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Confessions of a Gamestop Manager
The site Consumerist has up a lengthy post from a former Gamestop manager, listing some of the sins, boons, pitfalls and promises perpetrated while he was on the job. Includes a discussion of the 'gutted' display game, pre-orders, the 'discount' card, trades, and lots of 'pro-tips' on how to get the most out of your Gamestopping experience. "19) Don't be afraid to sell things on your own! The going resell rates for any current games or accessories online is usually close to what we resell for. If its a much newer title and you don't mind listing and shipping it, you could make a small handful more selling it online yourself. Ebay and Amazon.com are obvious choices, but you may find other outlets that work for you."
I have to say, the thing I've always wondered about is the business side of things. I've heard, although I have no hard evidence, that Gamestop/EB stores don't make any significant profit off new games, which is why they're always pushing used games. Their profit sources are "used games" and "product placement" - publishers pay big bucks to have things like Halo 3 in the front-and-center of stores.
What I'm curious about is what they would do if you went to them and said "I have a game, I would like you to sell it, we've been doing advertising and it should sell quite a bit, we can't afford to pay you for placement but we'll sell the actual copies to you for $15 less so you can actually make a profit on it". Would they give some of that front-and-center space over to it in the hopes of selling more, or would they just relegate it to the back shelves because it's not paying the bucks?
Unfortunately it seems impossible to actually get information on the big business policies. Ah well.
Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
http://www.actsofgord.com/ excellent reading. all the horrible things he did to customers in a undisclosed video game store.
thats right, I rarely use capitals. deal with it. but don't mistake my laziness for stupidity
From TFA: "Preorders are only taken when their allotment can be guaranteed. I cannot stress this enough. There are burps in the system here and there, but for every one or two preorder gaffes you read about online there are literally thousands of beneficial ones. Preorders do not cost any additional fee (only a base 5 dollar deposit) and are fully (though reluctantly) refundable for cash at any time. Yes, cancelled preorders count against the employee ringing it in and they will be reluctant, but it is your right to cancel for cash refund if you choose to and they can't decline it."
Care to explain then how my local EB took several times more orders for the collectors edition of Burning Crusade then it was actually getting?
-- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
Gamestop should just change policy and practice to make it easier for the consumer. People should not have to have a specialty method or use a guide to get the most out of the experience.
I see no reason why they can't have more copies. They're reservation policy is why I haven't shopped there for years.
On release day Gamestop has no copies, except for preorders. Then I go across the street and grab one off the shelf at my choice of stores. Hell I can grab one for in store pickup right now. Oh and those store do preorders too which indicates that they're receiving more total copies.
This just makes Gamestop look amateur. If department stores can have multiple copies of a game then why can't a store with game in their name have enough copies? Amateurs.
I find being offended by me offensive.
The Gamestop trade-in business is based on on key tenet; we hardly turn down ANYTHING. For all the rage and screaming we take from people getting one dollar for years-old Madden games, you need to remember one key fact; we are taking in games that are often unlikely to EVER resell.
17) Outdated consoles are traded in every day. Almost every gamestop literally has fifty or more used Xboxes and Gamecubes in stock at any time. They do not sell and we get one at least every day, so they are worth very little. The new slim PSP is in much higher demand than the original, and so the trade-in value on the old model has since dropped. If you want the hot new version of anything, trade in as far before its release as you can stand so you can get the peak value.
in other words: we pointlessly hoard crap that we're not planning to ever resell, because we'd rather it go into a landfill than to actually sell it to people for what it's actually worth. I mean seriously - every game store I've ever seen has a huge stack of games they wouldn't give two bucks for if you brought them in, sitting in a bin, unsorted... and still priced at $30 each. I think they need to learn the meaning of the word "clearance".
Also, Don't lose your receipt and expect us to find records for you, it is quite difficult.
Our IT Structure Is Still Suck In The '70s.
After several bad experiences, I stopped buying altogether from Gamestop over a year ago.
The pre-order sales push is ridiculous. I was literally called a "retard" for not pre-ordering Halo 3 when I tried to pick my copy of Gears of War up from the store. There wasn't even a confirmed release date for the game at the time. I couldn't believe I was called a retard, and asked the clerk, "excuse me?" to which he repeated, "yeah, only a retard wouldn't pre-order that game... man, it's going to be impossible to get!".
Another time, I had walked into a Gamestop (different store) and asked about the new SSX game for the Wii. The store employee said, "Oh, do you have it reserved? OF COURSE YOU DON'T OR YOU WOULDN'T BE ASKING IF WE HAD IT!" to which he laughed at me, and then told me that they did have some extra copies but that they were only going to be selling the pre-orders on that day.
One of my pre-orders that I DID place was 3 days late and I got a different excuse each time. Finally I demanded my refund for the pre-order back and went to Target and picked a copy up off of the shelf.
GameStop doesn't treat customers with any respect whatsoever. I shouldn't have to feel like I'm walking into a used car lot when I want to buy a video game. The sales tactics, lies, and pressure make me loathe the place, and I refuse to buy anything from them. Hastings and Target have always had the title ready for me on the day of release (yes, even Halo 3), so I will shop there. I will also tell anybody that I possibly can about the above stories so that others may also avoid this place.
Gamestop employees: I don't care if you're "just doing your job". You're a puppet made to act like a pushy asshole. Get a new job. They're out there.
FTFA: 7) Everybody decries the nature of the Gamestop employee to push reserves on the uninterested consumer. Please understand, no matter how dedicated an employee may be, on the district level and higher, he is of no value beyond his reserves and Game Informer subscriptions. Nearly any employee is the sum of their reserves, and unfortunately good people who treat customers well will see their job fade away because of poor numbers. A Gamestop worker pushing a reserve on you is trying to keep their job, literally.
What's sad is that the employee pushiness is the reason I don't shop there, even though I could walk to it from my apartment. I wonder if corporate knows they're actually losing customers because of this?
Glad to hear the truth about the company - employees are nothing but numbers. I really want to know why companies do this to their employees. It makes the employees unhappy and pissed off, and the customers irate. I used to work at Sam's Club way back in the day, and if we didn't process 2 credit card apps a shift, we'd get written up - 3 strikes and you're fired. My next job was Micro Center, they kept a daily percentage on how many people you successfully added to their customer database. Not only that, but if you mistyped the address and it came up as bogus, you get dinged for that as well. This is because Micro Center is too cheap to just mass mail their flyers, they rely on the customer data entered at point of sale.
Despite what the article is trying to claim, there really is no reason to shop at Gamestop. Their used prices are way too high, and their new games aren't any cheaper than other retailers that don't hassle you as much.
I would shop at gamestop if they differentiated themselves a bit from other retailes (besides being annoying). They could do this by doing things like hosting lan parties in store, or gaming tournaments, something that would make it fun to go there. For now, I just avoid it like the plague.
I got nothin'
Complete bullshit. Gamestop has enough clout to get a few empty boxes for display purposes. They have empty boxes for the games on the wall to advertise pre-releases. "Gutting" a game is entirely unnecessary. Furthermore, nobody is forcing them to sell the gutted game at full price. If they feel they need a gutted box on the wall to sell a game, then when it comes time to sell the gutted copy, they are completely free to sell it at cost instead of taking full retail profit. It is also unnecessary for the store manager to give the customer a hard time when they change their mind and refuse to buy because the game is opened.
Reserves:
Complete bullshit. Preorders are taken for systems and games which haven't had their release-date or retail price announced yet. Are you telling me that those allotments are guaranteed? Did everybody who pre-ordered a Wii from you last Christmas get their system before the new year?
More importantly, if you're going to tell this blatant a lie, why should we believe the rest of the trash you're spouting?
DVD Trade-ins:
Gamestop corporate just started a new chain called MovieStop where all they do is DVD trade-ins...
I see a few comments in TFA about things you can do that will ingratiate you to the staff in a store. My own experience (UK-based) is that this really, really does matter. As a "good customer", you shouldn't count on automatically receiving any favours... but valued customers are always going to be more likely to pick up unexpected little bonuses.
:)
My own case in point here revolves around the launch of the Wii. I hadn't actually planned on picking one up, to be honest, but these were in seriously short supply in the UK right through to the middle of February in most regions. Now, I've gotten into the habit in recent years of buying most of my games from a small branch of GAME (our equivalent of Gamestop) that I pass in the morning on my way to the office. It saves me the stress of having postmen or neighbours steal games I've ordered online during delivery (this has happened a few times now), it's convenient and the staff in this store are good; older than the average straight-out-of-a-Mickey-Mouse-degree-at-university types you often get, deeply knowledgeable about games and generally not too pushy. Because they're a small store and often don't get much stock in, I tend to pre-order most games that I know I'm going to want. I buy enough games that the Loyalty card is worth it and I don't mind getting the odd junk-mail from them (they sometimes throw in vouchers). In short, from their POV, I'm more or less the ideal customer.
Now, as the only person in the team without family committments, I got roped into manning the office between Christmas and New Year. These are typically graveyard days - you come in late, take a long lunch and don't hang around in the evening, but you're there just in case anything goes wrong (always a major concern in my line of work). On the way into the office that week, I popped into GAME to pick up some title or other; I forget what it was now... some fairly crappy expansion pack I'd been putting off buying for a while, I think. When I get in, the manager tells me that they're expecting a shipment of a half dozen Wiis in some time around 11AM. At this point, my "shiny toys in short supply" circuit goes in and the Wii moves on my list from "meh, I'll pick one up cheap in a year or two" to "MUSTHAVEMUSTHAVEMUSTHAVE". He warns me to get over for 11AM, as they'll vanish in seconds when they arrive.
I go to the office, sit down and wait out the morning. At about 10:50AM, I'm getting my coat on to pop out. Suddenly, one of our senior managers (who has also decided to work these days) decides that it's time to have a long, in depth discussion with me about a project I've been working on. My heart sinks as the clock ticks around... 11:00, 11:15, 11:30... 11:45AM. Eventually, just before noon, I finally make it out of the office. I walk into GAME and the manager says "Sorry, they all went in minutes." I think I swore at this point. Then he says "But we held one back for you".
Gaming store staff are under an obligation to treat all customers equally and most will do their best to do so. You should never expect any favours. But don't be surprised when genuinely good customers do get the odd little perk.
Locally, we have a couple of EB games. Like most people, I just buy used games there. The ones in the mall are pretty bad, but there is one in a strip center on the edge of that has a lot more used games than most, and the employees are pretty nice.
My 4 year old son loves to play lego Star Wars. I bought Lego Star wars 2 off of Amazon, and we had a good time playing. However, we had never played the original Lego Star wars. So I put my 4 year old in his car seat, and we made the trek to our local game stop.
According to the employee, they had 1 copy somewhere in the store. Unfortuanly, their Xbox games were all piled into one of those 4 foot by 4 foot bins, and in no particular order. The employee and I started leafing through all the game in search of the star wars title. We were just getting started when my 4 year old son walked up, stuck his hand in the bin, and pulled out the only copy of the game in the store. I still don't know how my son knew THAT was the game we were looking for. I suspect it was the Lego people on the box though...
Just so people are aware, at least in California, Gamestop's return policy is illegal. In California you have the right to a full refund within 30 days for defective merchandise if you present proof of purchase. In practice, this means you have the right to a full refund within 30 days on anything because if the retailer objects you could just break it before you return it. The obligation is on the retailer to prove that YOU broke it as opposed to the customer breaking the merchandise. This applies to both new and used merchandise unless the used item is specifically described as non-functional or is obviously non-functional.
I have successfully sued Gamestop on this very point.