Best Buy PMing Used prices @ GS & GC for New

Just to bring up some points that have been made, but the 'sweet' people don't seem to be understanding:
1) Gamestop used prices are usually only $5 less than new for new releases, and old releases can often be found cheaper than their used prices. Aside from the special deal like 'trade in 2 of these and get this new release for $20' type of promotion, I can't understand why anyone walks into a GS since they give next to nothing back on games that are regularly traded in.
2) BB is not going to honor edge cards or %off deals with this. It's pretty clear what they are trying to do and it's getting them hype when it's just putting every game on a very mediocre sale.
3) I really hope you guys at least go through customer service or have an ad on you so I don't have to wait while some cashier gets someone to call gamestop so you can get Madden 10 for $55.
 
Sure, it may only be $5 less than retail, but what would you rather have for $55: a used and abused, fingerprinted and potentially greasy copy, or a crisp, new, pristine copy that hasn't been touched by anyone's grubby hands?
 
It's a good deal if you HAVE to buy your games retail, but why would you? CAG has so many other options listed daily to get most new titles for a fraction of the retail price online. For instance, I'm trying out Halo Wars.

Gamestop used price: $54.99
Amazon NEW price: $36.49

Wow, I'm saving SO much money buying used :dunce:

Unless of course your so broke you can't even open a checking account with debit card for online purchases, in which case yes, this is a sweet deal.

Oh, and all the "I'm gonna PM everything and try to use my edge card AND use coupons" people are going to destroy this deal before it even goes nationwide.
 
i hope all best buy's do this! 2things will happen here, either best buy will run gamestop to the ground or we'll be finding alot of games for dirt cheap if gamestop wants to actually compete.
 
this sounds cool. My thinking is they will eventually stop if after being raped in PMs if they do follow through on it, and do it as an all stores / nation wide policy. Legit wholesale prices for games are tight, margins are 10-20% normally. Game Crazy has pretty decent used prices and you can get new/just realeased titles that go for $60, easily for $40-$50 if they do honor it.
 
I saw this on the news yesterday in Chicago, I really wasnt paying attention because I saw it was BB and figured it wouldnt benefit real cheapskates like me.
 
[quote name='Chairman_LMAO']

Also, Halo Wars is $34.99 used at (link deleted)

Kinda shoots holes in your logic.[/QUOTE]

In fairness, that used price just changed on Friday and is part of the weekly sale along with two other titles. It will go back up to 55 or at least 50 in roughly six days.
 
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This would be great, if BB carried the majority of older PS3 titles that I was contemplating grabbing from GS, but chances are those were clearanced out a long time ago.

I'd much rather grab NEW copies from BB than some used, shit stained, no coverart or manual scratched to hell copy from GS anyday.

As for 'buying new supporting the devs', who cares?!?!? As long as I can get my games cheap, I don't care who gets what, if I get my games for the price I WANNA PAY.
 
[quote name='123pop']Oh Circuit City with your $10 off new release sales. Why doesn't someone else follow your foot steps?[/QUOTE]

You mean take a majority of their long time employees, lay them off and then try to hire them back at starting wage, sue a member of CAG for posting a scan of their ad early, then go out of business after X years in business?

I agree. Every business should be run like CC because then even Wally World would go under. Circuit City was poorly managed, which is why they went under. Shame really, since I loved exploiting the $20 gift card thing when they didn't have X or Y game in stock on release date.
 
[quote name='Killbomb']Yeah. $56.99 for your average new game with super saver shipping and you will get your game in a week if you are lucky. It's worth the extra 3 bucks to go home with the game the same day.[/QUOTE]

hey dumbass. Prime shipping for $79 a year, free two day shipping. Eca discount gives you 10% off on amazon. If you get the title in your quick picks, another 5% off. so $48 to get a game two days later is a good deal, and they even have free two months prime trials if you were going to say, but its $79 a year!!!!!
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']You mean take a majority of their long time employees, lay them off and then try to hire them back at starting wage, sue a member of CAG for posting a scan of their ad early, then go out of business after X years in business?

I agree. Every business should be run like CC because then even Wally World would go under. Circuit City was poorly managed, which is why they went under. Shame really, since I loved exploiting the $20 gift card thing when they didn't have X or Y game in stock on release date.[/QUOTE]

I agree too, but I didn't even say that.:cool:
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']You mean take a majority of their long time employees, lay them off and then try to hire them back at starting wage, sue a member of CAG for posting a scan of their ad early, then go out of business after X years in business?[/QUOTE]
Don't forget never stocking games until they've been released for over a week. Made it hard to collect that $10 discount when the games weren't even on the shelves and the employees avoided you like the plague.
 
I hit the store in Hagerstown, MD earlier today, and what I found out at least for that store. They'll price match ANY store within a 25 mile radius. GS / GC, Wal / K-Mart, Target, etc. However, they'll only match their new prices. I tried to get them to match their used prices, and said that they didn't do that or something.
 
[quote name='Cheapass24']hey dumbass. Prime shipping for $79 a year, free two day shipping. Eca discount gives you 10% off on amazon. If you get the title in your quick picks, another 5% off. so $48 to get a game two days later is a good deal, and they even have free two months prime trials if you were going to say, but its $79 a year!!!!![/QUOTE]

It's still two days, as opposed to RIGHT NOW. Also, it is $79 a year, so you have to factor that in with the cost of games. Don't call someone a dumbass if they have a valid point.

[quote name='JStryke']I hit the store in Hagerstown, MD earlier today, and what I found out at least for that store. They'll price match ANY store within a 25 mile radius. GS / GC, Wal / K-Mart, Target, etc. However, they'll only match their new prices. I tried to get them to match their used prices, and said that they didn't do that or something.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, this is BB's corporate policy. They used to do pricematching plus an extra %10 off, but they don't do that anymore.
 
I think people need to keep 2 things in mind:

One, this is a B & M merchant, and if you think about it, not many B & M merchants are willing to sell, indefinitely, at about $5 (or more, if you watch used prices closely enough over time) less than new everywhere else. Walmart touts their "$59.96" prices on new games. Wow, 3 cents off....this is an actual physical store selling for $55 on a brand new game even after the game's been out for a couple weeks, and then later on down the road, maybe $10 or $15 less than MSRP new (again, if you watch used prices like I do)...that's big for a B & M store, in case you don't see it, this isn't a promotion, this is a theoretical drop in price indefinitely, MSRP prices would go away for them, it's not a sale you need to jump on before it ends in 7 days (assuming this gets implemented and sticks). Some games that came out maybe a year ago are still sitting new at Best buy for $59.99 or $49.99, and used for $27.99 at GS, and this would get you a new game for around half of what they were normally charging. Sure, Amazon and Newegg can regularly sell new with free shipping/maybe no tax, a brand new game for $8 less than BB, but they don't have the same overhead that BB has to cover. I find this impressive AND profound for a B & M store, even if some people don't. Not that I'd chose it over Amazon because I have ECA and it's pretty cheap even without that, but still...impressive, because you won't find many B & M stores willing to (if this implements across the nation) sell at all times, a game for $5 (or more) less than every other store front will. This is one of the biggest B & M game merchants in the US willing to indefinitely do away with MSRP prices, how is this no big deal?

Second, maybe some of you don't realize it, but you're comparing a price for $60 to a price for $55 and thinking it's apples and apples. A brand new sealed, perfectly scented, crisp game in all its glory, or one of those disgusting discs covered in 3 bodily fluids without a manual or any cover art. You are not comparing the same products. "Big deal, $5 savings" is misleading. New vs. old, it's more than $5 savings, you're getting something of a much higher quality for less (yes yes, GS guarantees it works, but it's nasty as hell, you want that residue all over the innards of your console?), and then even maybe a bit of an incentive is there for Gamer's Zone points if they combine it with that, so you buy 3 new games for $55, and you get $10 in reward points certs....not bad IMO. GS games are disgusting, and you're lucky if you can get a "like new" COMPLETE game from them when you're going through their inventory and cases in store. Though, I'll agree the EDGE card and coupons offset a lot of that, and I do occasionally shop at GS still, I just spend about 20 minutes cleaning my discs and manuals and cases (f-ing stickers they put on), a few dollars buying a new case because the one I got was destroyed, and it gets annoying. I'll take a brand new sealed copy for the same price in a heartbeat.

I think people aren't looking at this accurately and taking it at face value, but that's my opinion. Best Buy is competing more with other B & M stores, they would have a hard time taking on Amazon or Buy.com, so they're taking on some of their real competition across the street, and giving devs more money in the process (and to the one who said they don't care who gets their money, good way to move that much closer to shutting yet another dev studio down because you don't think where your money goes factors into the landscaping of this industry)...If Bobby Kotick had his way, we'd be paying that $92 like the UK is, so this is a good thing, if this ignites more sales, maybe d##ch bags like him will relax a little and stop running their mouth about low attach rates.

I know I rambled a lot, but I just read 9 pages of views, and thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. I think this is big, it's like BB putting MSRP's on hold to spark some business, and that's a big deal for a B & M.
 
[quote name='BWS1982']I think people need to keep 2 things in mind:

One, this is a B & M merchant, and if you think about it, not many B & M merchants are willing to sell, indefinitely, at about $5 (or more, if you watch used prices closely enough over time) less than new everywhere else. Walmart touts their "$59.96" prices on new games. [/QUOTE]

Best Buy has been failing in terms of deals in comparison to other B & M's. Pretty much every major release can be had at another store for cheaper. For example Toy's R Us, has routinely given 15 to 20$ gift cards for major releases. Including RE4, and Wii Sports amongst many others. This weak microcenter has madden 10 for 35. So in comparison Best Buy's 5 bucks off a new game sucks almost always for a new release and is not less then everywhere else.
 
Personally, we should start a list in the OP stating which towns/cities and their respective states this promotion has been confirmed in...no?
 
[quote name='Demontooth']The more I think about this the more I think whoever thought of this at Best Buy is a fucking genius.[/QUOTE]

Agreed, they should give this guy a raise ;)

Personally, I really don't mind shopping at BB. I've found customer service to be great (especially for this area) not to mention selection is definitely there. Obviously there is still a lot wrong with a majority of their practices, but I don't understand why they get the bad rap they do.

If they start this in my area, I'll definitely be more willing to purchase games from them than any other competitor.
 
[quote name='caltab']Best Buy has been failing in terms of deals in comparison to other B & M's. Pretty much every major release can be had at another store for cheaper. For example Toy's R Us, has routinely given 15 to 20$ gift cards for major releases. Including RE4, and Wii Sports amongst many others. This weak microcenter has madden 10 for 35. So in comparison Best Buy's 5 bucks off a new game sucks almost always for a new release and is not less then everywhere else.[/QUOTE]

That wasn't my point. MSRP's are my point, and to put EVERY game on sale for at least $5 off is a big deal, sure, you get a gift card maybe at Toys R Us or Target for other purchases, but first of all, that's a gift card, not a current discount. Secondly, it's a temporary promotion on a handful of games at most, it's gone after a week. Best Buy's "promotion" would theoretically be there years after the games release, on EVERY game....I think it's far different, because for EVERY game to go on sale for a discount means they're essentially ignoring MSRP pricing on hundreds of items, not giving out gift cards for a couple games for 7 days, it's just not the same. Sure the gift card deals are great for that ONE game (I got $20 last year for Force Unleashed on release week), but across the board, in the big picture, this move is significant for B & M stores, this isn't a sale, it's an entire shift in the paradigm of retail strategy for video games (no I'm not employed by Best Buy and I actually buy more stuff from Newegg and Amazon, I'm trying to convey a point).
 
As nice as this offer is, I still think buying used is a better deal, especially if you're using the CAG16 coupon code and/or an Edge card. I never buy a used game that isn't practically in mint condition.

In my eyes, I'd rather pay $50 for a $54.99 used game in excellent condition (with 10% off) than $55 for a brand new $60 game.

And if GameStop has one of those promotional 20% off coupons for Wii/PS3/360 games then used is definitely the way to go!
 
Hi there, CAG-ers!

Seeing this all over CAG and elsewhere, I did some checking to see what I could find out about this. It is indeed a valid offer, but also a local one, only available at the mentioned store. This is something this particular store decided on and got approved to run with. This means, at least for now, it won't be available to you unless you visit the West Jordan store.

Are you aware of what else is going on? I'm sure you've already heard (I've seen it mentioned here already) but in case you haven't: We are testing a kiosk in stores (currently in Texas markets) that accept trade-ins of old games and sells both new and old games. A trade-in would earn you an instant credit dispensed as a Best Buy gift card. They also have movie rentals for $1.00 a day. We have one here at Corporate during the pilot - and I admit it's pretty sweet! Read more about it on our CMO's blog at barryjudge.com/new-places-and-spaces-used-games-launch.

We're glad to see the positive feedback the community has to offer - you are being heard! If you have ideas on how to improve Best Buy, head over to bestbuyideax.com and let us know.

Cheers,

Jason
Community Analyst
Best Buy® Corporate
 
[quote name='JasonGS']Hi there, CAG-ers!

Seeing this all over CAG and elsewhere, I did some checking to see what I could find out about this. It is indeed a valid offer, but also a local one, only available at the mentioned store. This is something this particular store decided on and got approved to run with. This means, at least for now, it won't be available to you unless you visit the West Jordan store.

Are you aware of what else is going on? I'm sure you've already heard (I've seen it mentioned here already) but in case you haven't: We are testing a kiosk in stores (currently in Texas markets) that accept trade-ins of old games and sells both new and old games. A trade-in would earn you an instant credit dispensed as a Best Buy gift card. They also have movie rentals for $1.00 a day. We have one here at Corporate during the pilot - and I admit it's pretty sweet! Read more about it on our CMO's blog at barryjudge.com/new-places-and-spaces-used-games-launch.

We're glad to see the positive feedback the community has to offer - you are being heard! If you have ideas on how to improve Best Buy, head over to bestbuyideax.com and let us know.

Cheers,

Jason
Community Analyst
Best Buy® Corporate[/QUOTE]

Thanks how does it feel to work in those Sand crawlerish buildings. I kept thinking that jawas would pour out of the buildings at any moment.
 
You have forgotten/missed.
Gamestop has been experimenting with changing the rules of edge (find in the forums). This would have the potential to be better if it were nationwide but, still there are issues.

Also for $55 for a new game vs. 50 for a used one. You are only assuming they will not match the edge card price. (retrovertigo)

Also, do you not see the obvious reply? Gamestop can merely lower their prices to drive BB to the brink. Especially with the huge revenue they got from last quarter. I am hearing SALE on USED games. (BWS1982)

Finally they have just confirmed it is only at one store = NBD!

In order to pressure the games market Walmart needs to do this nationwide. They would drive the other stores into the ground. As a B&M retailer they have failed.
 
Sure they could respond with another universal drop again on every game, slicing 10% more off their used prices across the board, but that cuts into Gamestop's profits, they could do that song and dance indefinitely, until one quits (and yes, one has acquired the game for dirt cheap used), so I see your point, but at least for now, BB put the ball in GS's court (well, this is an isolated pilot, but still)....beyond that, I'm not sure what you meant by "Sale on used games"...Gamestop already does this from time to time, do you mean upping the frequency/aggressiveness?....You bring up good points, and no, this isn't the end all be all and it's not "checkmate", but it's more than sitting idly by whilst Gamestop makes 10 fold flipping games and accessories for eternity.

I like that the Best Buy rep noted that gift cards will be given for credit: one could essentially offload games to BB and come home with a discount off a TV or some movies....not bad.
 
The promotion is officially over. Best Buy corporate pulled it, most likely due to the response of the local GS dropping used prices.

The employee I spoke to said that things went well while the promotion was running and they're hoping to see it open up nationwide. I doubt GS would lower their used prices that much nationwide to counter BB's efforts.
 
[quote name='omyard']This kind of shocks me because when I worked at Best Buy they would micro manage their margins like crazy. Hell, even the summer after the Wii was released I had a manager who refused to let us sell Wii's unless we could talk to customer and attach accessories and games then pull out the "I think we might've just received some" card. As a former retail person I'm all too familiar with the concept of using loss leaders to bring in customers, but if they're just doing this for any game they're eroding either most or all of their margin.

The hope is to make Best Buy their retail destination, but to take full advantage of this you're going to have to invest time into going to another retail store. For a typical consumer I can't imagine they're going to waste so much time for so little reward. They'll have to go into Gamestop or Game Crazy, find a used game they want, call or drive to the local Best Buy and see if they have the same title, hassle with the employee to price match, wait for them to approve or call the other store and then purchase the title. I have 2 Gamestop stores within 5 minutes of the same Best Buy and I'd just go ahead and buy the used game instead of going through all that hassle for a typical $5 in savings.

Whatever, I don't care. I the majority of my game shopping on Amazon now.[/QUOTE]

Step 1. Go to best buy and look at games.
Step 2. Find one you want.
Step 3. Call Gamestop and ask how much the title costs used.
Step 4. Take to register. Tell cashier to call Gamestop for price match.

doesnt seem very complicated to me.
 
That's interesting.
So I guess they're going to take a dollar or two off each price.
Y'know. Oftentimes the BB price is cheaper than the gamestop used price. That that mean some games will raise in price?
 
[quote name='thelonepig']The promotion is officially over. Best Buy corporate pulled it, most likely due to the response of the local GS dropping used prices.

The employee I spoke to said that things went well while the promotion was running and they're hoping to see it open up nationwide. I doubt GS would lower their used prices that much nationwide to counter BB's efforts.[/QUOTE]Therein lies the big question between BB and GS.

BB had good success with it while GS wasn't playing dirty pool with dropping used prices, so that's encouraging. If BB wants to roll it out nationwide, it might give GS some pause about trying to meet BB at the national level for doing price drops.

It's easy for GS to do a response to BB for one store's area, though nationwide, that's a whole different situation.

I'd be curious to see if this does go nationwide or some small-minded people in BB's marketing department think that it's a failure.
 
This was in response to the uproar that game developers made about Gamestop selling used games and taking all the profit. And using new game advertising to get the people in the store then sell the game cheaper at their used price. But b/c no developer will come right out and say it against Gamestop, they did the smart thing and went to their competitors. Walmart will soon follow suit, b/c Walmart already uses price matching.
 
I'll have to see if this hit here in PA when I get to Best Buy next. The store near me is new (opened in October) so their used selection is pretty weak. I think the only 360 game I saw was The Simpsons Game down to $15. Meanwhile, Target opened up with clearanced games.
 
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