The Redbox Scam

EvilChamp

EvilChamp

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Hey all - 

I'm sure we've all heard about this already - rent a game from Redbox and get an empty case or a photocopy of the game instead. 

Now, the VP of Gaming for Redbox addresses the issue for the first time. Check out my story - it will also be in the Sunday edition of Chicago Sun-Times.

This first happened to me two years ago and I thought about writing about it but didn't because I checked the Internet and nobody knew about it. I thought it would do a lot of damage.

Well, two years later I come back from overseas and decide to rent the new Metro game. It happened again. At this point the cat was out of the bag. 

The VP said he views the thefts as a "cost of doing business." 

I was freakin' pissed when it first happened to me. Got a photocopy of a disc after renting Max Payne. But Redbox was cool about everything. They gave me two free rental codes (never used them) and reversed the charge. 

Anyway, has this happened to anyone else?

 
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"...Redbox was pretty cool about everything,” said Martinez, 39, who rents games for his 9-year-old son.
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Coverup! It's OK to admit that you're a gamer :) Or did you rent Metro: Last Light for your son?

The only solution to this is to stop using easily-copied barcode stickers and create a hub sticker that has a passive metal interior not unlike security tags but less bulky, just enough to let the system checker know it's a legit tag and not a paper copy.

 
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I'm surprised they're only addressing this now. I've seen so many people/posts about getting printed off discs. GIven how streamlined the process was for getting the issue resolved, I'm guessing it probably happens a lot more than they let on... 

 
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Kerig said:
Coverup! It's OK to admit that you're a gamer :) Or did you rent Metro: Last Light for your son?
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lol, no. I'm not Alex Martinez.

Come say hi!

@Vinny -

It wasn't something they wanted to talk about, especially since their stock just took a huge hit (just look at the five day chart) on Tuesday (OUTR), down from about $58 to its current price of $46. Their PR team was really great, but it was a delicate issue so it took some effort to get them to talk about it.

I've been really curious to see how Wall Street will react to this if they get wind of it, considering the recent drop in their stock was because customers were using too many coupon codes. This seems like a more serious issue to me, IMO.

 
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I don't know if it's as serious of an issue as you think because it seems like whenever it happens, they always give people their money back at the very least.  They aren't dicks about problems like other companies such as eBay or Paypal.  The only thing they're guilty of is having a system that allows this to happen in the first place.  It would probably be a huge investment to completely overhaul their machines to a more secure system that prevents this from happening.  Probably costs them less to refund people.

 
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Dead of Knight said:
I don't know if it's as serious of an issue as you think because it seems like whenever it happens, they always give people their money back at the very least. They aren't dicks about problems like other companies such as eBay or Paypal. The only thing they're guilty of is having a system that allows this to happen in the first place. It would probably be a huge investment to completely overhaul their machines to a more secure system that prevents this from happening. Probably costs them less to refund people.
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From what I saw, finding people who were affected by this in the city of Chicago was easy. It was, however, harder to find people in the suburbs.

If you check Craigslist for Chicago, you'll see a lot of people selling the new Madden (example) for $30 - $35 with no box, just game. I emailed one guy and said, "I'm guessing this is from Redbox?"

He actually replied, "Yes Sir, but they're already sold." He was selling one 360 copy and one PS3 copy.

If you think long run, this is something RB needs to address, IMO. But then again, that might mean replacing a lot of kiosks ... So, yea, I agree. Def would be big investment. And bad press which wouldn't please stockholders, either.

 
It would cost too much for Redbox to overhaul the processing system in order to bring the numbers of these offences down, but quite honestly there is not much to be done about it right now. Raising a fuss just brings more awareness to it but nothing will really change about it. The vast, vast majority of the processes done through Redbox work fine, albeit at the constant risk of being vulnerable to a scam, but as with anything in life when you have an opportunity to take advantage of something there are a small group of people willing to do just that. Morality's a bitch sometimes.

 
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I've used Redbox twice and it has happened to me both times. They didn't charge me or anything for it and gave me free codes, though. I just never used those codes because after having two bad experiences I didn't feel like talking to them again. I live in a somewhat crappy town and there are constantly Cragislist ads towards the end of the month with people selling new releases from Redbox for $20, too.

 
How do they know that you're not the one that kept the game, but you're calling in to report it? Also, would they charge the previous renter, because I can see a disgruntled adult just returning a case to redbox and losing a dollar, then getting charged for the full game or something, because Redbox thinks they did it.  Or is it just a loss to the company?

 
artimus_black said:
How do they know that you're not the one that kept the game, but you're calling in to report it? Also, would they charge the previous renter, because I can see a disgruntled adult just returning a case to redbox and losing a dollar, then getting charged for the full game or something, because Redbox thinks they did it. Or is it just a loss to the company?
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Someone who rents a game and actually gets it can call RB and lie - stating that they got an empty case or photocopy.

That being said, it's hard to pinpoint who is liable - the previous or current renter. It's just a cost of doing business for RB, that's what the VP said.

 
artimus_black said:
How do they know that you're not the one that kept the game, but you're calling in to report it?
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That's exactly why the don't try to accuse anyone. Fortunately this only seems to happen to games, so the loss is minimal.

I hate to say it, but the best solution would be for them to stop offering games.

For a good sad laugh, check out Redbox's Facebook page tonight with everyone freaking out because Iron Man 3 took a little longer to get to kiosks than expected.

 
Kerig said:
That's exactly why the don't try to accuse anyone. Fortunately this only seems to happen to games, so the loss is minimal.

I hate to say it, but the best solution would be for them to stop offering games.

For a good sad laugh, check out Redbox's Facebook page tonight with everyone freaking out because Iron Man 3 took a little longer to get to kiosks than expected.
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I went at midnight to get some other movies and had to wait five minutes while some people looked over and over for iron man 3. The movies I wanted to get new yesterday were there though.

 
Personally I've never had this happen to me, but that's because I can never get a damn game. Big titles will be OOS pretty much the day after they come out, and I'm fairly sure that they're not coming back anytime soon. Baltimore, go figure.

I can't really think of any way they could counter this issue... as was said earlier, I think the only real solution is for them to not rent games anymore.

 
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Seeing this, I'm kind of hesitant to even try Redbox.  Knowing my luck. I get an empty case and somehow become accused of stealing the game.

Kind of off topic:  Imagine what it would be like if Gamestop offered something similar to Redbox's kiosks.  I bet half of the customers would totally do this scam.

 
EvilChamp said:
lol, no. I'm not Alex Martinez.

Come say hi!

@Vinny -

It wasn't something they wanted to talk about, especially since their stock just took a huge hit (just look at the five day chart) on Tuesday (OUTR), down from about $58 to its current price of $46. Their PR team was really great, but it was a delicate issue so it took some effort to get them to talk about it.

I've been really curious to see how Wall Street will react to this if they get wind of it, considering the recent drop in their stock was because customers were using too many coupon codes. This seems like a more serious issue to me, IMO.
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Kevin Dent suggested them on Twitter as a good investment but I looked at them and the reason their price has dropped so much is because they can't get growth. They revised earnings down and they have an on demand service that no one is using.

 
artimus_black said:
How do they know that you're not the one that kept the game, but you're calling in to report it? Also, would they charge the previous renter, because I can see a disgruntled adult just returning a case to redbox and losing a dollar, then getting charged for the full game or something, because Redbox thinks they did it. Or is it just a loss to the company?
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Someone can rent a game and not receive it, call RB, and get reimbursed.

Someone can rent a game, RECEIVE it, but call RB and claim they got a piece of paper instead.

Thus, it is "a cost of doing business." That's what the VP of RB said.

 
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EvilChamp said:
From what I saw, finding people who were affected by this in the city of Chicago was easy. It was, however, harder to find people in the suburbs.

If you check Craigslist for Chicago, you'll see a lot of people selling the new Madden (example) for $30 - $35 with no box, just game. I emailed one guy and said, "I'm guessing this is from Redbox?"

He actually replied, "Yes Sir, but they're already sold." He was selling one 360 copy and one PS3 copy.

If you think long run, this is something RB needs to address, IMO. But then again, that might mean replacing a lot of kiosks ... So, yea, I agree. Def would be big investment. And bad press which wouldn't please stockholders, either.
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Family Video went through this since no credit card is required to rent there so they now require a refundable $20 deposit in addition to the rental fee for any hit game rental like Madden, CoD, GTA, etc.

 
MSUHitman said:
Family Video went through this since no credit card is required to rent there so they now require a refundable $20 deposit in addition to the rental fee for any hit game rental like Madden, CoD, GTA, etc.
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This is news to me. I prefer paying cash whenever possible. I know Red Box needs a credit card or something similar. I think that's the same with Blockbuster stores or maybe just movies, not sure.

 
anotherpoorgamer said:
This is news to me. I prefer paying cash whenever possible. I know Red Box needs a credit card or something similar. I think that's the same with Blockbuster stores or maybe just movies, not sure.
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Been that way for 2 or 3 years. Once you spend $150 at that store your exempt from the fees but only at that store.
 
Yeah had this happen when Max Payne 3 came out. Rented it for the xbox, saw the fake copy and immediately returned it. Proceeded to rent the ps3 version from the same kiosk and same issue, fake disk with the barcode. 

Called REDbox and got a refund plus some free rental codes. It was easy but i was hesitant thinking the company would think that I stole the games. That was probably the last time I rented a game from redbox. 

 
I have rented a handful of games and a ton of movies and have never had that issue here in Orlando. I guess it depends on what area I was checking games out from.

 
I thought it was a good idea to buy when the stock was as low as it was because obviously it was just a dip due to more publicity around the scamming. When the outcry dies down, the stock goes back up.

13.5% of the company in one movement, whew. Moneybags.

 
Sorry to bump this but with the recent redbox sale thread, I had a question. I never hear about people being scammed on here or anywhere until there is a sale and then tons of people are like "oh no this game they don't even offer for rental and haven't in months but is for sale now was a paper copy" and Theres actually a redbox rep who is a member of CAG who helps them get refunds.

What I said is true for my local redboxes, often they dont offer a game anymore for months and then they start selling them from the machine and tons of people claim to get fakes. How likely is it that Redbox stocks the machines of their back stock of old games before a sale and just take the hit, play dumb and entertain people who claim to get paper disks? Like if they only stock these games to be sold before a sale how could they be stolen? I'm not sure it I'm way off or not. And if they still do offer rentals of the games for sale and I'm wrong, how likely is it they know someone robbed them anyways and play dumb?
 
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