GameStop to Offer Classic Consoles and Games

[TheObscureGamer]

retro consoles will now be accepted at GameStop. The company will launch a pilot sales and trade-in program for retro consoles, games, and accessories in two of its markets beginning April 25.What's sad is that they say "games, systems and select accessories for most 'retro' platforms," going all the way back to the Nintendo Entertainment System" as if the Nes was the first console and I bet if you had say a Turbografx or Turboexpress because their too "obscure" so how do you guys feel about this?.Do you think it's good that there doing this or they should just stick to modern games?

[Reaperman]

So now they'll be throwing away the boxes for those too, I suppose.

 

Just another distraction while leadership packs their golden parachutes. Having a gamestop open on every block in a world that is getting away from physical media isn't a great business plan, so I understand why they'd try just about anything. Brick and mortar classic game shops aren't a better idea, though, since every one of them in my metro area closed down years ago. Maybe it'll fly better in the northern reaches of the midwest.

 

I'm really surprised the gamestop chain has made it as far as they have. The ones here offer terrible service--probably due to employee cutbacks. The overly long upsell scripts don't help, either. IMO, they need to close about 3/4 of their locations, and go back to letting their employees interact with customers like real humans. Do they really need both the one in the mall, and one in the mall's parking lot?

Edited April 15, 2015 by Reaperman

[+save2600]

Bad idea. Not only is their business model chaotic at best, the stores are already jam packed with sub par merchandise. Literally cannot tell what's new or used, despite a small sign trying to indicate what's what. No longer shop there because I can't stand their policies and selection, but stumbled into one the other day since it was (entrance actually shared the same door) next to a Jimmy Johns where I had lunch. While there, a couple of guys were scavenging a used bin, when one of them looks up and asks the employee where the manuals to all the games are. Of course, answer was the same as it has been for years; "oh we throw those away".

 

Thinking about it now, I get it! The real reason they open up new merchandise, handle the discs with as little care as possible and place their ultra sticky and obnoxious price tags directly onto cases is so that they can try to differentiate what's new and used. "New" to them means it includes a manual. Used does not.

 

Wish they'd just go away already. With so much already wrong with the world, they're just another polluter and contributor to the idiocy that is today.

[BassGuitari]

retro consoles will now be accepted at GameStop. The company will launch a pilot sales and trade-in program for retro consoles, games, and accessories in two of its markets beginning April 25.What's sad is that they say "games, systems and select accessories for most 'retro' platforms," going all the way back to the Nintendo Entertainment System" as if the Nes was the first console and I bet if you had say a Turbografx or Turboexpress because their too "obscure" so how do you guys feel about this?.Do you think it's good that there doing this or they should just stick to modern games?

Considering the current market rates for TurboGrafx stuff (or NES, for that matter) and the fact it takes little effort to find a buyer at said rates (throw it up on ebay, the AA marketplace, or craigslist and it'll be gone within a matter of days, if not hours), why would you give it to GameStop for pennies on the dollar anyway?

 

As a collector/buyer, I'm on the fence. It'd be great to be able to just go out to the mall (or wherever) and buy classic gaming stuff again; there aren't many brick-n-mortar places that sell this stuff in my area, and the ones that do are a bit out of the way for me. I shudder to think of what their prices would be like, though. But except for the Atari 7800 and XEGS, I don't generally collect for post-crash systems anyway (a few PlayStation and Dreamcast titles here and there, and only ones I'm specifically looking for and want to play), so it's essentially moot for me.

 

As a seller/trader, I would maintain my extant policy of not setting foot inside GameStop.

Edited April 15, 2015 by BassGuitari

[aikainnet]

[Keatah]

I don't patronize GameStop.

[omegadot]

I try not to be negative but adding Gamestop to any equation has never really worked out in our benefit. That said there is a shop near here with nice staff.

[Video]

If thee's not a local game store that actually deals in games, I can see it working out for them. Especially since at most they'll give you 25 cents (regardless of value) for the game and sell it for a flat $55

 

Gamestop needs serious overhauling, I doubt this will help them. Having someone competent running the place would, but they actually have policy's against that. Give people reasonable money for their used stuff, sell used stuff for used prices, no $5 less than retail is NOT a used price (it's an internet price, i just buy new from amazon for that...pluss it's actually, I don't know....new?)

 

They don't know how to do games right, the ONLY reason they are even still around is there is zero competition to them.

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

I miss Funcoland. Remember the price sheets, testing games before purchasing, and most importantly old school games. I haven't shopped or been to a Gamestop since 2005. The employees are such idiots. One time I remember walking in and some guy working there asked me if I had any trade ins today. I said "Do you see me carrying anything, do you think I can fit a game case in my pockets, or I shoved it up my rear end?

[omegadot]

I've picked up the recent Nintendo games at our local one here. I literally walk in, ask for the game, the girl (same one every time) behind the counter goes yep and hands it to me. I pay and I'm out in under 3 minutes. Most I've been in years. The one's back in Virginia Beach were very confusing to walk in to and I could never get help. Eventually I found the other smaller shops and just went there.

[+save2600]

I miss Funcoland. Remember the price sheets, testing games before purchasing, and most importantly old school games. I haven't shopped or been to a Gamestop since 2005. The employees are such idiots. One time I remember walking in and some guy working there asked me if I had any trade ins today. I said "Do you see me carrying anything, do you think I can fit a game case in my pockets, or I shoved it up my rear end?

 

I walk into a Wendy's today because I saw they have ghost pepper offerings (fries and chicken sandwich)… old bitty missing teeth asks me "for here or to go?", when I reply "if it was to go, I'd have gone through the drive-thru". Duh! She laughed.

[BassGuitari]

 

I walk into a Wendy's today because I saw they have ghost pepper offerings (fries and chicken sandwich)… old bitty missing teeth asks me "for here or to go?", when I reply "if it was to go, I'd have gone through the drive-thru". Duh! She laughed.

I go inside and order to go all the time. If the order gets screwed up, it can be dealt with right there and then. I only do the drive-thru if I'm getting, like, one thing and I'm really in a hurry (though sometimes drive-thru isn't necessarily faster).

 

The last time I purchased at GameStop was 2009, when I picked up a copy of the Contra game for PlayStation 2 for 10 or 12 bucks one day on my lunch break. Before that, I couldn't even guess. The place was probably still called Software Etc.

[+save2600]

I go inside and order to go all the time. If the order gets screwed up, it can be dealt with right there and then. I only do the drive-thru if I'm getting, like, one thing and I'm really in a hurry (though sometimes drive-thru isn't necessarily faster).

 

I'd rather not patronize places that screw things up so frequently that it becomes predictable - and_they_are.

[Cobra Kai]

I don't live in a huge metropolitan area. I'm near Notre Dame, and have access to 4-5 privately owned used media shops that sell retro video games (not including the numerous pawn shops). Probably a 3 city area with around 150,000 total population. Certainly, most people here are in a similar situation, or am I lucky to have so many retro game stores? Ebay is my main source for things I want and can't wait for. The brick and mortar stores are just extra for the thrill of finding stuff in the wild.

 

What I'm getting at is there's no need to patronize Gamestop for me, even though they easily outnumber all the stores I haunt. Hopefully they go the way of Radio Shack real soon, because frankly, Gamestop deserves to die a quick and painful death.

[Austin]

Considering the current market rates for TurboGrafx stuff (or NES, for that matter) and the fact it takes little effort to find a buyer at said rates (throw it up on ebay, the AA marketplace, or craigslist and it'll be gone within a matter of days, if not hours), why would you give it to GameStop for pennies on the dollar anyway?

 

You wouldn't. Casuals that randomly find an old console with some games in their attic that they have long forgotten about, however, will.

[Mord]

Essentially it looks like retro consoles have started to sell for high enough that gamestop thinks it'll be able to buy back those NES carts and sell them for 25-60 dollars. Basically, don't expect sane prices.

[Austin]

Essentially it looks like retro consoles have started to sell for high enough that gamestop thinks it'll be able to buy back those NES carts and sell them for 25-60 dollars. Basically, don't expect sane prices.

 

Yeah, my guess is they are going to start with whatever the current online price trends are.

[omegadot]

They bought out so many stores that used to sell classics around me growing up, I wonder if they sat on any of the inventory.

 

 

You wouldn't. Casuals that randomly find an old console with some games in their attic that they have long forgotten about, however, will.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited April 16, 2015 by omegadot

[Mord]

 

They bought out so many stores that used to sell classics around me growing up, I wonder if they sat on any of the inventory.

 

As someone who remembers how they liquidated old stuff to get rid of it, I highly doubt it. At this point the CEO is probably kicking himself in the pants for not thinking about this years ago.

[Greg2600]

This will suck.

[cybercylon]

Everything will be ebay BIN prices.

 

We have a chain here that fills the gap for older games (the Exchange). Many things are cheap (common PS 2 games, Genesis, etc), but other things are sold at BIN prices. That said, they don't throw out boxes or manuals if it came in that way, and there is a chance that there might be someone that knows what they are doing.

 

GameStop doing this... it will suck indeed. They will probably still toss out all of the manuals and boxes and sell a bare copy of SMB3 for $50.

[BassGuitari]

You wouldn't. Casuals that randomly find an old console with some games in their attic that they have long forgotten about, however, will.

That's an awfully shaky business model. Hoping there are enough people out there who fit this description to make this a profitable venture is not a solid foundation for this. There sure as hell won't be many collectors hocking their stuff there. The small time, independent retro shops usually have to comb eBay for lots, trade or make deals with other collectors, or pay market rate and hope they can flip at slightly higher than they paid. I can't conceive GameStop doing any of that (except MAYBE the last thing, only they'll mark it up god-knows %).

 

My guess is GS starts buying/selling retro for a little while...and then stops after a couple years of making zero money on it.

[BydoEmpire]

 

 

That's an awfully shaky business model. Hoping there are enough people out there who fit this description to make this a profitable venture is not a solid foundation for this. There sure as hell won't be many collectors hocking their stuff there. The small time, independent retro shops usually have to comb eBay for lots, trade or make deals with other collectors, or pay market rate and hope they can flip at slightly higher than they paid. I can't conceive GameStop doing any of that (except MAYBE the last thing, only they'll mark it up god-knows %).

My guess is GS starts buying/selling retro for a little while...and then stops after a couple years of making zero money on it.

My thoughts exactly. So called "casuals" aren't interested in retro games, especially if they're not at "whim" prices. They will buy a $10 plug-and-play. People that actually buy classic games have already been buying at better places for many years, so there's no incentive to get them to go to Gamestop.

 

I have nothing against GameStop, I'm actually glad the stores exist, but I do not see this making much of an impact in their bottom line. It's such a niche market anyways.

[SuperDork3000]

Oh God I can see it now, yellow GameStop pre-owned stickers on all the classic games carts and boxes.

[omegadot]

Oh God I can see it now, yellow GameStop pre-owned stickers on all the classic games carts and boxes.

 

Hah, or like the old railroad tracks blockbuster used.