Best Buy GCU is being Discontinued?

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PenguinMaster said:
You seem to be arguing that it affects most games. There are obviously bad games released on disc and some of them are made better through patches but it most certainly isn't the majority.

Any publisher who cares about their games would never release a game on disc with major problems. Therefore a very small percentage of quality games will ever be significantly improved by patches.

So you're saying patches have made a bad game... still bad?
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It's improved greatly since release, but it's still not where it should be. Didn't think that needed to be stated, and this statement makes me think you're somehow personally offended by my thoughts on the future of physical media...

And I play a lot of games and even with the day 1 patches a lot of them are still buggy as shit. Games constantly get released below the standards set by the industry years ago. Basically every time I buy a game these days I'm waiting for more patches before I dive in due to either performance, bugs, or features that need to be added. At this point, the counter argument is that the objectively worst way to play just about any game released in the past 8 years is acceptable, despite having the option to play the games in a superior way even if Sony or Microsoft's servers shut down (assuming you have internet). I've agreed that physical media is relevant as long as data caps are around. I'll also put out there that I agree that it's relevant as long as there are sizable segments of the market with poor/no internet. Anyway, I'm done arguing this, I've made my points.

 
One concern I have with BB and likely Amazon cancelling their 20% off as well. With less incentive to buy games at launch, you know companies are gonna lobby hard for mega pre-order exclusive content. Like

"Pre-order Kingdom Hearts 3 from Best Buy for the EXCLUSIVE access to the final boss in his TRUE form! Best Buy is the ONLY place to get the FULL Kingdom Hearts 3 experience and get the full ending!"

Otherwise, without these incentives, consumers are just gonna wait for sales for most games. Then other retailers will try to one up the other and we're gonna start getting gimped day one titles with key content taken out.

 
WWF said:
PS- how much money does Best Buy lose by you not buying those games for $48 and spending it for the same price at amazon instead? Furthermore how much does Best Buy lose when those games inevitably go on sale for $39 6 weeks after launch? Better to get $48 plus your $30 every couple of years than them sitting on the shelf until they’re clearanced at $19-29
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$60 games usually cost the store anywhere from $44-50 a copy. I believe Nintendo is on the higher end.
 
Syntax Error said:
Eh, they'll just give a pro-rated refund. The customer has no valid claim of "damages" at that point and it's done. You think this is the first time a company has ended a subscription style service?
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But a refund how? They can't just put money back on a credit card, the transaction may be years old. Do you make people go to the store to cash it in? How does that work? The logistics behind refunds would be more trouble than it is worth, and the fact that people do have a legitimate claim of "damages". I paid money for the terms of the program for the set period of time and they choose to not honor it. They do have some weasley wording in the terms, but those things are not always enforceable just because they say they are. Many states have laws to prevent things like that. The legal costs, particularly with 50 unique sets of state laws would be astronomical.

I'm sure their plans include just phasing it out through letting it expire. It is the path of least resistance and potential cost. The vast majority have less than two years of benefits left. You just factor that into your sunset plans, it isn't like they just woke up and realized "Oh shit, this math isn't working". This sort of thing is figured out with long term impact, and yes PR is a major concern. In the face of competition like Target and Amazon, the last thing you want to do is make a ton of people never want to shop with you again.

 
ZabaZu said:
This statement makes me think you're somehow personally offended by my thoughts on the future of physical media...
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I'm not offended but I don't like the spread of misinformation. Your statment "These days, you are basically buying a DRM disc, the game on the disc is substantially worse." is not accurate. Calling it a "DRM disc" implies that the game is unplayable without patches.

ZabaZu said:
Basically every time I buy a game these days I'm waiting for more patches before I dive in due to either performance, bugs, or features that need to be added.
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So patches encourage everyone to avoid buying games at launch because they will be improved later? That sounds like a terrible business model.

ZabaZu said:
And I play a lot of games and even with the day 1 patches a lot of them are still buggy as shit. Games constantly get released below the standards set by the industry years ago.
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There have always been plenty of buggy games. I haven't noticed an increase in buggy games this generation as opposed to the last few. I've actually had a lot more crashes and major problems on PS1 and PS2 than I do on PS3 and PS4. The introduction of optional patches hasn't made games more buggy or broken.

ZabaZu said:
At this point, the counter argument is that the objectively worst way to play just about any game released in the past 8 years is acceptable, despite having the option to play the games in a superior way even if Sony or Microsoft's servers shut down (assuming you have internet).
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What does this statement mean? How can games continue to be played in a superior way after Sony or Microsoft shut down their servers?

 
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defpally said:
His overly-dramatic comments and weird highlighting aside - Best Buy does owe him something, 20% off video games for the period in which his subscription terms were set when he paid for it. They are well within their rights to stop selling the membership, but their terms make it pretty clear that they cannot simply decide to not honor it. There is a little wishy-washiness in the wording with some "harmful to its interests or another customer" stuff, but if they start cancelling people outright ahead of expiration dates, they will be inviting a pretty slam dunk class action suit.

Yeah its ending, and there is no reason to be overly dramatic about it - it was great while it lasted. I'll definitely be looking more at other options once mine expires, this GCU pretty much guaranteed they were my first choice when looking to get or pre-order a game, but that will change. They have clearly run the numbers and figured out being the first stop for gaming was not covering the margin of the discounts. That's just business.
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You may want to reread the terms...

“Gamers Club Unlocked program may be modified or terminated by Best Buy at any time. Gamers Club Unlocked membership or any membership benefits may not be transferred or assigned. Gamers Club Unlocked membership may be terminated if Best Buy determines, in its sole discretion, that your conduct violates these Terms or any applicable law, involves fraud or misuse of membership, or is harmful to its interests or another customer. If Best Buy mistakenly issues points in connection with such misconduct, Best Buy may deduct improperly awarded points, invalidate improperly issued reward certificates and/or not issue reward certificates, as well as terminate your membership. Best Buy also reserves the right to deny future membership for such misconduct. Best Buy's failure to insist upon or enforce your strict compliance with these Terms will not constitute a waiver of any of its rights.”
 
defpally said:
But a refund how? They can't just put money back on a credit card, the transaction may be years old. Do you make people go to the store to cash it in? How does that work?
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Apply a credit to your GCU account and allow the account holder to credit it back to a valid card (if they have your account info, they have the card info that paid for it), etc. Honestly, I'm not going to debate all the details with you because I'm not Best Buy and I just don't care that much. But it's probably preferable than losing money on each video game you buy for the next four years.

defpally said:
the fact that people do have a legitimate claim of "damages". I paid money for the terms of the program for the set period of time and they choose to not honor it.
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Yeah, that's not really how it works. If they refund you, you're considered restored unless you can prove additional tangible damages. "I wanted cheap games" isn't a tangible damage. But, hell, even if you did get your class action lawsuit, they'd settle it for a fraction of the value, the lawyers will take 90% and three years from now you'll get a Best Buy gift certificate for $8 in damages. You're better off praying that they just refund.

 
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barlush23 said:
You may want to reread the terms...

“Gamers Club Unlocked program may be modified or terminated by Best Buy at any time. Gamers Club Unlocked membership or any membership benefits may not be transferred or assigned. Gamers Club Unlocked membership may be terminated if Best Buy determines, in its sole discretion, that your conduct violates these Terms or any applicable law, involves fraud or misuse of membership, or is harmful to its interests or another customer. If Best Buy mistakenly issues points in connection with such misconduct, Best Buy may deduct improperly awarded points, invalidate improperly issued reward certificates and/or not issue reward certificates, as well as terminate your membership. Best Buy also reserves the right to deny future membership for such misconduct. Best Buy's failure to insist upon or enforce your strict compliance with these Terms will not constitute a waiver of any of its rights.”
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You know I did read it because in my post I actually quoted part of that. All you did was quote the whole thing which I avoided for brevity. The whole "modified or terminated any time" is not necessarily enforceable given people paid for this program. Some states simply won't allow that. You cannot create law in terms, it has to follow existing law.

Syntax Error said:
Apply a credit to your GCU account and allow the account holder to credit it back to a valid card (if they have your account info, they have the card info that paid for it), etc. Honestly, I'm not going to debate all the details with you because I'm not Best Buy and I just don't care that much. But it's probably preferable than losing money on each video game you buy for the next four years.

Yeah, that's not really how it works. If they refund you, you're considered restored unless you can prove additional tangible damages. "I wanted cheap games" isn't a tangible damage. But, hell, even if you did get your class action lawsuit, they'd settle it for a fraction of the value, the lawyers will take 90% and three years from now you'll get a Best Buy gift certificate for $8 in damages. You're better off praying that they just refund.
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GCU accounts have no way to hold a credit balance. That requires new coding, security, administration, etc. My whole point was you are just creating far more cost than just letting it play out. They aren't losing money on each video game, even with GCU. Please don't tell me you think they have had this program for several years and no one did the math and said "hey we are losing money". The margins on the games is pretty good, from what I understand - it's the consoles there is little to no margin, and GCU never worked on those. Their main problem is they need more profit, and the goals of GCU to drive more add-on sales and traffic apparently hasn't worked out.

And yeah, class actions only really work out for the lead claimants and the lawyers. The masses get next to nothing. But the problem isn't us getting "whole", the problem is it costs a shit ton of money to defend against those on top of the eventual settlement. The most cost effective solution is to just let it play out, I would be fairly certain.

I think you are confusing me with some of the more dramatic posters in this thread. I'm not "praying" for anything in return, I'm actually disappointed but not really bothered by GCU going away. I figured it would end eventually, it's just that good. I have definitely saved more than I paid over time. The only thing is it will encourage me to consider other stores for games, and that isn't out of spite or anger - just they won't hands down have the best deal by default. I won't stop buying from them. I'll shop elsewhere because I'm a CAG and I seek out the best deal. Cancelling GCU is a gift to Amazon, they can stop doing their poor man's GCU and competition on games just got more interesting.

 
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nddave said:
The amount of gonna shop somewhere else in this thread though.
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I will buy from Amazon and not even bother going to a Best Buy after my GCU membership ends. With Prime shipping, I won’t have to leave my house at all.

 
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ritchardf said:
that article makes it sound like publishers are putting pressure on retailers to end discounts on preorders that are hurting digital sales.
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The publishing company still gets the full price of the game sale to Best Buy. The publishing company loses nothing.

Best Buy is the one losing money on this via GCU eating into their profits.

Because I have GCU, I have bought other things from Best Buy, here is a run down:

1. Christmas gift cards every year, $500+ easy with half being Best Buy. (People go to spend their gifts cards and spend over the amount on the gift card, thus spending even more money at Best Buy.)

2. Building a new house, I spent almost $6,000 on appliances there.

3. Bought my last few consoles and accessories

4. Cell phone accessories galore. Many can be found cheaper online but I go to see if something else may be needed by me or someone else in my house

There has been more too

Now, I can just buy stuff from CostCo, GameStop, Wal-Mart and Target when I don’t want to wait on Amazon Prime shipping. All four of those places are closer to me than Best Buy.

 
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a- In which states is it illegal for them to cancel a paid membership service?  The simplest answer is actually usually correct - There are consumer protection laws, but they rarely (if ever) extend to telling a business they cannot cancel a membership service, and for very simple reasons.  The argument of "I've suffered damages because I paid for this program for X years in advance" is patently false, because once you are issued recompense (either in the form of a refund, a credit, or some other method) you have not legally suffered damages.  At the most an inconvenience.  In my state, for instance, so long as the business discloses at the time you enroll that they may cancel at any time, they are legally within their rights to cancel at any time.  By saying they may cancel it at any time if the membership is harmful to their interests (which would include loss of profits), they are 100% in the clear to cancel memberships.  I'd honestly be shocked if there was a state or federal law preventing that.  Even in the event there is, they would only need to account for customers in that state individually - Illinois, for instance, has some pretty interesting individual laws when it comes to credit cards, and so credit card companies handle those accounts with exceptions.  BUT those laws would not apply to a service like GCU

b - They wouldn't actually need new coding, because chances are if you have a GCU account it is linked to a My Best Buy account, which they could apply a credit to or reward points totalling a set monetary amount.  If BB decided everyone was getting a refund rounded to the nearest $5 amount, they would just give you 250 times X points and call it a day.  At that point you have been compensated, and I'm sure it wouldn't be nearly as difficult as you think to manage the (in all likelihood, low volume) requests to be refunded directly via check.  Of the two fairly major corporations I've worked at in my adult life this was standard practice and is not difficult to accomplish.  Even if they opted to just cancel and send EVERYONE a check - That's easily outsourced, would take about 2-4 weeks, and done.  Don't get a check because your address isn't current?  Doesn't matter, they tried.  Several states (cough cough, California) will actually require them to issue the check to a government office, which will hold the funds for you in perpetuity until they're claimed.

But ah well.  If mine goes through the current end of June 2019, great.  If not, whatever - I've saved far more than the cost of membership, and have several preorders that are already PIF locked in, so whatevs.

 
Richman5 said:
I cannot express my displeasure enough. I am asking my friends and family to boycott this company immediately until they revoke this decision and demand they replace this with a better program. This club made me feel like a valued customer and enhanced my loyalty to the brand. I felt like this retailer catered to my preferences, interests and supported our culture. When my house caught fire, I took some solace knowing that I would be able to go on a shopping spree at the local Best Buy and i had a fantastic experience. Spent at least 30k as a direct result of the loyalty i felt from being part of the GCU. Now as i look around at all of the stuff i have been enjoying, i cannot help but feel betrayed by this callous decision by management. I will not return the things I have purchased, but i will discontinue the use of the best buy credit card, revoke future purchases, take my business elsewhere, and ask you to do the same. Don't wait until the expiry, stop the purchases now to send a clear message. BestBuy needs to realize they are in a fight for existence and cannot afford to make mistakes like this. Pssst - hey, I hate to be the one who points this out, but that alleged 30k? They already got it from you...

Game publishers need to get in on this because this does not just affect sales, but i don't feel like playing games at all right now. If we can make Electronic Arts/Disney cancel lootboxes, we can do the same with BestBuy.
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I actually went from exclusively Amazon to nearly exclusively best buy.  There were times I wanted to buy a game while I was at target, along with some other smaller things, and waited to go to best buy and got them there along with the game.

The program did, for me, what it was supposed to.  I turned my loyalty to best buy from amazon.  With GCU gone, I see no reason to go into best buy to buy anything.  It will turn into an amazon showroom for larger electronics like they used to be.

 
So what do you think Best Buy will replace this with? I’m hoping they at least come out with another program even if it’s like 15% per game for a bit more per year. I just don’t like Amazon’s program of only being able to get it on newer titles. Also, I never know how the packaging will be since there’s been a few items I’ve bought off Amazon that have had damaged packaging. And GameStop just isn’t an option for me anymore since I don’t shop there anymore & haven’t going on 7 years now.
 
"A said:
I actually went from exclusively Amazon to nearly exclusively best buy. There were times I wanted to buy a game while I was at target, along with some other smaller things, and waited to go to best buy and got them there along with the game.

The program did, for me, what it was supposed to. I turned my loyalty to best buy from amazon. With GCU gone, I see no reason to go into best buy to buy anything. It will turn into an amazon showroom for larger electronics like they used to be.
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I don't understand this they will match Amazons price and you can take it home that day or if you need to, return it much easier. As long as bestbuy is around, it will be my go to for anything I buy that they carry.
 
Clear the gaming community support of GCU is minimal at most if they are shutting it down. They perhaps will expand to music & movies. That may get more general consumers involved.

 
lionheart059 said:
But ah well. If mine goes through the current end of June 2019, great. If not, whatever - I've saved far more than the cost of membership, and have several preorders that are already PIF locked in, so whatevs.
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This is where we agree. I'm feeling the same, if they do whatever, then fine I've gotten my money's worth. I've got some pre-orders in and a couple years left, but I do hope it lasts.

Yes, they may well technically prevail if they push it to the end, but you have to know that not all cases end like that, because bad PR and legal costs to defend something where you are technically within your power as a business, but doing something very unfriendly to the consumers isn't worth it. Something like that, with an ambitious attorney and just enough grey area to put up the fight is something they would have to balance with just honoring the terms. After all, they are still making money on the games (there is a ton of margin in the games, otherwise they never would have done this - and then lowered the cost to be mass market friendly) - just not as much as they could be making. Not to mention the headaches with determining compensation and the details with implementing that (that sort of thing is not easy, despite what you seem to think). And many people have GCU but don't buy stuff often anyways, after all you do have to shop at Best Buy to use it.

I'm just of the opinion that the good of letting it expire on people outweighs the bad of just cutting people off and trying to figure out how to refund them (or not) and dealing with the aftermath. Why would anyone sign up for a service/protection plan with them (Geek Squad service, Extended Warranties, etc.) with the knowledge that they could very well cut it off and have a history of doing that? It's bad business.

But, if you are upped for a decade, I'd say there is a real danger of them doing just that after a couple years and the vast majority of GCU members have expired. It's highly unlikely you will be getting 20% off in 2026. And there won't be enough people affected to matter.

 
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By the way, I got the feeling something was up on GCU earlier this month.  I got a 10% off birthday coupon at the end of last month and noticed it did not stack with GCU.  If I applied it GCU got removed.  That used to not happen, at least as recently as when I pre-ordered God of War a few weeks before it came out and also used a 10% coupon from something else.

I tried it right after the revamp, when Spider-man Collector's Edition pre-order popped up briefly.  I missed out on ordering trying to figure it out and it went OOS.  Fortunately I saw it come up briefly again a few days later and got it in with GCU but didn't bother with the coupon.

 
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Right now, their main problem as I see it was that they let everyone keep +2yrs'ing their current membership.  I'm not sure why they ever thought that would be a good idea in the first place, knowing that they might end the program at any time.  It IS kind of a problem that they were perfectly happy to take everyone's 30 dollars as many times as customers wanted.  At the same time, I'm not sure what people were thinking when buying more than two extensions either.  There was no reason to ever buy it more than once unless you knew the program might end.  In which case, you knew the terms and conditions. 

They don't HAVE to compensate anyone.  Best Buy could just as easily have gone out of business at any time.  Wonder what they will do?  But I have a hunch that people whom bought multiple extensions are going to end up being disappointed!  There will be another stealthy announcement with a hard ending date for the discount at some point. 

 
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Nothing371 said:
Right now, their main problem as I see it was that they let everyone keep +2yrs'ing their current membership. I'm not sure why they ever thought that would be a good idea in the first place, knowing that they might end the program at any time. It IS kind of a problem that they were perfectly happy to take everyone's 30 dollars as many times as customers wanted. At the same time, I'm not sure what people were thinking when buying more than two extensions either. There was no reason to ever buy it more than once unless you knew the program might end. In which case, you knew the terms and conditions.

They don't HAVE to compensate anyone. Best Buy could just as easily have gone out of business at any time. Wonder what they will do? But I have a hunch that people whom bought multiple extensions are going to end up being disappointed!
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Pretty sure many people figured out $30 is not sustainable and the price will go up. They want to lock it in current price in case it goes up

 
62t said:
Pretty sure many people figured out $30 is not sustainable and the price will go up. They want to lock it in current price in case it goes up
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Of course. But then they also knew that the program could change or end at any time.

 
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defpally said:
After all, they are still making money on the games (there is a ton of margin in the games, otherwise they never would have done this - and then lowered the cost to be mass market friendly) - just not as much as they could be making. Not to mention the headaches with determining compensation and the details with implementing that (that sort of thing is not easy, despite what you seem to think). And many people have GCU but don't buy stuff often anyways, after all you do have to shop at Best Buy to use it.
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I mean it's been stated multiple times in this thread that the margin on games is actually very small - Virtually non-existent after the GCU discount on a $60 game. I'll have to look into that myself and see if it's the case, but GCU was never about maximizing profit by just upping the number of games sold at a slightly lower profit margin - Programs like that are designed to get people in the store and buying other items on their way to the register. Or, getting someone to buy the membership who doesn't use it enough to balance out the cost of entry.

Also - It's not about what I think. It's about what I *know*. It's actually VERY easy for a company to issue a massive refund on a service like that. Without going into too much detail, my current employer was able to refund several thousand people amounts ranging from under one dollar up to several thousand based on individual accounts. The entire process was outsourced and took roughly a month, start to finish, and that was several years ago. It would be very little trouble for BB to do the same, especially since there's very little calculation involved on their end to determine the amount to refund. I mean a moderately decent programmer could script it all out in a short amount of time (its just the cost per year, break it down into CPD, and then multiply by remaining sub life) - Email the address tied to the account to get a method of distro, bam, done. It's not nearly as much of a headache as you seem to think it is.

To be honest, the hardest part would just be paying it out, but I strongly doubt there's that much tied into GCU subs that go beyond 2018/2019. The majority of members probably didn't buy multiple years in advance. And, again, they would be totally justified in paying that out as store credit for the remaining balance.

 
The 10 percent coupons are almost non-existent and now GCU goes silent. The Reward Zone for preorder is sub par. Waiting to clear points is big turn off.
Return limits and return period based on Reward level is also a big downer.
Price adjustments are a hassle, at least for me.

I’m not upset at their decisions.

I really don’t have many positive things to say about Best Buy. I’ll just say , “ So long.”
 
Membership expires in a month. In the long run I’ll end up saying money, thus maybe living up to the title of cheap ass gamer. GCU lead me to actually buying more games on day 1 (especially if they were part of the 10 dollar pre order bonus). And due to the points Best Buy became my go to spot with electronics when if I just search a bit longer I could have found an item a bit cheaper else where. only became a elite plus member with GCU (4 years straight). I would say about just 500-800 dollars was in games. Will use family members target employee discount from now on.
 
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lionheart059 said:
I mean it's been stated multiple times in this thread that the margin on games is actually very small - Virtually non-existent after the GCU discount on a $60 game. I'll have to look into that myself and see if it's the case, but GCU was never about maximizing profit by just upping the number of games sold at a slightly lower profit margin - Programs like that are designed to get people in the store and buying other items on their way to the register. Or, getting someone to buy the membership who doesn't use it enough to balance out the cost of entry.
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Oh, since people mentioned it in THIS thread, it must be true! :)

Consoles don't make much money at all, and often are loss leaders. Way back when I worked at EB in college, it was told to us that if we sold a SNES without an attached game and the customer used American Express it was actually a loss. Games are where the margin lies, it has always been like that. If the console margin is razor thin, and the games margin are razor thin, then why would ANY retail business deal with gaming at all? Do the logic here. They make a ton on games. They make money on GCU games, maybe not as much as they would like, but they do (except for maybe big sales, like BF which is why they nixed that two years back). No program would operate at a loss as long as this one if it didn't. And they definitely would not have let it stack with other discounts (minus price match) from the beginning if it was a loss.

As far as how easy it is, the answer is in your post. They had to outsource it to specialists because it isn't easy to do in house. BB simply isn't set up for that sort of thing, it would be cheaper to just ride it out and as we agree, most people are done by early 2020. Then you can just set an end date and deal with the people that renewed for a decade on a case by case basis.

 
Same.  In fact, I'd pay their original price of $120 or $130 ( I forgot).  Even at $130 for 2 years, it pays itself off for me personally.  Maybe not all. 

Know what?   They should create optional membership tiers with varying perks that suit varying gaming demographic.  Those that want more savings will commit to buying more as they are more hardcore gamers, and hence better perks.  For casual gamers, less perks, but a cheaper membership price. 

Gotdammit! I should be spearheading this department for BBY....

...I've been drinking. 

...Tequila if you're wondering.

...Petron Silver if you're also a fan.

:beer:

 
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defpally said:
Oh, since people mentioned it in THIS thread, it must be true! :)

Consoles don't make much money at all, and often are loss leaders. Way back when I worked at EB in college, it was told to us that if we sold a SNES without an attached game and the customer used American Express it was actually a loss. Games are where the margin lies, it has always been like that. If the console margin is razor thin, and the games margin are razor thin, then why would ANY retail business deal with gaming at all? Do the logic here. They make a ton on games. They make money on GCU games, maybe not as much as they would like, but they do (except for maybe big sales, like BF which is why they nixed that two years back). No program would operate at a loss as long as this one if it didn't. And they definitely would not have let it stack with other discounts (minus price match) from the beginning if it was a loss.

As far as how easy it is, the answer is in your post. They had to outsource it to specialists because it isn't easy to do in house. BB simply isn't set up for that sort of thing, it would be cheaper to just ride it out and as we agree, most people are done by early 2020. Then you can just set an end date and deal with the people that renewed for a decade on a case by case basis.
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Not sure why you're arguing about this so aggressively. I used to have access to distributor pricing lists up until a few years ago, and I can tell you that the margin on games is razor thin. Hardware margins are low too, but at least a retailer can attach a warranty or sell accessories like high margin cables or controllers or other items that can generate some additional profit.

Retailers continue to carry games because they can be sold in large volume and most retailers today have lots of product categories so in the aggregate, Target or Best Buy or Walmart can make a healthy profit on things like cables or snacks and they don't have to rely on lower margin items like games alone. It's the retailers that focus on a particular product category such as Gamestop that are most at risk and it's why they have focused so heavily on used product with larger margins, as well as collectibles that carry a substantial margin. As others have mentioned, Best Buy employees are given a discount that is actually worse than GCU and Best Buy has always claimed that their employee discount is just above their cost. So, you can believe what you want, but if GCU was profitable, there is no way BB would be ending it. They know their game sales volume is going to collapse and they simply have done the math and determined that it's just not worth it anymore.

 
After a game has been out for a while, it often drops to $49.99 or $39.99 or even $24.99.  Does Best Buy have to pay more for a game when it's first released and then pay much less for the same game later?  Because that's the only way they could be making small profits at $60 and then later able to make any profit for the same game at $24.99.

 
Can people kindly STFU that games make a lot of money. They do not. End of discussion. You’re just making yourself sound silly.

There was one idiot on here that insisted games cost $5 wholesale.
 
The Gamers Club is the only club I've ever been involved in, and that all ended thanks to the Geek Squad kicking me out. I guess they finally had their revenge. 

 
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im good til 9/19

I mean other than Switch games like Smash I don't see the point of GCU.

as soon as you buy a game day 1 it's usually on sale 2 weeks later for $40.

Most Nintendo first party games rarely drop in price.

i knew the Best Buy website redesign was holding a dark secret

 
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Lame........was in need of a renew and was dragging my feet. I did however preorder most upcoming titles that I am interested in so at least I have that going for me. 

On a side note, somewhat related.......I ordered 2 copies of state of decay 2 during one of those buy 2 get one free offer. The order total is $104.33, but that was before the price drop of state of decay 2. So I'm wondering how this will work itself out. Will it automatically go down to 29.99 plus the additional GCU discount since I had it at the time of purchase? I suppose time will supply the answer. So bummed that state of decay 2 is not being received well. 

 
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If B.B. has no GCU then they could put a sale price on a new release. ........ forget it.
 
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id imagine whats going to happen is no more gcu but more preorder gift card deals and rz certificates like before..in regards to pricing...we'll just get sales like everywhere else just no 20% on top of it..sucks but for me at least i don't buy games day 1..so it's not a big deal

 
FYI - if your GCU expires Before your preorder’s release date - the GCU discount goes away. My GCU expired last year and I had some amibos preordered and when they shipped it was at full retail price. It was a big pain in the ass...
 
Confucius said:
Looks like they shut down the benefit entirely, not just not being able to buy it. Deadpool is 19.99.... and that’s it.
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Just check Deadpool is $14.99 with GCU

$14.99 is the Deal of the day and shows up as $11.99 with GCU

 
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I didn't really bought alot of day 1 games last year and it doesn't look like that this year either so it doesn't hurt me that much.  But what really hurts was when they took GCU off of black friday   :shame:  That was the best time for me to buy games for myself and for my friends & family.  

 
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