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Game Retailers' Return Policies Criticized
Thanks to GamersWithJobs for their opinion piece discussing the allegedly harsh return policies for videogame retailers. According to the author, "There is no reasonable reason... why a [non-defective, but unwanted] product in such condition should not be returnable, and any retailer who refuses such should not be burdened with customers or money." However, as a forum reply points out: "...if the policy on returns is too liberal, game stores will turn into free game rental outlets for people who don't want to pay for software." Have retailers been changing policies, and where does the balance lie on this subject?
I was about 13 years old, and bought Zelda: 4 Seasons (or something like that) for my Game Boy, I beat it in like 2 days and wondered why I had spent all that money.
So, I got my mom to take me back to K-Mart, presented my receipt and the game, in it's packaging, but obviously opened. They asked my reason for returning it and I simply told them I was unsatisfied with my purchase, they gave me my money back and that was that. I remember feeling quite good about myself on the ride home.
How things have changed...
Cloud City Digital: DVD Production at its cheapest/finest
If the box is not open, you can return it.
If it's not, you can exchange it for the exact same game.
There's a reason game studios release demo versions. If you like it, and it runs on your computer, buy it. Otherwise, caveat emptor.
...only give a replacement copy for defective games. Honestly, it's not that hard. There's plenty of other examples of the retail world of this working just fine. Otherwise, yeah, it's pretty much a free rental place. Don't like it? Rent the games from Gamefly, the Netflix of the gaming world. Doesn't help with PC games, but for any console games, it's really cool. As seen on Penny Arcade.
=Brian
There is nothing so good that someone, somewhere, will not hate it.
Every store I've been to in the past.. oh.. five or six years has had a exchange-only-on-open-box policy, except on games like Everquest or Planetside where the box pretty much says no resale-- those games I can't return if the box has been opened since they can't rewrap the box and resell it.
I'm guessing that's pretty much the standard everywhere in the USA at the very least. It can be frustrating when you buy a complete dud...
Title of the next article: Game Players Piracy Policy Criticized
I don't think that retailers are very interested in being taken advantage of. If we stop pirating games, I am sure they will be quite willing to liberalize their return policy.
Would it be alright if I bought a book, read it, didn't like it, and returned it? The words are in my head-- I've consumed it, so can I return it? Can I vomit up a consumed cheeseburger and demand my money back from McDonald's?
I don't see that the retailers have a choice. You installed the game. You have the CD key. If the publisher didn't implement restrictive copyright protections (also whined about), then you have it and can continue to play it.
There's a rental industry. There are demos. What do you want, exactly?
Wait for the reviews, buy warily, and remember which companies screwed you with a bad title. Don't buy from them again.
#19845
If you pick up a used game, try it and hate it, return it within 7 days for a full refund. Of course if it is defective the same rule applies.
They do this with the console games at least. I'd buy a lot less games if this wasn't the policy.
For NEW games they'll buy it from you at a used price, which is ok (75-25% depending on the age of the game, and number of used copies), but it would be better if they would have the same policy of the used games for the new.
You can lose something that is loose, so tighten the loose item so you don't lose it.
Ive dropped some money on some really crappy games, and to be honest, I probably would have asked for a refund. Blood Wake for the X-Box for one example, I new within hours that I didnt want it, but was stuck with the purchase.
HMV in my area recently began their no-return policy on opened products to combat rampant burn & return customers (I am a good friend of the General Manager, who spoke of customers who repeatedly puchased 10+ cds to return the next weekend). Reasons like this justify these policies quite well in my opinion.
Lax return policies for games with online play can be a slap in the face for second round purchasers, imagine buying StarCraft or the like, just to get kicked off line frequently because your CD-Key is used elsewhere.
I think we are left with two equally distastefull alternatives.
- Exchanges only on defective merchandise, no refunds, no exceptions
- DRM Crusted software, store can confirm through online database that software has been removed from your system, and that you are no longer a rightfull owner.
paul reinheimer
Unfortunately as long as games are easy to pirate (that goes for CDs and DVDs too) I don't think you'll see return policies loosened up anytime soon. Read reviews from several different sources and talk with other folks before spending $50 on a game. (I found out the hard way when I bought Asheron's Call 2, heh)
Simple solution
You can return any game, for any reason but if it isn't for the same game (i.e. its a case of "I don't like it") You can only swap for a different game once, after that, your second title like it or not is yours no exchanges except in cases of defective games and even then it can only be for the same product.
On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
where we have the UCC which says they have to give you a refund (yeah, theres restrictions. no, joe gamer isnt affected by any of them). they dont like it? tough titties. Always take a copy with you when you go to return a game. has never failed.
...they need to do far more research before picking up games - $50 is NOT a small purchase for most people, so it would make sense to be knowledgeable of the product you're purchasing. This means reading reviews, previews...whatever. If you're still hesitant, rent it, play the copy your buddy bought...whatever.
The problem with returning opened, new games is that retailers have to and do turn around and sell that same game as new. Technically, the game is no longer "new," therefore there's some slight "dishonesty" going on there - which is why there's actual LAWSUITS pending (which is why I know at least one big video game retailer changed their policies) re: this practice.
Rent it, try a friends copy, buy it used where applicable (most places that sell used will take back a used game for the full refund price within 7 days). In general, people just need to know what they're getting into. You're buying something, not renting it or borrowing it.
I have been burned so many times about software purchases that I always read several reviews about a game/piece of software before I purchase it. If the game is brand new, I wait for others to post their views to forums or discussion groups. While I can't remember the last time I played a copied game, or allowed someone to copy one of mine, I understand why retailers don't allow returns on opened merchandise. However, no matter how crappy a game is, you can always recover "some" of your loss on eBay or Half.com. What about buying your games/software via those venues? You don't invest as much in the game and you can judge the game by how much it is worth on those markets...
This would be a perfect example as to why we need to allow roms. For example, I download Metroid fussion. I play it for a bit. I like it. I cough up the 50$ for it becasue it's a worthy additon to the metroid series. Boom, game makers just won themselves another loyal costomer. But on the flipside, I downloaded Pokemon Pinball (for xmas gift material, I swear). I play it for a bit and I find the graphics are lacking. The game control is terrible. So, therefore instead of paying for that game, I don't buy it, delete the rom (becasue I won't play it). This money I set aside for entertainment goes towards a different game. Either way, the company gets my money, I'm a more satisfied costomer. Even if the companies are against the whole ROMs thing for "potential piracy", they should offer a free sample rom for download off their site of a game that will let oyu play like 2 or 3 levels. So this way money is made, and costomers are happy.
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Support Indy Music. Buy
Since they can't resell the software as new it would be reasonable for retailers to charge a restocking fee, much like hardware vendors do.
This user account is inactive account replaced by the PDA
Sparr0 said: "where we have the UCC which says they have to give you a refund (yeah, theres restrictions. no, joe gamer isnt affected by any of them). they dont like it? tough titties. Always take a copy with you when you go to return a game. has never failed."
Could you be more specific? I would seem you're talking about the Uniform Commercial Code. I looked it up (yay Google) and found it online here: http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/ucc.table.html
Looking under section 2, Sales, offered no obvious example of what you seem to be talking about. That a seller is obligated to give a refund for a returned product. Even running a query for "return", I could find nothing helpful. There were a couple sections that talking about the provisions for returning sold goods if the two parties _AGREED_ the buyer would have the right to return them, but nothing that seemed to simply say "All bought goods may be returned."
Am I missing something? Becuase if you're right, that would definatly be nifty.
-Trillian
"Have retailers been changing policies, and where does the balance lie on this subject?"
My (at least local) EB changed their policy not weeks ago. It use to say 14 days to return an opened product, unless it was an online-game, etc etc. Now it also excludes harware and normal video games. Which begs the question - what the fuck can I buy at an EB and return in 14 days that's been opened that is not software, hardware, or a video game? I don't think they take game guides back either
If you open the real CD, you can't return the game. If you only open the demo, you can return the game. That way, if it doesn't work on your computer for some reason and you don't feel like waiting for the patches, you can return it.
Game stores could stop people from buying and returning games just to play the demos by providing extra demo CDs, or by giving store credit instead of cash in exchange for a returned game.
Of course, the problem is that it's up to the game publishers to implement this and who knows if they'd be up for it.
If you were so unsatisfied with the game that you returned it for a full refund, why did you finish it? Seems you enjoyed the product, and just didn't pay for it.
I fail to see the difference between your situation and going to a movie and afterwards ask for your money back because it was only 2 hours long.
On the other hand, I think it should be law that they demonstrate a game to you before you buy it.
Temple of Elemental Evil (Troika Studios/Infogrames). Infogrames is notorios for its copy protection (using SecuROM), which prevented plenty of players to enjoy games like Neverwinter Nights. ToEE doesn't fare much better; if I didn't have two computers, I wouldn't be able to play it as the CD doesn't like my CD-RW drive.
Homeworld 2 (Sierra). Upon contacting Sierra tech support, I was told that it was my responsibility to get a compatible CD drive. All the hardware requirements on the box mention is a 16x CD-ROM, and not even the readme file mentions any other CD-ROM requirements. So how am I supposed to know whether my CD-ROM is compatible without opening the box and trying to install the game?
I have pretty much stopped buying new games, limiting myself to independent titles downloadable from the Internet and the occassional adventure from The Adventure Comnpany. As such, I can talk only about these two recent examples. However, there are many more instances when a game doesn't run at the stated hardware requirements. That is something one can find out only by opening the box and installing the game. In such a case, your solution would simply lock gamers into an endless cycle where they are unable to return a game that doesn't work.
which is a UCITA state, with provisions. I understand that one of those provisions is that, if I fail to agree to the shrinkwrap EULA, I have the ability to return software (including games) even if opened, since I didn't have the opportunity to review the EULA until the game was opened.
Question is, has anyone here actually tried it?
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$tar -xvf
If one is to look at the return problem in regard to current console games, you would find that the people that buy, burn, and return are all XBox and PS2 owners. Why you ask... they were sloppy with their copy protection. Nintendo got it right. From what I understand people have just recently just been able to make an image of a GCN game, and still they were unable to burn and play it.
Basically what I'm saying is that the retailers are in a world of piracy hurt because of the manufactures. If you were unable to copy games as easily as you are now we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Remember those days? 'Nuff said.
-73, de n1ywb
www.n1ywb.com
See, I used to go to the mall twice a week to "buy" new underwear. I originally bought a three-pack of cotton briefs. Well, I took them home and wore them and even left some small stains. I wasn't happy with the product so naturally I returned it. I did this again and again. The store had a liberal return policy and I got away with it for a while. Then one day they changed their policy. This made me furious. I am obviously entitled to return any product no matter the basis for my "disatisfaction" and even if I used it, right? Well, they changed their policy anyway. I didn't buy any new underwear for a while out of protest, even using underwear my friend had purchased and was no longer using. Soon, however, I realized that I actually liked having own new underwear and that I myself was to blame for the change in policy.
The lesson I learned was about misdirected hostility. It wasn't the stores fault they had to change their policy, it was mine for crapping in their product and demanding my money back. Maybe we should be mad at the people who abused the generous policy instead of the stores who are just trying to run a business. This would entail looking around and in the mirror though, which is much less pleasent than shouting bad words at the sky cursing "them."
I dunno about the rest of you, but it's way easier to download a game than it is to purchase a game, go home and make a backup, go back to the store and try to convince the game retailer that it's defective, and get your money back.
People who use stores like EB as game rental outlets obviously don't have broadband -- if they did, they wouldn't bother with going to game stores at all. It's partially the retailer's fault for lack of sales, too!
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
I knew someone who'd order a steak at a restaurant, eat all but one bite, then send it back to the cook. I guess there's always people who exploit the system, but there's also people like me who open their Anachronox box and find one CD missing.
That allow returns on games just because you don't like them? I thought all those disappeared about a decade or so ago.
Is if the game being returned has a CD-Key. The store should not accept that disk back due to the good probablity of people abusing this to get valid keys.
Then again, I wonder how many of these stores don't care and would just re-srink warp the game box and put the game back on the shelf. Ignoring key-gens, I wouldn't be happy to buy a game from a retailer only to find out it was a return and someone else was using that Key.
Everyone keeps saying to try out the demo, but if the demo works that's no guarantee the game works--especially since copy protective CD-checks are getting more draconian and obscure as well (obscure as in not working properly with all hardware). Unreal Tournament 2003 is an example that comes to mind--I played the demo, I bought the game, game does not work. It think a patch fixed the problem eventually--but it seems to me I should have been perfectly justified in returning the product immediately for a full refund (or store credit at least), open box or no open box.
Gamestop (which I guess is the same corporate empire as Software Etc.) used to have an insanely liberal return policy as late as last year--a salesman actually encouraged me to try a game and return it if I didn't like it the next day.
Ever wondered why *everyone* sells the same new games for the same prices?
I remember, back in the UK a few years back, you could buy 'retail' 25 GBP games ( $39.95) for about 17 GBP from mail-order. The 30 GBP games ($49.95) went for around 21 GBP ($33, thereabouts).
Over in the States, I have *never* found a mail-order company selling a new game at more than 2 or 3 dollars below the holy $44.95 price point. What gives? My suspicion is that the distributors refuse to sell a game to the merchants unless they guarantee a minimum sale price. Isn't that illegal?
However, I do have friends who buy a game, burn it then return it for the game they actually wanted, but I wouldn't change the exchange policy - it is quite a drawcard.
I wanted to get one of those leet true arcade controllers for PS2... but I don't have a ps2. I have an xbox with a converter. I was planning to use it on my xbox on a regular basis, and bring it to other ppl's houses to play on ps2 (and I was hoping it'd work on PSone).. I asked if it could be returned if it didn't work with my converter... they said the returned product would have to be DEFECTIVE (and that they test it) in order to get my money back. Otherwise... store credit. And what was even more discouraging was the fact they wouldn't even bring the actual controller to the front for me to see it (or touch it). I don't even get to look at it, they say I have to pay for it first. I hate you, Gamestop.
This parent was marked informative?
Some Mod needs to not be given points anymore, not when there are hundreds of posts by me that are much more deserving of undue credit and full of Karma whoring goodness.
That Jesus Christ guy is getting some terrible lag... it took him 3 days to respawn! -NJ CoolBreeze
BTW, no, I am not one of those anti-P2P people. I just think that it would be a pretty bad move to sell people products that can be copied, and then take it back as a return.
The real issue at the core of this matter (for me) is that gamers can not get their hands on a game conveniently enough to find out if it's a worthy purchase or not. I live in Downtown San Jose California, a very technically oriented and gamer friendly environment. However it is so nearly *impossible* for me to conveniently get my hands on a game before buying that I have nearly axed my game purchasing all together.
I used to have the wonderful habit of running to Software Etc to check out a new game. Their return policy of "return within 7 days opened or not" was perfect for checking out a new title I wasn't sure about. The only requirement was that you had to keep the game in mint condition. More often than not (due to the large amount of crap games of late), I would return the title to the store, no questions asked, and no money lost. Once in a while i would find a true gem, and I would keep my purchase (or if I found the employees of a particular store to be outright rude, return it and go buy it at the local EB instead).
Regardless, those days recently ended. Software Etc. ceased allowing gamers to return their purchases citing a lawsuit from someone unpleased about being sold an opened game (which information is nearly never made available to the buyer, but most likely because of the "mint condition returns" policy in the first place). From what I understand, EB has ceased to allow open returns as well.
For a gamer on a shoestring budget, this was indeed the beginning of dark times.
For my PC games I turned to downloaded demos. As many have said before me this is hardly ever a reflection of the final product, and is unreliable at best, but still convenient considering I can sit at my desk and pull the game offline right there. However, not all games receive a demo. For those select few I am out of luck, many of which I would die to try out as well, so it breaks my heart to see them pass me buy with no way of getting my hands on them.
For my console fix I turned to rentals; a highly overpriced way of sampling entertainment. Thought it could be said that I am allowed to complete the rented title and rid myself of it with no strings attached, I like to collect games that I find worth keeping, so this route isn't for everyone. Namely people who want to own the titles and play them more than once.
But, despite the insane pricetag my local Blockbuster charges, at least I have access to the console games I desire before I lay down a larger chunk of change to own one or two. But this is not always the case. A staggeringly 9 times out of 10 the video store doesn't get the title in at all! This causes me no end of frustration, especially being someone who enjoys more obscure, less popular titles.
So there goes that solution.
Recently Gamefly.com was brought to my attention, the description of which immediately brought me great hope! However the same problems with Blockbuster plague this new service on a larger level. Call me cheap, but I am not about to lay down $20 a month to rent games, despite being able to have 2 at a time, as well as keep them as long as I want. This is mainly a time issue, since I work full time and attend night classes on the side. The entertainment-to-money ratio is simply not worth either my time or money. I can't play 2 games at once, and I'm lucky if I get halfway through one per month at all. Recently it's been even less (roughly 5 or less hours of gaming a week). Despite this, I was still considering it due to their sweet deal allowing me to keep a rented game by simply paying it's used price. Digging more into this I uncovered another shock that ended my interest in this service. I looked up a recently favorite, semi-obscure title that can be currently picked up at the store for about $10 used. $30. No-Thank-You. I checked another $12 title. $35. That ruled out that option.
Now, one of my final answers, which is probably most peoples first solution: Online Reviews. I don't know how others fare in this regard
Of course, since this is America, she didn't just return it and bitch and get her money back (which the clerk assured me that the store would have done if she had complained.) Instead she sued Gamestop for something like $1 million, and they were forced to make their return policy much stricter. Like I said, odds are EB does or used to do the same, for I've bought 'new' copies of games that weren't the display copy, and the disc wasn't in a sealed case.
(As an aside, I hate getting a display model. I don't care if the disc is untouched or not, having an unsealed case with a bunch of extra stickers on it doesn't sit well with me.)
Anyway, I don't like the idea of getting a used copy marketed as new, it just sucks that their policy had to be changed. I liked the fact that if I bought a game and absolutely detested it I could get my money back. I only did this once (at an EB) and spent my money in the store on another game anyway.
(Of course, this could all be a line of BS that was fed to me, but it seemed sincere.)
"I think that when you become a Republican, you don't get to score any more." -- Butt-head
That happen to be plastered everywhere. In fact, they had Metroid fusion on demo for a long, long time. Nintendo really needs to get its act together on the demo disc thing. If GBA downloadable demos on promotional discs had been available from the start, there would probably have been a stronger corrolation between GC and GBA owners.
I Browse at +4 Flamebait
Open Source Sysadmin
I found this out years ago, and in all seriousness, all you have to do is yell. Make such a shitstorm and dont back down worth a damn, you'll get your refund, even if it is just to get you out of the store. These arent laws, they are rules and policys, and last time i checked, breaking rules to appease someone who is driving business away is a better practice then letting me throw a chair at you.
There's a store near me that has an interesting idea. If you buy a game and return it within 10 days, they'll charge you a rental fee for how many days you kept it. So if you keep it 2 days you'd pay a few dollars.
You can't return it after that, but you can sell it back to the store as a used game.
Cracker Barrel sells audio books that you can return to any Cracker Barrel for the first week for three dollars less than the cost of the package. So, let us say you buy the Grisham audio book for $40US, keep it for a week (listening to it I hope), and then "return" it to the store, and they give you back $37US. They're not renting it because you paid the full price for the package. They just have a separate policy for "slightly used" material.
This works as long as the policy says you have to show you bought the game from any of our stores. Would people pirate the game? Sure. But then the store could buy 50 copies, get back 30 of them as "rentals" and keep making a profit on those until someone finally decides to keep the used box. Keep your slightly used inventory low enough and you can pay for the boxes with 5 or 6 rentals. I'd play a new game for $10 and no commitment.
Plus, if the game failed to deliver, the store could help its customers keep tabs on that kind of stuff and so on.
Best Buy could pick this up and really trash the Mom-and-Pop used game stores like Replay Media in Dayton, OH. If they went to EA, for example, and said that the SecurROM protection is resulting in many dissatisfied customers, EA might answer to them. But right now, the retailer stays out of the fight by claiming you may have pirated the game and are cheating the system by trying to get your money back.
Instead, they can game the system and make a profit. State legislatures should like it also as each sale means state sales tax (providing your state does that). And stores can refuse to accept a return on a damaged game and never have to chase you down. You technically own (the license) for every title.
I overheard a clerk at GameStop explaining to a customer why their return policy is so great: you can return new games (with-in 7 days I believe he said) and they will give you your money back. Sounds great right? The problem is, they repackage the returned games at the store and re-sell them as new (after all, they are basically new, he said). Some people might not have a problem with this, but I sure do. If I'm paying for a brand new item, I want it to be BRAND NEW. If I didn't care, I would have picked up a used copy for less. Keep this in mind the next time you pick up your "brand new" copy of the latest release.
I really can't stand the lack of personal responsibility people seem to take for granted nowadays. Why should retailers subsidize the poor decisions of their customers?
I've stopped buying games from EB, because they *do* have a fairly liberal return policy, and so half of the "new" games I bought there were actually reshrunk returns from people who were unwilling to take responsibility for making sure they really wanted a game before they bought it. One of them (Silent Hill 2) I actually had to exchange because whoever had bought it previously had gotten some kind of crap all over the media side of the disc.
If you're not sure whether you want to actually buy a game, then rent it first. Don't expect retailers and other customers to pay the price for your inability to research a product before you buy it.
Obviously this doesn't apply to technical issues, but those are vastly in the minority compared to the people who change their mind after buying the game, or bootleg them and then return them.
"...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
Given the trend of this discussion, I should know better than to post an unpopular viewpoint, but both sides deserve a fair hearing. Flame or mod as ye will.
I currently work for a well-known American computer retailer with a "draconian" return policy. Previously, I worked for several years as a manager of a similar store with a more liberal return policy. While I empathize with Elysium's viewpoint, my own experience tells me that such policies are necessary for a retailer to survive. A few points:
First, there are significant restrictions placed on retail stores by software manufacturers regarding their products. Many vendors will not allow opened boxes to be returned to them unless the product is defective, and a few will not accept returns at all. Some even mandate that the media and manuals be destroyed on return. Since it is illegal to repackage used or opened merchandise and sell it as new (and customer demand for opened boxes without big markdowns is extremely low), the retailers that I have worked for generally treat software returns the same way they do theft: adjust the item out of inventory and throw the box in the bailer.
Second, software piracy IS a huge problem. The article that began this discussion called this position "disengenous" and said that anyone who believed that these policies were designed to combat piracy was "more than naive". I beg to differ. A question for everyone in IT reading this: how long would it take you to get a free copy of Windows if you needed it?
I have overhead or had customers declare outright that they were going to burn and return software. I have seen staff members terminated for bootlegging software on store computers. I have seen every return scam you can imagine, and it is no way naive or disingenuous to suggest that these return policies are a measure against piracy.
(As an aside, the most popular return scam in my area is this. Buy a CD, burn it and/or copy down the key code, then scratch the disc. Return it to the store as defective, exchanging it for the same title in a sealed box. Return this one to another location for store credit. Lather, rinse, repeat. I see this daily).
Third, there are the bottom line considerations. The author of the original article stated that he did not care what the reasons were for these policies and that he intended to vote with his wallet in protest. Aside from the word of mouth Slashdot might generate, let's see how much that "vote" is worth.
Let's say Elysium finds a store worthy of his business - which is to say, a store that will take back any and all opened box software for exchange or refund. Being a hardcore gamer, let's say he spends $100 every week on software, generating five grand annually in total sales and (optimistically) $1000 profit. Let's also assume that a "burn and return" pirate also shops in this store. Pop quiz: how many zeroed-out copies of AutoCAD will it take to neutralize Elysium's vote? How many "unfit for sale" copies of Office and Photoshop will it take to completely disenfranchise him?
In closing, it is unfortunate that some retail salespeople treat honest, decent customers like criminals for trying to return software. At my store, we go to great lengths to explain the policy (and the reasons for it) to customers before they buy software and to offer options in case of problems (vendor tech support or money back guarantees, installation help from our tech department, and so on). There are federal laws demanding equal treatment of every customer, so our rules are rarely bent - lost business, while unfortunate, is better than termination and litigation.
I stand behind my employer on this issue... if you don't like it, then you can complain about me and the evil company I work for, or, more productively, you can support open source software, change the industry for the better, and make retail store policy a non-issue in your life.
Vanya's Law: "In any culture without irony, fart jokes will be the highest form of humor."
Bad games that force you to wait for the next patch before it's playable. Games with misleading or nonexistent demos. Games that are unplayable due to buggy or draconian copyright protection. Games that just plain don't work with some hardware setups. Lack of an effective rental system. A universal retail store policy of not accepting refunds for opened games, even if they're pathetically defective.
I can't imagine why piracy would run so rampant in such a consumer friendly industry like PC games.
And if your game does not work, then just keep exchanging it for a new copy until they give you a refund.
I *really* hate people who have a Playstation or similar that breaks, purchase a new one, swap the Playstations, and return the broken one. *That's* scummy.
May we never see th
The problems is that demos are used to whip people up into a must-buy state, and as such have to be released a while before the game's release. Generally, that means that everything isn't done. Things like AI, which are generally done last, may get the shart end of the stick.
If development companies released a "sample" post game release that contained only, say, the first level of the game (but really was from the full game) you might get what you want. Or you might get a lot of games with really good first levels...:-)
May we never see th
That's why the defective PC games are exchanged discs-only -- no new boxes are handed out.
Because people like you are dishonest.
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
As someone who has resorted to buying nearly all games from Amazon or elsewhere online, this is a definite Good Thing.
Its not because Amazon are cheaper (though they are, buy around 25% most of the time), but because I can at least guarantee that I get new product for my cash. The chances of getting a game that you pay full retail price for from the local EB without having one that has previously been returned by some grubby-fingered kid who scratched it up, or been kicked around the shop floor by the resident idiots seems minimal in my experience.
If the price of lenient return policies is handing over 40 for a second-hand game, then I'd rather they tighten the policy.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
I have purchased many games from Electronics Beautique and they have been VERY good about their return policy. These were honest returns, mostly due to incompatibility with Windows 2000 (when 2000 had just come out). A lot of games didn't say they specifically supported w2k, but neither did they say they specifically did NOT support it. Most games worked fine, some didn't. I even asked before I purchased it ("I'm not sure if this will work on my machine, I might have to bring it back") and they were cool with it. I don't usually shill, but since then Best Buy has come in and started undercutting the poor EB guys, so I just wanted to give them props.
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
Stores could slightly liberalize their policies but require a drivers license to return a game. If they find you repeatedly returning games, they refuse the return. Sure abusers can abuse them once, but if it's only once then they afford that for the benifits of better customer relations in general.
You see this approach in super-sophisticated, cutting edge retails like Foley's.
~$6, 5 days, and the ones I've seen have had rows of games. If you decided to buy, yes it would add to the total, but it works out well enough if you go for older titles and buy used.
To prevent a tangent, I try to base my spending on the entertainment factor. A movie lasts 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, and costs $5 - $15 depending on timing and snacks, or $10 - $20 for the DVD. I generally equate this to $10 for 90 minutes. If a $50 game gives me 10 hours of interactive entertainment, I generally consider it worth it. It's the perception of dropping so much money up front that makes the price seem unbalanced, when in reality it isn't.
(Also keep in mind a major sporting event or concert lasts maybe 3 hours and can vary wildly from $10 to $150 or more. Compared to this, games that are playable are a huge bargain.)
Oh, and another review page to check is Game Rankings. They try and collect various reviews together for games and their average ratings. The reviews themselves are rated Game Rankings. I've found these useful because one or another may point out just the detail that makes or breaks the deal.
R: That voice. Where have I heard that voice before? B: In about 365 other episodes. But I don't know who it is either.
A Massachusetts Consumer Guide: Shopping Rights
The relevant nutshell, MA vendors can have any posted return policy that they want. But, if the merchandise is defective, it says:
So, is a CD that won't work in your computer becuase of copy protective defective? IANAL, but I would think so.
So holds true to a product that lists features on its packaging that it does not meet (so a buggy, unplayable game is defective- assuming it does not work as advertised.)
Finding a merchandise store worker/manager that has a clue/authority to actually obey the law is another matter.
Or, if you're a hardcore gamer, you probably already know it. Up until recently, I worked for Game. They have a 10 day no-hassle returns policy. Buy the game, play it for 10 days, bring it back. Try and keep it in mint or near mint condition. They'll take it back, so long as you have your receipt. I'm sure it wasn't designed to be a free game rental policy, but those of us behind the tills know that's what you're doing, and probably do the same as well! (I know I did!) This is one of the reasons they hold 45% of the marketshare of video and computer game sales in the UK. They're expanding into the rest of Europe as well. I seem to recall stores being in Sweden and Spain, but I'm not sure where else.