Convoy

I stopped by today to return a copy of Mr. Driller for the DS (I picked up a copy last week when it looked like Gamestop.com wasn't going to come through). The game was still sealed, but the sales clerk opened the game when I handed it to her.

Has this happened to anyone else? It makes me think twice about buying a new game from them.

Josh H

Maybe that copy was the only they had, and they wanted to put the empty box on the shelf and the game in the lock box?

Convoy

She didn't even open it all the way. She just opened half of the shrink wrap, peeked in, then put it down on the counter.

I assumed she was checking to see if the game was actually in there. It struck me as odd.

Toilet Remnant

Well I personally know of similar examples at places like Electronics Boutique. Most of their games are not shrink wrapped at all. I know a few people who worked there and when the game shipments came in, they would open the games, allow the employees to take them home and copy them for their own use, then bring the games back in to be sold to the customer.

outer-edge

I've never seen this, but re-shrinking a gameboy/DS game would not be hard. The shrinkwrap used is very common and I've known people with old machines from places they work. So, maybe this store has a history of this being a problem?

sfsdfd

Yeah, virtually every software store has a shrink-wrapper machine in the back.

- David Stein

Gideon68

TRU opens games on occasion to make sure it's there

asianxcore

yea I bought Puzzle Fighter for GBA at a Babbages, and I thought it was new. When they gave me the box there wasn't in shrinkwrap which was weird.

nickdawgy

That is so wrong....

Centurion

Yeah, I'm always checking the seals on the games I buy.

I don't know what the DS shrink-wrap looks like but I know with XBOX I'm always looking for the glittering Xbox seal along the edge of the case (the edge that opens) and of course the plastic wrap as well. The plastic is actually not a "shrink-wrap" per se, but if you look carefully you'll see that it is similar to wrapping a gift; there are folds along the top and bottom and they seem to be glued together.

TeeJay13

^ celaphane(sp?)....wow, I was just thinking about that, and I have NO clue how to spell that word lol.

DeanoBKN

And such bullshit as well.

"they would open the games, allow the employees to take them home and copy them for their own use, then bring the games back in to be sold to the customer."

LOL, does this really sound like the store policy of a multi million dollar coporation, or some mom and pop software store?

Yes, we did have a employee loan out list 2 years ago, but that was taken away for obvious reasons. We will open a new game to use it as a display on the wall, not for personal use.

Convoy

There's no seal like you find on PS2/XBox games. It's just cellophane.

I was shocked that the person just opened it up and asked for my credit card so my account could be credited. Didn't even ask if I wanted to exchange it or anything.

I've shopped at EB/Gamestop for years, and I have made friends with a few managers. I've *never* had someone open up a game like that.

Toilet Remnant

Well of course it's not the company's policy. But it happens on a regular basis. Believe me, I know many people who have worked there and they do it regularly. I know it really sucks. It doesn't bother me too much though because I buy most of my games used anyway to save on cash

KingSmoth

I've seen it happen plenty of times, and I know for a fact that the game-lending goes on as well.

Li

I work at EB and I know I wouldn't have opened it if the game was still sealed.

Most people wouldn't be smart enough or resourceful enough to reseal a game like new...

Though I really haven't sold any DS games yet so I couldn't tell you what the packaging is like...

Convoy

I've seen it happen. I know Gamestop/EB workers who have taken home the opened display copy to "test out," so they're better informed. This includes managers.

I'd never buy an opened game for that reason.

Not A N00b

I worked for gamestop up until about a month ago and they let employees check out games and DVD's for up to 4 days whenever and however often they want.

Centurion

Maybe this kind of behavior doesn't happen at your branch, but if you think this doesn't occur at other Gamestops...you, my friend, are in denial.

outer-edge

I believe Dean is refering to EB. GameStop still allows it I believe. I know my local store allowed it at one point and maybe still does. I know the manager there and he is very strict with his employees about the policy (the slightest blemish and the employee now owns it). I don't worry about it though since I rarely buy games there, but I can understand why people are unsettled about it. Surprisingly though, some employees never use the policy, while I am sure some locations abuse it.

The standard shrink wrap comes on most GBA games and some Microsoft Studios titles, so those I could see a store being curious about those returns. Most GC, PS2 and Xbox games though have the thicker cellophane wrapping (like DVDs) that is machine sealed I believe, not shrink wrapped. So there is no reason a store needs to checks those.

illennium

1. Was EB not a multi-million-dollar corporation two years ago when they had the loan-out list? If it was, then what is your point?

2. EB almost exclusively hires pimply 15-year-olds and older live-at-home nerds at the retail level, so whatever professionalism exists at the corporate level just doesn't really trickle down very much. For example, at one of my local EBs, the employees stand around in a pack and laugh in the face of moms who buy bad games.

Centurion

15 year old pimps? J/K

Anyway, I know what you mean. I've seen it happen too.
The snickering and laughing shows their ignorance.
Whether or not a game sucks or is great is purely subjective anyway.