General Question/CAG Opinion(s) on GameStop

fishwaterjohn

fishwaterjohn

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I am fairly new to 'hardcore' gaming (2 years and change); initially and because I knew no better, I frequented GameStop because I thought they were a one horse pony/the only show in town (for Used Games); I saw they offered "Trade-Ins", etc. and assumed it was a 'fair' deal.

Having been around the block a time or two now, I honestly can't see how people continue to support them; based on the history (or the history from what I've been told by long-time, knowledgeable gamers) of operations; just steamrolling folks with high prices, poor TIV, etc. I know they have decent Promo's from time to time but I'd like to get opinions on how/why and/or how long you think the GameStop train can/will keep rolling?

I know BestBuy is doing their damnest to absorb some of the Used Gaming market (and have stepped up their ante considerably in the past two-three months); Amazon is/has always been a solid option for this market, and even Blockbuster/GameRush blows the brakes off GameStop.

I'd like to hear any opinions and/or your 'take' on "What is GameStop" the future for their operation, and how/when/if they will eventually have to 'play fair'? Note: I understand GameStop's business plan (not all the X's and O's but the basics) and honestly can't believe they haven't imploded yet...I certainly 'see' it happening (sooner than later)...Do you?
 
Next generation consoles will still have physical media, even though things are moving toward downloading. There will still be a market for used games. With Best Buy, TRU, Wal-Mart, and Amazon all in on the used game train now, GameStop may have to get competitive with their TIVs and sale pricing, but they'll still be around. The branch out into used Apple products like iPods/iPhones/iPads is smart to give them some other business while those products are still really hot.

And I'd hate to say "most" but I feel like most consumers are dumb. Yes, now they have more choices for used games and trading, but I don't think they'll go out of their way to start comparing TIVs and deals and whatnot like CAGs. People are happy to throw down full MSRP for all sorts of games, or pay $5 less for the used copy of a recently released game. I know people in smaller regions have limited physical store options, but plenty of parents everywhere see "Game" in the store title and know they can unload their spoiled children's games that they don't play anymore with no hassle and get SOMETHING back in return without the hassles of Craigslist or eBay. GameStop has the reputation going for them of being the place to go to dump your kids' games, so the other retailers are going to have to work hard to persuade customers to come into their big box stores and unload the games there instead, especially when you don't immediately associate Best Buy or TRU or Wal-Mart with buying and selling used games, even if you go in there for a million different things.
 
[quote name='kodave']Next generation consoles will still have physical media, even though things are moving toward downloading. There will still be a market for used games. With Best Buy, TRU, Wal-Mart, and Amazon all in on the used game train now, GameStop may have to get competitive with their TIVs and sale pricing, but they'll still be around. The branch out into used Apple products like iPods/iPhones/iPads is smart to give them some other business while those products are still really hot.

And I'd hate to say "most" but I feel like most consumers are dumb. Yes, now they have more choices for used games and trading, but I don't think they'll go out of their way to start comparing TIVs and deals and whatnot like CAGs. People are happy to throw down full MSRP for all sorts of games, or pay $5 less for the used copy of a recently released game. I know people in smaller regions have limited physical store options, but plenty of parents everywhere see "Game" in the store title and know they can unload their spoiled children's games that they don't play anymore with no hassle and get SOMETHING back in return without the hassles of Craigslist or eBay. GameStop has the reputation going for them of being the place to go to dump your kids' games, so the other retailers are going to have to work hard to persuade customers to come into their big box stores and unload the games there instead, especially when you don't immediately associate Best Buy or TRU or Wal-Mart with buying and selling used games, even if you go in there for a million different things.[/QUOTE]

You hit the nail right on the head....most people are just dumb and/or don't care about getting the best value. They associate gamestop as being the only place to get video games and so that is where they go. Also, I think their largest customer base (in terms of trade ins) are parents w/ kids, as it is "easy" for them to go and trade in their games and get new/used ones with the credit. Convenience hardly ever comes cheaply or free, so can't really blame gamestop for having this business practice, although what you can fault them for is their overall shitty customer service. Sure, you might be lucky and have a local gamestop with good employees, but the consensus, at least here on cag, is that is not too common.
 
Its worth nothing that I recently had a good customer experience with Gamestop recently. I bought some games there and the worker forgot to put them in the case. When I called up the store to tell them about this they offered to take the games to a store closer to my house so I could pick them up. They also gave me a $10 gift card for the trouble even though I didn't ask for it. They said the games would take longer to get to the store closer to my house but they were there the next day.

Overall I am impressed with the way they handled this.
 
Had one experience where I needed a game guide for Disgaea 4. I checked stock online and I even called down there and they said they had it in stock.

By this time I had been playing the game for a most of the day and when I went down to see them, they said they couldn't sell it to me because the game had not yet been released (lie). I tried to argue that I have been playing it all damn day and they ignored me.

I called their DM and flat out said: "This was the final straw for me, I am taking my business elsewhere." He offered $10 gift cards (after not getting my last apology gift card I knew better) and anything else he could find but they lost me that day.

What an awful business.
 
It's not like other B&M retailers have better customer service. They all seem to be very YMMV based on whoever is managing the business and the employees working there.
 
Idk how anybody with an internet connection can EVER choose to buy something from a B&M retailer. Especially Gamestop! Frequenting amazon/ebay/CAG you can get stuff much cheaper or with promo credit, and used games that aren't in shit condition or covered in stickers. FU Gamestop! lol
 
[quote name='Zaku77']Idk how anybody with an internet connection can EVER choose to buy something from a B&M retailer. Especially Gamestop! Frequenting amazon/ebay/CAG you can get stuff much cheaper or with promo credit, and used games that aren't in shit condition or covered in stickers. FU Gamestop! lol[/QUOTE]

Well, plenty of CAGs are well versed in the flipping game and stack GameStop trade in promos to their advantage, whereas the regular consumer may take advantage of trade in promotions but not to the extent CAGs do. That's why CAGs have GameStop and BBV balances of hundreds upon hundreds of dollars that they've only contributed a fraction of in terms of real cash (plus time). So for them to then buy anything from GameStop isn't really costing the CAG full price (if you look at it that way; I know some people don't accept that view).

Personally, I don't do the flip/trade game and GameStop's prices aren't competitive compared to what I can find online everyday from Amazon Warehouse and Third Party Sellers, eBay, and GoHastings, so I just don't shop there very often, if at all. I've got like $8 left on a GameStop gift card, and after I spend that this holiday season I do not foresee myself purchasing from GameStop at all in the future.
 
Even though other places such as TRU, WalMart, Best Buy, Target and Amazon are all taking in game trades to some extent they each have their flaws.

*WalMart's system is done via a self service kiosk and from what I've heard they offer meh values.
*Toys R'Us just plain offers the WORST values bar none(case in point$17.50 for MW3 that just came out YESTERDAY: http://www.toysrustradeincenter.com/products.aspx?searchstring=modern+warfare+3 ).
*Amazon offers halfway decent trade values, but has stopped doing promotions to give them an edge compared to other places.
*Target does their trade program through NextWorth, which has values on the same level as TRU:puke:.
*Best Buy offers decent values and good promos. However, aside from those two things the games they're taking pre-orders for RARELY will come with a physical pre-order bonus and if you attempt to do returns of the pre-orders I believe they count towards the 'return limit' that BB is now tracking for each customer.

So out of all of those, I would only continue to maybe do trades with BB and ONLY if they get better with getting something other than the DLC code junk that everybody else has. If they started doing more like Amazon for pre-orders($10/$20 credits), then I'd definitely switch my game purchases there more often.
 
For a while, I used to love GameStop. Granted, I would only shop there during B2G1 sales and trade in during +50% or the get $10 for 3 deal ( I think they did trade 5 get $20 once, not too sure) It was pretty easy to make some nice flips. Now a days it's a lot harder and the profit margin is a lot lower.

I remember last year getting as much as $48 for Black Ops. Getting that much for a game was really nice, and it was even better that I was buying the games from them (for cheaper) and trading them back in to them (for more.) Now the most you can get for a game is $40 if I remember correctly, even after all promos. While that's still a decent value, it's not as high as it used to be.

I haven't been there since last year and I don't really plan on going back. Especially not since Best Buy came into it. The fact that I can get Amazon Gift cards or a pre-paid Visa as well as pretty decent values is really nice. Like all good things though, I'm pretty sure Best Buy will eventually suck due to all the high values they are giving and the money not being used in their store.
 
amazon serves better for niche titles and pre-orders, also for prices/condition on used items.
local stores serve better for older titles/used games(if you have local stores)
Best Buy serves better for trade-ins and B&M instant gratification
Kmart serves better for release date deals.

No reason to shop at gamestop. ever. stop doing it. stop it. stop.
 
Thanks for the input/insight. I just always see multiple GameStop posts in the 'deals' Forum and have been asking myself lately, "Why even list them as an option?" I know why they are listed (being that their forte is Video Games and they do offer decent promos occasionally); I guess I'm just surprised that folks on CAG (being "Cheap Ass Gamers") even bother with posting their Promos, etc. Moreover, I see (more times than not) **** and ***** Thread Ratings for what seems like retreading more of their junk.

I am in complete agreement re: dumb consumers. And accept that for what it is; I don't have a problem per se with GameStop (as I've done my share of flipping, etc. at their expense...or maybe lack-thereof, as they are just taking my trade and tacking on 60% for resale). I've just find them to be almost the anti-CAG.

I guess Ken Kesey put it best when in stating, ""In any given situation there will always be more dumb people than smart people. We ain't many!" Thank God for my finding CAG. And thanks again for your insight.
 
Gamestop has been great to me in the past two years or so; in large part because they'll take Gamecubes, shovelware, and disc-only goodness. Where else can you turn absolute drek into credit and thus minty reprints during Buy 2, Get 1 free deals? Thanks to GS I've got more than a few games that were either A) free, or B) only cost $5 in credit (i.e. for a thirty dollar game).
 
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My opinion of Gamestop:

1. I still don't like Gamestop's trade in values on games, so I rarely trade any of my games into them.

2. I can't stand getting a new game gutted/opened. Might as well charge me the used price. I say this because I can take one of my sealed new games from my backlog, open it up without playing, and trade it to them only to get the "used" trade in value.

3. I hate it when they "lose" my preorder bonus or sell games as new, even though the employee "rented" it.

4. I hate it when I get a disc scratched up during a Buy 2 Get 1 free sale. Worse is when the game doesn't work.

5. I like about my Gamestop is that they cleaned up their act on 2,3, and 4. Over all, I choose to shop there and should expect the worst case scenario when I pick up a game. I just got my MGS HD Collection Limited Edition and a part of the box was torn. I'm not that pickey since I'm going to open it eventually.
 
I can sum up why I shop at Gamestop with one word: convienience.

I don't care about TIV, I don't trade my games.
I do care about gutting, and as such avoid buying new at GS whenever possible.

As for the used games... my used game shopping is semi-implusive. If I decide to buy a game, it's normally becuase I want it that day. However, my transportation options are limited. It's nice to be able to check online, see who's got my game, and go get it- without having to drive around and hope I get lucky. Trust me, if one of the local pawn shops started up an online inventory, I'd probably never set foot in GS again.

On a lesser note, I do like being able to see what condition the game is in before I get it. The last 2 games I bought off Ebay were not pleasant experiences... one guy took 3 emails and an Ebay dispute just to ship the damn thing (I ended up finding the same game at GS for less while I was waiting on this guy). The other guy sent me a game with a torn-up manual that was missing 2 pages. I screen my sellers- these were both 100% guys with good sounding feedback claiming near mint games. It's honestly a lot easier to just go to GS, see what I'm getting, and deal with any problems in the space of a few hours as opposed to a few weeks. I'm sure I end up with more jacked up cases that way... but with all the damn eco games they use now, that's normally replaced the second I get home anyway.

So yeah, there's my why. As soon as best buy/wal mart/ anyone else steps up to match online inventory and a 10% off card, I'll be shopping there. I have no loyalty.
 
I usually only go to Gamestop when they have good TIV promos (50%, etc), then use the credit I get to buy new release titles that don't have any sort of promo anywhere else. I don't think I've paid with anything other than store credit there for years.
 
Wow...I think I'm the only one who has a great Gamestop store. I always get what I'm looking for when I go in, the employees are more than courteous and knowledgeable, my pre-orders are always 100% complete and they'll inform me of any upcoming sales. They also know that I'm a CE collector and inform me when one gets traded in or becomes available for pre-order. My local Best Buy sucks ass as far as customer service(I used to work for them and they've gone WAY down hill) and with Blockbuster Video closing stores everywhere, I won't go anywhere else to buy my games unless there is a great sale or promotion going on(like Target's Buy 2 Get 1 Free deal last week).

I know I'm definitely in the minority here, but I actually enjoy going into the store and browsing. Sure, I might be able to get the game for a few dollars cheaper online, but I'm a human being and I actually enjoy interacting with other human beings. Shooting the shit with my local Gamestop employees has almost become a weekly event, as I'm usually there picking up my pre-orders and checking out the recent trades. I don't worry so much about trade in values because I almost never trade any games in. no matter what you do, you get screwed on trade ins regardless of where you go.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm willing to pay a bit of a premium for fantastic customer service while trying to give the brick and mortar stores a chance to continue on. I weep for the day that I can't leave my house to browse the local store looking for games or movies. I know it's inevitable, but I feel like I'm doing my part.

:Steps down from soapbox:
 
The gamestop's in my area seem to have unusually good customer service especially compared to the things I read online about the chain, but I can get things cheaper online, but I do go there when I have credit or when I want something. However I have no problem with buying my stuff elsewhere when there is a better deal. There isn't a company that is loyal to me, so why should I be loyal to them?

It probably has a lot to do with how good of a district manager your area has and what type of employees they hire. This would be for any retail store, anywhere. Most of the other retail stores in my area completely suck, they NEVER have anything you want in stock and are always cleaned out of everything. I also have the good fortune of knowing a couple of the gamestop higher ups and former employees of the stores due to the fact that I went to school with them. Not that that makes much of a difference but they know my name and they know I have been shopping at their stores since the stores were opened many years ago.

If the Gamestop's here were independent game stores with no corporate policies and no corporate overhead they would probably be 100% perfect stores. Unfortunately its the corporation that tells them to gut games, to put stickers all over games etc. I am sure the employees don't really want to do these things, but they have to because corporate tells them to.

Irrelevant but another store that is good to be is Big Lots, the employees are courteous and its the same workers each time so I know them by name now. One of the ladies there even took the initiative to tell me about a 20% coupon sale several weeks before it happened so I could save a few bucks on a TV stand I was intending to buy, excellent service.
 
My feelings towards GS/EB mirror what others have already said. Have no use for trading in games for undervalued store credit when you can usually get fair and actual money selling to someone direct. Don't mind buying used as long as the price is in line. $5 off isn't right. Goes without saying their act of gutting new copies and that sticky residue left on the case after peeling off price stickers leaves a bad taste in my mouth. My first pre-ordering experience with them will probably be my last too. I harbor no real hostility towards them, but they're last destination on my list for gaming purchases unless it's deal related.
 
Most of the time that sticker residue can be peeled off the cases by re-sticking and re-peeling those same stickers on top of the residue. Now if you're talking about the lil squared off EB Games stickers, those are on there for life and you need some C4 to get rid of all traces of them.:lol:
 
If you want to pay the highest price possible for a game then GS is usually a good bet.

I used to feel indifferent towards GS and went there whenever they had that rare decent deal, but I haven't been there ever since I went and returned a (used) game and the guy was making a huge deal about it, threatening to ban me from the store and saying that they have records of my returns and what I buy, etc. I asked him to tell me what the last thing I returned was (I haven't returned anything in over a year) and he was still a douche about it. I will never buy anything from there again. Oh how I'll miss the 10 minute sales pitch they give every time I would buy something.
 
[quote name='thecoryjihad']Wow...I think I'm the only one who has a great Gamestop store.[/QUOTE]

As far as service goes, my gamestops are just fine- I rarely get asked about preorders, and when I do, it's just a quick question. The small number of times I've pre-ordered a game to get a bonus, I've never had issues with it being opened, sold, or not having said bonus. And for the most part, the employees are really nice- grumpy is the worse I've dealt with.

The closest to bad serivce I can remember having is back when the Wii released, I got my brother a Gamecube for christmas (not interested in the wii but wanted to play some old GC games.) When the clerk asked if they had any black GCs in, the manager yelled from the back, "yeah, probably." The clerk asked him to check. Then I hear "Wait- someone's buying one?" and a head pops out of the back room. He immedately apologized and went to check the systems. Guess the GC wasn't a hot seller that year.:lol:
 
I don't have an issue with Gamestop. The employees at mine have always been great, holding stuff for me, etc. I know I can be a pain in the butt too since I can be pretty OCD about the condition of some stuff, but they've never made a comment about it beyond "Yeah I probably wouldn't buy a disk that looked like that either." Plus several of the pawn shops around here are priced cheaply enough that I can sometimes flip stuff from there to GS with trade-in bonuses, and there are several rare older games I've found for a fraction of what I'd pay online. For new stuff there's usually, if not always, a better deal elsewhere, but for last gen games and as far as customer service, GS has always been good to me.
 
Since this thread is intended for "general questions" about GameStop as well, I only have one question that probably isn't related to any of the above posts:

When will GameStop phase out their excess last gen products? We've seen numerous sales on GCN/PS2/GBA games, but only the GBA games have been phased out so far. What about the GCN and PS2 games? When can we expect a 75% off sale on those?
 
What are the chances of Collector's Editions/Limited Editions being restocked at a Gamestop? I know that transfers can occur, moving needed products to one store to another store.

I ask this because I bought Assassin's Creed: Brother Collector's Edition about a month or so ago. The employee claimed it was the last one. I wanted one that wasn't as beat up. I check today's price drops at Gamestop and see that it is available again at that location.

If I hadn't opened it already, then I'd so do a buy another one at the cheaper price, and swap out/return bad one to keep the better/packaging condition one.
 
I hope that Gamestop stays in business. More competition is usually good for consumers. I just bought a new, sealed game from GS for 50% of Amazon's price.

There are some things about GS that I don't like, but they are easily avoided. I don't like that they sell gutted games as new, so I refuse to buy a new game unless it's sealed. You just have to ask if they have a sealed copy. I don't like that used games are $5 less than new games, so I don't buy used games unless there's a B2G1 sale. I don't like they sometimes sell used games in horrible condition, so I ask to see the games before I purchase them.
 
For a short while, I did use GS a lot... their B2G1F sales were a godsend to get older and newer games at great prices. But these days, new games seem to drop in price like flies and I haven't been inside a store in ages, except to get the occasional rarity I want that they have.
 
Personally I like Gamestop. I can't buy things online because I do not have a credit card yet. The people who work there are nice and they really can help if I ask for it. The only thing i do not like, and granted all stores do this, is tell me how much a game REALLY costs. With tax. All stores tell you the tax for stuff when you get to the counter, which is Fine. But game stores don't really mention them AT ALL untill you are at the counter. It only pissed me off this time because I needed the money to purchase another game elseware. The other thing is at this Gamestop i went to that we happened to be near to while we were shopping one day had Splinter Cell: Double Agent Limited Edition without the Extra disc. I found that a little weird and also sad. But otherwise i think the place, when they have good deals, is fine.
 
tl;dr: gamestop sucks but who are we to blame if we continue to shop there?

personally, ill only buy games from there if

1.) theres a promotion
2.) i have a gift card
3.) flipping
4.) glitch sales
5.) trade in PROMOTION.

other than that, i havent bought anything in the last 2 years from gamestop other than skyward sword. but only cause i had a gift card AND took advantage of the trade in promotion :D
 
For a company that supposedly makes a shit ton of money, you would think they would invest in a phone system that allows itself to put its customers on hold when there's a high traffic call volume. I am so sick of calling customer service to inquire about an order, immediately getting an automated message telling me the operators are busy, then telling me to check for an answer on the site, and then hanging up on me.

I had used a $20-off coupon I had saved over for Skyward Sword on the 27th. As of today, the order is still "Open" and hasn't shipped out, let alone even been processed. I called a total of six times and got absolutely nowhere beyond that automated message. Looking at their Twitter account, I'm not the only one having this issue. One guy couldn't get through via phone, so he e-mailed them and hadn't heard a thing in seven days. While a girl is having the same issue as me with the phone service and hasn't been able to get through in two days.

I just want my game or at least an idea of why the hell it hasn't shipped out.

[quote name='chiwii']I hope that Gamestop stays in business. More competition is usually good for consumers.[/QUOTE]
Funny you should say this, seeing as how GameStop absorbed Babbages, Funco Land, EB Games and Rhino Video Games. On top of this, they've helped effectively kill off a good number of smaller chain game stores. It's gotten to the point where they're the *only* major gaming retailer out there. One could say there's Play n Trade, but it's more or less the same thing in most cases. It's especially bad if you don't have any actual game stores in your area aside from GS.
 
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[quote name='SaraAB']The gamestop's in my area seem to have unusually good customer service especially compared to the things I read online about the chain[/QUOTE]

I've only written to any company twice; once to tell Gamestop how awesome one of their managers is, and once to tell them what an asshole another one of their managers was.
 
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