Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked Permanent Price Drop - $30

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$30 Gamers Club Unlocked

  • Save 20% on new video games, receive 10% bonus trade-in credit on games, plus other benefits. Terms and conditions apply. In-store activation required.
Was $99.99, now $30 for two years. Begins March 8th:
https://corporate.bestbuy.com/just-30-the-new-price-to-join-my-best-buys-gamers-club-unlocked/
 
Membership benefits:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/regularcatpcmcat338600050004/gamers-club/pcmcat338600050004.c?id=pcmcat338600050004
 
20% off new games, 10% off pre-owned, 10% extra trade-in credit, B2G1 Free Coupon and 50% off strategy guide coupon in Welcome Packet/email. Discount not applicable for consoles or accessories, but works on interactive gaming figures like amiibo, Disney Infinity, and Skylanders.
 
FAQ

 
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My problem with GCU (got it with the $15 phone deal) is I don't trust BB to fulfill their preorder extras after the debacle I went through for the Metalpak for Arkham Origins, let alone all the CE nonsense that has happened with BB since Forza 4 that is well documented on CAG if you dig around the old/current CE threads enough.

Then I'm relying on it for a better discount on older games, but most of the time it's on items that aren't in stock in stores & sold out online within 10 minutes.

I've only used my GCU 3 times since I bought it.
 
Karkian said:
I can't comment on Blu-rays since I rarely buy movies anymore, but I can see people having a problem finding Japanese games at best buy. I don't even think my best buy carried any copies of Tales of Xillia 2 at all. For most western games though I haven't had a problem with shipping to store or finding a copy at my store.
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They tend to carry every new release for console , even the niche ones, on their site. You need to be ok with free ship to home or store to get some of the weirder stuff, especially CE's.

 
jacknicklson said:
I don't believe they ever flat out stated that amiibos get a discount though
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You'd be correct. With the popularity now it makes sense that they would advertise the discount now. As someone else said in an above post, GCU also works with the Disney Infinity and Skylanders figures as well.

 
genesis49 said:
This seems like one of those too good to be true deals
Wonder how far from bankruptcy they are. Wouldn't want to be spending money on a club that will be gone next year
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lol, it's not Radioshack Gamers Club. They're relatively healthy for a retailer with physical stores.

 
chriscolbert said:
True, but when I worked there employees got games at 5% over cost and most $59.99 games came out to around $51. So at $47.99 a pop I'm just assuming that they aren't making much on each sale. True they will sell a shit ton and maybe that's all that matters, but actual profit for new game sales can't be that great.
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there are almost certainly volume pricing promotions by developers, and locking buyers into best buy as the go to helps firm up those numbers.

also, even with the trade cycle. the "getting paid to rent" cycle...they still sell the used games for more than they pay for them.

I've bought a number of games day 1 that I would have otherwise waited on (or never bought). because i knew i could trade them in and come close to breaking even. The additional sales, plus whatever profit they make on used game resale, is all $ they would have never otherwise seen from me. and I am not alone.

 
sovereignNX-73811 said:
Just curious: Has anyone bought used games from BBY before? Over here where I am not only is the selection bad but the prices are higher than GS.
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Once, during their B2G1 used game promo. Bought Drakengard 3, Deception IV, and Demon Gaze for like <$60 total.

Other than that... not really, cause their selection almost always suck.

 
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Considering when people signed up for the program, it was stated you received a 20% discount on new games. Would they actually be able to lower it to 10%? I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert at Marketing, so I figured maybe someone else would know?
 
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elessar123 said:
Probably. They're usually a clause in the fine print that they can change promotional details at any time.
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so they drop the membership to $30 now, if they change it to 10% off new games instead of 20% then all the CAGs here should initiate a class action lawsuit against Best Buy to refund our money + damages. theres no way in hell they can get away with scamming so many gamers.

 
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stringycupps1 said:
Not necessarily. So far, I've only used my GCU for my maximum 3 copies of MH4U that also came with the $10 gift card. I only need to spend $30 more dollars on video games to recoup my $30 investment. I still buy wherever the best price is for games I want, whether it's Best Buy, Target, Walmart, eBay, Amazon, Half.com, Dell.com, etc.

Rarely has the Best Buy price, even with the 20% GCU discount, been low enough to make me bite.
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Your exception seems to validate that the program could be very successful for them financially. People like me only shop there because of GCU. People like you paid for GCU and may not even get your money's worth out of it. Seems like win/win for Best Buy.

Obviously, it's not nearly that simple, but interesting, nonetheless.

 
What if they drop the discount to 10% but let GCU members preorder first?

dun dun dun

Edit:

Rick4Life said:
HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Where all the haters who gave me flack for calling them out on buying 4+ years?!
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I bought 4 years for $60 total. Why would I be hating? On the second subscription, the game guide coupon alone recouped me half the cost already.

 
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I've only have had Unlocked for a little over a year and have bought over 50 games. Especially if the game is in the Preorder for $10 Back Bonus. Over have of those games I wouldn't have even purchased at launch but did because with GCU and other Promos the game wouldn't be that cheap for at least a few months.

GCU is a blessing and a curse. And BB gets all of my gaming ca$h. Even with my closest store being 45 minutes away, I'd still rather order online.
 
sovereignNX-73811 said:
Just curious: Has anyone bought used games from BBY before? Over here where I am not only is the selection bad but the prices are higher than GS.
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I bought My Japanese Coach a couple years ago from bb.com. It came in a replacement case. They've had decent sales on used games, some were even flips to gs.

 
Fatbot3 said:
I can't help but think this must represent how successful it's been.
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Economics 101 tells us that GCU has only been successful in retaining customers who already have it; they have failed, however, at raising awareness and getting people on board. This is why the price is so low; not enough people are biting.

 
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elessar123 said:
Once, during their B2G1 used game promo. Bought Drakengard 3, Deception IV, and Demon Gaze for like <$60 total.

Other than that... not really, cause their selection almost always suck.
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KurishiaMarurade said:
I only bought it when they had B2G1F (or was it B1G1F) promo. But yeah, they compete well with GS on the prices of those pre-owned games.
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And considering that you're the only two that replied I must assume no one else could find even one used game at BBY worth buying?

And if you're lucky, new Vita games can be cheaper than the used ones, lol.

 
I think some of the people in this thread underestimate the margins on new games, let alone used ones. Plus there's always going to be that portion of subscribers that never save more than they paid for the subscription.

 
It's a no brainer for them. People with GCU will exclusively shop at Best Buy for their games, they are probably selling 10x as many copies and earning boat loads of money from the hardware and software companies for selling so many games and pre orders.
 
It's less about making money and more about bottoming out your competition. It's not a secret that retailers don't make a lot off of game sales, it's always been a volume thing. If Best Buy can drive enough volume away from other stores, other stores may drop out of gaming (as many have already). Also, since it's a membership and not a sale, BB doesn't have to worry about losing customers to price matching.  If I hate BB, but I can get X cheaper there than anywhere else, I (and most of America) will get over my personal feelings and go to BB. 

In the end, the dollar will always win. It's just BB trying to kill competition. 

 
I know that since I've had GCU, a lot more of my gaming money, both pre-orders and non-preorders, has been going to BB.  The 20% discount, coupled with the $10 RZ certs, had me preordering a number of games at BB when I'm not planning on preordering.

Coupled with Elite Plus My RZ membership and double RZ points on gaming purchases, it's certainly worth using.

 
UcanSUKtheFAC said:
Economics 101 tells us that GCU has only been successful in retaining customers who already have it; they have failed, however, at raising awareness and getting people on board. This is why the price is so low; not enough people are biting.
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Or there's a huge influx of people who buy it when it does go on sale as opposed to it's "retail" price. Either way, I could care less, I've saved way more money on the games I buy compared to what I paid for a membership.

 
Some of you sound like you want Best Buy to go bankrupt. I for one don't want to see it since it's pretty much the last full electronics chain that's nationwide.

 
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sp00ge said:
Still will never beat the free with any prepaid cell phone deal a while back.
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Gotta admit, that was great. What isn't so great about that is I have a prepaid phone and SIM card kit that's collecting dust at home. I suppose I'll just leave it around since I only paid $15 for the two.

 
I wouldn't worry too much about it.  It opens up the consumer base.  You gotta think of it like this, Best Buy gets games at a cheaper cost than what us consumers pay.  While they take a 20% hit on each game, they sell a $30 membership.  In the large scope of things, they most likely will end up at the same point as they are now. People weren't buying the $120 membership, and were waiting for the $30 one anyways, so it makes sense.  More memberships sold + more games sold because of the membership = more revenue as a whole.  Smart move on their part.

 
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GCU is shitty. Best buy limits their stock so hard it's impossible to use it on anything decent. They routinely ship preorders a week to three after release , even when you have preordered the game months in advance.

I expect GCU now being cheap is just going to make best buy make sure they don't get any CE so their profit margins stay high. lol.

 
I paid $60 for it last summer and made insane amounts of money back. I would've happily paid $200 for it had I known how much I'd profit from it.

 
MPoWeRM3 said:
Some of you sound like you want Best Buy to go bankrupt. I for one don't want to see it since it's pretty much the last full electronics chain that's nationwide.
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I rarely shopped BBY because of how terrible my local stores are. It wasn't until GCU that I started going back regularly. Local stores are still garbage and I do most of my BBY shopping online.

Blumpkin said:
So... chances the benefits tank?
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I think that's what everyone's thinking. At best, I'd wager we're gonna see the discount limit from 3 games down to 1. At worse, the discount amount drops to 10%.

I mean, really, since Amazon now collects tax in roughly half the states, the playing field for games in pretty much level in terms of prices on new games since there's no "tax free" advantage for a lot of people. Target, Walmart, TRU, and Gamestop are non-factors when it comes to new games.

 
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shosaisyu said:
GCU is shitty. Best buy limits their stock so hard it's impossible to use it on anything decent. They routinely ship preorders a week to three after release , even when you have preordered the game months in advance.

I expect GCU now being cheap is just going to make best buy make sure they don't get any CE so their profit margins stay high. lol.
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My BB always has like 1-2 copies of every non-major game, but if you order online-to-store, it's usually not a problem.

 
WNYX585AM said:
Your exception seems to validate that the program could be very successful for them financially. People like me only shop there because of GCU. People like you paid for GCU and may not even get your money's worth out of it. Seems like win/win for Best Buy.

Obviously, it's not nearly that simple, but interesting, nonetheless.
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True but I will spend the remaining $30, as I now have those gift cards. This year on BF, they had some of the better gaming deals for pretty much anything gaming that's not a 3DS (Target was the best for all of those $15 games, with Walmart following with their $150 3DS XL with NSMB 2 digital). If I combine GCU with their other deals for BF either in 2015 or 2016, I will recoup all of this money and then some. They will not be making much, if any, money off me. But that's always my goal =)

I'm guessing that they will still make money off of this. Many people still make impulse buys (for things like the ridiculously priced snacks by the registers). Also, many people won't go to multiple stores to get what they need (or it isn't worth it if their stores are far apart), so they'll just buy everything they need in one store. Getting people into the store is the biggest hurdle, so this accomplishes that.

There will also be many people who willsign up for this and either don't use it or mostly use it for MSRP stuff (thinking they're getting a game for the "amazing' price of $48, only to realize it needs several GBs of updates in addition to needing several $15 DLC purchases to continue using the game, e.g. Destiny).

I think there are enough dumb/lazy people or those unlucky enough to have multiple stores close by them people out there for BB to make money off of this, even at $30.

 
I think this is the beginning of the end for Best Buy.  Just like I read Target is cutting thousands of jobs....something just is off to me.  Years ago when Game Crazy went under they cut their MVP membership to 5 dollars for a last desperation cash grab before announcing the end.  I think their card was always 20 dollars.  Now Best buy is cutting it's gamers card 75% permanently too.  Does this mean best buy is on the ropes?  Or maybe their gaming department is...

Either way when I go into best buy now they never have any of the games on sale they have advertised.  Their game section is almost virtually a ghost town.  50% of the store is cell phones.

 
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shosaisyu said:
GCU is shitty. Best buy limits their stock so hard it's impossible to use it on anything decent. They routinely ship preorders a week to three after release , even when you have preordered the game months in advance.

I expect GCU now being cheap is just going to make best buy make sure they don't get any CE so their profit margins stay high. lol.
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lol, out of the 40ish games I've gotten since GCU started, only one pre-order shipped late, and that was Hyperdevotion Neptunia Noire that was like 2 weeks late.

Niche games do dry up shortly after release most of the time, but that's understandable.

 
I had DBZ xenoverse preordered since december, it didn't ship until monday ( two days ago )

I had DOA5 last round preordered for 5 months. When it was released, it was changed to "backordered". STill haven't got my game.

 
shosaisyu said:
I had DBZ xenoverse preordered since december, it didn't ship until monday ( two days ago )

I had DOA5 last round preordered for 5 months. When it was released, it was changed to "backordered". STill haven't got my game.
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Wow, a whole week late.

Plus, there's a thing called a port strike.

 
From a competitor standpoint, this puts the heat on the other retailers like Amazon and Gamestop (Target to a lesser extent).

$30 for 2 years.  One $60 game and you already save $12.  Buy 3 games in those 2 years and you already made your money back and then some.  Amazon and Gamestop are going to now have to re-examine how to compete if the shift of business becomes too great.

For me, BB is the best out of the 3 because GS never has discounts (PUR program is a joke), and Amazon doesn't have physical stores so midnight launches are out of the question.  BB you can pick up your game right when the store opens instead of waiting for the mail delivery.  It's the little things, but it factors in nonetheless.  For the most part, saving $12 off the price of the game beats any retailer-specific pre-order bonuses as well.

This could mean good things for us, like more games being eligible for $10 pre-order certs, more stock in certain CEs, better retailer bonuses, or Amazon or GS making their own discounts to retain buyers.  I don't see a reason why people shop at Gamestop anymore, they don't offer anything above what these other retailers can.

 
ScottsUSERID said:
I think this is the beginning of the end for Best Buy. Just like I read Target is cutting thousands of jobs....something just is off to me. Years ago when Game Crazy went under they cut their MVP membership to 5 dollars for a last desperation cash grab before announcing the end. I think their card was always 20 dollars. Now Best buy is cutting it's gamers card 75% permanently too. Does this mean best buy is on the ropes? Or maybe their gaming department is...

Either way when I go into best buy now they never have any of the games on sale they have advertised. Their game section is almost virtually a ghost town. 50% of the store is cell phones.
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There is some validity to this. When Bestbuy was close to going bankrupt years ago the department that saved them was mobile. Hence why such a large chunk is dedicated to mobile now. My friend is a manager at a bestbuy and he informed me that mobile gives them the largest profit and videogames are actually a giant hassle to maintain. Constantly changing inventory, holding too much of certain copies that dont sell, issues with the manufacturer (Nintendo is notoriously difficult to work with) The profit they gain from it actually isnt a lot and they usually get issues from gamers (us cagers :) ) attempting to abuse/take advantage of the system. They have considered putting majority of videogames solely online and not dealing with it in stores because they take up shelf space. Just a spiel from that BB manager, may not be the situation at all of them.

I mean kmart/sears is close to bankruptcy and they are trying to prolong the inevitable, by getting rid of the stuff not worth it, ie gaming.

Hopefully this price reduction was just a price reduction to generate more dedicated customers, because you cant beat gcu + double rewards. Target offers that 5% plus cartwheel from time to time and GS offers garbage. Hopefully this does increase competition and other major retailers start implementing more sales and incentives for gamers.

 
I can vouch for my nearest BB having TWO gaming sections. They keep one up front that has a lot of their major sale stuff and new releases. The other one right in the center's mostly used, some less than popular titles...and accessories...lots of accessories.

I am good until November 2017 myself. So we will see what happens in 2017.

 
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