Sad reality of the bigger game stores and clueless people

[wrldstrman]

I was in eb games today looking at the nes and nintendo 64 carts and got talking to one of the employees..They had a shelf with about 150 nes carts on it.During the conversation he mentioned that one guy have brought in all those carts and they bought them for 25 cents each..Of course they had 9.99 on most of them..I cant belive anyone would just give away their stuff to the bigger game stores..Then I was waiting in line a kid came up to the counter and asked if the had a nes system they pulled a box out from under the counter and opened it reveling the most yellowed nes i ever saw with no controllers for 39.99..he told the clerk he would be back later he had to get more money When the clerk wasnt paying attention I told the kid to meet me outside the store..I told the kid I would hook him up with a nes with controllers light gun and in clean condition..for a lot less then 39.99..Makes me want to open up a game store if people are willing to give their stuff away.

[crazyjackcsa]

It really isn't the fault of the employee you know. Prices are completely outside of the employees hands. I agree, but as an employee the price is the price is the price.

[Sothy]

It isnt the employees fault.

Then you overhear the employee saying how Final Fantasy is worth 100$ on Ebay and the Atari was the fist Video Game system made,


Then It is your fault for not shooting the employee in the face.

[Hollenscythe]

Well it's a sad state of affairs... and it isn't. It's like that South Park episode about the Wal*Mart. People are supporting these stores and most of them aren't clueless idiots either - they're so called hardcores. They do it because they think, "I'm just one person" or, "I really, really want a DS but I have no money". They do it because it's fast and convenient, I'm sure. eBay is a pain in the ass for most, unlike places like EB. The guy with the NES games clearly could have got more if he wanted to put some effort in to it... maybe he didn't. Why shouldn't EB capitalize on fools like this?

I agree in principle, it's pretty bad - but would the world be better for any of us if these people were getting more money for their old games? Places like swap meets, forums, and of course eBay, exist for those who want to ring every last cent out of the sale. In my opinion those who take their childhood memories in a box down to EB and accept the $50 (or less) they get for 100's of dollars worth of games deserve no sympathy - they are the problem and they deserve what they get.

Plus, the longer systems like the NES and SNES (etc.) are considered valuable the better chance they have of surviving further decades. Places like EB driving prices up are probably a good reason why more old systems aren't melting under the sun on garbage dumps right now. The seller gets a couple of bucks and the system surely finds a new home. It could be worse.

[CocoVG]

Heh.

Unfortunately, it's not the employee's fault - prices are set be head office, they have nothing to do with it, blah blah. That's why I refuse to purchase used games from EB. I mentioned in another post that here in Canda, pretty much all used games from the current generation sell for only $5.00 less than full retail. Games from past generations are less, but still a significant amount of money. I've seen what EB actually gives people for their used games in relation to what they turn around and sell them for, and it's practically criminal - so I choose not to support that one little bit.

I'd have probably done the same thing - hey kid, I'll get you a much better condition NES for less if you really want one. The sooner they can be taught how criminal the big-box game shops are, the better. ;)

[EricRyan34]

Yeah I agree. I know that its not the employees fault at all, and when they buy NES carts for 25 cents each, then try and sell them for $9.99 each!?!? Come on, thats just lame.

[mills]

I must agree the prices at ebgames for trade ins are horrendous. I gave them 6 SNES games and 2 genesis games and when the clerk said "thats $1.95 in store credit" I said " for which game?"....All of them.

I took my games back.

The only thing I like about ebgames is that all of their products were cleaned and tested before hitting the shelf.

[MegaDrive20XX]

It isnt the employees fault.

Then you overhear the employee saying how Final Fantasy is worth 100$ on Ebay and the Atari was the fist Video Game system made,


Then It is your fault for not shooting the employee in the face.


Exactly.

It's the Corporation's fault for making these prices.

This week at GameCrazy, there was price changes for SNES, Genesis, NES, PS1, and N64.

So I'm changing the prices, yet the weird thing was most of the NES games were dropping down to $1.99-$4.99, but all the sports titles on SNES kept going higher....which made no damn sense to me. NBA Jam that was like 99 cents, went to $4.99....no clue why...yet DOOM and Super CasteVania 4. on Super NES went to $4.99....Hell Secret of Evermore is $4.99 now...

Some sports games shot up to $9.99 on SNES....yet World Heroes 2 is only $1.99.... O_O That makes perfect sense....right??

As for trade in value. All of those games we do not even take anymore, especially sports titles....

One time a lady traded in Spider-Man for N64. It was worth 0.01...which means we cannot accept this. Now I knew for a fact some people want Spider-Man N64. It's just not that common....so I had to tell the lady that it wasn't worth anything.

Another issue I've been seeing, is some companies do not give cash for systems. A lady asked me why and I honestly said "It's just the company, I'm just an employee"

Yet strong word of advice, NEVER trade in your system at a game store like GameStop, EB Games, GameCrazy, etc....they never give you a fair amount. $28 in credit for a PS2? They can kiss my ass...

[Griking]

It really isn't the fault of the employee you know. Prices are completely outside of the employees hands. I agree, but as an employee the price is the price is the price.

If you felt so bad about it then maybe you should have let the guy know what they were worth before he sold them to the big name franchise.

[sisko]

Yet strong word of advice, NEVER trade in your system at a game store like GameStop, EB Games, GameCrazy, etc....they never give you a fair amount. $28 in credit for a PS2? They can kiss my ass...

Uh...for a broken one. Working ones trade in for around $75.

[Jumpman Jr.]

Then It is your fault for not shooting the employee in the face.

LOL LOL
Totally though, the amount that these big game-stores rip off kids (and unknowledgable adults) is ridiculous. I understand they need to make their money but marketing something at something like 400 times what you paid for it is uneccassary.

[jdchess]

In reply to Sisko's comment...

Not anymore they don't. The used price for an Xbox / PS2 at Gamestop just fell to $100. The trade in value will be around $40 - $45 after today.

[Cmosfm]

I really hate threads like this.

To put it bluntly, either they buy low and sell high or they go out of buisness. They make no money on new games, and even take a loss when they get in shipments of absolute shit games that price drop in a matter of no time.

The only items they make money on are used items and new accessories. It's simply astonishing the amount of adults that do not understand simple business practices and decide to rattle on about "ripping people off". Please. :roll:

The reason they give next to nothing for some games is because they DON'T SELL, Why would EB games give more than .50 for a copy of Catwoman on PS2 when they have 20 on the shelf that hasn't moved in months? Also, as much as you may deny it, NES/SNES/Genesis games don't sell, sure Tecmo Bowl/Mario/Zelda does, but that's all people want! No one's going in GameRush looking for Sparkster or Pinball Fantasies, so again, why would they give more than .25 for a game for them? Take in 50 games, sell the popular ones for 9.99 each, let the rest rot on the shelf until they have a clearance sale.

Simple. Business. Practices. Whine all you want about it, but they either handle things the way they are currently doing or they go out of business. I personally like EB/Gamestop/Gamerush/etc and I'd rather like seeing them stay in business.

[Griking]

I really hate threads like this.

To put it bluntly, either they buy low and sell high or they go out of buisness. They make no money on new games, and even take a loss when they get in shipments of absolute shit games that price drop in a matter of no time.

The only items they make money on are used items and new accessories. It's simply astonishing the amount of adults that do not understand simple business practices and decide to rattle on about "ripping people off". Please. :roll:

The reason they give next to nothing for some games is because they DON'T SELL, Why would EB games give more than .50 for a copy of Catwoman on PS2 when they have 20 on the shelf that hasn't moved in months? Also, as much as you may deny it, NES/SNES/Genesis games don't sell, sure Tecmo Bowl/Mario/Zelda does, but that's all people want! No one's going in GameRush looking for Sparkster or Pinball Fantasies, so again, why would they give more than .25 for a game for them? Take in 50 games, sell the popular ones for 9.99 each, let the rest rot on the shelf until they have a clearance sale.

Simple. Business. Practices. Whine all you want about it, but they either handle things the way they are currently doing or they go out of business. I personally like EB/Gamestop/Gamerush/etc and I'd rather like seeing them stay in business.

I don't think people have a big problem with stores paying peanuts for a traded in copy of Catwoman, it's the $3 they'll pay for a copy of Sukioden II and other rare and/or valuable games that pisses people off.

[Cmosfm]

I really hate threads like this.

To put it bluntly, either they buy low and sell high or they go out of buisness. They make no money on new games, and even take a loss when they get in shipments of absolute shit games that price drop in a matter of no time.

The only items they make money on are used items and new accessories. It's simply astonishing the amount of adults that do not understand simple business practices and decide to rattle on about "ripping people off". Please. :roll:

The reason they give next to nothing for some games is because they DON'T SELL, Why would EB games give more than .50 for a copy of Catwoman on PS2 when they have 20 on the shelf that hasn't moved in months? Also, as much as you may deny it, NES/SNES/Genesis games don't sell, sure Tecmo Bowl/Mario/Zelda does, but that's all people want! No one's going in GameRush looking for Sparkster or Pinball Fantasies, so again, why would they give more than .25 for a game for them? Take in 50 games, sell the popular ones for 9.99 each, let the rest rot on the shelf until they have a clearance sale.

Simple. Business. Practices. Whine all you want about it, but they either handle things the way they are currently doing or they go out of business. I personally like EB/Gamestop/Gamerush/etc and I'd rather like seeing them stay in business.

I don't think people have a big problem with stores paying peanuts for a traded in copy of Catwoman, it's the $3 they'll pay for a copy of Sukioden II and other rare and/or valuable games that pisses people off.

Yes, but honestly, most stores would give more than 3.00 for Suikoden 2 unless they had a set base price for a certain system's games, like .25 trade in for all NES games.

Anyway, if the guy trading in Suikoden 2 doesn't know of the games value, and he's happy with 3.00...oh well!

[evil_genius]

Whenever I can I will buy from an indy game store. But game stores rip people when you trade stuff in, thats common sense. Rip people off in a sense that, they give you less than what it is worth. Not just the major ones but ALL of them.


Funny story: EB wanted to give me $7 trade-in value for my Marvel vs Capcom 2, I nearly laughed in his face, instead I said "Hmmmmm I could get a sandwich from Wendy's with that, no I'll pass thanks." OK I didn't say that, but I was thinking it!

[GetImOliver]

Sometimes when I have nothing better to do at the Gamerush counter, I'll run through our database and see what we sell rare games for. 6.99 for suikoden II, 4.99 for Valkrie Profile, 16.99 for REZ, 16.99 for Cubivore etc. etc. Not to mention every Dreamcast and earlier systems are fixed at 99 cents! Part of the fun I get as a collector is scrounging through other Gamerushes. Just like a flea market, they don't know what they have if it was made more than 5 years ago. I know it sucks to get crap when you trade in games, but I'm happy that Gamerush really doesn't have too much of a gap between what people get in trade value and what we sell it for.

[boatofcar]

Well it's a sad state of affairs... and it isn't. It's like that South Park episode about the Wal*Mart. People are supporting these stores and most of them aren't clueless idiots either - they're so called hardcores. They do it because they think, "I'm just one person" or, "I really, really want a DS but I have no money". They do it because it's fast and convenient, I'm sure. eBay is a pain in the ass for most, unlike places like EB. The guy with the NES games clearly could have got more if he wanted to put some effort in to it... maybe he didn't. Why shouldn't EB capitalize on fools like this?



Well said! It's always a question of convenience vs. seeking out the good deal.

[VG_Maniac]

I was at the local GameCrazy the other day, and was talking to the employee there about all the price drops on the older games. He said that even big SNES titles like Chrono Trigger, Dracula X, Final Fantasy III, and Mega Man X3 would be priced at $7.99. However, he said that they would probably never get any of those games in again...because now they only buy them for 99 cents each, and nobody in their right mind would sell a $40 - $60 game for less then a buck!

Oh yeah, I thought I could special order some of the more indemand SNES games, get them for cheap, and sell them for big bucks on ebay...but GameCrazy can't special order most of the indemand or rare games anymore, including the ones I mentioned above.

[Haoie]

EB in NZ is a total ripoff too. They charge more for used games than other stores selling them new!!

It's just, uh, so not free market esque.

[Darren870]

Cmosfm said it best.

I mean do you think all eb employees like giving kids .25 cents for games?? Not at all.

This happened yesterday. Some kid traded in about 17 pc games. All clearance games that still had price tags on them saying 3.99-4.99 from like target. The kid thinks he is getting about $50 in trade, but he only got $4.26.

I told the kid and his face droped, but he said he didnt want them and wanted to trade them in. I asked him numerous amounts of times. Telling him its not worth it, you payed more for one of these games etc. He didn't care though, took the store credit and even bought a ps2 game.

Some people just don't care and have there mind set on it.

We make $3-5 on new games and usually up to $15 for a used. That is if it sells the same day it comes in. Which a lot of the times it doesn't. Madden 02, 03, 04 is all less then 4.99 im sure over half of those were bought for more then that. Meaning we are losing money. They only way for a company to stay in business is to buy used games for cheap and sell them for more. Ask Buyatari he knows.

You guys just go after the bigger stores because you can, and think its everyone who works there fault. We don't own the stores, if we did everything would be run a lot better. Little mom and pop stores do the same thing too. Infact, a lot of them do. There is a mom and pop store right near me that is selling skies of arcadia for gc new for 49.99 still.

But im glad you offered that kid a nes for cheaper. I would of done that too if i could.

[kirin jensen]

Cmosfm, you got it exactly right. It's not just game stores.

Comics shops are likely to only give you 75-50% of price guide price - if it's a popular title and if it's mint. Otherwise it's less. Much less. And, yes, they will turn around sell it for anywhere from 2-10 times what they paid you for it.

Record shops are the same.

They have to do this to pay employees and overhead (mostly rent).

The reason people sell to these places is it's less work than selling it themselves. You always pay a price for convenience.

[drewbrim]

:deadhorse: This emoticon says it best, although there is a used game store in my neck of the woods that uses ebay and guides to price their stuff when selling and trading. Which is cool when you want to trade stuff in that guides have overvalued. But it's also bad as far as "deals" go. The shop does very well though for these reasons. They'll give you $25 for your Chrono Trigger or Earthbound and they have no problem finding a buyer for $50. Eventhough their profit percentage is lower per game than EB, their profit margin is higher.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Yet strong word of advice, NEVER trade in your system at a game store like GameStop, EB Games, GameCrazy, etc....they never give you a fair amount. $28 in credit for a PS2? They can kiss my ass...

Uh...for a broken one. Working ones trade in for around $75.

No, for any, I'm dead serious. Some GameCrazy do not test their systems before they take them!

Hell they'll take Xbox's for $55 credit now...that's the real sad part

[MegaDrive20XX]

I was at the local GameCrazy the other day, and was talking to the employee there about all the price drops on the older games. He said that even big SNES titles like Chrono Trigger, Dracula X, Final Fantasy III, and Mega Man X3 would be priced at $7.99. However, he said that they would probably never get any of those games in again...because now they only buy them for 99 cents each, and nobody in their right mind would sell a $40 - $60 game for less then a buck!

Oh yeah, I thought I could special order some of the more indemand SNES games, get them for cheap, and sell them for big bucks on ebay...but GameCrazy can't special order most of the indemand or rare games anymore, including the ones I mentioned above.

Actually they still are. Most of my customers who come in, are still asking for stuff

Btw, Mega Man X2 and Mega Man X3....$2.99 each....yet Mega Man X1 is $9.99..which makes no sense.

Dracula X is $9.99 (since I checked that yesterday)

They can special order, even the rare ones like CastleVania Chronicles at times.

Hell, some guy special ordered CastleVania SOTN and he still got it.

[Tony Montana]

I don't think people have a big problem with stores paying peanuts for a traded in copy of Catwoman, it's the $3 they'll pay for a copy of Sukioden II and other rare and/or valuable games that pisses people off.

HaHa...yeah I wish that GameStop only paid $3 for suikoden II that would mean they'd probably sell it for around $10. Try at least $30 and they sell it for around $60. Come on guys, Cmosfm is right on track here. It sucks to see both ends of the buying and selling but it is necessary.[/quote]

[VG_Maniac]

Actually they still are. Most of my customers who come in, are still asking for stuff

Btw, Mega Man X2 and Mega Man X3....$2.99 each....yet Mega Man X1 is $9.99..which makes no sense.

Dracula X is $9.99 (since I checked that yesterday)

They can special order, even the rare ones like CastleVania Chronicles at times.

Hell, some guy special ordered CastleVania SOTN and he still got it.

I guess it depends on the store then...cause the guy that works at the one near where I live gave me a full list of all the games they don't special order anymore, and just about any good RPG or hard to find game you could think of was on the list.

[Diatribal Deity]

There is a huge difference between Mom & Pop stores and big chain stores and that is marketing. To be vendor of the month (put displays in windows, have reserved space/shelves in stores, and standees etc..) companies have payed anywhere from $500,000 - $2.5 million. That is now generally every month. Never mind permanent displays and fixtures. When these companies have their annual meetings everything (for the most part) is paid for by the vendors even 15 minute coffee breaks.

Those of you who think these chain stores are scraping by, have a lot of overhead and other expenses do not understand why they have been able to expand so quickly. The reason is because of the lack of competition in the used sector. If Walmart and Target were able (doubtful) to take trade-ins you would see a dramatic change in trade-in prices. Generally (not always) these companies have corporate individuals who monitor Ebay and are familiar with demand. So while you may get that $3-$7 trade-in value for Suikoden II you can bet the selling price won't even be close to that. Still might not be what you woud pay on Ebay, but still they know it will be sold right away. If not they will just recall it and ship it where it will.

I agree that these stores are still a better option than most, but they also prey off of the ignorance of the consumer. Yeah what company doesn't your going to say. But believe me (I know from personal experience), these companies have a lack of respect for their customers and even more so for their employees because they know they can get away with it.

Way back when I was a manager visiting the home office of one of these large chain stores, the accounting office had a temporary posted sign which read "we are the ones responsible for making sure manager's do not get their bonus". What this referred to is the fact that they are able to issue you a goal or projected goal and then go back and after the fact revise it so you miss your bonus.

The arrogance of them posting this is an indication of the perception they have about their employees. You can only imagine what they think of the average customer.

[wrldstrman]

I know the employees dont make up the prices but around here we do have a few respectable game stores that do give you a fair price for your games one example is mario kart is a big seller they sell it for 24.99 but will give you 15.00 for it. Only bad thing is there located in out of the way places because eb and game stop make sure that when the come in they get a contract that doesnt allow other game stores in the mall.so they eliminate the competion.. Which no one has to agree but I think its wrong to let big business get monopolys on the market..

[CocoVG]

I really hate threads like this.

To put it bluntly, either they buy low and sell high or they go out of buisness. They make no money on new games, and even take a loss when they get in shipments of absolute shit games that price drop in a matter of no time.

I think most of us know this, or accept it on some level. That doesn't change the fact it sucks - and therefore, the complaining begins. It means that in many markets stores like EB are gaining profit off the backs of their consumers in a disgusting way - by offering them next to nothing, and then turning around and making a profit off of it. If the new game market isn't something they can make money at - well, no-one makes them sell new games! It's like Mr. Pink's famous rant about tipping in the beginning of the movie Reservoir Dogs - you can't really have any sympathy for a company that chooses to sell a certain product when they know they don't make money from it. Boo-hoo, turn EB or whichever chain it is into something different. Building a little empire on the backs of small children and idiots that don't know any better is just shameful.

Sure, maybe that's a trifle extreme/exaggerated, but I'll always support the mom 'n pop's when I can - because I can't in good conscience support the kind of empire the big game stores and the big box retailers are trying to develop. I'm just one guy, with likely a relatively unpopular opinion. Opinions are like arseholes, right? Everyone's got one and none of 'em smell very good. I suppose all I'm trying to say in a very roundabout way is sure, that's their method of doing business - but it doesn't change two things.

1. It sucks.
2. We can complain about it.

:)

[MegaDrive20XX]

Actually they still are. Most of my customers who come in, are still asking for stuff

Btw, Mega Man X2 and Mega Man X3....$2.99 each....yet Mega Man X1 is $9.99..which makes no sense.

Dracula X is $9.99 (since I checked that yesterday)

They can special order, even the rare ones like CastleVania Chronicles at times.

Hell, some guy special ordered CastleVania SOTN and he still got it.

I guess it depends on the store then...cause the guy that works at the one near where I live gave me a full list of all the games they don't special order anymore, and just about any good RPG or hard to find game you could think of was on the list.

Ah okay, then a list must exist. This brings up a good point too, because we have had a number of customers wait beyond 8 weeks to get games, when they are promised 4 to 6 weeks....

Now for the fun part, where in the world did my boss leave that list...

[mezrabad]

If I was tougher than you, beat you up and took your videogames, I'd be called a Thug.

If I was sneakier than you, broke into your house and took your videogames, I'd be called a Thief.

If I was smarter than you and conned you into giving me your videogames for a paltry sum of money, I'd be called a Videogame Store Employee and I was just doing my job.

EDIT: Hey I'm not saying I think anyone should quit their jobs, I'm just saying you might be happier and prone to less self-loathing if you weren't ripping-off children at the behest of your corporate masters.

[hegyak]

I think the reason for the low price buy and the high price sell is Supply and Demand. Apart for the members on this form, how many people actually buy retro games and systems? I don't think anyone in real life aside from a few forms and Ebay actually know what is worth anything at all. The problem that game stores have is the fact that they get stock (games and systems) and they have to test, clean and then repackage the games and systems to ready them for sale to the masses. The second thing is who wants some of those things and do they even know what the device does? I don't think the masses knows that a Sega cdx is a sega genesis and Sega CD in one. Of course, The employee may not know what the device needs. I bought an atari system from a goodwill store several years ago and it did not have all the parts. There was no video out. I returned it and I guess they put back on the shelf even though I told them that it was not complete. If you know games you can't work at a game store or something like that. Don't know if that is true or not but it sounds right.

[Needle]

Whoo, another chain hate thread. Allow me to share with you an experience I had today while on a solo shift at my local Gamestop.

A guy and his girlfriend come in, he's got what he touts as a "brand new XBox" that he wants to trade in. He's also got a short stack of games, mostly 2-3 years old, and he wants cash.

I immediately let him know that if the XBox works, he's only getting $48 for it. Obviously, he freaks out. I put through the games as well, and the total cash comes out well under $20. Again, he freaks out.

I spend the next 5 minutes getting into an argument with him about why he wasn't getting much for his trade in. Then he did something that EXTREMELY FEW trade in customers do, something I had a lot of respect for:

He took his stuff and he walked away.


Moral: Nine out of ten customers that complain about the amount of credit/cash they get, still trade in anyway. So in response to "It sucks, and we can complain about it", I respond:

You can't complain about it if you're so willing to accept it. And when I say "you", I mean the mass public, not the fraction of collectors that know better.

When more people start walking away, then you can complain all you like. As has been stated in this and many other threads much like it, big box stores are never the place for collectors, however collectors make up a very tiny percentage of gamers. There's a mass market out there billions and billions of dollars worth of it.

Anyways, yea. Thats my 3 cents.

[Diatribal Deity]

Why is it so annoying that people actually show concern that they are being gouged? I think we would all be paying $10 a gallon for gas right now if it weren't for the public outcry.

Mind you, I have worked for one of these companies before and know the profit margin. As a stockholder I also get an annual report which shows me the salaries and bonuses of corporate executives. If you think these companies are just getting by, I suggest you check one out.

If you see a thread like this and are sick of it...why concern yourself over it?

Start a thread which stresses the benefits of these stores. Here I'll give some suggestions to get it started.

-best selection of used games
-(for the most part) knowledgable associates
-one of the few reasons to visit a dirt/strip or regular mall especially when dragged by your significant other
-occasionally some decent bargains
-great promotional give-aways with pre-orders

[GameSlaveGaz]

My boyfriend works at a GameStop and you get shit for PS2 trade-ins, and the only reason why is because used PS2 systems and games are over saturating the used game market. My boyfriend's particular store sees twice as many PS2 trade-ins than the other 2 consoles combined! You could probably throw GameBoy in there as well and the number would probably still be twice as high. Like someone else mentioned earlier, it's supply and demand. If there's too much of one game, it's not worth crap. If it's the first copy of a very popular, asked-for-all-the-time rare-ass game that they've seen come into the store in years, then you're gonna get a good trade-in value, then they'll turn around and sell it for $40 used *cough* Disgaea *cough*
but it's fair.

However, this is in Medford, MA. I dunno about other stores.

And the one good thing about what the original poster said, at least you live near an EB that still sells NES stuff. 95% of the GameStops and EBs in Massachusetts don't sell anything older than PS1 and N64, except for original GameBoy and GBC games. They did away with NES, SNES and Genesis about 3 years ago and DC 2 years ago :*(
There is at least ONE EB I know of, in Stoneham, and I was only there once and that was last October and they still had NES, SNES and Genesis games. They should still, but you just don't know. Hey, there'll always be Game Zone in Salem. And that's a mom and pop so you know you're getting good prices (and the owner once dropped all my games down by $5 since I was buying 3 pretty hard-to-find games: So I got Shenmue for $15, Soul Calibur and Brave Fencer Musashi for $20 instead of $20 and $25 respectively. That guy does that frequently. I think he dropped the NGPC game I got there too, I don't remember)

[izret101]

When the clerk wasnt paying attention I told the kid to meet me outside the store..I told the kid I would hook him up with a nes with controllers light gun and in clean condition..for a lot less then 39.99..Makes me want to open up a game store if people are willing to give their stuff away.

That was very nice of you.

I have done similair things in the past.

Since i can't just sell something to the person alot of times i will just tell the person where to get item X cheaper.

Or if the clerk has no clue or is lying about the product i will tell them no this SNES game will not work with your kids N64 and no that PS2 memory card will not work on a PSOne.

As for the pricing i on't get why anyone shops at major chains.
Sometimes you can come across a diamond in the rough but i say stick to the local shops.
Thats just me though.

[Wavelflack]

"If I was smarter than you and conned you into giving me your videogames for a paltry sum of money, I'd be called a Videogame Store Employee and I was just doing my job."


How do game store employees "con" customers? EB doesn't go door to door asking if they can buy your high demand games ont he cheap. Instead, customers come into a store with a stack of games, and when they are presented with the value of those games, they either agree and sell, or disagree and keep them.

I generally dislike game store employees, but you can't accuse them of conning anyone on trades. And you can't bitch about the game stores making their money off the backs of "small children and the clueless". Perhaps there are people out there that don't care that Game X is considered rare? All they care about is the fact that they don't play it anymore, and want to trade it towards a game they WILL play.