What happened to SHC-Gamer and the Kmart thread???

I was used to seeing it stickied... and then I saw where it had been closed, but can't find anything about why or what happened. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Kmart went through a management "clearance sale" at the end of last year. SHC-Gamer wasn't sure he was going to have the same support within the company or would even have a job. He closed the thread until things became clearer (if ever).

Yeah, I was kind of expecting SHC-Gamer to have more posts at least in the weekly-ad thread for Kmart.
That would be horrible if the ones responsible for all those deals were let go.

I miss the discount deals. Been wanting to pick up the newest Ace Combat game and that's still $40. Kmart would have had for $30 somehow by now.

Kmart has gone back to the public asking "you sell video games?" era. Again, they made another huge mistake getting rid of Josh and all the work he did.

Does not shock me at all that the new management within K-Mart yanked Josh away from us. Sure I personally never took advantage of the contributions he made around here due to the fact that I hate K-Mart in general. However it's still quite sad to see someone at that level who brought us some good deals yanked away just because some management who doesn't get why cooperating with sites like CAG and SlickDeals could really benefit for them in the long run.

That is too bad. I haven't been buying too many games recently but last year and before I was using the SHC -Gamer deals quite a bit. I got a few things I never would have picked up normally (like Splatterhouse) because of the coupons. I also remember picking up Fallout coasters, vanquish, sly cooper and a few others.

Here's the thing. I loved the K-Mart thread, and I truly appreciate the effort that was put forth. I probably shopped more in K-Mart during that period than I had throughout the entire last decade. But, the way things were being run simply was not sustainable. You can't give out coupons worth $10 or $20 or even $30 off your next purchase with every single new release, because what's going to happen is that eventually no one is going to be paying full price for anything, and you end up taking a loss for each item sold. Were any of us going to K-Mart for any other reason than to buy games and get coupons? The only way a promotion like this works is if it works as a loss leader and gets you into the store to buy other stuff, and my guess is that for the majority of us, that was not the case.

[quote name='addicted2games']Kmart has gone back to the public asking "you sell video games?" era. Again, they made another huge mistake getting rid of Josh and all the work he did.[/QUOTE]
How many people outside of CAG and maybe SD really knew about the deals on games at Kmart? When I asked friends if they knew that Kmart was giving out coupons with the purchase of newer release games that could be used towards a future purchase I typically received the one of two responses. Either "Kmart is still around?" or "Kmart sells games?".

They really didn't whore out the gaming deals very well to the public at large imo. They had a blurb in ONE circular and that was in the corner of a page on the page with the games. Otherwise I don't recall there being a huge advertising push to get the word out there.
[quote name='spmahn']Here's the thing. I loved the K-Mart thread, and I truly appreciate the effort that was put forth. I probably shopped more in K-Mart during that period than I had throughout the entire last decade. But, the way things were being run simply was not sustainable. You can't give out coupons worth $10 or $20 or even $30 off your next purchase with every single new release, because what's going to happen is that eventually no one is going to be paying full price for anything, and you end up taking a loss for each item sold. Were any of us going to K-Mart for any other reason than to buy games and get coupons? The only way a promotion like this works is if it works as a loss leader and gets you into the store to buy other stuff, and my guess is that for the majority of us, that was not the case.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. Just like giving away older games for $1-3 on clearance was not a sustainable way to run a retail store, giving huge discounts via coupons that could be stacked if you had multiple coupons with different barcodes was not a feasible alternative to the above. This is especially true since then some folks buying 1-2 games with multiple coupons from a prior week(who probably also used other coupons then as well) would then likely qualify for MORE coupons for the next coupon period.

I freely admit that I ONLY buy loss leaders when I go into a store, unless there's some sort of other offer/glitch that allows me to get the item(s) for less than asking price. Case in point: I used the B2G1 coupon from the welcome packet for the Gamer's Club Unlocked on Black Friday to get 3 $30 games for $60 out of pocket.

I don't know of any gamers who go into a store and buy a game, and do their grocery shopping while they are buying that game. If your kmart store is anything like mine, I certainly hope you aren't doing your grocery shopping there! Most gamers go buy a game, pay for it in electronics then walk right out of the store, so they can go home and play the game they just bought.

Soccer moms, sure they might grab a game for their kids while doing their grocery shopping, and ideally this is the customer that retail stores want to target with the games as the games are just supposed to be a lure to get you into the store so you will buy something else with your game purchase. But I don't think this type of consumer was exactly taking advantage of the Kmart promotion.

Along with the coupons I assume the purchases also stacked with SYW rewards as well, netting even bigger discounts for purchasing games at Kmart.

Kmart is a ghost town lately here, even worse than ever, their holiday merchandise was untouched going into Xmas, same with Sears, they both had tons of stuff left after Xmas even, and it looks like no one ever even shopped at either store for anything over Xmas. Its actually pretty amazing to see when every other store here was struggling to keep up with the rapid pace of shoppers during the holidays.

I would love to only be able to buy loss leaders when I go into a store, unfortunately I am responsible for grocery shopping for a family of 4 adults, and there are times we just need stuff and we can't wait for a sale. However I stay away from most luxury items other than groceries, food, consumables and toiletries. I try to do the stockpile but that only works for certain items. Due to the popularity of extreme couponing many of the items I need to get at the stores with the best prices are always out of stock when I have a coupon for them. I also buy a lot of used stuff on ebay, including games, often netting me much better prices than any other retail store could offer since retail clearance for games is pretty dead here. $20 game at the store or a $6 used game on ebay, I know which option I am taking!

Well, the way to win a war against impressions that your store is either out of business or doesn't carry games isn't to give up after two years of success, that's for sure.

Kmart management running that company out of business, nothing new. $60 or bust forever now.

[quote name='jer7583']Well, the way to win a war against impressions that your store is either out of business or doesn't carry games isn't to give up after two years of success, that's for sure.

Kmart management running that company out of business, nothing new. $60 or bust forever now.[/QUOTE]
How much you wanna bet the chain doesn't go completely under till their chairman(Eddie Lampert) and the other top big wigs rape, loot and pillage the company for every nickel they can suck it dry of?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_lampert

Personally, instead of focusing on SOPA/PIPA I wish Congress would focus on reducing/eliminating the ability of these greedy corporate bastards from taking huge paychecks and bonuses while their companies circle the drain.

[quote name='spmahn']Here's the thing. I loved the K-Mart thread, and I truly appreciate the effort that was put forth. I probably shopped more in K-Mart during that period than I had throughout the entire last decade. But, the way things were being run simply was not sustainable. You can't give out coupons worth $10 or $20 or even $30 off your next purchase with every single new release, because what's going to happen is that eventually no one is going to be paying full price for anything, and you end up taking a loss for each item sold. Were any of us going to K-Mart for any other reason than to buy games and get coupons? The only way a promotion like this works is if it works as a loss leader and gets you into the store to buy other stuff, and my guess is that for the majority of us, that was not the case.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this, it doesn't surprise me that this was the outcome and I expected as much. What SHC-Gamer did for the CAG community was great and all, but it just wasn't gonna last. Now if K-mart had a somewhat stable business before all of this happened and had a wider approach to advertising, they may have been able to pull it off and got people to get into their stores and buy other stuff.

To add to what IATCG said, how much do you all want to bet that with the possible phasing out of K-Mart Gamer, stores, and distribution centers (along with thousands of jobs of course) that the big wigs are going to get the same salary, year end bonuses, and even possibly an increase to both because they were able to save the company money by sacrificing families to their money gods.

[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']How much you wanna bet the chain doesn't go completely under till their chairman(Eddie Lampert) and the other top big wigs rape, loot and pillage the company for every nickel they can suck it dry of?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_lampert

Personally, instead of focusing on SOPA/PIPA I wish Congress would focus on reducing/eliminating the ability of these greedy corporate bastards from taking huge paychecks and bonuses while their companies circle the drain.[/QUOTE]

I have to agree, and the grunts at the front line, the cashiers, individual store managers and service desk workers are all the ones who are going to feel the pain when it happens. These people are working their butts off for the store and they are gonna be the ones hurt in the end when the store goes down. I feel really bad for those stuck working at Kmart, I have never seen a store with more "lifers" than Kmart employees, it must be the most depressing place to work, probably even more depressing than working at Gamestop.

[quote name='spmahn']Here's the thing. I loved the K-Mart thread, and I truly appreciate the effort that was put forth. I probably shopped more in K-Mart during that period than I had throughout the entire last decade. But, the way things were being run simply was not sustainable. You can't give out coupons worth $10 or $20 or even $30 off your next purchase with every single new release, because what's going to happen is that eventually no one is going to be paying full price for anything, and you end up taking a loss for each item sold. Were any of us going to K-Mart for any other reason than to buy games and get coupons? The only way a promotion like this works is if it works as a loss leader and gets you into the store to buy other stuff, and my guess is that for the majority of us, that was not the case.[/QUOTE]
These were my thoughts all along.
And SaraAB expounded on it pretty well too.

[quote name='spmahn']Here's the thing. I loved the K-Mart thread, and I truly appreciate the effort that was put forth. I probably shopped more in K-Mart during that period than I had throughout the entire last decade. But, the way things were being run simply was not sustainable. You can't give out coupons worth $10 or $20 or even $30 off your next purchase with every single new release, because what's going to happen is that eventually no one is going to be paying full price for anything, and you end up taking a loss for each item sold. Were any of us going to K-Mart for any other reason than to buy games and get coupons? The only way a promotion like this works is if it works as a loss leader and gets you into the store to buy other stuff, and my guess is that for the majority of us, that was not the case.[/QUOTE]
the idea of rewarding customers is simply an old tactic that stores use to lure you in. if youre going to buy something that is worth $30 with your $30 gaming coupon, then the company will eventually loose out of steam of those deals (and i think thats eventually what happened). its almost like a temporary rebate valid only on specific dates.

i think kmart just needs a certain amount of games sold when theres a new release to get their capital back and whatever's left over (games) would be their profit. other stores have done this sort of thing before just not with video games.

ultimately, the only good thing that came out of the whole kmartgamer deals is the fact that now, more people are aware that kmart do and still sells video games. its just sad to see kmartgamer go because it made you think that you have a personal connection towards the store by allowing their employee to reach out to their customers. i dont think any companies have done that in the past.

Yeah, I don't see Walmart employees coming on here and talking about the gaming department that's for sure.

The problem with buying other items in Kmart is that they don't have anything else to offer me that I can't get for a lower price at either Walmart or Target, which are 2 min away from Kmart for me. If they expect me to pick up snacks with my game I would drive to another store because they are lower priced and fresh, Kmart has a ton of expired food on their shelves, and I am not about to start digging through it trying to find the items I need. If I need a non-consumable item other than food or toiletries or other disposables I am probably searching for it online to get an even cheaper price.

I was kind of wondering where all the sweet KMart deals had gone. It was my favorite place to get games for about 18 months, in spite of the fact that the nearest store never seemed to have anyone available at the Electronics counter, and often, you'd just have to stand around and wait 10-15 minutes to get any help.

I found it quite amazing that they could consistently offer better deals than Gamestop, BestBuy, and even Amazon at times, but given it's gone away now, I guess it was too good to be true. I may never set foot in a KMart again.

well, the majority of the time, i just went in to get the newest game for $20 off with the coupon recycling. there were several times, though, that I spent more money in there on a few items just because i was in the store. sad to see it go away. plus, i have about 60k reward points still in the account :/

It all started almost two years ago with a coupon and stuffed animal for Lost Planet 2. I then purchased upwards of 25 games at K-Mart using the gaming coupons. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, thanks Josh.