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Denver, 3:55 AM
Wed Nov 11
67 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/20/09
What damn video game store doesn't suck anymore?!
09/20/09
09/20/09
09/20/09
However, the fact that you're a GameStop employee should render your opinion moot in a thread that asks where someone should go if avoiding GameStop.
Also, where I'm from, your company is hated by most of the customers in the area. I share their sentiments, but was honestly just trying to answer the OP's question, as were Megaman LXIX and mobetta.
No need for the extremely uninformed rant.
09/20/09
Yeah, gamecrazy has way better service than gamestop. The problem is that gamestop is usually around the freaking corner from a gamecrazy, and it has name recognition, which means more customers, more money, and more selection.
And wanna-be leet demonic_angel, watch out. Gamestop will eventually shaft you. There is no shortage of ignorant kids who want to work at a game store because they get a discount, despite the shitty wage. I have not a met a single person who is happy working at gamestop for long.
09/20/09
09/20/09
09/20/09
Hell, even here in Eugene, Ore. (props to Mr. Good), there's plenty of local used game sellers that 1. Give you more for your games in cash/trade and 2. Have fairer prices on used games.
My favorite place to buy games here, the CD Game Exchange, has a great business model I've seen in stores across the country (one uncanny example is The Exchange in the Wicker Park area in Chicago, Ill.). They use Amazon.com to gauge how much they'll sell a used game for. They'll pay out about 50% of that in credit, 40% in cash. All systems must have all necessary cables and at least one controller to be sold.
If they have more than one copy of any given title, the first copy they put out is sold at about the same price you can find on Amazon. The second copy will be a bit cheaper, so will the third, and so on. For example, there's usually four or five copies of Gears of War in stock. First copy will be $20, second goes down to $18 and the fifth copy will be priced at $10.
Now that's how you deal in used games.
09/20/09
09/20/09
I think we can all agree that GameStop is better off running it's self as a independent company. Than have Best Buy calling the shots.
09/20/09
Sounds like a Plus for me at least.
09/20/09
You're completely missing nightwheel's point. He's not saying no one will benefit from the merge. He's saying that Game Stop's business practices will not benefit from the merge.
09/20/09
09/20/09
09/21/09
Circuit City was a lot less nice around here. But eh, I guess every town is different. Around here though, BB is good stuff.
09/20/09
09/20/09
09/20/09
They accept game systems and games used from people who have likely stolen them. Who sells systems without controllers or any cables?
The prices they buy used games at are a joke. They buy a game off some sucker for fifteen dollars and then jack it up to 55 so some other sucker can buy it, thinking five whole dollars off is a great deal.
They constantly try to sell you game protection plans, which are a complete ripoff and totally useless to anyone with half a brain. In all my years of optical disc gaming, I have yet to ever damage a disc, and I'm not particularly careful with them either.
Keep in mind, this is not just one store, and I'm sure other people have all sorts of other horror stories about the place. So yes. It is great that you've had good experiences with them, but many people do not, and that is why you hear a lot of bad things.
09/20/09
Not saying gamestop is the greatest, but
- EB Games/Gamestop Canada requires photo ID to trade in and does not give out cash. In the time I was working there, I never saw a system without cables or controllers
- The prices they are offering you are significantly higher usually than any other place will offer you on non brand new games, especially when you factor in they do no tax on trades. tivs.ca for examples
- Also, thats called CAPITALISM. If you don't like it, find some other way to sell your stuff. They aren't doing anything wrong in that regard. Buy low from suckers who sell low, then resell high.
- Those protection plans might mean shit to someone like you and me who treat games like newborn children, but throwing a 3 dollar no questions asked disc replacement warranty is not exactly a horrible idea for most people, ESPECIALLY 360 owners who have a habit of ringing games. You ring your game, you take it in and get a brand new one, no hassle. Worst case scenario nothing horrible happens to the game and you just take it back on the 364th day, and get a brand new copy.
- Now, the pre-order stuff *is* really slimy. Theres either not enough sent, or the employees just take them. And I'm saying this as an ex-employee. *cough*
- The pre-order and warranty pushing is an unfortunate aspect of the job. You're yelled at if you don't hit certain numbers, and threatened with loss of hours. Which since theres so very few to go around (try running a store thats open 9-9 on 115 hours a week) is pretty throat cutting. Especially if you're making minimum wage.
- Mind you, it all depends on the manager. If they're willing to ignore corporate garbage, then you've probably got a good store to shop at, and good employees. If they're not, then you're going to have a horrible experience both working and shopping there. I've had the displeasure of working both places, the latter which eventually caused me to tell my horrible district manager and manager that nothing was worth this and I stormed out
09/20/09
Generally when I visit Gamestop, I just want to get my business done, get in and get out quick and painless. Because if I end up engaging in any conversation it usually ends with hearing superfluous hyperbole.
09/20/09
There's no reason to gut new games. It's not difficult to print out the box art and put it on display.
I'm tired of the whole magazine, membership card, trade in, preorder badgering all the time, and I feel sorry for the employees who have to deal with that BS. The store could have high profits, but preorder/magazine subscriptions, and they'll get punished for it.
I'd just rather go to Target, let them take my money and be on my way.
09/24/09
09/20/09
Look, the simple fact is that used game sellers were on the decline, OK? Funcoland, locally-owned shops, and that was about it. Used to be when I was a kid I could go to a few different places where I ALWAYS got screwed. Gamestop shows up and finally brings used game retailers to most of America, a shit tonne of towns that had NOTHING, i repeat, NOTHING, and everyone bitches
Fuck you.
I went from having to buy games online through half.com and having to take some asshole's word on the condition of said game, to being able to walk into a store, talk to a friend who works there, look for a game with a good case, insert, instructions, even the original flyers and shit if I wanted, all guaranteed to work and with a 7-day "return it for any damn reason for store credit" policy, not to mention trade-in deals that usually kick ass over everything but finding a stupid friend with too much money.
Gamestop is the reason used games are easier to find in most of America. Are they perfect? No, but damnit at least appreciate what they do. EB Games sucked, Funcoland was OK, FYI/Streetside wants $5-10 more for every game than anywhere else, online is shady and shitty, and Slackers (the local game store in Columbia) became the "elite" where they charge $25 used for a new PS2 Greatest Hits game, new price $20 everywhere else.
For people like me, it's Gamestop or fucking Wal-Mart, so quit your griping dammit.
09/20/09
Buying used online beats absolutely any brick and mortar store any day of the week, and GameStop is, of course, included in that.
If you're too lazy, underaged, misinformed, or just plain want to throw money away, shop for used games in retail. Otherwise stick to online. That's all I'm going to say.
09/20/09
Buying online SUCKS. Which is why I refuse to do it.
09/20/09
@dlenoxx: In case you didn't know, star commenters automatically promote comments when replying to them whether or not we want to. And 99% of the time, Amazon+$4.99 of shipping is STILL significantly cheaper than GameStop's prices.
09/20/09
Now also realize on the other side of the spectrum, the majority of the consumers are the parents of children who want all these games. Now our generation, the gaming generation is now coming to fruition in bearing children, (I am expecting my first in Jan.) I will know the best way to aquire a game, yet the majority of the market, the current generation of parents were raised on going to the stores and price shopping.
I don't know about you, but I was always able to sell my mother on the price of a used game because it was a bargain, and still the majority of the people who buy these games are still going into the stores to purchase the games, and alot of the best deals on games are used games. That is why Game Stop is killing right now.
Physical Games won't be going away for a bit.
09/20/09
09/20/09
anyone whos heard of deal tree knows what im talking about.
09/20/09
Remember Funcoland? Back before rebranding as GameStop, loved Funcoland as a kid.
09/20/09
For people that don't know anything they help u out for free when you go buy a computer.
I use to work there and it sucks when u start but once you're there for a while you get paid good.
09/20/09
09/20/09
09/20/09
i also remember that their prices were worse than gamestops.. in fact.. gamestop swallowing up funcoland probably contributed to them becoming worse lol.
i used to love funcoland, but i knew no better.. now when i think of the place.. i think of the grey newspaper like flyers they gave out that had used prices for all the current games. 100 bucks for nintendo 64 games when they gave barely anything.. it was so horrible.
i also remember commercials for that place in the early 90s as well.
09/20/09
09/20/09
Gamestop would be a good buy for Best Buy, they'd have another worldwide franchise on their books and one that rakes in the money (primarily through used game sales).
09/20/09
09/20/09
09/20/09
Ever since Circuit City died, Best Buy is the only big electronics retailer around, so they've taken over the job of charging 50 dollars for something you can get for 5 at a department store. They've got to be loaded.
09/20/09
09/20/09
09/20/09
09/20/09
EB Games doesn't exist anymore; GameStop bought them out.
On the electronics front, Best Buy is the only chain left there, too - Circuit City is dead, and CompUSA and Media Play before them.
If Best Buy and GameStop merge, then that means that they'll literally be the only game in town in a lot of regions.
Admittedly, there are other options, but let's face it: retail stores are the most important piece of the distribution chain right now, and GameStop is one of the few places that carries older and niche titles. If Best Buy buys them, who knows what happens? I don't like where this is heading.
09/20/09
09/20/09
I'd agree with this. I said the same thing when circuit city went under, Sure, some areas have competitors like Fry's, but not many.
09/20/09
Amazon is a better option, but still can't replace retail locations. Brick and mortar stores don't charge you shipping and make you wait for the game to arrive. For all of the things GameStop does wrong, I can walk in and leave with my game in five minutes, instead of waiting weeks for Amazon or paying through the nose for shipping to get it quicker.
09/20/09
For instance, in my city we have a small chain called GameBuzz which carries everything all the way back to SNES. However, they overcharge. By overcharge I mean A Link To The Past for 90$ (seen it on ebay for 9-15$).
We, luckily, also have another shop called GameZone which carries older games, gives fair prices for used games. As store credit the amounts are nearly enough for a new game if the game you're trading in is new/popular is popular enough. And if it's a rare, older game (Earthbound, Secret of Mana & friends) you can get well over 100$ in credit. They also carry obscure titles, imported games and consoles and what have you.
I really only ever went to EB Games for used games and preorders, but since HMV started selling games I go there and to GameZone for older stuff.
09/20/09
You'd be wrong, unfortunately. I live in a well-populated metro area, and off the top of my head I can't think of any independent stores. The ones that used to be around here have all closed up shop because they weren't getting enough business, and all that's left are record stores and comic stores that might have a small rack of games nobody wants in the back corner. I've looked, and unless I'm willing to drive for an hour I can't find anywhere with a decent selection.
Aside from Best Buy, we've got stores like Target (that don't carry older titles), and one Micro Center. That's about it. Even some of the chains that used to carry games, like FYE, have gotten out of it.
Unfortunately, this makes the chain stores all the more important.
09/20/09
09/20/09
Their days are numbered!
09/20/09
Ageed! Retail gaming is going the way of the Dodo. With download only on the horizon, the time for used games will also fade. Seems like a very bad buy to me...you probably only have until the end of the current platforms.
09/20/09
Gamestop days are numbered. :P
09/20/09
Protip
Physical media isn't going anywhere in the next two decades.
Gamestop is making money hand over fist.
09/20/09
09/20/09
Can anyone point me towards the teleporter?
09/20/09
09/20/09