Cancelling Pre-orders at Gamestop

Quick question... for whatever reason I decided to preorder the NGP a few weeks ago, but now I'm thinking I really probably didn't need to do it so far in advance. I asked the rep if I could cancel it and get a refund but they said they could only transfer the credit to another preorder. Is this true? I haven't cancelled a preorder since the PS3 launch and they gave me my money back with no fuss but has this policy changed since then?

Your first mistake was shopping at gamestop haha, and yes I do believe that is the new policy I tried canceling a preorder and they told me the same thing.

Lame. If it was credit, acquired by a promo, I'd understand, but if I go in and drop $5 on the counter and then change my mind, I better be able to get it back.

How new is that policy?

Any time in the past I ever did a preorder (and granted, this has been *years* ago), you could always just get your cash back or transfer to something else.

Pretty shady, if they don't allow it anymore. I'm sure you could raise a stink with the district manager if you really wanted the cash back.

When I worked there and my boss wanted to keep our numbers up he would tell customers that. It's not allowed in a business sense due to the fact that it's your money. Try again and then, if you get the same story, ask for the number to the district manager. That'll scare the shit out of them because DM's always just say "Do what the customer wants," and then chews the store managers ass after hours.

It should totally work. If not, ask for the customer service number. The fact is, GameStop does not have the ability to hold your money and refuse a refund. Period. That's just shady business.

[quote name='Ilikecoldbeverages'] I asked the rep if I could cancel it and get a refund but they said they could only transfer the credit to another preorder.[/QUOTE]

This is why I only preorder from Amazon now. Gamestop's business practices have been going downhill from a couple of years ago.

But you should do what everyone else is saying and talk to the District Manager, you should be able to get your money back no problem.

if it's a new policy, it's just shady to refuse you of your refund. What stops you from transferring your $ to another preorder that's coming out next week, pick it up and then return it for a full refund? They can't refuse your of your cash refund and give you a store credit instead, can they?

i canceled a preorder about a month ago, the rep told me he could only keep the money on my account as store credit. i asked him to put it on a gift card for me so I could use it online, he wasn't sure if he could but tried and it worked. i originally used store credit for the preorder so that's probably why he couldn't give me money back

Thanks guys. I'd rather not make a fuss since I like the people at this particular store (don't know who this guy was that I spoke to today though, must be new), I think I'll just transfer it to a game coming out next week and just return it.

Honestly, you really can cancel preorders. Like someone said, if you got extra trade because of a promo, they won't give you cash back for that, but if you put cash down, they legally HAVE to give you your money back.

I may have missed it, but if you have your receipt it shouldn't be a big deal to refund a preorder. Otherwise, I'm not sure how far back they can pull receipts and it used to be like searching for a needle in haystack to pull old receipts from the system.

Ive always been told that, but thats fine since I always just move it to something else till I actually do want to pre order something.

[quote name='gryphter']i canceled a preorder about a month ago, the rep told me he could only keep the money on my account as store credit. i asked him to put it on a gift card for me so I could use it online, he wasn't sure if he could but tried and it worked. i originally used store credit for the preorder so that's probably why he couldn't give me money back[/QUOTE]

Um, he did give you your money back then . If you paid in store credit and got store credit back that is the way it is supposed to work.

But yeah, GS is so driven by "numbers" that most clerks are really hesitant to refund preorders. From what I understand, even if they didn't take the original preorder, it counts against the clerk who gives you the refund. So some other dude gets the +1 from your original order and the new clerk gets a -1 from your cancellation. That is totally screwed up and unfair, but that's the way it works. Of course, as a customer, none of this is your problem, but it helps in understanding their motivation. If it is at all possible, it is best to move it to another preorder. And like eau said, you can always pick up that preorder and then return it for a full refund. I don't think that hurts their numbers as much as preorder cancellations go. It is a very odd system - I have always disliked shopping at any place that rewards employees for pushing things (whether sales quotas, subscriptions, warranties, etc). They should get paid based solely on the CS skills / competance / overall helpfullness and not on some random-assed numbers that can be manipulated at the expense of the customer.

I sent a text to Cyric to ask if this is official new policy or if it's someone being sleazy. They just had a huge district meeting over the weekend, so if it's a new policy, it would have been discussed there. I'll post as soon as I hear back.

Okay, that is NOT policy and he wants anyone who is EVER told that to call 1.800.800.5166 to report the associate/manager/who ever and the store right away. Anyone who refuses to give you your money back... that is NOT policy and a flat out LIE. Report them!

what if it's preordered using credit? do you get credit back or does it have to be transferred to a new preorder?

It will go right back on a merchandise credit card. You NEVER have to transfer $ (cash or store credit) to another pre order. You want it back, you get it back. Done.

[quote name='Wario64']what if it's preordered using credit? do you get credit back or does it have to be transferred to a new preorder?[/QUOTE]

(I worked there, so this IS fact. But how they handle it can differ.)

When they bring up the information on the preorder, they can actually hit enter to bring up more info. It SHOWS if it was preordered with cash or trade, the dates it happened, or even a breakdown of $5 cash one day and $5 trade the next.

They are SUPPOSED to give it back to you in the method it was put on there. Now with that in mind, a lot of people won't really investigate deeper into the preorder, and will usually go for offering trade or to move it to something else. If it was paid for in cash, make sure you get your cash back. If you lost your receipt, they CAN see how it was put on there, without looking up old receipt information, which IS a pain in the ass to look up. (With the system they have set up, even if you HAVE transaction numbers/dates/times, the search sometimes won't bring it up, so I would still have to go through entire journal tapes.)

*Sorry for double post*

To clarify, like I said, it's supposed to go back to you however you put it on. If you mean credit card, it would go on the credit card. If it was store credit, it would be given back as store credit.

That's shady as hell, they really shouldn't be doing that.. and because of that it makes me glad I almost never preorder at gamestop. I'd be really pissed if they'd refuse to refund a preorder (even refunding to store credit/gift card after you paid in cash is extremely shady).

It's similar to buying a game and them not giving you a refund for it if it's unopened (if you paid in full for the preorder). It should NOT be tolerated.

[quote name='guinaevere']I sent a text to Cyric to ask if this is official new policy or if it's someone being sleazy. They just had a huge district meeting over the weekend, so if it's a new policy, it would have been discussed there. I'll post as soon as I hear back.[/QUOTE]

I agree, you shouldn't even consider moving it to different preorder. If you're being lied to about their policy, report the store and get a refund.

Shady? It's not shady, it's NOT ALLOWED. Read my post with information passed along from Cyric. Get the internal number for reporting crap like this, so it never happens again.

[quote name='guinaevere']Shady? It's not shady, it's NOT ALLOWED. Read my post with information passed along from Cyric. Get the internal number for reporting crap like this, so it never happens again.[/QUOTE]

I meant that it was shady that he was being lied to, not the policy itself.

Get your money back and make sure you take that survey and give them negative remarks! That'll hurt them more than a cancellation, trust me.