That's the main reason I don't bother with EB/Gamestop anymore. Like I asked the dude on my way out the door on my final visit: suppose i'm buying the game as a gift for someone, i'm going to give them an open fucking game? "Oh yeah bro, it came like that at the store, I didn't play it already or anything :o". I don't think so.

Hmmm, i have to disagree with you... in general, yes, trade in games at GS sucks big times. However, with the extra 30% promotion (and the 10% from Edge card), you can get pretty sweet trade in values. I don't use eBay and forums because of opportunity cost, i.e. a trip to GS and done with my transaction in 30 mins is a better than a week long transaction with potential headache...

Like Darkside said, the B2G1 free deal is pretty sweet, most used games are in pretty new condition (case, manual etc...), so it's a potential bargain bin for most cheap ass gamers.

My local GS is pretty cool, i don't have the "pre-order" problem, they never ask me and even if they did, i just simply say no....

The only problem i had with the local GS is the GS exclusive game items, like the Castlevania DS game extras. I had a *ucking hard time getting that exclusive. Well, it's not really the store's fault though, b/c it didn't get any exclusive version of that game (well, i kinda believe them, they are pretty polite and all).

And yes, i also think selling a resealed game as new sucks big times (at the same price of the new one of course). However, i never encounter this problem in person so i'm not even sure my local GS does this...

Sorry to hear Supermallet's problem, but i guess that 's life...

Overall, i support my local GS, i just signed up for the Edge card (game informer is not that particularily great, biased toward the Wii IMO), but with 10% used game prices, hey, that's pretty good. It's like getting the mags for free... I only pre-order GS exclusive games. By that i mean games that actually have extra stuffs, not just some stupid cover. I'll pre-order NG Sigma and Stronghold (Hard boiled BR movie included, which might be the only way you can get the BR movie, b/c the studio supports HD DVD).

I never give the GS employees any hard times, b/c they are people just like you and me. The whole pre-order thing is really blown out of propotion. If GS don't let you buy a copy b/c you didn't pre-order one on the launch day, then you know it's their lost, there's no need to get nasty.

Everyone always brings this up. How much do you have to trade in or buy to get your $15 back that the card cost? Only after that are you actually making/saving money. That means you are roped into going into those places just to break even and get your $15 back.

$150 bucks before things are in your favor. Doesn't sound like much of a 'bonus' to me.

You do get the subscription to Game Informer on top, which isn't too bad of a magazine (much better than EGM).

I tend to try to buy most stuff used, so that I can get into the clear on my $15 card/magazine purchase. I also don't like paying next-gen prices, so I'll wait a week and get the used one for the $50 that we're all used to paying, or better yet, wait for the B2G1 sales and get 3 games for $100, which is definately a good deal.

Plus they won't even take it back as new, which says it all.

Hell, I remember back in the early days when we'd buy the last copy of a game. Not only did it come opened, but the instruction booklet wasn't even the actual booklet. It was a black and white copy!

But if the incentive system primarily rewards pre-sales and subscriptions, and the penalty system focuses on those two numbers, then it's rational for the individual manager to blow off a substantial amount of walk-in business for a marginal improvement to the pre-order numbers.

Damn, which location was this? I was at the one on CUlebra and 410 and this dude was annoying the whole fucking store. If we wasnt pushing shit he was hanging around next to the customer talking about the dvds/games. He bothered the hell out of one guy who just gave us this weird ass look cause the dude wouldnt shut up! We were there for about 5 mins.

There are four in this area that I have visited, and the one at 1604 and 281 (by Kohls... it used to the EB Games) is the better of the bunch. They don't seem to bother anyone that much. They seem to be cool towards me and when I say No they no I mean "No!" But I think this might be the one that darkside is talking about. I've bumped into him twice there myself. (Man there are alot of us in SA. ;))

The guys at the one just a little bit south of there (off 281 by the Chilis/Office Max/Michaels shopping area) are a little pushy, but I don't go there often enough,

The other two are at Northstar (410 and San Pedro, by BB and CC) and the one at the Quarry. Those two I frequent about once every three months, and that's only when I'm in the area.

I went in EB today to check out the B2G1 sale. Spent about 30 minutes picking stuff out.

Get to the counter and turns out I had a new copy of Condemned instead of used. No biggie, swap 'em out. Oh wait, the used copy is $5 more than the new copy. :lol: They wouldn't work with me on that one so I left 'em all on the counter. I mean what kinda retarded BS is that where the used copy is more than the new copy*?

*by new I mean opened. -ohbfrank- So technically it was used but couldn't get it as part of the "used" sale. What a joke of a store.

The new one is cheaper than the used one because it is currently on sale. It is not always cheaper than the used one.

I had my biggest issues at this store and the one at 1604 and Blanco. Most of the guys are still okay at the old EB store on 1604 across from Best Buy, but they have added a couple of jerks there as well. The one guy would bring in his own laptop from home and bug you to watch the game trailers so you would preorder. I really wanted to bring in a coffee to spill on that laptop.

From what I have heard though he started out as a customer that showed up every single day to hang out for hours and talk games and they finally just hired the guy. He was apparently bringing that laptop even before he worked there.

I thought Pixy lived in Plano? ;)

Right. I get that, which is fine. It all comes down to the "gutting" policy. So it boils down to:

Open copy ~new~ : $20 (not part of B2G1)
Open copy ~used~ : $25

Fact is that this copy and multiple others labeled as *New* that are all open, looked as bad as if not worse than the used crap. There were dozens of stickers that had been stuck and peeled and restuck and repeeled and restuck again all over the actual case since there was no factory plastic on it. That in and of itself doesn't bother me, IF IT IS USED, I have spare cases. It is the fact that this is labeled as *New* and treated as such.

I didn't have the patience to argue with them. I just left them on the counter.

Thinking back at that 25%-%50% off bin, most were open. What a fucking retarded company.

Once the factory seal is broken it is used. Period. How hard of a concept is that to grasp?

I spent way more than $150 a year on games, so yes, it comes out to be a bonus. And like Shagrath pointed out, for the $15 spent on the card, you're getting one year of Game Informer subscription. Also, the card is handy if you're trading in games... Again, in general, trade in games at GS sucks, but not too bad when there are promotions.

Of course, for me, it's all about the times/headaches you need to spend on completing the trades. eBay is perferred, but the fees suck balls big time, not to mention shipping fees jacked up too. On top of that, you gotta worry about NPBs and in rare cases, *ucked up buyers. Trade forums are out of my league, since the system depends on senority of membership (which is a BS in my book, by that i meant, it makes sense on paper, but hell, you can easily get screwed, it's less reliable that eBay IMO).

It isn't here. It's based on how many trades you've done, not forum seniority. It works rather well here.

I'm not defending that practice, but by now, don't you know that they do that? I mean, it's not a surprise anymore, is it?

...And today was my last day. Pretty uneventful. We watched Hellboy and Star Trek II-III. I start the new job on Monday.

They're not done based on seniority, but rather how many trades you've completed. If you are worried about getting screwed, only trade with people with high feedback. Between Tradegamesnow, Gametz, and the forums here, at Anandtech, and CAG, I've done close to 50 trades and have never been screwed at all.

Not a surprise, but still sucks and more than enough to keep me from remotely considering every buying a new game there.

Congrats! And good luck on the new job!

Right, I'd much rather buy a game I know has never been openned at Best Buy or Wal-Mart... considering I can buy it there on day one without a freakin' pre-sale.

I just called GameStop to see if they got in Overlord for 360 today. They informed me that they did, but wouldn't hold one for me, since I hadn't pre-ordered it. I kindly informed him that I'd buy it at Best Buy instead. I called another GS and they said they'd hold one for me, but I might just wait for Best Buy to get it (later today) on principle.

Usually the only time I'll buy from Gs/EB is used games, since that's really the only place around town that has a good stock of stuff, and with the B2G1 and Edge discounts, it makes them tolerable.

Overlord came out today too? Dammit. Overlord or Darkness - who should I choose....

The reviews I read said The Darkness was only about a ~10 hour game, and the multiplayer was pretty meh. Overlord looks like it has great humor, and is a game my wife is interested in as well, so the decision was easy for me.

I've got The Darkness on my GamezNFlix queue, but it could be years before I actually receive it.

I wanted both as well, but Overlord seems to be a low key/niche title that will drop in price a lot sooner than the Darkness, IMO.