Edited by request.

[maxlords]

Edited by request. Please lock.

[Xantan the Foul]

I think I'm going to stop shopping at EB Games.

[Humanoid]

Um, I already get annoyed when people ask me to buy those discount card things, so this could be bad for my temper. When I get to the checkout, I want to do just that, checkout. Whatever happened to the customer knowsss best?
(assuming this is true and that it happens in the U.S)

[towerofsong]

I find it hard to believe that it would be company policy to argue with someone for 10minutes. Surely its a hilarious joke? right?
imagine
"no don't buy that new game, buy this one with deep scratches in it, stickers all over the place and some weird fluorescent stain in the inside of the box...oh and it costs almost as much as the new one...and it'll take me a week to find the disks in the basement...and i'll put some more stickers on it while i'm down there." *continues for 10 mintues*
i'd go freakin nuts

i'm just going on the standard of pre-owned games in Game in Liverpool, Game bought out EB here, and all over England I assume

rah

[DigitalSpace]

That is definitely appalling, even worse than Best Buy's "demon customers" shtick (sp?). If this is true, there are other stores I can shop at and I'll take my business there instead.

[BigGeorgeJohnson]

Sounds bogus to me. Not only is it bad business, but the story just doesn't sound credible.

I think it was probably some kid who works at EB exaggerating.

[maxlords]

This is absolutely 100% true for Canada. This IS the policy now. I cannot confirm or deny that the policy is valid in the US however.

[drewbrim]

I've mentioned this before but I can't stand EB, Gamestop, Funco, and any other national chain. Usually the reasons are for bad selection, prices, quality, and alike. But it looks like I've got another reason not to go into a EB store, unless I go in there just to give the management a hard time :D

I'll admit that I'm pretty lucky when it comes to being able to shop for games in this area (plenty of places to go) so I can afford to be selective that way. Just wondering, but how many of you pick up new games from EB and those kind of stores? I thought the only reason to go in there was to look for used ones, since around here the new games are usually a couple of dollars more than at best buy and tru.

[Muscelli]

If thats true, then thats really sad... their preowned games are priced like, 3 dollars less then the new ones...

[Querjek]

EB doesn't realize the obvious, more customer-friendly-solution: accpet less games as trade-ins, or offer less incentives to trade in. In theory, the sales percentage would go up, because there would be less used games to sell.


I rarely buy used stuff from EB; it must be a really good deal for me to not care if another person has used my item before.

[maxlords]

See, the kicker is there's a very low margin in new games, and a very high margin in preowned. It makes perfect sense from a profit standpoint to want to minimize new sales and maximize preowned. However, from the customer side....it sucks...bad. Ultimately it'll lead to loss of customers rather than a maximizing of profit IMO.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Yeah thats pretty lame. I don't mind them asking if I would maybe want a used copy of the game instead of a new one, But repeatly trying to force me to buy used would just get annoying. Even worse is firing employee's if they fail to sell used overstock. Oh well, What are you going to do? Atleast i'll get a good laugh out of thinking about how bad I raped EB thanks to the TRU 90% off deal.

[BigGeorgeJohnson]

This is absolutely 100% true for Canada. This IS the policy now. I cannot confirm or deny that the policy is valid in the US however.

How did you confirm the policy for Canada?

[Bluteg]

That's fine by me only games I ever buy there are longbox PSX anyway. For new games I only buy ones on sale. EBGames does not run sales for new games near release so no loss to me.

[kainemaxwell]

That's just plain wrong.

[SoulBlazer]

Does'nt affect me any.

I buy a lot of games brand new from pre-orders from my local EB. So there's no chance for a used game.

Sometimes when I go in to buy a new game, I'll WANT a used copy. It saves me money and I don't care. Remember, I'm a GAMER, so it does'nt matter to me as long as it has the box and manual and the CD is fine.

I could care less in what they do. I love my local EB due to the people, the products, the prices, and the location, so this does'nt concern me at all. -_-

[portnoyd]

Dear Corporate EB (In Canada at least),

Fuck you.

Very Truly Yours,

Dave

P.s. If you want me to buy used, maybe you should only take in nice looking complete shit. Instead of the boxless and manualless coasters that look like they were strapped to the foot of a 3 year old kid with Turret's for a week.

P.s.s. Suckmyballs.

[Lord Contaminous]

That's it. My days at EB are OVER!!!

I'm still fired up over the fact that on fucking DAY 2 that Y's: Ark of Napishtim has been out, they give me a case that's already been open with the CD and manual sealed.

That's the last straw with those bastards.

First EB (and Lamestop to throw into the equation) upset old school gamers by phasing out used NES, SNES and Genesis games, annoy us with offers we don't care about, and now they're forcing us to buy games in shitty conditions???

[Jibbajaba]

Doesn't it seem plausible then that companies are going to ship less games to EB? Why would they if the people at the store are going to convince them not to buy. Same will go for systems. When Sony only has a limited number of PSTwos top ship out, they will short change EBGames because if someone goes in there to buy one, the clerk is going to convince them to buy a used original model.

All I'm saying is that this may come back to bite EB in the ass.

Chris

[Griking]

Does'nt affect me any.
I buy a lot of games brand new from pre-orders from my local EB. So there's no chance for a used game.

Which begs the question, how are they going to force pre-orders AND used games down our throats at the same time. Unless of course the next step is to take pre-orders on the first used copies of a game to hit their stores

[MegaDrive20XX]

Fuck'em...that's almost to the point where they are working for commission...and customer support is unimportant? again...fuck'em...

That's sad for Canada....I'd call in the BBB at this point

[Damion]

Sounds about par for the course in corperate U.S.

Sales are Down, nobody really knows why. blame it on the little guy. :angry:

SNAFU

[joshnickerson]

I said it before, an' I'll say it again...

F**K EB!

[Poofta!]

well i always choose the used equivalent if its more than $5 less. if the new game is 50 and used is 45, id rather have new, if its 50 and 40, used all the way.

then again i always shop at gamestop over EB, i love the people who work at the 3 GS's i know, great guys, plus prices are cheaper in gamestop.

im actually kinda looking forward to this, itll make trips to EB very amusing.

[Dangerboy]

I'm thinking this is our northern friends only....haven't heard anything like that down here...

if I did there'd be a few choice swear words I could use on a conference call.

[Ulticron]

In the end EB will end up losing money simply from the fact that a good percentage of their customers giving them a good old fashioned "FU!" an walking over to another store to get their game. I don't mind used games that is if. 1) they're in decent condition and 2) I can't buy the game in minty fresh sealed condition. However if somone is going to argue w/me then i'm going to simply give them the bird, and say "Hey buddy, ever heard of Software Etc or how about gamestop, Kmart, Target, and Walmart too for that matter? Well they sell games too! See ya wouldn't wanna be ya!"

[Iron Draggon]

EB is gonna end up putting themselves out of business. All they've done over the last few years is piss people off, and become worse and worse. It's as though they WANT to go out of business, and they WANT all their former customers to start shopping at Gamestop instead! What is wrong with them?

And what's up with some asshole DM actually REFUSING to sell a customer a new copy of a game until they agreed to buy a used copy instead? That's the jerk who should be FIRED, not the poor guy who's actually serving the CUSTOMER instead of the evil CORPORATION! I can't stand that attitude!

I've got news for you EB, not that I will ever shop in one of your stores ever again, because I won't, but assuming that for some reason I ever did come into one of your stores to buy something, if I tell you that I want a NEW copy of it, and you tell me that you WON'T sell it to me because you want me to buy a USED copy of it instead, then I am gonna be all over your ass! I WON'T put up with that kind of stupid bullshit out of you at all! I WILL go to another store like Gamestop instead, and they WILL sell me what I want! So how do you like that? Is that what you want? I can certainly help you stupid bastards to commit corporate suicide and go bankrupt, if you really wanna go out of business that badly! It's easy! I just shop somewhere else, and advise all my friends to do the same! And I don't care what your "exclusive" promos are anymore either! You can shove every single bit of all that shit up your ass!

Suck my big hairy dick, EB! I don't even care if this is only your new policy in Canada or not, I'm not shopping in any of your stores anymore anywhere! Not even online! So take that and shove it! I'm taking every single bit of my gaming business elsewhere! Not that I haven't done that already, but this latest news only reinforces my decision! Have a great time going bankrupt! Not a single gamer on this earth is ever gonna miss your stupid company! Not with an attitude like that, and not while you try to sell incomplete copies of used games that have been so severely abused that nobody wants them! That's why the damned things aren't selling, idiot! There is such a thing as videogame collectors, you know! And we sure as hell won't buy that shit! WTF? What the hell makes you think that anyone wants to pay top dollar for a deeply scratched CD with no manual and a broken case? That's why the dipshit who destroyed it sold it to your stupid ass in the first place! Do you think that he wanted to keep it in his collection in that shitty condition?

:angry: :roll: :angry:

[RamboCalrissian]

Double post...sorry...

*sigh*

[RamboCalrissian]

I've never understood why people shop in those big chains in the first place...I dunno...

I buy anything and everything for every console...and it's pretty lame when you go into a store and they only have current gen games...

Yeah, yeah...I'm sure some of you will say "but they have SNES and NES games..." Yeah...all priced too high...if I wanted to pay that much I'd go to ebay.

I only go into EB or Gamestop...or whatever when theres a good deal (20 dollar dreamcasts) or if I'm bored in a mall. Stores like best buy or wal mart or whatever tend to have better prices on new games anyway...And the "New" games at EB are always pre opened and put into a paper sleeve in the drawer behind the counter. Ick.

I prefer a nice local store that buys and sells everything...the people are always nicer...you rarely get pressured...and you actually find good deals....

PS: Drewbrim: Where are you in Ohio?

[AB Positive]

us US folk should test this out asap. when I go to get my Street Fighter Anniversary from gamestop, I'll hit the EB and ask for N-Gage games. See what happens.

-AG

[Slate]

It's a good thing that The only game store within 35 miles of where i live is EB. I won't let them S*^#w me.

"Hey if you haven't forgot.. I live 28 miles away. So if you expect me to waste gasoline just to come out here 100 times every day.... Get lost!"

:evil:

They can't mess me up.

[PDorr3]

I usualy go for the used games, but if I ever want a sealed over a used and they try and get me to buy a used I will simply tell him flat out "look I know theres a new rule that you must sell more used games, but I am simply not buying a used copy, now sell me my game".

[Leo_A]

Sounds fake to me. I'll believe it when I see it.

[PrototypeFC3S]

I stopped shopping at EB and Gamestop a long time ago, due to the fact that they got rid of ALL there Dreamcast stuff. I asked them why they dont sell Sega stuff anymore, and the response I got was "It's not profitable, and no one is ever going to bring in old software and hardware." Yet they sell mounds of PSone games, and Super Nintendo games. Of course none of them are complete anyways.

[hezeuschrist]

Wow, you guys are blowing this way out of proporion. If you go to a game store and say, "Do you guys have a new copy of Star Ocean for PS2?" and they say yes, here's the way it's gonna go.

First, you all realize that the guy in the store is just tyring to keep his job. Chances of him giving a shit about the company is very slim.

"Yes we do have a new copy, but we've got a used copy for XXX"

"Nah, i'd like a sealed copy please."

"But blah blah blah"

"I'd like the new copy or I'm going to leave"

at this point you ruin the guys day, or you ruin your day. If he actually refuses to sell you the game at that point then you leave. It's not hard.

Anyways, there are a billion places to buy new games anyways, why choose EB? Most everyone has a hell of a lot of options when it comes to that, and if you really feel the need to buy a new game and know this is in place, just go somewhere else.

The only person this screws are the seats at EB Corporate that are going to make less money.

[soniko_karuto]

lol, i got thru this about 8 months ago, with automodelista.

i bring it up, the box had a "new" sticker on it. The guy then takes the box, goes to the drawer, pulls a disk from a sleeve, grabs another box, and gives me a fucked up automodelista, and says, it's 21.something, so i say, hey, is this used? and he goes, yeah, i then told him, that i wanted a new one, and he says, that they don't have any. I point to the back of him, and there are 3 sealed copys of the game, he then tryed the classic 'oh yeah, but those are priced higher than the used one, and you wanted a used one, right? i brought the box for a new one. You have to give me a new one, you have them there, and they are also marked for 19.99. "oh, wait, lemme call the manager" -- "sure mate, so i can get your sorry @s$ fired".

The manager came by, and i told him what happened. The manager said, that that was store policy. I tell him that he his wrong and that if i want a new game, i can buy it. He than started mumbling and checked me out with a new game.

BTW. this was at a gamestop, the one at chulavista on H street.

Last time i went there, they had fire the two mofos and hired two nice girls who know that videogames = pushing buttons for fun.

[maxlords]

Agreed hezeus. I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention, that's all. Thing is, anymore, I only go to EB to either preorder games that come with goodies, or ones that I'm afraid I'll miss. I didn't even preorder Ys VI....got it from Wal-Mart instead. Only game I've preordered in the last few months is SMT: Digital Devil Saga...and that only for the goodies.

Simply put, they really don't care much of anything that I can't get elsewhere either *cough* Best Buy *cough*

They basically lost most all my business last year when I had so many hassles from them I just gave up completely. Regardless, it's still crappy of them to pull this shit IMO.

[Half Japanese]

The only person this screws are the seats at EB Corporate that are going to make less money.

Eh, I doubt it. What corporation has ever sought out the root of the problem instead of just firing lowly employees? The people at the bottom are the first to go if some sort of fiscal crisis arises.

On the subject at hand, it's shady, but simply a step beyond what other stores already do. Circuit City and Best Buy fire their employees for not meeting sales and extended warranty budgets (at least in the more profitable departments, media like dvds and games are usually not held to such strict limitations). One thing though, is that it hasn't been proven one way or another that this is the policy, it's all a bunch of hearsay at this point. If I had a dollar for every time a "I hate EB/Gamestop/Game Crazy/etc." topic popped up I'd have enough for a preowned game (which would be $5 cheaper than a new one).

[esquire]

I read this post and my first thought was so what. They already ask you if you want it used instead, on top of asking you if you want a discount card, warranty on games and their so called "free magazines." I went to EB today to pick up Ys and the strategy guide, and the clerk tried pushing those free magazines on me. I noticed that he had to type in something on the computer before he could ring me out. The used game question will probably be no different.

EB is simply turning into Best Buy. When I go to Best Buy and purchase something from the cashier, before she can even say anything I say, "No I don't want a warranty, free magazines, sign up for netflix or gamefly, apply for a best buy credit card or get MSN internet service - just ring me up dammit!" LOL

I gues the same could work for EB - "No I don't want the game used, or purchase a warranty, or sign up for free magazines - just ring me up!"

[drewbrim]

PS: Drewbrim: Where are you in Ohio?

Akron, yourself?

Also, if any of this is true it sounds to me like EB just realized that nobody wants their 20 PS1 copies of Madden 02, or their umpteen amount of WCW vs. NWO for the N64. Maybe after they purge their inventory of this garbage they will start to be a little more selective of what they accept in trades.

[Poofta!]

WOW, iron dragon, you got pissed.


even if eb isnt the best place to shop, stopping by whenever youre near one is a great idea, check the used games and see if any good deals are there, ive found GEMS in gamestop and EB used bins.

[SoulBlazer]

I don't see why anyone trades in anything to EB or GameStop anyway. I've been selling my used stuff on Amazon for over four years now and you get MUCH bigger value on it. For example, when I sold Star Ocean 3 a few months ago, I got $40 on Amazon compared to the $45 I paid for it used. Credit if I had traded it into EB was $20. :roll:

But yeah, it may not be a bad idea to weed out some of their inventory and be more strict about what they take in for trades.

Still, I have yet to see anything that confirms this applies to the US. And even if it DOES, how long do you think it will take before the policy gets changed? At least I'm so well known at my local EB they would'nt even THINK about asking me. They don't even bother asking if I want to insure my games anymore. LOL

(As for a company attacking the root of a problem causing it to lose money -- can anyone say Sega? ;) )

[RetroYoungen]

It's this kind of attitude that has kept me away from GS and pretty much every other big gaming store chain for close to two years now. I've bought a single game in there since then, and only because I didn't know if it would really make it anywhere else: Katamari Damacy (yeah, and now it's everywhere).

After that one scandal where that lady had her games stolen and the thief sold them at EB to make cash I've tried my best to avoid them. That and the fact that nearly every employee I've come across working there in the past three or so years has either been 1) an idiot about both the games and how to sell them, or 2) one of those "this job would be better without the customers" kinds of jackasses. I'll buy from a big chain, some of them are worth it because the people there can be very cool, like Best Buy (I've got a buddy who works there, ironically originally from working at GS, and he was a really nice guy) and TRU.

I concur with most of you guys who've posted here so far: Fuck you, EB.

[Queen Of The Felines]

Locking this due to Maxlords' request.

Kristine