EB games trade in....WTF?

Sinnbox

Sinnbox

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The other day i forgot my cash at home and needed money , so i quick ran to EB to trade in some old crappy games i had in my car for cash. when i got home and looked at my recipt they had charged me a $.75-$2.00 resurfacing fee per game(all 1 disk games) these games were all in great shape!!
I called and asked why there was a resurfacing fee, the lady on the phone siad that she wanst sure because she didnt ring me up. I then asked wy some games were $.75 to resurface and some were $2.00, She said that the ones that cost $2.00 were popular games, so I asked why popular games cost more to resurface. That caught her off guard and she said somethign about how the computer is programmed to know how much it costs to resurface a game....WTF. any similar stories?
 
Hopefully if they were in good condition they weren't resurfaced. From my experienced disc that have been resurfaced play well (even when they were trashed), but actually look worse than some disc that don't work at all.
 
This is the first time I've ever heard of such a practice.

My GS stores don't even check the disc; I traded in a cracked Dragonball Z Budokai about 2 years ago for pennies on the dollar and they accepted it without hesitation or a check on ID...

I see brats trading in CD/DVD games too without clerks checking the disc condition, so I'd probably stop trading at any EBstop if they charged any resurfacing fee. So did they give you the tradein value less the resurfacing game?

And as far as different costs, the more popular games require a higher grade of toothpaste!
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']Let this be a lesson, look at your receipt before you leave.[/quote]
The other lesson is that GameStop/EB will take advantage of every possible opportunity to screw you. Always keep that in mind.
 
[quote name='siderealshift']The other lesson is that GameStop/EB will take advantage of every possible opportunity to screw you. Always keep that in mind.[/QUOTE]

The real lesson is never trade in your games to GS/EB unless you know you can actually turn a profit from it. This sounds like a scam to me OP. I'd call/contact corporate about this.
 
The resurface fee is most likely what they took off your trade-in price to convert to cash.

Trade-in price =/= cash amount
 
Didn't know about the 75 cent thing, but I have seen the $2 resurfacing fee. I've only traded in a couple of games (mostly to take advantage of trade-in deals), and the clerks always check the disc condition, if they aren't in prestine condition, they charge you a $2 resurfacing fee. I figure it does 2 things for them. (1) They have to pay out less for scratched games and (2) if there's even the slightest fingerprint on a copy of Madden 04 for PS2, they can claim that it needs to be resurfaced and therefore the person trading it in would have to pay for GS to take it (since Madden 04 probably trades for 10 cents). They've been dong in for about a year out here. I assumed this had been going on everywhere.

And as a side note, they DO NOT resurface them. At best, they send the "defective" discs back to corporate for resurfacing. Defective discs being discs that have been bought and returned as not playable.
 
Before freaking out and calling anyone, go back to the store with your receipt and talk to the manager. If you don't get anywhere, then call corporate.
 
[quote name='SL4IN']The resurface fee is most likely what they took off your trade-in price to convert to cash.

Trade-in price =/= cash amount[/quote]

This is probably what happened in your case, OP, since I believe that cash value is 20% less than the trade prices quoted and as others have said, you should ALWAYS check the receipt before leaving the store.
 
I got charged 4.75 for resurfacing once. Definitely caught the employee off-guard when I took a look at the receipt. I ended up with a 2.00 charge. :cry:
 
That's messed up, they should at least let you know that "oh manz this disc needs to be teh resurfaced, that's $2" and different fees for higher and lower popularity games, that's just ridiculous. Talk about getting jacked, no wonder they made like $1+ billion NET last quarter =(
 
I lost no money on the transaction, I got the games free the other day because the pawnshop only wanted some dudes system so he gave them to me.

They took %20 off for the cash transaction, and then deducted $.75 from 2 of the games $1.00 from another, and $2.00 from the last one. The disks were in great condition.

Knowing EB they probably charged me the money so they could pay an employee to scratch the Games to EB quality.
 
[quote name='Sinnbox']I lost no money on the transaction, I got the games free the other day because the pawnshop only wanted some dudes system so he gave them to me.

They took %20 off for the cash transaction, and then deducted $.75 from 2 of the games $1.00 from another, and $2.00 from the last one. The disks were in great condition.

Knowing EB they probably charged me the money so they could pay an employee to scratch the Games to EB quality.[/quote]

Actually, it's not EB Games quality(since EB was bought or merged with Gamestop, I forget which), as EB Games was a tolerable store which didn't really price gouge on rarer titles, sold older used guides for $1-3 each and only charged $5 for their discount card and didn't throw in some crappy magazine with it and tack on $10.

Hell, even Funcoland used to charge you only $10 and gave you the discount thing, plus the Game Informer magazine.

And how you can be so calm when they took money off of the games, even though you got them for free, is beyond me. I was seriously annoyed when the one store tried charging me a $2 fee per disc for games being disc only.
 
[quote name='Sinnbox']
Knowing EB they probably charged me the money so they could pay an employee to scratch the Games to EB quality.[/quote]


That makes me laugh because the last time I was at a GS, there was a 30-40ish year old guy working there that took a stack of 360 games traded in from the kid in front of me. After the transaction was over, he swept them off the counter with his arm to the floor and I saw some of the discs hanging half way out of the box. It was lovely.
 
I have seen the Resurfacing fee. They always tell me before I complete my trade in. Then I tell them Nevermind about the trade in and I'll go to a different location (one block away) and trade it there with no resurfacing fee.

It just depends on the ahole you get.

Also, check your receipt!!!! lesson learned
 
I just don't see why you guys even bother selling stuff to Gamestop. At mine most of the games are disc only and in shitty condition. They charge resurfacing fees to morons but they never resurface the discs, they just sell them in shitty condition. Part of the problem is how Gamestop employees take care of the games; I've seen them cram multiple disc games into one mere paper sleeve. Gee, ever think that'd scratch the games up? :roll:
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Actually, it's not EB Games quality(since EB was bought or merged with Gamestop, I forget which), as EB Games was a tolerable store which didn't really price gouge on rarer titles, sold older used guides for $1-3 each and only charged $5 for their discount card and didn't throw in some crappy magazine with it and tack on $10.

Hell, even Funcoland used to charge you only $10 and gave you the discount thing, plus the Game Informer magazine.

And how you can be so calm when they took money off of the games, even though you got them for free, is beyond me. I was seriously annoyed when the one store tried charging me a $2 fee per disc for games being disc only.[/quote]

lol, the reason i'm calm is because I don't want to sound like a retard, lol. I'm taking the recipt back in next week and I'll show it to the manager(he is cool) I'm hoping he can hook me up.
 
Wow, this is getting out of hand, so many people saying so many wrong things (every single thing i read on this thread is wrong).

The Refurb fee is based on the value of the the item traded since the company is taking a risk that the disc may not be fixable.

That's why you see the different charges (0.75$-4$).

Some regions are testing 50 cents charge for no case but that is never more than that.

If you don't know the facts please don't make yourself look silly.
 
[quote name='microbim']Wow, this is getting out of hand, so many people saying so many wrong things (every single thing i read on this thread is wrong).

The Refurb fee is based on the value of the the item traded since the company is taking a risk that the disc may not be fixable.

That's why you see the different charges (0.75$-4$).

Some regions are testing 50 cents charge for no case but that is never more than that.

If you don't know the facts please don't make yourself look silly.[/quote]

IMO a refurb fee is a stupid thing to charge due to the fact that the disks were in great condition.

I konw form myself running a Buy/Sell/trade in the past and from other local stores that when you are trading with customers that you have to take a risk, I always deny a trade if it looks to rough, but charging a refurb fee on every game that looks like it may be dirty/damaged is retarded.
 
[quote name='microbim']Wow, this is getting out of hand, so many people saying so many wrong things (every single thing i read on this thread is wrong).[/quote]Hey! I might be right on their computers being self-aware. You never know...
 
[quote name='microbim']Wow, this is getting out of hand, so many people saying so many wrong things (every single thing i read on this thread is wrong).

The Refurb fee is based on the value of the the item traded since the company is taking a risk that the disc may not be fixable.[/quote]

Do you work there or something... trying to salvage GS's reputation for them? idiot... lol

So called resurfacing fee or not, I can sell them for more than if I trade them to GS.

**NEWS FLASH** everyone knows that they try to get them for as little as possible and then when they go to sell them jack up the prices so they can make as much as possible.

With this said, the OP and anyone else that obviously buys back to them are idiots plain and simple...
 
[quote name='VipFREAK']Do you work there or something... trying to salvage GS's reputation for them? idiot... lol

So called resurfacing fee or not, I can sell them for more than if I trade them to GS.

**NEWS FLASH** everyone knows that they try to get them for as little as possible and then when they go to sell them jack up the prices so they can make as much as possible.

With this said, the OP and anyone else that obviously buys back to them are idiots plain and simple...[/quote]

Did you even read my original post? **NEWS FLASH** I sold them afew games(that I had gotten free) that were in my car because I needed gas money to get to my wallet. true Idiots post before they read the whole thread.
I usualy resell my Games on Ebay or grab a booth at a local fleamarket for a few days. I have made over $6000 selling games in teh last year....these were all games that would have never sold at a flea market or on Ebay for much more than i got out of them.
 
oh yea.....They gave me $3 for 50 Cent: Bulletproof minus a .75 resurface fee... someone must be buying them....
 
UGH the horror... fuck eb games.... i still remember the day i traded about 7 to 9 games... all i got in credit was 42 dollars in store credit.... lesson well learnt... i still remember them tossing the GTA Double pack box away (most likely to sell the games separately) fuck you eb games/gamestop :booty:
 
[quote name='gareman']Hopefully if they were in good condition they weren't resurfaced. From my experienced disc that have been resurfaced play well (even when they were trashed), but actually look worse than some disc that don't work at all.[/QUOTE]

There's a difference between a disc doctor resurfacing and a professional resurfacing. I have a professional resurfacing machine, retails at 600.00 and made by Azuradisc. It can take a completely scratched disc and make it look like new and there is no way in the world ANYONE could tell that the disc had been resurfaced. There are special buffing pads that give it a like new shine and removes every single mark on the disc.

It's amazing, best investment I've ever made, pays for itself actually. I go to pawnshops/flea markets/etc, buy discs that are scratched that they are going to trash because they "don't work" for next to nothing, replace the cases, resurface them to look brand new, sell for profit. Over the years the machine has made me at LEAST 10 times what I paid for it. :)
 
[quote name='Cmosfm']There's a difference between a disc doctor resurfacing and a professional resurfacing. I have a professional resurfacing machine, retails at 600.00 and made by Azuradisc. It can take a completely scratched disc and make it look like new and there is no way in the world ANYONE could tell that the disc had been resurfaced. There are special buffing pads that give it a like new shine and removes every single mark on the disc.

It's amazing, best investment I've ever made, pays for itself actually. I go to pawnshops/flea markets/etc, buy discs that are scratched that they are going to trash because they "don't work" for next to nothing, replace the cases, resurface them to look brand new, sell for profit. Over the years the machine has made me at LEAST 10 times what I paid for it. :)[/quote]

True, the only problem with those machines is that if a disc gets resurfaced to many times it gets to the point it is too resurfaced.
 
Actually EB/Gamestop do resurface games. The stores are supposed to ship out defective/scratched trades at least once a week. The store I used to run shipped out at least 3 40lb boxes of defects(including systems) every week. And you are supposed to tell the customer that you are charging them the fee. The disc are then resurfaced on a very expensive resurfacing machine and sent out to other stores.
So labor to do the trade, labor to send the defects out, cost of shipping, labor to unpack and sort defects, cost of machine up-keep, labor to run the machine, labor to repack box, cost to ship out another store, cost to receive and labor to unpack and place for sale. wow... 2 bucks what bandits.

For the record I wish we didn't have to take scratched games and defective systems.
 
[quote name='Cmosfm']There's a difference between a disc doctor resurfacing and a professional resurfacing. I have a professional resurfacing machine, retails at 600.00 and made by Azuradisc. It can take a completely scratched disc and make it look like new and there is no way in the world ANYONE could tell that the disc had been resurfaced. There are special buffing pads that give it a like new shine and removes every single mark on the disc.

It's amazing, best investment I've ever made, pays for itself actually. I go to pawnshops/flea markets/etc, buy discs that are scratched that they are going to trash because they "don't work" for next to nothing, replace the cases, resurface them to look brand new, sell for profit. Over the years the machine has made me at LEAST 10 times what I paid for it. :)[/quote]

There is a slight whitish haze that appears on even the most professionally resurfaced game discs. You have to keep tilting a disc back and forth under a bright light to see it, but it's there and undeniable.

So, while the machines may make them look like new, if your eyes are trained enough, you can tell that it's been resurfaced.
 
[quote name='davidjinfla']Actually EB/Gamestop do resurface games. The stores are supposed to ship out defective/scratched trades at least once a week. The store I used to run shipped out at least 3 40lb boxes of defects(including systems) every week. And you are supposed to tell the customer that you are charging them the fee. The disc are then resurfaced on a very expensive resurfacing machine and sent out to other stores.
So labor to do the trade, labor to send the defects out, cost of shipping, labor to unpack and sort defects, cost of machine up-keep, labor to run the machine, labor to repack box, cost to ship out another store, cost to receive and labor to unpack and place for sale. wow... 2 bucks what bandits.

For the record I wish we didn't have to take scratched games and defective systems.[/quote]

Resurfacing scratched games helps kep more games in the system. some of the mom and pop stores around here have $600-$1000 resurfaceing machines(the same kind all gGame-Crazy stores have, IMO all EB/GS's should have one instore, or one per town, they easily pay themselves off with customers comming in to resurface games, they woudl also cut down on shipping costs, I can imagine that shipping 3 40 lb boxesa a week costs a pretty penny. yet another place where EB/GS's "SHIT'S WEAK!!"
 
Gamestop does not "professionally" resurface games. It looks to me like they use those shitty $1 "do it yourself" kids (cloth and liquid).
 
[quote name='Rozz']Gamestop does not "professionally" resurface games. It looks to me like they use those shitty $1 "do it yourself" kids (cloth and liquid).[/QUOTE]

I know they use it occasionally, they've done it before my eyes.
 
some EB's use to try using gamedoctors and scratch removers, some may still. They sent a memo saying don't bother and to ship it back.

As to if EB should have those expensive machines? Yeah they should, but when you multiply cost of machine by how many stores there are it probably works out cheaper to send them one place rather than pay for the upkeep of thousands of machines that the employee's would screw up anyway. Hell you couldn't get half the stores to maintain a vacuum cleaner in proper working condition.(you mean I have to change a bag?)
 
[quote name='davidjinfla']some EB's use to try using gamedoctors and scratch removers, some may still. They sent a memo saying don't bother and to ship it back.

As to if EB should have those expensive machines? Yeah they should, but when you multiply cost of machine by how many stores there are it probably works out cheaper to send them one place rather than pay for the upkeep of thousands of machines that the employee's would screw up anyway. Hell you couldn't get half the stores to maintain a vacuum cleaner in proper working condition.(you mean I have to change a bag?)[/quote]

True, I guess I forgot that EB employees dont know much about games plus, they are probably to busy looking for Mario on Playstation 3 to have time to resurface the disks correctly. ;)
 
I can answer that question for you.

The resurfacing fee will vary depending how much credit you got for the game. The reason for it is because not all games can be saved by resurfacing them. There is risk involved when they take the game in that even after resurfacing the game it may not work. So the more money they give you for the game the higher the resurfacing fee.

Ideally the employee should examine each game and decide if it is in good enough condition to be resold. If the scratches are determined to be significant enough a resurfacing fee is charged and the game will be sent in to corporate for resurfacing. If the game can be resold as-is then no fee is charged. The employee should let the customer know that some of the games will require resurfacing and if you have a question as to why they can show you the game at that time.

I work for Gamestop and I can tell you that most of the time when I charge a resurfacing fee the customer thought the game was in good shape. However once I show them the game and ask them if they would be happy if I sold them a game that looked like that, would they be happy? They often see my point of view real quick.

They should have shown you the disks, and at that time you could have decided if you really wanted to trade them in or not.
 
[quote name='siderealshift']The other lesson is that GameStop/EB will take advantage of every possible opportunity to screw you. Always keep that in mind.[/quote]
QFT, I never buy there anymore.
 
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