Gamestop stories

[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/new...hp?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...sivegames.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]

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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.

[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.

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?! 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.

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!

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? 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.

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.