Inside Look into Gamestop

In before flame war erupts.

Most people won't care. They just hate Gamestop no matter what.
 
Hate all you want, however Gamestop figured out a way to become a giant company when all they are is a specific consumer store/pawn shop.
 
[quote name='j-cart']I think the problem is that you buy shitty games.[/QUOTE]
I know I've been buying the good stuff and renting the shitty its been working out for me.
 
It's okay, I play SWTOR, so I lose in all departments.

Last time I bought something full price from gamestop was Socom 4. That didn't end very well.
 
There was an article similar to this on IGN. Fascinating to look inside their ranks like that. As someone else already stated, no matter the hate, success is success.
 
I have personally seen many GS employees take games for trade in, sticker them and put them right back on the shelves just as they are traded in. Also I have seen many scratched and filthy games in stores, so there is no way they are sending all their used product to the warehouse to be refurbished before putting it on the shelf.

I don't think I have seen them put a console on the shelves right after it was traded in though, but it may have been done with the portable consoles.
 
I hate how GS refurbs discs... all discs end up looking like shit. I'd rather have them scratched up so I can take it to the local mom & pop place that does a fantastic job resurfacing discs.
 
This is interesting... I've been giving Gamestop a lot of business lately. They have done done some things in the past that turned me off, like opening my preorders, but as of late, they've been great. I don't want used games to go away either... So I'll definitely be supporting them.
 
I never minded Gamestop back in Florida, but all of the ones here in Lincoln, NE put the used stickers on the actual artwork itself, not the plastic of the case.
 
I find it interesting that in order to look good, GameStop has to be compared to a company that has not historically sold used games. Comparing GameStop's used games sales to Best Buy's used game sales is just silly. Best Buy has been in the used game business for only a year or so. GameStop has always been in the used game business, its the entire core of their business model. Every aspect of their company has been geared toward flipping pre-owned software. Of course they're going to be better at it, Best Buy is not a used game store. They are an electronics retailer who is dappling in used product.

Lets not forget the reason why an article like this exists. There is no competing chain of used game stores to compare GameStop directly to. And this is because GameStop consumed them all.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']I have personally seen many GS employees take games for trade in, sticker them and put them right back on the shelves just as they are traded in. Also I have seen many scratched and filthy games in stores, so there is no way they are sending all their used product to the warehouse to be refurbished before putting it on the shelf.

I don't think I have seen them put a console on the shelves right after it was traded in though, but it may have been done with the portable consoles.[/QUOTE]

current employee here. it's all up to the employee on what game they think has too many scratches/looks disgusting or not. For example I am very harsh on what games I take in. If I see more than three scratches or anything bad, I usually ship it out to that warehouse and do not use it as inventory.
 
[quote name='Vinny']I hate how GS refurbs discs... all discs end up looking like shit. I'd rather have them scratched up so I can take it to the local mom & pop place that does a fantastic job resurfacing discs.[/QUOTE]

Any GS employee will tell you the corporate refurb machines for disks are crap while private ones are leagues better.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']I have personally seen many GS employees take games for trade in, sticker them and put them right back on the shelves just as they are traded in. Also I have seen many scratched and filthy games in stores, so there is no way they are sending all their used product to the warehouse to be refurbished before putting it on the shelf.

I don't think I have seen them put a console on the shelves right after it was traded in though, but it may have been done with the portable consoles.[/QUOTE]

If the console tests fine it's put in a white box and put in the back for resell after wiping the memory. Only exception is for areas w/strict pawn laws that require the items be held for X amount of time before resell.

If you buy a used system in a colored box, that's a corporate refurbed system.
 
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I love how everytime I walk in a GS there's a 14 year old trading in a ton of shitty games, and his mom is asking 100 questions.

Makes one want to push over the magazine rack.
 
[quote name='Rodimus']I love how everytime I walk in a GS there's a 14 year old trading in a ton of shitty games, and his mom is asking 100 questions.

Makes one want to push over the magazine rack.[/QUOTE]

This X 1000
 
[quote name='Rodimus']I love how everytime I walk in a GS there's a 14 year old trading in a ton of shitty games, and his mom is asking 100 questions.

Makes one want to push over the magazine rack.[/QUOTE]
Dear god this x 1000. I mean say what you want, Gamestop is convenient for when I wanna buy console games or find rarer stuff used. But every time I walk into any gamestop, there is either idiot kids and their parents or someone who is annoying as fuck. Plus no one does fucking research before you buy at GS (well except for CAG's). Everyone else asks 10,000 questions and are clueless, wasting my time because when I walk into GS, I usually know what I want or at least I am smart enough to know what games are what.

There needs to be an express lane for buying products, no questions either. Just buying games :lol:
 
[quote name='SaraAB']I have personally seen many GS employees take games for trade in, sticker them and put them right back on the shelves just as they are traded in. Also I have seen many scratched and filthy games in stores, so there is no way they are sending all their used product to the warehouse to be refurbished before putting it on the shelf.[/QUOTE]

I have never gotten a used game from Gamestop that was in good shape, that is why I won't buy used there anymore. The best is if you brought them back one of their own used copies for trade in they would more than likely charge you a refurb fee. I've gotten discs that look to be refurbed that look really awful and probably would have been better off left alone. I used to wonder how anyone could treat their games so poorly but I think Gamestop makes its worse.
 
[quote name='Richard Kain']I find it interesting that in order to look good, GameStop has to be compared to a company that has not historically sold used games. Comparing GameStop's used games sales to Best Buy's used game sales is just silly. Best Buy has been in the used game business for only a year or so. GameStop has always been in the used game business, its the entire core of their business model. Every aspect of their company has been geared toward flipping pre-owned software. Of course they're going to be better at it, Best Buy is not a used game store. They are an electronics retailer who is dappling in used product.

Lets not forget the reason why an article like this exists. There is no competing chain of used game stores to compare GameStop directly to. And this is because GameStop consumed them all.[/QUOTE]
Actually I have a single trade in receipt from BB from 2010, so they've been taking in games for at least two years or so, even if they weren't originally selling them at all of their stores.

But yeah, GS gobbled up every competitor and by doing so ended up getting Game Informer and the EDGE card program in the deals. Back when Funcoland had GI, it was a thinner magazine that I seem to remember having more content than ad space and when EDGE was part of EB Games it was a $5 card. Couple it with a magazine that has shill pieces meant to whore out the next shiny shiny that the GS drones will bug the shit out of you to pre-order(or you'll never find it anywhere:lol:) and suddenly the shitrag that GI has become is worth $15.:roll:
 
Instead of making my own thread I'll just post this here:

Several weeks back I was behind a "concerned mother." She was asking about Assassins Creed III and what the rating would be. The clerk didn't know since it was still a few months away but she assumed it would be a "M" rating. The mom kept asking questions which seemed like an hour. Hounding the poor clerk for a website to confirm the rating. While flipping through the PS2 rack waiting for my turn I overheard this:

"He could play the last one that came out (referring to Revelations) They only said "damned". But the other two had too much cursing."

Killing, assassination, murder are okay, but you throw in the "F-bomb" and it's just too much. Not only that but all three games are virtually identical when it comes to content. My mind was blown. Bad words and sex are taboo, but desensitizing your child to violence is okay? I was struggling not to say something but I figured I'd mind my own business and keep my mouth shut.
 
[quote name='Rodimus']Instead of making my own thread I'll just post this here:

Several weeks back I was behind a "concerned mother." She was asking about Assassins Creed III and what the rating would be. The clerk didn't know since it was still a few months away but she assumed it would be a "M" rating. The mom kept asking questions which seemed like an hour. Hounding the poor clerk for a website to confirm the rating. While flipping through the PS2 rack waiting for my turn I overheard this:

"He could play the last one that came out (referring to Revelations) They only said "damned". But the other two had too much cursing."

Killing, assassination, murder are okay, but you throw in the "F-bomb" and it's just too much. Not only that but all three games are virtually identical when it comes to content. My mind was blown. Bad words and sex are taboo, but desensitizing your child to violence is okay? I was struggling not to say something but I figured I'd mind my own business and keep my mouth shut.[/QUOTE]

LOL! Boobs = bad, guns = good.
 
It is crazy that Gamestop is the only pure videogame store that exists around me. I try not to shop at gamestop because all the new games I buy there are not sealed and even their used prices are too high. Sometimes they have good trade in deals, but BB has bested them here lately too.

There will always be a strong used market as long as the industry doesn't go all digital...if that ever happened say goodbye to GS. But an all digital console will never exist...besides the pspgo. And we know how well that system did.
 
[quote name='Rodimus']Instead of making my own thread I'll just post this here:

Several weeks back I was behind a "concerned mother." She was asking about Assassins Creed III and what the rating would be. The clerk didn't know since it was still a few months away but she assumed it would be a "M" rating. The mom kept asking questions which seemed like an hour. Hounding the poor clerk for a website to confirm the rating. While flipping through the PS2 rack waiting for my turn I overheard this:

"He could play the last one that came out (referring to Revelations) They only said "damned". But the other two had too much cursing."

Killing, assassination, murder are okay, but you throw in the "F-bomb" and it's just too much. Not only that but all three games are virtually identical when it comes to content. My mind was blown. Bad words and sex are taboo, but desensitizing your child to violence is okay? I was struggling not to say something but I figured I'd mind my own business and keep my mouth shut.[/QUOTE]

At least she cared, usually these threads are full of stories like "are you sure you want to buy GTA for your 8-year-old? there's lots of violence and bad words and hookers and stuff and--"

"I DON'T CARE LITTLE JOHNNY WANTS IT ALL THE KIDS PLAY IT JUST SELL IT TO ME"
 
[quote name='ElwoodCuse']At least she cared, usually these threads are full of stories like "are you sure you want to buy GTA for your 8-year-old? there's lots of violence and bad words and hookers and stuff and--"

"I DON'T CARE LITTLE JOHNNY WANTS IT ALL THE KIDS PLAY IT JUST SELL IT TO ME"[/QUOTE]
That's usually what I see happen with grandparents all the time when they go game shopping with the kids. Mom or dad won't buy them the game, but grandpa or grandma will because they're oblivious. Although at least that does show that the parents actually care enough to not want their kids exposed the M rated titles, unlike the example you gave above.:whistle2:#
 
I've bought a lot of used games at Gamestop that I've been relatively pleased with. They've definitely gotten better...I remember buying used Gamecube games there years ago and the sticker residue on the boxes when you pulled them off was the worst thing ever, but I feel like they make them come off a lot easier now and they don't really leave residue anymore.

However I did run into one of those situations the other day where I bought a "new" copy of Kirby's Return to Dreamland that was actually the last copy in the store so I got the display copy. I really wish they would just sell their display copies at used prices. I asked the clerk if they had any sealed copies and she said no, but she could call nearby Gamestops for me to see if they had any. I thought about holding off but I just went with it...the condition was really good anyways.
 
Gamestop bashing aside, this actually was somewhat interesting to see how their refurb process works and gave me a little insight into where some of those trade-ins end up. Working for EB and then GS in the mid 2000s I was always curious what happened to the stuff we took in and deemed too messed up to send back out. I'd be curious to know how much product actually reaches one of those facilities vs. being turned around and sold immediately after trade-in. As some folks already mentioned, a disc had to look pretty darn bad before we could throw it in the defective box, and if the console would boot up and run a game it was good enough to be sold in most cases.

That being said I choose not to shop at GS anymore myself, but I let the GS bashing ship sail a long time ago. Prefer to speak with my wallet when it comes to them.
 
[quote name='ElwoodCuse']At least she cared, usually these threads are full of stories like "are you sure you want to buy GTA for your 8-year-old? there's lots of violence and bad words and hookers and stuff and--"
[/QUOTE]
It has been established that video games do not contribute to the level of violence in a society, so why care about this?

I was very glad to have been able to get my hands on games like Doom and Duke when I was 12. It is becoming harder and harder for a boy growing up today to have that kind of freedom.
 
[quote name='Rodimus']Instead of making my own thread I'll just post this here:

Several weeks back I was behind a "concerned mother." She was asking about Assassins Creed III and what the rating would be. The clerk didn't know since it was still a few months away but she assumed it would be a "M" rating. The mom kept asking questions which seemed like an hour. Hounding the poor clerk for a website to confirm the rating. While flipping through the PS2 rack waiting for my turn I overheard this:

"He could play the last one that came out (referring to Revelations) They only said "damned". But the other two had too much cursing."

Killing, assassination, murder are okay, but you throw in the "F-bomb" and it's just too much. Not only that but all three games are virtually identical when it comes to content. My mind was blown. Bad words and sex are taboo, but desensitizing your child to violence is okay? I was struggling not to say something but I figured I'd mind my own business and keep my mouth shut.[/QUOTE]

Then there's the times the employees have to spend 30 minutes describing the sex scenes (in full detail) of Dragon Age 2 & AC: Brotherhood b/c slicing people/monsters into bloody chunks or stabbing people is ok, but SEX?!, WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!
 
Here is an EVEN better inside look at GameStop.

gamestop--article_image.jpg
 
[quote name='TealPavelski']Here is an EVEN better inside look at GameStop.[/QUOTE]

That's not a GameStop, the PC-Game section is too big.
 
[quote name='Spokker']It has been established that video games do not contribute to the level of violence in a society, so why care about this?

I was very glad to have been able to get my hands on games like Doom and Duke when I was 12. It is becoming harder and harder for a boy growing up today to have that kind of freedom.[/QUOTE]

Because it's good for parents to be involved in what kind of media their children consume. Parents. Not governments.
 
Gamestop would be 100X better if there was self check out or transform the store into huge vending machine that multiple people can use at the same time.
 
Just wanted to say that all three of the gamestops near me gut games, sell games that are scratched to shit, and sell systems that contain the previous owner's information (x-box live account, psn, credit card, etc...).

FYI, those stores are Stephenville, TX; Granbury, TX; and Cleburne, TX. Seems like the company's supposed policies don't extend very far south...
 
A little off topic but GS related: A friend- who used to work at GS told me they would reject selling customers brand new games who didn't prorder. Even though they had them in stock he said his manger told them to lie and say they didn't have any left and they should've preordered.

I wasn't surprised by this but I wanted to ask anyone associated with GS if this is a comman practice or isolated incident?
 
[quote name='pseudonem']Just wanted to say that all three of the gamestops near me gut games, sell games that are scratched to shit, and sell systems that contain the previous owner's information (x-box live account, psn, credit card, etc...).

FYI, those stores are Stephenville, TX; Granbury, TX; and Cleburne, TX. Seems like the company's supposed policies don't extend very far south...[/QUOTE]

Or West. I've never heard of a good Gamestop, even got crusted snot on my game discs from them.
 
I actually didn't know Gamestop had a refurbish center. I figured all games just simply came from customer and straight to the shelf. I thought this was really interesting.

As far as Gamestop, I usually only use them to trade in games to buy new ones on release date, or to preorder consoles (since their preorder system basically acts like a free lay-a-away). I have had some issues with them in the past, but nothing that totally prevents me from never visiting again. People have good reasons not to like the company, but they are far from horrible.
 
I've noticed something about some of the GameStops in my area. They are beginning to transfer previous-generation stock out of their stores. One of the stores now no longer caries pre-owned DS cartridges in their boxes. They still sell pre-owned bare cartridges on their own, but all the boxed pre-owned DS games have been transfered out.

Several of the stores have transferred their PS2 games, and no longer carry those, boxes or no. GameCube games have been missing from most of the stores for a while. It seems rumors of GameStop moving their legacy stock to a central location for on-line sales might be true.
 
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