EB Games buyout lament

[seanw]

Given the dreadful nature of the joint EB Games/Gamestop Black Friday deals -- 2 Player's Choice games for $30 instead of $25? Buy 2 get 1 free ... for only five hours? -- I think it's clear that the era of EB Games' great sales are over, and likewise Gamestops. In the past, neither has been shy about a B2G1 weekend, especially when prompted to do so because the other was. (And, to be clear, it was usually EB Games leading and Gamestop lagging, or at least it was for the past year.) So to curtail the B2G1 goodness for only five hours, rather than luxuriating in it for the entirety of the biggest shopping weekend of the year, suggests to me a rather significant change of course. Certain mega-popular games, like Spider-Man 2 and X-Men Legends, would, at the end of their shelf life, get sold off for $10 new at a certain EBGames weekend; see also the $10 Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles or $10 DK Bongos or what-have-you. I was sort of hoping on that same mentality to get King Kong, Ultimate Spider-Man, etc. for those kinds of prices if I were just willing to wait long enough, but now I have a feeling no amount of waiting will be long enough for EB Games to get that mojo back. It seems apparent now that the major reason for the merger was so that each store could stop cutting margins in an attempt to draw in your business -- when EB Games had trade in 3, get $10, Gamestop came out with trade in 3, get +30%. Without that competition ... well, a lot of people consider trading to EBGames and Gamestop to be a ripoff anyway, but the occasional deal really did favor the customer. Those days looks like they're over.

[doodle777_98]

buy 2 get 1 deal, wasnt for 5 hours.

[MadFlava]

It's tough since they don't have each other to compete with anymore so we'll have less deals and sales.

[Purkeynator]

Less competition means higher prices. A winner is not you.

[slidecage]

BUY 2 get 1 free comes back DEC 10

[botticus]

BUY 2 get 1 free comes back DEC 10
Good, maybe they'll start to get a decent stock of DS games by then.

[Rei no Otaku]

The B2G1 free was all weekend. It was at GS anyway.

[Numsay]

I think Best Buy started testing used games in a few cities. A winner is you!

[Z-Saber]

I think Best Buy started testing used games in a few cities. A winner is you!Best Buy = a winner is nobody but Best Buy

[Kayden]

CAGs should unite to form a competing chain across the nation. 8-)

[Michaellvortega]

CAGs should unite to form a competing chain across the nation. 8-)

we would all fight over uber rare trade in's and rip our own store off in trade in deals.

[Z-Saber]

we would all fight over uber rare trade in's and rip our own store off in trade in deals.QFT

[urzishra14]

I think the problem of the store would be us telling people NOT to trade in games for nothing so we would never have any used games in stock.

[Z-Saber]

I think the problem of the store would be us telling people NOT to trade in games for nothing so we would never have any used games in stock.Also QFT. We are rather stingy and greedy buyers, but we don't like to see the consumer getting screwed.

[AngellicLulu]

Yep, I don't know who told you it was only 5 hours, but B2G1 was all weekend long.

[Backlash]

Every week or so a new thread pops up that says "All the good EB sales are gone - damn you merger!" This has been happening since about a month after the merger was announced which was many moons ago. I find it somewhat funny, but also a bit annoying.

[Dr Mario Kart]

I think people always complained about sales not being as good as in the past. They did it before the merger:

Ex: Gamecrazy 3 for $15 (all the good stuff was cleared out last time)
Ex: Any Circuit City sale (all the good stuff was cleared out last time)

[jlarlee]

EB we will always have the time I traded my crappy launch PS2 and 5 $2 overstock names for a new slim PS2. I will always love you

[Vinny]

EB we will always have the time I traded my crappy launch PS2 and 5 $2 overstock names for a new slim PS2. I will always love you

Yeah, that's when I feel in love with EB... it was a Golden Age for me thanks all their great deals (for the PStwo, PSP games, $10 extra credit, Nintendogs, etc.).

Also, with all the other places starting to buy used games and such, I think that EB/GS will still have to be somewhat decent.

[LaseK]

I just go to Blockbuster for deals. A month after brand new games come out, they're used in near mint condition, with box and manual, for at least $35 canadian below retail value.

They also give like, within $6 of what they sell the games for, in tradein. Between that and the already low prices, I don't even consider going to EBGames.

[Canadian moneys]

[DuelLadyS]

CAGs should unite to form a competing chain across the nation. 8-)

That could work- simply becuase we'd call it Cheap Ass Gamer. And that's a way cooler name than 'Gamestop' or EB/Electronics Boutique.

We'd screw up used game pricing good, though, seeing as we'd probably charge close-to-Ebay prices on rare titles...

[dracula]

buy your used games from gamefly/gamecrazy/gamerush if you are not liking eb/gs anymore