GameStop is Vile and Disgusting Part XXVII
#26
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Originally Posted by BravesMG
There's a B2G1 going on now?
A lot of the previously online-only copies of the Atlus reprints discussed in this thread are making their way to the brick and mortar Gamestops, so now is a great time to grab them if you are interested.
Edit: Not that I'm advocating Gamestop here, because I hate some of their shady practices as much as the rest of you, but roughly 33% of these Atlus games which are new without shrinkwrap is a steal, considering they were impossible to find under hoarder prices previously.
Of course, the good deal I got had to be somewhat soured by the cashier swapping the case of the free copy of Guitar Hero III (360) I got as the third title with a cracked-and-missing-half-the-spine case from the drawer while I was paying. That's Gamestop for you...
Last edited by dvd182; 04-30-08 at 03:45 PM.
#27
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Originally Posted by Vandelay_Inds
By the way, Nocturne suddenly jumped to number 2 in Amazon's PS2 top selling list. I had checked it out last night, and Amazon wasn't offering it. Maybe they too got a batch and it sold out entirely this morning?
#31
DVD Talk Hero
Since the title of this thread is about GS's shady practices, I thought I'd post this here.
http://kotaku.com/385487/your-gamest...be-meaningless
So basically, even if you pre-ordered GTA at GS and didn't pick it up within 24 hours of release, you have a better chance of getting it at a Best Buy than at GS.
http://kotaku.com/385487/your-gamest...be-meaningless
An employee [of Gamestop] writes to us today about what he calls "some disturbing marching orders from corporate" that basically say that your pre-order doesn't guarantee your copy won't be sold to the next walk-in customer. In fact, "we are being told to specifically disregard our reservation customers, who have payed a deposit on this game in exchange for a guarantee of availability, for walk-in customers."
#32
DVD Talk Hero
That's weird... that's usually the opposite of what normally happens. Normally, if you don't preorder, they tell you that they can't sell you one that day, even if they have a few extra copies. Which in and of itself is evil, but why try to screw the guys who preordered from you? Maybe there's a new shipment coming in really quickly?
And for these kinds of big ticket games, I'd think that the local Best Buy, Target, heck, even CC would have more than enough copies to sell...
And for these kinds of big ticket games, I'd think that the local Best Buy, Target, heck, even CC would have more than enough copies to sell...
#35
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
I saw the pre-order thing firsthand last weekend at GameStop when I was picking up Mario Kart. I was waiting in line and there were like 4 or 5 people ahead of me who didn't have pre-orders. One of the kids behind the counter asked the manager if they should sell to them because they were getting low on stock and had a lot of pre-orders left. The manager responded, "Yep, we'll get more in later in the week and we give priority to people that actually come out at store opening to pick up the game." I didn't say anything, but I'd be pissed if my fully paid pre-order wasn't fulfilled on the day of release.
#36
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Yeah, I know Gamestop isn't the best, but that is ridiculous maxfisher. It's like they totally disregard the customer because they really are the only option for those kids who trade in all of their stuff to get the latest and greatest.
My cousin is one of them, and I have tried to explain to him how he's getting ripped off, but he's so impatient that he will trade in his DS or PSP and get whatever they're offering, only to get a game he'll play for 3 weeks. He's making bad decisions, sure, but he isn't a unique case. In fact I've been in plenty of Gamestops when some teen was trading in 10-13 games, only to get $45 in credit or whatever.
I only shop at Gamestops to get sub $20 games, but wouldn't dream of buying from them "new". The last time I did was Tekken 5 I think. And the woman behind the counter asked me if I wanted to buy a used copy, and I was like fine save a bit of money works for me. The game brand new was $50, and used copies were $45.99 or something.
They are just all around a shady ass business. Mom and Pop game shops are usually the way to go if you have one in your area if you need the kind of stuff Gamestop offers (trade-ins, used games, etc). Otherwise, any other big box brick and mortar or online store.
My cousin is one of them, and I have tried to explain to him how he's getting ripped off, but he's so impatient that he will trade in his DS or PSP and get whatever they're offering, only to get a game he'll play for 3 weeks. He's making bad decisions, sure, but he isn't a unique case. In fact I've been in plenty of Gamestops when some teen was trading in 10-13 games, only to get $45 in credit or whatever.
I only shop at Gamestops to get sub $20 games, but wouldn't dream of buying from them "new". The last time I did was Tekken 5 I think. And the woman behind the counter asked me if I wanted to buy a used copy, and I was like fine save a bit of money works for me. The game brand new was $50, and used copies were $45.99 or something.
They are just all around a shady ass business. Mom and Pop game shops are usually the way to go if you have one in your area if you need the kind of stuff Gamestop offers (trade-ins, used games, etc). Otherwise, any other big box brick and mortar or online store.
#38
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by boredsilly
I only shop at Gamestops to get sub $20 games, but wouldn't dream of buying from them "new".
Er wait, that's not totally true, I did buy Rock Band there right after Christmas when they were scarce, and because I had a 10% off coupon. OTHER than that, umm, yeah...

#39
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by boredsilly
I only shop at Gamestops to get sub $20 games, but wouldn't dream of buying from them "new".
#40
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I don't shop there often, but I did go in this afternoon to check out the sale. I ended up with Gears of War, Kane & Lynch, and The Simpsons for $65 plus tax. Not the best deal probably, but good enough for an impulse buy. The girl even looked through all the copies to find me mint ones, without being asked.
#41
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally Posted by slop101
Unfortunately, they make way more money off you buying used games than new games. They only make about $3-5 per new game sold, as opposed to over 50% of the price of the new games they sell, which is pure profit for them.
#42
DVD Talk Limited Edition
While this Atlus thing is rather shady of GameStop, I normally don't have a problem buying used games from them.
With new games running $60 now, I can routinely get a used copy for about $45 the week it comes out. They usually mark the game at $55, throw in a 10% off with my Edge card, and there's usually a 10% off coupon for used stuff, and I'm saving 25% off the price of a new game for a copy that someone probably bought, burned, and flipped the same day. How else would you explain used copies of games that just released that day?
With new games running $60 now, I can routinely get a used copy for about $45 the week it comes out. They usually mark the game at $55, throw in a 10% off with my Edge card, and there's usually a 10% off coupon for used stuff, and I'm saving 25% off the price of a new game for a copy that someone probably bought, burned, and flipped the same day. How else would you explain used copies of games that just released that day?
#44
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Shagrath
How else would you explain used copies of games that just released that day?
I know that's not common, but still. Ever since then I've been very careful with the games that I actually buy.

Last edited by Brent L; 05-03-08 at 03:44 PM.
#45
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally Posted by Brent L
When Shinobi for the PS2 was released, for some reason I bought it that very day. I took it home, played it for a while, and hated it so much that I brought it back that very same day. I don't even remember why I hated the game so much since that's the only time I've ever played it.
I know that's not common, but still. Ever since then I've been very careful with the games that I actually buy.
I know that's not common, but still. Ever since then I've been very careful with the games that I actually buy.

#46
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I don't have a dog in this fight, but I WILL point out that it's a manufacturers SUGGESTED retail price. If the marketplace bears out a higher price for something, there is no mandate that they charge the MSRP for it. No one minds when GS sells games for lower than MSRP, of that, I'm certain. I ordered a copy of this from them using the cheap ass gamer discounts and my edge card. Got is shipped for $30.32. Arrived with media mail type free shipping in 3-4 days.
#47
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Last week I decided to buy a used copy of a specific PS2 game, so I went to GameStop's site and saw that it was in stock at several stores around me. My friend was nice enough to let me borrow her GS card and I set out to buy the game. I went to the closest GS near me and they had the game...in some generic case. So I checked another and they had it...in a generic case. Went to one more...yep, generic case. After that I was done searching for the game. (I didn't make specific trips, mind you; these GameSpots were all close to places I was already driving to.)
Yes, I know it's what's on the inside that counts - at least that's what my Mom always told me - but I just couldn't buy the game. It looks cheap on the shelf and, though I'm not sure, I'd think it'd hurt whatever resale/trade-in value it has. Who knows if the instruction manual would've been included.
I ended up buying it this morning from half.com. With shipping, a new shrink-wrapped copy ended up costing only a little more than GS's used copy + sales tax - discount. Of course, I don't get the instant gratification of playing it right away.
To call me a casual gamer is to slightly overstate my status, so I rarely go to GameStop. Why so many generic cases for their used games? Do they get them from online rental places or something? Losing manuals I can see - they get accidentally thrown out or whatever - but is there some lost case epidemic affecting people trading games in?
Yes, I know it's what's on the inside that counts - at least that's what my Mom always told me - but I just couldn't buy the game. It looks cheap on the shelf and, though I'm not sure, I'd think it'd hurt whatever resale/trade-in value it has. Who knows if the instruction manual would've been included.
I ended up buying it this morning from half.com. With shipping, a new shrink-wrapped copy ended up costing only a little more than GS's used copy + sales tax - discount. Of course, I don't get the instant gratification of playing it right away.
To call me a casual gamer is to slightly overstate my status, so I rarely go to GameStop. Why so many generic cases for their used games? Do they get them from online rental places or something? Losing manuals I can see - they get accidentally thrown out or whatever - but is there some lost case epidemic affecting people trading games in?
#48
DVD Talk Legend
The only thing I can think of, is people put their games in binders and toss the cases. Which is stupid 
I've lost count how many times Ive gone into a EB/GS to pick up a game, and walk out with nothing because of the generic case. They should at least discount the price for an incomplete package.
My Moviestop sells Blu-ray disc only for $10, as opposed to $15+ for complete. Why cant GS do the same?

I've lost count how many times Ive gone into a EB/GS to pick up a game, and walk out with nothing because of the generic case. They should at least discount the price for an incomplete package.
My Moviestop sells Blu-ray disc only for $10, as opposed to $15+ for complete. Why cant GS do the same?
#49
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by stingermck
The only thing I can think of, is people put their games in binders and toss the cases. Which is stupid 
I've lost count how many times Ive gone into a EB/GS to pick up a game, and walk out with nothing because of the generic case. They should at least discount the price for an incomplete package.
My Moviestop sells Blu-ray disc only for $10, as opposed to $15+ for complete. Why cant GS do the same?

I've lost count how many times Ive gone into a EB/GS to pick up a game, and walk out with nothing because of the generic case. They should at least discount the price for an incomplete package.
My Moviestop sells Blu-ray disc only for $10, as opposed to $15+ for complete. Why cant GS do the same?