as their employee's.

But.... thats the difference between a mom and pops joint and a super chain retail outlet.
Mom and pops care about customers and their impact on the community.
Super Chains only care about money.
They don't need to know about what they are selling.
Only that its gonna in hope make them lots of money

[edwardalmost]

driving experience
(http://www.racingadventure.com/)The last step is GRADUATION - you’ll receive a log which shows the speed and performance you achieved on the track. It’s a great item to frame and display it in your den or office.
Furthermore the school operates at up to twenty (20) different NASCAR tracks throughout the year, so you’re sure to find a session at a location and time which works best for your schedule. It is also a great GIFT for YOURSELF and for SOMEONE SPECIAL, they’ll love it. CHECK IT OUT AND GO FOR IT NOW!


I need a good christmas gift for my dad has anyone tried the Drive a race car racing school?

[jrokshady]

Every now and then I use gamestop to my advantage. I never feel guilty about it since they've ripped me off 3 times. Here's what I do: When I have a terribly scratched up game and don't want to pay for a new one I go to gamestop and get a copy of the game that has very few scratches or none. I take the game home and return my other scratched up copy the next day and tell them it wont play in my system. The other way I scam them is if I have a game with a missing/messed up instruction manual or artwork. I do the same thing and switch them and take it back. Occasionally they do have a good item or two there and I take advantage of it. They are the best place for limited editions or preorders and they charge a standard price for a game no matter the condition. So if they have a perfect copy of a King Of Fighters game for 4 or 7 dollars or a collectors edition for the same price as a standard edition then I take advantage. Use them the same way they use you and that way it's like mutual enjoyment instead of rape.

[megasdkirby]

^^^People do this at work too. However, it's obvious they are trying to scam when they say "Hey, I really wanted this game and it's really scratched. I want my money back". Now, if they really wanted the game, why not ask for another copy? I look at the game, notice that it's impossible for the game to be in that condition being new, and I tell them: "Sure, let me get you ANOTHER copy of the game". They piss off saying they want their money back, then I tell them: "Well, policy for games is 14 warranty on EXCHANGE only, and besides, if you really "wanted" the game, why are you asking for your money back?"

I love their facial expressions after that. :D

[DigitalSpace]

I can't remember the last thing I bought at a GameStop. Probably a cheap GBA or Gamecube game.

</useless response>

[jrokshady]

^^^People do this at work too. However, it's obvious they are trying to scam when they say "Hey, I really wanted this game and it's really scratched. I want my money back". Now, if they really wanted the game, why not ask for another copy? I look at the game, notice that it's impossible for the game to be in that condition being new, and I tell them: "Sure, let me get you ANOTHER copy of the game". They piss off saying they want their money back, then I tell them: "Well, policy for games is 14 warranty on EXCHANGE only, and besides, if you really "wanted" the game, why are you asking for your money back?"

I love their facial expressions after that. :D

I don't do that for new games. I do that for used games. I also never go to the same employee that sold me the copy from the store.

[megasdkirby]

I don't do that for new games. I do that for used games. I also never go to the same employee that sold me the copy from the store.

Employee or not, it's the same policy in the store.

I would not do this because, quite frankly, karma is a...well, you know. I don't want to do something sneaky and later on get twice as much shit for it.

[bangtango]

I don't do that for new games. I do that for used games. I also never go to the same employee that sold me the copy from the store.

Why on earth do you end up getting scratched up copies in the first place? If I want the game, I try to find it in the best condition possible. If it is in questionable condition and the game is cheap enough (99 cents at Gamestop), I just buy a second copy as a back-up and toss it into a cd sleeve or jewel case in case I need it on account of the first copy skipping or freezing. What the hell? It's only a buck.

Besides, if I end up getting games there, I usually ask the clerk to get me a disc in good condition, especially if it is a game they have about 10-15 copies of. That forces them to check a few copies until I get one in good shape. Never seen a clerk refuse me yet, though a few of them have done it and were visibly unhappy about having to do that for me.

In fact, a couple locations know me as a regular and do this for me without me having to ask, which is nice.

[Flashback2012]

Every now and then I use gamestop to my advantage. I never feel guilty about it since they've ripped me off 3 times.

How exactly did they rip you off 3 times? Did they steal your games, store credit, or money from you outright? If they've managed to get over on you a total of 3 times now, WHY are you still going back?! X_x Haven't you heard of "Three strikes and you're out!" or the phrase that offers less chances such as "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me"? :? I am genuinely curious how they could have ripped you off more than once. I can understand if you traded in a 3ft tall stack of games and they missed one. I can also understand if they lost a store credit back when it was paper based. I can even understand someone accidentally short changing you at the end of a transaction because they got distracted or transposed some numbers and gave you back .23¢ instead of .32¢. All three of those examples are honest mistakes that could be easily remedied if one was astute and on the ball.

Could it be then, and I'm speculating here, that the scenario you're referring to where they would have allegedly ripped you stems from 3 separate occasions where you took in piles of games/accessories to trade, they pitched you a lowball $XX amount, and you expected a much higher number than the one quoted? If that's the case and you took them up on their offer, then the only person who ripped you off was you. Again, I'm merely speculating, but it's been my experience from years of working behind the counter as well as seeing a bajillion posts online where people would say they were ripped off, after their initial put downs there would usually be some yammering diatribe about their lowball trade in amounts that followed. :D



Here's what I do: When I have a terribly scratched up game and don't want to pay for a new one I go to gamestop and get a copy of the game that has very few scratches or none. I take the game home and return my other scratched up copy the next day and tell them it wont play in my system.

Oh you slick fox you! How clever! :hail:

If I had a nickel for every time someone did this "trick" I would be a very, VERY rich man. I hate to sound like I'm coming off as condescending but perhaps you should be taking better care of your games in the first place to where they won't get all scratched up and thus necessitate the need to pull off this "trick"? Now if you're finding games in the wild that are a little rough looking but you netted it for a great price, I'd be a little more understanding to your switch-a-roo shenanigans. Still though, I've been in that situation myself and I've passed on games that were too rough as I figured it's just one copy and eventually I'll find a more better looking copy elsewhere for around the same price. ;)


The other way I scam them is if I have a game with a missing/messed up instruction manual or artwork. I do the same thing and switch them and take it back. Occasionally they do have a good item or two there and I take advantage of it. They are the best place for limited editions or preorders and they charge a standard price for a game no matter the condition. So if they have a perfect copy of a King Of Fighters game for 4 or 7 dollars or a collectors edition for the same price as a standard edition then I take advantage.

Doing the disc/case/book/insert switch-a-roo qualifies as a scam now? :eek 2: Criminy, if that's the case, I can only imagine the magnitude and labeling pyramid structuring and Ponzi schemes merit then. I realize the disc thing is a little off the cuff but I've NEVER had a problem asking for an instruction book from a case if it was one I needed (which is super stupid rare as I'm very picky about my purchases to begin with). I've done it at stores where I didn't know any of the employees. I always figured the worst they could say to me was no. Even if they did say no, and you did the swap/return, I can't really see myself dressing that scenario up and calling it a scam.

Incidentally, your openness about you say you scam them is a minor concern. I hope your field of employment doesn't include that of a Realtor, financial adviser, or commission based salesperson. ^^;


Use them the same way they use you and that way it's like mutual enjoyment instead of rape.

Rape? Seriously? I'm sorry, but that's an incredibly poor choice of words on your part. Having bad experiences with a place that you feel has done you wrong more than once (and yet you still go back) compares not at all, even an inkling, to the incident of rape. -100,000 Internets for you good sir. :monkey:

Even so, and I'm not even sure how this escapes you, as the consumer YOU have the ultimate power over any retailer. It's your choice whether or not you do business with them. At any point in time where you feel like you're not getting your due, YOU have the ability to stop the deal dead in it's tracks. This isn't like a mortgage or a auto loan where once you've signed on the dotted line you're fighting up uphill legal battle to renege on the contract. This is WAY more simple.

The fact that it needs to be pointed out and the fact that it appears your stance is "Well they're screwing me over, turnabout is fair play" scares me that there are people like you out there. I guess it's too much work and effort to take a little responsibility and be more meticulous about your purchases up front, take care of your property so it remains scratch free, and saying "Fuck NO" to a retailers lowball offer by selling your items on your own via the internet or garage sales for what they're truly worth. I mean come on...we know nothing is YOUR fault right? ^^;

[bangtango]

If I had a nickel for every time someone did this "trick" I would be a very, VERY rich man. I hate to sound like I'm coming off as condescending but perhaps you should be taking better care of your games in the first place to where they won't get all scratched up and thus necessitate the need to pull off this "trick"? Now if you're finding games in the wild that are a little rough looking but you netted it for a great price, I'd be a little more understanding to your switch-a-roo shenanigans. Still though, I've been in that situation myself and I've passed on games that were too rough as I figured it's just one copy and eventually I'll find a more better looking copy elsewhere for around the same price. ;)
^^;

I've never really dug the idea of trading in games that I know are non-working or giving them to a thrift store. Why leave some poor bastard who happens to buy that copy stuck with a non-working game?

[megasdkirby]

I've never really dug the idea of trading in games that I know are non-working or giving them to a thrift store. Why leave some poor bastard who happens to buy that copy stuck with a non-working game?

The funny thing is that, if GameStop would simply invest in a professional resurfacer, many of those "damaged" games will work once more.

I once purchased "FEAR" for Xbox 360 with the infamous "circle of death" that occurs when the console is moved while playing. The manager did not want to sell it to me but decided to do so anyway, because he knew I had this machine.

After a couple of tries, the game worked perfectly.

A little investment will go a long way for them.

[bangtango]

The funny thing is that, if GameStop would simply invest in a professional resurfacer, many of those "damaged" games will work once more.

I once purchased "FEAR" for Xbox 360 with the infamous "circle of death" that occurs when the console is moved while playing. The manager did not want to sell it to me but decided to do so anyway, because he knew I had this machine.

After a couple of tries, the game worked perfectly.

A little investment will go a long way for them.


What do they use for resurfacing then?

[megasdkirby]

What do they use for resurfacing then?

They supposedly do, but I highly doubt it.

If every store would just invest in a unit, they can simply try their best and repair the discs that are, or look like they are, damaged.

But they don't, unfortunately.

They could easily take a fucked up game, give less to the customer, and repair it. Sure, it's less money for the customer, but it's their fault for treating their games like shit anyway.

[DreadIsReal]

They supposedly do, but I highly doubt it.

If every store would just invest in a unit, they can simply try their best and repair the discs that are, or look like they are, damaged.

But they don't, unfortunately.

They could easily take a fucked up game, give less to the customer, and repair it. Sure, it's less money for the customer, but it's their fault for treating their games like shit anyway.

Gamestop are generally way too busy to sit around and resurface games. There are far more better ways to use an employees time, especially since all defective games are sent out to HQ to get resurfaced. I work at Gamestop and if the disc is really bad, I don't even take them for trade.

[Dr. Dib]

They supposedly do, but I highly doubt it.

If every store would just invest in a unit, they can simply try their best and repair the discs that are, or look like they are, damaged.

But they don't, unfortunately.

They could easily take a fucked up game, give less to the customer, and repair it. Sure, it's less money for the customer, but it's their fault for treating their games like shit anyway.

Um, they do do that. I've experienced this occurring twice where I brought in a game to trade in and they noticed it was damaged and charged a refurbishing fee. Not sure if they actually refurbished the disc though as those trade-ins were at Gamestops I don't usually frequent.

[megasdkirby]

Seriously, I HATE GameStop.

This is a "Cool Story Bro" moment, I admit. It's about me picking up Marvel vs Capcom LE/CE edition for PS3 without preordering it.

I tried preordering this game, but unfortunately I was unable to because the system refused any more pre-orders. However, the associate I know, which I will call Becky, knew I wanted the game, so she placed me "on hold" in case someone cancels their order.

So I went today and noticed that Becky was not working at the time, but instead, two assholes from another store (transferred from a very BAD store) were there. I ask them "By any chance, is there a LE/CE version of the PS3 available?" The assholes say "NO SORRY MAN" with an arrogant attittude. I found this odd, but I decided to leave and call Becky later on.

So I did. 45 minutes later, I got in contact with her and she checked...someone DID cancel the game earlier during the day and the assholes lied to me. She placed it on hold and sice it was close to work (two minute walking distance in the same mall), I ran over there as fast as I could. Becky and the two idiots were there. I talked to Becky and she takes out the copy on hold for me. The idiots look at me badly, and Becky hands the game to one of them to sell to me. The idiot asks me "YOUR NAME PLEASE" and I told them that I was going to buy it without preordering it. He tells me "YOU CANNT BUY IT BECAUSE YOU DID NOT PREORDER". I tell him that Becky checked and one was cancelled. He got angry and went to talk to Becky and she confirmed the cancellation. Pissed off, he starts the transaction and I ask if any preorder goodies were included. He says "NO YOU DO NOT GET THE BOOK BECAUSE ITS ONLY FOR THOSE WHO PREORDERED". I said fine and paid. I went to Becky only to find out that the preorder goodie was a decal/sticker and that the book was included.

While leaving, I noticed the pricks were looking at me badly. My guess is that I went over their heads to someone with higher power. They sure have great customer satisfaction skills.... *sigh*

Seems the assholes wanted it for themselves. Pricks. Thankfully, I will blast them when I do the survey thing...see how long they last after consecutive bad experiences.

Yes, the capitals are in my post because the assholes were actually raising their voices at me, many times in disgust.

Assholes. Becky awesome, though.

[MarioMania]

Seriously, I HATE GameStop.

This is a "Cool Story Bro" moment, I admit. It's about me picking up Marvel vs Capcom LE/CE edition for PS3 without preordering it.

I tried preordering this game, but unfortunately I was unable to because the system refused any more pre-orders. However, the associate I know, which I will call Becky, knew I wanted the game, so she placed me "on hold" in case someone cancels their order.

So I went today and noticed that Becky was not working at the time, but instead, two assholes from another store (transferred from a very BAD store) were there. I ask them "By any chance, is there a LE/CE version of the PS3 available?" The assholes say "NO SORRY MAN" with an arrogant attittude. I found this odd, but I decided to leave and call Becky later on.

So I did. 45 minutes later, I got in contact with her and she checked...someone DID cancel the game earlier during the day and the assholes lied to me. She placed it on hold and sice it was close to work (two minute walking distance in the same mall), I ran over there as fast as I could. Becky and the two idiots were there. I talked to Becky and she takes out the copy on hold for me. The idiots look at me badly, and Becky hands the game to one of them to sell to me. The idiot asks me "YOUR NAME PLEASE" and I told them that I was going to buy it without preordering it. He tells me "YOU CANNT BUY IT BECAUSE YOU DID NOT PREORDER". I tell him that Becky checked and one was cancelled. He got angry and went to talk to Becky and she confirmed the cancellation. Pissed off, he starts the transaction and I ask if any preorder goodies were included. He says "NO YOU DO NOT GET THE BOOK BECAUSE ITS ONLY FOR THOSE WHO PREORDERED". I said fine and paid. I went to Becky only to find out that the preorder goodie was a decal/sticker and that the book was included.

While leaving, I noticed the pricks were looking at me badly. My guess is that I went over their heads to someone with higher power. They sure have great customer satisfaction skills.... *sigh*

Seems the assholes wanted it for themselves. Pricks. Thankfully, I will blast them when I do the survey thing...see how long they last after consecutive bad experiences.

Yes, the capitals are in my post because the assholes were actually raising their voices at me, many times in disgust.

Assholes. Becky awesome, though.

Wow, that really sucks..

The Gamestop I go to holds stuff for me :)

There's this girl that works there that held 2 PS2 Logitech Contollers for me & both times I bought them

[Tempest]

My only interesting GS story is that I once saw a drugged out stoner trying to sell a stack of obviously stolen games. He was seriously baked and had trouble holding a conversation with the employee, I think they could have offered him just about anything for those games and he would have taken it. I think the employee sensed that something was off too, but he couldn't really do much.

Ok true, I don't actually KNOW for sure that they were stolen, but I seriously doubt that a early 20s something guy owns several disc only copies of kiddie games (one was a Barbie game).

Tempest

[incubus421]

How exactly did they rip you off 3 times? Did they steal your games, store credit, or money from you outright? If they've managed to get over on you a total of 3 times now, WHY are you still going back?! X_x Haven't you heard of "Three strikes and you're out!" or the phrase that offers less chances such as "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me"? :? I am genuinely curious how they could have ripped you off more than once. I can understand if you traded in a 3ft tall stack of games and they missed one. I can also understand if they lost a store credit back when it was paper based. I can even understand someone accidentally short changing you at the end of a transaction because they got distracted or transposed some numbers and gave you back .23¢ instead of .32¢. All three of those examples are honest mistakes that could be easily remedied if one was astute and on the ball.

Could it be then, and I'm speculating here, that the scenario you're referring to where they would have allegedly ripped you stems from 3 separate occasions where you took in piles of games/accessories to trade, they pitched you a lowball $XX amount, and you expected a much higher number than the one quoted? If that's the case and you took them up on their offer, then the only person who ripped you off was you. Again, I'm merely speculating, but it's been my experience from years of working behind the counter as well as seeing a bajillion posts online where people would say they were ripped off, after their initial put downs there would usually be some yammering diatribe about their lowball trade in amounts that followed. :D




Oh you slick fox you! How clever! :hail:

If I had a nickel for every time someone did this "trick" I would be a very, VERY rich man. I hate to sound like I'm coming off as condescending but perhaps you should be taking better care of your games in the first place to where they won't get all scratched up and thus necessitate the need to pull off this "trick"? Now if you're finding games in the wild that are a little rough looking but you netted it for a great price, I'd be a little more understanding to your switch-a-roo shenanigans. Still though, I've been in that situation myself and I've passed on games that were too rough as I figured it's just one copy and eventually I'll find a more better looking copy elsewhere for around the same price. ;)



Doing the disc/case/book/insert switch-a-roo qualifies as a scam now? :eek 2: Criminy, if that's the case, I can only imagine the magnitude and labeling pyramid structuring and Ponzi schemes merit then. I realize the disc thing is a little off the cuff but I've NEVER had a problem asking for an instruction book from a case if it was one I needed (which is super stupid rare as I'm very picky about my purchases to begin with). I've done it at stores where I didn't know any of the employees. I always figured the worst they could say to me was no. Even if they did say no, and you did the swap/return, I can't really see myself dressing that scenario up and calling it a scam.

Incidentally, your openness about you say you scam them is a minor concern. I hope your field of employment doesn't include that of a Realtor, financial adviser, or commission based salesperson. ^^;



Rape? Seriously? I'm sorry, but that's an incredibly poor choice of words on your part. Having bad experiences with a place that you feel has done you wrong more than once (and yet you still go back) compares not at all, even an inkling, to the incident of rape. -100,000 Internets for you good sir. :monkey:

Even so, and I'm not even sure how this escapes you, as the consumer YOU have the ultimate power over any retailer. It's your choice whether or not you do business with them. At any point in time where you feel like you're not getting your due, YOU have the ability to stop the deal dead in it's tracks. This isn't like a mortgage or a auto loan where once you've signed on the dotted line you're fighting up uphill legal battle to renege on the contract. This is WAY more simple.

The fact that it needs to be pointed out and the fact that it appears your stance is "Well they're screwing me over, turnabout is fair play" scares me that there are people like you out there. I guess it's too much work and effort to take a little responsibility and be more meticulous about your purchases up front, take care of your property so it remains scratch free, and saying "Fuck NO" to a retailers lowball offer by selling your items on your own via the internet or garage sales for what they're truly worth. I mean come on...we know nothing is YOUR fault right? ^^;


I commend thee Flashback...it all makes sense to me

GameStop is a corporation...they are in it to make money...the easiest way to prevent GameStop from ripping you off is to not say YES!

[Flashback2012]

Seriously, I HATE GameStop.

This is a "Cool Story Bro" moment, I admit. It's about me picking up Marvel vs Capcom LE/CE edition for PS3 without preordering it.

I tried preordering this game, but unfortunately I was unable to because the system refused any more pre-orders. However, the associate I know, which I will call Becky, knew I wanted the game, so she placed me "on hold" in case someone cancels their order.

It's always nice to have an "inside" person at places like this. I was that guy for several regulars for a good many years and now that I'm on the "outside", I made sure to build up a rapport with the employees at all of the area stores. :)

As far as pre-ordering CE/LE versions of games, it's a crap shoot half the time. Sometimes the window of opportunity is so narrow that if you blink, you'll miss it. That's happened to me a couple times since I've stopped working there and I've had to resort to other means to get the game (or rely on my ex co-workers to help me out). On the other hand, I can slightly understand from a corporate standpoint that they don't want to over order on things like that as they're harder to move than their regular edition counterparts sometimes (Halo Reach comes to mind among others). Being that they take up more room as well and that shelf real estate is something of a premium, I can see why they'd be leery to have too many in inventory.

While the concept of the CE/LE has become more popular and mainstream in recent years, by and large the average Joe Gamer who goes there doesn't really give a flip about all of that extra stuff. :|


So I went today and noticed that Becky was not working at the time, but instead, two assholes from another store (transferred from a very BAD store) were there. I ask them "By any chance, is there a LE/CE version of the PS3 available?" The assholes say "NO SORRY MAN" with an arrogant attittude. I found this odd, but I decided to leave and call Becky later on.

So I did. 45 minutes later, I got in contact with her and she checked...someone DID cancel the game earlier during the day and the assholes lied to me. She placed it on hold and since it was close to work (two minute walking distance in the same mall), I ran over there as fast as I could. Becky and the two idiots were there. I talked to Becky and she takes out the copy on hold for me. The idiots look at me badly, and Becky hands the game to one of them to sell to me. The idiot asks me "YOUR NAME PLEASE" and I told them that I was going to buy it without preordering it. He tells me "YOU CANNT BUY IT BECAUSE YOU DID NOT PREORDER". I tell him that Becky checked and one was cancelled. He got angry and went to talk to Becky and she confirmed the cancellation. Pissed off, he starts the transaction and I ask if any preorder goodies were included. He says "NO YOU DO NOT GET THE BOOK BECAUSE ITS ONLY FOR THOSE WHO PREORDERED". I said fine and paid. I went to Becky only to find out that the preorder goodie was a decal/sticker and that the book was included.

What a jackass. Seriously, there's NO reason to give you any grief about it. There's a procedure to follow and those guys failed at every step. If they actually did want it for themselves then one has to imagine they would have followed their own store's policy and....pre-ordered it?! @_@



While leaving, I noticed the pricks were looking at me badly. My guess is that I went over their heads to someone with higher power. They sure have great customer satisfaction skills.... *sigh*

Seems the assholes wanted it for themselves. Pricks. Thankfully, I will blast them when I do the survey thing...see how long they last after consecutive bad experiences.

Yes, the capitals are in my post because the assholes were actually raising their voices at me, many times in disgust.

Assholes. Becky awesome, though.

Good on you for filling out the survey. I would be careful how you word your comments, make sure you highlight how horrible the mouth breather was who rang you out but also make sure how "Becky" helped you out. I know for a fact that certain well written, profanity-free comments left on feedback are/can be read on conference calls the District Manager has with his store managers. The schmucks might even get a write-up for their callous behavior. :ass:

My only suggestion to you is to pay a little closer attention to things like the announcement of things like that. Since you have "Becky" helping you out on the inside, one thing you might want to consider is having "floating" money in their system. At my old store, I never canceled my reserves that I had while I was employed and ever since I've kept canceling and re-reserving other titles to keep the money "floating" in their system. It's not as much of a problem since they did away with the paper system and everything is done electronically. Sure...GS gets a sliver of interest sitting on your money like that but that's a rather small price to pay to help give you one more advantage in getting something you want. I imagine if you found out about something like the MvC3 LE in the future and had reserves in their system, it wouldn't take much more than to give "Becky" a call and have her switch the reserves for you. She won't get stung by the cancel as the re-reserves washes that out. If you ever get low on reserved items, I'm sure she wouldn't complain if you came in and reserved a few more floaters when you have the time and money. :ass:

[megasdkirby]

I commend thee Flashback...it all makes sense to me

GameStop is a corporation...they are in it to make money...the easiest way to prevent GameStop from ripping you off is to not say YES!

I don't mind if the corporation is owned by evil demons, as long as the employees are friendly and willing to work, I am ok with it.

But I SERIOUSLY despise GameStop, because in most cases, the employees are half retarded idiots with no sense in customer orientation and satisfaction. It always baffled my mind how they would choose an idiot with a bad demeanor/attitude over a person what WANTS to work and is kind and friendly. I've met some great employees, but in most cases, all lack customer skills and have a bad attitude. WHY IS THIS!?

I would never insult, yell, criticize or just put down the customer, even if they deserve it. I have given constructive criticism in front of the manager, but I try to be as polite as possible. But I would never be a "Squidward", for those who know the reference. If the employee has no interest in working, then they should quit and look for something else. Yeah, they might have to pay bills, put food on the table for their families and what not...it still does not give them the right to make the customer feel like shit.

It's sad too...at the beginning of February, the corporation did a "change" in personnel and only left a few of the old ones. The new people, that were from a location known to have bad customer service, are now here. And my goodness, how things went sour quick. Hopefully, the corporation will catch wind and fire the idiots and bring back the "good ones". But I seriously doubt it.