Soccer moms and Gamestop

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Anyone else here dislike it when you're in a game store and some parent brings in their kid to look around? I'm 23 and whenever I'm looking through games when this happens I usually end up getting some weird look from them. I think they're of the mindset that video games are just for little kids or something, but I hate knowing I'm being silently judged. It's ESPECIALLY bad when you're standing in the Nintendo section because that's where all the little hellraisers hover around.

I used to hate little kids running into me or jumping in my way when I'm looking at something but now it's the parents that annoy me the most.

Guess it comes with the hobby.
 
Usually I don't mind kids...until the start screaming. If it goes past 3 mins. with the parent doing nothing, I'll start giving dirty looks.
 
Some are innocent enough but it's the wise crackers that always annoy me.

"Why do you have the Wii display if you don't have them in stock?"

Why do people have evergreen air fresheners that aren't actually trees?
 
[quote name='GizmoGC']Not if the moms are hot.[/quote]

Which is highly rare. Most "soccer moms" are past 40s and not hot. Maybe it's where I live :\
 
i have gone past dirty looks and in a few cases have said something to the parents. its not the kids fault typically they are too young to know better especially if they havent been taught certain things by the parents. sometimes i start swearing to a friend and they quickly leave.
 
I've never really had any problems in my area. Kids will be kids. Heh, some of the moms in the Bay Area aren't too bad looking, well the ones I've encountered do not look like soccer moms. More or less, mid 20 to 30 year old moms. Uh..I digress. I normally end up helping them more so than the employees.

Speaking of which, went to a Gamestop in the mall and there was a cute hispanic girl. She knew her games. That was hot. Damn...digressing again. Stupid soda.
 
Don't care about the kids. Usually they don't make a big ruckus.

It's the moms that weigh 350lb and park themselves + a shopping cart infront of the 360 shelf and refuse to move that tick me off. It's been especially bad with that lately due to the Wii.
 
The best I've seen are the soccer moms who act like the employee is lying and they ask 5 times if they have any Wii systems, like the answer is going to change, JUST FOR THEM.

Worse are the oblivious soccer moms who let their lil hellions run around the store, screaming their heads off, while mom yaps to her girlfriends on her cell phone and talking loud enough for people in the next state to hear them.

Of course, that applies to any idiots with cell phones that feel they have to speak in a LOUD voice to be heard that get on my nerves like that, but I digress.

Nearly the worst are the semi oblivious moms who don't have the kids reined in close enough and keep having to 'call' for the kids to 'come over here' in just as loud of a voice so the whole store can see her trying to discipline her kid and be a semi attentive dumbass. If the kid wanders off and someone abducts them though, whose fault do you think it will be? NOT the stupid fuckin soccer mom, that's for sure.

Hell, I had that happen at a mall I was at in another state just recently. The soccer mom was on her cell phone AND talking to a friend who was walking next to her and she kept telling the kid(s) to get back by her. I was walking about 100-150 feet behind her and the kid made it ALL THE WAY back by where I WAS before mom looked back to see where her lil b went to. Good job, mom, way to keep an eye on yer kid.
 
[quote name='mrelusive']
It's the moms that weigh 350lb and park themselves + a shopping cart infront of the 360 shelf and refuse to move that tick me off. It's been especially bad with that lately due to the Wii.[/QUOTE]

Yup.

Along with the moms who ask their kid thirteen times 'are you sure this is the one you want' because their Ritalin-addicted kid can't seem to make his mind up.
 
thats understandable i guess. what i really hate is when their moms buy them M rated games. theres a bunch of times where they (the parents) sends their kid to the store to shop around and basically get whatever they want. 10 minutes later, little joe finds something he wants and its an M rated game. store employee tells the boy he cant buy it cause its M rated. lil joe goes out to grab mom, buys the games, walks out. that shit really bothers me. its not like lil joe will grab daddys shotgun and star shotting everyone.. it just shows that some parents dont really care about what their kids are playing or watching.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']The best I've seen are the soccer moms who act like the employee is lying and they ask 5 times if they have any Wii systems, like the answer is going to change, JUST FOR THEM.[/quote]

"Just look in the back for me one more time..."
 
[quote name='DarkKnightCecil']Usually I don't mind kids...until the start screaming. If it goes past 3 mins. with the parent doing nothing, I'll start giving dirty looks.[/QUOTE]

you just need to look at them with a serious look and bring your hand up and in a slashing motion across your throat, you need to say "hey, cut that shit out"... they will stop, maybe go get their parent/s. I am good with kids though, they have an understanding with me, other than my nephew, cuz he is being raised by my sister and mom with very little male influence.
 
Not a problem for me, I check the stores price and availability online and then I go pick it up but I think the EB employees are more annoying than kids in the first place. "Would you like insurance on this $2 game" :dunce:
 
If it's the customers that annoy you, you are pretty fucking lucky.

"There must be a mistake in the register, this game is marked $60... der, yeah, yeah, well there's probably a mistake in the weekly ad too, derrrr. Derrr, well this coupon doesn't work on games listed in the weekly ad, derrr. Derrr, well your EDGE card doesn't combine with the sale price, derrr"
 
I actually never have problems with the employees. There was ONE time a clerk at a gamestop I rarely go to tried to say that a trade-in bonus coupon from the black friday coupon book wouldn't work, but in that case I just took my stuff to my usually gamestop where they took everything with no problems.
 
I don't usually have problems with this, mainly because our Gamestops have decent employees who will ask if the soccer mom needs help finding anything, which gets their attention and gets them to either buy something or leave the store, or if there are unsupervised kids in the store they do their best to kick them out.

I am really not worried if someone is looking at me because I am in the Nintendo section, as long as you either intend to purchase something or are purchasing something you are a legitimate customer of the store and have nothing to worry about, if the moms don't like it that you are there then they can go shop online and keep their kids couped up in the house without any outside movement playing their video games eating and getting fat.

Most soccer moms here are 300lbs + so they take up a lot of room in those tiny stores especially when pushing a double stroller with 2 kids who are of more than walking age in it.
 
I have a good soccer mom story. This afternoon, I'm in Gamestop and a soccer mom asked the associate about trading in the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance/Forza 360 game. They told her the trade-in price was $8. Even though she didn't have the game with her, she said that was a good deal since her son hadn't played it. Wha?

Turns out he had never even opened it and she didn't seem to care. I don't know what's worse here - the fact that he got a free game that she isn't going to make him try out or the fact that she's willing to accept $8 for a sealed double pack of free 360 games...
 
I kind of have the opposite problem. I like kids and MILFs, but it bugs the shit out of me when I see a parent about to buy games or movies that are marked up. I usually try to help them. The thing that I hate and dread every time I walk into a f*cking Gamestop(and it only happens there) is being asked repeatedly if I want to reserve a game. I understand they are pressured to get pre-sells but it's driven me(and others) from going in that store unless I have to. My friend used to work at a GS and he's got funny @sshole customer stories too though.
 
Soccer moms are the evil in this world. Thank god I did swimming instead of soccer when I was young!
 
I have had a couple soccer moms ask me if "I really play this junk." I either had that, or moms who would come in and only want to deal with me. We figured a girl behind the counter is less intimidating to them.
 
[quote name='josekortez']I have a good soccer mom story. This afternoon, I'm in Gamestop and a soccer mom asked the associate about trading in the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance/Forza 360 game. They told her the trade-in price was $8. Even though she didn't have the game with her, she said that was a good deal since her son hadn't played it. Wha?

Turns out he had never even opened it and she didn't seem to care. I don't know what's worse here - the fact that he got a free game that she isn't going to make him try out or the fact that she's willing to accept $8 for a sealed double pack of free 360 games...[/quote]

Soccer moms are Gamestops core source of business, along with casual gamers who could care less if they're getting ripped off on trade values, as long as they have the 'latest and greatest game when it comes out'.

If not for those two customer types, Gamestop would go out of business, if you ask me.

I've made offers for games before while in a Gamestop, then been told to 'take it outside'. Of course, some people just want that piddily amount of credit to be able to buy another overpriced new release and would turn down a whole $1-3 more in CASH value.

That's the third type of GS customer, who can also be grouped with the casual gamers, or the 'gotta have it NOW' gamers, as I call them.
 
I circumvent this issue by staying out of EBGamestop altogether now.

There's a reason the Gawker.com "I HATE YOUR KIDS" shirt sold so well.
 
Well, I'm officially now a soccer dad (2 kids currently play, 3rd will start next Fall) and I've brought all 3 of my kids into Gamestop on occasion. You guys would love me ;). Of course, it is usually me who wants to look around - the kids usually want to go do something else. In fact, it has gotten so bad with me and CAG that my kids dread getting in the car with me because it usually means a few stops at various game stores. They've even gotten to the point of not really playing games much any more :lol:.

Was good for the pocketbook, though, as I decided to sell off a metric ton of still-sealed Gamecube games I had bought for them (very cheaply of course) over the last few years right before Christmas. Apparently people are snatching up any and every GC title at fairly decent prices - must be because of the Wii.

And don't knock soccer. I didn't get what it was all about either until my kids started playing. For one thing, anything that gets the kids out running around these days is a BIG plus. It is better than sitting around playing games all day (which my youngest, the only one not playing soccer yet, does too much of).

But I guess most of CAG is in that 20-30 age group where the whole kids/soccer/parenting thing seems a bit wierd. I know I was the same way in my early 20's. You don't want to be anywhere near kids, but really, I think you guys can handle a few kids browsing in GS every once in a while. Despite what you may think, this is a hobby for kids as well ;).

(Though I agree I do cringe when I see some kid bring in 10+ games and get his measily $15 credit or whatever - GS's bread and butter there I tell ya).
 
there is one odd soccer mom that visits the Local gamestop here, constantly...her excuse?...World of Warcraft -Geek Bitch fanatic, She's ugly as sin and somehow spawned 3 lil hell-rats that run around the store playing with all the displays and putting their mouths (literally chewing on the video game boxes) all over the place. She comes around so often because she's a friend of the manger and they talk about WOW all day long, Ignoring her kids and letting them tear up the place and fucking up my business in general, she manages to somehow work her way into any conversation someone is having with another person/employee or anyone at the cash register buying something "Has to have her personel opinion" explained because somehow she's played every fucking game in the store...or so she says. (how the hell did she have time to have kids?) Its really fucking annoying to see her in the store, with her demon children.

Also, the soccer mom's i dont mind, i help em out find good games for their kids and doing the job the damn employee's should be doing instead of "Daaah preorder! You'll never find it!!"

The most annoying people that come into the store...are those Wigger ass white kids, and these Wannabe thugs black guys (West Covina has no fucken gangs and these guys say they're in the Covina bloods? WTF?! HAHAHA)

These are the assholes that walk into the store talking on one of those Walky talky Chirping cellphones with the speakerphone volume all the way up on Obnoxious. and have a conversation that goes like this

Idiot: Yo man im here at da store

CHIRP!!!!

Idiot #2: Yo man, you der!?

CHIRP!!!!

Idiot: Ya man, Im here, Im getting me the Halo for real dog!

CHIRP!!!!

Idiot # 2: Ya Man thats hott!, So wassup with you dog?

CHIRP!!!!

Idiot: Im cool dog, Wassup wit you?

CHIRP!!!!

Idiot #2: Chilling man,..So whachu doing?

CHIRP!!!!

Idiot: Chilling...Cool, Cool....So wassup man?

CHIRP!!!!

Idiot #2: Im aight!, Y'know what im sayin?!

CHIRP!!!!

idiot: ya! Thats tight.!

CHIRP!!!!

idiot #2: ya that da shit man, YO CALL ME LATER DOG? Aight Peace

CHIRP!!!!

idiot: Aight, hit ya back dog...

CHIRP!!!!
CHIRP!!!!

I nearly lost my goddamned mind.
 
Don't mind until the kid starts screaming/whining/getting in my way.

Also annoying when you're in one of those tiny gamestops with no room for more than one person browsing a section at a time, and the whole family decides to stop and discuss their purchase right where you're going to browse....
 
[quote name='josekortez']I have a good soccer mom story. This afternoon, I'm in Gamestop and a soccer mom asked the associate about trading in the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance/Forza 360 game. They told her the trade-in price was $8. Even though she didn't have the game with her, she said that was a good deal since her son hadn't played it. Wha?

Turns out he had never even opened it and she didn't seem to care. I don't know what's worse here - the fact that he got a free game that she isn't going to make him try out or the fact that she's willing to accept $8 for a sealed double pack of free 360 games...[/QUOTE]

Is there really much you can do with the sealed double pack? You can't return it anywhere since it is the double pack... and around here it seems worthless as everyone and their dog has it.
I just got a system and am not too sure what to do with mine... I have Ultimate Alliance on another system, and am not too interested in the Forza game.
 
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I'll take sniveling shit emos and "Comic Book Guys" anyday over these fuckers. They need to be eradicated NOW.
 
Back in the day (80s!), when I worked at an EB, I hated it when the moms dropped off their kids like it was some sort of Mall daycare center. Boy, did they get pissed when I tossed the kid out to wait for his mom on the benches outside the store...
 
I'm oblivious to this population and don't notice them until a line forms.

GS's new slogan is a good marketing scheme, "Power the Players."

...power to the players, my ass. "Power to the Shareholders" FTW.
 
Well your not allowed to trade in games here unless your 18 or over, or unless you have a parent with you, so part of that business is cut from gamestop.

Honestly gamestop here gets A LOT of business from people who are so desperate for cash that they will take every game they own into gamestop to get quick cash to pay the rent or to support their drug habit. I really can't think of any other reasons for adults to trade games into gamestop other than these 2.

The kids dumping games without parental knowledge is eliminated here because of the rule, and most parent's won't let kids trade in the games because "I PAID 50$ FOR THAT WHEN IT CAME OUT". Then they tell the kid they have to play it a little longer because they paid so much money for the game to begin with.

But the soccer moms will BUY games in droves and they could care less if its new, used or covered in crap or marked up 20$ from the original MSRP of the game. This is evidenced by the fact that the 2 gamestops here were completely wiped out of Wii games both new and used on December 26th.

I laugh when I see people paying the extra 5$ on DS games that they usually tack onto the price of a new game when the store 2 min down the road from gamestop has the same game for 5$ less.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']Well your not allowed to trade in games here unless your 18 or over, or unless you have a parent with you, so part of that business is cut from gamestop.[/QUOTE]

Even with varying pawn shop laws, that's supposed to be the case everywhere.

As far as adults trading games, I've done it. Usually it's a last resort. I have a ton of games that I've been sitting on for months. My TW stores don't take trades, and eBay seems like a waste of time. So when they do a really good % promotion that gets the prices up just above 'extreme shit' level, it's tempting.
 
[quote name='Apossum']Also annoying when you're in one of those tiny gamestops with no room for more than one person browsing a section at a time, and the whole family decides to stop and discuss their purchase right where you're going to browse....[/quote] Sadly that type of layout is what all the nearest EBs are like, and like I've ranted about earlier, it makes for a damned-annoying experience when parents decide to park their Urban Assault Shopping Cart infront of the shelves while talking on their cell or some shit.

I trade in games to EB all the time (well, when there isn't a line of 15 moms waiting to ask if they have Wiis in stock). EB doesn't suck up here. Trade 3 FTW!
 
[quote name='PyroGamer']If it's the customers that annoy you, you are pretty fucking lucky.

"There must be a mistake in the register, this game is marked $60... der, yeah, yeah, well there's probably a mistake in the weekly ad too, derrrr. Derrr, well this coupon doesn't work on games listed in the weekly ad, derrr. Derrr, well your EDGE card doesn't combine with the sale price, derrr"[/quote]

agreed... I refuse to shop inside of a Gamestop or EB anymore. The employees at our local Gamestop (in a large college town) are complete asswholes, and thats being friendly about it. You have to watch out buying new games as well b/c they tend to place used copies inside the case (GOD I hate buying a new game that has been opened and a damn price tag sticker placed on it).
 
[quote name='SaraAB']
Honestly gamestop here gets A LOT of business from people who are so desperate for cash that they will take every game they own into gamestop to get quick cash to pay the rent or to support their drug habit. I really can't think of any other reasons for adults to trade games into gamestop other than these 2.
[/QUOTE]

Yeah, if adults are trading their games in for cash I could see that. But I trade (for credit) whenever there's a deal to exploit ;).

What gets me is when a kid is there with a huge stack of games and they (and their parent) accepts the $15 they get with it. I've seen many parents just not care that they are getting ripped off - probably just want to get the games out of the house I guess...

In terms of people supporting drug habits, I saw a blatant example of this last year. Edgy fidgety young guy comes in with 4 Wii remotes. They look new, still with the straps wrapped up, etc. He trades all 4 in for cash and the clerks tell him "this is the last time, OK - we can't take any more of these from you". So clearly he had done the same thing before. Where he was getting stacks of new Wii remotes who knows... And this was back when they were still moderately difficult to find. Of course the dumbass could have spread them around to the 3 other EB/GS within a few miles - who knows, maybe he was doing that as well. But then this one WAS right next to a Walmart... :whistle2:k
 
When I see people trading stuff in they are usually trading for cash and never credit, and like you said sometimes its kind of obvious why they are trading them in lol.

If you are exploiting a trade in deal for store credit than go right ahead and trade your stuff in, nothing wrong with that.

The moms aren't even a huge problem here, I would say the smelly people are more of a problem, nothing like going into a GS and coming out smelling like god knows what. It does vary greatly by the time of day you go to the store, go on a Saturday afternoon and you get the mom problem, go on a Friday night and you get the smelly people. I suspect the moms invade on a Sat afternoon and after that they are done for the week. If you can your best off going during school hours on a weekday, my local Gamestop tipped me off to the fact that they get nearly no business until after 5pm so I try to plan visits around that.
 
[quote name='io']Yeah, if adults are trading their games in for cash I could see that. But I trade (for credit) whenever there's a deal to exploit ;).

What gets me is when a kid is there with a huge stack of games and they (and their parent) accepts the $15 they get with it. I've seen many parents just not care that they are getting ripped off - probably just want to get the games out of the house I guess...

In terms of people supporting drug habits, I saw a blatant example of this last year. Edgy fidgety young guy comes in with 4 Wii remotes. They look new, still with the straps wrapped up, etc. He trades all 4 in for cash and the clerks tell him "this is the last time, OK - we can't take any more of these from you". So clearly he had done the same thing before. Where he was getting stacks of new Wii remotes who knows... And this was back when they were still moderately difficult to find. Of course the dumbass could have spread them around to the 3 other EB/GS within a few miles - who knows, maybe he was doing that as well. But then this one WAS right next to a Walmart... :whistle2:k[/QUOTE]
wow that wii-mote story is the nearly the same one like i encountered. The day i bought my wii, of course i needed an extra wii-mote. instead of buying a new one, the Rep coerced me into buying the used one which was new. Apparently, two girls who worked at wal-mart stole 20-40 wii motes and traded 15 in to the one i bought mine at. I couldnt understand why they would accept more than 4 but they did. there are still some left to this day..and i bought mine 7 months ago.
 
Yesterdays when I picked up DDS 1 I had to wait like 20 minustes because the soccermom kept asking the kids what they wanted, if they really wanted it, and finally asking the clerk if it was okay for her kids. He said it was fine and it was mature game. I hate those soccermoms.
 
Its very possible that the story with the Wiimotes is true because most of these stores are very easy to shoplift at if you are under 18, and basically they can't do anything about it but tell your parents (its different if your over 18) so they would just have a younger person, go in and steal them, then give them to someone who was 18 so they could trade them in for profit. Anyways I think we found out why there was a shortage of Wiimotes in the stores last year!

The gamestops here make every effort to inform parents about Mature rated games, as in they tell EVERYONE who is buying a mature rated game that it is mature rated and what that means. So I know if I see a kid playing a M rated game and they shop at gamestop that their parents are knowingly letting them play that game.
 
i think the term "soccer mom" is inappropriate here. at least a soccer mom is encouraging their child to do some physical activity.

i guess i don't understand the hate for kids in game stores. I would assume that your parent's willingness to let you play games as a child is why you are still interested in them as an adult. Perhaps it's more appropriate to hate bad parents.

I bring my son into gamestop all the time. He's 6 and polite. I pretty much let him do his own thing while I look for games for myself because I don't have to worry about him.

I had an encounter with a younger kid (he was maybe 14/15 with his dad). The kid wanted to buy Halo 1 and the used price at gamestop was $25. The dad didn't look too happy about buying it but the gamestop guy said that the game was rare now and hard to find. As the dad walked away with the game to buy it I told the kid that he could go to bestbuy a quarter a mile away and pickup a new/sealed copy for $10. He thanked me and quickly stopped his dad from making the purchase.
 
[quote name='daminion']i think the term "soccer mom" is inappropriate here. at least a soccer mom is encouraging their child to do some physical activity.

i guess i don't understand the hate for kids in game stores. I would assume that your parent's willingness to let you play games as a child is why you are still interested in them as an adult. Perhaps it's more appropriate to hate bad parents.

I bring my son into gamestop all the time. He's 6 and polite. I pretty much let him do his own thing while I look for games for myself because I don't have to worry about him.

I had an encounter with a younger kid (he was maybe 14/15 with his dad). The kid wanted to buy Halo 1 and the used price at gamestop was $25. The dad didn't look too happy about buying it but the gamestop guy said that the game was rare now and hard to find. As the dad walked away with the game to buy it I told the kid that he could go to bestbuy a quarter a mile away and pickup a new/sealed copy for $10. He thanked me and quickly stopped his dad from making the purchase.[/QUOTE]

I suppose we should hate the parents but, its a little hard to hate the manufacturer when a car alarm (kids) blares and ruins your shopping adventure, or hits you, or pulls on your cart, or ( and i swear this happened to me) runs into you falls down and you get blamed.
 
I don't think we are referring to kids who actually play soccer, from what I understand soccer mom is the term used for a parent that is rather incompetent and is making it very obvious in public, or a mom that has way too many kids with them while out shopping and therefore cannot control them.

A soccer mom does not refer to a responsible parent.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']I laugh when I see people paying the extra 5$ on DS games that they usually tack onto the price of a new game when the store 2 min down the road from gamestop has the same game for 5$ less.[/QUOTE]Reminds me of how I got overcharged for Disgaea at GameStop when it first game out.

Barely ever go to GameStop these days, but not because of the clientele. My favorite B&M place to buy new games is in Manhattan's financial district, so there are way more suits that soccer moms (who are all at Nintendo World and, of course, the city's various GameStops). Needless to say, my shopping experiences there are fairly quiet and uneventful.
 
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