Game Stop's Anti-Collector Mentality Continues!

[Smitty]

Well....It's gonna get much harder to collect for the Wii, Wii-U, Xbox 360, and PS3. 1. Most Game Stops around me no longer carry it. 2. I believe the ones that are, are trashing cover art and game cases to make room. 

 

Also for the new stuff (XB1/XBSX and PS4/PS5), you won't know if they have the original instructions, cover art and game case until you take the new generic game case to the register and ask them. This seems like a horrible idea, all game and game cases will now be stored in the locked drawers behind the register...Which will lead to lack of space...which will result in Game Stop trashing cases (remember the GB, GBA, DS and 3DS).

 

Call me old school but the digital days are right around the corner and Game Stop is putting the final nail in their own coffin (by doing this).

 

See enclosed picture for what the new stores will look like.

 

It's very confusing where are the prices? Are these new or used games?

 

Thoughts?

 

[glazball]

I'm sure it's so people with their covidy hands don't handle every case while browsing.  Gamestop has never been collector-friendly though.  They would much prefer you sell your games back for pennies on the dollar.  In fact, some of their trade in values are for a penny (AC Unity comes to mind).

[AlecRob]

I think everyone should just stop giving this dreadful company their business.  Let them make stupid decisions, they’ll die eventually if we simply ignore them.   

[Austin]

5 hours ago, AlecRob said:

I think everyone should just stop giving this dreadful company their business.  Let them make stupid decisions, they’ll die eventually if we simply ignore them.   

With so many stores closing down, they're making that part pretty easy.

[HoshiChiri]

I was in a Gamestop for the first time since this reset- somehow I missed that they weren't pricing anything. I don't think I've ever been so horrifed/confused in a Gamestop before (and that's saying something!)

 

I really hope they backpedal this- this is fine for the new games, but used should really have the gut-cases out. And PRICE THINGS! If I was so focused on a title I didn't need a price, I'd buy it online!

[Leatherrebel5150]

The Gamestop reddit talked about this a little while ago. It's an interesting place to read up on the shenanigans of how Gamestop corporate really screws stores over.

 

[godslabrat]

I'm amazed that anyone is even surprised at GameStop's ability to make horrible decisions that don't benefit the consumer and, somehow, don't even benefit them.  Their awful business moves are literally a weekly story at this point.

[jhd]

9 hours ago, AlecRob said:

I think everyone should just stop giving this dreadful company their business.  Let them make stupid decisions, they’ll die eventually if we simply ignore them.   

 

I have not set foot into a GameStop since they ceased selling PS 2 games. 

 

It was the location on Stillwater Avenue in Bangor, Maine. All of the PS 2 titles were just randomly in a huge bin; not ordered or sorted in any way. I must have spent 20 minutes sifting through the whole stock (though I found some great RPGs!) and the clerk was upset at me because I left things piled to the side. I retorted that if the games were organized in some fashion, people may actually buy something.  

[cybercylon]

I will be amazed if GS physical stores even exist in 2-3 years. Maybe they will be gone sooner than that. We used to have three "local" ones, but now I'd have to drive 40 minutes out of my way to get to one.

[eightbit]

Years ago I went to a Gamestop to pick up the Gamecube version of Namco Museum. The box on the shelf said "new". I figured they would have a new copy in the back or behind the register. No, the "new" disc was in an envelope in the drawer behind the register....all scratched up. They tried to tell me it was new. Nope, not new if it is opened and scratched up...sorry Last time I have been in one of these stores!

[Video]

So...more of the same?

 

GameStop was fine for new stuff, before they took the liberty of opening everything, but it's been decades since I used them for older stuff, to many other stores that do it right.

[Keatah]

When I stuff my gut at Panda Express I have to walk past a GameStop. Haven't been in there in like ages.

 

But they must be doing "something" since they're still in business..

[+x=usr(1536)]

What amazes me is that GameStop seems to somehow survive despite the fact that, with the exception of sales of new physical releases, pawn shops essentially fulfill the same market niche.

 

We have a half-dozen pawn shops around here, and four of the six are pretty clued-in as to the retail value of the gaming-related things people don't pick up and price themselves competitively.  The other two are convinced that a copy of 2600 Pac-Man with a cracked shell and that reeks of cat piss is OMG L@@K RARE!!! and price themselves into the I'm-being-asked-to-leave-because-I-asked-them-if-this-price-was-for-real category.

Edited November 22, 2020 by x=usr(1536)

[0078265317]

They don't give much in trade in anyway.  My WII is only worth a penny.

 

https://www.gamestop.com/trade/details/?pid=10115339

 

Shame as they are still selling for 89.

 

https://www.gamestop.com/video-games/more-platforms/nintendo-wii/consoles/pre-owned

[+GoldLeader]

On 11/21/2020 at 7:48 PM, 0078265317 said:

They don't give much in trade in anyway.  My WII is only worth a penny.

 

https://www.gamestop.com/trade/details/?pid=10115339

 

Shame as they are still selling for 89.

 

https://www.gamestop.com/video-games/more-platforms/nintendo-wii/consoles/pre-owned

I somehow read that as WWII, (heh)...So...A Nintendo Wii has 1 cent of value to them, yet they sell them for $90?

 

Yeah,  That's Game Stop all right.  Won't miss them one bit when they're gone.  Which will probably be pretty soon.

 

 

Last time I was in there I picked up one used PS3 game that was one of about 3 used games in their whole goddamned store that had the original box,  and the dumbshit clerk took it out of the box and put it in a generic case for me.  As I watched, I had no idea what was going on,...Almost didn't notice, distracted by other things, then I said, "Hey where's the box I just handed you??"   "Oh you wanted the box?" 

 

"Nooo!  I just specifically went over there and picked out the one game with a box so you could hand me some generic piece of crap case because that looks good!"  To be fair he quickly said "Sorry about that" and I let it slide with no more sarcasm...I doubt it was his fault.

[+GoldLeader]

PS I never buy anything without a price.   (There are rare exceptions to the rule,  TP during a possible shortage, for instance.)  But seriously, I get so mad at this issue that 9 times out of 10, I'll buy it elsewhere if there's no price.

[digdugnate]

laterally related- i went into one of our GameStops since Mrs. Digdug was shopping next door at a Cato and was profoundly saddened to see how the store looked on the inside.

 

They had one roughly six-foot-long set of racking for Switch games and PS games, and then one about double-length for XBox games.  90% of the store remaining was clothing/pops/assorted toys.  I think their hours are also reduced to like 12-7 on weekdays/saturdays.

[cybercylon]

Before the doors were permanently closed on the two Gamestops near us, they were pretty much the same... at least 70-80% nick-nacks and shirts. Was I in a Game Stop or Hot Topic? Really, they can't go on like that for much longer.

[godslabrat]

I think they're taking the revenue saved by closing stores and redirecting it to the ones they keep open.  It's like a reverse ponzi scheme-- and it won't last forever.  The only reason it's lasted this long is that they started with such a large number of stores.

[HoshiChiri]

Back when Gamestop changed the Pro membership perk from '10% off used games' to '$5 certificate every month, I asked the guy at my local store what people thought of the change. What he told me was illuminating.

 

Basically, the average Gamestop customer these days doesn't buy games. They buy the tchotchkes. They collect Funko Pops. And they didn't buy Pro becuase it didn't get them anything- so they changed it.

 

There's a mall nearby that actually has a Thinkgeek physical store in it. They did sell some games- like, 2 shelves worth. I genuinely think that's how Gamestop is going now- a 'videogame' store where games are secondary to gaming tat... becuase apparently the modern players would rather sign up for Gamepass & spend the rest of their gaming dollars on junk to show the world how hardcore they are.

 

So- do we tell them about walking 15 miles in the snow for our games, or just chase them off the lawn? ?

[toptenmaterial]

I had an interesting experience at Gamestop last year. I was looking for a Wii U. I talked to a guy on the phone who said that he had a refurbished unit. I told him I'd be by to take a look at it. So I get there and the guy shows it to me. It does have the refurb plastic wrap on it. And under the wrap, the unit is trashed; totally scratched and filthy. The gamepad buttons were covered in dry soda and wouldn't click. I was pissed because I had walked there for nothing, but wasn't altogether unamused. So I asked him a few questions about the soda n such. The clerk was adamant that this was a totally refurbished system and looked at me like I was crazy. 

 

I haven't returned to gamestop and have no desire or need to. Between Amazon, directly dealing with people on boards like this, and digital downloads, there is no reason to support their lousy franchise. 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by toptenmaterial

[digdugnate]

On 12/16/2020 at 9:08 PM, toptenmaterial said:

I had an interesting experience at Gamestop last year. I was looking for a Wii U. I talked to a guy on the phone who said that he had a refurbished unit. I told him I'd be by to take a look at it. So I get there and the guy shows it to me. It does have the refurb plastic wrap on it. And under the wrap, the unit is trashed; totally scratched and filthy. The gamepad buttons were covered in dry soda and wouldn't click. I was pissed because I had walked there for nothing, but wasn't altogether unamused. So I asked him a few questions about the soda n such. The clerk was adamant that this was a totally refurbished system and looked at me like I was crazy. 

 

I haven't returned to gamestop and have no desire or need to. Between Amazon, directly dealing with people on boards like this, and digital downloads, there is no reason to support their lousy franchise. 

 

 

This is the crux of why I feel like their business is 'circling the drain', so to speak.  I keep hearing anecdote after anecdote of folks that have just awful experiences with the chain and their staunch refusal (it seems like) to keep up with the needs of their customers. 

 

my opinion is that i wish they'd go back to focusing on games and consoles of all kinds- even to selling the 'online game card' type things if that's what the customers want.  even as old as i am, the urge for instant gratification is pretty high over online purchases/etc lol (from like Amazon or similar). if they had CLEAN, nice-looking stores (which the ones in Springfield MO imo are not) that focused on games, consoles, console peripherals, computer gaming, etc, i'd hit them up every time im in town and probably spend more money there.

 

but.. then again, maybe im just yearning for game stores of the past and should get a time machine instead. haha

[Austin]

On 12/21/2020 at 7:33 AM, digdugnate said:

..and should get a time machine instead. haha

Seems like a more viable alternative to GameStop actually improving.

[Leatherrebel5150]

On 12/21/2020 at 7:33 AM, digdugnate said:

This is the crux of why I feel like their business is 'circling the drain', so to speak.  I keep hearing anecdote after anecdote of folks that have just awful experiences with the chain and their staunch refusal (it seems like) to keep up with the needs of their customers. 

 

my opinion is that i wish they'd go back to focusing on games and consoles of all kinds- even to selling the 'online game card' type things if that's what the customers want.  even as old as i am, the urge for instant gratification is pretty high over online purchases/etc lol (from like Amazon or similar). if they had CLEAN, nice-looking stores (which the ones in Springfield MO imo are not) that focused on games, consoles, console peripherals, computer gaming, etc, i'd hit them up every time im in town and probably spend more money there.

 

but.. then again, maybe im just yearning for game stores of the past and should get a time machine instead. haha

Ive spent more time then I would like to admit reading stuff from Gamestop employees. Theyre experiences with corporate/customers paralleled my own in my former job and I find the stories amusing. But back to the point, your ideal for them would actually have them go down faster. The percentage of their revenue from all that toy crap far outpaces their income from game sales and it has been that way for a while. It's seems to be a fairly concrete consensus of their employees that they would have gone out of business long ago had it npt been for them expanding into collectibles as much as they have. Unfortunately what you think (and I agree with you) would make for a better video game store is just not financially practical for a large corporate operation anymore. 

[HoshiChiri]

So, something I just learned: I had a Gamestop gift card & decided to use it to buy a replacement Pacman tamagotchi. I set up a 'pickup in store' order- and it was canceled for lack of stock. That's fine, system only showed 1, inventory errors happen. I went to re-order at a different local store... and the gift card no longer worked. Apparently, if Gamestop cancels your online order & you used a gift card, they don't just reverse the charge, they mail a different card. So not only did I have to pay fully out of pocket, I have to hope the new card comes before the end of the month so I can use it on my birthday coupon game instead. What the heck kind of company can't reverse a charge on their own gift cards?! It'd make some sense if it was a proper online order, or if I'd done the cancelation... but seriously, the card can't be refunded 30 minutes later? *sigh*