Gamestop will be closing down stores

[FOX2600]

The Completely Unnecessary Podcast has been talking a LOT lately about gamestop's "Circle Of Life" program..

 

http://kotaku.com/new-gamestop-program-leads-employees-to-lie-to-customer-1791874332

I would also like to recommend Pat's vids, quite informing.

[akator]

I am surprised this didn't happen sooner. Gamestop continued aggressively expanding the same time smartphones, app stores, and other digital distribution was taking off. As Amazon and eBay grew bigger, Gamestop did nothing to change their business model to maintain customer loyalty.

 

Gamestop used to be one of my frequent destinations. Even when shopping somewhere else for other things, if there was a Gamestop nearby I would almost always stop by. Now 4 years have passed since I last visited one of their retail stores. I don't go to their website often, either. I have too many other better, friendlier choices to purchase my games. If I want to sell my games I have too many other better, friendlier choices for that, too. I would love it if Gamestop became a shopping destination for me again because I used to enjoy it, but it has been over a decade with their business practices moving in directions that don't work for me.

 

I suspect there are a lot of people like me that game up on Gamestop a while ago and there will be many more retail store closings in the company's future. If anything, it's amazing this didn't happen sooner.

Edited March 27, 2017 by akator

[HoshiChiri]

I would also like to recommend Pat's vids, quite informing.

 

Welcome to Retail, quite frankly. I work in a craft store and a department store. Both require quotas to sign people up for what-have-you and sales goals. The craft store's crap-du-jour is email collection... and I have been told to just ask for it like it's required to complete the purchase, rather then ask people if they want to get our junk emails. I don't do that. I'm also perpetually missing quota.

 

Really, the biggest seeming difference with Gamestop is they'll actually fire you over it.

[FOX2600]

Really, the biggest seeming difference with Gamestop is they'll actually fire you over it.

Sounds like a real fun place to work...

[Flojomojo]

Yuck. That reminds me of Radio Shack asking for all your information just to buy a battery or two.

[Tanooki]

This has always been a common complaint and something I've experienced often at multiple stores. It's almost as if employees are trained in such a way they develop an anxiety for fear of not performing well enough under the watchful eye of a superior....

 

But, Surprisingly, when I bought my 2DS the employee was very pleasant, easy going, no pressure. Too bad I had to go thru 4 2DS's to get one that functioned, but that's a story for another thread...

It's a mixed bag. For instance, the one I went into yesterday before going over to buy food I saw it was a clearance blowout. The wide store the diagonal full front of it (think of it like a slice like this \) was nothing but toys and all that garbage, heaps of it they couldn't get rid of. I saw this one usb car charger someone ripped the sticker off of. Before I got there one employee was already talking to me about what's up despite me saying no thanks. I then found that thing, told the guy about it, he didn't say thanks, he went and ran off telling me he'd look the price up for me (which I didn't ask for) Then he kept an eye on me a bit, then bugged me about the Wii games, then busy his associate did the same with this wide eyed kind of creepy stare over the top of the rack asking if I needed anything (yet again.) About that time I had more than enough, looked at a few key games, saw those prices I noted, turned around and got out and all this in about 5min time. -- That's why I don't like going in there all wrapped up nicely.

 

But as you said, it's not like that at every store. The one in the closest mall here for years had this curvy cute upper 20something manager who was really sweet, nice, chill and laid back. A hi when you came in, at best asked if you were after something in particular, but no pressure and no jerk stuff. If you did chat her up she was friendly and if it interested her it would be a conversation, not a pitch. I think it just comes down to the manager, not the DM or anything as it's all the same market here. I ran one, short of getting busted over it, I'd drop the pressure tactics entirely as it makes the place at least then pretty cool to browse and take time with instead of feeling like prey.

 

And yes it's true about GS, they will fire all sorts of people in a store if they don't get enough used or non-game items sold in a month as they care about the quota and hard sale and it makes the place awful to work from people I've known who suffered employment there.

[godslabrat]

I'm pretty sure all retail has quotas of some kind. Some stores track how much you sell, others are more concerned with what you sell, and yet some others quantify your customer feedback and use that as your metric. None of which are, necessarily, terrible ideas. The problem is, does the quota accurately reflect your measure as an employee, or is it a way of letting the front-liner take the blame for the results of bad policy? In the case of GameStop's "Circle of Life", customers were making the logical decision to buy new games when said games were in stock and the price difference wasn't great enough to be a factor. This makes the employee look bad, simply because the customer acted in their own self-interest. The real solution would be for GameStop to either stock less new product, or make sure the used games were priced to make the new games less appealing. The implication is that the GS employee didn't do their job in "selling to the used inventory", when in reality, they gave the customer exactly what they wanted, and what any rational customer would want.

 

To continue my previous comparison to Circuit City... at that store, we were encouraged to sell "Open Box" items, which were previous floor models or returns. The problem was, OB items were typically marked down less than 10% off the price of a sealed item, and we couldn't guarantee that any sale prices or rebates would apply to them-- a big deal for PCs especially, which often had loads of vendor incentives thrown on them to move stock. Customers had the choice of a new-in-box item with a factory seal with possibly hundreds in discounts, or saving $20 and getting something with a completely unknown history. As an employee, I refused to push OB in these circumstances, because there was no benefit to the customer, and they knew it. But it affected my quota, and had I been weak in other areas, they could have fired me over it.

[Tempest]

Am I the only one without any bad Gamestop stories? I've seem some seriously questionable stuff being done in GS stores (people selling obviously stolen games and whatnot), but I've personally never had a bad experience. I usually go to GS because where I am it's either GS or a non-video game centric big box chain store which may or may not have what I'm looking for. There really aren't a lot of independent game stores around here and few there are look sketchy as hell.

[Retro-Z]

I'm pretty sure all retail has quotas of some kind. Some stores track how much you sell, others are more concerned with what you sell, and yet some others quantify your customer feedback and use that as your metric. None of which are, necessarily, terrible ideas. The problem is, does the quota accurately reflect your measure as an employee, or is it a way of letting the front-liner take the blame for the results of bad policy? In the case of GameStop's "Circle of Life", customers were making the logical decision to buy new games when said games were in stock and the price difference wasn't great enough to be a factor. This makes the employee look bad, simply because the customer acted in their own self-interest. The real solution would be for GameStop to either stock less new product, or make sure the used games were priced to make the new games less appealing. The implication is that the GS employee didn't do their job in "selling to the used inventory", when in reality, they gave the customer exactly what they wanted, and what any rational customer would want.

 

I don't purchase used games at GameStop for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Why buy something used if you can get it brand new for just a few dollars more? Or, better yet, go check the prices at the Target next door and get a new game for the used GameStop price? LOL.

 

The staff at the local GameStop in my town are generally friendly and pleasant. The only thing they get a bit "pushy" about is the "disk protection" or whatever insurance they try to sell when buying a game. If I recall correctly, they have something similar for DS/3DS/Switch games, but I haven't picked any up there in 12+ months.

 

There also seems to be more of their stores than necessary in my area, so I completely agree that they could close a few and be perfectly OK.

Edited March 27, 2017 by Retro-Z

[zzip]

 

That's been a thing already- I remember they did it with Patapon 2 and it pissed me right off. I always wondered how many angry people came back wanting to know why their game wasn't in the case. To make matters even more confusing, it came out on disc later- I picked up a case randomly at a video store that was going out of business thinking I'd grump at it a bit, only to realize it was too heavy to be empty. Opened it up, saw the disc, bought it immediately.

 

Basically, I think most of the people who care enough to keep a box around want a game to go in it. They'd have better luck doing the Sonic Mania CE thing, where you're buying a toy/trinket that comes with a game code.

 

Also, as far as my area goes, there's a Gamestop in every town. Hell, there's 3 I can walk to from work! I imagine there's some chopping room.

 

My suggestion wouldn't replace the disk, the box would be clearly marked whether it contained a disc or a code. The code might be $5 cheaper because it has no trade-in potential.

 

To explain my thinking further. Right now, physical disks go on sale quicker, and digital game prices stay artificially high so they don't piss off the physical retailers. It sucks for someone like me who prefers not needing to put a disc in to play a game (try that with Remote Play ) but I also prefer the better prices on physical. So I've often bought physical games and traded them later.

 

If they boxed codes and disks, the physical retailer still has something to sell, so they aren't hurt by it. If they can give the same kinds of discounts they give on discs, I would certainly buy through them instead of PSN. It would help keep retail viable. Seems like a win-win for everybody

[Flojomojo]

None of these bad things would be happening at GameStop if they hadn't fired that one dude for planking.

 

http://kotaku.com/5835932/fired-for-planking-is-more-complicated-than-you-think

[+Gemintronic]

Am I the only one without any bad Gamestop stories? I've seem some seriously questionable stuff being done in GS stores (people selling obviously stolen games and whatnot), but I've personally never had a bad experience. I usually go to GS because where I am it's either GS or a non-video game centric big box chain store which may or may not have what I'm looking for. There really aren't a lot of independent game stores around here and few there are look sketchy as hell.

 

Of course personal experiences vary. It also helps that I usually look anti social. They usually don't bug me or up-sell (unless there's a manager present.)

 

Although, last time they saw fit to try and card me for attempting to purchase a game with anime characters. I guess being an overweight greybeard wasn't enough to clue them in I might be over 18.

[Mord]

To explain my thinking further. Right now, physical disks go on sale quicker, and digital game prices stay artificially high so they don't piss off the physical retailers.

 

Is that how you see the artificially high digital prices? I see it the other way. The reason there are many digital sales at ALL is because there's a physical edition that ends up going cheaper faster due to the used game market. We'll have to see which side is correct after consoles finally attempt to go all digital I suppose. Even if sales do continue in some form, I wouldn't expect to see the artificial high regular prices disappear with physical games. There will be no incentive to drop -regular- prices at all at that point if there's no alternative source to match.

[Mord]

 

That's been a thing already- I remember they did it with Patapon 2 and it pissed me right off. I always wondered how many angry people came back wanting to know why their game wasn't in the case. To make matters even more confusing, it came out on disc later- I picked up a case randomly at a video store that was going out of business thinking I'd grump at it a bit, only to realize it was too heavy to be empty. Opened it up, saw the disc, bought it immediately.

 

Basically, I think most of the people who care enough to keep a box around want a game to go in it. They'd have better luck doing the Sonic Mania CE thing, where you're buying a toy/trinket that comes with a game code.

 

Also, as far as my area goes, there's a Gamestop in every town. Hell, there's 3 I can walk to from work! I imagine there's some chopping room.

 

Yeesh, I'm glad I've never been hit with that yet. (I avoided the one case with Terraria on the ps3 where I'm pretty sure this happened). If I buy a physical game I'm expecting a physical game. Not a freaking download code only. Kinda like what happened with the last Metal Gear on PC - the physical disc contained only a steam installer + download coupon iirc.

 

It would probably be the fastest way to swear me off consoles.

[Flojomojo]

I don't see how selling boxed codes would help the retailer in any long-term way. The customer would still need to be online to activate and download the purchased thing. With store credit being sold at supermarkets and online, the GameStop type physical retailer becomes a truly useless and redundant middleman.

 

Why are physical games often cheaper? I'm no retail expert, but I can think of a few reasons:

- The digital store doesn't need to clear inventory and shelf space for stuff. GameStop, Target, ToysRUs etc have finite space for displaying and storing things, especially commercially unpopular items.

- the digital store is a monopoly. Physical stores have competition, especially from Amazon Prime, which gives you free shipping and 20% off new games.

 

I think we'll still see discount sales even if things go 100% digital, because game publishers and platform owners are still in competition with each other.

[zzip]

 

Is that how you see the artificially high digital prices? I see it the other way. The reason there are many digital sales at ALL is because there's a physical edition that ends up going cheaper faster due to the used game market. We'll have to see which side is correct after consoles finally attempt to go all digital I suppose. Even if sales do continue in some form, I wouldn't expect to see the artificial high regular prices disappear with physical games. There will be no incentive to drop -regular- prices at all at that point if there's no alternative source to match.

 

Ubisoft CEO has said that the reason digital stays high is to not undercut the physical stores. Sony, MS and Nintendo still needs these same stores to push hardware. PC doesn't, which explains why they're practically all digital already.

[zzip]

I don't see how selling boxed codes would help the retailer in any long-term way. The customer would still need to be online to activate and download the purchased thing. With store credit being sold at supermarkets and online, the GameStop type physical retailer becomes a truly useless and redundant middleman.

 

Why are physical games often cheaper? I'm no retail expert, but I can think of a few reasons:

- The digital store doesn't need to clear inventory and shelf space for stuff. GameStop, Target, ToysRUs etc have finite space for displaying and storing things, especially commercially unpopular items.

- the digital store is a monopoly. Physical stores have competition, especially from Amazon Prime, which gives you free shipping and 20% off new games.

 

I think we'll still see discount sales even if things go 100% digital, because game publishers and platform owners are still in competition with each other.

 

yes you can buy store credits, but for those you have to pay the full digital store price- or wait longer for a sale. Gamestop has a rewards card that gives discounts on games, they have coupons. Amazon has 20% off new games for Prime members-- these things would give people incentive for buying a boxed code and save money vs a generic card. Plus lots of people do like getting the box art and collectors editions.

 

Also as you mention, the digital store is a monopoly (or can be, if we allow the other game retailers to die), so having alternate places to buy with better prices and/or additional incentives would be a good thing, right?

[Flojomojo]

Also as you mention, the digital store is a monopoly (or can be, if we allow the other game retailers to die), so having alternate places to buy with better prices and/or additional incentives would be a good thing, right?

 

Only in an open market. If the Ubisoft guy is correct, and digital sales are artificially inflated to help the brick & mortar stores, I know which one I prefer.

 

(hint: it's the one that's open all night, never runs out of stock, and never asks me to purchase a protection plan, loyalty club membership, or a magazine subscription)

[S1500]

 

 

 

(hint: it's the one that's open all night, never runs out of stock, and never asks me to purchase a protection plan, loyalty club membership, or a magazine subscription)

 

Come to think of it, where I purchased GTA5 a while back fit that bill(almost): WalMart. IIRC they had a pallet of them. Yes, I went to WalMart instead of a tiny retailer that specializes in video games.

 

It's amazing how much time is spent per transaction for the club sign-up for the few customers they have in-store.

 

Getting a little RadioShacky there, GS.

[deckardbr]

I wanted to add my experience with them of selling gutted games as new. The worst part of this ridiculous practice is how the employees handle it. When you explain to them that this is in fact not a new copy, you then get a deer in headlights expression from them as if they are saying "this is a totally normal and acceptable thing, how could you not want this gutted game with a new price tag?"

 

This happened to me recently where they tried to pull this scam (and lets face it, its a scam) and I insisted on buying a used copy instead at the used price. Thankfully the employee quickly switched it out for a used one without much fuss.

 

I think alot of gamestops have lost customers due to their insane upselling practices of trying to get you to pre-order games and to sell you on their membership plan and very thin magazine. Some stores are better then others when it comes to this upselling stuff but its a major hinderance on purchasing anything from them. If you remember Radio Shack used to ask you for all kinds of personal infromation and they are now pretty much done. Hopefully Gamestop will make some changes to their store policies and just stop selling gutted used copies as new.

Edited March 27, 2017 by deckardbr

[HoshiChiri]

I've actually found the membership plan to be quite useful. I get B2G1 deals a couple times a year, I get a bit more off games, I avoid the sales pitch. I also make sure basically everyone I know has the phone number for the account, & encourage them to use it for discounts if they're ever in the store. As a result, I build up extra rewards points- which get spent once a year on a membership renewal coupon. I haven't actually paid for the card since they brought in the points.

[Gregory DG]

Gamestop is the next Blockbuster. Downloadable games is the future (sadly.)

[FOX2600]

Gamestop is the next Blockbuster. Downloadable games is the future (sadly.)

Absolute truth :-/

[S1500]

I know video games are much more popular(bigger than hollywood) than they were back then, but I'm looking at the NE map. You know, the one that's entirely red? It's not THAT popular. Like, 2 gamestops in the Mall of America popular. I highly doubt each GS is pushing so much merch that it needs a second store to keep up.

 

In Tokyo, there's zero game stops. There's nowhere near as many stores selling video games than I saw per square kilometer, and I was in Akihabara.

[toptenmaterial]

They'll have to diversify in today's economy. I say have a Kino machine and scratch tickets, smokes, and adult film rentals.

Edited March 28, 2017 by toptenmaterial