K-FleX

SpasticSloth

Two things to say

Gamefly

"keep it now"

dude just go get it right now!!!

I got GTA IV two days after release for 42$!!!!

pok514

CRUNK

Bleeeee

interstate78

bartiaco

But if you don't get in good with the store manger you can forget it and you will have to face an employee that will follow the rules that they are trained to uphold..!

JorgieX

JorgieX

Parsifal

CZroe

Don't forget to call Sony!

Dr. Steve Brule

If you say GameStop would have taken it back, it may only be because they sometimes unwrap new games to get display boxes. Sometimes they may take an open game back, and sell it as though it were a display copy. This is not company policy though, and probably only happens if you are friends with someone who works there. Just get used the rule - you unwrap it, it's yours. End of story.

pinwheel_herman

Blockbuster has a strict policy of no returns or exchanges of any kind with opened new retail items. AND you have to have the reciept no matter what, even if the item is unopened and has the Blockbuster price tag on it. It's understandable with all the scams people pull on retail stores, but there's no wiggle room what so ever. If it's open, you're S.O.L.

That's one of the reasons why I left. They don't care about their customers. They know you'll always come crawling back since they've basically monopolized the video rental market.

DrunkenNinja12

bennybenbenj

Also do you guys have willow's video game stores in america, or is the one in abbotsford the only one? That place ROCKS.

InHumanGamer

William "Killer" Shatner

Jopan

Guess it happens all around the world with that store...

So thanks for the tip, guess I won't buy games in Chile (where I live now) if they bring videogames for sell ever...

eliasarriazolalujambio

As so many others have mentioned, it a policy that has been enlisted since the popularity spike in computers and video gaming selling has come about. I also work in retail--not in the gaming part, but retail nonetheless--and it is not uncommon for certain merchandise or items to not be either completely refundable or whatnot (of course unless the sitution really warrants it).

And frankly any gamer or geeky, will tell that video games and computer software have the top hardest policies on returns/exchanges. Simply put, yo, you pulled off the shrink-wrap....you broke the seal....IT'S USED.

Meaning, "No" they're not obligated to give you a return--especially since you basically told them it was system and not the game, which basically constitutes in the mind, policy-wise, that it's all on you, buddy.

And not tryin' to play you or anything, but did you really think that BB was gonna let you "exchange" for a 360 copy of Iron Man after you bought the PS3 version? Clearly shows a lack of understanding on how retail works on your part. It's called inventory, and it's not just as simple as your friend/manager of the store just sayin' "oh yeah, just go ahead and grab the 360 version up off the shelf" and callin' it a day. Every game in their systems that they sell are probably broken down by console so that they can better understand which games are selling/being rented more and therefore can based what they need to reorder or buy more of in the future. Just "swapping" you that 360 copy, not only would throw off their inventory for 360 versions of Iron Man, but that would also equal an actual sales loss to their store. So yeah, of course you had to 'buy' the 360 copy that keeps their inventory from getting shitted. Be glad you even got the credit and consider it a hard lesson--one that many of us already knew about BB--learned & next time stop by Wally's World instead.

At least you'd have a better chance of wingin' a good excuse by them and actually getting a swap. ;)

MizzDiva

with the 10$ extra cost of this gen games, my library is limited due to how much I have available to spend.

Lilinka

sitsalot

Thyme

Doomstink

Scuba Steve

yousmelllikepoop

As for Blockbuster, it may suck, but that's the policy in place at practically every retailer when it comes to video games. Even when I worked at Best Buy more than 5 years ago, we had the policy in place - open games are NOT refundable. It's been that way for years, and if you make one exception, you have to make it again and again.

Jeddy3

Zeryus

Actually Paramount canceled several HD-DVD releases in early March, including There Will b Blood. The very last release was Bee Movie. They've moved on to Blu ray, like Universal:

[www.highdefdigest.com]

SG79

Quilt

dawimp523

Good question. I believe that they are phasing that out. They had implemented new policies that states that new releases cannot be signed out within 2weeks of their release and games cannot be signed out if it is one of the last copies. The sign out period has been reduced to 72 hours and if it is not returned, it will be charged as a purchase to employee (also any visible damage to the game will require a purchase). With this, actually buying the used copies and returning iron the seven day "trial" time is the preferred method, and the one I and my store has encouraged for quite some time.

With that said, I think employees should be able to trythe games for the three days simply so they know what they are talking about. Being a big gamer myself, I naturally keep up with news rumors and reviews, but most of my store's employees aren't geeks like me, so their knowlege comes from me, customer feedback, or trying out themselves. As much as corporate hates when we talk people out of buying bad games like conflict: something or other on ps3 and 360 or iron man, heh, we rather have a happycustomer than a mad one that says we sold them a bad game or accessory.

/rant & forgive iPod touch typos.

SyxxtySyxx

josh51

Kinburn

Level9Unicorn

suburbancowboy

claming

I know that if you say the game does not work, it is store policy to trade it out for another copy of the same game. This happens occasionally (we gave out a lot of credits for Madden 07 since there was a known defect among many of the discs).

If they do not have any other copies of the game you purchased, you can get a different game.

In this case, you probably should've purchased one worth playing.

Yes, we have the equipment to reseal product, but selling a used game as a new game is unethical and may be illegal in some states.

I've had many customers try to return a game that they didn't like. We DO NOT do that. That would be the same as giving out an extended free rental.

Giving out free rentals gets you fired. No warnings, no write-ups. Immediate termination.

If you want to be a bitch, you can threaten to go to the district manager for some situations. But in this, BB was totally following company guidelines.

Most employees do not know shit about games. This is true. But can you blame them? We aren't allowed to rent these things until 2 months after they are released. I only know based on reviews from here, IGN, and several other blogs.....and some common sense.

Common sense like buying a video game, which was based on a movie, which was based on a comic book is generally a bad idea.

Anyway, that's my reply. Sorry to sound like a corporate ass.

If it saves me at all, I'm putting in my two-weeks notice in a week.

luminaire248

Rectangle

seafisch

cindersphere

Here's the OFFICIAL stance on their return policy, from Blockbuster(from their website help FAQ):

BLOCKBUSTER® will refund your purchase of any new merchandise (except food items) appearing in its unopened original packaging anytime, provided you have the original receipt. BLOCKBUSTER will refund the purchase price of any pre-viewed, defective of mislabeled products returned within 30 days, provided you have the original receipt. Refunds for purchases made with a charge card will be credited to the same charge card. Refunds for purchases by cash or check will be given in cash. Please allow 7 business days to process refunds for payment made by check. This Return Policy not applicable to products/services specifically marked with different return policy. See "rental terms" for information about return of rental product which has been converted to a sale.

You can go to this webpage and type in 'return policy'(minus the quotes) and it'll bring up the exact thing I just c/p'd as the first result.

[www.blockbuster.com]

YouveGotToBeKiddingMe

Don't immediately assume it was just a case of her being a jerk. If your GameStop will let you do that kind of return (also against policy there, I know and I work/have worked for them), then take your business there if you choose.

AZRockslide

You should have lied. Told them your PS3 copy was defective. When they told you they didn't have another you then could reluctantly agree to take the XBOX 360 version instead. You have to learn to play the game.

cheviot

ProdigalMoon

Looks like a lotta suckas gotta learn da 'ard way.

Seriously. Knowing the manager aside, any place that considers the new release wall holy ground (yet willing to throw 3rd rate films that've been out for well over a few months on it) ain't a place to consider getting any games from. Most of the time, the counter set aside for game shopping is neglected to the point where it's overstock storage for the crap candy and overpriced popcorn. Most of the people who work at the store pays no mind to the section at all, unless someone drags them (by force) over in order to buy something. Even at that, their stock largely contains previously played games that no one really wants, with few to no games in "new" condition worth getting.

In short, large amounts of neglect, everyone's clueless, and bone picking selection. You would of been better off going to Sears, K-Mart, Target, or even Radio Shack for that matter.

bugashi

meteorcow

jmsalal

So it just goes to show that sometimes giant retails actually do hire employees with a heart. Well, in my case anyways. B)

Zyzex_Remix

wait I live in the UK, I pay europe prices.

Crapola

Cheddies

kevin_o

CRUNK

[www.comedycentral.com]

ese

suntorytime

And yes a company CAN re-seal a game and sell it as new. Why can they? because no one knows. because no cops gonna bust a BBV for doing so. Because the $bottom$ line is all that matters to any Biz.
Company's can also send back defective product making the loss a non issue.But ya know if you owned a biz you would just re-seal and re-sell. Just like you I wouldnt buy it opened But we are not talking about that.

Trust me ppl if you think you can call me wrong on any of this you had better have worked longer in retail. And yes the tactic of asking to see the manager and forcing them to call them to call u a liar WORKS. It works because Managers can only do certain returns but will tell the regular emps that the return can not be done. Amd if you call the Managers Boss They will be too annoyed to look into the matter they will just tell the manager to give the baby his bottle. All retailers HATE their job and HATE the customer. degrees may vary but this is true.

If you dont know how the system works you will get screwed. Heed the advice given by ppl who work in retail because at work your just another hand with money.

CRUNK

Good story though...I would have just caused enough of a scene they would have had no choice, lest they wish to feel the wrath of a pompous white man...

Tietsu

Bastard11

There is pressure put on retailers by the industry because of piracy and people who essentially rent a game for free by returning it after beating it.

What is pressure? Well what do you think the company does with a game after it is returned? Do you think they just eat the 40-50 dollar loss and go on about business? No.. they return it to the vendor for credit.
Now what if the vendor refuses to give you credit for games they've checked and found to be not defective?
You lose a bunch of money by being nice to customers and that is just bad business.
Markup on games is so piss poor anyways you shouldn't expect any favors that will cost the company more money than they are making from you.

Bastard11

New article heading:
"PS3 not the best system so far"

For_the_lulz

Null-Python

PROD is another matter as was the DRE with the PS2. Let's not forget that the original Xbox was a very reliable console, so it's not really about singling out MS this time.

Random problems, including disc reading problems etc. with the PS3 have been noted since 2006. You don't hear about them often because like Wii hardware problems, they exist but not widespread.

On that note, we seem to be on the same boat with the freezing issue. It's random alright, and it's not always PS3 software. Last time it happened was with a PS1 game. It's a launch unit as well.

SG79

You bought the game. You opened it. There was nothing wrong with the game itself. They were right not to take it back. I totally understand that it was a shitty situation with your PS3 crapping out and all, but those are the breaks man. Also, maybe you have an extenuating circumstance or something, but I am puzzled as to why you just didn't wait for your PS3 to get repaired? I am assuming you will at some point right? Patience is a virtue man.

KidU

Honestly, this situation is probably something to be taken up with the manufacturer, as annoying as it would be.

Reiji

ese

fuchikoma

Seriously... Store policy non-withstanding, sometimes it IS ok to make exceptions on returns if an item is defective, or some such reason. They just lost a customer in Fahey (at least in game sales) and probably quite a few others who have read this article.

Hell I already hated Blockbuster and this makes the idea of renting or shopping with them even less appealing. Despite the fact that they're the only rental place within at least 10 miles from me. And they're about 100 steps across the street from me.

2NinjasTapedTogether

Blake Ruff

ChocoCocobo

Grave

For those that say that defectiving it out would be a solution, it isn't. That would be for an exchage of another copy of the same game for the same system. If no other copies were in stock we would be obligated to locate the closest stores that would have another copy. Store credit offers would be a last resort option and even in that case dm approval may be required.

With all that said, there can be times when bending the rules should be done, but expect a followup from the dm. I do not agree with gamestop's policy often (hardly ever) and my store prides itself on the ways we try to make a better name for our company. We read all of the "why gamestop sucks" articles and we try to do what is in our power to annoy less and make things actually enjoyable for our customers. I was acustomer of the company since its babbages days 20 or so years ago. Their policies have become more strict, but that is because there are many customers that take advantage of good policies and spoil them for everyone. Sorry for the wall of text and any typos for this is being typed on an iPod touch.

/rant

SyxxtySyxx

It has nothing to do with knowing video games or not, the disc was not defective which means their liability ends there. Get your PS3 repaired you whiny jerk.

kevin_o

Crucio

Plus they gave me a framed GTA IV picture with my purchase for no reason at all.

Blockbuster 4 life.

bloog

Also, I'm aware that the GameStop shops do this, and I'm against it.

EmTeeZ

@CanaryWundaboy: This is the dumbest idea I've ever heard, and I really hope you're being sarcastic. All this "tactic" will do is make you look like a moron to everyone else in the store, who will be embarassed to be in the same building as you. And maybe it's impossible for the associate to get out of it if they're a shitty pushover, in which case what are they doing in a customer service position? :)

tavaryn

GCM

Pata-pwn(TM?)

And they will notice if you defect out a brand new game. They watch us like hawks. ... Hawks with video cameras. (had to slip an Ocean's 11 quote in there :D)

Rasputin

CanaryWundaboy

If he had known the manager for years and was polite, what is the problem. Defect the game out. When you do that, it does not effect your store negatively and there is NO way to check for the games defect because you would have to play the entire game through, and they are not going to do that, trust me.

All in all, that is shitty service my friend, you should of bought the game from my Gamestop, I'm sure I would've helped you out. But yeah @Rasputin: You do have to listen to the rules, but if he knew the person, for years none the less, don't you think there should be some kind of benefit. My friend works at a Pizza Shop and he gets me free pizza. I also work at Chili's as a host and I sit people I know moderately faster than other guests. His mother knows the woman, for years, and she couldn't do a small favor. I think that is pretty lame.

DarkFestim

Sony is the only one out of the big 3 that require a receipt for warranty service. That's Sony for you!

WingZero987

Oh, wait, that's not news at all!

You know the policy going in. If you don't, I'm sure the employee will be glad to tell you all about it. Most employees aren't willing to violate store policy and risk punishment (or even termination) to help out even the most loyal customers.

Stop lashing out at stores who are going by the book. It's unfair to you to lose the $25, but it's also unfair to lash out at the store, especially when it's not their fault that something you purchased from them isn't doing what it's supposed to do.

Rasputin

I'm amazed that some people think they should have let you return it for reasons of "good customer service".

They are supposed to lose money because Sony's console fucked up? Give me a break - the fault is with Sony and you should have spoken to them. No sympathy there dude.

Good customer service would have been them phoning Sony for you right there if you had bought your PS3 from them originally.

Also people suggesting that Blockbuster could have repackaged and sold it "as new". I see that as fraudulent as some poor guy is walking in after you and paying for a new un-opened copy and they get that? Nothing right about that.

I can't believe I am on the retailers side for once!

TurtleSoup

Fullmetalbill

The only thing this tells me is that Mike Fahey is impatient and has money to burn.
Thanks for that.

mescalineeyes

BlackFreefall

Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with the BD drive. As I mentioned earlier, firmware 2.10 caused a number of units to experience a similar problem within a day or two of release. 40GB unit owners who bought it as a BD player reported it as well.

It didn't happen immediately, but within a day or two of upgrading.

I became extra cautious after that and decided to manually download new firmware online. I had a close incident last year when I got an error message, so that was best to avoid any lost patches of data.

SG79

We have a fairly strict return policy, but swapping a ps3 title over for a 360 version of the same game within the hour is a no-brainer. Especially given how hard it is to damage blu-ray discs. Even so, provided the disc is in good condition we aren't concerned about swapping.

If the disc looks used, we tend to just swap it over with the value of what we would sell it at second hand (usually only 10-20% less on a new release title) rather than only offering the standard trade value.

It's all about getting the customer back, saving $20 now or whatever and never seeing them again is far worse business than losing $10 now and gaining a customer who buys all their games from you.

Tribal

Night at the Museum? Sounds like your PS3 has better taste than you do.

ZING!

SuedeGopher

The situation sucks, and I feel for ya, but not really something to hold against Blockbuster as it's pretty standard policy across the board.

A-Rude-Hero

StupidDufus

FP_slomo788

Kind of a sad state... seems like in a perfect world, people that actually love games would sell them, rather than people that are trained to hustle sales of any kind and cut corners on cost - my experiences with Gamestop.

Blockbuster I don't even bother with any longer.

sir_carrot

Kane666

Otherwise, one can buy the game, burn it and then return it.

SYSSMouse

There's ways of dealing w/ the opened PS3 game... like the store purchasing it and using it for rental etc... sure they may be frowned upon by corporate but it still is more of a judgment call on the part of the manager on duty.

Look, I hate Blockbuster as much or probably more than most since I see the shit that people at the corporate level try to pull, but I would have to say that your experience should not be taken as the norm.

jboze84

Remember ppl The Large company is always WRONG the customer is always Right. providing that the customer is not an asshole.

CRUNK

I've worked for the company for 2 years, and that type of behavior from the store manager is likely a result of having a prick for a District Leader. If you escalated the problem to customer service, you'd wind up with a gift card, and the store manager would get reprimanded, guaranteed.

JJ Rage

Jon_Danger

I Managed a BBV in Canada for 5 years b4 I left it for the games industry. The overlaying problem with all of BBV is that it treats is employees like shit, so they steal to feel better, so they treat them like shitty thief's. So everyone who actually needs the job is too scared to do anything that might get them in trouble(like use their own judgment) OR too scared to do anything that might look like theft. Although mostly I would say the largest problem with BBV or any major retail outlet is that the ppl who own, run, and manage them are just unintelligent louts.

You know theres something wrong when your a CSR and meet the president of the BBV only to come to realize that your smarter than him.

CRUNK

I gotta say, I agree with Blockbuster on this one. They can't really be held accountable for you buying something you can't use then opening it. I know you didn't know your system was broken and that sucks, but it'd be a similar situation if someone bought, say, Windows software for their Mac and had to pay a restocking fee when they returned it opened.

EmTeeZ

bondiinsider

Well aware of that, and they're still small incidents all things considered (in comparison to other infamous console malfunctions). There were post on AVS and other home theatre forums. And yup, they had the problem with some units after the last firmware update that enabled DTS-MA.

@HawaiianActor:

I've seen rules bent before, especially with vocal customers. I did that personally several times at both specialty retail and banks.

SG79

I think this has more to do with really bad luck than bad retail policy.

art_zombie

DRaGZ

HawaiianActor

dechire

jf04gli

Thorax

HawaiianActor

jf04gli

Wolfers

Don't know about the US, but every Canadian Wal Mart store has a big sign in their games/movies section that open software cannot be returned. Just exchanged.

SG79

HawaiianActor

Far from being big or the equivalent of the PROD problem. They're random incidents and if it were big, we'd see lots of articles about it online. The drive used in the PS3 is more durable and reliable than most standalone BD player drives out there.

Ask anyone with Disney BD movies.

SG79

That really sucks about your experience. I'm curious, if that had been at Walmart or some other non-game retailer, would they have exchanged it?

emuc64

Skitzoap

Zesty Mordant

mx5

GamestopPatron

17-A

SAKY

But that's the only way to get a complaint to a DM as stores are told not, under any circumstances give out contact info for DMs to the pubic. You are only suppose to give the customer service contact, which then, if the complaint was up held and the customer wouldn't be pacified by anything but a return, then the DM would do it. So, we are both semi-right here...

Shadebane

Skick

CreamSodaSlurpee

But instead are focusing on the fact that your PS3 was the console to crap out on you.

Hand_O_Death

In fact, i even posted a youtube video of my own failing. Find the yellow light of death video on youtube made by "leimeisei909" :)

leimeisei

Crull

Crull

You know full well when you go into a store what it's return policy is because it's either posted on a board somewhere, on your receipt or another location that you should pay attention to.

Don't get all bent out of shape about Blockbuster following their policy just because you know a guy at Gamestop, because I can guarantee that if the district manager or LPM of your Gamestop paid attention to it's returns, you would be out one manager in that store and you would have to actually follow the return policy again.

Shadebane

pandafresh

redrabbit

Struct09

But I wouldn't blame Blockbuster here, or any other store. You bought the game, the game (in theory) worked...why should they be responsible for your hardware issue?

Islandkiwi

When we first started us with retail product it was small pushes, not every game would come in. They also base alot of the amount of product we get for say 1 game based on how many pre orders.

For Example: 9 people preordered Grand Theft Auto, they'll get 9 copies w/ names attatched and then 9 more copies for any one who did not.

So with these small pushes of retail in a rental business they base alot of it on a small portion because it is not yet big enough..
Our Trade in values how ever are absolutely amazing compared to gamestop.
However they dont allow us to take in used systems and accessories.

paulbrochill

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques

sisedi

Arsenal

InfernoT

el_rezzo

Dionyza

Captain Impulse

munchausen

超外人

I, fortunately, have yet to have to actually return a game to any outlet. However, without fail, every outlet I've gone to has had a return policy where they would only exchange for the exact same game. I know that, in the past, EB Games had a 30 day return policy where you could exchange games up to one time for any other game, but it's been a long time before I've seen such a policy.

Unfortunately, this is probably due to the fact that people suck. No, really. I know that said EB Games policy only lasted about three, or so, months (at least where I lived at the time), before having to be changed due to so many people either treating it like a free rental program or simply copying the game and returning it for another game to copy.

What I'm trying to say, is that, yes, it sucks. Especially when you weren't trying to get the better end of a deal per se. However, I, at least somewhat, understand where Blockbuster is coming from. It's all a matter of perspective.

sariah

That's a weird problem with the PS3. Keep us informed of the process you undergo to get that fixed: Sony's response and actions taken, turn-around time, etc.

Captain Impulse

BigWyrm

MysteryPersonX

Buy a game for $60, it doesn't work, return it for $35, and then use that credit to buy it AGAIN?

Mike, Blockbuster just stole $25 from you. It's like they pick pocketed your wallet, took the cash out, and then ran up to you sheepishly grinning, handing your wallet back and skipping away with nothing but a "Sorry!". But they aren't sorry at all, Mike. They just stole $25 from you.

Atheist Jew