How Gamestop Rapes their Customers and Employees

[twistedsymphony]

I happened upon this really entertaining series of videos on GameStop and the tactics it uses to completely rape it's customers and employees...

It's rather entertaining, and while I shop there on a regular basis (I pre-order limited editions for my website: CollectorsEdition.org (http://collectorsedition.org) ) I'll probably never buy a new game off the shelf or a used game there ever again.

YouTube - 01 - Zero Originality Episode 1 -- It's not stealing. It's borrowing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_D45dRcehg)

^that is the first in a 9 part series...

sorry if it's been posted already but I didn't see it anywhere


EDIT: it looks like video #1 has been taken down, the rest are still up though. down go here incase it gets reposted: http://www.youtube.com/user/WhistleBlowerZero

[2Slow40]

The way the video is done is a 100% complete rip off of Yahtzee Zero Punctuation from EscapistMagazine.com. Or maybe they work together or it's supposed to be an obvious rip off.


But yeah, I hate GameStop. They're like fuckin drug dealers. Always pushing you to buy more shit.

No mother fucker, I just wanted to buy this $7 used as hell GameCube controller so me and my friends could get drunk and play Mario Kart. I dont need a subscription to Game Informer, don't need to reserve Guitar Hero 9 and I don't need to purchase a $20 a month card that saves me three dollars off every purchase.

I reserved Doom3 from there because they give you a cool mini statue. Which they tried to rip me off and not give me but I made sure they went into the back, searched around for my little Baron of Hell, then put it in my fuckin hands. Fuck you Gamestop, I could go to Walmart and buy this shit right now. I reserved it for the little dude and I don't want to fight you for eight hours about how you don't have any when I know you fuckin do.

By the way Doom3, and half the other fuckin games you reserve at that shit place, didn't/don't come in until like eight days after the release date. I assume this is because they buy all the titles them selves so they can just keep them in their closest so no one else can play them until they've beaten the game them selves. Because they're all cunts and they HAVE to give you their $.02 on every purchase you make.

I hate Gamestop

[Flipzide]

Haha! I just watched this yesterday. It just reinforces the reason why I stopped shopping at EB/Gamestop a long time ago. My friend also told me stories about working there. It sucks.

[FaLKoN240]

Yeah, I don't buy video games any more for this reason.

I'd rather find them for a good deal on craigslist, or not buy them at all.

I hate that people are so fucking lazy they'd rather just go there and get raped then look online for something.

Speaking of which...

*Goes to look for COD4 on Amazon*

[YoungGun]

LoL I just sent the link to my friend that works there.

Good find. +rep

[HyperTek]

man i couldnt watch it.. im slloooowww right now and that guy is talking wayyyy too fast...

cliffnotes?
i think people just hate major corperations.. but thats cool, you dont support em, say bye bye shop, and more unemployment because you took your business to the internet, where you pay shipping, wait a few days, and sometimes tax depending on your location.

Where as you pay a lil more from going to gamestop, but you get the game you want right away, and can kindly refuse the offers they give you.

[SW20Racer]

lol i went to gamestop to unload some unwanted games (most of which were opened for the first time 5 minutes before i walk in, just to check them) and the guy's all like

"sorry dude, but as damaged as these games are i can only give you like $1.50"

fuck gamestop.

[TheWolf]

OMG HAHAHAHA just watched them all and then someone flagged it for removal...

[Antihero983]

hmm weird, I've always had good experiences at gamestop, although, they look at me weird when i get super excited about armored core games.....

[twistedsymphony]

well the cliff notes for consumers:

-1. don't put up with BS like "new" games that are already open and have probably been "borrowed" by the employees... buy them somewhere else where they're still sealed.

-2. trading in your games gets you hardly any cash in return, sell them on ebay, amazon, craigslist, or trade them with other people (GOOD independant game forums will usually have a marketplace where you can buy sell and trade games at better prices, look around) if you buy, beat, and trade games a lot consider getting a gamefly or similar subscription, it will save you hundreds in the long run.

-3. buying used games at gamestop is usually a rip-off and if the game has been out for any length of time you can probably find it NEW and SEALED at any number of other stores (Sears, Target, Walmart, Best Buy) for LESS than the USED copy at Gamestop

-4. Game Informer is a scam and over 70% of the magazine is advertisements (literally), more notable publications will have better information anyway... and the score scale is skewed such that a 7.5/10 is "mediocre" so a 7.5/10 from GI is equivalent to a 5.0/10 anywhere else.

-5. The Edge Card is also useless because A. as mentioned before you can get the games cheaper elsewhere and B. the discount is so garbage in order to SAVE $5 you would have to spend over $200 in used games for the year.

-6. Pre orders are only "guaranteed" for 48 hours past release. and they're not actually guaranteed either since employees are instructed to sell them to someone else anyway.

------------------------

The take away:
1. don't ever buy used games from gamestop (at least not without checking the prices at other stores first)
2. don't ever sign up for the edge card/ game informer PERIOD.
3. don't ever buy a NEW game from gamestop that has already been OPENED
4. don't ever get a pre-order of anything unless it's some rare limited edition, or there is a pre-order bonus you really want.
5. don't ever put more than the minimum pre-order bonus down.

[DrtyRat]

Not to downplay the "seriousness" of this issue, but after reading the cliff notes, I'm shocked and appalled at what I discovered:
Business' actually try to make money off of people? They actually try to sell stuff to people that they don't need? This is news to me :)
Obviously, I'm kidding, but why take it so serious? Just don't shop there, and move on. I've never had any issue from anything I bought there, and I will continue to shop there out of convenience, not b/c I don't know that there are other places out there that sell them for less.

[twistedsymphony]

Not to downplay the "seriousness" of this issue, but after reading the cliff notes, I'm shocked and appalled at what I discovered:
Business' actually try to make money off of people? They actually try to sell stuff to people that they don't need? This is news to me :)
Obviously, I'm kidding, but why take it so serious? Just don't shop there, and move on. I've never had any issue from anything I bought there, and I will continue to shop there out of convenience, not b/c I don't know that there are other places out there that sell them for less.

my cliff notes are missing the WHY part of all of this

you'll need to watch the videos to actually get all of it (you should watch them they're quite funny actually).

But a big part of it is that Gamestops tactics are actually HURTING the game industry... after watching the videos I'm actually shocked that game publishers put up with their BS so much.

[VROOOM]

ive pre-ordered many games from gamestop and never had a problem getting the games the day they release. shit i go there buy a used game, play it for a week then return it and get another one all the time(the employees told me about this)

[s13silady]

i love gamestop/EB! maybe because i have friends that work there and i just get games and shit for free..

[dolphin]

yeah fuck game stop...i was at the game stop on euclid and trask, i was buying gta 4.... and i said fuck it i rather get a used one since i don't play games that much, and so i took the use one and ask him i wanna purchase this and he runs through the drawer of used games and pulls out a few used gta 4 and tells me they are all scratch! and i wanted to see them but he said believe there all scratch..... so i end up buying a new one...

[Antihero983]

The take away:
1. don't ever buy used games from gamestop (at least not without checking the prices at other stores first)
2. don't ever sign up for the edge card/ game informer PERIOD.
3. don't ever buy a NEW game from gamestop that has already been OPENED
4. don't ever get a pre-order of anything unless it's some rare limited edition, or there is a pre-order bonus you really want.
5. don't ever put more than the minimum pre-order bonus down.

oops, oops, oops, and uh oops.

but whatever, i like my subscription to game informer, and i had to reserve halo3, transformers the game cybertronian edition, and Armored Core: For Answer.

[S14Josh]

wow, I thought I was the only person who didn't like them.

When the Wii came out (Actually it was a couple days after...black friday to be exact) I went to gamestop and sat outside with the rest of the people who were there for the Wii or a PS3. I show up and make sure that everyone there is waiting on a Wii and if they have heard how many were supposed to be there. Well, there was this kid and his little brother who had been waiting outside of the store since 4 pm the day before, and they told me that the manager said they had 3 ps3's and 21 Wii's in the back waiting to be sold on black friday.

So 7 am rolls around, which is the time gamestop "said" they would be there to open the doors and nobody shows up. 8 am rolls around and still nobody. Finally it hits 10 am and the manager shows up, but he ignores everyone as he walks straight to the door, unlocks it, goes inside, and locks everyone out. We wait another 45 minutes and they finally open the doors.

The group starts making their way in and I then I start hearing people raising their voices. People are getting pissed and walking out of the store looking like they are going to burn the place down. Finally the message gets relayed to me that they have NO ps3's and 2 Wii's.

So basically Gamestop told this kid and his little brother that they had 3 PS3's and that this kid should camp out and get one in the morning, just to tell him the next day that they in fact had no PS3's.

Fuck that place.

[LeftNutOfGowd]

I hate gamestop ever since I bought a psp and it ended up being defected (it wouldn't change at all) and I went back and ask for my money back and there like "sorry sr. we cant return this because it has been open so your going to exchange it for a new one or get store creidt." I was like WTF how was i going to know it wasn't going to work without opening it plus i bought it that same day. I was pissed so i exchanged it and sold that bitch on craigslist for 20 bucks cheaper then what i payed plus a game.

[ZenkiGTS]

gamestop fucking bucks the living out of you.... went over there to buy GRID and they said a used one was 54.99 wtf its 59.99 brand new.... RAPAGE

[cgtdream]

Ive resorted to only going to gamestop/eb to ask if they have battletoads....much more entertaining in my mind...

Anywho, those video were hilarious.....and too true lol

[SR2Zero]

Haha, I like em. Pretty funny and true. (Like the videos, not the stores)

[A Spec Products]

I didnt really read through the whole thread

But I never had a problem with Gamestop

Granted I'm not big into games, but I got a free PS2 from a friend

And I would pop in there from time to time and buy $5-$15 used games

It was convienient, and within my price range, and I wanted it, so done

Shrug

I never had an issue, one time a game didn't work, I took it back and got a working one no problem no questions

And their "hey would you like to sign up" or any other gateway offers I just give em the NAH IM COO and peace

I don't stand in line for videogames or get the latest system, so I'm sure its a bit different for some of you

[whereda40at]

i love gamestop/EB! maybe because i have friends that work there and i just get games and shit for free..

i hear that. on friday i took gta4 and my friend who is the store manager took it in as a new return. i got madden 09 (way better than gta4) for just the return. he always takes my games in as a return and i get something new and never have to pay for anything. the last thing i bought was rockband because it was 180 bucks. i sell my old games to friends for the price of games stops used games. or just get a new one for free.

[Rayne]

Hmmm....interestingly enough....all this talk about Gamestop reminds me of the "Social Security" program, Medicare, and other governmental programs.

[axiomatik]

I'm not sure how it is now under Gamestop, but a few years ago I worked at EB Games for a few months. Whenever someone was buying a new game, and we had it used, we always asked if the customer would like to buy the game used instead, since the profit is higher on used games. And if they were buying a used game, we'd ask if they wanted to sign up for the discount card/magazine. But back then, you didn't have to buy that many used games to get a payback on the cards.

Also, the price that we would offer was directly related to 1. Number of used copies on hand and 2. Demand for the game. A brand new game that's only been out for a week will only be $5 less used than new. And games that are in high demand will hold their value longer. Conversely, certain games, especially sports games like Madden 04, 05 , 06, NCAA whatever have terrible buy back prices. The reason is that every year everyone would try to sell back last year's title and get the new one. I was working there in 2003. Guys would come in and trade in Madden 02, and be pissed that they'd only get $1.50 for it when they paid $50 new. Well, the reason was that, for example, our store alone literally had 108 used copies of Madden 02. What the hell is EB games ever going to do with all those copies? They'll never sell all of them. People should be glad that EB Games will give them any money at all for a game that will just end up in the trash.

[TravisSW]

May I say that I have never, ever never, EVER had a problem at ANY Gamestop? lol

But I do have a couple of friends that work at a Gamestop. It's kinda sad when somebody has an "assistant manager" title and I still get paid more than they do. And I get paid 11$ an hour haha.

[majuljo]

i got hired there once and they hired me in october but didnt call me to give me hours until december

F**K YOU GAMESTOP/EB GAMES!!!

[bornslippy73]

I pity the kids I see in there and the parents that have to put up with really not knowing what's going on regards to pricing of games and video games in general.

For me, its Fry's Electronics and their sales staff pushing the extended warranty. I tried purchasing a laptop there and the moron sales cock sucker would not shut up about the extended warranty.

I basically told him off and to keep the laptop and the extended warranty. I walked out. FUCK You Gamestop and Fry's Electronics! I can buy all my stuff else where on line without dealing with the retards and fuck ups employed there.

Lets see if they are still holding that shit job after a year.

[TravisSW]

i got hired there once and they hired me in october but didnt call me to give me hours until december

F**K YOU GAMESTOP/EB GAMES!!!

I must say though that you are right about their hiring crap. My friend got screwed too.

Here is what happened at one of his interviews:

Applied at Game Stop #1
Got the interview
Went to said GS #1
They said to go to GS #2
GS #2 said #1

Yeah, he wasn't happy. Good thing he did his DOHC swap from his SOHC. He gets a LOT better mileage. His SOHC was F-T-S (fucked to shit).

[Future240]

The video is gone. Oh well, I dont like gamestop due to prices. The ones here dont try to force shit down your throw, ok well not as much as some of yall described. The workers in the one here are pretty cool to talk to. I got a battery pack and a/v cables for the 360 for 35 bucks. I dont buy games there though. Ebay is much better for that (soul cali 4 28, and yes that is with shipping:snoop:)

[thestreetzking]

i gotta say i worked there with all my friends and it was straight. I can agree with a lot of the arguements though haha.. the whole thing with an opened new game is because they are supposed to have a display on the shelf which is why it is opened (but its still new), and usually the employees arent allowed to borrow the game until a while after the release.. Reserving is whatever, if the game is gonna be huge like halo was then reserve it cause people camp out everywhere for shit like that, but like when grid came out.. i walked across the street to get it at k mart haha. the preorder bonuses are cool though. Trading in sucks you never make any money but with the edge card, and when they have deals where its trade in 2 and get an extra 10$ you can end up with hundreds in no time.. *i traded in 12 games and walked out with 500 in credit* which bought my ps3. take it for what you want i shop there when needed cause you usually cant find shit for old games over here

[Brian]

i would hate to pay $54 for a used game that was $59 NEW


but then if you look at it as this, okay the game is used, the other one is new. both work exactly the same. both have all the same parts, why not get the used one?


(of course if it were messed up, thats a totally different story)

((i'd buy the new one anyways))

lol

[thestreetzking]

the point of the used game (in gamestops eyes) is you have a better warranty.. buy it new for 60 and hate it then u have no choice but to trade it in and take a loss (assuming thats your only option) however buy it used for 55 and u have 7 days to play and return and get ur full refund.

[slowpo]

this is why i hate gamestop
1. Gamestop is responsible for 90% of all fatal diseases.

2. People who go and buy in gamestop don't realize that they are owned by them.

3. Gamestop just lit a bag and left it on my porch!

4. Gamestop they kidnapp asian girls and sell them to asian massages

5. All the mexicans you see selling orages in the entrance of the freeway are employed by Gamestop

6. Richard simmons is the CEO of gamestop

[BustedS13]

this guy needs to learn how to articulate. it's just one big slur. and the fact that it's an unfunny zero punctuation spoof isn't helping :/

good info though, gamestop does suck.

[ESmorz]

Did that guy eat paint chips when he was a kid?

Slow the fuck down and actually try pronouncing your words... Sounded like a special olympics commentator.

No wonder he worked at Gamestop.

[niSm095]

I don't care either way for gamestop...but...I do unfortunately find myself going to walmart for one...and ONE thing only...to buy games at ridiculous discounts - IE. I got COD4 for 360 when it came out for 24.99. Muahaha...I like old people that don't understand computers and video games.

[silviaguy240]

idk, never had a problem with game stop, always got a sealed box. but today i traded in nhl 08, tony hawks project 8, dirt and pgr4. other than nhl 08, they're kinda old games. i got like $44 for all 4. bought nhl 09 for $16 and i was happy. i could have got more $$ from craigslist or something, but how long would i have to wait to sell a game i would never play again? i took a cut in money for instant removal of the games. so im not complaining. and yes they may double or triple the price of what they gave me. but guess what THEY HAVE TO SELL IT! trade in old shitty games and you wont get ripped, because no one else is going to buy those old shitty games.

[VROOOM]

the point of the used game (in gamestops eyes) is you have a better warranty.. buy it new for 60 and hate it then u have no choice but to trade it in and take a loss (assuming thats your only option) however buy it used for 55 and u have 7 days to play and return and get ur full refund.


i take full advantage of that policy!