Zero Originality - A GameStop Employee's take on things.

[Metah]

Boy, looks like we got a few Gamstapos in here

[Ishido]

Boy, looks like we got a few Gamstapos in here

I'm not affiliated, though they are the only actual "game" store around Boulder, so I buy there regularly.

I don't love them, but don't have a problem and don't really understand the demonizing. Maybe it has something to do with different employees? I know there were a few annoying ones in some of the stores around Seattle.

[Metah]

I'm not saying you in particular, Ishido.

Although I do feel like I wasted my life watching that video because there's like two EB Games in my city that I know of and I don't go to either. And my head kind of hurts from the gayass voice and then I realized oh God its been 90 minutes

[Correction]

I think people are missing the message here. He's not trying to put GameStop out of business just because he hates them. He's trying to get at them from the bottom up. Better informed consumers is what he's trying to create with the videos and the better informed they are, and the more willing others are to help him spread the message, the easier it is to erode their profits and either force them to change for the better or perish.

All he really wants is for them to stop getting rewarded with billions of dollars in revenue just because people didn't know better. He's not 'demonizing' just for the sake of lulz. It's really no different than, say, telling people not to use freecreditreport.com or something, because you're going to get screwed giving them your business, too. It's not hatred, it's good consumerism.

[Deejay]

Making money off of people being lazy or uninformed is nothing new.

It's nothing new, but when an entire business preys on stupid people it can get annoying. It's not even that they just rip you off, they rip you off and force you to continue getting ripped off in the long run. They not only want you to suck their dick and like it, they want you to spit shine their sac too....all for a measly $15 a year!

[Elesirdur]

I wonder if this has shown up on The Consumerist yet - especially considering they're both part of the Gawker network.

[Elesirdur]

It's nothing new, but when an entire business preys on stupid people it can get annoying. It's not even that they just rip you off, they rip you off and force you to continue getting ripped off in the long run. They not only want you to suck their dick and like it, they want you to spit shine their sac too....all for a measly $15 a year!

How is it different from buying a CostCo membership? (Other than EBs will let you shop there regardless if you have an Edge membership or not)

And since when did they become $15/year - that's crazy talk. At $5/year they were a good deal, one pre-owned $50 game and it's paid for (ie free) and it makes the pre-owned games more attractive since you'll be getting a net savings.

[Charismatic]

FUCK YEAH 3S Character Select

[Correction]

How is it different from buying a CostCo membership? (Other than EBs will let you shop there regardless if you have an Edge membership or not)

CostCo memberships apply whatever savings and benefits they offer uniformly.

Or at least, they used to the last time I knew someone with a membership. In both cases you have to spend above a minimum threshold before the savings are worth the your time and it's been a very long time since I spent at those levels.

And it's not like the guy at the CostCo register says 'oh you have to pay full price because CostCo discounts don't apply to that piece of hardware or buying new tires rather than resurfaced tires.'

[Hayden]

You think you're not lying to someones face everytime you sell them an edge card? The average person rarely spends $200+ a year on used games. And even if they spend $200 on used games, you're still charging them $15 to save $5.

We all know they're a business, but I've been fucked out of an extra 10% this or 10% so many times that I could write a novel about it. Theres GET AN EXTRA 10% FOR THIS signs everywhere but they neglect to tell you NONE of the deals stack. And that's besides that fact that they're making 100%+ profit every time they take in a trade. You seriously think that's not unreasonable?



Reserving games is and has always been a cheap way to get people to buy games in advance for absolutely no reason. You and I both know that games rarely sell out in every store in a district. 'Threatening' customers that you'll be sold out is a fucking faggoty ass scare tactic to get them to cough up their money months in advance for a game that will be stockpiled by the bus load at Wal-Mart.

Edit:

Paying for a reserve at gamestop is like sending an extra $5 to your movie theatre months in advance to ensure that you have a seat when you get there. Only if you get there late you'll still have to sit in the front row. (or if you forget they keep your $5 and won't ever tell you)

For God's sake, its not an extra $5, its $5 down toward the purchase of the game. It's not a cost, your paying that $5 either way.

And learn your shit about the promos, the Edge Card does stack with the promotions. We just had a promotion where if you traded in 5 or more games, you got an extra 30% credit for all your games, and if you had the card, you get another 10%, so you get 40%. We currently have a deal this month that gets you $15 extra for every 3 next gen games you trade in, and the Edge card gives you an extra 10% on the initial credit. So if you trade in 6 ps3 games for a total of $70 in credit and you have the card you would get $77 + $15 + $15 dollars, so $107.

I have had people come in and get about $200 in credit, then get that extra 30% cause they traded in more than 5 games, plus they have the Edge card so 10% more, so 40%, so then they walk away with and extra $80 of free credit. If you have stuff to trade or buying used games, it helps. Alot.

And if you know your not going to spend money buying used games, don't sign up for the fucking card then, you HAVE a fucking choice. You are the reason why retail workers hate customers.

If you don't want to reserve games, don't. If it's sold out when you walk in, then that's your fucking fault. All the stores in my district are very busy, and we sell out of big titles usually that day or the next, and then have about 2-3 days until we get a restock. Some big titles like Mercs2, Too Human, Spore, Madden09, FF Tactics, Viva Pinata, Tales of Vesperia etc.... all sold out on the day they came out, pretty much for my whole district.

One more thing, if you hate reserving shit, they start filing complaints with developers and tell them to stop giving us beta keys, T-shirts, In-game content, art books, figures and coupons to give out with reserves. All that shit is marketed and sent out by the company's themselves to give to people who reserve the game, and they want people to get out there reserve it so they sell it.

It really sucks huge dick when you get something for absolutely free when you are going to be buying something you want anyway in a few days now doesn't it.

[Shade]

I understand why they do it, but the thing I most dislike about EB/Gamestop's predominantly preowned policy is that it essentially cuts the people who -made- the game out of the loop. If you want to support a company whose games you like, so they can continue making games you like, you need to buy their shit. But when game stores focus on pawning off preowned copies of everything, those companies don't see another cent.

I also understand that the $3 "scratch protection" warranty on games is a bit of profit genius, but it always felt a little low trying to convince people that they needed it. Just take care of your fucking discs.

[Correction]

So if you trade in 6 ps3 games for a total of $70 in credit and you have the card you would get $77 + $15 + $15 dollars, so $107.

I have to wonder how much of this miraculous bonus would see the light of day as cold, hard cash so I could spend it on a retailer who didn't overinflate the price on used and new games in general. If that number is at or near zero than I guess my enthusiasm at your math is dampened a little.

And if you know your not going to spend money buying used games, don't sign up for the fucking card then, you HAVE a fucking choice.

The videos spend a lot of time emphasizing that it's not the average gamer that's getting the high-pressure scare tactics to sign up for reserves and subscriptions but the otherwise uninformed moms and little kids who aren't as savvy as they ought to be and often will walk away like they had no choice but to pay for things they didn't have to. And it doesn't help to say that WE have a choice when GameStop employees DO NOT have a choice but to push subscriptions/reserves/used copies.

If it's sold out when you walk in, then that's your fucking fault.

Except when it isn't as it is no secret that GameStop absolutely does not allocate more games than there were reserves on purpose to inflate the demand for reserves, with very few AAA multimillion dollar title exceptions.

Shopping at GameStop is and always will be settling for the absolute worst game shopping experience. Even the 'best' GameStops are still beholden to the retardation from corporate which places zero emphasis on employee training and even less emphasis on giving consumers a fair shake.

[Deejay]

For God's sake, its not an extra $5, its $5 down toward the purchase of the game. It's not a cost, your paying that $5 either way.

I'm paying the $5 to you when I could be paying anybody; Wal-Mart, EB, Gamestop, Sears, BJ's etc and not have to worry about any bullshit 'ZOMG IZ IT IN STOCK?!?!' headgames.

Why should I give you a $5 deposit that's going to sit and collect interest in YOUR bank account for 3 months when I can literally go anywhere and pick up a game the day it comes out? I'm paying money to bottleneck myself to one store, instead of being able to get a game wherever the fuck I please. If the game could be picked up at ANY Gamestop then it'd be worth it, but i'll get into that later...

And learn your shit about the promos, the Edge Card does stack with the promotions. We just had a promotion where if you traded in 5 or more games, you got an extra 30% credit for all your games, and if you had the card, you get another 10%, so you get 40%.

I know my promos retard I fucking worked there. And you happened to leave out the little 'exception' to "powertrades." Sports games and "select" games are excluded from that deal. Yeah it's a good deal if I own 5 RECENT titles to trade in, but how many people actually own that many games that they want to sell for horseshit? My brother owns 3 360 titles total and my sister own 5 Ps3 games. You're telling me if they trade in their entire video game library they'll get an extra $15? Fucking sweet dude, we're on our way!

Mentioning a retarded deal that 99% of most customers can't take advantage of obviously means Gamestop is a great company, right?

...

And if you know your not going to spend money buying used games, don't sign up for the fucking card then, you HAVE a fucking choice. You are the reason why retail workers hate customers.

If you don't want to reserve games, don't. If it's sold out when you walk in, then that's your fucking fault.

How the fuck is it the customer's fault if Gamestop only holds 'reserved' games for 48 hours and ALMOST ALWAYS only ships enough games to meet the preorder demand?

They're setting up the paying customer for failure and parade like it's a fucking service. You said yourself that Gamestop only garners $6 profit for every game sold at MSRP.... What you're forgetting to spell out is that selling a reserve yields Gamestop 95% of the profits they would have seen without even selling the game yet. Now figure in the majority of customers that forget to pick up their game + the interest gained from all that deposited money and VOILA, profits!

All the stores in my district are very busy, and we sell out of big titles usually that day or the next, and then have about 2-3 days until we get a restock. Some big titles like Mercs2, Too Human, Spore, Madden09, FF Tactics, Viva Pinata, Tales of Vesperia etc.... all sold out on the day they came out, pretty much for my whole district.

Fucking lie lol. No way fucking Madden 09 was sold out at any Gamestop. Maybe the xbox1/psp versions, but not the regular ones. And like I said earlier, gamestop only sells out because they set up their customers for failure. Not one other retailer sells out of games half as often as Gamestop does.

One more thing, if you hate reserving shit, they start filing complaints with developers and tell them to stop giving us beta keys, T-shirts, In-game content, art books, figures and coupons to give out with reserves. All that shit is marketed and sent out by the company's themselves to give to people who reserve the game, and they want people to get out there reserve it so they sell it.

lol? Are you fucking serious? Do you really think gamer swag was invented with the inception of gamestop reserves? lolololololololololol

You want to know why companies send you guys swag? It's to get you harassing customers about all their new shit. You howl and bark at every customer who walks into the store and all they have to do is send you a couple plush toys and keychains.

Cheap advertising is cheeeeeeaaaaaaaaap.

[ozz]

Put $5 down on gta4 before I found it online a week before release...if I go in now will gamestop give me my $5 back?

[Hayden]

I have to wonder how much of this miraculous bonus would see the light of day as cold, hard cash so I could spend it on a retailer who didn't overinflate the price on used and new games in general. If that number is at or near zero than I guess my enthusiasm at your math is dampened a little.

The videos spend a lot of time emphasizing that it's not the average gamer that's getting the high-pressure scare tactics to sign up for reserves and subscriptions but the otherwise uninformed moms and little kids who aren't as savvy as they ought to be and often will walk away like they had no choice but to pay for things they didn't have to. And it doesn't help to say that WE have a choice when GameStop employees DO NOT have a choice but to push subscriptions/reserves/used copies.

Except when it isn't as it is no secret that GameStop absolutely does not allocate more games than there were reserves on purpose to inflate the demand for reserves, with very few AAA multimillion dollar title exceptions.

Shopping at GameStop is and always will be settling for the absolute worst game shopping experience. Even the 'best' GameStops are still beholden to the retardation from corporate which places zero emphasis on employee training and even less emphasis on giving consumers a fair shake.

The Gamestops where you live must really suck and just be very very shady. We always have tons of reserves on big games and we always have extras. All my employees are trained fine, and know what their talking about. We don't hire people when we can tell that they just want a job for discounts.

I don't scare people into doing anything, I just ask them, because it's an option that they can take advantage of or not. If you say its not your choice, and you give into someone trying to sell you something you don't want, then your just spineless. If the employee says "Hey anything you want to reserve? Like this this this or this?" say "No" or "Do you know about the Edge Card or would you be interested in signing up for one?" Say "No, and no thanks, I'm not interested." When get a movie at FYE or a book at Borders, the employee asks and does their pitch, and then I say "No, I'm not interested." then leave. It's that fucking simply; your not going to be stabbed if you say no.

And I think its really funny how people flip so much shit about Gamestop but never really complain about things 10X worse like car dealerships, hospitals, or cell phone companys.

[Hayden]

Put $5 down on gta4 before I found it online a week before release...if I go in now will gamestop give me my $5 back?

Yes

[Tekki]

I can go into a lengthy post about trying to find middle ground on this subject but its as simple as this. If you have a store that has piss poor management that doesn't care about customer service, then ya, your going to hate gamestop. If you have a Gamestop with management that actually cares about customer service, then ya, you will like gamestop. If you think every Gamestop is cookie cutter and they all act the same and have the same mindset when it comes to quality control, product handling, and customer service, well thats like saying "Insert corporate anything here" is the same across the nation.

As for the pricing, ya it sucks, ill agree. And I've been a member of management for over 5 years. The only time I have ever traded in my crap was in bulk during a massive trade+% (trade more for higher %) and I turned around and bought a bunch of stuff used with my discounts. Past that, I have used the internet to not only sell, but buy my games.

But the bottom line is, trying to get everyone to go against GameStop to stop their campaign of "ripping" off the people and seek other ways to game is like trying to get everyone to find alternative ways of buying groceries then going to WalMart. In both cases there are dozens of alternatives to the norm in buying and selling your goods, but at the end of the day the average American doesn't care and yes... will pay too much for convience.

A quick run down of my very successful district (3rd in company atm) comes to one conclusion. Customer Service. We KNOW our prices are harsh, we KNOW there are alternatives out there (Hell one of my stores sat right next to a walmart in the same complex), we KNOW there is a reason to doubt the quality of a used product and its with this knowledge we know we can't simply grind away like a cookie cutter gamestop. All of our gamestops in this district have customer service at the top of their mind.

We treat customers coming into our store and actually spending money in our store rather then walmart next door as a privilege and try to keep it that way. If a game comes in looking like we wouldn't buy it, we send it off. So yes, a lot of our stuff gets sent off. We even send off our own refurb systems and games when they come back, if we know they wont play. Instead of mindlessly spouting off prices and trade in numbers every day, we go to great lengths to find out how each of our customers is going to capitalize the most with the product they have in hand, and what they want. I cant tell you how many times I have told customers to wait for certain promotions, or go back and get something else to get the best of a promotion.

I can go on and on, but the bottom line is this. I know, and my fellow managers know, customer service goes further on sales numbers then trying to push sales numbers then customer service. But not every district or even region in this company knows that..... Thats why we have such polarity in our success district to district. Thats why there is such polarity in "GameStop stories" It comes down to management at the store front level. And the day someone finds a way to fix that problem, GameStop won't be perfect, but they will be a pretty damn good choice to buy games. But in the meantime, since not every human gamestop manager is made the same as e.g. my districts, we will continue to have this polarity of opinions on gamestops.

[Hayden]

Fucking lie lol. No way fucking Madden 09 was sold out at any Gamestop. Maybe the xbox1/psp versions, but not the regular ones. And like I said earlier, gamestop only sells out because they set up their customers for failure. Not one other retailer sells out of games half as often as Gamestop does.

Your district must be very, very slow.

[Correction]

If you say its not your choice, and you give into someone trying to sell you something you don't want, then your just spineless.

When an employee is trained to push something on every transaction it's a pressure tactic. And it works on the uninformed just as well as on the spineless. It's not a question of choice, it's ignorance-fueled leverage. That grandma buying her grandson a spongebob game is a perfect dupe for this kind of exploitation and no matter what the employee's thoughts on the matter, the orders from corporate leave him no discretion; he/she must push the subscription and they must push the used copy.

And I think its really funny how people flip so much shit about Gamestop but never really complain about things 10X worse like car dealerships, hospitals, or cell phone companys.

Pretty sure there are threads like that already out there, somewhere. This one is about GameStop and how bad they are for gamers in general. 'Oh GameStop isn't nearly as bad as XXXX' is making excuses. There are better solutions than simply making excuses for a company's deplorable practices.

[ozz]

Yes

bank, thanks