Apparently, looking at a disc when it's traded in isn't important anymore.

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I bought a used copy of Jak II at Gamecrazy tonight. After walking out of the store, I took a look at the disc. It looked pretty bad, like the previous owner only took keeping the disc in the case as a suggestion, and probably used it as a drink coaster as well. So I went back into the store and asked to exchange it. The employee went in the back and bought out the other three discs they had in the store. Two of them were almost as bad as the disc I originally got. The other had a few scratches and a fingerprint. I picked that one.

As I took the bus home tonight, I thought - does any major chain take a look at the damn discs anymore? Do they have quality standards? Sure, GBA games with ripped labels is one thing, but there's no fucking reason those three Jak II discs should have been accepted as trade-ins.

But it still really annoys the hell out of me that it seems like nobody looks at the damn discs, or at least that they don't seem to have any quality control - Gamestop, EB, Gamecrazy - they're all the fucking same.

Any Gamecrazy employees on the board - do you give a damn about the condition of discs at your store? Is gamecrazy supposed to give a damn?

I'm really rethinking buying used disc-based games in the future. It seems like the only reputable store for used stuff around here is CD/Game Exchange. The quality of discs elsewhere has really gone down the drain in the past few months. More and more, it seems like the 2-5 bucks I save by buying preowned would go to better use just buying a new copy.

I'll give Gamecrazy one thing, though - the guy was willing to exchange my disc for one in better condition. :)
 
This is why I don't by used from Gamecrazy anymore, I bought a used Quake arena, it had a huge scratch down the middle and just stopped working one day. But I've never had a problem with Gamestop or EBgames, so I would say that you should give up completley on used games.

Oh and I love the Napoleon Dynamite Pic, that movie is awsome.
 
I think it varies from location to location. I'll buy used games all the time from my local GameCrazy, and they're almost always in pretty damn good condition. Plus, if they have multiple copies, they always give me the best quality one they have.
 
I once traded in an NBA 2K3 that was Game Doctor'd to hell and did not work AT ALL. The EB manager didn't even check it. It seems it's better (for big chains) to accept games in any condition and resell them. Most of the time the games do work but they are counting on the fact that the percentage of people who will actually drive back to the store and exchange it is small. If they turned away games with scratches, then they will lose out on a lot of money.
 
I've had the same sort of problem at EB. I decided to get Culdcept because I'd heard good things, and it was pretty damn cheap. I made sure to ask if I could look at the disc before I paid, though, because I'm very leary of used games... The copy he pulled out was scratched to hell and back... I was about to say "Sorry, no sale.", but the clerk said he thought there was another copy in the drawer. He found it, and it only had a few scratches, so I took that one. (Glad I did, too, because the game's pretty fun.)

I think a better question is how do the games get in that condition to begin with? I mean, good god, someone pays $40-some dollars for a game, and they throw it around like it's another AOL disc? WTF???
 
Do they not come in original cases or something? Because I have no EB near so I only by used games at Gamestop. And all the games I have bought came in original packaging and re-shrinkwrapped so I had no way of checking them before I payed for them. However, I have yet to have any games with horrid scratches on them. Plus, when I trade in games, they always look thoroughly at the individual discs. I feel insulted because I treat my games so nicely but I just assumed they did that to every game. Guess not.
 
I wouldn't stop buying used games, just take the 10 seconds it takes to examine the discs and you'll be fine. It sucks that these stores take in that crap but it really isn't hard to just ask to see the disc and if it's scratched just say no thanks.
 
I've had to return 4 or 5 games to game crazy in a row one time because they were so messed up they wouldn't work, i ended up just giving some extra money and getting a new game, and i haven't gone back since.
 
[quote name='valor19']Do they not come in original cases or something? Because I have no EB near so I only by used games at Gamestop. And all the games I have bought came in original packaging and re-shrinkwrapped so I had no way of checking them before I payed for them.[/quote]

Well, at the EB I was at, they have the used game cases out on the shelf with no disc, and the discs in sleeves in drawer's behind the counter. When you want to buy one, you take the empty case up to the register, and they dig out the disc and put it in the case.
 
two things...

1. I personally check out each one as they come in at my store and defect out the ones that look like they don't work.

2. if people would just take care of their games or not trade in defective games, we wouldn't have this problem. I have seen some traded in stuff before that is scratched (where it looks like a razor was used to do it) and cracked all over.
 
[quote name='kaji7p56']I once traded in an NBA 2K3 that was Game Doctor'd to hell and did not work AT ALL. The EB manager didn't even check it. It seems it's better (for big chains) to accept games in any condition and resell them. Most of the time the games do work but they are counting on the fact that the percentage of people who will actually drive back to the store and exchange it is small. If they turned away games with scratches, then they will lose out on a lot of money.[/quote]


The EB manager should have put his foot up your ass. That was lame, really lame.
 
[quote name='howlinmad'][quote name='kaji7p56']I once traded in an NBA 2K3 that was Game Doctor'd to hell and did not work AT ALL. The EB manager didn't even check it. It seems it's better (for big chains) to accept games in any condition and resell them. Most of the time the games do work but they are counting on the fact that the percentage of people who will actually drive back to the store and exchange it is small. If they turned away games with scratches, then they will lose out on a lot of money.[/quote]


The EB manager should have put his foot up your ass. That was lame, really lame.[/quote]


i can see it now. EB new promotion: trade in a broken game and get a foot up your ass
 
[quote name='slidecage']i can see it now. EB new promotion: trade in a broken game and get a foot up your ass[/quote]

I wish we had that promotion. I'd be ass-footing 9 to 5.
 
I've actually had quite the opposite of the OP happening lately. I have traded games at FYE and at Media Play, and they have given me much crap about the condition of the games. Now before you go and say to take better care of your games, here's the catch. All of the games I traded in were brand new and sealed up until about 1 minute before I walked into the store. Example: I had 5 sealed games that I opened in the car, then walked into the store. The MP associate takes the games, looks at the bottom of the discs, and tells me that they are "dusty" and that he is doing me a favor by taking one of them. I seriously felt like questioning his judgement, but whatever, I got my free game out of it. I think a lot of people have been trying to rip off my local Media Play and FYE lately though by trading in scratched up games, hence the extra precaution..but geez.
 
I think the reason gamecrazy takes any trades is cause you can try any game out in the store.. and they're really good about exchanges, they're my favorite game store, since they take anything, disc only, scratched, anything, without deducting trade value. They give more value and the guy i know that works there always gives me discounts and free stuff.
 
I traded in a few games a month or so back at EB (either for the trade 3 get 2 PH games, or trade 2 get ESPN NFL 2K5 free deal) and the guy taking my trades didn't even open the cases to check that the disc was really in there. I didn't really think about it until I got out of the store. Kind of dumb on their part. (For the record my games were in very good shape and did include the discs!)

Maybe I just have an honest face?
 
[quote name='Ledhed'][quote name='slidecage']i can see it now. EB new promotion: trade in a broken game and get a foot up your ass[/quote]

I wish we had that promotion. I'd be ass-footing 9 to 5.[/quote]

LMAO!!! Ass-footing!! :rofl:
 
[quote name='mtxbass1']I've actually had quite the opposite of the OP happening lately. I have traded games at FYE and at Media Play, and they have given me much crap about the condition of the games. Now before you go and say to take better care of your games, here's the catch. All of the games I traded in were brand new and sealed up until about 1 minute before I walked into the store. Example: I had 5 sealed games that I opened in the car, then walked into the store. The MP associate takes the games, looks at the bottom of the discs, and tells me that they are "dusty" and that he is doing me a favor by taking one of them. I seriously felt like questioning his judgement, but whatever, I got my free game out of it. I think a lot of people have been trying to rip off my local Media Play and FYE lately though by trading in scratched up games, hence the extra precaution..but geez.[/quote]

yeah, they do that to me in my FYE. About 2 months ago I tried trading in a stack of 24 ps1 games. They only accepted 6 that were in really great condition. I know some of them were heavily scratched, and thats understandible to why they didnt take them, but the majority of the games they turned down were perfectly playable. And I knew that for a fact.l
 
FYE does seem to be the most strict about scratched discs. That can be seen as a good or a bad thing. Good because if you buy a used game there, you know it's in great condition, bad because even if it has some minor scratches they probably won't take it. even if the game works fine
 
Yeah I bought about 6 used DC games at Gamecrazy a few months ago but I didnt get around to playing them until a while after. First I put in Grandia II, doesnt even load the game, 2nd I put in Toy Commander and it only played 1 level, then I tried Sword Of Berserk and it didnt load.
 
big chain companies don't have time to test every game that gets traded-in. they get some people that bring in 20 things at a time sometimes. i check the discs at my job at GS and if it looks too scratched up we refurbish it (deducting a fee from what the person would get for it). i have seen a few games that people traded-in that should have been refurbished but weren't and it is rediculous that it wasn't.
 
I know with the GameCrazy I go to just checks to see if the disc is in the case. They also still take PS2 games that have those damn Blockbuster stickers on the disc, which Gamestop and EB stopped taking awhile go.

As for EB, the stores usually have them in good condition. Although I have encountered buying some bootleg games from them(which I took back as soon as I saw the disc), cause it's a dead giveaway when the bottom of a PSOne disc is blue. But with EB's website, it seems every other preowned Xbox game I order from them, it's damaged badly and won't work. The website also still sells PS2 games with the Blockbuster stickers on them, cause I received Armored Core 2 and The Bouncer from them with the stickers still on them. Which I took to the closest store to exchange since the discs with stickers usually give my PS2 trouble.

Gamestop is the only one that will complain to you that it's damaged and they'll have to charge you to resurface it. By the way, to any GS employee, how much do they charge to resurface it and will they do it with games you take up there just to get cleaned?
 
[quote name='kaji7p56']I once traded in an NBA 2K3 that was Game Doctor'd to hell and did not work AT ALL. The EB manager didn't even check it. It seems it's better (for big chains) to accept games in any condition and resell them. Most of the time the games do work but they are counting on the fact that the percentage of people who will actually drive back to the store and exchange it is small. If they turned away games with scratches, then they will lose out on a lot of money.[/quote]

Remind me not to go to any LA-based EBs anymore.

That's one bad thing about GameRush. The former rental discs are ass-tastic. At one GameRush, the clerk gave this deep sigh when I asked to see the condition of the 5 games I was considering for purchase. I think I maybe bought two of them.

I worked at a Funcoland/GameStop back when PlayStation was king, and we were very picky about what we took in for trades. I remember a kid coming in with his mom, trying to trade an NES (that seriously smelled like a dirty bellybutton) for a PlayStation, straight-up. They were both shocked when I mentioned how much more they'd have to put down to make that deal go through.
 
I definitely agree about the best store here in the portland area being Cd/Game Exchange but I still buy used games from otehr places sometimes as well, Game exchange just seems to always have the best deals though.
 
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