Official Bull Moose Music thread! [Bull Moose last post: 07/08/09!]

[Bull Moose]

So the answer is yes, anything you pay for counts towards your points.

You are correct.

[Bull Moose]

Does anyone know if you get points on your frequent buyers card for hardware? Buying a Wii at bullmoose would net a lot of points :D

We received our allocations for the Wii system today. The supplier makes us buy them in a bundle, so we may have to also sell them as a bundle.

The bundle they make us buy is (list price):
Wii System (249.99)
Wii Remote (39.99)
Wii Nunchuck (19.99)
Wii Legend of Zelda Twilight (49.99)

That's a lot of stuff to expect a customer to buy. Total retail is 359.96. The margin on hardware is so tight that if we sold it all even at retail, we would break even if someone used their FQB card and charged it. (The FQB card saves you 3.855%, the rate that CC companies charge us is a bit over 2%).

Most likely we are going to presell as a bundle for a wii bit under list (sorry, couldn't resist the pun) and then break them when it's issued if we have to. But I'm open to ideas.

[n8littlefield]

I would expect that most people buying a Wii at launch would already be picking up an extra controller and Zelda though - so that's probably no biggie. I have a feeling other retailers (FYE comes to mind) will have even worse required bundles if their past is any indication.

[Bull Moose]

I've never heard of them excluding hardware from the points thing - but I don't think I've ever bought any hardware from Bull Moose. I don't really think they take preorders for anything do they? I mean, they may be willing to put your name on something when it comes in, but they don't really guarantee having anything game related at launch I thought - they usually take at least a few extra days to get games in stock that just launched.

The Wii we are 99.999438567394% sure we'll have on launch day. Street dated games we've been getting by street date (this is only about 1-5% of games)...the rest of games are release dated which means they "release" them on a Monday generally and some of retail gets them on Tuesday afternoon, some on Wednesday, some on Thursday. Most of the time we're on the Thursday end of that right now.

I worked a deal to replenish restock games overnight to our warehouse store (Scarb) and then divvy them from there for the next day to the rest of our stores.

But as for new release games, it is still problematic. I have a few leads that would require us to pay a bunch extra for shipping to get us stuff on the Tuesday afternoon, but I have already seen many broken promises on the distro side of this business, so I don't believe anything until I see it.

And that opens the can of worms of whether it is better to be way cheaper than everyone else, but a day or two behind, or is it better to be a tiny, tiny bit cheaper and on the same day as them?

We are starting to bring in virtually -all- games --- including B rated titles (video game titles prerelease are rated by potential for sales AAA+, AAA, AA, A, B). Our feeling is that we can offer a service to our customers by having an immense selection like we do with music. However, we're frankly going to just test that as we don't profess to believe that videogame buying is the same as music and/or movies. Because esoteric movies/music generally have a few solid fans who still love them, but esoteric videogames may just, umm, for lack of a better term, some videogames may just stink and no one likes them.

[3QGojo]

OMG! BULL MOOSE IS BACK! SO MANY QUESTIONS RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD RIGHT NOW!

So you'll have the Wii on launch day? What about the PS3? I wanted to pre-order 1 of each and I called the Scarborough store a few days ago and the person who answered said that neither console was even in the computer system and that they didn't expect either at launch time! :(

The Scarborough store does the best job with getting new releases out pretty much on time and the price are always pretty much lower than the competition. I just bought NEW copies of Bully & SIms 2 Pets for PS2 there for $36.xx which is a bit cheaper than most other places that sell for $39.99. However, BestBuy still has that $5 coupon for any game $19.99+ which makes their price $34.99. That makes them slightly cheaper than even Bull Moose.

The Wii we are 99.999438567394% sure we'll have on launch day. Street dated games we've been getting by street date (this is only about 1-5% of games)...the rest of games are release dated which means they "release" them on a Monday generally and some of retail gets them on Tuesday afternoon, some on Wednesday, some on Thursday. Most of the time we're on the Thursday end of that right now.

I worked a deal to replenish restock games overnight to our warehouse store (Scarb) and then divvy them from there for the next day to the rest of our stores.

But as for new release games, it is still problematic. I have a few leads that would require us to pay a bunch extra for shipping to get us stuff on the Tuesday afternoon, but I have already seen many broken promises on the distro side of this business, so I don't believe anything until I see it.

And that opens the can of worms of whether it is better to be way cheaper than everyone else, but a day or two behind, or is it better to be a tiny, tiny bit cheaper and on the same day as them?

We are starting to bring in virtually -all- games --- including B rated titles (video game titles prerelease are rated by potential for sales AAA+, AAA, AA, A, B). Our feeling is that we can offer a service to our customers by having an immense selection like we do with music. However, we're frankly going to just test that as we don't profess to believe that videogame buying is the same as music and/or movies. Because esoteric movies/music generally have a few solid fans who still love them, but esoteric videogames may just, umm, for lack of a better term, some videogames may just stink and no one likes them.

[Bull Moose]

OMG! BULL MOOSE IS BACK! SO MANY QUESTIONS RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD RIGHT NOW!

So you'll have the Wii on launch day? What about the PS3? I wanted to pre-order 1 of each and I called the Scarborough store a few days ago and the person who answered said that neither console was even in the computer system and that they didn't expect either at launch time! :(

The Scarborough store does the best job with getting new releases out pretty much on time and the price are always pretty much lower than the competition. I just bought NEW copies of Bully & SIms 2 Pets for PS2 there for $36.xx which is a bit cheaper than most other places that sell for $39.99. However, BestBuy still has that $5 coupon for any game $19.99+ which makes their price $34.99. That makes them slightly cheaper than even Bull Moose.
We will have Wii on launch day...but PS3 we have not heard yet. I think the Wii will be stuck being that bundle I mentioned above (as we are stuck with that bundle), but we do have a decent # coming to Scarb. When we finalize the setup/price, if you want I'll post here and if anyone wants I'll ask the store to set aside a pre-order for whomever... Same will go for PS3, but I don't know if we'll have any of those at all...

As for the $5 coupon - you're right that that does beat us by a few dimes... if you use your FQB card on Bully, it would cost 36.63 and the 0.50 that each FQB point is worth would net the cost down to 35.21... I'll look more into the BB thing and see how we can out-angle that in the future.

The way we're setup right now, you are correct that by -far- our best game selection is in Scarborough.

Which brings me to one side point. Please tell me if this is not an appropriate place to post this...

I'm accepting applications for a Videogame Specialist. He/She would be responsible for ordering the games that come into the stores, giving merchandising advice to the stores, finding new suppliers, etc. Someone who kicked butt at the job would want to crush our competition and be very savvy and proactive about figuring out ways to serve our videogame customers better (be it finding better suppliers, coming up with fun events, better marketing, better merchandising etc.).... Anyone interested please PM me with qualifications, statement/resume, wage requirement, etc. This may or may not be a full time position... Depending on what is done by this person, the job would be as little as 8 hours a week or as big as full time.

[3QGojo]

I would LOVE to be your video game specialist person! However, I already have a job that I work M-F 8am-4:30pm...I might be able to swing eight hours a week though...who knows. It sounds like a fun job that I could really get into! :)

We will have Wii on launch day...but PS3 we have not heard yet. I think the Wii will be stuck being that bundle I mentioned above (as we are stuck with that bundle), but we do have a decent # coming to Scarb. When we finalize the setup/price, if you want I'll post here and if anyone wants I'll ask the store to set aside a pre-order for whomever... Same will go for PS3, but I don't know if we'll have any of those at all...

As for the $5 coupon - you're right that that does beat us by a few dimes... if you use your FQB card on Bully, it would cost 36.63 and the 0.50 that each FQB point is worth would net the cost down to 35.21... I'll look more into the BB thing and see how we can out-angle that in the future.

The way we're setup right now, you are correct that by -far- our best game selection is in Scarborough.

Which brings me to one side point. Please tell me if this is not an appropriate place to post this...

I'm accepting applications for a Videogame Specialist. He/She would be responsible for ordering the games that come into the stores, giving merchandising advice to the stores, finding new suppliers, etc. Someone who kicked butt at the job would want to crush our competition and be very savvy and proactive about figuring out ways to serve our videogame customers better (be it finding better suppliers, coming up with fun events, better marketing, better merchandising etc.).... Anyone interested please PM me with qualifications, statement/resume, wage requirement, etc. This may or may not be a full time position... Depending on what is done by this person, the job would be as little as 8 hours a week or as big as full time.

[daschrier]

Wait, the FQB gives you a discount?
I thought a card just gave you 1 point per $12 you spent or something.

Also, do you plan on implementing a way to use your card online. If that were the case, I would buy a lot more stuff from you. I used to go up to salem, NH all the time just to buy stuff at BullMoose, but once gas prices rose it became too expensive to make the trip from Boston.

[n8littlefield]

Wait, the FQB gives you a discount?
I thought a card just gave you 1 point per $12 you spent or something.

Also, do you plan on implementing a way to use your card online. If that were the case, I would buy a lot more stuff from you. I used to go up to salem, NH all the time just to buy stuff at BullMoose, but once gas prices rose it became too expensive to make the trip from Boston.

I believe what he's saying is that the value you get from the FQB means that you are getting overall a better deal. If you consider the fact your paying $36.xx and getting about $1.50 in store credit (3 points) in return, overall you are doing better than paying a flat $35 for the game.

I too would love to do the game position at Bull Moose but have a fulltime job (and a fulltime 2-yr old) so I'm not sure how wise that would be :) BTW, I wouldn't worry too much about out angling the Best Buy card - I think they have phased them out of many of their stores anyways and not many people actually do that. Besides, your prices are still very good, and the used stuff is priced very reasonably (and likely a better profit anyways ;) )

[daschrier]

I see. Makes more sense that way.

[3QGojo]

You can still get the $5 coupon at the BB in the Maine Mall. Although, not everyone uses it (because they don't know about it prolly), I have seen people using it when I've traveled to BB and I don't go to BB that much anymore.

I believe what he's saying is that the value you get from the FQB means that you are getting overall a better deal. If you consider the fact your paying $36.xx and getting about $1.50 in store credit (3 points) in return, overall you are doing better than paying a flat $35 for the game.

I too would love to do the game position at Bull Moose but have a fulltime job (and a fulltime 2-yr old) so I'm not sure how wise that would be :) BTW, I wouldn't worry too much about out angling the Best Buy card - I think they have phased them out of many of their stores anyways and not many people actually do that. Besides, your prices are still very good, and the used stuff is priced very reasonably (and likely a better profit anyways ;) )

[3QGojo]

Hey, I got shut out at TRU today for a preorder so I am VERY interested in preordering a Wii at the Bull Moose in Scarborough by the Mall.

I am also interested in the PS3 if you will be receiving any of those as well. Please keep me informed about what you will be doing.

Please let me know when you're going to be doing preorders for the new systems. I'll be there as soon as the store opens to get one.

We received our allocations for the Wii system today. The supplier makes us buy them in a bundle, so we may have to also sell them as a bundle.

The bundle they make us buy is (list price):
Wii System (249.99)
Wii Remote (39.99)
Wii Nunchuck (19.99)
Wii Legend of Zelda Twilight (49.99)

That's a lot of stuff to expect a customer to buy. Total retail is 359.96. The margin on hardware is so tight that if we sold it all even at retail, we would break even if someone used their FQB card and charged it. (The FQB card saves you 3.855%, the rate that CC companies charge us is a bit over 2%).

Most likely we are going to presell as a bundle for a wii bit under list (sorry, couldn't resist the pun) and then break them when it's issued if we have to. But I'm open to ideas.

[mknope]

i also am very interested in buying the wii through you guys. having the bundle with zelda actually makes buying from your store more appealing IMO. let us know when we can preorder or when we have to be at the store and i'll be there.

[3QGojo]

We received our allocations for the Wii system today. The supplier makes us buy them in a bundle, so we may have to also sell them as a bundle.

The bundle they make us buy is (list price):
Wii System (249.99)
Wii Remote (39.99)
Wii Nunchuck (19.99)
Wii Legend of Zelda Twilight (49.99)

That's a lot of stuff to expect a customer to buy. Total retail is 359.96. The margin on hardware is so tight that if we sold it all even at retail, we would break even if someone used their FQB card and charged it. (The FQB card saves you 3.855%, the rate that CC companies charge us is a bit over 2%).

Most likely we are going to presell as a bundle for a wii bit under list (sorry, couldn't resist the pun) and then break them when it's issued if we have to. But I'm open to ideas.

Hello everyone,

If you missed out on the TRU presales of Wii's I saw a poster at the Bull Moose in Scarborough, ME (the warehouse store by the Maine Mall) is doing this bundle presale. I saw it today Sunday (11/12/06). Unfortunately, I went to TRU today for the presale Part II and scored one there before I went to Bull Moose and saw the poster. The price of the bundle was a little bit below what it would retail for. It was around $347.97 for all of that.

Just thought I'd let everyone know who wanted to preorder a Wii that Bull Moose has them!

[3QGojo]

WII BUNDLE AT BULL MOOSE IS SOLD OUT AT SCARBOROUGH STORE BY THE MALL!

That's right, it said that the bundle was sold out when I went into Bull Moose today. I'm not sure if the other stores have any to preorder but I know that the Scarborough store by the mall is their Wharehouse store and most likely will have the most Wii's and therefore the Wii Bundle at Bull Moose is SOLD OUT! :(

Brett did a good job putting together a pretty sweet bundle that everyone wanted though, and I suggest that he PM if he gets any PS3's by Friday! :)

[3QGojo]

Depends what games, some games I wouldn't mind waiting a day or two if I could get it for way cheaper.

However, some games like Final Fantasy XII (PS2) and Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) are MUST HAVES on release day and I am willing to pay full price for those titles.

The Wii we are 99.999438567394% sure we'll have on launch day. Street dated games we've been getting by street date (this is only about 1-5% of games)...the rest of games are release dated which means they "release" them on a Monday generally and some of retail gets them on Tuesday afternoon, some on Wednesday, some on Thursday. Most of the time we're on the Thursday end of that right now.

I worked a deal to replenish restock games overnight to our warehouse store (Scarb) and then divvy them from there for the next day to the rest of our stores.

But as for new release games, it is still problematic. I have a few leads that would require us to pay a bunch extra for shipping to get us stuff on the Tuesday afternoon, but I have already seen many broken promises on the distro side of this business, so I don't believe anything until I see it.

And that opens the can of worms of whether it is better to be way cheaper than everyone else, but a day or two behind, or is it better to be a tiny, tiny bit cheaper and on the same day as them?

We are starting to bring in virtually -all- games --- including B rated titles (video game titles prerelease are rated by potential for sales AAA+, AAA, AA, A, B). Our feeling is that we can offer a service to our customers by having an immense selection like we do with music. However, we're frankly going to just test that as we don't profess to believe that videogame buying is the same as music and/or movies. Because esoteric movies/music generally have a few solid fans who still love them, but esoteric videogames may just, umm, for lack of a better term, some videogames may just stink and no one likes them.

[Bull Moose]

Depends what games, some games I wouldn't mind waiting a day or two if I could get it for way cheaper.

However, some games like Final Fantasy XII (PS2) and Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) are MUST HAVES on release day and I am willing to pay full price for those titles.

Zelda looks amazing... An FYI that I checked our tracking and our Wii's are on the ground in Maine now so they will arrive in time and in the correct quantity (i.e. every preorder's Wii system will be here) ---- but we ran into one snafu --- we'll get all the systems, but we're one short on Zelda in a few stores, and short on the Nunchuk controllers in all stores (gotta love this business - they short ship us and tell us a few days before they're supposed to be sold)... So, I figured that the best thing we could do is "break" our bundle and let any preorder person buy the Wii system and then whatever they feel like buying or get a refund.

Do you think that's the best plan? I figure that way I put the control back in the hands of our customers, so they've got the system that they preordered and then can choose any game(s), controller(s) that they want - or just get the system alone if that's all they want... The only other real option is to maintain the bundle and then call them when the missing piece comes in but that seems pretty lame...

Also, I temporarily disabled PM-ing me here because I won't be able to reply in a timely fashion for the most part for the next few weeks. From the # of PMs I've been getting, I see that I need to have some means for folks to ask customer service questions online - I just want to make sure that the customer service you get back is handled in a timely fashion - which is something that at this time of year I'm not able to do.

What's eating up my time (besides the holiday preparations) is that we're getting ready to relaunch our online web store which will feature our actual inventory and sell used games et. al. at our most aggressive pricing.

[n8littlefield]

I would say give them the choice of a different game. If they really were only going to buy Zelda a refund would be fine. Considering no-one's going to buy just a system I can't imagine they'll have a hard time finding a different game to pick up. Most people at least would be picking up an extra remote, so I'd imagine they could do that and just end up getting like $10 back or something.

Have to admit, I'm jealous of them - no Wii for me until next year unless something changed work wise.

[3QGojo]

When is that website going to go live? I've been waiting for that to happen ever since I started this thread! :)

Also, breaking up the bundle is reasonable (even though it was a pretty sweet bundle). Breaking it up might be the only thing you can do, although if you're short on copies of Zelda for the Wii, andyone who doesn't get one and pre-ordered that bundle might be a little peeved. Having plenty of accessories for the Wii would be good, I know the item I want the most is the classic controller.

Zelda looks amazing... An FYI that I checked our tracking and our Wii's are on the ground in Maine now so they will arrive in time and in the correct quantity (i.e. every preorder's Wii system will be here) ---- but we ran into one snafu --- we'll get all the systems, but we're one short on Zelda in a few stores, and short on the Nunchuk controllers in all stores (gotta love this business - they short ship us and tell us a few days before they're supposed to be sold)... So, I figured that the best thing we could do is "break" our bundle and let any preorder person buy the Wii system and then whatever they feel like buying or get a refund.

Do you think that's the best plan? I figure that way I put the control back in the hands of our customers, so they've got the system that they preordered and then can choose any game(s), controller(s) that they want - or just get the system alone if that's all they want... The only other real option is to maintain the bundle and then call them when the missing piece comes in but that seems pretty lame...

Also, I temporarily disabled PM-ing me here because I won't be able to reply in a timely fashion for the most part for the next few weeks. From the # of PMs I've been getting, I see that I need to have some means for folks to ask customer service questions online - I just want to make sure that the customer service you get back is handled in a timely fashion - which is something that at this time of year I'm not able to do.

What's eating up my time (besides the holiday preparations) is that we're getting ready to relaunch our online web store which will feature our actual inventory and sell used games et. al. at our most aggressive pricing.

[Bull Moose]

When is that website going to go live? I've been waiting for that to happen ever since I started this thread! :)

Also, breaking up the bundle is reasonable (even though it was a pretty sweet bundle). Breaking it up might be the only thing you can do, although if you're short on copies of Zelda for the Wii, andyone who doesn't get one and pre-ordered that bundle might be a little peeved. Having plenty of accessories for the Wii would be good, I know the item I want the most is the classic controller.

It should be live in a few weeks ---

As for the shortage on Zelda, you're right, I'd be peeved if I thought I was going to get it and didn't. Luckily we're only short by 1 copy per store, so hopefully one preorder-er will want a game instead of Zelda... if not, the last person to preorder might have to wait a day or two for Zelda. I'm actually more bummed about the Nunchuk controller which (I think) is used in Zelda --- 'cause we got wicked shorted on that --- only the warehouse got any, and they only got about 1/2 the order. We'll see... Finger's crossed that Nintendo gets the situation figured out within days instead of within weeks...

Did anyone you know get a PS3? I'm curious if anyone got one to actually play --- it seems like every interview I saw was with people camping out to turn and sell it online ...

[n8littlefield]

I don't even know anybody that wanted a PS3. I played a demo unit and was completely unimpressed (especially when it was next to a 360 playing Gears of War). I do know a lot of people who were flipping them onto Ebay and using the money to get themselves the "Wii360" combination and some games. Unfortunately of the launch titles it's looking like only Resistance is worth buying at all...

[daschrier]

Any possibility of being able to use the bullmoose card on the new website? I would buy so much more from you guys if that were possible.

[Bull Moose]

Any possibility of being able to use the bullmoose card on the new website? I would buy so much more from you guys if that were possible.

Not in the very near future. I agree it is a "must" to have the frequent buyer cards integrated with the website at some point in the near future.

[n8littlefield]

It sounds like you weren't the only one with Nunchuck shortages. It's the biggest complaint on the launch I've heard so far is that everyone ran out of that and the classic controller. Apparently it was in really short supply everywhere.

[Bull Moose]

It sounds like you weren't the only one with Nunchuck shortages. It's the biggest complaint on the launch I've heard so far is that everyone ran out of that and the classic controller. Apparently it was in really short supply everywhere.

It's strange, normally when a console comes out, the consoles are in short supply, but you've got accessories coming out your a** because the manufacturers make money on those. But with the Wii, it has been the reverse -- I never would have thought we'd get allocated more consoles than nunchuks! And to have a shortage of Zelda is unbelievable to me.

[n8littlefield]

It's strange, normally when a console comes out, the consoles are in short supply, but you've got accessories coming out your a** because the manufacturers make money on those. But with the Wii, it has been the reverse -- I never would have thought we'd get allocated more consoles than nunchuks! And to have a shortage of Zelda is unbelievable to me.

Quick side note - I know you've shut off PM's - but I need to give you an update to my email address. It's same beginning, just at gmail.com instead of adelphia.net - look forward to hearing from you after the holiday rush!

[3QGojo]

Bump, any updates from anyone?

[n8littlefield]

Nothing really from me. Can't really spend too much cash thanks to the holidays anyways. I do have to hit Bullmoose this week to check their prices on a few DVD box sets for my wife for Christmas. Last year I picked up all of her DVD's there because they came in even cheaper than online (I'm hoping to have the same luck this year!). I wonder when the new site will launch? I hope they have delivery to the store as an option - that would be really nice.

[Bull Moose]

Nothing really from me. Can't really spend too much cash thanks to the holidays anyways. I do have to hit Bullmoose this week to check their prices on a few DVD box sets for my wife for Christmas. Last year I picked up all of her DVD's there because they came in even cheaper than online (I'm hoping to have the same luck this year!). I wonder when the new site will launch? I hope they have delivery to the store as an option - that would be really nice.

Good idea on the delivery to the store option - we can probably pull that off. We're doing a "full cycle" test on the website this week, so it should be up soon

[3QGojo]

I cannot wait for the new website to get up and running! I am so excited that it is coming soon! I can't wait until we can use the FBQ card online as well! I love Bull Moose for all of their great gaming deals. In fact I'm still waiting for the Bull Moose in Scarborough to get any new shipments of the wiimote and the nunchick in stock! :)

Nothing really from me. Can't really spend too much cash thanks to the holidays anyways. I do have to hit Bullmoose this week to check their prices on a few DVD box sets for my wife for Christmas. Last year I picked up all of her DVD's there because they came in even cheaper than online (I'm hoping to have the same luck this year!). I wonder when the new site will launch? I hope they have delivery to the store as an option - that would be really nice.

[3QGojo]

Hello, is anyone out there? Any updates? /me looks at Bull Moose. :)

[n8littlefield]

Is it going to be really obvious when the new website launches or will it be the current website with newer pricing and availability information?

[3QGojo]

Just thought I'd mention that Tony Hawk Project 8 for PS2 is $29.97 for this week only at Bull Moose. If anyone is interested in picking this game up, now is the time to do so! This game is $49.99 everywhere else, so Bull Moose has it for $20 cheaper than anywhere else! I hope they start doing this more and more with games that come out. Especially the ones that come out at $39.99 since $29.97 would make most games a pretty sweet deal at that price.

Nevermind, BB has it for $29.99 - $5 (GGC) = $24.99, that's an even sweeter deal. Still anyone who wants this game can get it for cheap either way.

[Bull Moose]

It will be totally obvious when it launches --- but I'll give you guys the heads-up when we've got a go-live date. It's in test mode now - and is light years beyond our current site - but definitely has a few usability bugs that we're working out.

[MoxManiac_]

Just wanted to chime in that I love Bull Moose. I frequent the Windham and Scarborough stores. I've found great deals on used games (Unlike EB/GS, Bull Moose actually prices used games appropriately. e.g. a $50 game might be around $30, where EB/GS usually charges the BS price of $45) Plus the condition of their used games are typically much better (Stricter about trade-ins, i'm assuming.)

Also love the typical 10% or so off of retail price for new games, and the fact that they do stock niche titles (such as Atlus games) The card is good too, since it has no additional cost.

[3QGojo]

Hello everyone,

I just went to the Bull Moose Music by the Maine Mall in Scarborough, ME and picked up the last Wiimote for $36.30 and the last nunchuck controller as well for $18.31 and I had enough point to get it for $9.15 off with my Frequent Buyers Card so I actually got it for $9.16.

They still had 1 more classic controller for the Wii left on the shelf but I didn't need it at the moment.

Total was:
$36.30 (Wiimote)
$9.16 (Nunchuck)
$2.27 (ME 5% Tax)
=============
$47.73 (GRAND TOTAL)

Not a bad deal considering they were already cheaper than most places MSRP and definately cheaper than any place I've seen online as well. getting the Nunchuck for half off made the deal even sweeter! Now I can finally play two players with my Wii! :)

[n8littlefield]

I went into the Scarborough one on Friday. They really price their used stuff well - I picked up a $45 DVD set used for $28 and picked up the rest of my wife's Christmas DVD list for about $75 total. It's such a nice change from EB/Gamestop who sell $45 items used for $40!

[3QGojo]

Man, I can't wait for the new Bull Moose website! :)

[n8littlefield]

Any updates on the website? Looks like the same one is still up. Also, any Portland Wii sitings, I may be looking for one soon...

[RickHarrisMaine]

Any updates on the website? Looks like the same one is still up. Also, any Portland Wii sitings, I may be looking for one soon...

I never see any Wii's, though I have seen plenty of PS3's. I'm in the market for one too. Santa didn't get the hint, apparently!

[n8littlefield]

That's a shame, I was hoping things were looking better down that way! As you saw on Atariage, I'm thinking about getting rid of the NES, with proceeds going to a Wii. Oh well, maybe by the time that I get off my butt and list the stuff on ebay I'll actually be able to find a Wii :)

I've been seeing PS3's as well, Walmart mostly.

[3QGojo]

That's a shame, I was hoping things were looking better down that way! As you saw on Atariage, I'm thinking about getting rid of the NES, with proceeds going to a Wii. Oh well, maybe by the time that I get off my butt and list the stuff on ebay I'll actually be able to find a Wii :)

I've been seeing PS3's as well, Walmart mostly.

I walked into the Wal-Mart by the Maine Mall and there was the PS3 just sitting there waiting for someone (not me) to take it home.

Actually, I have a Wii and I've had it since launch and I am very happy with it. I want you to get one as well Nate so i can send you some Mii's and eventually play online games with you! That will be so awesome! :)

[n8littlefield]

Definately. I'm going to be ebaying my NES collection this weekend I think (sad day, but I hardly ever play it) and assuming it raises enough cash I'll be starting the horrible search for the Wii. I've heard they are really tough to find. I saw a few at the Auburn Walmart this past weekend too - I think the 60gb version, I'm still stunned at the price.

[3QGojo]

Definately. I'm going to be ebaying my NES collection this weekend I think (sad day, but I hardly ever play it) and assuming it raises enough cash I'll be starting the horrible search for the Wii. I've heard they are really tough to find. I saw a few at the Auburn Walmart this past weekend too - I think the 60gb version, I'm still stunned at the price.

Yea, Wii's are really hard to find, but the PS3 is everywhere. I laugh whenever I actually go out and buy a game for the Wii or an accessory and the employee will be like "You have a Wii?!? Man you're lucky!"

I definately can't wait until the Wii gets some online games and I can play with my friends because I already got the WiFiMax dongle connected right now and my Wii is online and ready to go! :)

P.S. Also found Snowboard Kids 2 for the N64 at the Bull Moose store by the mall for $7.97! I tell you, I find more gold at this store than anywhere else! :)

[n8littlefield]

I think I have you beat, just picked up True Swing Golf and Metroid Pinball for the DS for $3.50 each at the Auburn Kmart on clearance!

I'm hoping that maybe between odd places like Kmart and Bullmoose that maybe I'll manage to have some luck finding a Wii. I actually am taking a few days off towards the end of the month (assuming I still work for my current job, I just had a new job offer I have to decide on) and I think I'll take the time to search for a Wii.

[MoxManiac_]

I think I have you beat, just picked up True Swing Golf and Metroid Pinball for the DS for $3.50 each at the Auburn Kmart on clearance!

I'm hoping that maybe between odd places like Kmart and Bullmoose that maybe I'll manage to have some luck finding a Wii. I actually am taking a few days off towards the end of the month (assuming I still work for my current job, I just had a new job offer I have to decide on) and I think I'll take the time to search for a Wii.

Holy crap! Did they have anything else? I always forget about Kmart.

[n8littlefield]

I didn't look too closely, but they had a few of the games I bought (still marked $24 BTW). I'm sure they had more, but my budget didn't allow so I didn't want to be tempted :)

[3QGojo]

[All of the final prices are after taxes]

BB: $4.18 - Bought 2 copies of Outlaw Tennis @ 1.99 EA and High Roller Casino for $4.99 - $5 OFF COUPON) EACH ONE traded in for $6!!! --- TOTAL CREDIT $18!!!

TRU: $5.48 (Chibi Robo for $9.98 - $5 OFF COUPON) traded in for $16!!!!

CC: $7.31 (Clearance game --- this was a bust :/ ) only traded in for $6
=========
$16.97 = $40 @ BULL MOOSE

BULL MOOSE:

ELEBITS: $46.87 (ALREADY $5 CHEAPER THAN MOST RATAIL PLACES @ $44.64 BEFORE TAXES)
CREDIT: $40
DEBIT CARD: $6.87
================
$16.97
+ $6.87
======
TOTAL SPENT: $23.84

Elebits for $23.84?!? Hell yay! Now I am a true CHEAP ASS GAMER!

Coulda got it for $22.53 if I didn't pick up that game at CC... :(

[n8littlefield]

So the Best Buy coupon worked fine in the South Portland store? I'm going to be checking for cheap DS games while I'm in town on Friday so I thought I might print a few of them out :) Did you notice if there were any cheap games left for the DS?

I have to go clothes shopping - I'm changing jobs and have to start dressing business casual again - as opposed to working from home where the cats really didn't care what I was wearing. Going to buy an iPod for my commute on Friday too!!

[3QGojo]

Well I'm not 100% sure if it'll work all the time with every cashier, but when I went yes it did work. At BB there are no cheapies left besides a handful of $4.99 and $9.99 titles.

I checked out what they had left for DS games, didn't look like anything at all so you might want to save yourself a trip.

P.S. This is post #300! :)

P.S.S. I also had the #200 post as well! :)

I PWN! I'll see you chumps at post #400!

So the Best Buy coupon worked fine in the South Portland store? I'm going to be checking for cheap DS games while I'm in town on Friday so I thought I might print a few of them out :) Did you notice if there were any cheap games left for the DS?

I have to go clothes shopping - I'm changing jobs and have to start dressing business casual again - as opposed to working from home where the cats really didn't care what I was wearing. Going to buy an iPod for my commute on Friday too!!

[3QGojo]

Any updates from anyone?

I'm looking at Nate! :)

Are you getting a Wii from the vast supply that is showing up on the 21st?

Let me know...

[n8littlefield]

I'm going to try. I'm going to try Target in Topsham first, then move on to S. Portland Target/Circuit City/Best Buy if needed. I'm really hoping that if I get to the Target an hour or so early to have some luck. I'm really hoping tomorrow is my day. I heard Target is stockpiling the Wiimotes/Nunchucks too, so hopefully I can at least pick up the console and an extra set of controllers.

[acolyte]

Oddly, Wal-Mart has been my go-to place for Wii stuff. I bought my Wii at the Wal-Mart in Brunswick a couple weeks back. When I was looking for WarioWare and a Nunchuck in Lewiston/Auburn, EB and Gamestop didn't have either and the Auburn Supercenter had both! It's all topsy-turvy.

[n8littlefield]

Got a Wii at the Topsham Target like I hoped, I was #6 out of 13. Unfortunately, they didn't have us buy our accessories in numerical order and sold out of the Wiimotes. My wife managed to find an extra Wiimote at the Walmart in Farmington this afternoon though!

Tonight I think I'll be testing out Virtual Console.

[3QGojo]

Got a Wii at the Topsham Target like I hoped, I was #6 out of 13. Unfortunately, they didn't have us buy our accessories in numerical order and sold out of the Wiimotes. My wife managed to find an extra Wiimote at the Walmart in Farmington this afternoon though!

Tonight I think I'll be testing out Virtual Console.

Hey, the TRU in So. Portland had Wiimotes and Nunchucks when I went to visit them on Sunday. I would try there! :)

[n8littlefield]

Didn't even have to search. I lucked out, I found a nunchuck at Kmart here, she found the Wiimote in Farmington. We've been playing Wii Sports all night.

[3QGojo]

Didn't even have to search. I lucked out, I found a nunchuck at Kmart here, she found the Wiimote in Farmington. We've been playing Wii Sports all night.

What's your Wii number?

[3QGojo]

Snagged a used/complete copy of Castlevania for N64 at the Bull Moose Wharehouse in Scarborough, ME for $7.97!

Also, the Bull Moose in Scarborough was stocked up with Wiimotes, Classic controllers, and a few Wii branded memory cards. I still didn't see any nunchucks or Wii Points cards though.

[3QGojo]

The Bull Moose by the Mall has a bunch of nunchucks in stock! if you're looking for some nunchucks that's the place to be!

[n8littlefield]

I bought a Wii points card at the Bullmoose in Lewiston. It was only $18.50. They had some Nunchucks and Classic Controllers too. I'll post my Wii number here at some point (I keep forgetting to write it down!)

[3QGojo]

I bought a Wii points card at the Bullmoose in Lewiston. It was only $18.50. They had some Nunchucks and Classic Controllers too. I'll post my Wii number here at some point (I keep forgetting to write it down!)

Wii number?

[n8littlefield]

I'll write it down tonight before I go to bed so I can post it at some point tomorrow. It's been busy since I switched jobs so I haven't played nearly as much Wii as I'd like to.

[n8littlefield]

Here's mine:
2325 0098 2652 1003

[3QGojo]

Here's mine:
2325 0098 2652 1003

That's cool, I'm currently without the internet for my Wii because of Windows Vista on my new computer and it doesn't have drivers for the WiFi Max...it was working fine on my old computer that had XP...

Anyways, I was just thinking the other day when was the last time we heard from Mr. Bull Moose himself in this thread? Not since December I believe and I need to know where they're at on the website because I want to see what it looks like! Also, I know that selling ALL N64 games for $7.97 seems like a good idea in theory, but you end up selling only the good games at the price and the rest of the crap (i.e. Wrestling/Old sports titles) sit on your shelves forever! I mean it's a nice surprise when I go in there and I find Mario Kart 64 or Snowboard Kids 2 for $7.97 each (which I have), but I swear every time I go into the Warehouse store by the mall they must have 50+ copies of that wrestling game with Stone Cold on the cover, does he even wrestle anymore? What's worse is they have about 50+ copies of some old NFL '95/'96 game with Brett Farve on the cover! He's practically on the verge of retirement!

So anyways, Bull Moose has made a lot of improvements since this thread started, but they still have a long ways to go in the gaming department! :)

Any ideas/suggestions from anyone else?

[n8littlefield]

I've noticed that too - they really need to tier the pricing of the N64 stuff a bit, at least weed out the sports stuff and knock it down few notches. They get really odd proportions on the stuff they get in too. Like at one point I saw like 1 copy of good DS game and like 10 copies of Guilty Gear DS which is horrible.

Let me know when you get back online w/ the Wii. I've added you to my list already. I love having the Wii online, it's nice for a quick email check at night and I've downloaded about $40 off the virtual console too.

[3QGojo]

I hooked up my old computer today just to add you Nate! I'm still having problems getting the WiFi Max to work with my new Windows Vista Computer...but hopefully that will be fixed sooner rather than later.

[3QGojo]

Let me know when you get back online w/ the Wii. I've added you to my list already. I love having the Wii online, it's nice for a quick email check at night and I've downloaded about $40 off the virtual console too.

I have my Wii back online! Well on a temporary basis anyways since my WiFi Max still doesn't seem to want to work with my connection. However, I hooked on to someone else's internet in the mean time, I would normally feel bad, but I want my Wii online! :)

Also picked up 2 tickets for Kool Keith w/ Kenmore & Dr. No as the cover group. They are $12 at Bull Moose and $15 at the door so if you want to go get tickets then go to Bull Moose! :)

[3QGojo]

Also picked up 2 tickets for Kool Keith w/ Kenmore & Dr. No as the cover group. They are $12 at Bull Moose and $15 at the door so if you want to go get tickets then go to Bull Moose! :)

Good thing I bought my tickets in advance since the show was SOLD OUT!

I also wanted to mention something about Bull Moose and their video games. I walked in today and saw a copy of Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana for $28.97 and it had a used sticker on the side and the sticker that had the price said used as well. However, upon further inspection I could see that the game was BRAND NEW & FACTORY SEALED! Now I wonder if this was just a mistake/pricing error on the stores part or is Bull Moose starting to sell older new games as used? I only asked this because I have notcied some PS1 games being sold as used but are actually brand new and sealed as well.

I wonder if Brett could answer this for us? Brett where are you? :(

[Beanage]

I also wanted to mention something about Bull Moose and their video games. I walked in today and saw a copy of Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana for $28.97 and it had a used sticker on the side and the sticker that had the price said used as well. However, upon further inspection I could see that the game was BRAND NEW & FACTORY SEALED! Now I wonder if this was just a mistake/pricing error on the stores part or is Bull Moose starting to sell older new games as used? I only asked this because I have notcied some PS1 games being sold as used but are actually brand new and sealed as well.

I wonder if Brett could answer this for us? Brett where are you? :(

They were probably traded in still sealed. I think Bullmoose marks all trade-ins as used, regardless if they're open. I bought a "used" Shenmue II (XBOX) that was factory sealed, and had a price sticker from another store.

[n8littlefield]

Yeah - that's what I'd expect too. Although I do know some places won't take games still shrinkwrapped as tradeins (presumably based on the assumption that still shrinkwrapped games being traded in would tend to be stolen from someplace else).

I have bought used games from EB/Gamestop still shrinkwrapped because there are some games where they don't differentiate between new/used due to the low value of the game. I've had both Space Channel Deluxe Edition and Kill.Switch for the PS2 that way.

[n8littlefield]

The new website is up. Looks pretty nice. Certainly better than before - seems to be more directly tied to the store promotions as well as the "70's didn't suck" campaign was in the Scarborough store and on the site.

[3QGojo]

I see the new website up. I thought they were going to allow searches for items at a specific store so you could see real time inventory? Also, when you search for games I don't see the older systems that they stock at stores like Dreamcast, N64, and others.

[n8littlefield]

Yeah - seems like it's still not realtime inventory, but I'd say it's closer than before in terms of reflecting their store. I just hit Bullmoose for a copy of Wii Play this morning actually, $45 was a pretty decent price.

[3QGojo]

Who needs a yardsale thread when we have Bull Moose in Maine?

I went to the South Portland Bull Moose and picked up:

Bauldur's Gate Dark Alliance II (PS2) $17.97
Parappa the Rapper (PSX) $8.97
Parasite Eve II (PSX) $8.97
Clock Tower II (PSX) $8.97

Then I went to the Scarborough Bull Moose and found:

Street Fighter EX Plus 3-D (PSX) $9.97
Chocobo's Dungeon 2 (PSX) $8.97

I also traded in 2 copies of Polarium for $6 each for a total of $12.

I also had enough points to get Parasite Eve II for half off.

[n8littlefield]

What did you do - buy the $5 copies of Polarium at Toys r Us to resell? I just bought a copy of it again just because it was so cheap there! I've actually been hitting the puzzle games alot - picked up Puzzle Quest, Meteos Disney, Polarium (which I owned once already and sold), and Theme Park for the DS over the past few weeks. I have to get some more Virtual Console points soon though - I want to download Castlevania which came out today.

[3QGojo]

What did you do - buy the $5 copies of Polarium at Toys r Us to resell? I just bought a copy of it again just because it was so cheap there! I've actually been hitting the puzzle games alot - picked up Puzzle Quest, Meteos Disney, Polarium (which I owned once already and sold), and Theme Park for the DS over the past few weeks. I have to get some more Virtual Console points soon though - I want to download Castlevania which came out today.

Yeah, I got 3 or 4 games at TRU with the $5 off of $25 purchase and sold some online because they went for $12+ and then the rest of the games (my 2 copies of Polarium) I traded in for $12.

There's always a way to get games for cheaper.

EDIT:

By the way Bull Moose is selling Raiden III for $11.44 if you're interested Nate.

[n8littlefield]

Amazingly enough I sold my PS2 awhile ago as it wasn't getting any play anymore (and I knew the value was going to drop quickly). I actually traded it in at Video Game Exchange in Augusta for a bunch of Cube/Wii/DS stuff. I'm entirely a Nintendo gamer for the time being.

Picked up Gunpey DS at Target on clearance for 7.45 today, haven't tried it yet. I'm thinking about trying to have a complete DS puzzle game collection.

[Atomsplitter]

By the way Bull Moose is selling Raiden III for $11.44 if you're interested Nate.

I hope that's a price for all the stores (and that the one im near has it) cause 30 was too much for me, but id grab it in a second for just over 10.

[3QGojo]

I hope that's a price for all the stores (and that the one im near has it) cause 30 was too much for me, but id grab it in a second for just over 10.

It's also on their website for $11.44 + $1.99 shipping so I bet the price is the same at every location. The question is at that price how long will they keep copies on the shelves?

[Bull Moose]

Figured I'd post a quick update for you guys on what's going on:

Web Site:
You guys are correct that the website reflects the stores much more directly --- the 'instock' status on the web reflects in almost real time if it's in stock at any of the Bull Moose stores --- I know that's not nearly as helpful as if it showed instock at all Bull Moose stores, but it's a start. (i.e. if we had Nunchuks at 8 of the 10 stores, it would show as instock online) The online site now has pricing very close to our stores, so if stuff is on sale in the store it will be on sale on the web and vice-versa (for the most part). As you can see, the video game data stinks compared to DVD and Music data --- it's because we're not paying for the Muse license for videogame data yet... it's very costly, and we figured that for now at least keeping our prices lower and foregoing the pretty pictures is the better plan --- for now... we do plan to make the video game area much more attractive over time.

We have a full-time webstore manager who just started this week... when he catches his breath, he will be adding stuff like more info of the older gaming platforms and such.

A month or so ago, we finally got open with our first direct videogame account -- with EA. We're going to sell their stuff extra cheap when we're allowed to (certain titles for short periods they have minimum pricing that's allowed and we need to follow the rules on that --- but for their other titles we are going to be even more price competitive on)... What we're psyched about, though, is that we finally will have their stuff on the same day as everyone else (like x360 command and conquer 3 was the first major one we had at the same time as everyone).

So, now we're going to be working on opening direct accounts with everyone else --- it's time consuming but worth it. It's also fun to start working on promotions involving video games, music and movies --- instead of just promoting them separately (i.e. we might be able to talk a band that has a song on a game into giving out a free cd with the purchase of the game --- that kind of stuff)

Also, I'm revamping our buyback prices for top tier stuff... we don't payout enough for some of the best PS3, x360, and Wii used games right now... we need to pay way more on those and start beating the competition on payouts.

What's the top credit and cash prices that you guys have gotten for top tier new games? What is generally the spread between cash and credit?

[n8littlefield]

That's great news. On tradeins I'd say you folks are always pretty close to the other stores - I recently had some stuff to trade in & was offered $45 at Gamestop and about $40 at Bullmoose. I have heard that FYE/Strawberries offers more, but their selection is pretty lousy on Nintendo consoles and their prices are usually high or involve mail in rebates so no big deal.

The only complaint I have is that at your Scarborough store, I have brought games in - DS games so they can't be scratched with cases in perfect condition - all manuals, adult owned and watched them enter C or D grade when giving me credit. I think maybe you need to set up some better standards for them or else more people will be going elsewhere with their trades. I for one don't like the fact that they seem to be inflating their profit by downgrading my tradeins (for the record, I've never had this issue with Lewiston - they've always been fair).

I'm not sure if I'd just never noticed it or if it's new to the site, but I just signed up for your weekly newsletter and it is incredibly well written and thorough. Good stuff.

[Bull Moose]

The only complaint I have is that at your Scarborough store, I have brought games in - DS games so they can't be scratched with cases in perfect condition - all manuals, adult owned and watched them enter C or D grade when giving me credit. I think maybe you need to set up some better standards for them or else more people will be going elsewhere with their trades. I for one don't like the fact that they seem to be inflating their profit by downgrading my tradeins (for the record, I've never had this issue with Lewiston - they've always been fair).


Thanks for the feedback - I'll definitely look into that. I see, for instance, that the Wii/Madden you originally brought to Lewiston was B graded and then two days later the same game (presumably) was C graded in Scarborough. We need to get our folks consistent on that, and additionally I agree that unless stuff is missing a DS game should almost never be C graded (world record run-on sentence ;) ).


PS Thanks for the newsletter feedback!

[3QGojo]

I've been signed up for the newsletter for some time. It doesn't contain mcuh video game news and is more about music cds/dvds. I'm glad to see Bull Moose is back posting and such and that the new website is up.

I think what Bull Moose is trying to say is that new PS3/Xbox360 game should definately get more credit. I mean if I bought a new PS3 game for $59.99 and then traded it in within a week (either bored of it or beat it) then I should prolly get between $30-$40 credit for it otherwise they'll never get trade-ins. Right now it seems that the way they treat $49.99 games is pretty cool. I see used $49.99 games for $28 at Bull Moose which is pretty cool as long as the person gets maybe $15 or so for it. That same game may net some more credit at Gamestop but they charge $45 for the same used game, so I like the way Bull Moose does it. So maybe you could sell new PS3/360 games for $38 dollars and give credit of at least $25-$30. The problem with that is that it sucks for the person trading it in but its great for the person who buys it used.

I know that I go to Bull Moose all the time to pick up used/new stuf because that card helps and so do the low used prices.

One thing I'd like to point out again is that I love the fact that the Scarborough store carries retro stuff, but you'd have more shelf space if you sold all of those N64 wrestling games and other old sports titles for wicked cheap just to clear out the shelves because they have been sitting there for YEARS. Not every N64 game is worth the same amount. WCW/NWO is not worth as much as Mario Kart 64.


EDIT: Also, one more point I'd like to make is that you said you're starting to get new games in at the same time as other places. This is great news! I know for some games it might not matter as much, but for others I know it matters a lot! I bought Super Paper Mario for the Wii at Best Buy because Bull Moose didn't have it until 2 days after it came out everywhere else. That hurts you on titles as big as that one because I wanted it the day it came out and so didn't a lot of my friends and we didn't want to wait for Bull Moose. On bigger titles I know I'm willing to pay Full Price or close to it if I can get it the second it's available.

Thanks for the feedback - I'll definitely look into that. I see, for instance, that the Wii/Madden you originally brought to Lewiston was B graded and then two days later the same game (presumably) was C graded in Scarborough. We need to get our folks consistent on that, and additionally I agree that unless stuff is missing a DS game should almost never be C graded (world record run-on sentence ;) ).


PS Thanks for the newsletter feedback!

[n8littlefield]

The problem is there are really two ways to approach the tradein value issue.

One is to give more credit - like $30 or 40 on a game that retails for $60. But then you would have to price the used copy similarly to Gamestop/EB where a used copy is only $5 or $10 cheaper than a new copy, which to me isn't really worth it.

The other option is to give a slightly less amount but sell the used game cheaper (like right now it seems $50 new = $28ish used for Wii at least). Personally, I think this is the way to do it - and given the HORRIBLE tradein values that Gamestop/EB gives you are still competiting with them in terms of tradein value but whipping them in terms of used game pricing. EDIT: Just to clarify - this is what you currently do - $28 is a great price for a used $50 - so I'd keep it just as is.

To answer one of your intial questions Bullmoose the highest for a new game that sells for $50 seems to be between $20 - 25 at other stores and that's only in extremely rare cases. Gamestop gives (I think) 20% less if you want cash - FYE/Strawberries gives 20% more if you take credit. It's roughly the same amount overall.

I'm not sure if you've done a ton of online research but two pages that are helpful are:
http://www.ebgames.com/gs/trade-ins/trade-ins.asp
Gives the tradein value of a few hot games for each console at Ebgames

www.secondspin.com
Gives the tradein value at FYE/Strawberries for games - generally pretty accurate.

As a side note - he's definately right on the money about the retro games. You really, really need someone to go through them and get rid of a bunch of the sports titles by marking them down or something. The N64 section is terribly overrun and the Genesis version is catching up quickly. You have some decent stuff mixed in (especially in the Genesis section, I'd kill to be able to grab a ton of the hidden treasures) but shelf space is a premium and it's being wasted the way the section looks right now.

I'm not sure if you have yet, but I'd "blacklist" a few titles and avoid buying any more copies of them.

[3QGojo]

Agreed. Nate is very wise.

The problem is there are really two ways to approach the tradein value issue.

One is to give more credit - like $30 or 40 on a game that retails for $60. But then you would have to price the used copy similarly to Gamestop/EB where a used copy is only $5 or $10 cheaper than a new copy, which to me isn't really worth it.

The other option is to give a slightly less amount but sell the used game cheaper (like right now it seems $50 new = $28ish used for Wii at least). Personally, I think this is the way to do it - and given the HORRIBLE tradein values that Gamestop/EB gives you are still competiting with them in terms of tradein value but whipping them in terms of used game pricing.

To answer one of your intial questions Bullmoose the highest for a new game that sells for $50 seems to be between $20 - 25 at other stores and that's only in extremely rare cases. Gamestop gives (I think) 20% less if you want cash - FYE/Strawberries gives 20% more if you take credit. It's roughly the same amount overall.

I'm not sure if you've done a ton of online research but two pages that are helpful are:
http://www.ebgames.com/gs/trade-ins/trade-ins.asp
Gives the tradein value of a few hot games for each console at Ebgames

www.secondspin.com
Gives the tradein value at FYE/Strawberries for games - generally pretty accurate.

As a side note - he's definately right on the money about the retro games. You really, really need someone to go through them and get rid of a bunch of the sports titles by marking them down or something. The N64 section is terribly overrun and the Genesis version is catching up quickly. You have some decent stuff mixed in (especially in the Genesis section, I'd kill to be able to grab a ton of the hidden treasures) but shelf space is a premium and it's being wasted the way the section looks right now.

I'm not sure if you have yet, but I'd "blacklist" a few titles and avoid buying any more copies of them.

[n8littlefield]

Haven't bought much lately myself - about 2 weeks ago I did get a Wii Points card at the Lewiston store. Other than that, my current obsession is Tomb Raider Legend (Cube version).

[n8littlefield]

Quick question if Bullmoose is still reading:

Are the online prices the same as the brick and mortar prices now?

[3QGojo]

I know I'm not Bull Moose, but as far as I can tell the answer is yes as long as the store has updated the prices. The real question is will the store price match the website if it's lower there?

Quick question if Bullmoose is still reading:

Are the online prices the same as the brick and mortar prices now?

[3QGojo]

Not that it matters since I already got my copy, but I noticed that Bull Moose increased the price for Raiden II to $26.33 up from $11.44! Was it a price mistake to have it so low in the first place? Only Bull Moose could tell us, but I know that price was in-store and online and now both in-store and online they are $26.33.

LINK: http://www.bullmoose.com/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=258&upc=695771700114

[n8littlefield]

While we're talking prices - what's going on with the price of Final Fantasy 3 DS? Everywhere else has it for $35 - Bullmoose in store and online have it listed for $56!!!

[mojorojoe]

Just an FYI Bullmoose has The HItman Trilogy for 17.97(Ps2)! A great pickup for someone who hasn't played them all

[3QGojo]

Good lord, something is going whacky in Bull Moose town, come and talk to us Bull Moose and please tell me what's going on. I live and breathe this thread. :)


While we're talking prices - what's going on with the price of Final Fantasy 3 DS? Everywhere else has it for $35 - Bullmoose in store and online have it listed for $56!!!

[Jaket]

might as well start up some good ol' bull moose conversation

picked up super smash bros melee for 22 bucks on a whim the other day from the bull moose in lewiston. not a GREAT deal, but fuck... it's smash brothers, and it was fairly priced, i couldn't resist haha

[n8littlefield]

Not a Bullmoose story - but I guess an example why I shop Bullmoose more than other stores...

I haven't shopped for games in ages - but I have to say that the EB in Lewiston is driving me nuts. How hard is it to keep your EMPLOYEES out of the way of the DS games? Everytime I'm in there I have to shove by them playing Guitar Hero on the 360 just to shop. It's a fun game but A.) Your store is too small for the demo unit to begin with and B.) Can't you see actual shoppers trying to SHOP? My wife actually had to bump one of them "by mistake" just to get them out of the way so she could buy my Father's Day game.

[3QGojo]

That's awful! I hate EB/GS with a passion! :)


Not a Bullmoose story - but I guess an example why I shop Bullmoose more than other stores...

I haven't shopped for games in ages - but I have to say that the EB in Lewiston is driving me nuts. How hard is it to keep your EMPLOYEES out of the way of the DS games? Everytime I'm in there I have to shove by them playing Guitar Hero on the 360 just to shop. It's a fun game but A.) Your store is too small for the demo unit to begin with and B.) Can't you see actual shoppers trying to SHOP? My wife actually had to bump one of them "by mistake" just to get them out of the way so she could buy my Father's Day game.

[3QGojo]

Bump me tender - are there any updates on the Bull Moose front?

[solisnk]

I picked up used Earth Defense Force and used Dead Rising for Xbox 360 used for $22.97 each, what a great snag! :)

Also, Forza 2 new there is around $43.

[3QGojo]

Bull Moose is always good for some nice pick ups here and there. :)


I picked up used Earth Defense Force and used Dead Rising for Xbox 360 used for $22.97 each, what a great snag! :)

Also, Forza 2 new there is around $43.

[3QGojo]

Picked up a cart only copy of Conker's Bad Fur Day for the N64 at the Bull Moose by the Mall for $7.97! Now that is some cheapness! :)

[n8littlefield]

Had to share, went to the Bullmoose Warehouse looking for SNES games as I'm giving one as a gift to someone and thought maybe they'd have a few games to throw in with it. It was the saddest 4 rows of games I've ever seen! I'm pretty sure 90% of the games were either Troy Aikman football, Super Wrestlemania or the Super Scope packin game - for the low low price of $5 of course :)

I don't know if he still reads this thread, but if he does he really needs to clearance off some of that stuff!

[3QGojo]

Well his last post was 5/11/07 and I don't know if he's been on since but he really does need to clearance that stuff off along with the useless N64 NFL and old wrestling titles that are sitting there every time I go in the store.

On a side note I picked up Ogre Battle 64 (cart only) for $7.97 and I got it for half off with my Bull Moose card so it was around $4! That is an awesome deal! :)

Had to share, went to the Bullmoose Warehouse looking for SNES games as I'm giving one as a gift to someone and thought maybe they'd have a few games to throw in with it. It was the saddest 4 rows of games I've ever seen! I'm pretty sure 90% of the games were either Troy Aikman football, Super Wrestlemania or the Super Scope packin game - for the low low price of $5 of course :)

I don't know if he still reads this thread, but if he does he really needs to clearance off some of that stuff!

[3QGojo]

Okay this HAS TO STOP IMMEDIATELY! Brett aka Bull Moose if you are listening to this please respond ASAP. I went in to Bull Moose the other day and asked how much I could get for trade-in credit for Without Warning (Xbox) if it was in A quality condition, and they took a copy off of th shelf and scanned it. They told me I would get $3 in credit for it! $3 in credit?! Bull Moose is selling this game brand new for $38.xx and around $22.xx for a used copy! If you are going to sell it for that much at least offer a little more trade-in credit for it! This isn't the only game I've seen this for either and I am sure there are more examples, but something has to be done to make your pricing/trade-ins on some games (particularly older games) more fair/equal to what they would be in at other places. If you're going to take $3 credit for it make sure to only sell it for around $11.xx since that would make more sense.

Also, some recent PSX trade-ins have only netted me around 25 cents each lately and you turn around and sell them for $8.97! One more thing, PLEASE GET RID OF THOSE N64 WRESTLING TITLES IMMEDIATELY!

EDIT: BTW, Circuit City has Wihtout Warning (Xbox) for $4.97 on their clearance rack which is WAY cheaper than $38.xx!

[n8littlefield]

Yeah - I think Bull Moose has gone downhill in their tradein values. I did buy a DS Lite from them last week (my mom wanted one and this way I got the points :) ) and copy of Big Brain Academy. I'm up to getting something for $20 at half price.

I also complained awhile ago that their policy of judging the quality of the games doesn't seem to work well since it is far too open for interpretation from individual workers.

[3QGojo]

Picked up a copy of Capcom vs SNK 2 (PS2) for $12.97 is used/good condition. Not a bad score, but seriously every day that I go in to that warehouse store I wonder if anyone cares to clean up that games section. I don't mean it's appearance since it is mostly neat/clean, but I mean those tons of N64 games sitting there taking up space...maybe if you use his name a lot he will find his was back to this thread.

Here goes:

Bull Moose Music

Bull Moose Music

Bull Moose Music

Bull Moose Music

Bull Moose Music

Bull Moose Music

Bull Moose Music

Bull Moose Music

Bull Moose Music

Bull Moose Music

Bull Moose Music

Bull Moose Music

[3QGojo]

Alright, well the last time I went to Bull Moose they had a Wii in the glass case (it might've been a week ago, and gone now, but who knows)! Anyways if you're looking for a Wii, Bull Moose might have one now! :)

[n8littlefield]

Pretty good deal at Bullmoose right now - Excite Truck is down to $18.xx new. I have a copy ordered for the Scarborough store myself. It's still listed at $50 everywhere else!

[3QGojo]

Even bigger news! Last time I went to the Bull Moose in Scarborough by the Maine Mall I didn't see craploads of all those old N64 sports/wrestling games! I wonder where they all went? Did they burn them or something?

[n8littlefield]

Even bigger news! Last time I went to the Bull Moose in Scarborough by the Maine Mall I didn't see craploads of all those old N64 sports/wrestling games! I wonder where they all went? Did they burn them or something?

I found them! They are in grab bags by the counter :)

We're going on a tour of Southern Maine Bullmooses (Bullmice?) this weekend. The wife has a friend who has a CD he's putting into Bullmoose for sale and we volunteered to do the ones from Lewiston down (except NH). So, I think we're hitting 5 or 6 of them on Saturday. Hopefully I'll find some cheap treasure somewhere.

Picked up my copy of Excite Truck last night - after my points it was around $9.25. Now I just have to choose between playing it, Sin & Punishment or the Godfather

[3QGojo]

I need to grab a copy of Excite Truck dangit.

I found them! They are in grab bags by the counter :)

We're going on a tour of Southern Maine Bullmooses (Bullmice?) this weekend. The wife has a friend who has a CD he's putting into Bullmoose for sale and we volunteered to do the ones from Lewiston down (except NH). So, I think we're hitting 5 or 6 of them on Saturday. Hopefully I'll find some cheap treasure somewhere.

Picked up my copy of Excite Truck last night - after my points it was around $9.25. Now I just have to choose between playing it, Sin & Punishment or the Godfather

[n8littlefield]

It's wicked fun - I was really surprised. I think you'd have to have them order a copy for you at this point, they were out in the Portland, S Portland and Lewiston stores when I had them order mine.

[daschrier]

I want to know why BullMoose is selling FF3 for the DS for $55....isn't the MSRP only $40?

[Animal7390]

bullmoose makes stuff up all the time its fun

[n8littlefield]

I mentioned it before too. Personally, I think they have it mispriced - like maybe they have the price confused with the original release on the SNES (which was really FF IV) which would be worth that much (if not more).

[3QGojo]

They pricematch other stores anyways, so you're still good to go if you want buy it in-store at Bull Moose.

[coelacanth]

Howdy everyone! I'm Dem, the web guy for Bull Moose, and I'm frankly shocked that Brett's been posting here all this time and hasn't mentioned it. I'll have to poke him later on today and let him know his presence is missed here. I found this forum since our web stats are showing that there's a lot of traffic to our website from here. (Thanks!) I don't have the magical 'look in the mirror three times and say "Bull Moose Music"' web crawling widget that Brett's got, so I'm stuck with Google like the rest of us.

Regarding Final Fantasy 3 for Nintendo DS - Holy @#$@! That's now fixed and should be officially repriced in stores today and tomorrow. The new price will be active in the registers immediately. Thanks for bringing it up; we obviously missed this one somehow during our routine re-prices.

Regarding the website: Slow but sure progress is being made; I've recently revamped and prettied-up the Games page and there's more work to be done cosmetically to the site in general. Suggestions for content or what you'd like to see on the site are warmly welcomed!

FQB Card acceptance on the website is still on the wish list but there might be a way around it through more old-fashioned methods; I'm thinking about it. Inventory reporting is much better than it was with the old site, in that we are now doing our own fulfillment, so if the website says there's a used copy of Tekken 3 available to purchase, there is, at one of the ten stores at least (unless it's sold at the store in the few hours between inventory update uploads to the site). You may notice a pre-order mention for Mass Effect on the top of the games page. I'm working on something else with that right now and will reveal more in a little while once it's all figured out.

I love this thread! Nice to meet everyone!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com (http://www.bullmoose.com)

[n8littlefield]

Welcome!

Have you considered having some type of "Ship to store" option? That way if someone really wants to use their card they could just pay for it in store. Personally, it's an option I would use alot if it was free.

[coelacanth]

We have considered that, and would love to get something workable going, but the hope is to be able to automate the process, and right now there's no function to show which specific store has an item in inventory (another feature we'd like to implement). I expect more features to emerge on the site once the basics are covered...

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[3QGojo]

It is great to see the web guy! I really would like to see the FQB card to be implemented for use on the website as my #1 goal! I know I go to the store more often because I can't use the card online. Also, having the ship to store option is a great idea as well! Having more preorders available would also be a great idea.

Now I have a few questions for you.

Do you know when you will be getting any more Wii's in stock?
Do you know what happened to all of those old N64 Wrestling/Football games that weren't selling? Were they put into the grab bags?

Also, how do the prices get set because I have seen some prices that still seem to be higher than MSRP. I have also seen prices online be higher/lower than in the actual store sometimes.

Also, when I try to search for video games I seem to have a lot of trouble finding them...

[coelacanth]

We are getting a very small number of Wii's in at a few stores today, as a matter of fact (Sanford's got one now, and the other stores should be receiving their shipments as the day goes on)... I expect they'll be gone fast, so hurry!

I can check but I have a strong feeling that all the wrestling games did end up in those grab bags - there was a huge overstock on sports games and I think most of them wound up getting clearanced that way.

As far as pricing, there's a lot that goes into it, but we try to stay as low as we can. I can't really think of a time that we weren't below MSRP, but it's possible that there are some video game titles whose prices have changed and the stickers haven't been updated to reflect that... As far as Bull Moose online vs. store pricing, unless there's a web-only special of some sort, or if the item in question has a release still some time ahead in the future, prices should match the in-store pricing. There might be a few exceptions but basically we use the same pricing information as the registers in the store have when we send inventory/price updates to the website, so they should match.

Video games are a little tough to find online right now, true - it's because we have a feed for image/data information for movies and music, but we don't have one for video games, so all of the cover images and any additional information about the title needs to be entered by hand, which is pretty time consuming. What that also means is that unless we're thinking about it in advance for some reason, a new release video game may not appear on the website at all until just before the release date under the current process. I'm hoping we can focus a little more effort on getting video games updated more frequently, and that we can look ahead a little bit further in time to begin accepting more pre-orders for the big titles well in advance of release date.

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[n8littlefield]

Preorders are tough unless things have improved. I preordered New Super Mario Bros on the DS when it came out, and tried doing it at Bullmoose to save a few buck. I didn't get my copy until Friday of that week IIRC. It was really frustrating.

How does the pricing on the Amazon storefront compare to instore/online?

[coelacanth]

Re: game pre-orders -

Believe me, I'm as frustrated as you are about it. Our distribution channels for video games aren't always the best in terms of getting the game on the shelves by street date. Certain titles we can now guarantee we'll have on time (we're pretty good about stuff from EA and from Microsoft recently). We will probably hold off on huge pre-order pushes on items that we're not sure we'll have on the day and date. One reason Mass Effect is up there on the top of the games page is that it's both popular and very likely to be at our store on release date because of the distributor for that title.

Re: pricing methods

There's no real "rule" to how prices compare between in-store/online and Amazon. Well, there is, but it's very hard to explain and changes constantly. Basically the items we list on Amazon are items that have had their "turns" in the stores without being sold. If it's around for X number of days, and it hasn't sold, and we have X number of extra copies, the system will decide to list the item on Amazon, and use other similar listings to determine the price at which to post the item. It checks regularly so the price will frequently adjust itself up or down according to market conditions on Amazon.

So this means two different things, really -

1) Sometimes Amazon's cheaper, especially with an item that is very common - in such cases we might have an item that's in our store at $2.97 listed for $.74. The downside is, you still gotta pay for shipping. Still, particularly with common DVDs, you might find a good deal on items that we have massive overstock on. Amazon's kind of like our flea market.

2) Sometimes Bullmoose.com is WAY cheaper. This is particularly true in the case that an item is super-rare on Amazon. Our store pricing rules favor our customers in these cases, so if an item's really rare and it's been in our store for x number of days, there's a chance that if it's commanding a premium on Amazon that it will be listed there. On the other hand, chances are it's already been on bullmoose.com by that point, and very likely it's listed at our usual price point for an item like that (example: a DVD that sells for $60 on Amazon might still be listed at $9.97 in our store or on bullmoose.com).

It's tricky. We're still working out how to generate more sales without alienating our customer base. When a decision like that has to be made we always side on keeping our existing customers happy.

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[Baa-Puh-Daa]

Horay for Bull Moose...
I've purchased quite a few games from there, and I'm pretty picky about what I'm willing to pay for something used...

Jeez, I don't surf these boards enough. I totally didn't know there were so many Maine gamers on here...

FAIL.

[daschrier]

Hey, bullmoose is in NH too....I'm still waiting on a boston area store....hint hint hint.

[MoxManiac_]

Picked up a Wii from the South Portland/Scarborough store. What's with the 11 or so dollars over retail on the price? Oh well, can't complain since I was actually able to find one.

[coelacanth]

@Mox -

It looks like you bought it at $249.97 - two cents (woohoo! savings!) below MSRP which seems to still currently be $249.99. Is the Wii normally priced at $239? I haven't seen a listing at that price anywhere...

And on a Bull Moose card, too - so if you ever use those points, that's another $10 on top of that since each point is worth $0.50, and you got almost twenty for buying it with us.

Let me know though if our prices are indeed wrong compared to other stores!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[Bull Moose]

@Mox -

It looks like you bought it at $249.97 - two cents (woohoo! savings!) below MSRP which seems to still currently be $249.99. Is the Wii normally priced at $239? I haven't seen a listing at that price anywhere...

And on a Bull Moose card, too - so if you ever use those points, that's another $10 on top of that since each point is worth $0.50, and you got almost twenty for buying it with us.

Let me know though if our prices are indeed wrong compared to other stores!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com (http://www.bullmoose.com)

Dem, I bet he means that we have to use a yellow price sticker to show 249.97, and that the white sticker underneath shows 261.36. We've never charged anyone over 249.97, but that unused white sticker shows a higher price. We should ask the stores to override that price when receiving so that wrong price never shows up until the stupid programmer (me) fixes the code so that visual error doesn't occur.

[3QGojo]

We are getting a very small number of Wii's in at a few stores today, as a matter of fact (Sanford's got one now, and the other stores should be receiving their shipments as the day goes on)... I expect they'll be gone fast, so hurry!

I can check but I have a strong feeling that all the wrestling games did end up in those grab bags - there was a huge overstock on sports games and I think most of them wound up getting clearanced that way.

As far as pricing, there's a lot that goes into it, but we try to stay as low as we can. I can't really think of a time that we weren't below MSRP, but it's possible that there are some video game titles whose prices have changed and the stickers haven't been updated to reflect that... As far as Bull Moose online vs. store pricing, unless there's a web-only special of some sort, or if the item in question has a release still some time ahead in the future, prices should match the in-store pricing. There might be a few exceptions but basically we use the same pricing information as the registers in the store have when we send inventory/price updates to the website, so they should match.

Video games are a little tough to find online right now, true - it's because we have a feed for image/data information for movies and music, but we don't have one for video games, so all of the cover images and any additional information about the title needs to be entered by hand, which is pretty time consuming. What that also means is that unless we're thinking about it in advance for some reason, a new release video game may not appear on the website at all until just before the release date under the current process. I'm hoping we can focus a little more effort on getting video games updated more frequently, and that we can look ahead a little bit further in time to begin accepting more pre-orders for the big titles well in advance of release date.

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

I'm fairly certain at this point Geist is not $45.xx brand new anymore...Check Amazon.com

Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0002IQOPU/ref=dp_olp_2/102-4320187-9477768?ie=UTF8&qid=1194485790&sr=1-1

It's good to see you guys respond to the posts that we've had and I am happy to see Wii's becoming more readily available!

Also, what are you going to do with all that space now that you've gotten rid of those old N64 wrestling/football games?

[MoxManiac_]

@Mox -

It looks like you bought it at $249.97 - two cents (woohoo! savings!) below MSRP which seems to still currently be $249.99. Is the Wii normally priced at $239? I haven't seen a listing at that price anywhere...

And on a Bull Moose card, too - so if you ever use those points, that's another $10 on top of that since each point is worth $0.50, and you got almost twenty for buying it with us.

Let me know though if our prices are indeed wrong compared to other stores!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com (http://www.bullmoose.com)

Hi,

It was priced at $261. This was at the scarborugh store. Like I said, I don't mind too much because I was just glad to be able to find one, and the points I got on my card more or less cover the extra money. It's $249.99 at every other store i've been to, though.

[Bull Moose]

Hi,

It was priced at $261. This was at the scarborugh store. Like I said, I don't mind too much because I was just glad to be able to find one, and the points I got on my card more or less cover the extra money. It's $249.99 at every other store i've been to, though.

Thanks for the info! --- don't worry, though, I swear you were charged 249.97 --- I can reprint your receipt if you wanna see. But if you were charged over 249.97, I'll give you the difference plus 25 bucks for your trouble and my apologies. But what I show is 249.97. Why do you think you were charged higher? I want to be sure you got the right price!

[MoxManiac_]

Thanks for the info! --- don't worry, though, I swear you were charged 249.97 --- I can reprint your receipt if you wanna see. But if you were charged over 249.97, I'll give you the difference plus 25 bucks for your trouble and my apologies. But what I show is 249.97. Why do you think you were charged higher? I want to be sure you got the right price!

Hmm, you know, now that you mention it. I don't think I ever checked the reciept that closely. I remember buying a classic controller with it, so that complicated the total a little bit. I have a feeling you're right about me being charged the correct amount now that I think about it, because I think the total was 280 something, which sounds about right for 250 + controller + tax.

If so, I apologize. I probably should have double checked the reciept. It might not be a bad idea to fix those price tags though, they could turn away potential buyers if the problem extends to other hardware items.

thanks

[Bull Moose]

H
It might not be a bad idea to fix those price tags though, they could turn away potential buyers if the problem extends to other hardware items.

You're right - we really need to get that fixed -- because even having that price ever shown (even if it isn't charged) makes us look bad. Thanks for pointing it out! You did get the Wii for 249.97 and a Classic Controller for 18.31. (tax was 13.41). Sorry again for the snafu on the price tag, though and thanks for your business!

[Bull Moose]

I'm fairly certain at this point Geist is not $45.xx brand new anymore...Check Amazon.com

Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0002IQOPU/ref=dp_olp_2/102-4320187-9477768?ie=UTF8&qid=1194485790&sr=1-1

It's good to see you guys respond to the posts that we've had and I am happy to see Wii's becoming more readily available!

Also, what are you going to do with all that space now that you've gotten rid of those old N64 wrestling/football games?

Thanks for pointing that out - you (of course!) are correct on the price - I switched it yesterday, so our website should have been updated - but it didn't - so you helped find a bug we'll have to fix... It did correct the used price, but our new price didn't propagate correctly yet. Hmm... time to kick the computer.

[3QGojo]

It's funny you mentioned that because I tried to trade in a copy of Geist that I had awhile back at the Scarborough store. I think I was offered something ridiculously low at the time like $3...that's when I mentioned that it was selling for $49.xx brand new and that it didn't seem right. Nothing was done at that point either...and that was 3 or 4 months ago. I just figured if I mentioned the error it would get corrected but it never did, that's why I posted it here.


Thanks for pointing that out - you (of course!) are correct on the price - I switched it yesterday, so our website should have been updated - but it didn't - so you helped find a bug we'll have to fix... It did correct the used price, but our new price didn't propagate correctly yet. Hmm... time to kick the computer.

[3QGojo]

I found another pricing error in the store. I found Elebits Brand New on the website for $36.63 and in the Scarborough store by the Maine Mall it is priced as $45.xx.

I see these types of things happen a lot and I don't know if it's just because people haven't updated the stickers or what?

[3QGojo]

I saw Guitar Hero III for the Wii online the last couple of days for $77 and change. I wanted to order it but didn't because I wanted to get the Bull Moose points for it. However, I went to the store today (11/28/07) and asked about the price difference since it was $86.40 in the store. To my surprise they tried looking it up on the website and it wasn't there. I felt foolish, but I know I saw it on the website for that price. Any help on finding out if I could purchase this item at a Bull Moose location for the $77 pricepoint would be great!

Thanks,
Mike King

[coelacanth]

Mike -

I caught that e-mail from you earlier today and responded - sorry to say it was a promotional pricing thing, part of our big "Black Friday" push. There's a chance that there will be other games with fairly low sale prices as the season progresses - if I know in advance, I'll send a heads-up to you guys so you'll be ready for 'em next time around.

Mike also mentioned that he wanted the Frequent Buyer points but couldn't use them on the website - a valid concern - so just for the benefit of everyone else that might be here, though we don't really have a system in place at the moment, I can add the points to your card for online purchases if you e-mail me after you make the purchase. Obviously this will get out of control really fast if this were to happen on a huge scale, but until we have something in place I'm happy to do that for you guys.

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[3QGojo]

This is great news about the BullMoose card! I am Mike btw and I am glad you responded to my email quickly! I am also glad you posted it here as well! Btw I did purchase a game on the website recently so I will be emailing you that purchase so I can get credit for it!

Thanks again this is great news! I will start ordering from the website more that is for sure!

Mike -

I caught that e-mail from you earlier today and responded - sorry to say it was a promotional pricing thing, part of our big "Black Friday" push. There's a chance that there will be other games with fairly low sale prices as the season progresses - if I know in advance, I'll send a heads-up to you guys so you'll be ready for 'em next time around.

Mike also mentioned that he wanted the Frequent Buyer points but couldn't use them on the website - a valid concern - so just for the benefit of everyone else that might be here, though we don't really have a system in place at the moment, I can add the points to your card for online purchases if you e-mail me after you make the purchase. Obviously this will get out of control really fast if this were to happen on a huge scale, but until we have something in place I'm happy to do that for you guys.

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[coelacanth]

I don't know if anyone here's interested in getting their hands on a copy of Rock Band, but I did want to get the word out a little in advance to you guys - this Saturday there will be a VERY limited quantity available at our stores (and not on the website - the thing's a beast to ship!) first thing in the morning. They'll probably go super fast, but I thought I'd give you guys a little bit of advance warning and a collective advantage... Sorry I've been quiet here lately, but the holiday season is kicking my butt in the web-sales and e-mail-answering department!

Cheers!
-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[3QGojo]

If I was interested, you definately have the best price on this by far. I checked out the online newsletter and saw that there was free shipping today! I took advantage of this and ordered some games!

Here is my order (I hope they all ship):

1 DOA2-HARDCORE (PS2)- Used $2.97
1 DRAGON RAGE(PS2) - Used $2.97
1 MUSIC MAKER (PS2)- Used $6.97
1 NCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL 2K3 (GC)- Used $12.97

Product Total $25.88
Standard Delivery $0.00
Maine state sales tax $1.29
Total $27.17

Thanks for the heads up so I could order some gifts for the holidays with free shipping on the cheap! I think you guys should offer free shipping more often around the holidays/special events since it makes it an even sweeter deal! :)


I don't know if anyone here's interested in getting their hands on a copy of Rock Band, but I did want to get the word out a little in advance to you guys - this Saturday there will be a VERY limited quantity available at our stores (and not on the website - the thing's a beast to ship!) first thing in the morning. They'll probably go super fast, but I thought I'd give you guys a little bit of advance warning and a collective advantage... Sorry I've been quiet here lately, but the holiday season is kicking my butt in the web-sales and e-mail-answering department!

Cheers!
-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[n8littlefield]

I was just told that the Windham Bullmoose has Atari games - I thought only the Scarborough store carried stuff that old. Does anybody know if they have a decent amount before I bother going there later this week?

[coelacanth]

@N8littlefield -

Windham has the biggest selection right now, actually - according to the computer, 66 copies of Atari 2600 games (though who knows how many of those are "E.T The Extra-Terrestrial (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial_%28Atari_2600%29#The_Atari_landfill)"...)

Scarborough at the moment clocks in at a svelte 23...

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[n8littlefield]

Thanks a ton - I may have to go take a gander. BTW, did Bullmoose get any of the DS bundles like the Zelda Gold or Nintendogs Pink? I know someone looking for the Zelda one.

[coelacanth]

Re: Nintendo DS bundles -

Sadly, no - our supplier's been pretty limited with the bundles for DS this year. We've been trying to get our hands on some of the Zelda bundles and thus far haven't been able to. As far the systems go right now, post-holidays, we've got a few of the DS Lite consoles left at some store locations in White, Pink, Onyx, and Crimson/Black - none of the fancy stuff just at the moment.

If PSPs are your game, on the other hand, we should have more PSP bundles coming in sometime soon... so the variety there should be a little better as the month winds on.

Brunswick also has a used fuschia Game Boy Advance! Let me just get out of the way now so I don't get crushed by the impending stampede!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[n8littlefield]

Thanks for all the answers. Here's one I'm not sure if you'll know...is Bullmoose still doing the "levels" of tradein values by grading the game on the condition it's in? I'm thinking of doing a relatively large (like 5-10 games) tradein this weekend, but frankly after the last few times I'm REALLY hestitant to take them in. I've been given different values by different stores and watched the cashiers give me lower grades on games that I literally opened and played maybe 2 times before selling them. It was fixed by posting here with the issue, but I really felt bad having that adjustment be necessary.

If the policy has changed in some way I'd love to know, it would make me much more likely to hit one of the stores this weekend with my stuff.

You guys buy used hardware? How did you end up with a used GBA?

[coelacanth]

@N8littlefield -

Re: used item grading:

Yes, all Bull Moose stores are still grading used items according to condition; this is somewhat subjective but I think at this point most stores should be in sync with each other (i.e., a "B" at one store will most likely be a "B" at another store). There are some flaws in this system because one set of eyes isn't exactly like another, but for the most part it seems to be working pretty smoothly. In very general terms, the tiers of grading are basically "pristine/mint condition" [A], "very good condition (minimal scratches and case wear)" [B], "playable condition" (some fairly big scratches or somewhat shabby condition, but should not affect playability) [C]; and finally "un-saleable condition" [D], where we'll still take them off your hands and then dispose of them either by using them as gift certificates or some other mechanism. That last "D" grade will pretty much net you a nickel no matter what, regardless of how many or how few we have in stock.

The system that arrives at prices is pretty robust and considers a lot of factors, not just condition - also considered are the number we already have in stock at various locations, popularity (e.g., sales history), and a bunch of other considerations.

As a customer, the best thing you can do when bringing things in to sell is make sure they come with everything they came with when you got 'em (instruction manuals, etc) if possible; and make sure they're clean so that a fingerprint or some residue on the disc doesn't get mistaken as a scratch at first glance. That alone can definitely help keep the condition rating higher - it's definitely easy to look at a disc in the light and see a scratch and then look a little closer and discover it's just a water-spot or something cleanable.

Re: the used GBA

We flirted very briefly with the idea of buying used Game Boys some years ago, and that GBA is just a remnant of policy past. At the moment we don't buy back used hardware, and really only dipped our toe in those waters briefly. It's a piece of Bull Moose history!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[n8littlefield]

Thanks, I brought my stuff in Friday night - got a pretty good chunk o' change for them actually ($110ish). They did give me pretty good grades on the stuff.

[n8littlefield]

I hate to tell you this Bullmoose & coelacanth but you totally forgot to call and tell me I won the 360 that you were giving away online. I'll forgive you this time I suppose :)

On a more serious note - do you carry PS2 hardware in store? I need to pick up the ceramic white PS2 w/ Singstar right off and was hoping to get some points out of the deal.

[coelacanth]

@n8 -

Aw, sorry about that! I think we forgot to call you about the x360 because we didn't realize you had completely changed your name and were also a woman, like the actual winner. =)

But seriously - we weren't actually planning on picking up any of the Singstar-bundled PS2s, and we've missed the cutoff with our distributor to get them right away, but it's possible if we special ordered one for you it could still come in. I don't know how quickly you need one, though, and there's a chance that we missed our shot at the first run of them (special edition bundles like this, you usually get one shot at the beginning and then have to wait in line for a while before you get another crack at them). I dunno if you need one really badly - if so you might want to grab one somewhere else. But if you can wait a bit I can definitely put one on order for you and we can see what happens, it might be something we could bring in for you. Let me know!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[n8littlefield]

That's fine, don't worry about it - I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to grab the bundle (I think we're going to have to take the plunge and buy a snowblower which will sap the budget).

Oh well, at least I have birthday money to look forward to - and with the prices at Bullmoose looks like I'll be getting my copies of Nights and Endless Ocean at your fine establishment :)

[solisnk]

I'm looking for a 2nd DS to buy. I have a original one (red Mario Kart). Do you guys sell DS Lite's? I'm thinking about trading in some stuff to knock the price down to under $100. Not sure how much older games trade in value are though. I bet you guys pay better than the dicks at gamestop that try to rip me off everytime I trade in something.

[n8littlefield]

I've seen DS's recently at Bull Moose. In fact, we bought my mom's at the Lewiston store (so I could get the points!)

Keep in mind that Bull Moose's return policy on electronics isn't nearly as flexible as a Gamestop/Walmart type of store. If there is something wrong with the system (dead pixels, doesn't work, etc.) you cannot return it at Bullmoose it has to go back to the manufacturer. IIRC I had to initial this policy when I bought hers.

BTW, it's not on the website, but has anyone seen Zack & Wiki at Bullmoose or does someone at Bullmoose know if it can still be ordered?

[coelacanth]

We're running quite low on DS's at the present time - looks as though Brunswick and Waterville each have one Coral Pink DS Lite each, and that's it for the entire chain for DS systems as of this moment. Our distributors are waiting to be replenished after the holiday rush, so it will probably be a little while before we get more in.

Re: the return policy, n8's right - Bull Moose doesn't accept console returns, though they do all come with warranties and are returnable to the manufacturer. It may be a little more of a hassle if you do need to return the system, but the return rate on these items tends to be low anyway, and you don't get Frequent Buyer points at Wal-Mart ;). Despite that, though, it's definitely worth noting, and if you're concerned about possibly returning the system you definitely would want to factor that into the decision of where you pick one up.

Re: Zack & Wiki - haven't got any currently in stock, but our distributor should have some on hand, so I'm putting an order in for a copy now. It'll go to Scarborough but once it arrives its transferable anywhere. If you want to put your name on it feel free to phone the store of your choice and ask 'em to place an order - my guess is it would probably arrive in roughly a week assuming that the supplier's right and they have them immediately on hand.

Cheers!
-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[coelacanth]

...update!

There's now a copy of Zack & Wiki, new, at the Scarborough store. It's priced at $36.18.

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[3QGojo]

Not that it is a big deal now, but I went to Bull Moose in Scarborough on Tues (1/22/08) to price match Saw IV that I saw at Wal-Mart across the street for $14.97. I had Bull Moose call for a price match and they told me it was $15.97 at Wal-Mart even though I had just come from Wal-Mart and the tag said $14.97 so either the person in the Bull Moose store was untruthful to me or the Wal-Mart person was incorrect in their pricing. Either way Circuit City had Saw IV for $14.99 as well...I didn't think about price matching them because I had forgotten that they had it for $14.99. Either way I left the store without my copy of Saw IV.

I never thought I'd have a problem pricematching something, but apparently it was a problem at the Scarborough store, even though every new release at Wal-Mart is $14.97 when it first comes out (at least at that Scarborough one). I just felt like I was treated like I was just trying to get an extra dollar off, when I was just trying to get it at Bull Moose for the cheapest price and earn Bull Moose points.

Anyways, I thought you should know that $15.97 was NOT the cheapest price for Saw IV and that you lost a sale because the Scarborough store was unwilling to pricematch.

[solisnk]

I'd pay the extra buck to BullMoose because they probably aren't making as much profit off of it as Wal-Mart. BullMoose makes up for the new stuff's pricing with amazing used deals.

Stop complaining. :P

[coelacanth]

@3QGojo -

I'm sorry to hear about the bad experience you had; still, I have to believe it was a matter of miscommunication between the Bull Moose employee and Wal-Mart, as there's no reason one of our employees would have a vested interest in charging you the extra dollar - they're not paid on commission or anything! I suspect that the $14.97/$15.97 price might not have been coordinated at Wal-Mart and perhaps their employee was misinformed about their own price. (Just guessing, of course, since I wasn't there.) Whatever the case, store employees have to follow policy on pricematching and that's to verify the price according to the store we're pricematching, since they're "assumed" to be the authority on their own prices. It's possible that that's not always true!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[3QGojo]

I'm sorry for the rant, I just always thought Bull Moose looked at what other competitors prices were for new realses like that. I mean Circuit City had it in their flyer for $14.99 and I should've just brought that in but I didn't see it until after I left Bull Moose. How does the pricing get set on new realse movies anyways? I've never had to pricematch a new release movie before because Bull Moose always seemed to have it the cheapest.

@3QGojo -

I'm sorry to hear about the bad experience you had; still, I have to believe it was a matter of miscommunication between the Bull Moose employee and Wal-Mart, as there's no reason one of our employees would have a vested interest in charging you the extra dollar - they're not paid on commission or anything! I suspect that the $14.97/$15.97 price might not have been coordinated at Wal-Mart and perhaps their employee was misinformed about their own price. (Just guessing, of course, since I wasn't there.) Whatever the case, store employees have to follow policy on pricematching and that's to verify the price according to the store we're pricematching, since they're "assumed" to be the authority on their own prices. It's possible that that's not always true!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[coelacanth]

There are a lot of ways we arrive at sale pricing, and looking at competitors' prices (and beating them) is definitely one of them. Hopefully we beat everyone's price "right out of the gate", but occasionally we slip and someone for some reason has managed to sneak a sale price under us. In which case, we'll match it!

I think in your case the problem was twofold - more to do with not being able to verify the price, rather than being unwilling to match it. It shouldn't happen again. Our employees all know the price matching policy, though there is not often an occasion to use it, because usually our prices are better from day one. Sorry that this one slipped through the cracks, it really should have been the lowest-priced anyway right from the get-go!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[mattyp33]

Bull Moose in Scarborough and Portland have both been great pricematching movies and games for me...easiest way is to have a copy of the weekly ad if possible, helps the process quite a bit!

-mattyp

[arborsnow]

Do you guys offer any extra deals if you trade in games towards the purchase of a system, say a ps3?

[n8littlefield]

Haven't picked up anything at Bullmoose for awhile. I picked up Zack & Wiki somewhere else (Gamestop) as it was 29.99. The wife wants to pick up one of the Karoke games for the Wii (either Boogie or American Idol) and I've noticed they are about $6 cheaper at Bullmoose so we may be there on Friday - I need a 3rd nunchuck too so maybe I'll grab one there if they have any.

[coelacanth]

@arborsnow:

We don't currently offer a trade-in "bonus" towards new systems. However, I'm about to post something else in a second that could pave the way for that. You'll see what I'm talking about...

@n8littlfield:

Wii Boogie w/ microphone is currently priced at $56.38 new and $39.97 used if that helps you plan. Scarborough and Waterville currently have used copies in stock but they're transferable to any other store location if you prefer shopping at a different location.

Karaoke Revolution/American Idol 2 is currently not available used but is priced at $53.80 new.

Nunchuck controllers are currently in stock at Brunswick, Portland, Portsmouth, Lewiston, and Sanford, but again are transferable anywhere if you shop at a different location - just call the store you want it to go to and let 'em know! The price is $18.31.

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com (http://www.bullmoose.com)

[coelacanth]

Letting the cat out of the bag early for you guys, because we're not quite ready to announce it to the general populace, but you n' me, we got no secrets...

We're gonna start buying used consoles! Hooray! Prices aren't completely finalized yet but I think you guys will be pretty happy especially if you have an old PS2 hanging around that you want to get rid of. I think we'll pretty much blow the doors off of competition both in the amount we pay out and the amount we charge. Our strategy will be "buy high, sell low", and looking at the price sheet we have right now I'm definitely thinking it will be a very good way of scoring some quick cash/credit if you have an older system you want to get rid of, or if you're in the market for an Xbox or PSP but don't want to shell out for a new one. Right now we're only looking at systems in the Cube/PS2/Xbox era and above (so you might have to wait a bit to offload an Atari 2600, Playstation One, or Commodore 64 - and those old handheld Tiger games, well, you can forgeddaboutit...) but we'll probably expand the systems we buy once we have our feet wet. Man, I'm pretty excited about this. We don't have a definite rollout date yet, but there will be only one store doing the buybacks initially while we work out any kinks in the process, then we'll go large. There will be more definite news in the near future but I'm pretty sure we'll have the pilot program launched by early March, perhaps even sooner.

Just thought while I had news like this I'd hit you guys with it first before we make the official announcement... Some of the stores don't even know yet!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[arborsnow]

Letting the cat out of the bag early for you guys, because we're not quite ready to announce it to the general populace, but you n' me, we got no secrets...

We're gonna start buying used consoles! Hooray! Prices aren't completely finalized yet but I think you guys will be pretty happy especially if you have an old PS2 hanging around that you want to get rid of. I think we'll pretty much blow the doors off of competition both in the amount we pay out and the amount we charge. Our strategy will be "buy high, sell low", and looking at the price sheet we have right now I'm definitely thinking it will be a very good way of scoring some quick cash/credit if you have an older system you want to get rid of, or if you're in the market for an Xbox or PSP but don't want to shell out for a new one. Right now we're only looking at systems in the Cube/PS2/Xbox era and above (so you might have to wait a bit to offload an Atari 2600, Playstation One, or Commodore 64 - and those old handheld Tiger games, well, you can forgeddaboutit...) but we'll probably expand the systems we buy once we have our feet wet. Man, I'm pretty excited about this. We don't have a definite rollout date yet, but there will be only one store doing the buybacks initially while we work out any kinks in the process, then we'll go large. There will be more definite news in the near future but I'm pretty sure we'll have the pilot program launched by early March, perhaps even sooner.

Just thought while I had news like this I'd hit you guys with it first before we make the official announcement... Some of the stores don't even know yet!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com (http://www.bullmoose.com)

That's great news!
Do you guys have and 60 or 80gb ps3's in stock?

[coelacanth]

@arborsnow:

Ohhh, I wish. At the moment we've only got the 40gb systems in stock (at Portsmouth, Bangor, Waterville, Salem, in case you're curious). The 60gb is no longer available and the 80gb model we should be able to get... but we're holding back at the moment because there are some recent rumors of a 120gb or 160gb model with a Dualshock 3 controller at around the same price point as the 80gb was positioned, so we're going to see about confirming that rumor before we put any more into stock on the 80gb...

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[Blade]

Nice, now I have some initiative to fix my fat PS2. Will you also do controller trade-ins?

I've heard about that 120GB model, and that the 40GB PS3 is dropping to $299 sometime this year.

[arborsnow]

@arborsnow:

Ohhh, I wish. At the moment we've only got the 40gb systems in stock (at Portsmouth, Bangor, Waterville, Salem, in case you're curious). The 60gb is no longer available and the 80gb model we should be able to get... but we're holding back at the moment because there are some recent rumors of a 120gb or 160gb model with a Dualshock 3 controller at around the same price point as the 80gb was positioned, so we're going to see about confirming that rumor before we put any more into stock on the 80gb...

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com (http://www.bullmoose.com)

Yeah, that's why I'm reluctant to get the 40gb because I know as soon as I buy it they are going to announce the release of the next sku and it will make me sad:cry:

Another question because I've never traded with you guys, do you offer the same amount in cash as you do for store credit?

And btw thanks for keeping the community updated, there isn't much of that in maine.

[coelacanth]

Nice, now I have some initiative to fix my fat PS2. Will you also do controller trade-ins?

Indeed, fix 'er up and I'll let you know when the actual program starts! We will probably start out very "basic", but it's highly likely that we will do controller trade-ins as well - maybe not right from the get-go, though. We're still finalizing things right now since it's our first time doing something of this scale with actual hardware (except for a short flirtation with Nintendo handhelds a few years ago).

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[coelacanth]

Yeah, that's why I'm reluctant to get the 40gb because I know as soon as I buy it they are going to announce the release of the next sku and it will make me sad:cry:

Another question because I've never traded with you guys, do you offer the same amount in cash as you do for store credit?

And btw thanks for keeping the community updated, there isn't much of that in maine.

This forum is one of the more entertaining parts of my job, actually, so I'm happy to do it!

I know the remorse of buying a video game console/ipod/computer/cell phone/you-name-it - only to have it become obsolete, but that's pretty much the way technology works nowadays - always something better on the horizon, so I guess the question is how long can you stand to wait for the better deal. I haven't heard anything definite about the 40gb price drop or when/if it will take place - Sony's legendarily tight-lipped about stuff like that (since even if it is happening they won't want to cannibalize their own sales), so it's all in the realm of rumor right now.

Re: Cash vs. Credit -

We offer more in store credit - 25% more, as it happens, which because math is weird means you can also look at it as 20% less in cash. Depending on if you're a "half-empty" or a "half-full", y'know. Though we're still working on pricing I can say that we will very likely be either equal or better than GameStop on our payout, and certainly better than them on the used pricing. The price we pay will scale based on how many we already have in stock, just as it does with all of our used items, but you guys will be early adopters I think so you'll probably get the maximum benefit when we launch the program, especially since you have the advance info ;).

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[n8littlefield]

Do you folks still sell iPods or did you stop doing that?

[coelacanth]

Do you folks still sell iPods or did you stop doing that?

At the moment we don't sell iPods, though they're still "on our radar" and it's possible we could reconsider this in the future, either new or used. We do have iPod accessories at most stores for older and newer models.

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[solisnk]

How much would Lumines (Non greatest-Hits) on the PSP net me? It's pretty rare since people use it to downgrade their PSP's to firmware 1.5.

I have a sealed copy and a opened copy. Gamestop was gonna give me $9...Newbury offered $5.

What's fucked up is that 3 months ago I wanted to buy a copy from gamestop. They had a used copy with no case, no manual, and the umd was scratched. Guess what they were going to charge me? $26.99.... $26 fucking dollars and 99 cents for no fucking case and no fucking manual. Then to tell me for the same game that I was going to trade in, they were going to pay me $9 and probably sell it for $40. I fucking hate Gamestop, seriously. Amazon's sellers have it average around $40.

I don't know if I should trade it in to you guys and put it towards a DS Lite or sell it and keep the money.

[coelacanth]

Solisnk -

Well, I can't argue with $40, that's a pretty great price for a used UMD on Amazon (right now it's actually around the $33 mark). Apart from that price, though, I'm happy to note that we're better than the competition - if you walked into the store right now and sold back a copy in excellent condition, we'd pay $13 in store credit. Prices change based on how many copies of an item we have in stock, how popular/fast-selling they are, condition of the item, etc. - so that value may change over time and increase or decrease depending on local demand.

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[n8littlefield]

In case anyone's looking still the Scarborough store had 2 Wii's this morning when I was in there getting a Classic Controller (gotta get ready for Smash Bros!)

[coelacanth]

Thanks for the assist, N8! While we're on the subject of Super Smash Bros., we should be getting a bunch in, but I can't be 100% certain if we'll have them right away. The ship date for the game is 3/09/08 and we could be receiving them anytime in the week surrounding that date. Good news is they will be cheaper than list price as always - $45.79 will be the standard price on the shelf.

And in other used-console-buying news, the pilot program started in the Sanford store yesterday, so if anyone's got an old system they want to trade in, give the store a call or stop by! Other stores should roll out in the next few weeks but Sanford gets to be our guinea pig for a few weeks first! Be gentle!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[coelacanth]

More info on Super Smash Bros. - we expect to have them over the weekend, and street date is Sunday, March 9th - so they'll be on the shelves on release date! Imagine that! If you prefer to order online, you can preorder a copy and we'll ship it when they arrive in our warehouse (likely on Friday) - so you'd probably get it either Saturday or Monday in that case if you're in the Maine/New Hampshire area.

Web link for Super Smash Bros:

http://www.bullmoose.com/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=258&upc=045496900397

Cheers!
-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[mojorojoe]

Gotta put the props to bullmoose for selling Lost Odyssey for the xbox 360 for 50 dollars and change.

[3QGojo]

Wow these are some great updates! Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, but I actually have a non-gaming question regarding Bull Moose (who woulda thought right?). Since I checked out your website and I have recently become kinda like a semi-band manager to a local band that I like I had some questions.

I noticed on the Bull Moose website that there was a link for consignment and I was just wondering how it all works. Like do I just fill out the form and you contact me from the info. or does the band actually have to create the CD's first? I would like to discuss details if you'd like to email me at tffshambler@yahoo.com

Thanks again and great job on the updates/gaming news lately! :)

[coelacanth]

@3QGojo -

I sent you an e-mail from my work address so you should have it in your inbox...

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[3QGojo]

Thanks! That is great news considering they already have a CD made so you'll be hearing from us soon to get it in your stores. :)

@3QGojo -

I sent you an e-mail from my work address so you should have it in your inbox...

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[mattyp33]

any word on how the console accepting is going in Sanford? I am waiting for either the Portland or Scarborough store to pick up the program so I can trade in my old Cube...thanks!

-mattyp

[coelacanth]

We've got a meeting of all the store managers scheduled on Friday and among other things the "big roll-out" of console buying at all the stores will be discussed, and should launch very soon thereafter (maybe even a couple days later) - I'll let you know once we're sure but expect it to be "almost definitely" by the end of this month, and very possibly next week!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[mattyp33]

cool, thanks for the news

-mattyp

[coelacanth]

Unofficial announcement! The official one will probably follow soon after tomorrow's meeting - just have to make sure all the stores are coordinated and ready to go with the complete push on used game system buying, but I expect they'll all likely be rolled out by the beginning of next week unless something weird comes up.

This page is not yet viewable to the general public since we're not yet official, but here's the table of game system credit values in case you guys are interested. As usual when there's advance word on gaming news at Bull Moose I'd like you guys to know first when at all possible! Check it out here:

http://www.bullmoose.com/rel/v2_home.php?storenr=258&deptnr=152

One thing that isn't mentioned is that we're treating console buying like any other used buying, which means that credit is worth 25% more than cash (and because of how math works, that means that cash is worth 20% less than credit - weird, eh?). The prices listed on the table are the current maximum values and may fluctuate depending on how many systems are in stock chainwide. The prices may even go up over time, if we find an item's sales history to be particularly popular and the item itself is relatively scarce. Supply and demand, y'know?

Cheers!
-Dem

www.bullmoose.com

[mattyp33]

nice info, thanks for the heads up! one other non-gaming question...do you know if Bull Moose will start reducing prices on their HD-DVD titles in store?

-mattyp

[coelacanth]

We don't have solid plans yet on HD-DVD clearance; we had a sale a while ago with a lot of titles at $19.99 but apart from that not much has really been solidified. Next time we discuss HD-DVD/Blu-Ray buying and sale pricing I'll ask what the outlook is on the HD titles - I know a lot of them are still selling fairly briskly on the web store, and other titles are being returned to the manufacturer, so our stock is still moving pretty okay on them despite the recent announcements from Paramount and Warner (or perhaps because of them!). I'll let you know what I find out!

-Dem
www.bullmoose.com

[MoxManiac_]

On the subject of the website, I think some of the games could be labeled better.

I ordered World Heroes Anthology and Pinball Williams collection for PS2 since I couldn't find them at any bull moose store; the pinball one was just labelled 'Pinball Hall of Fame' or something like that; it didn't mention that it was Williams. I took a chance on it because the other Hall of Fame Pinball game did list that it was the Gottlieb one.

[n8littlefield]

Quick question for one of the Bullmoose folks - there's an out of print CD that my wife would love to have (embarassingly enough it's the New Kids on the Block christmas album - Merry Merry Christmas) - but I just haven't been able to bring myself to pay Ebay prices. Do you have any way to search and see if you have a used copy in the system somewhere?

[3QGojo]

Quick question about the console buying...I don't see the Dreamcast on the list. I think you'd be surprised how popular that system still is. Also not to mention but you guys are literally the only Brick & Mortar store that I have seen that still carries games from the Dreamcast (and older). They still sell on Amazon for $30 or more plus shipping. I think it is something you guys should really consider since that is an item that would definately sell (since you can't find them in stores often), plus you can pick up games for them at your stores as well.

[3QGojo]

Also, is there any way we can start pre-ordering Mario Kart for the Wii?

link:
http://www.amazon.com/Mario-Kart-Wii-Wheel/dp/B000XJNTNS/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1206224380&sr=1-7

[mojorojoe]

Any chance of the bullmoose.com web site having the older titles listed?(such as NES, Genesis etc). I know the bullmoose in scarborough has quite a bit of Snes, Genesis and such. Just wondering.

[solisnk]

Lol, this was seriously the only store open yesterday besides Office Depot but they closed at 4PM.

[coelacanth]

Quick question for one of the Bullmoose folks - there's an out of print CD that my wife would love to have (embarassingly enough it's the New Kids on the Block christmas album - Merry Merry Christmas) - but I just haven't been able to bring myself to pay Ebay prices. Do you have any way to search and see if you have a used copy in the system somewhere?

Sorry I've been incommunicado lately, lots going on here. I have checked and sadly at the moment none of our stores have a new or used copy in stock, I'm afraid, and the album's no longer in print so used might be the only way to pick one of these up nowadays. Keep checking with us, though, it's always possible that one will show up!

-Dem

[coelacanth]

On the subject of the website, I think some of the games could be labeled better.

I ordered World Heroes Anthology and Pinball Williams collection for PS2 since I couldn't find them at any bull moose store; the pinball one was just labelled 'Pinball Hall of Fame' or something like that; it didn't mention that it was Williams. I took a chance on it because the other Hall of Fame Pinball game did list that it was the Gottlieb one.

Mox -

Sorry about the confusing labeling - we have a powerful but somewhat-primitive database and a lot of that data comes from our suppliers who don't always list things in a human-friendly way. Then that data gets automatically imported to the website based on the database listing in our system. I know sometimes that does make things hard to be certain of, or to search for, but feel free anytime you've got a question about what an item is to give us a call at one of the stores or e-mail me at bullmoosemusic@gmail.com (I try to hit this forum when I can but the chances are much better of a quick response via e-mail since as you can see I haven't visited CAG for a little while!).

-Dem

[coelacanth]

Quick question about the console buying...I don't see the Dreamcast on the list. I think you'd be surprised how popular that system still is. Also not to mention but you guys are literally the only Brick & Mortar store that I have seen that still carries games from the Dreamcast (and older). They still sell on Amazon for $30 or more plus shipping. I think it is something you guys should really consider since that is an item that would definately sell (since you can't find them in stores often), plus you can pick up games for them at your stores as well.

Oh, the Dreamcast definitely still has a die-hard fan base, no question about it. I think the original intent was just to start "slow" with the most popular systems and then possibly branch out into other things (accessories, possibly some of the older systems, etc.) as the process gets more refined. I will definitely forward this recommendation to our video game buyer though since he's the one that will make the decision on what consoles we can accept as time goes on. Thanks for the suggestion!

-Dem

[coelacanth]

Also, is there any way we can start pre-ordering Mario Kart for the Wii?


Yes and no - we have been struggling with an issue with certain items on our website that are added and then mysteriously the "add to cart" link disappears (well, not so mysterious - we know basically why, but the fixing-it part is more difficult). Mario Kart was added to our site to enable preorders but was one of the affected titles. I'm re-adding it now ($45.79, in case anyone's curious, and it includes the Wii Wheel) - hopefully it will stay available but if not feel free to shout at me again and I can keep an eye on it to make sure it stays posted while we work on the underlying fix to the problem.

The link for Mario Kart is here:

http://www.bullmoose.com/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=258&upc=045496901004

Cheers!
-Dem

[coelacanth]

Any chance of the bullmoose.com web site having the older titles listed?(such as NES, Genesis etc). I know the bullmoose in scarborough has quite a bit of Snes, Genesis and such. Just wondering.

At the moment I don't see that happening, primarily because those items aren't inventoried in an itemized way - we don't know what games we have for the older systems because they're bought back generically as "Used Genesis", "Used SNES", etc. If we ever do begin to itemize entries at some point in the future I'm sure they will then begin posting to the website, but until that happens there's unfortunately no way to tell what we've got in a particular store at any given time other than checking the shelf. But browsing... browsing is half the fun! Right?

-Dem

[mojorojoe]

Browsing everytime I go is actually pretty fun. You find some pretty obscure stuff at great prices.

[MoxManiac_]

Bull Moose is too awesome for this thread to sink :)

I have a question regarding trading in game to BM. Do you guys offer store credit? And do you offer more in store credit then in cash? And finally, can I use said store credit at any BM?

Okay, that was three questions.

[solisnk]

I bought Stuntman new for 360 for $18.

Bullmoose ftw.

[Milkyman]

if anyone is looking to pickup odama for gamecube J&R has two beat up copies for 19.99

[solisnk]

I saw one odama for like $40 I think and then another for like $15.

Gamecubes are only $30 used too.

[n8littlefield]

Anybody know what I might get for a tradein for Battle of the Bands (Wii)?

[solisnk]

I'm getting rid of my 360 and I still have a lot of games left for it.

I was wondering if you guys gave a reasonable amount of store credit for trade-ins.

Here's a list of the games:

Grand Theft Auto 4, Mass Effect, Forza 2, Gears of War, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Burnout Paradise, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, Two Worlds, Earth Defense Force: 2017, Dead or Alive 4, Chromehounds, Skate, Crackdown, Stuntman: Ignition, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, Dead Rising, NBA 2K8, All Pro Football 2K8, Rainbow Six Vegas 2, and Halo 3 Collectors Edition

[BullMooseCrew]

I have a question regarding trading in game to BM. Do you guys offer store credit? And do you offer more in store credit then in cash? And finally, can I use said store credit at any BM?



Sorry we have been gone so long. Dem went back to work in one of our stores and we forgot to have somebody else check this forum.

The answers to all three questions is yes. We pay more in store credit than cash, but you def. can get cash if you want. No problem! Credit works at any Bull Moose store, but not on bullmoose.com.

Chris

[BullMooseCrew]

I'm getting rid of my 360 and I still have a lot of games left for it.

I was wondering if you guys gave a reasonable amount of store credit for trade-ins.

Here's a list of the games:


I figure you probably sold that 360 by now, but just so nobody else has to ask, what we pay for game systems is always posted here (http://www.bullmoose.com/rel/v2_home.php?storenr=258&deptnr=152). Base payouts for individual games changes daily based on a number of factors. Of course condition matters too, so we can't give a quote in advance. However, we think our offers are reasonable. More than reasonable, actually. We try to pay the most so we get best games.

Chris

[BullMooseCrew]

Quick question for one of the Bullmoose folks - there's an out of print CD that my wife would love to have (embarassingly enough it's the New Kids on the Block christmas album - Merry Merry Christmas) - but I just haven't been able to bring myself to pay Ebay prices. Do you have any way to search and see if you have a used copy in the system somewhere?

I might be able to get you one for a decent price. PM me if you still need it.

Thanks,
Chris

[Chocolatejas]

Do the stores have the same prices on used Blu rays as the website or do they proce match the website?

[3QGojo]

Sorry I haven't checked this thread in awhile. I am glad to see it is still kicking, heck I might even go to Bull Moose tonight and browse around.

[BullMooseCrew]

Do the stores have the same prices on used Blu rays as the website or do they proce match the website?
They are usually pretty close but they aren't always the same.

Remember that we have ten stores, so any item you see on our website (new or used) might or might not be available in the store you visit. Of course, the big releases like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be in every store on every platform tonight. (We already have them but we can't sell them until midnight, as you know.)

But when it comes to used, we don't always get 10 copies of everything right away, so not every store has everything. It's part of what makes shopping exciting. You never know what you are going to find.

[3QGojo]

BUMP for this thread, any new deals at Bull Moose?

Is Bull Moose going to do free shipping on their website again for Thanksgiving like they did last year?

[n8littlefield]

Does anyone know if Bullmoose (or any other stores for that matter) will take the Rock Band Wii instruments for tradein without original boxes?

[Chocolatejas]

Does Bullmoose sell the Wii Fit? I could not find the a listing for it on the website. Also do you carry PC games? I've got some credit I need to spend.

This is for the Portsmouth, NH store.

[3QGojo]

Bull Moose did carry the Wii Fit...but I haven't seen it in awhile there. I'm guessing it is sold out there just as it is pretty much everywhere.

Also, I noticed when I went to Bull Moose tonight at the Wharehouse store the Wii games section was depleted. I mean there wasn't very many Wii games there at all! Where are all the Wii games at?!?!

[BullMooseCrew]

BUMP for this thread, any new deals at Bull Moose?

Is Bull Moose going to do free shipping on their website again for Thanksgiving like they did last year?

Hey 3Q. Sorry we didn't see this before. We did free shipping on Thanksgiving and again on one of those really bad storm days. We don't normally anounce it in advance so the best way to find out without checking bullmoose.com (http://www.cagcast.com/forums/www.bullmoose.com) daily is to subscribe to our e-mail. I hope you had a chance to take advantage of the free shipping.

[BullMooseCrew]

Does Bullmoose sell the Wii Fit? I could not find the a listing for it on the website. Also do you carry PC games? I've got some credit I need to spend.

Yo Choc,
Sorry we didn't see this either. Wii Fit kind of comes and goes. Nintendo didn't make enough. We don't always put hard-to-find items on the website because we want to save what we have for you guys and not sell to people from Florida so they can e-bay them.

PC games- We really only have World of Warcraft.

[BullMooseCrew]

Bull Moose did carry the Wii Fit...but I haven't seen it in awhile there. I'm guessing it is sold out there just as it is pretty much everywhere.

Also, I noticed when I went to Bull Moose tonight at the Wharehouse store the Wii games section was depleted. I mean there wasn't very many Wii games there at all! Where are all the Wii games at?!?!

3Q, we sold a lot over the holidays and should have a lot more any day. Also, used games were really popular so we have to build up the stock a little. That's good for people who sell back to us because we probably will pay a little more for a while. We usually get a bunch of stuff sold back in January, so the warehouse should be looking good again in a few days.

[BullMooseCrew]

Does anyone know if Bullmoose (or any other stores for that matter) will take the Rock Band Wii instruments for tradein without original boxes?
We take them if they come with the game too. We will rebox them if you didn't save the box.
Thx.

[n8littlefield]

We take them if they come with the game too. We will rebox them if you didn't save the box.
Thx.

Thanks - one of the stores I called (I think the Scarborough one) didn't think you'd take the instruments. Any idea of a tradein value for the Wii Rock Band 1 kit (game, microphone, guitar, drums)? I'm trying to find out before packing up the drums :)

[BullMooseCrew]

@nate
It depends on a number of factors. I'll PM you a basic idea.

[n8littlefield]

Anybody know if Bullmoose has the Wii Guitar Hero World Tour Band Kit in store anywhere? The website doesn't list it. I was hoping to get it for less than the $190 I've been seeing it for elsewhere.

[3QGojo]

BUMP! Please don't let this thread die, has anyone seen any good deals at any of the Bull Moose locations lately?

[3QGojo]

Picked up a Nintendo DS Browser and My Sims Wii Party game (looks like Mario Party with My Sims). Haven't found anything that great lately at BullMoose, maybe I bought everything good and there's nothing left? :(

[Chocolatejas]

$5 off new releases isn't terrible if you want it on the day it drops.

[3QGojo]

Bump! Any updates?

[BullMooseCrew]

Bump! Any updates?
Just the usual charging a few bucks below list price. We are working on something cool for Madden but we can't announce it yet. It will be in our e-mail newsletter when we are ready. I don't want to pollute the forum with obvious self-promotion.

Oh, we will be giving away a PS3 at BattlefieldCon next month. I assume everybody here already knows about BattlefieldCon.

[Jmclark]

Just a quick question for the Bull Moose Crew. I was at the Windham store yesterday, and I bought a PS1 game, and right before I purchased it, they resurfaced it. Do you guys resurface other discs at a charge? I really my games resurfaced. :/

[3QGojo]

Just a quick question for the Bull Moose Crew. I was at the Windham store yesterday, and I bought a PS1 game, and right before I purchased it, they resurfaced it. Do you guys resurface other discs at a charge? I really my games resurfaced. :/

I can tell you the answer to this question is yes, since I have had some of my soon to be brother-in law's game's resurfaced. I can't remember the price, though I don't remember it being pricey.

[3QGojo]

Just the usual charging a few bucks below list price. We are working on something cool for Madden but we can't announce it yet. It will be in our e-mail newsletter when we are ready. I don't want to pollute the forum with obvious self-promotion.

Oh, we will be giving away a PS3 at BattlefieldCon next month. I assume everybody here already knows about BattlefieldCon.

I found out what the Madden promo is!

http://www.bullmoose.com/rel/v2_home.php?storenr=258&deptnr=203&nocache

"There are some things you always do once a year: clean your car, sweep underneath your bed, go to the dentist, and buy Madden. EA Sports is good like that. They add just enough new cool stuff to make you say "yeah, I'll buy Madden this year." It's always worth it but it can get expensive. Bull Moose has got you covered on that front. Not only is our everyday price on Madden less than everyone else but we're also offering a preorder bonus this year that could end up being lucrative for you. You see, from now until the day before Madden is released (and while supplies last) we're offering a pack of 1991 Upper Deck football cards with your $5 Madden preorder for any format. These come from actual factory sealed boxes that we stumbled across recently. Who knows what lurks in these packs? Brett Favre rookie? Could be? Autographed Joe Montana card? Yeah, these were randomly inserted into packs and are selling for over $100 last time I checked. You could even get an awesome (but not very valuable) Herman Moore rookie card where he's sporting a sweet high-top fade and talking on the phone. Remember, this is Upper Deck so they had the coolest pictures.
So preorder Madden 10 from Bull Moose. You'll save money and, if you're lucky, make some money at the same time."


Woo 1991 Upper Deck cards! :)

[n8littlefield]

Anyone know what Bullmoose pays for Atari 2600 games? They sell them for $2.95 so I was thinking it may be $1ish a piece given their other stuff is about a third of the selling price or so...Bullmoosecrew?

[Horsecalledwar]

Was down at bullmoose in windham and saw the guitarhero II and aerosmith combo set for 10.95 - cannot beat that deal.

[3QGojo]

Hey, Bull Moose if you're out there are there going to be any Black Friday deals? :)