Gamefly reviews
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mik
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I have it and like it. Turnaround time is decent (usually four days or so), they give you some decent discounts on purchasing games once you've been a member awhile, and they were very flexible when the post office lost a game I had sent back--they just sent the next one in my queue, no questions asked.
I had it and it sucked. I live in Ohio and it took forever to get my games. I guess it depends on where you live. But i was lucky if I could get four games in a month.
I just wanted it cause you got a discount on used games. I think they took that away.
And they sure don't seem to have any good sales any more.
I just wanted it cause you got a discount on used games. I think they took that away.
And they sure don't seem to have any good sales any more.
rodeojones903
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Well, the two week free trial is there for a reason. 
Why not just go ahead and give it a try. If you don't like it, cancel.
I never had a problem when I used them for about a year.
Why not just go ahead and give it a try. If you don't like it, cancel.I never had a problem when I used them for about a year.
Yeah, and the trial is only 10 days, hardly two weeks. Here was my experience:
Games shipped the night my trial started (Tuesday). They arrived Friday and Saturday, respectively. I played them over the weekend - discs were in great condition. I put them back in the mail on Monday. Taking into account that Tuesday was a holiday: One of the games was fast-returned (new game sent out when notification is received that the game is in the mail). That game shipped out yesterday. I cancelled this morning (10th day). No sign of the second game being fast-returned, but the first game was received today.
So... two rentals in 10 days? Hell no I'm not paying $20 a month for that. Unfortunately now I have to hope that I will receive, be able to play for a couple hours, and send King Kong back to them within 7 days or I'll be charged for it.
Location is key: They ship only from LA, so if you're on that side of the country, it's probably not bad. Ohio is far enough away that the shipping makes it worthless.
The fact that you get no discount on used games (other than free shipping, which is moot since they have free shipping sales rather frequently) is a bummer too. If I rent a game from Blockbuster, I get it for their used cost minus the $5 rental fee (I used free rental coupons, so I essentially get it $5 off). I get no bonus for being a rental subscriber, so I have no incentive to buy the games from them.
Games shipped the night my trial started (Tuesday). They arrived Friday and Saturday, respectively. I played them over the weekend - discs were in great condition. I put them back in the mail on Monday. Taking into account that Tuesday was a holiday: One of the games was fast-returned (new game sent out when notification is received that the game is in the mail). That game shipped out yesterday. I cancelled this morning (10th day). No sign of the second game being fast-returned, but the first game was received today.
So... two rentals in 10 days? Hell no I'm not paying $20 a month for that. Unfortunately now I have to hope that I will receive, be able to play for a couple hours, and send King Kong back to them within 7 days or I'll be charged for it.
Location is key: They ship only from LA, so if you're on that side of the country, it's probably not bad. Ohio is far enough away that the shipping makes it worthless.
The fact that you get no discount on used games (other than free shipping, which is moot since they have free shipping sales rather frequently) is a bummer too. If I rent a game from Blockbuster, I get it for their used cost minus the $5 rental fee (I used free rental coupons, so I essentially get it $5 off). I get no bonus for being a rental subscriber, so I have no incentive to buy the games from them.
mik
CAGiversary!
[quote name='sethrhf']But i was lucky if I could get four games in a month.[/quote]
A game a week seems kind of unreasonable to me. When I send a game back, it usually takes a day--sometimes two--to show up in their "Fast Return" system, then 2-3 more days to get the new game. I've enver tried to burn through as many as four in a month.
They still do give you discounts on pre-played games--the discount varies depending on the length of time you've been a member. I recently decided to keep Battlefield 2 for the 360. The price was $47.99 with free shipping. I got a $7.40 discount and paid $3.17 in tax. That made the total, shipped, $43.76. I got the case and manual in about two days and they were both immaculate. That's ten bucks or so cheaper than GameStop sells it used.
I've only rented 360 games thus far, but I have some DS titles in my queue. So far, I've had no problem with dirty or damaged media.
A game a week seems kind of unreasonable to me. When I send a game back, it usually takes a day--sometimes two--to show up in their "Fast Return" system, then 2-3 more days to get the new game. I've enver tried to burn through as many as four in a month.
They still do give you discounts on pre-played games--the discount varies depending on the length of time you've been a member. I recently decided to keep Battlefield 2 for the 360. The price was $47.99 with free shipping. I got a $7.40 discount and paid $3.17 in tax. That made the total, shipped, $43.76. I got the case and manual in about two days and they were both immaculate. That's ten bucks or so cheaper than GameStop sells it used.
I've only rented 360 games thus far, but I have some DS titles in my queue. So far, I've had no problem with dirty or damaged media.
[quote name='mik']Wouldn't two rentals at Blockbuster pretty much obliterate a $20 bill?[/QUOTE]
Again, I only rent when I have free rental coupons. Otherwise I wouldn't rent at all. But yes, that is a true statement.
Fact is, my Blockbuster Online shipping is about twice as fast as that, so I have high expectations. If my fourth game had shown any signs of shipping, I probably would have kept on for another month at the discounted $15 rate. But who knows when that one was going to ship.
Again, I only rent when I have free rental coupons. Otherwise I wouldn't rent at all. But yes, that is a true statement.
Fact is, my Blockbuster Online shipping is about twice as fast as that, so I have high expectations. If my fourth game had shown any signs of shipping, I probably would have kept on for another month at the discounted $15 rate. But who knows when that one was going to ship.
gamereviewgod
CAGiversary!
Had Gamefly for a month and it was nothing short of shit, and that's being kind. They sent me the wrong game first, one got lost, one took 13 days to make it back, and two I really wanted never came into stock.
Intothegame.com is far better and cheaper. I've been with them for a year and have had only minor issues (two lost games, cleared up without a problem). Best personal service I've ever had too.
Intothegame.com is far better and cheaper. I've been with them for a year and have had only minor issues (two lost games, cleared up without a problem). Best personal service I've ever had too.
[quote name='sethrhf']I had it and it sucked. I live in Ohio and it took forever to get my games. I guess it depends on where you live. But i was lucky if I could get four games in a month.[/QUOTE]
Same Here, I live in Dayton as well, and the games would come all the way from California. So I the game would ship monday I would get it saturday or the next monday. Then play it for a week or so and send it back then two weeks later get another game.
Same Here, I live in Dayton as well, and the games would come all the way from California. So I the game would ship monday I would get it saturday or the next monday. Then play it for a week or so and send it back then two weeks later get another game.
I hate it but it beats any other game renting service. The good is cheap Keep it prices games, most new games are in stock (but most 360 games are on short wait for the last 2 months) and DS games, bad long shipping and no older games.
It beats paying $40 - $60 for games I will only play a few hours. It is the best service for all of us non-collector gamers.
Also the service has been getting better the last few months and now that I get a discount on games and $5 off coupons every few months makes it a much better deal. I had a bad experince when I was with GF the first time 2 years ago (games getting lost in the mail 10-14 day turnaround) but now the turnaround is 3-5 days and I never had to send back a game because it was unplayable or have had a lost game.
It beats paying $40 - $60 for games I will only play a few hours. It is the best service for all of us non-collector gamers.
Also the service has been getting better the last few months and now that I get a discount on games and $5 off coupons every few months makes it a much better deal. I had a bad experince when I was with GF the first time 2 years ago (games getting lost in the mail 10-14 day turnaround) but now the turnaround is 3-5 days and I never had to send back a game because it was unplayable or have had a lost game.
Anybody ever try Gamerang or GameLender?
and
How believable are these reviews:
http://video-game-rental-review.toptenreviews.com/
and
How believable are these reviews:
http://video-game-rental-review.toptenreviews.com/
I've been with them for over a year and it works out for me. I've had a game lost in the mail and had to return one scratched disc so far. Turnaround time is bad for me too; like 4 days. I figure if I rent 2-3 games a month, that's cheaper than paying $50 for it and selling it on ebay for $35 2 weeks later. New games you get right away; older titles usually have a long wait. And they are the only game rental service I've seen that rents PSP UMDs, PSP games, GBA games and DS games. Give them a try.
gamereviewgod
CAGiversary!
[quote name='2DMention'] older titles usually have a long wait. And they are the only game rental service I've seen that rents PSP UMDs, PSP games, GBA games and DS games. Give them a try.[/QUOTE]
Not true. Intothegame does that too, along with some retro titles.
Not true. Intothegame does that too, along with some retro titles.
Resurrecting a buried thread just to state that I thought I'd finally give GameFly a whirl. I read reviews and it came down to Gamefly vs. Gamerang. It sounded like Gamefly was the more established of the two, so I went ahead with the one month of 2-games-out at the one-time $12.95 price.
I'm in the middle of that first month and I've only received one game (which took 5 business days to get here). Still waiting on the other of the two games shipped to me, and the one I returned has yet to get there (I guess--it's still in the "Games at home" section of my queue even though I haven't seen the
er in nearly a week). "Report Shipping Problem" e-mails are delightfully useless and automated. This is a magnificent cluster.
Just wanted to reinforce the "Gamefly blows" stereotype I had heard of in spite of the good reviews I saw on the internet. Once again proves that the opinion of a trusted few is often more valuable than that of a faceless multitude.
I might switch over to Gamerang, but I'm hesitant. I went at Gamefly thinking that, at worst, it'd be like a slower Netflix. It's not lively enough to be a slower Netflix. It's more like hiring the Pony Express to fetch games for me from a rental place in Alaska. Does anyone have any experience with Gamerang? Please share if so.
I'm in the middle of that first month and I've only received one game (which took 5 business days to get here). Still waiting on the other of the two games shipped to me, and the one I returned has yet to get there (I guess--it's still in the "Games at home" section of my queue even though I haven't seen the
er in nearly a week). "Report Shipping Problem" e-mails are delightfully useless and automated. This is a magnificent cluster.Just wanted to reinforce the "Gamefly blows" stereotype I had heard of in spite of the good reviews I saw on the internet. Once again proves that the opinion of a trusted few is often more valuable than that of a faceless multitude.
I might switch over to Gamerang, but I'm hesitant. I went at Gamefly thinking that, at worst, it'd be like a slower Netflix. It's not lively enough to be a slower Netflix. It's more like hiring the Pony Express to fetch games for me from a rental place in Alaska. Does anyone have any experience with Gamerang? Please share if so.
hollowfreak
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[quote name='mik']Wouldn't two rentals at Blockbuster pretty much obliterate a $20 bill?[/QUOTE]
besides you can sign up for http://brightspot.tv/ as discussed over here and get $10 knocked off the bill making it even cheaper ...
besides you can sign up for http://brightspot.tv/ as discussed over here and get $10 knocked off the bill making it even cheaper ...
scooterge558
CAGiversary!
Something to think about too, there was a note out that stated their looking at opening their 3rd distro center in Texas very soon. That location should cover most of the midwest, south, and mountain areas.
I've had a membership for some time now, and even though turn around time on games can be lengthy for me in the midwest, but new games come brand new, and the keep it price is generally way cheaper than you could buy it new. A perfect example of this is when Rainbow 6 Vegas was released for the PS3 I had it in my queue, they sent it out just days after the release, and then my keep it price was under $50, cheaper than you could find it anywhere. Plus after you've been a member a while they offer $5 gamefly dollars every quarter to purchase games so that could bring the prices down even further.
When you purchase the game, they ship (free of charge) the case and book to you. Buying from gamefly is a pretty good deal, anytime you can get a new PS3 game under $50 and you know that you're most likely the first to play the disc, that's a good deal in my opinion.
Like someone else posted in this thread, if you go sign up for brighspot and watch some commercials you can get your monthly sub for as much as $10 off.
I've had a membership for some time now, and even though turn around time on games can be lengthy for me in the midwest, but new games come brand new, and the keep it price is generally way cheaper than you could buy it new. A perfect example of this is when Rainbow 6 Vegas was released for the PS3 I had it in my queue, they sent it out just days after the release, and then my keep it price was under $50, cheaper than you could find it anywhere. Plus after you've been a member a while they offer $5 gamefly dollars every quarter to purchase games so that could bring the prices down even further.
When you purchase the game, they ship (free of charge) the case and book to you. Buying from gamefly is a pretty good deal, anytime you can get a new PS3 game under $50 and you know that you're most likely the first to play the disc, that's a good deal in my opinion.
Like someone else posted in this thread, if you go sign up for brighspot and watch some commercials you can get your monthly sub for as much as $10 off.
I just canceled my membership and thought I'd post my experience for anyone in the midwest who's curious about gamefly.
First of all, I signed up for the $13 two-games-out-at-once trial month. I decided at the outset that I was going to return all games immediately--I didn't play a single one of them. I wanted to know for certain what shipping times/service was going to be like, and as I like to rent games, I figured the information was worth $13.
Anyhow, as soon as I'd get a game, I'd immediately (within half a day) return the game to the main post office in downtown Minneapolis, a post office that I definitely know has the FastReturn scanning beds. I was interested in two things:
1. Would FastReturn always take effect? If not, how often?
2. What's the average turnaround time? That is, how much time elapses between GF sending me game A and GF putting a the follow-up to game A in the mail (with me returning the game right away, GF receiving the game, and GF putting a new game in the mail in between those bookends)?
To answer the first question, of the 6 games I sent back only 3 engaged the FastReturn feature. What's more interesting is that in only one instance did FastReturn actually get a new game here more quickly. For the other two times the turnaround involving FastReturn was actually over the average turnaround.
To answer the second question, it took an average of 7.67 days for turnaround for service to Minneapolis, MN. (The distro center for MN customers is apparently in CA. That's right, CA). My basis for comparison is Netflix, which never takes more than 3 days, or 4 if a weekend/holiday is involved. I understand Netflix isn't exactly a fair comparison, as they're the cream of the crop IMO for online rentals (and yes, I tried Blockbuster).
I wrote the above to Gamefly just to let them know. I added that I think their policy of "All rentals out are due back within 7 days or else" isn't fair given my experience. They sent me 2 games today just before I canceled the membership. According to my experience, even if I send those suckers right back the moment they hit my mailbox, I've got a 1 in 6 chance of Gamefly getting the games in under 7 days from the time they were sent out from the distro center. That ain't right.
I'm thinking of trying Gamerang as I understand they have a distribution near or in MN. I have to say that if GF had a center in the IL/WI/MN/IA area, I'd stick with them. I sent them a few customer service questions and they always responded quickly and in a nice, direct tone, and it seems like they're willing to pull out a lot of "special offers" when you threaten to cancel your membership (which one might be able to abuse every now and again). Their points system seemed like it had potential, too. Oh well...
Just sharin'!
First of all, I signed up for the $13 two-games-out-at-once trial month. I decided at the outset that I was going to return all games immediately--I didn't play a single one of them. I wanted to know for certain what shipping times/service was going to be like, and as I like to rent games, I figured the information was worth $13.
Anyhow, as soon as I'd get a game, I'd immediately (within half a day) return the game to the main post office in downtown Minneapolis, a post office that I definitely know has the FastReturn scanning beds. I was interested in two things:
1. Would FastReturn always take effect? If not, how often?
2. What's the average turnaround time? That is, how much time elapses between GF sending me game A and GF putting a the follow-up to game A in the mail (with me returning the game right away, GF receiving the game, and GF putting a new game in the mail in between those bookends)?
To answer the first question, of the 6 games I sent back only 3 engaged the FastReturn feature. What's more interesting is that in only one instance did FastReturn actually get a new game here more quickly. For the other two times the turnaround involving FastReturn was actually over the average turnaround.
To answer the second question, it took an average of 7.67 days for turnaround for service to Minneapolis, MN. (The distro center for MN customers is apparently in CA. That's right, CA). My basis for comparison is Netflix, which never takes more than 3 days, or 4 if a weekend/holiday is involved. I understand Netflix isn't exactly a fair comparison, as they're the cream of the crop IMO for online rentals (and yes, I tried Blockbuster).
I wrote the above to Gamefly just to let them know. I added that I think their policy of "All rentals out are due back within 7 days or else" isn't fair given my experience. They sent me 2 games today just before I canceled the membership. According to my experience, even if I send those suckers right back the moment they hit my mailbox, I've got a 1 in 6 chance of Gamefly getting the games in under 7 days from the time they were sent out from the distro center. That ain't right.
I'm thinking of trying Gamerang as I understand they have a distribution near or in MN. I have to say that if GF had a center in the IL/WI/MN/IA area, I'd stick with them. I sent them a few customer service questions and they always responded quickly and in a nice, direct tone, and it seems like they're willing to pull out a lot of "special offers" when you threaten to cancel your membership (which one might be able to abuse every now and again). Their points system seemed like it had potential, too. Oh well...
Just sharin'!
[quote name='dothog']
I'm thinking of trying Gamerang as I understand they have a distribution near or in MN. I have to say that if GF had a center in the IL/WI/MN/IA area, I'd stick with them. I sent them a few customer service questions and they always responded quickly and in a nice, direct tone, and it seems like they're willing to pull out a lot of "special offers" when you threaten to cancel your membership (which one might be able to abuse every now and again). Their points system seemed like it had potential, too. Oh well...
Just sharin'![/quote]
I had Gamerang for 2 months a few months back. Its ok service, but they dont seem to have alot of copies of the games. I live in Ohio and I only recieved 1 of the 8 games I rented from the closest shipping centers (I only got 1 from the MN center) the rest all came from the CA shipping center. On average it was 10 day turnaround per game.
I canceled after my first 2 months because it wasnt worth it anymore. When I signed up they had a deal going, I got 2 out at a time, for 2 months, for $20 total ($10 a month basically).
But, if they actually ship you games from the MN shipping center it would be great for you, but like I said, most of mine came from CA even though there are 3 other shipping centers closer to me.
I'm thinking of trying Gamerang as I understand they have a distribution near or in MN. I have to say that if GF had a center in the IL/WI/MN/IA area, I'd stick with them. I sent them a few customer service questions and they always responded quickly and in a nice, direct tone, and it seems like they're willing to pull out a lot of "special offers" when you threaten to cancel your membership (which one might be able to abuse every now and again). Their points system seemed like it had potential, too. Oh well...
Just sharin'![/quote]
I had Gamerang for 2 months a few months back. Its ok service, but they dont seem to have alot of copies of the games. I live in Ohio and I only recieved 1 of the 8 games I rented from the closest shipping centers (I only got 1 from the MN center) the rest all came from the CA shipping center. On average it was 10 day turnaround per game.
I canceled after my first 2 months because it wasnt worth it anymore. When I signed up they had a deal going, I got 2 out at a time, for 2 months, for $20 total ($10 a month basically).
But, if they actually ship you games from the MN shipping center it would be great for you, but like I said, most of mine came from CA even though there are 3 other shipping centers closer to me.
[quote name='life.exe']I had Gamerang for 2 months a few months back. Its ok service, but they dont seem to have alot of copies of the games. I live in Ohio and I only recieved 1 of the 8 games I rented from the closest shipping centers (I only got 1 from the MN center) the rest all came from the CA shipping center. On average it was 10 day turnaround per game.
I canceled after my first 2 months because it wasnt worth it anymore. When I signed up they had a deal going, I got 2 out at a time, for 2 months, for $20 total ($10 a month basically).
But, if they actually ship you games from the MN shipping center it would be great for you, but like I said, most of mine came from CA even though there are 3 other shipping centers closer to me.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the advice. I don't know if I'll try it now. If they give me that $20 deal you got I might consider it. We'll see.
I canceled after my first 2 months because it wasnt worth it anymore. When I signed up they had a deal going, I got 2 out at a time, for 2 months, for $20 total ($10 a month basically).
But, if they actually ship you games from the MN shipping center it would be great for you, but like I said, most of mine came from CA even though there are 3 other shipping centers closer to me.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the advice. I don't know if I'll try it now. If they give me that $20 deal you got I might consider it. We'll see.
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