Gamestop: Buying Used Online

O

Other Guy

CAGiversary!
I notice when I put a used game in my online cart it says not guaranteed to include case or instruction manual. So I'm wondering how many of you have purchased used online and what the chances are of Gamestop sending me just the disc. Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
I ordered a copy of Little Big Planet GOTY edition after hearing from others how theirs came complete. I got a disc only copy in a generic black case.
 
Its really a crap shoot if you get a complete game or not. Even if they send a complete game half the time it will be covered in stickers all over the case.
 
I ordered Super Street Fighter IV (360) and it came mint and complete. I was actually a little bit shocked.

There really isn't any way to give you a reasonable percentage other than your chance of missing/damaged items goes up as the target age demographic goes down.
 
Bought one wii, one PS3, one DS and one PSP (all in same order).
wii/ps3 complete and minty, ds generic case no manual, and psp complete but game disc iffy...
took the DS and PSP to a nearby location and exchanged for minty copies.
For the extra 25% off it was worth it to me to take a chance online.
 
I recently ordered 6 used games from them and only 2 came complete. I just brought the incomplete games into the store and asked if I could switch them out for complete ones, and they were happy to oblige!
 
I ordered two (rather dated) Wii games recently. They both came with original cases and artwork, but no manuals.
 
You can always try to trade in-store for original case and manual.

Ordered No More Heroes 2 used(everything included), Bioshock 2 Used(came in black case, but everything included traded in store for normal case), and Fallout GOTY used(everything included).

What you really have to worry about is DS games. Those are the ones that are hard to come by complete used, especially if it has a possible younger age market.
 
[quote name='Other Guy']I notice when I put a used game in my online cart it says not guaranteed to include case or instruction manual. So I'm wondering how many of you have purchased used online and what the chances are of Gamestop sending me just the disc. Any help is greatly appreciated.[/QUOTE]

It's for that very reason that I never buy from the website. The original case, cover art, manual or any other pack in materials or bonuses are very important to me and I won't buy without them. I waited for the XBOX/PS2/Gamecube versions of YuGiOh to come down in price so I could get the exclusive cards that came with them. You'll never get them with a used copy. If I can pay $19.99 or whatever for a used game at the store and get everything with it, why should I pay $19.99 for the same game online and get just the DVD in a paper sleeve? You also have to be careful if you order a "special" or "limited" edition version of a game that that is the version that you get. I bought the GOTY Edition of Morrowind used a while back and had to ask the clerk behind the counter to check to see that I was actually getting the GOTY disc and not the 'regular' version of the game and he told me he does the same thing when he buys used games. The discs can and do get mixed up like the time I bought the expansion for Doom3 and got the original Doom3 disc. I brought it back and they had no other Doom3 discs in stock so obviously they gave my disc to someone else or the person who traded it put the wrong disc in the box and nobody noticed.
 
I've made 2 order recently.
Fable 2 platnium - Complete
Fallout 3 - Complete
Borderlands Add On disc - Disc Only

Order 2
Divinity II - Complete. Bonus code unused
LOTR Battle for Middle Earth II - complete
Brutal Legend - complete
WWE Legends of Wrestlemania - Disc only.

I'm taking the 2 disc only games to exchange tomorrow while I'm out. Still, more luck than not.
 
Walk into any Gamestop and look at the used section. That's what your odds are when ordering online. It's silly to try to guess what'll happen based on what others got.
 
I thought they guaranteed original artwork and manual? They stopped doing that?

And I want to order Splinter Cell Conviction and Super Street Fighter 4 online, if they came all scratched up or missing manual etc etc, would I be able to go to Gamestop and ask them to let me slip in another manual they got?? And they would let me swap out the discs just like that? Or is it YMMV?

It might have been addressed already, but I have to make doublly sure! Can't take any chances :D
 
Well to contribute to my own answer, I got these three in today:

NSMB Wii - Disc only, black case
FFXIII 360 - Discs only, black case
MLB 10 PS2 - Complete!
 
Not only do you have to worry about the games coming incomplete, you also will get a badly resurfaced disc also 9/10 times. GS.com only gets their used games from Gamestop B&M stores sending in defectives. GS.com "resurfaces" the discs and sells them on their site. Now for PS3 discs this isnt such a problem as the discs have a protective layer. But watch out for older platform titles such as PS2 and Gamecube discs.
 
I echo everyone's comments above...you are truly rolling the dice...I've received games with no manuals, game in generic cases, etc...I have had luck going into Gamestop locations and asking them for a manual or new case and they've been more than happy to help, and I didn't even show a receipt. But just be careful, especially if you are looking to flip to amazon, since amazon requires manuals for trade-ins.
 
What you also have to careful for is how they'll sell a game that originally had multiple discs, like a soundtrack or bonus disc, and those other discs aren't required for trade ins.
A thing about MGS: Subsistence. When the Metal Gear Solid Collection came out the version of MGS3 that came with it was only the 1st disc to Subsistence. When Gamestop gets copies of the collection in used, they'll split the whole thing up into individual price points and they slap the Subsistence (2 disc version) price on the collection version.
As far as I'm concerned, Subsistence is ONLY the 2 disc version, and yet Gamestop doesn't require that second disc for a trade in.

I've brought it up with multiple employees and multiple locations and I get the same response over and over again. "The second disc is useless because it's the online mode and the servers are down". BULL! That second disc includes the MSX versions of Metal Gear 1 and 2. It's not worthless.

If you're buying Subsistence off of Gamestop's website, expect to get the collection version, and probably no case.

Before they stopped selling PS1 games, I had found a copy of Lunar 2 in their store and just had to shake my head because I knew what the condition was going to be. Sure enough it was game discs only, no case, no instructions, and to add insult to injury the discs had writing on them. Oh, but they still sold it at their "Collectors/supply and demand" price. If Gamestop ran a card shop, they would sell a Babe Ruth rookie card that had been through the wash, torn into 8 pieces, and taped back together for MINT.
 
I've ordered a lot from GameStop's website, and I tend to look at an order from them like this...
10% chance of Perfect Game
60% chance of Trash Game, but can be exchanged locally (which can be a fuckload cheaper than in-store)
30% of crap you really wanted but its in such bad shape it only makes you cry as you return it to a store


BONUS: I recently ordered Mass Effect 2 for $25.47 (incl. tax), not too bad of a copy, but not really what I'd want (especially since online orders always have the 2nd disc holder removed). Exchanged in store...was lucky enough to see their game cabinet open....left the store with the Collector's Edition WITH UNUSED CODES!

EDIT: Regarding case/manual. Newer games tend to have the case at least and now more often the manual, but when it comes to older games, your pretty much screwed by probability.
 
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[quote name='G1Burgertime']If Gamestop ran a card shop, they would sell a Babe Ruth rookie card that had been through the wash, torn into 8 pieces, and taped back together for MINT.[/QUOTE]
:lol::lol::lol::applause::applause::applause:
 
If I order a 360, PS3 or Wii game used, I tend to get the case with the original art work. If it's something older... PS2 or even GameCube I almost always get the generic used game case. As far as the artwork goes, it's not a big deal for me. I have a really high end printer and know of a great website where you can print up pretty much any game cover you'd ever need, so you ultimately wouldn't be able to tell the difference looking at my game collection. Unfortunately, I almost never get a manual with older games and I don't care enough to try and find/print one out.
 
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