The local used game store is run by idiots!

[Diosoth]

Store: Game Insane
Location: Lawrenceburg IN

I gave the store a list of 3 DS games to keep an eye out for, in case anyone traded them in, hoping I could buy them used. I have an Acekard, but I wanted the games for my collection anyway.

Instead, they "choose" to order them brand new, without asking me first. Special customer order, no input from the customer. I told them YESTERDAY when I was in that I didn't have the money to drop on 2 brand new $20-apiece DS games. And today I get a phone call from the store that the games are in, despite that.

First off, why would I pay extra for brand new games? I can buy them used and probably save between $10-$15. Second, they clearly violated the order given by the customer and tried their best to entrap me into paying for an item that I didn't ask for. Third, they basically ignored me when I told them "I don't have the money for them right now."

Given that this store is also a "ripoff" used outlet- paying $1 or less for vintage games and then pricing based on the average Amazon/eBay price, I can safely say I have lost all will to ever set foot in that store again. I don't care if they have the only professional disc buffing machine in this area, I can drive to another city. Which is the trend I've noticed... they inflate their prices on much used stuff so that it would cost the same to purchase form them as it would be to pay gas costs and go to the "nearest" Gamestop.

To top it off, I dropped my VG Pocket Caplet and broke the screen. This day is off to a fine start...

[tofu]

Dude, I just called that guy on Monday!

I got a tip through PM to call this store about carrying a product.

Owner's reply: "i aint got time for all that!"
Hung up.

[thom_m]

Geez, nice guy, huh? Pissing off customers AND potential business partners. Now THAT's entrepreneurship. Diosoth, are they still after you, trying to sell the damn games by all means?

Anyway, I always tell you guys: that's better than nothing. There isn't one single used games store in Brazil, as far as I know (and believe me, I looked)...

[Rickstilwell1]

That's terrible.

My nearest local game store is Monster Gaming in Burien, Washington. He will carry anything he gets in and gives you more fair deals when you trade items rather than buying with money or selling for money. He does base prices off ebay but usually drops the price a little bit lower than the ebay price. He checks ebay just to see how common the game is at the moment.

The only thing that gripes me about it is his customer service skills. There will be a number of people in there at once wanting to check out things. He will let people interrupt rather than talking to one person in a line at a time. Actually there are no lines. It's really a mess of who is more up front getting the most attention first. It may be just because he knows me, but I swear sometimes it takes a looong time for him to check out my stuff and finally give me a value for it. Or for him to get up and get the games I said I wanted to buy.

I think next time I go in I will show him about this site so he can just go by the rarity numbers instead of ebay.

Other than slow service, I will say it is a very good store. I enjoy going there whether I actually buy anything or not because he's got a lot of cool stuff. I found a ton of games there that I still don't have

[Rev. Link]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on here. I know the guys that run Game Insane! Hell, I helped them put the place together, in some ways. They're good guys, they wouldn't do you wrong. Diosoth, I guarantee you that there was a miscommunication somewhere along the line and they thought you asked them to order those games in. They order stuff for people all the time, myself included. I bet you they're sitting around right now griping about the guy who ordered the DS games and then changed his mind, as would be their perspective of this incident.

And I don't want to hear any complaints about "ripoff stores". Do you know what it takes to run a mom and pop game store and keep it profitable? I do, after being there with these guys while they got their store off the ground. Mom and pops like Game Insane might make $2-3 off of any new game sales. All their profit comes from used. They can't afford to give what people like us would consider "fair" trade value. And honestly, they shouldn't have to. Your only choices are to sell your games to Gamestop (who aren't gonna give you any better prices) or sell them yourself online or in a yard sale, both of which require time, and sometimes shipping and seller fees. Most people consider it to be worth the cost just to sell it to a game store and be done with it.

Tofu: Can I ask, what exactly were you trying to get them to carry in there store? No matter what it was, though, I can also pretty much guarantee you that the response was more than "i aint got time for all that!" I worked with the owners of this store for two years at a different job. They're professionals, they know how to handle their customers, and there's no way they would have just blown you off in that way. You must be exaggerating the situation.

[megasdkirby]

And I don't want to hear any complaints about "ripoff stores". Do you know what it takes to run a mom and pop game store and keep it profitable? I do, after being there with these guys while they got their store off the ground. Mom and pops like Game Insane might make $2-3 off of any new game sales. All their profit comes from used. They can't afford to give what people like us would consider "fair" trade value.

I have to agree, however there are times in which a store (any store) can shoot themselves in the foot for trying to price something too high. $50 for a copy of Combat or SMB/DH.

After a few months, the store in question dies, all because of their pricing.

I've seen great stores around my area die unfairly all because of this. A little more research would have saved them from their own fate.

[tofu]

Tofu: Can I ask, what exactly were you trying to get them to carry in there store? No matter what it was, though, I can also pretty much guarantee you that the response was more than "i aint got time for all that!" I worked with the owners of this store for two years at a different job. They're professionals, they know how to handle their customers, and there's no way they would have just blown you off in that way. You must be exaggerating the situation.

Getting blown off is normal in my profession, it was pretty much a cold call after all, but I'm not exaggerating when I say they said "I ain't got time for all that" and hanging up.

I'm not offended but it did leave me saying "hello? hello?" for a few moments.

Edit: I guess I should add that I was only assuming it was the owner, really could have been anybody who answers the phone.

[Rev. Link]

Getting blown off is normal in my profession, it was pretty much a cold call after all, but I'm not exaggerating when I say they said "I ain't got time for all that" and hanging up.

I'm not offended but it did leave me saying "hello? hello?" for a few moments.

Edit: I guess I should add that I was only assuming it was the owner, really could have been anybody who answers the phone.

If that really is the reply you got on the phone, then I would definitely say it wasn't one of the owners. There's no way either of them would ever treat a customer like that, or even someone trying to sell them on something.

[Ed Oscuro]

I don't see this from Disoth's perspective. Even without hearing the other side of the story, it's pretty silly to expect a store to get games in at such a slim margin just for your benefit, especially games for a current system that's only been out a few years. If they can order them new, they'd probably do better than .

It's also above and beyond what I consider to be normal service to keep tabs of three games at $30 for just one customer. I can appreciate trying to save gas and time for driving to the place regularly, but I would only expect that kind of treatment if I were making a substantial purchase from a place, or if I had GOOD RELATIONS with them. i.e. not going on the Internet and calling them dunces for the world and their friends to see.

Can't pay $60 for three games?

If that really is the reply you got on the phone, then I would definitely say it wasn't one of the owners.

From what I can tell, it sort of sounded like the OP has been calling people asking them to call the store randomly. I would expect such calls to be treated as time-wasters and cranks.

[thom_m]

And I don't want to hear any complaints about "ripoff stores". Do you know what it takes to run a mom and pop game store and keep it profitable? I do, after being there with these guys while they got their store off the ground. Mom and pops like Game Insane might make $2-3 off of any new game sales. All their profit comes from used. They can't afford to give what people like us would consider "fair" trade value. And honestly, they shouldn't have to.

Well, although we don't have used game stores here, we did have a little used book and cds one in my home town. I always made good deals with them when they started; sold cds for a good price, and saw them for sale some days later for a reasonable profit margin. They were doing pretty good working this way, and their business was growing considerably.

Time went by, they opened new stores...and things changed. Once they were big and established, they started paying really low prices for everything, and double the selling prices they used to practice. Today, they have five stores, and are pretty much the only place to go if you need to sell some used books or discs in that town. Customer service got worse and worse, and the once really cool guys who own the place now treat you like they're doing this huuuuge favor in dealing with you.

Hey, that's free market, I know. What bothers me is that, back when they were "fair", they were growing anyway. A lot. The first two stores had a pleasant atmosphere, people were nice. I loved to hang around there; I met new bands and writers from stuff I bougth/traded there - and I wasn't the only one. Now, while they sure have a good business - since there's stuff you can't find but used -, they don't have the satisfied and regular customer base they used to. But they do have a lot of money.

I obviously can't say it's the case here; I don't know these guys, I've never been to their store. But I felt the need to mention that, sometimes, there ARE "ripoff stores". And it's sad when it happens.

Sorry about the long rant! I now it's silly, but it really gets to me everytime I remember that.

[Gameguy]

And I don't want to hear any complaints about "ripoff stores". Do you know what it takes to run a mom and pop game store and keep it profitable? I do, after being there with these guys while they got their store off the ground. Mom and pops like Game Insane might make $2-3 off of any new game sales. All their profit comes from used. They can't afford to give what people like us would consider "fair" trade value. And honestly, they shouldn't have to. Your only choices are to sell your games to Gamestop (who aren't gonna give you any better prices) or sell them yourself online or in a yard sale, both of which require time, and sometimes shipping and seller fees. Most people consider it to be worth the cost just to sell it to a game store and be done with it.

I too would like to have my main income come solely from selling used games, but most people won't buy the games I have for extreme amounts so I can't do that. Would I be able to start selling off loose NES commons for $20 each if I explained to people that I needed that much so I could live off of it? That would be kind of nice. IMO the best stores would need to have lots of traffic so stuff would always be selling and there would always be stuff traded in, and everything would be priced somewhat cheap. Instead of selling 3 games for $20 profit each, it would be better to sell 20 games for $5 profit each.

There's an independent game store near me, I haven't been there in several years as the owner is a jerk. Before I knew much about games I ended up buying a loose copy of Excite Bike for $40 that had a beat up label, as well as plenty of commons for $20 each or more(loose Elevator Action was also $40 "because that's a really rare game"). This was a few years ago(maybe 2001), not back when the console was still current. I never went to garage sales or thrift stores back then so I really didn't know any better. I've seen the owner knowingly buy stolen games from people and then denied buying the games when EB Games employees came in asking about them because they just had some games stolen from their store. This guy makes most of his money with newer games and rentals, but keeps the older games in stock for ridiculous amounts so his store has a big selection. I don't support all business owners just because they're independent.

[xDerekRx]

Mom and Pop stores are all basically going to Ebay prices these days. Everyone has a computer. Hard to not.

I have 4-5 mom and pop places within reasonable distance and Im lucky one of them, just one, doesnt know how to use a computer and prices way low and certain rare items. But you really cant expect more than just 1 store once in a great while to not start giving you the Ebay prices.

[makaar]

Pre-Played in Madison, Wisconsin is typically a good store to go to. I wouldn't say its mom-and-pop but its a smaller business...they have a location on each side of town and generally sell strategy guides (1996-current) for around $5 each. NES games I've seen go for $0.99 for a ton if they can't sell them and if they get enough of a console they will have big sales for $2.99 - $5.99 each...so I've had good dealings with them.

[Haoie]

They're free to charge what they want, and you're free to go elsewhere.

Welcome to capitalism.

[Trade-N-Games]

Edit: I will keep track of wanted games for customers but never order in a few new shipping alone would eat profit up. And for special order I ask for money down.

Look if we " MOM & POP" stores dont keep our prices in line with online sellers like Ebay and such the resellers will just come in and buy all cheap stuff and flip it online. and also if we dont know that its worth X amount and offer to little for x game the customer will take it to another store who offered more. I try to off up good Cash and better trades than most of the other stores along with great customer service and it has worked very well for me the last 7 years even with 10 other stores in 25 miles of me.

[Rev. Link]

I too would like to have my main income come solely from selling used games, but most people won't buy the games I have for extreme amounts so I can't do that. Would I be able to start selling off loose NES commons for $20 each if I explained to people that I needed that much so I could live off of it? That would be kind of nice. IMO the best stores would need to have lots of traffic so stuff would always be selling and there would always be stuff traded in, and everything would be priced somewhat cheap. Instead of selling 3 games for $20 profit each, it would be better to sell 20 games for $5 profit each.

There's an independent game store near me, I haven't been there in several years as the owner is a jerk. Before I knew much about games I ended up buying a loose copy of Excite Bike for $40 that had a beat up label, as well as plenty of commons for $20 each or more(loose Elevator Action was also $40 "because that's a really rare game"). This was a few years ago(maybe 2001), not back when the console was still current. I never went to garage sales or thrift stores back then so I really didn't know any better. I've seen the owner knowingly buy stolen games from people and then denied buying the games when EB Games employees came in asking about them because they just had some games stolen from their store. This guy makes most of his money with newer games and rentals, but keeps the older games in stock for ridiculous amounts so his store has a big selection. I don't support all business owners just because they're independent.

In my eagerness to defend my friends and their business, I may have spoken a little too quickly. Let me elaborate. When a store is selling common games for outrageous prices, like your $40 Excitebike example, yes, that is a ripoff. And there are stores like that, I've been to them myself. And I never come back, either. But that wasn't really what I was talking about when I said I was sick of hearing complaints about ripoff stores.

What I meant was all the folks who complain, "I sold them a game for $2 and they turn around and sell it for $9!" You hear that a lot, mostly from people who have no idea how the used game business actually works. These are the kind of complaints I was, well, complaining about. Small game stores just can't afford to only make $2-3 off of their used game sales.

I understand for people like us, collectors who know what stuff is worth, that this can be frustrating. But people like us need to understand that places like that aren't really for us. If we want to sell our stuff, we need to handle it ourselves, take the time to put it online somewhere and get what we know it goes for. That, or we can accept that used stores are providing us the convenience of dumping off our unwanted games without that kind of hassle, but at the cost of our profit. You always have the option of doing it yourself. Nobody forces anyone to sell to a used store.

Oh, and Trade-N-Games, I just bought 5 used NES games from your online store. They came really quickly and all looked great. Thanks a lot! I'm at 698 now!

[TheDomesticInstitution]

I have to chime in.

I've been to a lot of these Mom-n-Pop stores, and it seems like they want to price above ebay. I wouldn't have a problem if I wanted a game and could find it in a local store for an ebay price. But that's not the case. I know that I can find the legend of zelda for less that $15 online, and if I were to walk into a store and see it for $30... well I'm likely to never go in there again. From experience, these small stores are more likely than not to charge above ebay prices for classic games.

[Atarileaf]

$89 for a Genesis 2 with power supply, RF, and one controller - no games.

This from a local "Mom and Pop" near me. Yea, I'll pay $89 for a Genny 2 when most thrift stores can't give those things away. That inch thick layer of dust wasn't a good enough clue I guess.

[Enigmus]

$89 for a Genesis 2 with power supply, RF, and one controller - no games.

This from a local "Mom and Pop" near me. Yea, I'll pay $89 for a Genny 2 when most thrift stores can't give those things away. That inch thick layer of dust wasn't a good enough clue I guess.

Tell me about it. The thrift store in my town hasn't had a Genesis for 4 years, but they DO have a lot of NESes and PSXes for $25 dollars each, with NES games as common as SMB/DH for $4! And I remember when they were $2 each! All it is for Game Boy (which just turned 20) is Game Boys without grey faceplates for the SAME PRICE as the NESes and PSXes, and they once told me they threw out a Jaguar because it had problems with the power supply! THE POWER SUPPLY! They're too stupid to tell them to go to Radio Shack and find an equivalent, and all that's left is a unsold RF adapter. That, and all the PSX and PC games are all crap, and it's ALL A BIG RIP! I now officially hate the economy from now until the recession ends due to them because they're selling systems from 1985 and 1995 for $25 and they're stupid enough to throw out a Jaguar due to the power suppy being broken, that, and they're probably passing off NES games to 50 to 60 year olds because they think an old grey chunk of a cartridge is going to fit into the disc slot of the persons' grandkids' Wii! AAAAARGH!

[tubeway]

There's a comic store near me that charges absurd prices for their video games. They have a really nice selection, covering pretty much every platform. But the prices are all above eBay averages... for instance, Magic Knight Rayearth for Saturn is like $75.

Thing is, if the games weren't selling at a rate that at least made it worth their while, they would probably lower the prices. The average joe looking to relive childhood memories and pick up an NES or Genesis with some of his favorite old games probably hasn't researched the current prices and may think nothing of spending $10 minimum for super common NES carts. You also have to consider that there are a lot of people out there that have a lot of money to burn and don't really care about saving a few bucks when it comes to convenience and immediacy.