Hello from Gogamer

M

Mike@Gogamer

Official Representative
Hey CAGs,

My name's Michael and I'm writing from my desk at Gogamer.com. Just flitting through the fora, we've noticed a lot of discussion, good and bad, pertaining to Gogamer, so we're officially stepping in to take your questions and feedback.

I may not be aware of all relevant threads, so don't hesitate to PM me with your feedback. BTW, If you have something negative to say, please be rhetorically creative!

Now, since this is the deals section, I suppose I should close my entree with today's Madness. I'm not really here as a solicitor, per se, but mods let me know if posting deals in an official capacity is errant from CAG guidelines :)

good time to get COD: World at War, imo.


Grip-it $3.90* - *After Coupon code - GRIP-IT $ 3.90
NAOS 3200 $49.90* - *After Coupon code - NAOS32 $ 49.90
X-Tatic SP Headset $59.90* - *After Coupon code - XTATIC $ 59.90
PC Police Simulator (I) $ 31.90
PS3 Fallout Vegas $ 49.90
Xbox 360 Fallout Vegas $ 49.90
PS3 Enslaved $ 49.90
Xbox 360 Enslaved $ 49.90
PS3 Medal of Honor Limited Edition $ 51.90
Xbox 360 Medal of Honor Limited Edition $ 51.90
PC Medal of Honor Limited Edition $ 49.90
PC Civilization V $ 41.90
PC Call of Duty World at War $ 17.90
PC Hidden & Dangerous 2 $ 0.90
PC Two Worlds $ 0.90
PC Crystal Key 2 $ 0.90
PC Neverend $ 0.90
PC Jericho $ 0.90
PC Mercenaries 2 $ 1.90
PC Warhammer Dawn of War GOTY $ 1.90
PC Dark Horizon (I) $ 1.90
PC Legendary $ 2.90
PC Velvet Assassin $ 2.90
PC CivCity Rome $ 2.90
PC Raven Squad $ 3.90
PC Stalker Clear Skies $ 3.90
PC Painkiller Black $ 3.90
PC Trine $ 3.90
PC Call of Duty Deluxe (I) $ 4.90
PS3 Fuel (I) $7.90 – Limit 1
Xbox 360 Supreme Commander $ 9.90
Xbox 360 Blood Bowl $9.90 – Limit 1
Xbox 360 Timeshift $7.90 – Limit 1
Xbox 360 Star Wars Clone Wars $9.90 – limit 1

http://www.gogamer.com/48-Hour-Madness_stcVVcatId553100VVviewcat.htm
 
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[quote name='Fire_Thief']Like we said, make the shipping free. You might feel you are taking a loss but it will actually drive sales through the roof, causing a major profit.[/QUOTE]

We are actively digging for ways to bring you more attractive shipping options.

I'll say it's not that simple and leave it at that.
 
I just decided to drop by the site to try it out (I've bought stuff a few times in the past but it's been awhile). Anyways, I goto PS3, select All games, then use Sort to sort from lowest up, pricewise. I've scrolled through about 8 pages and practically everything is "Sold Out". Just thought you guys should remove items that are sold out to save us the trouble of going through it...unless you like to be a tease, which I guess is OK, if you're into that kinda stuff.
 
[quote name='blahtastic']I just decided to drop by the site to try it out (I've bought stuff a few times in the past but it's been awhile). Anyways, I goto PS3, select All games, then use Sort to sort from lowest up, pricewise. I've scrolled through about 8 pages and practically everything is "Sold Out". Just thought you guys should remove items that are sold out to save us the trouble of going through it...unless you like to be a tease, which I guess is OK, if you're into that kinda stuff.[/QUOTE]


There's a good question for me to ask IT
 
[quote name='Mike@Gogamer']We are actively digging for ways to bring you more attractive shipping options.

I'll say it's not that simple and leave it at that.[/QUOTE]

Why not give free shipping for order over $30 or $50 to gain the sale volume to compensate for the shipping cost?
 
Who says bad things form gogamer, step up!!!! I have nothing but praise from your store, being from Puerto Rico and shopping online has been a struggle, web stores hike up the shipping prices to Puerto Rico, and u guys have always been great to us.I almost hate it when u put up such great madness deals...cause I am always tempted to buy a few cheapo pc games!!!!
 
Mike:

Wow. I feel like you saw my comments here and turned around a week later to do a formal rep post.

I've been thinking about your situation with shipping. It's purely psychological, not a pricing issue. GoGamer has taken the strategy of offering the cheapest pricing possible and the cheapest shipping possible. $0.90 titles? $1.90? Unbelievable deals, the likes of which you never see on Amazon. Why? Presumably because Amazon bundles an allowance for shipping into the price they show us, assuming that we'll add up enough games to get to $25 to get that delicious "free" shipping. but here we are, complaining about paying $3 to have a game delivered, tax free, to our doorstep. Last I checked, a gallon of gas costs about $3. If you have to drive 20 miles to a B&M store (and back) to get a similar deal, you're probably paying $3 in gas. Yet, it rankles, because it feels like it "kills the deal".

This has been well-discussed so far here. I personally suspect that if you just upped your prices by $2 on all items under $10, you'd still get the bargain shoppers *and* be able to offer free shipping, and the good karma that comes with it, for orders over $25. I'm sure you're crunching the numbers on this idea; it's been stated before.

But I have another idea for you. This, I think, *is* brilliant, if you can work through the logistics. You stated before that the problem with offering free shipping in a small-margin commodities market is that you have to recoup the difference with big volume, and that's never guaranteed.

But what if you could guarantee the volume? What if you ran a sale, once a month (or one at a time), where you offered free shipping on a new AAA release if you sell more than X copies?

This idea isn't exactly my own. Have you ever used Groupon.com? They offer local "groupons" ("group coupons") that are typically for 50% off of some local deal, but the coupon only activates (and people get billed) if a particular number of people buy in. Example: $15 for a pair of tickets to a local theater (value: $30), but only if 200 people buy before midnight tonight. Lots of people commit by executing a transaction with their credit cards, but they only get charged when 200 people commit. The deal runs for 24 hours, and people can buy even after the 200 people are reached.

If you could put something together like this, where you offer free shipping if a certain volume is reached, I think you'd get a lot of buzz. Call it a "teamwork deal", and put a little telethon-style indicator on your website that shows progress towards the goal. It would be especially effective if you could time it so that the deadline is the release date of the game. Like: Civ 5, shipped, for $42 total, if you can move 1,000 units.

Yes? No? Fellow CAGers, this would be cool, right?

TLDR summary: Try running a sale where you give free shipping if a certain number of that item is sold. This would recoup the added burden of offering free shipping by guaranteeing the volume needed to make it profitable. Also, would generate community buzz and engender loyalty.
 
[quote name='gcorlett']Mike:

I've been thinking about your situation with shipping. It's purely psychological, not a pricing issue. GoGamer has taken the strategy of offering the cheapest pricing possible and the cheapest shipping possible. $0.90 titles? $1.90? Unbelievable deals, the likes of which you never see on Amazon. Why? Presumably because Amazon bundles an allowance for shipping into the price they show us, assuming that we'll add up enough games to get to $25 to get that delicious "free" shipping. but here we are, complaining about paying $3 to have a game delivered, tax free, to our doorstep. Last I checked, a gallon of gas costs about $3. If you have to drive 20 miles to a B&M store (and back) to get a similar deal, you're probably paying $3 in gas. Yet, it rankles, because it feels like it "kills the deal".

This has been well-discussed so far here. I personally suspect that if you just upped your prices by $2 on all items under $10, you'd still get the bargain shoppers *and* be able to offer free shipping, and the good karma that comes with it, for orders over $25. I'm sure you're crunching the numbers on this idea; it's been stated before. [/QUOTE]

Agreed, I think this is more psychological than anything. Free is a powerful word, and people just want to see those magic words of free shipping, even if the end price is higher. I think the shipping price is reasonable given the extremely cheap prices on some of the games.

Interesting idea gcorlett with the group coupons.
 
[quote name='Mike@Gogamer']The real struggle there is the classic David v. Goliath scenario, not that I'm demonizing our competition. But the fact is they get waaay better shipping rates with the same carriers because their volume makes us look like an insect. Second, they can take losses on various product lines to hook customers into the program and make a buck on something else. Again, we just don't have the extra margin to use that tactic.

Nonetheless, you are correct. We are def paying the price.[/QUOTE]

I get this, but what I dont get is you guys charging extra for each game. You could ship 10 games in one box for $10 via USPS, or even 4 or 6 games in one box for $5. With the boxes being free through USPS. Yet you charge $3, then $2 per game... It kills your deals. I have balked many times, because of the shipping. I own multiple businesses and ship stuff all of the time. Your shipping prices make no sense, other than the fact you are making up for your game prices by charging extra for shipping. DOnt get me wrong, you have awesome prices... If you would switch to the USPS plan I mentioned above, I would buy a ton of stuff from you... but at current shipping costs, I buy like one, every 6 months or so.
 
[quote name='gcorlett']Mike:

Wow. I feel like you saw my comments here and turned around a week later to do a formal rep post.

I've been thinking about your situation with shipping. It's purely psychological, not a pricing issue. GoGamer has taken the strategy of offering the cheapest pricing possible and the cheapest shipping possible. $0.90 titles? $1.90? Unbelievable deals, the likes of which you never see on Amazon. Why? Presumably because Amazon bundles an allowance for shipping into the price they show us, assuming that we'll add up enough games to get to $25 to get that delicious "free" shipping. but here we are, complaining about paying $3 to have a game delivered, tax free, to our doorstep. Last I checked, a gallon of gas costs about $3. If you have to drive 20 miles to a B&M store (and back) to get a similar deal, you're probably paying $3 in gas. Yet, it rankles, because it feels like it "kills the deal".

This has been well-discussed so far here. I personally suspect that if you just upped your prices by $2 on all items under $10, you'd still get the bargain shoppers *and* be able to offer free shipping, and the good karma that comes with it, for orders over $25. I'm sure you're crunching the numbers on this idea; it's been stated before.

But I have another idea for you. This, I think, *is* brilliant, if you can work through the logistics. You stated before that the problem with offering free shipping in a small-margin commodities market is that you have to recoup the difference with big volume, and that's never guaranteed.

But what if you could guarantee the volume? What if you ran a sale, once a month (or one at a time), where you offered free shipping on a new AAA release if you sell more than X copies?

This idea isn't exactly my own. Have you ever used Groupon.com? They offer local "groupons" ("group coupons") that are typically for 50% off of some local deal, but the coupon only activates (and people get billed) if a particular number of people buy in. Example: $15 for a pair of tickets to a local theater (value: $30), but only if 200 people buy before midnight tonight. Lots of people commit by executing a transaction with their credit cards, but they only get charged when 200 people commit. The deal runs for 24 hours, and people can buy even after the 200 people are reached.

If you could put something together like this, where you offer free shipping if a certain volume is reached, I think you'd get a lot of buzz. Call it a "teamwork deal", and put a little telethon-style indicator on your website that shows progress towards the goal. It would be especially effective if you could time it so that the deadline is the release date of the game. Like: Civ 5, shipped, for $42 total, if you can move 1,000 units.

Yes? No? Fellow CAGers, this would be cool, right?

TLDR summary: Try running a sale where you give free shipping if a certain number of that item is sold. This would recoup the added burden of offering free shipping by guaranteeing the volume needed to make it profitable. Also, would generate community buzz and engender loyalty.[/QUOTE]


I would like to hear what others think about this.

And am actually aware of that thread because I've been reading what ya'll've been saying. So now I'm here taking colloquial contractions to a new level.
 
[quote name='thextreme1']I get this, but what I dont get is you guys charging extra for each game. You could ship 10 games in one box for $10 via USPS, or even 4 or 6 games in one box for $5. With the boxes being free through USPS. Yet you charge $3, then $2 per game... It kills your deals. I have balked many times, because of the shipping. I own multiple businesses and ship stuff all of the time. Your shipping prices make no sense, other than the fact you are making up for your game prices by charging extra for shipping. DOnt get me wrong, you have awesome prices... If you would switch to the USPS plan I mentioned above, I would buy a ton of stuff from you... but at current shipping costs, I buy like one, every 6 months or so.[/QUOTE]

Now this is also an interesting question, bc I thought the same thing. I wondered about the software putting together those charges and that's one of the first things I looked at in our sales/shipping data.

The data show that total shipping charges to GoGamer were approximately the same as total shipping revenue. This means that it's unlikey that we're slapping customers with erroneous charges, else we'd be making a statistically significant profit.
 
I'm gonna be a little frank here because this is how people think:

why the hell would i care how many copies of a game you sell? It's not my job to worry about whether I'm gonna pay shipping based on what a bunch of other people are doing.

How hard is it to bake in free shipping into your business model? As a consumer, I don't want to think. I just want to buy. When you remove math / indecision, you get more customers.

Also, I agree with the guy who said that each item shouldn't cost $3/$2... (we understnad why Gohastings does it) but if you're shipping from the same location, we know it doesn't cost an incremental $2 to send another game. You don't need an economics degree to understand marginal costs.
 
[quote name='blahtastic']I just decided to drop by the site to try it out (I've bought stuff a few times in the past but it's been awhile). Anyways, I goto PS3, select All games, then use Sort to sort from lowest up, pricewise. I've scrolled through about 8 pages and practically everything is "Sold Out". Just thought you guys should remove items that are sold out to save us the trouble of going through it...unless you like to be a tease, which I guess is OK, if you're into that kinda stuff.[/QUOTE]


Thanks for notifying us. Simon just removed 300 out-of-stock SKUs from the search. We have more to go, but we're working on it.

Thanks again for the heads up.
 
been shopping with gogamer for a bit, and my only complaint was my last order- in the end i was refunded. I ordered a computer mouse and was sent a your item has shipped email with tracking. tacking number was dead and item never arrived. contacted customer service wich was very fast in responce, and after looking into the matter seems the item i wanted was out of stock- still confused why i got a shipped status email. oh well, had to order the mouse off amazon since next cheapest place sellling the one i wanted- you guys had amazon beat on the price!
 
[quote name='blahtastic']I just decided to drop by the site to try it out (I've bought stuff a few times in the past but it's been awhile). Anyways, I goto PS3, select All games, then use Sort to sort from lowest up, pricewise. I've scrolled through about 8 pages and practically everything is "Sold Out". Just thought you guys should remove items that are sold out to save us the trouble of going through it...unless you like to be a tease, which I guess is OK, if you're into that kinda stuff.[/QUOTE]

As I mentioned earlier, I was trying to exchange a game that arrived damaged, but it was sold out. I checked the website several times over the course of several months and it was always sold out. I thought, "they're never going to stock this game again, how lame." And then this thread came up, and I remembered to check again, and - voila - it's in stock, or so they claim.

I think there's a case to be made for leaving the listing for games that you intend to restock, because if you de-list a game (like Gamestop has done with Dirt 2 for PS3) I'm going to assume you'll never carry it again and stop considering you. Maybe you should take out-of-stock games out of your price search, or have a checkbox that defaults to "only show games in stock."
 
[quote name='shrike4242']It would actually be nice to be able to buy something that doesn't go out of stock within the first hour of a 48 Hour Madness sale. Multiple times I've tried to buy items that were on sale, they're out of stock. Once the sale is over, they're all magically back in-stock.

I've made a number of purchases from GoGamer in the past, though now, I just shrug off their sales. Not worth it to me.[/QUOTE]


This is EXACTLY why I don't do business with GoGamer. I mean, EXACTLY. I'll place an order that goes through fine, shows in stock, and then a day later I'll get an email about how it is completely out of stock and will be OOS for weeks.

When the sale ends, literally a couple days later the item's back in stock. The very same item that someone via email told me would not be back in stock for weeks. So I reorder, but of course now I'm paying shipping and a slightly higher price. Now I don't know how other people take that, but when a company blatantly lies to me about availability, then magically finds a ton more stock at regular price with shipping price (instead of sale price + one of the rare moments of free shipping), I feel like I've been BS'ed.

Toss in the fact that getting GoGamer to do either:

1) Free shipping
2) Show the sale prices as the "FINAL price" including shipping instead of the price before shipping.

I don't know about anyone else, but when I get excited for a great deal for some old but awesome game and only after clicking the link from my email to do I remember the shipping is going to double the cost, I get very... meh about the experience. Eventually, I started internally doubling the costs of these low-cost games in my head and building in a meh-meter to keep me from getting excited about these so-called "madness sales."

"Wow," I find myself thinking, "Another madness sale, another series of meh because those low prices are being doubled every time by the shipping."

Eventually, combining the experiences where games were cancelled automatically because of "Restock time" and were subsequently restocked within 1 day (literally) of the sale's end with the somewhat disingenuous listing of sales without giving the final price, I just stopped really looking at those madness-emails. (Just so you know, at first I didn't think anything of the cancellations of my orders, but eventually I started checking back after the sale because it just seemed so damn suspicious. That's when I figured you guys really did have some cahoneys.)
 
@ Mike@Gogamer
Do you guys plan to pick-up a European import of Divinity 2: Dragon Knight Saga for the PC (in English)?

It doesn't look like that game is getting a USA Release, any-time soon...
 
[quote name='confoosious']Squarehead - why don't you start a witchhunt to figure out the previous identify of MrYouTube?

it could be entertaining. :whee:[/QUOTE]

Game, set, match?

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/member.php?u=275529

:D

Also,

@Mike

I think you should start to do some creative organizing of sales and upcoming sales in the op, regardless if the shipping issues has been resolved yet, it will be a process.

One of the things I like about the Kmart thread is that it started out sort of messy, but now it's actually quite organize and easy to navigate through, so it makes me more inclined to want to go through the thread.

Hopefully you are still actively trying to do what you can to appease the gaming community and haven't given up hope yet, but if you could at least get on that one for now, that would be great.
 
[quote name='Mike@Gogamer']I would like to hear what others think about this.

And am actually aware of that thread because I've been reading what ya'll've been saying. So now I'm here taking colloquial contractions to a new level.[/QUOTE]

I like the idea. Offer X price if Y people order or its a bust. Just make sure you don't make Y too high so it almost never hits.
 
[quote name='confoosious']hah. you didn't figure out who he was though.[/QUOTE]

That is one mystery I may not be able to solve anytime soon :*(
 
we at cheapass gamer are cheapasses and we only want cheap prices. if you can't offer us genuine cheap prices, then you have to ask yourself what are you doing here? we cheapass gamers don't need to hear your excuses about how you guys are insects compared to your competitors. that is for you to figure out.

i do not imagine our crowd to be an easy bunch. our loyalty lies not with any company but with your price. your competitors have found means and ways to engage us. while some have folded in the process, others have made big bucks.

so.. where are my deals now?
 
[quote name='sunnyvale']
i do not imagine our crowd to be an easy bunch. our loyalty lies not with any company but with your price. your competitors have found means and ways to engage us. while some have folded in the process, others have made big bucks.

so.. where are my deals now?[/QUOTE]

I had written out a nice long post, pointing out successful and failed business practices, blha blah blah amazon was consider a radical at first yada yada.......

but the above quoted paragraph pretty much gets straight to the point. at least for this site. lowest price wins. period.
 
Mike -Shipping expenses are equal to shipping costs: If that is true, you need to look at your shipping costs. You must be spending more there then you need to. Boxes are free through USPS. The prices for flat rate are the best way to go with multiple orders.

Or, something is getting added into the shipping costs - like a handling fee. If you are including the price of paying someone to pack the box, then that is not a shipping cost. That is handling.

As to prices - they are fine. Just set a price to get free shipping. Then price your items accordingly...

For example - Free shipping is at $50.
When a new game comes out, offer it at $45. Then people will add $5 worth of stuff they did not really want to get to free shipping.
 
[quote name='simpsonps121']
For example - Free shipping is at $50.
When a new game comes out, offer it at $45. Then people will add $5 worth of stuff they did not really want to get to free shipping.[/QUOTE]

No they won't. People will just bitch that free shipping is at $50 instead of 44.99. This is how people are.

And boxes are only free via USPS if it's priority mail. The lowest price on priority mail is about $4.80. (Oh and the small flat rate box? doesn't fit xbox/ps3/wii games.) You can ship a game via 1st class for ~2.50 including 25 cents for the mailer.


Also, while price means a lot, it doesn't mean everything. I'd rather pay a few extra bucks from a reputable company that I've gotten good service from in the past. You think Kmart is making a big splash on CAG just because of the deals? (In some cases, the lack of tax makes the amazon deal almost the same give or take a couple bucks.) But they have a rep in there trying to address every issue and he's providing excellent customer service even if the stores aren't. People appreciate that.
 
[quote name='confoosious']
Also, while price means a lot, it doesn't mean everything. I'd rather pay a few extra bucks from a reputable company that I've gotten good service from in the past. You think Kmart is making a big splash on CAG just because of the deals? (In some cases, the lack of tax makes the amazon deal almost the same give or take a couple bucks.) But they have a rep in there trying to address every issue and he's providing excellent customer service even if the stores aren't.[/QUOTE]
no, i will not pay a few extra bucks to buy from a reputable company. if i do, all my business would go to amazon.

yes, for kmart, having a rep helps. however, if u have no deals, u are still screwed. think gamedealdaily's thread and this thread.

let's not delude ourselves. we here are very very price sensitive. otherwise, why do we spend hours trolling this forum?
 
[quote name='sunnyvale']no, i will not pay a few extra bucks to buy from a reputable company. if i do, all my business would go to amazon.

yes, for kmart, having a rep helps. however, if u have no deals, u are still screwed. think gamedealdaily's thread and this thread.

let's not delude ourselves. we here are very very price sensitive. otherwise, why do we spend hours trolling this forum?[/QUOTE]

Price sensitivity doesn't mean being retarded. Obviously nobody is gonna buy something for $60 when they can get it for $50 elsewhere that's just as convenient. But if you ask someone whether they'd pay an extra $1 or 2 (all in) to get it from Amazon or say, tigerdirect, where do you think people will buy it from? Service matters. These aren't two vending machines next to each other.

If you wanna buy from the guy with the lowest prices regardless of service or reputation, then good for you. Most people are smart enough not to buy this way.
 
[quote name='sunnyvale']no, i will not pay a few extra bucks to buy from a reputable company. if i do, all my business would go to amazon.

yes, for kmart, having a rep helps. however, if u have no deals, u are still screwed. think gamedealdaily's thread and this thread.

let's not delude ourselves. we here are very very price sensitive. otherwise, why do we spend hours trolling this forum?[/QUOTE]

Of course people here are cost sensitive, but for the large majority its not over literally just saving a dollar. People want to find games for half cost, get free games, find big flips, etc. People complaining about gogamer don't really look at the big picture. Sure some games are comparable prices to Steam when you include shipping but its also about digital download versus having a physical copy. One person may perfer one form over the other, which superceeds cost if they are in the same ballpark.
Some people might be able to find a game locally for just a few dollars more, but that doesn't include gas/time.

For what its worth gogamer has had very good customer support and their deals are always fair even if they might not always be stellar. Using gamedealdaily for comparison is far from fair. People claim to go months without a response from their service which will not happen with gogamer and their shipping is even more costly (well a $1 or $2 difference). Then there is the situation with receiving damaged goods or knockoff merchandise.
 
i don't even know why he used gamedealdaily as an example. It actually a terrible argument. People don't buy from there because of their shitty service and all the complaints in that thread. In some cases, they have really competitive prices.
 
[quote name='confoosious']No they won't. People will just bitch that free shipping is at $50 instead of 44.99. This is how people are.

And boxes are only free via USPS if it's priority mail.
.[/QUOTE]

not quite true. You can get various free supplies through their programs. There is info on usps.com and places to sign up to get more info. Book sellers really make out, one of the freebies is perfect for books.
 
Hey Mike, my order arrived today, and everything was in order and came much faster than expected.

Great job, I won't hesitate to order from you guys again!
 
[quote name='6er']not quite true. You can get various free supplies through their programs. There is info on usps.com and places to sign up to get more info. Book sellers really make out, one of the freebies is perfect for books.[/QUOTE]

Can you link me? Cause i'd love to get some free supplies.
 
[quote name='sunnyvale']no, i will not pay a few extra bucks to buy from a reputable company. if i do, all my business would go to amazon.

yes, for kmart, having a rep helps. however, if u have no deals, u are still screwed. think gamedealdaily's thread and this thread.

let's not delude ourselves. we here are very very price sensitive. otherwise, why do we spend hours trolling this forum?[/QUOTE]

My same thoughts... ^^^

People in this forum are very price sensitive (cheap ass gamers...).

Some people go to Target because they "like" the experience and others go to Wal-Mart because all they care is paying less for what they buy (even though the stores are not as "nice" as Target).

I have bought games from unknown stores because of their low price. Amazon might have Black Ops for $49.99 but unknown store X online might have it for $44.99 (with no tax and free shipping). You know where I am going to buy it (if they are a legit store of course).
 
[quote name='confoosious']Can you link me? Cause i'd love to get some free supplies.[/QUOTE]

usps.com, didn't you read that?
 
[quote name='oasisboy']usps.com, didn't you read that?[/QUOTE]

i couldn't find any free boxes outside of priority and express on usps. i'd appreciate a link.

is that some sort of problem for you?
 
[quote name='confoosious']

1. i couldn't find any free boxes outside of priority and express on usps. i'd appreciate a link.

2. is that some sort of problem for you?[/QUOTE]

1. Why didn't you say that in the 1st place. You were vague in your response as if you had not bother to browse the website to find the info. Maybe call their 1-800 # and ask (no need to thank me for this idea).

2. No.
 
dude, you didn't even read the thread and jumped in in the middle of a conversation with some snark. The topic at hand was free boxes (not including priority). I didn't think they existed. The other guy said they were available. I asked for a link.
 
[quote name='oasisboy']1. Why didn't you say that in the 1st place. You were vague in your response as if you had not bother to browse the website to find the info. Maybe call their 1-800 # and ask (no need to thank me for this idea).[/QUOTE]

To be fair, his question originally was never for what place you can find these supplies at, but if he could get a link to where those supplies the previous poster mentioned were on USPS. And in his previous response he did reference USPS priority mail supplies already, so the conversation actually goes back a page that you may have missed.

But he is right about the supplies, that it is only offered with priority mail, and outside of boxes, you may be able to obtain shipping labels and some priority mail tape, but not actual packing supplies or anything of that sort that can be found, unless you signed up to have a corporate business account with the USPS, which is a different story, but for that you actually do need to provide some proof and so on and work with USPS.
 
So I used to love Gogamer because they had some really awesome deals, even after shipping and tax. They still have some every now and then, but it's not often.

In this latest 48 Hour Madness, Dead Rising 2 for PC is being offered for $37.90. The problem is, the game normally retails for $39.99 and not $49.99 as Gogamer claims.

I could pick it up from Gamestop which currently has a 15% off PC games promo. Oh, then there's Steam, just $39.99, free of tax. But by far the best deal is at Direct2Drive, which has a 15% off action games, allowing me to pick it up for $33.96 with no tax. Ok, granted, the last two are digital distribution and they're pretty tough to compete against since they don't have to suffer the expenses of having a physical product. But still, how can Gogamer not have the awareness to see how badly their deal is being outcompeted?

Then again at least they're offering free shipping on it. I really miss those days where Gogamer really did have the best deals on games. It just doesn't seem to be the case anymore.
 
Steam ususally still beats you GoGamer and for one reason alone - shipping. You kill most of your ridiculous deals with your shipping costs. I know its difficult to provide free shipping but thats but has stopped my from ever buying from you guys. I mean, dont get me wrong, you're making far more effort than say, Impulse, or some of the other digital distributors (and yes I know you guys sell mostly if not only physical copies) but its still not as great as Steam. The only way for there to EVER be competition for Steam is to beat them on their sales. And yes I understand that Steam is digital and you are more in league with Gamestop and other physical retailer - the statement still stands. Also after all this time - Ive begun associating the $**.90 price tag with GoGamer. lol...such a weird price point. Not a bad thing though. Its distinctive.

Lastly, Id like to add that I still check your sales even if I know Im probably not going to buy anything. I go hoping that you guys might one day give us a deal that isnt ruined by that hidden shipping cost that isnt shown til you've added to cart and head for checkout. Thats me but...Ive heard the same from others. I dont buy - cuz it aint straightforward - like eBay or Amazon. [shrug]
 
[quote name='confoosious']dude, you didn't even read the thread and jumped in in the middle of a conversation with some snark. The topic at hand was free boxes (not including priority). I didn't think they existed. The other guy said they were available. I asked for a link.[/QUOTE]

I would just leave him be, he seems more interested in enumerating people's unnumbered posts with the aforementioned snark than actually reading or addressing the relevant content within them. That's not really meant to knock him, I honestly think that's just how he is.

Mike, I wanted to also inquire about the ratio of shipping expense vs. revenue, but ask if that's with you looking at the past as a summary, or have you had a chance to really analyze the two to see if there are weak spots or inefficiencies that can be overcome? I only ask to probe into whether that can be modified or you're stuck dealing with what you've got somehow?

I noticed just recently today, just playing with some "cart-adding", that you guys dropped some of the "subsequent shipping costs". Example: 4 games cost $6.99 to ship (the last one adding just $1 for shipping), the additions were lower and lower with each consecutive game. Are your numbers run with this model or what I recall as the old one? I could have sworn you guys had like $3 additions for every additional game after the initial $4 charge.
 
I love gogamer, one issue I have is I wish they would pad the FedEx boxes they use to ship games in, there just loose and rumble around in the the box. Things like that go a long way for customers like me.
 
[quote name='confoosious']I'm gonna be a little frank here because this is how people think:

why the hell would i care how many copies of a game you sell? It's not my job to worry about whether I'm gonna pay shipping based on what a bunch of other people are doing.
[/QUOTE]

[quote name='Green Card200']
I like the idea. Offer X price if Y people order or its a bust. Just make sure you don't make Y too high so it almost never hits.
[/QUOTE]


confoosious has a point. Some people wouldn't find this compelling, and might consider it manipulative.

Alternative idea: Simply offer free shipping on AAA-title preorders. If you advertise Black Ops or the new MOH game at 10-15% cheaper than MSRP, with free shipping on pre-orders, you will move a ton of stock. PC gamers notice the games that are price-fixed, like Starcraft, Civ 5, any COD title. In these instances, any small discount is a huge advantage.

I know this doesn't solve the problem of shipping on cheap titles, which is where this started. But, seriously. Just tack on $2 on each cheap item's price, and offer free shipping at $25. When you advertise Flashpoint Dragon Rising or whatever the hell it's called for $4, it's a great deal. But guess what? $6 and free shipping is a great deal too. Great enough to get our attention. Same thing with Majesty 2 - another recent megaflop. Any time a game that had a lot of promotion and decent reviews winds up under $10 within 3 months, you should be able to move copies with free shipping. All those $1 and $2 games that are hanging around in your inventory, taking up space, might get some activity if they were $3 and $4 with free shipping. Game with name recognition, like Prey, or Two Worlds.

Good luck.
 
Not to get into a battle on boxes... But you can flip the priority mail boxes inside out and use them as a regular box. Is it ethical - nope. But it is possible.

Other USPS shipping deals - I don't know. We just received a ton of free boxes from them, but we are a business, and they offered them to us for free... Probably trying to sell us stuff in the future.
 
[quote name='simpsonps121']Not to get into a battle on boxes... But you can flip the priority mail boxes inside out and use them as a regular box. Is it ethical - nope. But it is possible.
[/QUOTE]

Too much trouble. Also, never fuck with the IRS or the USPS.
 
[quote name='simpsonps121']Not to get into a battle on boxes... But you can flip the priority mail boxes inside out and use them as a regular box. Is it ethical - nope. But it is possible.[/QUOTE]

I did this once before, and the very first time I did it, I got a letter from USPS saying that's a big no no. So I wouldn't advise.
 
[quote name='Quintox']I did this once before, and the very first time I did it, I got a letter from USPS saying that's a big no no. So I wouldn't advise.[/QUOTE]

Actually, the Priority Mail boxes now have a "Priority Mail" repeated pattern printed on the inside, so this is no longer possible. I think they figured out what people were doing fairly fast.
 
[quote name='simpsonps121']Not to get into a battle on boxes... But you can flip the priority mail boxes inside out and use them as a regular box. Is it ethical - nope. But it is possible.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='adoru']Actually, the Priority Mail boxes now have a "Priority Mail" repeated pattern printed on the inside, so this is no longer possible. I think they figured out what people were doing fairly fast.[/QUOTE]

Pretty much what I was going to say. They've made them flip proof by tagging the inside and made the box their bitch. So the flipping inside out doesn't work on the new boxes.

Unless you feel like getting fined.
 
[quote name='BWS1982']I would just leave him be, he seems more interested in enumerating people's unnumbered posts with the aforementioned snark than actually reading or addressing the relevant content within them. That's not really meant to knock him, I honestly think that's just how he is.

[/QUOTE]

And you were the one that likes to make false accusations (such as me demanding Bronson to provide data to justify my argument, which I never did, what I asked was for him to provide data about his own business). I honestly think you need to learn how to read (or spend more time reading) before making accusations.

You also kept demanding unobtainable data concerning go gamer. You just like to demand and demand data but you don't do as you speak. That's not meant to knock you down, I honestly think that's how you are.
 
Maybe this is too obvious, or not desirable, but what about building shipping into the prices?

It sounds stupid, even to me, but I know a $3.50 game with free shipping can sound more appealing than a $1.50 game + $2.00 shipping. Work to get your shipping rates a little bit more reasonable, and changing your pricing policy to something along these lines would seem to work out well. Then you can advertise free shipping on every item all the time and not jerk someone from a "great deal" to being bummed by shipping at checkout.

And maybe that could lead to some volume discounts. "Buy 4 games get $3 off" or something. That way the first price people see is always the MAXIMUM they will pay for an item, and could even go lower.
 
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