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Very good things! *keep it clean* (big images)

Darth Groovy

By Darth Groovy
in Yoda’s Swamp

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Darth Groovy Newbie

Darth Groovy

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You guys actually buy things? *puts out empty pockets*

 

Or maybe this is also a wish-list... ;)

 

 

If you'd stop being such a PC gamer, you could trade your old games for new ones. Like today, i'm gonna trade off a couple of old movies, and games so I can pick up the Capcom Classic Collection for the XBOX. By this evening I plan to be in a state of total retro console bliss.:p

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Kurgan Newbie

Kurgan

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Right. Brand new PC games you buy for $50 and return to the store in pristine condition like the next day or something (but the box happened to be opened) net you something like $5. Doesn't matter if it was a buggy, crappy-@$$ game that didn't run on your computer at all, the store figures you don't deserve your money back. "Oh we can exchange it for the same title!" Or how about some store credit? How about you just take my money and laugh, good idea. :p

 

A console game on the other hand, gets you close to full price under the same conditions, or even a much longer time later. It's absolutely silly. I could see at one time they probably had the logic that the PC gamer just took the game home, burned himself a warez copy and then returned it to try to cheat the store for a free game. But the fact is that console games are pirated in huge numbers, probably more than PC games nowadays (since consoles dominate the market). And plenty of PC games feature copy protections that making them much harder to pirate.

 

I used to love gaming stores, now I strongly dislike most of them, since they treat their customers like criminals, having all kinds of silly rules like store credit, no checks, purchase limits, return policies, selling used games that have been intentionally stripped of the box/manual/inserts/accessories and defaced with store stickers/writing, etc. They rob the kids who go there blind and they don't even know it ('cause they're spending their parent's money usually I guess so they don't care).

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Darth Groovy Newbie

Darth Groovy

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Right. Brand new PC games you buy for $50 and return to the store in pristine condition like the next day or something (but the box happened to be opened) net you something like $5. Doesn't matter if it was a buggy, crappy-@$$ game that didn't run on your computer at all, the store figures you don't deserve your money back. "Oh we can exchange it for the same title!" Or how about some store credit? How about you just take my money and laugh, good idea. :p

 

A console game on the other hand, gets you close to full price under the same conditions, or even a much longer time later. It's absolutely silly. I could see at one time they probably had the logic that the PC gamer just took the game home, burned himself a warez copy and then returned it to try to cheat the store for a free game. But the fact is that console games are pirated in huge numbers, probably more than PC games nowadays (since consoles dominate the market). And plenty of PC games feature copy protections that making them much harder to pirate.

 

I used to love gaming stores, now I strongly dislike most of them, since they treat their customers like criminals, having all kinds of silly rules like store credit, no checks, purchase limits, return policies, selling used games that have been intentionally stripped of the box/manual/inserts/accessories and defaced with store stickers/writing, etc. They rob the kids who go there blind and they don't even know it ('cause they're spending their parent's money usually I guess so they don't care).

 

I'm a manager at GameStop. First of all we don't take pc games. Why? Copyright laws prohibit us to do so. How EB gets away with it? I have no idea. Gamestop is a video game retailer, NOT a pawn shop. Console games will fetch you about half of what Gamestop sells it for. For example if you traded in Madden 06, we'd buy it for 25.00, and sell it for 44.99. If we bought it for $50, how would we ever make any money?!?! It's all about supply and demand. Sure you might have a copy of Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, HOWEVER, GameStop ALSO sells this game for $4.99 AND has a surplus of these games as far as the eyes can see. What do you expect us to pay for it?The best time to trade your stuff in, is the same year when it came out AND during one of our bonus sales, like right now you trade in 4 or more games and get 40% more added to each game. For example we have had kids recently trade in Gameboy Advance games for well over $100. These kids are tickled to death, and it makes life a bit easier on the parents who hate paying for this stuff, just to see it collect dust after they beat it. Best ones to trade in....gamecube games. The trade in values are usually alot higher, because kids don't trade them in as often.

 

As far as friendly? I kill my customers with kindness. The thing that people don't realize about Gamestop is that it is the most vocal job I have ever had on the face of the Earth. Even though we are merely a retail store, people are under the grave misconseption that we:

1. Play video games 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

2. Own every system, and have played every single game known to mankind.

3. We don't just sell the game, we develope it, manufacture it, and if anything happens to it, we'll go ahead and fix it for free.

 

I try to be as polite as possible, but when you are fased with the same questions 40 hours a week, your enthusiasm might not be as high as you hoped it would be. Perfect example: "Which system is going to be better, the XBox 360, or the PS3?" This one we hear no less than 50 times on any given day. My answer is always met with a smile: "It all depends on which games you want to play!"

 

Anyways if you are having a horrible time and your local game retailer, I suggest asking for a manager....if he/she does not satisfy you, go to his/her boss next. Despite any of the hassles we go through, there is NEVER an excuse for poor customer service---EVER!

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Kurgan Newbie

Kurgan

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I'm a manager at GameStop. First of all we don't take pc games. Why? Copyright laws prohibit us to do so. How EB gets away with it? I have no idea. Gamestop is a video game retailer, NOT a pawn shop.

 

The majority of the game retailers and hobby shops in my area that deal in used games carry used pc games. It could be however that "EB" has swallowed up all these local businesses if it's truly illegal (assuming this is a national copyright law, not merely state or local law). I know that in China they have street venders and local retailers that sell all manner of bootleg and pirated software for rock bottom prices, but I wouldn't expect gross violations through major retail chains in the US midwest.

 

So you're saying blame the Copyright laws (DMCA?) rather than retailers. Interesting.

 

Console games will fetch you about half of what Gamestop sells it for. For example if you traded in Madden 06, we'd buy it for 25.00, and sell it for 44.99. If we bought it for $50, how would we ever make any money?!?! It's all about supply and demand. Sure you might have a copy of Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, HOWEVER, GameStop ALSO sells this game for $4.99 AND has a surplus of these games as far as the eyes can see. What do you expect us to pay for it?The best time to trade your stuff in, is the same year when it came out AND during one of our bonus sales, like right now you trade in 4 or more games and get 40% more added to each game.

 

There are all kinds of deals going on, it's true. If you're not a regular customer of a store, you really get the short end. In all I'm sure you'll agree that these kinds of things cater to repeat customers. That's why store credit is such a bum deal for somebody like me. Now if I shopped every day and spent the same amount of money at the same store all the time, it wouldn't be quite such a bitter pill. I'm sure stores like yours view this as "protection" but it's rather crap, all things considered, especially when its not the customer's fault.

 

For example we have had kids recently trade in Gameboy Advance games for well over $100.

 

When I still lived in the midwest (before school started this fall) there was an interesting situation. In Iowa kids brought in huge piles of games and game stuff to sell back to the store, then used their money to buy a huge load of other stuff. I saw it happen all the time. Little kids and their pokemons. ;)

 

But just across the river in Illinois where I worked, state law prohibited kids from selling back games or purchasing them (the latter iirc). You had to have an id verifying you were 18 to get refunds on stuff to prevent kids from selling the games their parents gave them for cash. Then again the idea of cash for games or games for store credit/trade ins was somewhat tricky.

 

I see that you're mostly talking about trade-ins and used games. I guess I should have explained that I was referring to purchases of NEW games, and returning them within a reasonable amount of time. When I purchase used games they are so cheap its rarely worth it to return them even if there was something wrong (I've been lucky thus far though in that regard). Where I run into problems is usually in regards to hardware, controllers, etc. That is when problems crop up and suddenly the store assumes I'm trying to cheat them. Restrictive return policies and other issues often prevent me from buying the product in the first place, as I've learned to ask that up front before I plunk down my cash (since I can't use checks and don't have a cc).

 

As far as friendly? I kill my customers with kindness. The thing that people don't realize about Gamestop is that it is the most vocal job I have ever had on the face of the Earth. Even though we are merely a retail store, people are under the grave misconseption that we:

1. Play video games 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

2. Own every system, and have played every single game known to mankind.

3. We don't just sell the game, we develope it, manufacture it, and if anything happens to it, we'll go ahead and fix it for free.

 

As a manager, I would expect nothing less. ;) Most of the store people I've talked to are generally polite. I've worked in thankless jobs myself and I know how it is. But still, many businesses have insulated themselves as being under constant attack and threat by customers. While there is a certain amount of wisdom in not giving in to "stupid" customers (and yes, I've seen "Clerks"), and it's not really the fault of individual drones for the stupid policies of the stores they work at (they're just following orders) it's still annoying to have reasonable requests smacked down because of some "precedent" blamed on bad customers.

 

As to all video game store personel being gamer geeks, you're right, they need not be. However 99.99% of the game store people I've ever interacted with were gamer geeks to some degree. They would ramble on about the game of their choice if given the opportunity. They would ramble on about games when not with a customer, etc. Could it just be an act? If so they fooled me! ;) It helps to like the stuff you sell, and perhaps the job appeals to gamer geeks at least in my area, to others its just a job. I've never met anyone who assumed the store that sold him the game made the game as well, but I suppose such people exist (like the people that ask us what it's like working for George Lucas/LucasArts!).

 

I try to be as polite as possible, but when you are fased with the same questions 40 hours a week, your enthusiasm might not be as high as you hoped it would be.

 

All part of the job of course. The customer is always right, and if they're given the impression they're being treated fairly, they'll respect you more and be more loyal, so it all pays out in the end. The few people who blatantly try to cheat you should be easy enough to spot. I think in many ways though video game shops are becoming the biggest racket. Some of the stuff they do I have a hard time believing would fly at other kinds of stores.

 

 

Perfect example: "Which system is going to be better, the XBox 360, or the PS3?" This one we hear no less than 50 times on any given day. My answer is always met with a smile: "It all depends on which games you want to play!"

 

Excellent. Of course asking the employee for their opinion is not a bad thing to do. At the stores I've been to I've had employees urge me NOT to get a certain game or accessory, or recommend another. This probably seems counter productive, because the store needs to sell everything, not just what a certain employee wants. I see a difference between the personal opinion of an employee and the store, which is to let people buy what they want, as long as they pay for it. ;) Good answer though.

 

Anyways if you are having a horrible time and your local game retailer, I suggest asking for a manager....if he/she does not satisfy you, go to his/her boss next. Despite any of the hassles we go through, there is NEVER an excuse for poor customer service---EVER!

 

Great. Sadly the managers are usually the ones I'm disagreeing with. The poor drone behind the counter can only repeat verbatim what the rules are, and shrug sadly. I usually end up turning them down with a smile and going out the door, with much less enthusiasm at shopping there again. But like I said, I'm not a "regular customer." I go to a variety of shops and I patronize them based on what I'm looking for, rather than just buying the latest game from my usual place. When one store gives me a crappy deal I go someplace else and then wonder what I was thinking the other day!

 

But I will take your advice and see about asking the boss next. That reminds me of the time I ran afoul of some employees at Video Update (an old chain in my college town). One store was very good, the other sucked horribly. I talked to the manager on the phone, and she put me through to the regional manager office, but they sadly didn't take calls or something, and they never got back to me. I heard their business went belly up a few months later though, so I guess it wasn't just me.

 

Video Stores are probably the second on the list of bad experiences I've had as a customer, but I should end my rant for today. Sorry to derail any of the thread...!

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