I am starting this thread because there seem to be some misconceptions about what really goes on at EB/GS. I'm not trying to bash the company in any way, but there are things people should know.
As for me, I worked as a manager at a GS in the Louisville/Southern Indiana area. I was hired in as an assistant manager. I was working at a big company based in Louisville, making good money ($35,000 a year), but I quit to go back to school and get my silly "dream job" at a video game store.
Here are some common misconceptions that I see on these boards:
1.) You can get cash for your trades. You will get 20% less than credit and have to be 18. This is, as you can imagine, not a great idea.
2.) The employees aren't often aware of special offers/promotions because regular employees (Game Advisors, as they are known) are allowed only 1 day per week, two in a pinch. Its tough for them to keep up when they simply aren't there. Plus the systems at the stores are archaic. For instance, for 3 for $10 DVDs the cashier has to deduct a small amount from each individual item to make things even out. It can be hard. I'm a journalist and college grad and had a hard time sometimes, I felt bad for the high school kids getting yelled at.
3.) The Back Room - people think there are all sorts of things back there, like TVs and "testing stations" for systems and games. In our district (21 stores), not a single one had any sort of capability or bothered with testing. We were told to tell people they were tested, but it's not true. People had 30 days to return the systems, which we took back pretty easily, but be aware that nothing gets tested except in cases where the customer just looks...shady or the system is beat to hell or reeks of smoke or something.
4.) GS/EB will take 1,000 used Cubes simply because they won't be sold at that store. The stores in the district were ranked according to how much used crap they took. Counts are done daily and loaded into a central database. This is called "Title on Hand" reports. So what happens is that the systems are moved to other stores, to corporate for web sales, etc. A single store will take what it can because it helps the rankings and the store won't get stuck with the surplus because the crap will get moved around. This is done weekly.
5.) Refurbishing fees are $2 for games and $8-30 for systems (PSP is most expensive). GS wants these because they pay nothing for them and then refurb them and sell them for whatever the going price is. They love broken shit because they can fix it cheap with their relationships with the manufacturers.
6.) I am sure you guys always check the used discs you buy, but our stores would knowingly put broken ones for sale, assuming the person would come back and buy more used crap - this raises the store's "used sales" ranking in the district. It's all about store traffic at EB/GS. Any reason they can get you to come is a good reason, even if it's to take back broken crap they sold you.
7.) Preorders are pushed for multiple reasons. Firstly, this ensures they can order the proper amount and second, to make sure you come back and buy more. Additionally, these stores will tell you that they won't have extra copies. A story: when Dead Rising came out, we were told to tell walk-ups that we would sell them the game, but to preorder because we didn't have any for walk-ups and we were doing them a favor. In truth, my store would order 30-50 extra copies BEYOND preorders, but then guilt people into preordering next time. It's a mind game. We were also told to tell people that Wal-Mart, etc. wouldn't have copies for two more days, when they were on sale BEFORE we had them. This is one reason I left.
8.) Salesmanship - you get hassled at these stores not because employees get a cut of sales, but because it's part of the job. Game Advisors are expected to be 2/1 on each day worked (2 preorders, 1 mag subscription). Managers need to go 2/2 or 4/2 each day worked. Basically, people's jobs are on the line. I saw several get canned for this (great workers usually who just had bad luck/didn't want to bother people). Your stock in the company is directly influenced by this. Promotions depend on good numbers. I saw a store manager get canned because he was not hitting his sales goals.
There are plenty more, but that's it for now. Ask if you are curious about anything else. Hope this helps!
As for me, I worked as a manager at a GS in the Louisville/Southern Indiana area. I was hired in as an assistant manager. I was working at a big company based in Louisville, making good money ($35,000 a year), but I quit to go back to school and get my silly "dream job" at a video game store.
Here are some common misconceptions that I see on these boards:
1.) You can get cash for your trades. You will get 20% less than credit and have to be 18. This is, as you can imagine, not a great idea.
2.) The employees aren't often aware of special offers/promotions because regular employees (Game Advisors, as they are known) are allowed only 1 day per week, two in a pinch. Its tough for them to keep up when they simply aren't there. Plus the systems at the stores are archaic. For instance, for 3 for $10 DVDs the cashier has to deduct a small amount from each individual item to make things even out. It can be hard. I'm a journalist and college grad and had a hard time sometimes, I felt bad for the high school kids getting yelled at.
3.) The Back Room - people think there are all sorts of things back there, like TVs and "testing stations" for systems and games. In our district (21 stores), not a single one had any sort of capability or bothered with testing. We were told to tell people they were tested, but it's not true. People had 30 days to return the systems, which we took back pretty easily, but be aware that nothing gets tested except in cases where the customer just looks...shady or the system is beat to hell or reeks of smoke or something.
4.) GS/EB will take 1,000 used Cubes simply because they won't be sold at that store. The stores in the district were ranked according to how much used crap they took. Counts are done daily and loaded into a central database. This is called "Title on Hand" reports. So what happens is that the systems are moved to other stores, to corporate for web sales, etc. A single store will take what it can because it helps the rankings and the store won't get stuck with the surplus because the crap will get moved around. This is done weekly.
5.) Refurbishing fees are $2 for games and $8-30 for systems (PSP is most expensive). GS wants these because they pay nothing for them and then refurb them and sell them for whatever the going price is. They love broken shit because they can fix it cheap with their relationships with the manufacturers.
6.) I am sure you guys always check the used discs you buy, but our stores would knowingly put broken ones for sale, assuming the person would come back and buy more used crap - this raises the store's "used sales" ranking in the district. It's all about store traffic at EB/GS. Any reason they can get you to come is a good reason, even if it's to take back broken crap they sold you.
7.) Preorders are pushed for multiple reasons. Firstly, this ensures they can order the proper amount and second, to make sure you come back and buy more. Additionally, these stores will tell you that they won't have extra copies. A story: when Dead Rising came out, we were told to tell walk-ups that we would sell them the game, but to preorder because we didn't have any for walk-ups and we were doing them a favor. In truth, my store would order 30-50 extra copies BEYOND preorders, but then guilt people into preordering next time. It's a mind game. We were also told to tell people that Wal-Mart, etc. wouldn't have copies for two more days, when they were on sale BEFORE we had them. This is one reason I left.
8.) Salesmanship - you get hassled at these stores not because employees get a cut of sales, but because it's part of the job. Game Advisors are expected to be 2/1 on each day worked (2 preorders, 1 mag subscription). Managers need to go 2/2 or 4/2 each day worked. Basically, people's jobs are on the line. I saw several get canned for this (great workers usually who just had bad luck/didn't want to bother people). Your stock in the company is directly influenced by this. Promotions depend on good numbers. I saw a store manager get canned because he was not hitting his sales goals.
There are plenty more, but that's it for now. Ask if you are curious about anything else. Hope this helps!
