Josh H

I avoid EB's, Gamestops, Babbages, etc. like the plague.

They always do stuff like that, and I can't stand the morons that work there, and the same annoying geeks that seem to be hanging out in the store everytime I'm in there.

I just get my games from Best Buy, Wal-mart, Target etc. and only visit the game stores as a last resort.

Deftones

and EB doesn't over charge for games? They always charge full MSRP for a game here in AZ. Every mom and pop store in AZ usually charges $5 to $10 under that. And on used games, don't even get me started. What's the point of buying a used game from them when it's only $5 less than the new one. At a minimum, used games are about 1/2 the price of the new one at the stores I frequent.

chanster

Price matching policies suck. Why don't stores admit they are not "policies" - but rather arbitrary discounts given to the most zealous customers.

A policy is enforced 100% of the time - no shoes, no service. Price matching is a bunch of bullshat - and the stores that have the best written "policies" - Circuit City, Best Buy, EB, do not enforce it when they are forced to make a smaller profit.

s}{ammer

Deftones, which mom and pop stores do you visit? I live in mesa and work in phoenix so I might throw some business their way. Any of them have Vice City for $40? I can't wait for amazon so I was going to take a trip to Fry's here in a bit.

ChefWinduAZ

Why not just go to Best Buy? Or go to Circuit City where they are supposedly selling it for $39.99.

Wutang9

No offense, but some of the pricematching stuff gets out of hand. I realize there are some special circumstances when you need to buy something at a specific store, but it seems like a lot of people would save a lot of aggravation to themselves if they just went and bought the item at the store that had it cheaper to begin with instead of going through all of the hassle. After all this, you could of had the game days earlier and saved a lot of time, aggravation and energy.

jeffdsmith

Point noted.

But you are also allowing a company to take advantage of consumers. Saving your self the pain would be great, but for some their is the principal in the matter.

Ginsu

EB did this with Diablo 2 for the pc back when it was released as well. I have actually had them tell me that certain stores were "Not Competitors" so they could try to weasel out of the price match. Even though those stores had them brand new and in stock.

The only reason I would care is that I may have a Gift card that I need to use or they may be much closer at the time. Also they used to get things in earlier than non speciallty stores. It seems like a lot of these companies brag about their wonderful policies but act like you are a crook when you try to price match.

I used to shop at EB exculsively and tell my friends to do the same but anymore they seem to be the worst retailer of all.
$45 for a used game that they paid $12 for is a total racket. Best Buy's NEW games are all $45 with their coupons!

My M&P stores usually only sell for a buck or two below retail but at least they dont post phony policies.

I used to be EB's number one fan, but now I only go there if I have no choice.

Boycott EB. Support the little guys.

tha_dvd_man

I don't know what kind of mom and pop gaming stores you have around you, but I've never seen a mom and pop store sell a game for less than a place like EB or Gamestop. If anything, they usually sell games for over the msrp. The one back in my home town (which closed several years ago) would usually sell new games for $55, and the local one here sells all console games for $50, no matter how old (not to mention they have about 6 Xbox games and 5 GC games), and sell some slightly old PC games for at least $20 more than they cost at a regular store.

That's the only experience I've ever had with "mom and pop" game stores. Their prices suck, and the selections are generally bad. So I don't bother with them. I can't afford to "stick it to the big companies and help out the little guys".

Anjanettea

Hi All,

The EB (NYC) wouldn't price match either. One of the cashiers stated that EB only does it around holiday time. Boyfriend picked up his copy any way.

Anj

Aghama

matrixrok9

The fuss is that I got the game yesterday at EB on the 29th, which i pre ordered. Best Buy stated on their ad that they will get it on the 30th, which is today. From reading impressions about VC, I learned that some Best Buys were selling it early. This is when I called them, which was about 6 hours after I've gotten mine at EB. So the fuss is about the manager who told me earlier yesterday that they'd price match it if Best Buy had it in stock and told me to come back today and that he totally lied about it..

matrixrok9

I just called the district manager a minute ago, it was an answering machine. The message said I should get a call within an 24 hours. We'll see what they have to say about this.

ClarkKentKY

Rock on.

jlm71176

I ran into the same problem Tuesday morning. I was there picking up my own copy and asked about price matching for a friend who could really use an extra $10 right now. What bothered me most wasn't being told no, I can live with that, it was the attitude I got. Now, I'm sure that the lady there was probably getting bombarded with the same question since people started seeing the Best Buy ad, but at least save the attitude until I start giving you one. Then she asked if I still wanted to buy it in a really obnoxious way.

Another thing that annoyed me was her reason. She said it was because Best Buy was selling it below cost. I really don't see how that factors into it. Policy is policy. Plus, where are they getting info on how much Best Buy is paying per copy? If she had said it was because Best Buy didn't have it in stock, or because the ad said "available October 30th" I wouldn't have even blinked. I just thought it was a really patronizing excuse.

It doesn't really effect me though. I rarely ever buy anything at a mall game store. The only reason I did this time was because I wanted to trade in Madden '03. I don't see the use in boycotting a store I hardly spend a dime in over one employee having a bad day who is usually very nice and pleasant when I'm in there browsing.

Ralph Wiggum

Deftones - I'm also curious what M&P stores are good in the valley. I'd love to find a place with reasonable prices on used games.

Keyser Soze

So if that was the case, why not just buy a 2nd copy from Best Buy for 39.99, and then take it back sealed to EB and get your 49.99 refunded to you?

That way you still got the game a day early to play, and only paid 39.99

Who really cares about managers lying, etc... as long as you get the game for 39.99

-k
###

Keyser Soze

Opps, my bad.



-k
###

matrixrok9

I never thought of it that way Keyser, but good point!

Deftones

anyone from AZ who wants to know where you can find good prices on new/used games, email me personally @ [email protected] I don't want to hijack the thread.

jeffdsmith

There are lots of obvious ways to get the game for 39.99. I still think confronting EB on their "policy" is the best way. If consumers allow themselves to be lied to, it will only get worse down the road.

fujishig

How much is wholesale for videogames anyway?

I have a hard time believing that they only mark up a 50 dollar game by 10 bucks. I mean, there are so many games that they don't sell, and that have to be discounted. Also, when a game becomes a greatest hit, I doubt Sony refunds them money. So when they can only sell Gran Turismo 3 for 20 bucks, they lose 20 dollars every time?

It is true that Best Buy and Circuit City have what are called loss leaders. Pretty much they just take the loss on certain advertised items in order to get people in the store. But I doubt they ever dip below wholesale cost... they just sacrifice profit. Sometimes they mark it down to wholesale, counting on the peripheral sales.

Now Best Buy might have a cheaper wholesale price than a mall store, but still...

johnglad

fujishig - As a person with a business and wholesale license (who deals in games and dvds) I can tell you that brand new, just released games do cost between $37-$42 PER COPY for the retail stores. When a game goes Greatest Hits or has a price drop, in most instance the retail stores are fully rebated for copies they have in stock. Best Buy isn't making a penny off of these Vice City sales, but they are getting LOTS of people into the store and taking business away from competitors. Game consoles by the way are ALWAYS sold basically at cost (that is why you never see any sales). A ps2 for instance is about $185 wholesale and $199.99 in the store. Once you count credit card fees, etc. they are making nothing off of it. Just some information from one who "knows the ropes".

fujishig

Wow, I thought software was where you guys made the profit back from hardware sales...

So when Bestbuy sells a GBA game for 22-25 bucks, they're making nothing? So for every game that you don't sell, that gets clearanced, you need to sell 4 games just to break even? Wow...

Do you happen to know if the big chains get things cheaper because they buy in bulk? Otherwise isn't TRU and Amazon losing their pants when they have the buy 2 get 1 free deal on PS2 games?

tenaciousdave

Ok guys here's the story. Best Buy broke an agreement with Rockstar for selling the game at $39.99. It was supposed to be $49.99 everywhere. Rockstar cancelled Best Buy's second shipment because of it and gave it to Gamestop. If you want to put the fear of God into a company, tell them they won't get any more copies of the biggest game of the year. I wouldn't price match either if it was my company.