Welcome to Morning Hangover -- an excellent way to start your day with the crew at TheFeed...no matter what you're recovering from. Every morning you'll hear musings from our editors and have the chance to share your thoughts on what's going on in the gaming world.
Patrick Klepek: If you aren't a fan of GameStop or eBay for sending your used games into the arms of another, I wrote about a promising new option called SwitchGames yesterday. Several comments described poor experiences at GameStop, especially when it came to trading in games and getting almost zilch in return. We've all been there, so I turn the next task over to you, TheFeed. What's your worst GameStop experience? It doesn't have to be limited to trading in games. Go wild.
[image credit: flickr / Moe_]
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Misfit139
It's my goal to completely tank gamestop. i actually have been working there for two years and i have encountered nothing but B.S.. it sucks to shop there and sucks to work there. i am the only intelligent person who has ever been employed at that retarded company. i can't leave because there are few jobs in the area. I'm dreading working next week because i'm a manager who has to work eight to four BY MYSELF. NO BREAK. you think their trade values suck, omg! they're even cheaper with payroll to run the business. i simply don't care any more. i spend my days job hunting and planning the demise of that dreadful company. HEY BEST BUY! HURRY UP AND BUY GAMESTOP!!!!! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!!!!! Do it before I leave so that I don't have to start over or remain miserable. For those of you reading this retarded rant of mine, join my clan and let's DOMINATE!!!! DO NOT SHOP AT GAMESTOP! Best Buy hires fewer retards so shop there!!!!!!
darthspoon2
As a Gamestop employee, I have the unique perspective from behind the counter. I can say this up front: Gamestop is not perfect and not everybody is going to be happy (customers or employees.) Trading in games can be a great way to save money, but you have to be smart about it. Do not expect to trade in a five-year-old battered PS2 game and get your money back. Gamestop is a business, and there needs to be profit in it. If a game sells for $2 used, don't expect to get much for trading it in. That said, positive and negative experiences follow:
Positive:
Two kids came in the other day with duffel bags full of old systems and games. They traded a gamecube, a ps2, a few GBAs, etc. and games for each. Even though most were defective, they still got two full-price PS3 games out of it and a new Dualshock 3 controller. They got tons of old stuff out of the closet and got a couple new games for their trouble.
Negative:
Parents who try to trade in two-year-old movie games and blow up at me when I explain that they aren't worth much. Trade-in value is determined by the poplularity, rarity, rating, and age of a game. If you make the mistake of buying a crappy game without playing a demo or renting it first (or even reading reviews,) do not expect to get much back for it.
Tips for trading:
1) Trade in bulk. A single game is not worth much.
2) Trade soon. When you beat a game and get bored of it, don't hang onto it for a while afterward. If you're done with it, get rid of it.
3) Take advantage of promotions. Gamestop is usually running promos for trades, such as 'trade in three or more games and get an extra $10' or 'extra 25% credit when traded in toward Call of Duty.'
4) Get the Gamestop card. $15 gets you the membership for a year, getting you 10% more on trades and 10% off used games. If you buy five used games over the course of the year for $15 or more, you've made your money back.
Regarding selling used games as new, it doesn't make much sense. Gamestop makes a bigger profit on selling used games; they would rather sell it to you used. There is no sense in selling a used game as new. The company makes almost nothing on new games, given that they buy them for about $50 apiece from publishers and sell them for $60.
Keep in mind, some stores are better than others. If you have had a bad experience at a particular store, don't go there any more. Try another store. The company, like any other, hires morons sometimes.
Finally, with regard to the question of 'do employees play new games and then sell them as new' the answer is 'not any more.' Until recently, we were allowed to bring brand new games home, play them, bring them back, and sell them at full price. Yes, it was shady. That privilige has now been revoked. Given that employees cannot afford to buy every new game that comes out, it was the best way for us to stay up-to-date with games. However, it's probably best that we can't do that now.
psmgamer
I have a good experience to share about Gamestop well a few months ago i got a Wii at Bestbuy and they didn't have Mario Kart Wii. So my brother calls stores like Target, Gamecrazy and they don't have it. So we go to a Gamestop a few miles away from our house and they are sold out of it. They end up calling another Gamestop like 30 minutes away that got in orders of Mario Kart and ask them to hold it for us. It was the last copy by the way. We drive over there and tell them that we came to pick up Mario Kart Wii and we get the game. It sure beat driving around looking for the game. Seeems like there are some good Gamestop stores/employees out there you just have to look hard enough to find them.
daverabbit
i just traded in my brothers copy of batman arkham asylum for 26.50 to some adorable girl named shannon who chatted me up for a couple mins so ill take that as a pro in my gamestop analysis
psmgamer
The worse experience was last year at Gamestop for me. So i am a regular customer at Gamestop downtown a few miles away from my house. It used to be Ebgames but changed its name to Gamestop. A few of the employees know me since I pop in to buy games from time to time and preorder. So one day I decide to cancel a preorder that I did online it was Destroy All Humans for PS3 which was canceled for the PS3. I had gotten a phone call a day before so decide to go. I also had Smackdown! 2009 preordered but had it preordered at Gamecrazy and got it there a few days after it was released. So I cancel Smackdown! and the employee tells me because that I wanted to cancel Smackdown! and Destroy All Humans, I would be banned from the store from preordering any games cause I cancel the preorders! Now I hardly ever preorder games unless its a game that I plan on buying. He then tells me I could still shop at the store surprised and shocked I thank him and walk out. I later get my receipt and fill out Gamestop's customer survey where you rate the store and your experience. I type my negative experience and that I want a call from a DM about the incident. A few days later I get a call from a DM asking me to tell him my experience. So i tell him the story and he says that he would have a meeting with the employee along with the manager of the store, the employee by the way was a 3rd key at Gamestop that banned me. He said what the employee did was wrong and had no right to ban me from the store and apologized for the incident. I thanked and thought i would get something out of it but he even said if I had any problems that i could call him. The good news is that I have never gone to that Gamestop ever since November 2008.
Another time i went to buy Resistance Fall of Man last year since it was $30 for the Greatest Hits version so I went to another Gamestop to buy it. I see a used copy and its listed for $34.99 while the new copy is $29.99! I proceed to get the new copy and pray that they don't try to sell me the used copy. Lucky they didn't try to sell me the used copy.
alistorvb
One thing I have to say is Gamestop has held up when it came to pre-orders. You pre-order the game it is yours unopened when you arrive to pick it up. I always thought they were good if for that reason alone. I did not always shop with them, though. When I wanted a pre-order though, I would most usually go to them. Until, I bought a game and was unhappy with it cuz I completed it in a short time and had it had no challenge to me what so ever. From now on I will never go to Gamestop for games. I may suggest them for pre-orders. For any other reason I'll go to Bestbuy first.
Cutie_Honey
Wow...you, in Japan, they have a much deeper concept of the value of video games. From box art, video game music sheets, figurines, ect...an opened video game would automatically fetch less than 50% it's retail value regardless whether the game was even used or not to play it's intro video. Alas, such is the con of capitalism. As long as there are schmuchs ready to reward GameStop and similar entities for ripping them off, the more they will continue to thrive in a piss poor economy.
Teggy
One GameStop manager contacted me on Facebook to flirt with me. The problem was...I never told him my name. He got it off my credit card.
PCTech714
Before I start my whole spiel, I wanted to address the policy they have about displaying product. Yes, the display is actually a real game that has been gutted. Contents are held elsewhere and the box is usually shrink-wrapped and put up. This is to prevent theft. If the display needs to be sold, the reverse happens, the box is shrink-wrapped and off you go.
There's nothing different between the retail product and this display product. The game isn't used -- no ones has used it; it's just been sitting in a drawer. However, if you're really concerned, don't buy it! Wait until they get it back into stock or have them look for it at another GameStop or (god forbid) order it online.
Sometimes I'm amazed at how easy it is to "inconvenience" people. Try losing your job and going without food and nearly losing your house...
Anyway, on to the original topic:
My worst experiences were actually as an employee there, starting as part-time help, then full-time, then manager trainee, assistant manager and finally manager. This was back when it was Babbage's -- before the Software, Etc. merger.
It didn't help that my store was in one of the most crime ridden towns in the area. There was a shooting two stores down from mine and robberies were commonplace.
People would frequently come in and ask to use the phone so they could ask their child/spouse/parent about what game to buy, but would instead use it to make free calls to their friends (rather than spend a quarter at a pay phone).
I had an employee who tried to scam us and had to be fired.
It was painful to have to push cheat guides and "frequent buyer" cards.
My district manager was a tyrant and made my life unbearable.
Of course all of this while working ridiculous hours for meager pay.
Not to say that all of my experiences were bad, but the above was instrumental in leaving retail work behind.
BryanHelp
Well, I traded in my GBA SP and some games for the DS Lite way back when... I had to pay like 10 bux after all that for it. But when I got home and checked my list of credited games, he didn't credit me my Super Mario 3 cartridge(he used it to see if my GBA worked). I let it slide, but come on, I wouldn't of had to pay at all for the DS Lite especially since Mario 3 is such a kick arse game too and they got it for free when i would of got 10 bux credit I bet...
And another time when I tried to buy FF5 and FF6 gba, they tried to sell me the display ones as new... that was BS, so I said forget it and bought them some place else SEALED(like it should be).
I only do gamestop if it's a last resort...
bigevilworldwide
I love when people make crap up about gamestop like the douche and his they only offered 5 bucks for the ps3 version of fallout 3, or the ones that wonder why their sports games or anything that comes out every year without fail why they only get 25 cents for it. Here is an idea stop buying the crap every damn year god no wonder why every gamestop employee thinks the people that shop there are stupid morons. Its nice too that everyone tries to bring in their broken crap and say that it works knowing that it doesnt and tries to act shocked about it not working
izilladotcom
for everyone that complains about the trade ins at gamestop, let me share with you some knowledge. Gamecrazy advertised their trade in policy as the highest trade in amounts guaranteed. they would buy back games for $35-40 and sell them for $55. Gamecrazy is no longer in business. in order to sustain a company that is constantly handing out money in order to stock their used inventory, you need to have larger profit margins. why? just because you trade in a stupid copy of Enemy Territory Quake Wars, DOESN'T mean it will ever sell. as stated by a couple earlier posts, some games sell themselves, but most do not. Thus, Gamestop accepts the risk of buying your crappy games that may never sell at all. I know it sucks to get $25 for a game you just bought, but unfortunately, if they gave any more, there may not be a mainstream (and local) place to trade in at all.
and if you guys are complaining about the opened copies, its done to prevent theft. people steal. if you want to ENSURE you have a sealed copy, pre-order it. if you know you're going to pick it up, it can't hurt. that and you usually get some free stuff just for buying into their system.
TromboneFanatic
I've had both positive and negative experiences at Gamestop like everyone else. Some of the nicest employees at retail games were at a Gamestop, but also some of the rudest. But that's like everything: some places are great, others not so much. I don't condemn an entire chain for the actions of some; I just don't patronize the bad ones.
That being said, there is something I can't stand about both Gamestop or anyplace else that has this policy on used games: I will not buy a used game without both the manual and the box. I'm one of those people who reads the manual and enjoys displaying the box art on his game shelf. Any store that sells a game without a manual and the box for the same price as a game WITH the manual and box should be ashamed of itself. To me, the box and manual are an integral part of the game. I have not enjoyed my games as much without them. Generally, that's why I check with a place like Buybacks first when I want a used game because they guarantee I'll get the ENTIRE game with my used purchase.
But this is a personal preference; I harbor no ill feelings to the Gamestop chain; I simply choose to vote with my consumer dollar against a place that charges the same price for a game disk as it does for an entire game package.
thesilentmole
I actually was pretty good friends with my local game stop guys before I moved. They were actually sad that I was moving (or nice enough to fake sadness). One guy that worked there would actually hold rare games and give me a call personally to let me know we had them, and whether I wanted him to hold them for me. I almost got Electroplankton. Almost.
c2darizzle
My absolute worst experience with Gamestop had to come with the launch of the Xbox 360. I pre-ordered one from GS with a 100 DOLLAR DEPOSIT!! because i was under the impression that if i reserved one at GS and gave them 100 dollars of my money to hold onto for almost half a year, them i would be guaranteed one at launch. Well turns out that GS had a waiting list they never told me about, and when I went to claim my 360 I was literally laughed at by the employees it infuriated me, not only did they lie to me but they also had to laugh at my face as well. I felt betrayed and had nothing but ire towards GS. A month went by then 2 as i continued to be laughed at week after week when I would ask if they got any 360's in. Finally in mid- January they finally had one in stalk for me (mind you it was at the point when you could finally just pick one up at Best Buy without any real hassle) about 6 weeks later the damn thing red rings on me. Game Stop wont take it back and I was stuck sending it to Microsoft and being a whole other month without a 360. Thanks a lot Game Stop I will NEVER give you the time of day again, your scum.
chantler
I have been reading a lot of negative gamestop stories so I have decided to tell a positive one. Mind you, not that I don't have a few negative stories of GS of my own.
I pre-ordered my copy of Halo 2 from GS and went to their midnight release party. It was great. GS had a DJ and everyone there were really into games and we sat around all night talking about Halo and other games. Even the local new guys came out and covered our event. It was a lot of fun.
Sadly, I don't really go to GS any more. All the other stores have caught up with the game market so there is no point. When Halo 3 came out instead of pre-ordering it and waiting in line I just dropped down to the Walmart and grab one from a big box they had that was full of Halo 3's. Games don't know where they came from and it's the same game no matter where you bought it. Some times I'll go in and pre-order a game just for the little extra they'll have for the game and talk games with the employees. Most of the time I out nerd them and I know way more then they do about games.
P.S. never sell or trade in your games to GS. The few dollars are never worth it and there well come a time you'll want to play it again.
garen66
I have nothing really against gamestop, though, I have had some success with them, When I finally found The World Ends With You, they had it for $20 new, well all they had was open box, so the guy at the counter sold it to me with my edge discount, so It was around $17 dollars. I was just happy to get it.
cryfordawn
I like how all the gamestops in my area GUT PC Games and leave the box and reg code inthe box so anyone with a phone can take a pic of your reg code. I NEVER buy PC games from gamestop. Once the seal is broken you can forget about you being the only person who has seen your reg code..
FU GAMEFLOP
SuperMarioG4
Wow, there's a lotta crappy Gamestops out there! I think my Gamestop is the only one with some decent people. Except for a certain girl that was hired becuz the manager is a girl and she didnt want to have all dude employees. But DUDE WHY?!?! "what's the difference between Super paper Mario and Super mario Galaxy" asks a customer. Her response..."One's made of paper and the other one isn't." AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! So many Kamehamehas, needed to be launched, at her face!
munstersgorilla
I pre-purchased a copy of LEGO Batman for the PS3 at the Everett Mall Gamestop. The day it came out I went to pick it up and was given a OPENED copy of the game and told this was normal that they only got a few and I happened to get the last copy and the box was placed on the shelf. I have not purchased another game from Gamestop again. As far as I concerned if a box is opened and not sealed it is USED. At one time I knew an employee that worked at the Adlerwood mall Gamestop and I was told it was normal practice for employees to take games home to play them and then later would sell them AS NEW and not used. They have lost my business and I will never purchased a game from them again.
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