GameStop "New" Games - A New Low

darksurtur

darksurtur

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So recently I saw that a couple of local Gamestop stores had new copies of Devil Summoner 2 in stock and thought I would pick up a copy.

Now, I realize that most "new" games as Gamestop are gutted and the disks stored in drawers behind the counter to prevent theft or whatever, and that if a store is down to their last copy this is almost 100% guaranteed to be a fully gutted copy. But Devil Summoner 2 comes in a special oversized shrinkwrapped box with a sealed copy of the game and a plush figure. I figure you CAN'T even gut a copy of the game.

Boy, was I wrong. At the first store I visited I couldn't find a trace of the game anywhere, so I asked them to find it. After a long search, they pulled a ratty, generic Gamestop case labeled Devil Summoner II that had been misfiled on the wrong shelf, and offered to sell me this "new" copy without the figure, the box, the case, or the instruction manual. I'd get the disks and a case in such bad shape it looked like it'd fall apart if it was opened once more. When I asked them to check the back for the game, they brushed me off and basically gave me a ultimatum - "do you want it or not? Decide right now." Bad organization, bad store policies, and terrible customer service! This really was the lowest I had ever seen from the store, and a pointed reminder of why I go out of my way to avoid them.

Of course I didn't take it and was just going to let the game go. But on a whim I visited a second store and went painstakingly through their PS2 collection - which has no discernible order of any sort, sigh - and pulled out a similar Gamestop case labeled DSII. I figured the same scenario, but the customer rep was quite friendly and I instead walked out with the full box, still sealed, from the storage room in the back (and a couple of other games, one sealed, one gutted but complete and quite cheap, to boot). What a world of difference.
 
I remember Shipwreck mention them pulling that on him a few months back. Where he was looking for some DS game and all they had was the cart without the case or manual and still said it was good as new.
 
A couple of weeks ago I was browsing and found a used copy of Raw Danger, sticker said 9.99. It looked brand new. Went to the counter and the guy came back and said, I have a "new" copy and it rang up for 9.99 so I went along and bought it. When I got home I checked their website and the used copy would've been 6.99 and what made it worst was that the new copy was ratty as hell on the outside, kinda dirty and there were a couple of tears/holes in the plastic. If the case looked that bad I didn't want to take the risk and open to find a scratched copy of the game so I returned it.
 
It's gamestop, what do you expect?

It's been three years since I have set foot in one, or purchased anything from them online. Because of my own stories just like this, I will never spend a dime there again.
 
I bought burnout revenge "brand new" still wrapped in plastic. when i home i took it out, and there was a scratch and a freakin fingerprint! I was annoyed, but the game worked fine (and still does years later) so i just kept it. I assume they have something to repackage games, i don't know how else this would have happened.
 
[quote name='punklivz']I bought burnout revenge "brand new" still wrapped in plastic. when i home i took it out, and there was a scratch and a freakin fingerprint! I was annoyed, but the game worked fine (and still does years later) so i just kept it. I assume they have something to repackage games, i don't know how else this would have happened.[/QUOTE]
I used to work for this pathetic paying company years ago. Employees can take home games to play them and yes, there is a shrinkwrap machine in the back to reseal gutted games or games checked out by employees.
 
[quote name='Survivalism']Yet you immediately continued to support the company. Unreal.[/QUOTE]

Well, to be fair, the only reason I was in gamestop was because I had just gotten an email letting me know I had some store credit (not sure from what; the last time I was in a gamestop was years ago). Not using it would have been like throwing money away. So yes, I did eventually patronize them, but the stores were almost literally on my way during my commute by public transportation.

I was posting mostly because the one store was willing to sell as NEW a set of discs in a ratty replacement case for what normally comes as a sealed deluxe box containing a sealed game and a bonus stuffed figure. Sure, getting the game at the second store undermines the story a little, but the fact is that store policy allows them to go this without any concern or shame. That seems outrageous.
 
Same thing happened to me when I bought Dark Sector. Game was listed as new on the website and called to make sure they had it, when I arrived at the store, to my dismay, the game didn't have the original case and instructions but rather had some ratty generic gamestop cases (kinda anal about instructions and cases). In the end, still bought it anyway, price difference didn't wasn't to bad (new and used), but from now on they won't be my first choice.
 
So the moral of the story is one Gamestop sucks and the other one is okay? I only go to one in my town (of 9!). They rock. The other ones, not so much.

Hey, where's ninja dog to weigh in on this? I wonder how he feels.
 
[quote name='jebnaut']Your thesis sort of falls apart at the end.[/QUOTE]

Sure does.

Like Ziv, I always visit the stores I like. There's 5 in my town and 3 of them are great, 1 has great employees but 95% of their stock is incomplete, and the last one just sucks.
 
I recall one of my Gamestops had a Gutted DS2 without the plushie. My first reaction was to complain about it on the internet instead of taking any productive course of action, but then I thought to myself "no one wants to hear about some petty shopping incident of mine" and I let the matter rest.
 
I once went in a GameStop and he was trying to rip me off, and trying to AVOID honoring a promotion GameStop corporate was doing. so I yelled at the manager, he was shaking and getting angry LOl

I threatened to report him and he didn't care, so I walked out and have avoided that store even though it's the closest to my home. It's unreal the crap they pull.
 
[quote name='Grumpy Spaniard']I once went in a GameStop and he was trying to rip me off, and trying to AVOID honoring a promotion GameStop corporate was doing. so I yelled at the manager, he was shaking and getting angry LOl

I threatened to report him and he didn't care, so I walked out and have avoided that store even though it's the closest to my home. It's unreal the crap they pull.[/QUOTE]

You should have called the DM.
 
[quote name='DickTowel']Just wait til they figure out a way to combat what EA is doing with their used game sales[/QUOTE]

The retailers already have in a way. If you notice the games that you see the soonest sales on after release are the EA ones with a bonus for buying the game new, with Dragon Age having a sale of almost 50% off after less than 1 month and Mass Effect 2 had a sale on it within 2 months.
 
At least your day ended with your goal achieved, right? And now you know of a GameStop that has a helpful employee. I'd say that's a win right there.



[quote name='phear3d']the devil summoner IS gamestop.[/QUOTE]

I can't explain why I found this hilarious.
 
[quote name='ninja dog']I hear gamestop opens new games and doesn't mark them used.[/QUOTE]

I've never really had a bad experience with GameStop...unless you count some of the almost brand new games that I bring in to trade and I get maybe an 1/8th back of what I originally paid for it.
 
This story reminded me of a picture I saw a while back:
excite-truck-wii-drawing-cover.jpg

I guess I'm lucky to have 2 GS nearby that have a majority of good employees. Most of them are semi/pseudo-collectors like myself, and hate incomplete stuff as much as I do. If only one manager wasn't ancient and the other wasn't a prick :cry: I can empathize with this though, as I've had some employees act like I'm a complete ass for expecting to receive all the packaging with a new game.
 
I know I am in the minority and many people like to jump all over Gamestop, but here we go...

I like Gamestop. To me it is like baseball card collecting. I like going to the store and seeing what is "new" and what came in from "other collectors". That is part of the experience for me...not just looking online at a picture of something and never truly knowing what you are going to get.

Yes, I know I pay more, but I also do not need every game brand new out of the box. I can wait for the prices to drop a bit or a good sale.

Yes, the trade values stink, but for me it is conveinant and it beats having the games collect dust on my shelf. There too I can wait until there is a great offer to trade in used games.

Yes, it stinks when part of the package is missing, but therein lies the beauty of capitalism. You can choose not to buy it.

now go ahead and flame me and tell me I am crazy :applause:
 
[quote name='DickTowel']I've never really had a bad experience with GameStop...unless you count some of the almost brand new games that I bring in to trade and I get maybe an 1/8th back of what I originally paid for it.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it's terrible that they forced you to buy a new-release game and then trade it in. How did they manage that anyway? Did one of them pull a gun on you?
 
[quote name='DickTowel']I've never really had a bad experience with GameStop...unless you count some of the almost brand new games that I bring in to trade and I get maybe an 1/8th back of what I originally paid for it.[/QUOTE]



That's such bullshit man. If they open new games and sell them as new still, it should follow that if they buy back an opened new game that's still almost brand new, you should get full credit for it.

I swear, gamestop are total crooks.
 
[quote name='Nirron']This story reminded me of a picture I saw a while back:
excite-truck-wii-drawing-cover.jpg


[/QUOTE]

Awesome drawing...lol..just needs a little color enhancing :roll:
 
[quote name='ninja dog']That's such bullshit man. If they open new games and sell them as new still, it should follow that if they buy back an opened new game that's still almost brand new, you should get full credit for it. [/QUOTE]

Huh!? If they do that then they're just loaning games out. You at least have to see that a profit needs to be made here right?

I don't really get what the beef with trade-ins is. There are all sorts of bonus deals offered, and when you consider that they're taking in all types of games, many that won't sell like hotcakes, and of course paying for employees/rent/etc it's not hard to see the TIVs being what they are. I can imagine if you opened a store you'd start to sweat all the kids rushing up asking how much you'll take for Dora the Explorer and Kung Fu Panda once you realize you couldn't really blow GS's TIVS out of the water with that kind of crap rushing in. We all seem to hate gamestop when they're only going to give us $30 for a new release game, but we're suddenly not complaining when they fail to follow the trends for certain rare game values (just bought Xenosaga III for $18 on my lunch break).

This extends to my irritation of GS bashing in general. You're free to dislike gutted games, but I think people need to realize that this isn't the travesty to everyone else that it is to them. What is your entire world is just general entertainment to everyone else. If everyone that shopped at Gamestop cared about games getting gutted then you'd see the practice phased out pretty damn quickly, but the truth is that most people just want to rip that shrinkwrap off and get on their way (as a kid the shrinkwrap annoyed me since I wanted to get right at the game ASAP, I'm sure I wasn't alone)

And then there's the complaints about the service. I'll say first of all that I take many with a grain of salt, after all it's the internet so I'm not entirely convinced by all of these stories of a-hole employees. However I'm sure there are some salty employees out there (I had a particuarily sour encounter with one at Gamecrazy once), but I can't help but think of the slogan "by the people, for the people". Gamers (including me) can be a bunch of rude, whiney-ass bastards... take a look at this forum or any forum if you're inclined to disagree. So, what are you expecting then? It's a game place, sometimes you're going to come across a gamer! Instead of taking our negative experiences to the forums for another rant, maybe we should instead reflect on our own inner gamestop employees? Now that's some deep shit!
 
If you break the seal/plastic its not new anymore. I dont care what gamestop says or their polices are. Opened plastic/seal is used product. You open a game to play it whether its workers, customers or managers. Sell me a sealed as new an opened as used period
 
[quote name='nddave']If you break the seal/plastic its not new anymore. I dont care what gamestop says or their polices are. Opened plastic/seal is used product. You open a game to play it whether its workers, customers or managers. Sell me a sealed as new an opened as used period[/QUOTE]

That's basically it. Can't be said any better. You don't see dealerships borrowing new cars for their errands and then selling them as new.

Granted Video games and cars are pretty different.
 
[quote name='Got_Wii']Awesome drawing...lol..just needs a little color enhancing :roll:[/QUOTE]
that picture is the best. i guess they started to not gut their games by drawing a case art for it :applause:.

power to the players!
 
JUDOHAWK: I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or serious. For your sake, I'm hoping sarcastic.
 
and this is why I don't feel bad about ripping off gamestop whenever their coupons are glitched. I've never once wanted to call corporate when a business made me upset, not matter what it was. But I have actually done it with gamestop, it was disorganized as hell, and they never did anything to make it better. I'll do what I can to hurt them financially and be one of those "dealers" they don't like in their stores.
 
[quote name='nddave']If you break the seal/plastic its not new anymore. I dont care what gamestop says or their polices are. Opened plastic/seal is used product. You open a game to play it whether its workers, customers or managers. Sell me a sealed as new an opened as used period[/QUOTE]

Well, in reality, opening something does not make it used. It makes open-box. "Used" implies someone actually used it. Assuming a GS employee hasn't brought the game home (a dangerous assumption, perhaps), the game is not used.

[quote name='ninja dog']I hear gamestop opens new games and doesn't mark them used.[/QUOTE]

Nope, you heard wrong. Rumor has it they leave games sealed and sell them as used. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaacky...
 
Sometimes, I don't mind, like if it were the last copy. For example, many years ago, I bought Panzer Dragoon Saga from a Gamestop, but it was opened, but was their last copy. It'd be worth much more today of it were never opened, but still I was glad that I got a copy.
 
[quote name='Survivalism']Yet you immediately continued to support the company. Unreal.[/QUOTE]

I understand this argument, but I have to say, as far as games go, I don't have any other stores in the area besides the big box stores. I support GS for the used selection, since it's the only one around me. There are 4 or 5 stores in the immediate area. Out of that, 3 are run by a district manager who is anything but helpful, rude to customers, and won't help you out in the event of any problems (like receiving a copy of a game with a disc read error... "you probably did it."... yeah, you're right, I somehow made the disc unreadable with 0 scratches or marks on it for a game that cost me $12 or whatever)... That said, the other stores are my first stops when I need something. I will still go to the others during B2G1 days if the other store doesn't have what I'm looking for.

GS is hit or miss with staff also. I have seen the EB wannabes who know nothing about video games belittle parents who don't know exactly what their kids want. I have also seen members who take the time to explain the details of a game, their opinion, and similar recommendations. Man, I miss the old staff of EB... guys who knew games front and back, never made you feel stupid, and took the time to help you get it right.

That said, I have no real issues with GS as a company, but I think the problems are more centered around purchasing NEW games.
 
it's simple..really..we've been through this ever since disc based games have been out

Never shop at CROOKstop. They jack you on trades, they gut games and never have decent prices. I really wonder how they're still in business.

Here's to hoping Amazon crushes these fools.
 
[quote name='gsr']never have decent prices.[/QUOTE]

Point to me where you can get Sky Crawlers (new, gutted or used) for $10, and I'll believe you.
 
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