Jump to content
IGNORED

"GameStop Enters Sellout Talks"


Austin

Recommended Posts

Retail space is expensive. Rent is proportional with foot traffic. The better the traffic, the higher the rent. Then there is insurance, utilities, advertising and labor.Today's minimum wage labor pool is pathetic. Nearly useless. Unless you have family and friends who will work for free or next to nothing, forget it.

 

You also high volume sales to help with those costs. I have seen used game stores come and go and when the foot traffic drops off in a given area. We had a local 3-store chain here years back that was great until the big chains came in and, the last store was sold to an employee who had his head up his ass and alienated every long time customer of the original owner. It's long gone now. It was called Games+

 

There is a model here that seems to work, but I am not sure any is consignment. They are large used book and music stores, that also have a game section. It's called Bookman's. There is also a small store here that does mostly comics and games, but also has a huge table of lego that you can pick and fill a cup like the regular lego store and there are grab bags for $20 or so. I need to get over there for some classic space parts I need...

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

 

 

As noted above, pawn shops already provide this service; I was wondering if one could offer potential sellers a better deal if they are willing to wait for the item to be sold through.

e.g. A pawn shop will give you 25% of the value of the item in cash today; a consignment shop will give you 80% of the value if/when the item actually sells. (Donating to a thrift shop gets you 0% of the value.)

 

GameStop was suppose to be like a consignment shop for trading in last-gen games for next-gen ones or last year's Madden for the current version, and also as a pawn shop as far as used games goes. But the truth is the trade value for each game is so pitiful they give you only a couple dollars for a game or twice that to put towards credit. Drone worker scans the bar code and tells you that's the value so forget about haggling like you could in a pawn shop enivronment. For that type of return you've might as well had gotten a digital download with zero refund...

 

I treat GameStop like any other used game store (or flea market) where I can buy a last gen game on a disk for $15 or less compared to a digital copy that still goes for $20. I wouldn't buy current gen games unless they go for under $15 since you have to d/l the patch which is the same size as the game itself and you have to still stick the "key" disk in everytime you want to play.

 

As a seller of new games, they have to compete against the likes of Best Buy but they encourage sale of used $55 games (to keep 100% profit) so PO'ed publishers would rather sell digitally. As sellers of used games, they have WAY too much competition from local mom & pop pawn stores...especially the specialized game stores that still sell Nintendo & Sega carts.

 

So yeah GS is going the way of every single mall store, and the shoddy customer support did them no favors...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

With the rumored demise of game specific Playstation redemption codes at retail next month, I bought a code for the now delisted Activision Hits Remixed off the GameStop site. Two hours later and I'm still waiting for the code to be e-mailed to me.

 

The only mystery to me for why GameStop is struggling is how they managed to last this long. I feel sorry for the good people that work there (A good 80% of the employees I've dealt with through the years were friendly, helpful, and not pushy), but things like this are just foolish.

 

Hopefully it gets here sometime over the next few days, but why isn't an e-mail code automatically sent at the time of purchase?

Edited by Atariboy
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love the swag, T-Shirts, and other video game items at Game Stop. Naturally being a retro kind of guy I didn't have many games to buy.

 

Then again, a well priced Atari flashback or two might make good gifts.

 

The associates are in fact really cool. Can't think of any I haven't liked. One keeps up with me to see if I want to pre-order my Bubsy games, another has some really cute ladies working there and were really friendly. Fun to visit.

 

Speaking of cute ladies on one visit I told by one that business used to be a lot more difficult. The points and bucks for buying ingame items could be bought at Game Stop and sadly Game Stop did not see any profit from it. They now receive at least SOMETHING for that, which considering how much is sold helps a lot.

 

Like their stores, wish they could go a bit more retro and retro systems.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife and I talked about this yesterday after I read the articles about the attempt to sell... again. I've also seen the trend here in the Charleston, SC and nearby areas where GameStop stores are turning into toy and collectible stores.

 

I think they are losing the battle of selling physical games to the digital download medium. No need to go to GameStop (or anywhere else) when you can just buy the game you want on your console or handheld and download it immediately. The saving grace for GameStop is that they take trade-ins for physical copies of games. I feel like they under-emphasize the value of this. Yeah, I know they constantly ask for trade-ins. I think they undersell the value of it to the player, though. Just not a strong enough statement that clearly says to the player, "If you buy a physical copy of the game from us instead of downloading it, you'll get monetary value back out of it when you're done with it. If you download it digitally, you get zilch when you're done with it. Buy physical, buy here, trade here." I keep thinking back to having bought my son a used 3DS when he was young so that if it broke my investment wouldn't be too high. Many were sold with games digitally downloaded from the Nintendo eShop included. He could have cared less about those games. Therefore, no value added to the resale process. I never buy downloadable content for consoles if there is a physical media copy available for this very reason. If GameStop can figure out how to pound this message into the minds of the gamers, they might get back to their core business: selling video games. If not, look for more and more trinkets to flood the shelves.

 

Great observation earlier about the customer service or lack thereof. I've told the Mrs. for years that there is no customer service there anymore, only cashiers. That's the other problem they're having: no connection with the gamers on a personal level. Seems to me they used to hold contests in-store and other means of connecting gamers to the business. Now, it's just a matter of picking out what you want and bringing it to the register. If they will reinvigorate their relationships with the gamers, I feel like they might have a chance to turn things around even more.

 

I like GameStop. As I've posted in the past, I was a store manager for Babbage's (now GameStop), so I want them to do well. I'm in their corner, and hope they do some great things that don't involve expensive niche collectibles in 2019 and get back to the gamers that want to love shopping with them again.

 

 

Wait a minute. Is that Engadget article suggesting they are focusing on trade ins and reinvigorating the social connections to their customers? Where have I heard that before? Hmm. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know it's a sin but I go to Gamestop a lot. I like having the game and box in my hand. It will be a shame for me to see them go. There is The Exchange here in Ohio which has not only new systems and games but retro stuff as well. It will probably be a boon for them. Less GS more business for them. Another place is Endless Electronics which is a single mom/pop store. Nice guy who's also an electronics repairman. Can fix systems if needed. I'll be sad to see Gamestop go but there will be places, brick and mortar and online, to take its place. Garage sales and thrift stores are always there too.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know it's a sin but I go to Gamestop a lot. I like having the game and box in my hand. It will be a shame for me to see them go.

 

I still hit up GameStop every once in a while. You can get a good deal if you go during one of their sales, like Buy 2/Get 1 Free Used OR 4 for $20 ($9.99 or less). Otherwise they aren't worth the effort IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

As a former EB employee, I know the evils that are wrought there...

 

But that said I still kind of like my local GameStop, especially since they bought and stock ThinkGeek merch. Or did.

I get lots of toys and game apparel on closeout for dirt cheap. I would be notably saddened if they went away, even if half the time I pop by I find nothing to buy.

 

It's tough to find the best place to shop. When shopping online, I try to avoid Big Bad Bezos the Bastard Billionaire. But on the other hand, It's not easy to find reasonable alternatives all the time. I had / am having an AWFUL experience with CastleMania Games (who are apparently a two-man operation, which is awesome, but they make mistakes and don't reply -at all- to emails or voicemails, how th to you have an online store and not reply to customers' emails??? Going to have to go through my credit card company to reverse a charge as I'm getting nothing from them, grrrr). I LOVE TradeNGames for older Atari / Genesis stuff, they have a good site and ship extremely fast.

I try to go to brick and mortar when I can, just prefer it for many reasons; we've got a local chain that is...sometimes ok around here, and GameStops are common near me. I try to hit BestBuy when I can too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

COO/CFO out after 23 years with the company

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/343713/GameStop_COO_and_CFO_Rob_Lloyd_steps_down_amid_executive_shuffle.php

In a press release, recently appointed CEO George Sherman said that the changes aim to “advance GameStop’s transformation as we work to position the company for the future and bring gaming culture and experiences to life in every community.”
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a large part of the problem with this business model is that there is a large chunk of the gaming public that doesn't care about nerd merch/action figures/random plastic widgets (I don't). Lots of people who shop there never touch the stuff, according to the folks I know that work there.

What's even more odd is that (at least in my local store) more shelf space is being devoted to random nicknacks than the actual games these days.

I think they could make a go of it widening their net and including more nerd gaming beyond the video game stuff, but you can totally tell some suit is picking the current lineup out. A lot of it isn't great.

Imagine if they carried fantasy flight's boardgame line, DnD/Star Wars tabletop RPGs (plus dice, mats etc) and other popular nerd board/card game lines in addition to console games? I can see that working. As is, there's no future in cheap game memorabilia as half the store, unless I'm much mistaken.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's been like that off and on for like 20 years -- it was basically a Pokémon store while we waited for the PS2 generation to come along.

 

I can't tell if my declining interest in GameStop is due to my lack of interest in physical stuff, or just getting older. There's a GameStop a mile from my house which would have been the mutt's butt in the 1990s but I just don't care anymore nowadays.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

GameStop said first-quarter net income fell to $6.8 million, from $28.2 million a year ago.

Same-store sales declined 10.3% from a year earlier (analysts had expected a 7% drop).
New hardware sales fell about 35%, and new software sales fell 4.3% from a year ago.
Preowned sales were down 20.3%.
Sales of accessories, a category the company had been trying to grow, increased 0.6% for the quarter.
Collectibles sales increased 10.5% to $157.3 million.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 2:01 PM, Lord Thag said:


Imagine if they carried fantasy flight's boardgame line, DnD/Star Wars tabletop RPGs (plus dice, mats etc) and other popular nerd board/card game lines in addition to console games? I can see that working. As is, there's no future in cheap game memorabilia as half the store, unless I'm much mistaken.

You know- having it spelled out like that, it seems so damn obvious I'm now amazed & annoyed they've not tried this route yet. The stores with more floor space (or access to loaner space) could hold tourneys & such- go to Gamestop for FNM. Drop early & stuck waiting for friends? Play a demo on the Switch kiosk!

 

I want this to be a thing now.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, HoshiChiri said:

You know- having it spelled out like that, it seems so damn obvious I'm now amazed & annoyed they've not tried this route yet. The stores with more floor space (or access to loaner space) could hold tourneys & such- go to Gamestop for FNM. Drop early & stuck waiting for friends? Play a demo on the Switch kiosk!

 

I want this to be a thing now.

Yeah it seems to be a pretty obvious thing to most nerds I've talked to. The idiots in suits who run Gamestop? Not so much.
 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree that it would make GameStop a more attractive hangout spot. I would think making a newbie-friendly spot for boardgame demos could be an unfilled niche for many people. Personally, I often play games to avoid interacting with people, but not everyone is as awful as me. 

 

It doesn't necessarily follow that they'd make enough extra money to offset the liability of having so many nerds hanging around all day. Maybe if they sold candy, coffee, or beer?

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

22 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

I agree that it would make GameStop a more attractive hangout spot. I would think making a newbie-friendly spot for boardgame demos could be an unfilled niche for many people. Personally, I often play games to avoid interacting with people, but not everyone is as awful as me. 

 

It doesn't necessarily follow that they'd make enough extra money to offset the liability of having so many nerds hanging around all day. Maybe if they sold candy, coffee, or beer?

Boardgame cafes are literally already things, and are very popular up here in Canada (there's, like 8 of them here in Edmonton).

 

Not sure a "video game cafe" is a thing that would be legal, but someone in Calgary is giving it a go: https://supersmashcafe.ca/

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...