buying or selling games in front of game chains?

Skyfall_007

Skyfall_007

CAGiversary!
lol can you get arrested say if you a guy walks in with certain game chains say gamestop or ebgames and they give him such value XX for store credit. You offer to buy the game of that guy at such price, or tell him to go outside to look at some of the games which you want to sell of him. Any stories to share?
 
EB frowns on this, they can ban you from the store. I know someone who's done this at Hastings and GameCrazy, never had a problem. Matter of fact, at GC, he said "I don't care what you do in the store, just walk over there so the camera doesn't see you."
 
Could be considered loitering, which most stores/strip malls around here have signs posted saying it is illegal.
 
Technically you probably could get arrested, if the chain called the cops.
Loitering, conducting business without a license, trespassing, etc.
Way back in college I had a friend who ran a game store. It wasn't doing well, so he asked me to take some games to a pawn shop. I did. A guy in the pawn shop said "Hey, I'll take that game for 10 bucks", and the b*tch behind the counter said 'You can't say that in here, go outside if you're going to do that." We went outside in the parking lot where he bought a couple games, I sold the rest to the pawn shop. I don't know if she kicked us out because she was a b*tch [because she was] or if there was a law against it.
 
IANAL, but I imagine they'd be able to ban you from the store and formally warn you that if you return you'd be trespassing.

Then if you came back or refused to leave you could be arrested for trespassing.

But I can't imagine you'd actually get banned if you apologized if/when an employee told you not to try to buy games out from under the store. Especially if we're talking a major chain and it's not the manager who catches you. It's pretty much common sense - if you try it and an employee gets mad, don't do it any more there. If they don't care, go wild.
 
I think EB and Gamestop should be fined for taking advantage of the stupidity of people, especially children by robbing them blindly.
 
Do it.

Everyone wins, except the chain, who's all ready ripping idiots a new one on a used copy of madden for 45 bucks.
 
they can't actually arrest you but, they cam refuse your business. Hell when I worked at Gamestop I would buy stuff off customers that made their decision not to trade to the store. I would go outside and let other employees do it too, but outside not in the store. Now employess would get fired for doing business in the store.
 
I don't think they can arrest you for trespassing, as the store is open for public business.

They can however, not buy anything from you or sell anything to you.

I recently spoke to someone about this.

A Borders in near my gym. On the way back, I refused to let the door guard look through my bag. I didn't want him waving my cup through the air, so I declined.

Security asked me to leave. I left, and spoke the legal advice center at school. If a business is open to the public, they cannot pick and exclude customers.
 
I sold Breakdown to a gamestop employee right at the counter...to the manager. But come to think of it, it is technically illegal I believe, just depends on the store and the employees as far as weather they will enforce it.
 
At one EB I sold a copy of Mojo (PS2) to the manager for $1 instead of getting $0.25 in credit. At the same store I offered some kid $5 cash for two N64 games that would've netted him $5 in credit. I didn't directly make the offer to the kid, but said something about being willing to pay him. The manager said to go right ahead. So I did.
 
A company certainly can pick and choose customers, as long as it's not based on race/gender/other protected status. *should they*? Probably not, but they have the right to do so. "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."
Trespassing is basically "the unauthorized entry or remainng on the property of another." If you are asked to leave a private property [like a business], and you don't, you are now trespassing.
If I ran a game store, and my clerk was making personal transactions with customers on the clock, I would certainly fire him.
And of course, EB/GS pay what they do for tradeins because people will take it. No one is forcing them to accept their lowball offers.
 
yea this used to happen alot back in the mid 90s at a game trader around here. Their prices were sort of low and people wanted games. I remember at least 3 times they called the cops when people were doing trade outside their door.. Funny thing is the cops told one person to walk down 10 feet and do the trade since your no longer in front of their store
there is nothing the workers can do about it (It was in a Strip style mall)
 
When I managed a used CD store people tried this often. I would ask both parties to leave and not come back. It doesn't matter if you don't think the store is offering a fair price. They can offer whatever they want, nobody has to accept it. If you don't like the prices eb offers then don't trade with them.
 
[quote name='shajek']At one EB I sold a copy of Mojo (PS2) to the manager for $1 instead of getting $0.25 in credit. At the same store I offered some kid $5 cash for two N64 games that would've netted him $5 in credit. I didn't directly make the offer to the kid, but said something about being willing to pay him. The manager said to go right ahead. So I did.[/quote]

Ive done similar things, the managers never seem to mind.
 
[quote name='slidecage']I remember at least 3 times they called the cops when people were doing trade outside their door...[/quote]

I'd be a pissed off cop to have to run off kids trading games when there are people in real need of assistance and hot donuts being served waiting for me to eat.
 
I've never had a problem doing it. They just always make me go outside when buying or selling a game.

Heck, I've even sold a DVD to a Gamestop employee once.
 
[quote name='bil4l']I think EB and Gamestop should be fined for taking advantage of the stupidity of people, especially children by robbing them blindly.[/quote]

I second that. Nothing like paying $49.99 for a game, and getting $7.99 a week later in store credit.
 
If you do it off their property, which includes the space right in front of, in a public parking lot or elsewhere in a mall, then they have no leg to stand on.
 
I went into a local EB in a mall one day and asked if they had any Dreamcast systems in stock. The counter jocket said no, but then a guy came up to me and said he'd sell his system to me if I wanted one. We stepped out of the store and exchanged numbers. No one from the store really said anything.
 
Not illegal, but the store can ask you to leave. All stores that do trade-ins sign a Pawn Shop slip (allowing them to buy games). This means only they can conduct buisness inside of there store, not just random people. I have kicked out many people for offering cash for games. Its MY business, NOT yours. This is MY store, NOT yours. MY company pays rent, NOT you. If this would happen to every trade, guess what, the store would close down.
 
[quote name='gizmogc']Not illegal, but the store can ask you to leave. All stores that do trade-ins sign a Pawn Shop slip (allowing them to buy games). This means only they can conduct buisness inside of there store, not just random people. I have kicked out many people for offering cash for games. Its MY business, NOT yours. This is MY store, NOT yours. MY company pays rent, NOT you. If this would happen to every trade, guess what, the store would close down.[/quote]

It is a valid point, stupid people who trade in games for next to nothing and buy used games for near full price keeps stores like GS and EB with allows us to cleanup on their closeouts and abuse the hell of out their tradein deals. :D
 
[quote name='gizmogc']Not illegal, but the store can ask you to leave. All stores that do trade-ins sign a Pawn Shop slip (allowing them to buy games). This means only they can conduct buisness inside of there store, not just random people. I have kicked out many people for offering cash for games. Its MY business, NOT yours. This is MY store, NOT yours. MY company pays rent, NOT you. If this would happen to every trade, guess what, the store would close down.[/quote]

Interesting about the pawn slip. Is that a state level govt document or something? I've often thought I'd love to have my own pawn shop, if not for the whole fear of being shot thing.
 
[quote name='wubb'][quote name='gizmogc']Not illegal, but the store can ask you to leave. All stores that do trade-ins sign a Pawn Shop slip (allowing them to buy games). This means only they can conduct buisness inside of there store, not just random people. I have kicked out many people for offering cash for games. Its MY business, NOT yours. This is MY store, NOT yours. MY company pays rent, NOT you. If this would happen to every trade, guess what, the store would close down.[/quote]

Interesting about the pawn slip. Is that a state level govt document or something? I've often thought I'd love to have my own pawn shop, if not for the whole fear of being shot thing.[/quote]

Wubb's pawn shop, populated with nothing but flea market and garage sale finds? :D
 
[quote name='shrike4242'][quote name='wubb'][quote name='gizmogc']Not illegal, but the store can ask you to leave. All stores that do trade-ins sign a Pawn Shop slip (allowing them to buy games). This means only they can conduct buisness inside of there store, not just random people. I have kicked out many people for offering cash for games. Its MY business, NOT yours. This is MY store, NOT yours. MY company pays rent, NOT you. If this would happen to every trade, guess what, the store would close down.[/quote]

Interesting about the pawn slip. Is that a state level govt document or something? I've often thought I'd love to have my own pawn shop, if not for the whole fear of being shot thing.[/quote]

Wubb's pawn shop, populated with nothing but flea market and garage sale finds? :D[/quote]

I picture it like my own personal never ending flea market/garage sale where the people actually bring the bargains right to me. :drool: I'd lowball them from the comfort of my own chair!
 
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