The Official "Beware or Go Near This Online Store" Thread

[The Successful Dropout]

There are so many damn stores online, its hard to figure out which are legit and which are bullshit. I've been looking for a few games recently and can't find them new anywhere except for in online stores that I've never heard of (and ebay, but ebay is a pain sometimes). So instead of creating a thread for every store that I'm not sure of (I just made two lastnight), I figured I'd compile a list of known/unknown legit sites. For the stores that are in the UNKNOWN section, if you have bought from there and know whether they're legit or not, let me know so I can put it in BEWARE or GO NEAR. Also, if you'd like me to leave a little warning near certain stores, such as "(watch out for resealed games)," then please post details.


BEWARE:
Buy Rite Games (http://www.buyritegames.com/) (where you'll pay, but you won't get)
UpState Games (www.upstategames.com/) (slow shipping, no responses)
Buy.Com (http://www.buy.com/retail/department.asp?loc=108&mp=60/) (slow shipping, no customer support number)
DeepShark (www.deepshark.com/)


GO NEAR:
Electronic Boutique (http://www.ebgames.com/) (but watch out for resealed games)
GameStop (http://www.gamestop.com/)
OverStock (http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=STOREPICK&STO_ID=3&STL_ID=12/)
Best Buy (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=cat02119&type=category/) (free shipping, but watch out for backorders)
Circuit City (http://www.circuitcity.com/departments.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&inleftcat=Games&store= Games&department=Video+Games) (free shipping)
VideoGameDeals aka Defender's Store (http://www.videogamedeals.com)
WalMart (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?path=0%3A2636&dept=2636&cat=2636)
Games Universe (www.gamesuniverse.com)
Game Express (www.gameexpress.com)
Lik-Sang (www.lik-sang.com) (Honk Kong Based)
Play-Asia (www.play-asia.com) (Honk Kong Based)
Toys N Joys (www.toysnjoys.com/welcome.html)
Go Gamer (www.gogamer.com)
Amazon (www.amazon.com)
VideoGamesEtc (www.videogamesetc.com) (good B&M, not sure online...under construction)
VideoGameDepot (www.videogamedepot.com) (good B&M, not sure online)
NCSX (www.ncsx.com) (imports)


UNKNOWN:
Game Quest Direct (www.gamequestdirect.com)
My Video Games (www.myvideogames.com)
GamEscapes GigaStore (http://gamescapes.vstoremarket.com/viewcategory.htm?categoryId=24806)
BaySoft Games (www.baysoftgames.com)
eStarland (www.estarland.com)
eCost (www.ecost.com)
Console Source (www.consolesource.com)

[AdamInPlaidum]

Obvious legit ones, ebgames and videogamedeals.

[The Successful Dropout]

Obvious legit ones, ebgames and videogamedeals.

i know that...hence your word obvious :wink: i was just getting the thread situated or something

[AdamInPlaidum]

Okie dokie. 200 posts...

[jimbodan]

2 good websites that you guys can use to check suspicious sites are: www.bizrate.com and http://www.resellerratings.com.

[Machine]

I've bought from gexpress.com many times and they are definitely "Go Near" in my book.

You may also want to put in gamesuniverse.com as a "Go Near" - I've never had a problem with them. Their new releases prices can be a bit high but they have a nice selection of older games that everyone else is sold out of.

[The Successful Dropout]

bump

[Tenacious D]

I've bought Japanese imports from http://www.lik-sang.com/ and http://www.play-asia.com/ many times. Both are in Hong Kong. If I was going to choose one over the other, I'd go with Play Asia, but I highly recommend both sites. I've also bought several times from a small shop in Hawaii called http://www.toysnjoys.com/welcome.html and never had a problem. This site is a good place to get Japanese modified consoles, if you don't want to do the mod work yourself. For instance, I bought a universal PS2 from them a while back and haven't ever had a problem with it. Some of their prices on import games are a little high, though.

[Tenacious D]

Oh for PC games, http://www.gogamer.com is awesome. They usually have cheaper prices than the competition. Too bad they don't have cheaper prices for their console games :(

[mmn]

I say Beware BESTBUY.COM - either they'll cancel your order or they'll tell you they shipped you the game yet really didn't. Plus it's a hassle to get a refund from them, you have to fill out paperwork and fax it in.

[Wet Ninja]

I recently ordered Panzer Dragoon Orta from Game Quest Direct, but through Amazon.com instead of through their website. It arrived much earlier than I expected it and it was in excellent condition (sealed).

According to their rating page (http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html/104-5900316-3107128?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=&marketplaceSeller=1 &seller=A4JI3K4IWTEMJ) on Amazon, they have 96% positive feedback out of 10649 ratings. I'd say they're a Go Near store.

[Calico]

Beware of Deepshark.com

[WildWop]

I say Beware BESTBUY.COM - either they'll cancel your order or they'll tell you they shipped you the game yet really didn't. Plus it's a hassle to get a refund from them, you have to fill out paperwork and fax it in.

This only happens with clearanced stuff. They have a crappy policy involving blind cancellations, but if you're ordering regularly-stocked items, you're unlikely to run into trouble.

I'd throw BUY.COM in a "SHADY BUSINESS" category. Occasionally great, often off-the-reservation. Took me two weeks from "ship" date (which I think is a bunch of crap, they had it sitting in a warehouse somewhere. a midget could have walked the damn DVD to my house in that time span) to get a DVD, while it took only TWO DAYS to get my GBC Zelda Oracle games.

[danny-o]

Upstategames.com is a horrible site. I ordered CV: Circle of the moon import for my GBA and I finally ended up getting it 2 days before the domestic release months later. The guy charged my card right away and would ignore emails.

[jbroush99]

Has anyone ever ordered from Baysoftgames.com? I sold him some games a few years back, but didn't have any problems since I dropped them off at his house.

[mmn]

I would recommend almost any seller that has more than a few positive feedback from Amazon.com's "buy it used or new for _____" page. All of those resellers have been great with me, have always got the games in good condition and they've arrived fast. So far I've ordered 3 used games from them and 1 new game and they were all perfect.

[Thunderscope]

Im with you on BEWARE OF BESTBUY, I ordered a game from them, it's been 4 weeks and never recieved it. The first time I emailed them they told me to wait until its been 23 days. I emailed them 3 days ago and still haven't had a reply.

[RBM]

This would be a nice addition to the database of store (brick & mortar) ratings/comments that....hey..whatever happened to that? Cheapy took a poll to see how much interest there was in limiting the scope that the database would cover and then...silence. :-k

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14371&highlight=

What if the real Cheapy is still canoodling with his bride in the Far East? Sipping sake and composing poetry under the sakura blossoms, while shipping this robocop-facsimile in his stead to run this place?! That'd explain it. The cyborg can't code his way out of a wet paper bag, and the database on store reviews has thus languished!

[alongx]

Target.com, or Target.com@Amazon.com, are both excellent stores, to my knowledge.

[Kaijufan]

www.amazon.com should be added to your safe list.
http://www.videogamesect.com/ is under construction, but I have been to several of the B&M locations, and their online ordering should be safe.
Once again a store that I never bought from online because the B&M store is near me http://www.videogamedepot.com/
I think that some of the stuff they sell might be bootlegs (like the CDs), but im sure they are safe to order from.

[eldad9]

What does "go near" mean? If there's an actual store I like, I don't "go near" it, I just go in.

This makes about as much sense as "hover above" or "grind around".

[JackSuper]

Has anyone ever ordered from Baysoftgames.com? I sold him some games a few years back, but didn't have any problems since I dropped them off at his house.

I mailed some games for trade-in cash a long time ago, 3 months and several e-mails and phone calls to the company later, i received my check. I have never ordered from them as I was scared off by the awful trade-in system. I say use caution with baysoftgames.com although I haven't placed an order.

[The Successful Dropout]

What does "go near" mean? If there's an actual store I like, I don't "go near" it, I just go in.

This makes about as much sense as "hover above" or "grind around".

i suggest you go find a dick and eat it....i was just messing around, and you get the point....its asses like you that ruin this site....

[suko_32]

www.ncsx.com is a very reliable site

[omicron]

Anyone shopped from www.eStarland.com online or in their local stores in Virginia? Prices are low but they don't seem to participate in any rating system like Bizrate.

[eldad9]

What does "go near" mean? If there's an actual store I like, I don't "go near" it, I just go in.

This makes about as much sense as "hover above" or "grind around".

i suggest you go find a dick and eat it....i was just messing around, and you get the point....its asses like you that ruin this site....

You're really not very good at dealing with little mistakes, are you?

And of course you're right. I am a homosexual; the uncontested evidence is that I wasn't very nice to you.

[Zingela]

I don't know about Toys N Joys.. I've tried ordering items listed as in stick on their site, only to have nothing shipped in a period of months. I've never had a successful order there, I've had to cancel each one. :(

[The Successful Dropout]

What does "go near" mean? If there's an actual store I like, I don't "go near" it, I just go in.

This makes about as much sense as "hover above" or "grind around".

i suggest you go find a dick and eat it....i was just messing around, and you get the point....its asses like you that ruin this site....

You're really not very good at dealing with little mistakes, are you?

And of course you're right. I am a homosexual; the uncontested evidence is that I wasn't very nice to you.

the point of this thread was to help everyone out and to stop the "is buyritegames a good store to buy from" type threads that pop up all of the time....the point of your post was to be a retarded technical asshole....i didn't make a mistake, i knew what i was posting...therefore, no mistake...and to say that finding a dick and eating it means that i was calling you a homosexual is a mistake made by you...if you want to get so technical, you could be bisexual, you could be raped, and you could be in some foreign country where the eating of animal dicks is considered a delicacy....you have been officially stf(ed)u

[video_gamer324]

I'm going to submit a "BEWARE" for gamequestdirect.com. Their "retail" prices are deceptive ($39.99 for Castlevania: SotN - WTF?!), and they don't ship when they say they will.

[Dead of Knight]

Videogamedepot.com is excellent online. I've ordered from them several times with great results. Make sure to add that they are fine online as well as B&M.

[SoulEdgeVII]

Has anyone ordered from wholesalers-direct.com?

[jeffreyjrose]

wherehouse.com is decent for trade-ins; I have yet to confirm the quality of purchasing with them

[Xevious]

I bought from ecost.com a few years ago and they were pretty good.

Buy.com is pretty slow. The delivery times listed on their website are inaccurate.

This is a very good thread and I think it should be a sticky..Just my 2 cents

[eldad9]

Now it all makes sense. You were suggesting to me that I get myself raped. Now it's all clear.

[Milza]

www.gameliquidation.com

They don't have a lot, but they have good prices and free, speedy shipping.
I <3 them forever because of their NGPC deal.

[NeoStrider]

Baysoft Games is a beware for me, ordered from them a few years ago and had a bunch of problems

the availability of the items was inaccurate, I used some 10% off $50 coupon, some of the items I ordered weren't in stock even though they were listed in stock, but the problem was they went ahead and processed my remaining order without even telling me that the coupon no longered qualified, its entrapment because I wouldn't have ordered from them if it weren't for the coupon

they also shipped my stuff in a bubble wrap envelope, a few of the PS1 cases got cracked and the Gameboy boxes were crushed, I just disputed the entire order with my credit card company and got a refund

[Sartori]

I can vouch that Baysoft Games sucks.

After an extended period of time, I finally got a product. A product. Not the one I ordered, mind you..

[judyjudyjudy]

YesAsia is a really good place to get import stuff. I bought games from them before, and they actually have really good customer service.

http://us.yesasia.com/en/index.aspx

[Duo_Maxwell]

Videogamedepot.com is reliable...I've ordered from there before. I'd object to Overstock being in the Go Near category, but that's just cuz they screwed me over before, it was probably just my bad luck.

[spek]

www.therage.com is a great site, they used to have good deals but now it's your average game store. The plus is they accept paypal, which is incredibly rare. I've ordered a bunch of crap from them, they get the double thumb action. Also, I don't know if this is notable but they have a PS2 + Network Adapter + ATV 2 bundle for 149.99. Link =

http://www.therage.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-p2U-ps2-SCPH50001.html?L+scstore+wani1394+1094295412

http://shop.himeya.com/ is also legit, great site for imports.

Oh, and I almost ordered from www.tronixweb.com, so you can slap that up in the unknowns. It seemed good for imports mostly.

Regarding the first post in this thread- I love good ol Honk Kong stores!

[Kaijufan]

Add http://www.newegg.com to the go near list.

[smackmouth]

Someone had mentioned Gogamers.com and had made it a good buy.

I had a bad experience there as I had ordered games and recieved them with dirt stains and greatest hits versions instead of their real versions. Maybe I got a shipper on a bad day. Any one else able to verify that?

[Murcielago77]

this needs to be a sticky on the post your own deals board so we know what deals we shouldnt be taking

[JunkyardGod]

BEWARE TOYS N JOYS!

I've been ripped off there and so have MANY MANY others.

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller4516

[The Successful Dropout]

ahh, somebody brought back my good idea thread that never received a chance out in the big world

[manofpeace20]

Add match.com. I decided to try something new and paid for a 1 month subscription in Februrary. After a week, I realized this wasn't for me and cancelled my subscription. I received a confirmation e-mail on this and was told it would be cancelled.

So I get my American Express bill a few days ago, and I found out they charged me again. I figure it was a mistake, and notified their people. They told me they made a mistake with the cancellation, and would cancel it for real this time. However, they offer no refunds and told me I couldn't get back the money they charged me for their mistake. I notified my credit card company and explained the situation. The promptly refunded me, but said match.com could still reverse the charges back on me.

What the hell kind of way is this to treat a customer for a mistake they made?

[GizmoGC]

Samgoody.com :shudder:

[radjago]

Bestbuy.com skimps on packaging often, leaving GBA games unprotected against the crushing forces of UPS.

[redline]

I can attest to "Beware" of Buy.com. I used to swear by them and order lots from them, but the last time I purchased from them was a bad experience. I bought a GameCube and they mailed me some crappy DVD. Customer service was unresponsive and I had to scour the internet for a telephone number to actually be able to talk to somebody. Eventually they sent me the GameCube, but it took way too long to sort the mess out. If you can avoid buying from them, do so.

Having said that, I just bought a DVD recorder from them on Monday. I'm already having problems with my order even though I haven't received it yet. When I checked out I used a $15 coupon that they sent me in e-mail, but during the checkout process it was removed from my basket. So I e-mailed customer service, and it took 3 days to get a response. I got back a reply saying they had "requested" a credit for my coupon, but it had to be approved. If approved it will be applied to my credit card. This will probably be the last time I buy anything from them.