MasterofDVD

I wish my local stores were the dream locations of the chains but I guess it's just not meant to be.

- For the most part the preorder pushing is annoying but I rarely buy anything at all in the stores so it's rare I have to interact with the people there.

- The used games prices don't bother me because I don't buy anything used. Sure the trade-in values suck but so does using eBay once in a blue moon.

- The shit that really gets under my skin is the selling open games as new. The first time it happened to me it was with the Links game for the XBOX. I was a bit thrown off when they opened the drawer and pulled out a game in a paper sleeve.....but the game was only 20.00 new so I wasn't going to cause a scene. When it happened again some time later with a 50.00 game I lost control of my temper a bit. Since I knew it had to be a corporate thing I went easy on the clerk but eventually got in touch with a district manager.

As for the other chains I really don't expect much from stores that don't specialize in games. I can't stand Best Buy because I get hounded by 6 different people while I'm shopping. I'm not bothered at all when I go to Wal-Mart. Most of the time it takes freaking forever to track someone down to get a game out of the case. The Media Play that went under around me was like shopping for games at a flea market in a third world country. The selection sucked, the price sucked harder and you could find 4 copies of a games and on each would be a different price.

No chain store is perfect but EB and Gamestop seem almost determined to agitate customers and drive them away over time. I'm sure they have competent employees at some locations but their business practices surely have to scare away a number of the good people they are lucky enough to hire now and then.

DVDKrayzie

this happened to me as well the last time i tried to preorder a game from them, and i haven't done it since. That and you can usually get the game for $10 cheaper at fry's/best buy is why people don't preorder, to answer discostu1337's question about why we bitch about it, it's actually more of a hassle to preorder sometimes. And you have to tell them no like 10 times before they finally shut the f up.

UAIOE

Why did you bring this up if you aren't going to elaborate on this story?

Details man, details!

msdmoney

A lot of people at CAG make money on trading in games. With Gamerush you can often purchase games for less than the trade in price, which is made even sweeter with the trade 3 get $5 extra per game type deals. Also if you are trading in some crappy games, often they don't get very good value on ebay or just won't sell on trading forums.

Ralph Wiggum

Those aren't dedicated videogame retailers. Anyway, their prices are always better, and the customer service is no worse, in my experience, than EB/Gamestop.

Or get an actual new copy somewhere else for about the same price. I'd much rather give my money to the game publishers than EB, whose used game policy is shady at best. The fact that I have to get a discount card to get the real price is laughable - at least grocery stores make them free.

Why should I subject myself to punishment because a videogame store can't make money just selling its product like a normal retail outlet? You have to realize that people deal with pissy clerks everywhere they shop, so cut us some slack, too.

Why pay full retail - guaranteed - when I can save at least $5 at Best Buy and perhaps even more if Fry's has a sale? Also, I'd say that having to make two trips to EB in order to pre-order and pick-up my game qualifies as more hassle than my usual one trip to purchase somewhere else, or no trips if I purchase it online.

scoot0903

About a month ago I stopped at Gamestop and purchased a $20.00 NEW game. When the clerk pulled it out of a drawer in an envelope I questioned why I was paying a new price for an opened game. He said it was new and that it was their last copy of the game. Then said it was opened so they could display the case. Being it was only $20.00 I didn't complain, but I had paid full price for an opened game.

The clerk also talked me into purchasing the Gamestop discount card and told me that I would not only get 10% on used games but that I would get an additional 10% on trade ins and it would be good at both Gamestop and EBGames. The thing that sold me there was the subsciption to the magazine, which I have seen and liked so I decided to subscribe.

So, this past weekend I made a visit to EB Games where I was told I could use my gamestop discount card on used games. I found what I was looking for, took my item to the counter, and handed the IDIOT my item and card. He looks at me like I was trying to scam them or something and says the computer won't read your gamestop card and hands it back to me. I then handed the IDIOT back my card and said I paid for my discount and I know it can be used here!!! I then demanded he find out how to apply my discount. Needless to say, I got the discount but I shouldn't have to argue for it when I had a card in my hand with the purchase date clearly shown on the yellow sticker on the back.

At least I still get the magazines I paid for because I won't be back to either Gamestop or EB Games! A company that basically sells opened games as new and then makes you feel like you're trying to pull something when you are just trying to get what you paid for will no longer get my business.

For all the employees of these two companies, you have to know these policies are BOGUS and to defend them and blame the consumer...COME ON!! At least WalMart and Best Buy sells SEALED NEW COPIES of video games, so to compare Gamestop or EB with either of these is ridiculous.

Breakfast with Girls

The only time I ever set foot in one of these stores is when there's some kind of crazy deal on a new game I'm interested in.

I traded in my original GBA for the GBA SP because they had an advertised special with a ridiculously high trade-in value for original GBAs. This was when the SP originally came out.

Oh, and I bought Mega Man Anniversary Collection from the local EB Games. They were the only one with it in stock anywhere and it was quite a bit cheaper than other stores, including Amazon. The store I went to apparently normally sells sealed games except for their display copies, which is what I ended up with since it was the last one. Given the circumstances I was okay with that, but the case was completely messed up because of all the stickers and crap.

Any time a clerk (at any store) starts in about insurance/warranty/whatever and I'm not interested and the clerk continues to talk, the conversation basically goes like this:

Employee: Would you like to buy the additional warranty?
Me: No thanks.
Employee: Are you sure? It's only $$ and
Me:
Employee:
Me:
Employee: Er... so do you want the payment plan?
Me:
Employee: Okay...

Sekots

Last year when Tiger Woods came out for the PS2 I got a call from my local EB saying that my pre order was in. I was like I never pre ordered anything, especially not golf. He says that if I want the game it's here to pick up. So I go to the store and pick it up and they have all my information in the computer, the wierd thing was that I never pre ordered anything from there before so I don't know how they got my info. I've bought games from time to time but never pre ordered one. To this day I still have no idea how that happened.

Gizmo

Ugh. So you call the employee an IDIOT because the guy who sold you the GS card told YOU the wrong information?

All these posts simply echo what goes on at CAG on a daily basis. Someone always whining about about 'opened' new games, yet they continue to go back and purchase more things. If you don't like it...why shop there?

Michael Ballack

EB Games by my house sells games that are already opened, but I don't have that problem with Game Stop. If I see someone going in a drawer for a disk, I'll tell them that that I want an un opened one or none at all. Half the fun is opening up the package like it's a Christmas Present. I never buy used.

scoot0903

Ugh, first of all I was quoted the correct information from the guy because that is their policy and it has been verified! You shouldn't be treated like you are trying to rip them off just because you want what you paid for (Discount Card).

Second of all, if you read my post you will see that I am not shopping there anymore!!!! These were my first transactions with them, and they are obviously my last. I am not whining, just venting to others who deal with this same crap!

Jeremy517

Even with the trade-in bonuses, most of them are not getting maximum value.

Qui Gon Jim

Having been a MANAGER in retail, there's always someone higher than you on the food chain.

scoot0903

Having worked in retail myself, I can tell you've obviously never worked in Customer Service!

Last time I checked, I have every right to demand something I paid for, you are really missing the point. I was looked at like I was trying to rip them off, which I didn't appreciate and all I got from the clerk was a very odd look and DUH, your card don't work. So yes, after a few minutes I was getting upset that I was being told I couldn't have the discount I paid for. I am not going to just stand there and say, OK Thanks and pay full price.

Because neither of these stores have any form of Customer Service, it sounds like you'd make a great employee!

Decker

Well, this is taken from this old thread I started over a year ago. Ah, the memories.

Worst Shopping Expierence Of My Life At Gamestop --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK, guess I need to vent. I went into a local Gamestop with my 3-year old daughter to exchange 3 DVDs that I have since (or soon will) upgrade to anamorphic SE versions. I wanted to get in on the Incredibles offer before it expired (Tues). All the DVDs I had were unopened (I have A LOT of unopened DVDs). So I ask the only guy working there about the deal, he says fine. Then when I show him the DVDs, he says "We can't take unopened DVDs". I say fine, I'll open them now for you. He insists that even if I go outside open them and bring them in, I can't exchange them. I ask him why. "Corporate policy" he says. I say to him, he must be wrong. I understand they want the discs inspected and can't accept unopened merchandise, but that I can't open them and exchange them makes no sense. "That's corporate policy" he says again. I ask for a manager. He says he is the manager(!) I read the ad, it has no such exclusion. I ask him to show me where this rule is written (I had driven almost 10 miles to go here). He tells me "Shut Up!". This is IN FRONT of my little girl. I explode and tell him to "F" off. I've never used that word in front of my little girl before and hope to never again, but that was so uncalled for. He tells me to "Get out" which I happily do. My daughter asks why he's acting like that, to which I tell her he's a very mean man and sick in the head.
I'm so furious now. I have the number of the regional director and have left her a message. I tell you what, I don't think I'll stop pressing this one til this guy is fired. I don't think I'm at all out of line, am I? Anyone else with a similar experience at a Gamestop?

What makes it worse is that I NEVER got to speak to the regional manager. I only got her voice mail and she never called back. For all I know this dickwad still works there -- I'm not sure because I've never been back.

gr8fuldave

I think a shopper's experience varies from store to store when it comes to EB/Gamestop. The Gamestop I go to has a very knowledgeable staff, they don't push pre-orders, and if they go to sell you a game that is new but in a sleeve behind the counter, they tell you it's the last copy and is not shrinkwrapped. The manager for this particular store is a great guy and I play online with him quite a lot over XBL. There are some EBGames and Gamestops that I will not go to here unless they've got something rare that I've been looking for.

Michael Corvin

From the looks of this thread this doesn't seem all that great of an achievement compared to what you are up against.

I thought the discount card gave 10%? Meaning I'd have to spend $150 on overpriced USED games just to break even. No thanks.

That is the job in any retail situation. You adapt to it and deal. You are there to provide a service the customer wants not a service you want to provide them. They are there for X game, not Y(subscriptions, reservations or even used game). You provide X then you can offer the others. If you can't do that then you(not personally) have no right to belittle customers for not taking your Y bs.

One - I've never had a problem walking into ANY store on a game release day and finding a the game I wanted. EVER. 30 years of gaming. If it isn't there then it is next door at Wal-Mart or across the street at Target(etc). Two - Why should EB/GS have my money collecting interest on a product I don't own (and given the results of this thread still have a high percentage of not owning on release day)? Three - Multiple trips to pre-order and pick up game? is that about?

Outlaw

I'd have to agree that shopper experience will vary from store to store, but seems to be a general trend that the majority of these "video game specialty stores" are among the worst to shop for games at in terms of service and selection.

Case in point, I happened to check out an EB at the mall a few weeks ago. The store employee was sitting ON THE FUCKING used game display rack and playing a DS Lite, when I asked him if I could ask him a question, he didn't even look at me and said ".....what??"

Case in point 2: I was trying to find Mario Kart DS for my friend last month at a Gamestop because Best Buy didn't have it. This is mario kart for gods sake, a first party nintendo game thats sold tons and is one of the most popular DS games. They didn't even have it, new or used. Ok, I'll buy that they're sold out. I asked him to check other gamestops. Turns out no gamestops (total of 7) in this area have the game, new or used, months after its been sold out. I'd expect more from a store that specializes in games.

Now for their credit, the gamestop i mentioned above does have some pretty nice people working there, they don't hound you at all, but I don't have time to make multiple trips to reserve, then pick up a game, not to metnion the chances of them having some game I want, usually the more obscure titles which a store that specializes in games should most likely carry, is pretty slim in my experience. I guess when it comes down to it, there's no advantage to shopping there over another store like Target where I can games on release day and also get office supplies, juice, and home furniture in the same trip.

MovieExchange

Not reading all three pages of this, so maybe this has already been said.

How does EB/Gamestop stay in business? Because after the two companies merged, they became the largest seller of video games in the US. Hell, they're the ONLY chain that specializes in videogames that has locations all across the US. It's that recognition that keeps them in business. While many of us are educated shoppers, many more aren't, and they see a place like Gamestop or EB and they'll go in there. Hell, look at all the people that still go to places like FYE, or other locations that charge full MSRP for every item.

Oh, and the cries of "Oh noes, they only give you $20 for something and then turn around and sell it for $45!!!11!1!!oneoneone"... apparently you people know nothing about running a business. When you buy something for resale, you have to make money off of it. Not only do you have to make money off of it, you have to make a decent enough profit margin to help cover not only your store costs, but the money you spent on other things that are still sitting on your shelf.

As for why no one else has entered the market? Well, my local EB says they do yearly business in the MILLIONS of dollars. That's one location. Now tell me, where are you going to come up with the money to start a national chain that can take on a corporation with an established profit margin per store like that?

Yes, there are some bad stores out there with very ignorant employees. There's also some good stores with knowledgable employees. Do they push things? Yes, they do. That's their job, and many times they get performance evaluations based on how many of those items they sell. It comes with the job, and if you were working there you'd do the same thing to if it meant keeping your weekly paycheck.

xmiyux

After the 360 hunt i will probably pre-order my Wii at one of these crappy stores but multiple times pre-ordering games i have had issues with them selling my copy before 24 hours is up from receiving the call it was in-store, or them receiving it a few days after the big chains have the game (eg. getting it the monday after it came out and i had pre-ordered), or not having the pre-order extras (tshirt, faceplate etc.) for me after i had pre-ordered it. That really burned me on the first Jet Grind Radio that was supposed to come with a sampler CD so i was among the first 3 people to pre-order it. When the CD came in they handed it out to everyone who pre-ordered it a few days before the game was released and didn't save any for the first damn people. That really pissed me off.

PalmerJoss

I've also got a great Gamestop about 10 min from me in Tyngsboro. They truly are the best Gamestop I've been to - the employees are friendly, knowledgeable, and will not push you to reserve anything. Plus, I've never been asked by them about the performance plan on games.

That being said, I do have another Gamestop in a mall literally across the street from the one that I go to. In the mall is also an EBGames and guess what? They both suck. The EBGames employees have absolutely no clue when games are coming out. If you ask them, they tell you to look at a binder sitting on the counter so you can find out for yourself.

At the Gamestop in the mall I preordered GTA Vice City. I had put down $10 on it and I didn't pick it up the day and date. They called me the day before it came out to remind me but I was very busy and wasn't able to pick it up. I was on my way home from work and stopped at a Best Buy a couple days after it came out and I picked it up there instead. I then forgot that I had preordered it at the Gamestop until about a month later. I went in and asked if I could get my money back on the preorder. Now, you would have thought I had asked them to bring the dead back to life. I explained that I picked the game up somewhere else and that I just wanted my money back. The girl who was helping me was a fill-in manager as the store manager had left to go to another store. She told me that I couldn't have my money back because they send all deposit slips that aren't picked up back to corporate. She asked if I still had my slip, which I didn't. She told me that she would have to call corporate and find the slip so that they could find it and send it to the store, then when the store had it they could refund my money. So she proceeded to ask me what day I was in, what time, etc etc. I gave her my phone # so they could reach me and I was told I'd hear back in a week. A week goes by, nothing happens. I decide to call and see what's up but the manager isn't there, only the assistant and he has no clue what I'm going on about. I just say I'll call back and speak with the manager later. I then go to the mall with my family a few days later and decide to stop in. There was already a new store manager there and he had no clue what I was talking about when I told him the story. He looked around at the fill-in manager's notes for any info and found nothing. He apologized profusely and said he could try to call corporate again, but at this point I'm just unbelievably aggravated so I just say the hell with it and cut my losses.

Since then I refuse to preorder any games from that particular Gamestop, and even then it's rare when I preorder anything. There's just no need with all the stores near me. Example - the Gamestop I actually do shop at has been sold out of DS Lites pretty much since they came in and the WalMart about 5 minutes away has had them in stock every time I've visited.

Daryl

Nothing glamorous or exciting, just a situation that got out of hand for reasons I, to this day, do not fully understand. I was returning a recently bought PSX game to what was then Funcoland (now Gamestop), and I had to wait in line while some kids returned some games. When I tried to turn my game in (which had been played like 5 times maximum, but back then there weren't many options for selling used games) he starts holding it up to the light, then he walks around the counter to go to the front window and look at it in the sunlight, making a huge productiion out of it, rubbing it with his shirt, etc. Then he says he can't accept it because there were "major scratches". I honestly thought he was joking, because he had just accepted the games from the kids in front of me without even looking at them. I pointed that out, and he started getting angry/defensive and I quickly got angry/accusatory which led to him telling me to get the hell out of his store, which led to me (unnecessarily, i admit) making fun of him being a "35 year old man working at funcoland". At that point, he kind of threw the game at me/shoved it in my chest and I was knocked back out of surprise. I came this close to punching him in the face - I actually cocked my arm back - but then I just collected my stuff off the floor and walked out. The next day I returned the game to another Funco w/o a problem. I still don't understand why he made a big deal out of it, the game was 100% scratch-free.

Anyway, like I said, he still works there 10 years later - I don't think he remembers me because I avoided the place for a good 5 years after it happened.

Qui Gon Jim

I'd have had his job.

I was done with EB when the first N64 Zelda game came out. Pre-ordered, paid in full, went day after release and they didn't have my copy. I couldn't get through to the dipshit behind the counter why it is unacceptable to sell a product that is already sold.

Michael Corvin

You see, you know how to *take* the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anybody can just take them.

Rockmjd23

I would love to work there now if it meant screwing with customers such as yourself.