ebgames selling opened items as new?

M

mcsake

CAG Veteran
maybe ebgames is better when you buy online. Because I went to the my local ebgames and bought a new action replay for xbox. They just grabbed the display product off the shelf which was open with nothing in it. then they went to the background and stuffed everything back in and sold it to me as new. I heard that they do that to some new games too. Has anyone here got anything opened online that was supposed to be sealed and new? I guess that is why places call the game pre-played. So as long as something has not ben played you can sell it as new even though the product is not sealed and already opened?


Update
What are some good online retailers to buy new games then?

so far ppl are telling me that have gotten some used as new at ebgames.com. I have not tried gamestop.com yet but so far I have had perfect success at
lik-sang.com
amazon.com
gamesug.com
target.com
compusa.com
 
Yeah I have gotten supposedly new stuff that was actually used. I end up selling it back on eBAY because by the time I send the package back and wait for a refund was always a hassle.
 
Supposedly they do this for display purposes. You can tell them you dont want the display and would prefer a sealed copy though. If they are are available. Online doesn't do it because they dont have to display the box.
 
[quote name='opportunity777']Yeah I have gotten supposedly new stuff that was actually used. I end up selling it back on eBAY because by the time I send the package back and wait for a refund was always a hassle.[/quote]

Do you mean when you purchase online? or in store?
 
[quote name='big_squirtle']Supposedly they do this for display purposes. You can tell them you dont want the display and would prefer a sealed copy though. If they are are available. Online doesn't do it because they dont have to display the box.[/quote]

Online does do it and has done it to me before :)

That's what I was talking about in my thread. I already know they do it in the B&M. Sometimes my ebgames has 3-4 display copies for the same game, so none of them will be new for that particular game.
 
[quote name='opportunity777'][quote name='big_squirtle']Supposedly they do this for display purposes. You can tell them you dont want the display and would prefer a sealed copy though. If they are are available. Online doesn't do it because they dont have to display the box.[/quote]

Online does do it and has done it to me before :)[/quote]

Get the F- out, thats some real crap. I would be ubber pissed if I ever got some crap like that. So Far So Good , I guess. [-o
 
[quote name='big_squirtle'][quote name='opportunity777'][quote name='big_squirtle']Supposedly they do this for display purposes. You can tell them you dont want the display and would prefer a sealed copy though. If they are are available. Online doesn't do it because they dont have to display the box.[/quote]

Online does do it and has done it to me before :)[/quote]

Get the F- out, thats some real crap. I would be ubber pissed if I ever got some crap like that. So Far So Good , I guess. [-o
 
That had happen to me twice when I bought from ebgames.com, I bough games brand new and they send it to me as not sealed. I went to ebgames b&m and I ask why the game is not sealed and the clerk told me he can sealed it for me if I want. That is just ridiculus. Even if they sealed it, it will not look like the "new" condition in it's originally seal (i.e. Factory sealed). They say that the game is brand new and never use but they don't want other people to steal the game so they put the game and the display box in different places. So hopefully you are lucky and get the games in their inventory. But if you are not lucky and get the last game on display then you will get this unsealed game been sold as brand new by ebgames.
 
EB used to let employees "check out" games. They stopped that policy several years ago. If the EB in your area still claims they get to "check out" games, they are not following company policy.
However, I do know that Gamestop does still let their employees check out games. I dont know what they do after they are checked out, but I know they still allow it.
 
[quote name='ukhoops']EB used to let employees "check out" games. They stopped that policy several years ago. If the EB in your area still claims they get to "check out" games, they are not following company policy.
However, I do know that Gamestop does still let their employees check out games. I dont know what they do after they are checked out, but I know they still allow it.[/quote]

My GS also keeps a mix of games in the drawer too and they all look like shit, so it's not hard to tell what they do with them after they are checked out :)
 
Gamestop does it too as I bought a "new" copy of Blowout a couple weeks ago and it wasn't close to actually being new and sealed. I got into an argument with a worker at EB over this issue. I had boughten Car Battler Joe and it wasn't sealed and he was trying to tell me that the game was infact new, just opened. I'm sorry but once you break the original seal it's not new anymore, it's used.
 
I got a question...I agree that this practice is total crap - they did this to me when I bought the last Winning Eleven and I threw a fit about it in the store - but...you guys are saying that you're getting an opened game that you paid "new" prices for, it's coming to you opened and...you're selling it on eBay? How come? Are you just talking about games that...you had no intention of ever opening or playing?
 
[quote name='mcsake']So as long as something has not ben played you can sell it as new even though the product is not sealed and already opened?[/quote]

It depends on how they received the item. If they got it from their wholesaler, and they open it for display, they sell it as new (some stores will give a discount when purchasing opened-but-new items, but don't count on it). If they received it as a trade-in, even if it is factory sealed, they cannot sell it as new. In theory, one could go into a store, buy a used, factory-sealed copy of a game, and a "new" opened copy of the same game.
 
yeah when i bought 1080 snowboarding for $10 awhile back all they had was an opened copy...everything was flawless so i didn't mind :whistle2:[
 
[quote name='cruster']I got a question...I agree that this practice is total crap - they did this to me when I bought the last Winning Eleven and I threw a fit about it in the store - but...you guys are saying that you're getting an opened game that you paid "new" prices for, it's coming to you opened and...you're selling it on eBay? How come? Are you just talking about games that...you had no intention of ever opening or playing?[/quote]

I bought some as gifts, some with the intention to keep new, or some with the intention of playing.

I sold all on ebay. The reason is that I don't have a single finger print, scratch, etc. on any of my games and it pisses me off to buy a game and get it like that.

So, I just sold it on ebay and I usually broke even and could find another one that really is brand new for the same price.
 
It's amazing but true- they allow the employee's borrow the game. It's freaking criminal- since the employee's then take the "borrowed" game and burn it on DVD or CD. Perhaps not everyone does that, but I bet a ton of highschool / College age kids do that due to the fact that they have tons of time and are "poor".
 
The repackaging of games and selling them as new is the single biggest reason I stopped shopping at EB. The fact that it's done at all drives me nuts. Especially if you call a store and ask if such and such a title is in and they say they have one left, chances are it's the display copy. I can see selling the display copy if someone specifically asked for it, but to consider it part of their new stock inventory AND charge full price is bullshit.

Didn't someone sue EB over this just recently?

Regardless, I take my business to Fry's.
 
EB has been doing that for years, only recently in my area have they been giving new games in shrink wrap.
 
Fully agreed that it's F'ing ridiculous. If you bought a floor model of...well, ANYTHING at any other retail establishment, you would get a discount, without question. At the very least they should be selling at some intermediate discount, if not at the price of a used copy.
 
At gamestop i got mario party 6 and they took it out of the glass doored shelves behind them so i figured it must be new since it was behind glass and the outside packaging looked good (it was a box not a cd case) I get it home open up the box, the microphone is there, but there are no books and the game is inside a sleeve marked HULK just floating in the box with many scratches. They didn't want to exchange it but the guy that sold it to me was still there and he blamed it on the mannager... i just wanted my money back so i could go buy it somewhere else, but they "only off exchanges" .... I don't shop at gamestop for new games and will only buy used if it's buy two get one free now
 
[quote name='rockhero']They also let employees "borrow" new games and then sell them.[/quote]

They ended that policy two years ago.
 
I wouldn't buy the display copy unless it was in great shape and it was a superb deal. I rarely buy anything at EB or Gamestop B&M anyway. Prices for new stuff (barring big sales) are no better than anywhere else and their POed prices are generally lower online.

If they sent me an open copy when I ordered a new game from online I would be POed. (This hasn't happened to me yet.)
 
[quote name='Scorch'][quote name='rockhero']They also let employees "borrow" new games and then sell them.[/quote]

They ended that policy two years ago.[/quote]

The policy still exists at GS, but it's at the store manager's discretion, and most employees have enough common sense to only check-out used games.
 
[quote name='RisingZan']The repackaging of games and selling them as new is the single biggest reason I stopped shopping at EB. The fact that it's done at all drives me nuts. Especially if you call a store and ask if such and such a title is in and they say they have one left, chances are it's the display copy. I can see selling the display copy if someone specifically asked for it, but to consider it part of their new stock inventory AND charge full price is bullshit.

[/quote]

This exact thing stopped me from buying Outrun 2 last night from them. It was the "display copy" and I hate feeling like I am buying a game that has already been opened, especially since it still has the "new" price of a new sealed game.
 
EBgames.com customers aren't safe either. I just got a "new" copy of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow from EBGames.com. Listen to this: *no* shrink wrap, dented manual, smudges on the bottom of game, price label and other EBGames stickers stuck directly on the packaging, and the XBox 2-month Live trial that's supposed to be included - missing. Called 'em up and told them I demanded a refund. This is absolutely ridiculous.
 
That sounds like a sweet deal being able to check games out if you work at a video game store. What other perks do they get. Maybe I should apply as a second job.

Does anyone know what the pay rate is for someone that works at ebgames or gamestop?
 
I'll chip in with my EBGames.com experience:

During their Black Friday sale, I ordered four (new condition) games, one of which was 007 Everything or Nothing.

The copy that arrived, though shrikwrapped, was missing the Microsoft security sticker on the side.

I took the copy into my local store, but the employee said I had a "new" copy. I explained abou the missing sticker but she wasn't getting it. She finally went into the back to look for another copy of the game, but they didn't have any.

So I had EBGames.com send me a postage paided mailer and I returned the game and asked them to send me a real "new" copy.

All told, it took about four weeks from my original order before I had my new copy of the game.

BTW, this is the second time they've done this to me (out of about a dozen or so orders).

As they say, buyer beware.
 
That sounds like a sweet deal being able to check games out if you work at a video game store. What other perks do they get. Maybe I should apply as a second job.

Does anyone know what the pay rate is for someone that works at ebgames or gamestop?
Click to expand...

It is against company policy for employees to rent out games. I'm sure some shady managers still allow that, but I'd say it's a small percentage. Sadly, it was done in the past (including in my own store!) so now everything still thinks all the EB's do that. Yeah.

Other perks? Free demos and tons of game t-shirts...free gaming magazines, and of course an employee discount. If your manager you get a free trip in October to check out all the new games, etc (sort of like a mini E3). This year it's gonna be in Vegas.
 
I hate how EB puts those stickers over the edges over their used games and display copies. Its especially messy getting those things off, especially cardboard boxes (ruining them in the process). I think it looks awful and unprofessional.

I certainly would never purchase a display copy of a new game, at full price, when I could buy a sealed copy elsewhere.
 
I buy most of my new games from stores like BB or Wal Mart because of the "renting" stories. Im sure my EB doesn't do this, but I would rather be safe then sorry.
 
They do this in store all the time. They tried to sell me a re-sealed phantom brave se as brand new. At first when I caught the manager/owner of the store he denied it, but after about 2 minutes of yelling at him he gave in. He said if it was opened, it was opened by us. I still demanded a new copy. He was pretty ticked off at me. I vow never ever again to shop at another ebgames store.

Recently I got a suspicious gba game from gamestop website that looked like it had been open. I was not for certain, so i just returned it anyway and ordered it from someplace else.

But anytime I get a suspicious package I return it ASAP.

I usually buy all my games from Gamestop.com because of no tax and free shipping. But when I must I will go to local wally world. I have heard of Best Buy re-sealing games to sell. Target has my suspiciouns as I just purchased a game from them that looks re-sealed. I happily returned it with plans to purchase someplace else.


Chris
 
Even though I've known about EB and GS doing these things, reading this topic has really pissed me off. It reminds me why I try to do as little as possible business with those stores.
 
I have no idea why people ever shop at these stores unless the product is completely unavailable anywhere else.

These stores are overpriced, they sell used goods as new, and the employees are irritating.

Why would anyone even think of shopping at EB or gamestop?
 
You know how you fix this problem STOP BUYING GAMES FROM THEM!!! I never buy from ebgames. Go price match at a real store like Circuit City.
 
[quote name='aaronprather']I hate how EB puts those stickers over the edges over their used games and display copies. Its especially messy getting those things off, especially cardboard boxes (ruining them in the process). I think it looks awful and unprofessional.

I certainly would never purchase a display copy of a new game, at full price, when I could buy a sealed copy elsewhere.[/quote]

The irony is they put that sticker over it to seal used games, then go and cut the sticker from factory sealed games and sell them as new. I hate this practice, I don't shop eb B&M because of this. I have only picked up one new game that was already opened from gamestop once, Ultimate muscle for the cube, because it was the first copy I had seen.
 
Well this happend to me at Best Buy before as well, but they gave me money off it.


At EB however, I bought a game that was their "display copy" and opened. I then checked the bottom of the disc and there were scratches! I returned that bastard of a game to them. Oh yeah, and I was buying Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town for my cousin, and it was opened, and I told him I couldent buy it because it was for a gift (and especially since I could just go buy it sealed at Best Buy right down the street). He then said "Well I can shrink wrap it for you". Bastards.
 
I just think its rediculous that EB doesn't alow people to return used games. I mean the risk is minimal to them, they aren't risking their new inventory being returned. Then to further prove their distrust for their customers they put those awful "tamper" stickers all over the box, to determine if you opened it. EB wants its customer's to buy used and trade used (to increase their profit margins). If EB is so concerned about people abusing returning used games, they should develop a system that tracks returns and flags abusers.

At least Gamestop has a 7 day return policy on used games.

EB and Gamestop should do what the "old" Toys R Us did. Display the games title graphics on flip-cards. It may be more expensive to do on the front end, but they don't have to open any games, inventory control would be better, and shrink reduced.
 
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