more news of gamestop messing with customers

[Havok83]

I loved Electronic Boutiques, Babbages, EBX, Software ETC.... back in the day. IA that it all went downhill when they were bought up by GS

 

[Benstamania]

Ah yes, back when EB straight up went by Electronics Boutique... no stupid abbreviations. Yup, they were great, I miss that kind of store.

 

[Franklin Richards]

I tried to shop at Gamestop when Starcraft II came out. It was one of the first "must have on launch" titles that I've gone shopping for in a long time. I figure I'll go to Gamestop to help them out. I figured they were like LCS's and needed the money. The one in San Marcos is right next to a Wal Mart so I pull in to Gamestop feeling good about my choice.


"Did you preorder?"
"No."
"I can't sell you one then."
"What? It's release day. You're telling me you're out of copies?"
"Well no..."
"Later."


I walked to Wal Mart and picked up one of the many copies they had AND I got a discount.


Now I use Steam for everything.

 

[Havok83]

To be fair, preorders get and should have higher priority than someone coming in to buy off the street. If someone is going to put down at least $5 (or in some cases) pay off the entire price for a game, then they should have a guarantee that its in the store on release day and not sold. Id be pissed if I paid ahead of time and they didnt have it bc they sold my copy to someone else

 

[Franklin Richards]

Was it an extra 5 dollars? Or was it a down payment?


Also I was the only one in the store. It was like 11 in the morning. You're telling me they didn't buy any non pre-order copies?

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I

I hate them for their shady business tactics and how they treat their employees. Again, maybe Pat's GameStop is a good store... it seems totally unlike any GameStop I've ever been in. I almost wonder if it's a privately owned GameStop?

Iv worked in 2 different GS stores, they were night and day. It all comes down to management man. My first manager was a dick, my second manager was cooler than cool and my current manager is just a YES man.

Again, no offense Pat... your store seems cool. But I was jerked around TO much by that stinking company. Whatever bad press they get, they deserve.

Haha none taken, when i started working, our store was staffed with some of the coolest people iv ever met, then the manager that hired me left. My first manager was a kick ass dude. He called it like he saw it, and treated everyone with respect and really couldn't care about corporate. He wasn't a yes man by ANY means, but he got his numbers so they kind of let him be. He has since left as have a few others and its not nearly as fun to work at any more. Myself and 2 other people are the only remaining employees from back when i started working. Overall though, we have some of the better employees iv met, outside of my new manager and our SGA, none of us feel like bugging the customer about damn reserves or power up cards. If they want it sure, but we aren't forcing anything on them.

EVERYTHING you said tho, i agree with. Im seeing it right now. Some of our employees DO use the gutted copies as rentals(most wait until its used) and we have one employee who is as pushy a salesman as you'll ever meet. We also got the SAME email about Best Buy. I mean literally, the same email about "putting BB into the ground". Im not defending GS as a company, out of the major retail chains iv worked for, they treat their employees the worst. But the shopping experience there isn't much different than any where else. Best Buy can be just as bad, as can Target. Iv had just as many poor experiences there as i have at GS.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Ah yes, back when EB straight up went by Electronics Boutique... no stupid abbreviations. Yup, they were great, I miss that kind of store.

EB also gave their employees a cut of every edge card/warranty they sold. Now they just tell us to sell em or be fired. No other incentive than that.

 

[Benstamania]

SOMETIMES GameStop will only get a set amount to match preorders for day of launch sales. It happens a LOT with PC games like Starcraft... not so much with console games.

The most recent console game that we had a legit shortage of and could only sell the pre-ordered copies to those that put 5 bucks down on them was The Super Mario Collection for the Wii.

GameStop often gets a lot of shipments for games like Halo and Call of Duty because they know they'll be big sales. Not always.. But often. (large shipments that is.)

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Was it an extra 5 dollars? Or was it a down payment?


Also I was the only one in the store. It was like 11 in the morning. You're telling me they didn't buy any non pre-order copies?

I can absolutely confirm that with some games, mainly PC games, all a store will get are preorders. Deus Ex, all we got were preorders. They didn't send us ONE single extra copy. And no, my store did NOT gut the game and take out the coupons. My manger thought that was over the line.

 

[Havok83]

Was it an extra 5 dollars? Or was it a down payment?


Also I was the only one in the store. It was like 11 in the morning. You're telling me they didn't buy any non pre-order copies?

Maybe there was a midnight release? PC games dont generally sell as well anymore so I wouldnt be surprised if they simply didnt have alot shipped to them. I dont know what the inventory was at your store or how they were supplied but trust me, they are in the business of making money. They WANT your money. If they could sell it to you, they would.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Is the pre-order only strategy profitable with all the walk outs they get? I can't see it being a good thing.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Maybe there was a midnight release? PC games dont generally sell as well anymore so I wouldnt be surprised if they simply didnt have alot shipped to them. I dont know what the inventory was at your store or how they were supplied but trust me, they are in the business of making money. They WANT your money. If they could sell it to you, they would.

I'm not sure but I don't think so. Just seems like a bad policy when you're located right next to Wal Mart.

 

[Benstamania]

Im not defending GS as a company, out of the major retail chains iv worked for, they treat their employees the worst. But the shopping experience there isn't much different than any where else. Best Buy can be just as bad, as can Target. Iv had just as many poor experiences there as i have at GS.

My major problem with Best Buy is... and I'm going to try to be nice here, that they seem to LOVE to hire morons. I mean that in the nicest way possible.

I went into my local Best Buy ONE time in early 2011 and it was seriously filled with high school kids that didn't give a crap and former Circuit City rejects.. I mean, the same rejects I worked with at Circuit that got fired with two weeks to go in Liquidation due to busting up a 3,000 dollar Bose Sound Display system.

I don't shop there at all but many of my friends do and still tell the same kind of horror story.

I don't have problems with Target... They kind of let me alone when I'm in there... but I think that's because they know me from when I worked at Circuit and I don't really need "help."

GameStop is just super shady... I mean... they'll tell you they have the secret to Immortality and then when they have you in their grasp say "Well... Not really, but now that you're here as long as you keep shopping with us we'll find a way."

Yes. GameStop Corp is Darth Sidious, disgustingly evil and power hungry..but a genius at the same time...

 

[Benstamania]

I'm not sure but I don't think so. Just seems like a bad policy when you're located right next to Wal Mart.

Honestly? GameStop's attitude is "Go to Wal-Mart, we don't care... some other drone will be in to buy 30 used games..."

Seriously, I'm not joking... that's how GameStop corporate thinks. They also don't give a crap about ANYTHING PC related outside of Warcraft... they may care a little bit about The Old Republic... but mostly because that's Star Wars and not PC related.


Star Wars = $$$$$

 

[Franklin Richards]

Well I hope they die while we foul PC users are still downloading stuff off of Steam.

 

[Benstamania]

Is the pre-order only strategy profitable with all the walk outs they get? I can't see it being a good thing.

I'm going to seem like I'm defending them here... but believe me, I'm not. GameStop doesn't care about the Walkouts... More so on big pre-order titles like Starcraft, Halo, Gears, Warcraft, Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms, anything Zombie related...

They don't... because they already GOT the sale of the person that slapped 5 or more bucks down on their reservation.. They really don't care if they don't get your money. They have someone else's.

Is it stupid? Yeah... turning away a customer is always stupid... But, that's GameStop.

Edit: More so if you're a PC gamer. GameStop will treat you less than dirt because your games can't be traded in. "Look Jimmy! That guy plays a PC! His games can't be traded here! EEEEWWWW!"

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I'm not sure but I don't think so. Just seems like a bad policy when you're located right next to Wal Mart.

What bad policy? To not sell you a game they don't have?

Im assuming they didn't sell you a copy of the game because all they had were preorder copies and you aren't supposed to sell someones preorder copy before the 48 hours hold.

 

[Benstamania]

My stupid manager would hold a preorder for a friggin' week... but if she got the chance to sell one of ours before we came to pick it up she would.

Man I can't stand that thing.

 

[Franklin Richards]

What bad policy? To not sell you a game they don't have?Im assuming they didn't sell you a copy of the game because all they had were preorder copies and you aren't supposed to sell someones preorder copy before the 48 hours hold.

No. Not to purchase copies for retail.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Yes. GameStop Corp is Darth Sidious, disgustingly evil and power hungry..but a genius at the same time...

Honestly dude and again, I'm with ya on how bad the corporation for GS is, but you can't find too many large corporations that don't fit that description. When the bottom line is the bottom line, you'll do things to ensure that. I mean I'm no damn commie, but thats a huge negative on capitalism. It breeds greed.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

No. Not to purchase copies for retail.

Well its still not a bad policy. You don't purchase what you don't sell. Maybe the location you went to was like mine and didn't carry many PC games because they dont sell. But Benstamania is right in saying GS doesn't really care about that market.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Then they need to do a catalogue business and stop paying rent.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

My stupid manager would hold a preorder for a friggin' week... but if she got the chance to sell one of ours before we came to pick it up she would.

Man I can't stand that thing.

Haha damn that sucks.

We hold on to reserves for 48 hours, thats it, after that they're up for grabs.

 

[marvelman2006]

Never cared for gamestop, one time my wife needed a Wii gamefor her sister for a birthday gift so we found one there, the new mario game at the time. Well they go to hand her a copy and shocker it was open and the manual inside looked like a dog got a hold of it and bent it in the process. The associate tried to pass it off as new and tried to charge her $50 for it. I demanded to speak to a manager and he told me they can open games to use the case for display purposes if they only have one copy. I said then fine sell it new to me used for $20 and they said no its new so I said goodbye. Shady tactics like this eventually lead to the out of business line and I will be there the day them and blockbuster close up shop. Blockbuster is even worse selling used blurays for $16 when there brand new on amazon for $10.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Never cared for gamestop, one time my wife needed a Wii gamefor her sister for a birthday gift so we found one there, the new mario game at the time. Well they go to hand her a copy and shocker it was open and the manual inside looked like a dog got a hold of it and bent it in the process. The associate tried to pass it off as new and tried to charge her $50 for it. I demanded to speak to a manager and he told me they can open games to use the case for display purposes if they only have one copy. I said then fine sell it new to me used for $20 and they said no its new so I said goodbye. Shady tactics like this eventually lead to the out of business line and I will be there the day them and blockbuster close up shop. Blockbuster is even worse selling used blurays for $16 when there brand new on amazon for $10.

Unfortunately, for every one person like you that walks out, 2 or 3 more walk in and purchase something. Gamestop will be around until digital distribution becomes accessible to all and extremely efficient, but only then will they actually fall and thats still a big IF due to the used game market.