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GameStop Swoops In To Buy ThinkGeek For $140 Million

Posted by Soulskill on from the will-pay-you-8-cents-for-used-annoy-a-trons dept.

Lirodon writes: Remember a few days ago, when Slashdot's former parent company was the subject of a $122 million takeover bid by Hot Topic? Well, another geeky retailer entered the fray in the battle for ThinkGeek, and won. GameStop will be acquiring Geeknet for $140 million. The video game retailer has promised synergies, such as in-store pickup and integration with its rewards program.

93 comments

  1. Might make Gamestop a bit more relevant by spiritplumber · · Score: 4, Interesting

    haven't been to one since they did a closure sale and I was able to pick up a bunch of Kinects for $20 each. Now if they could also buy Radio Shack...

    --
    Liberty - Security - Laziness - Pick any two.
    1. Re:Might make Gamestop a bit more relevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Remember a few years ago when Source Forge projects were safe from being arbitrarily hijacked by DICE, and didn't have adware and crapware bundled in with their deployment packages by DICE, and stories of misdeeds by DICE would actually get posted on slashdot?

      Those were good years.

    2. Re:Might make Gamestop a bit more relevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Remember when people used to pay attention to the stories that were posted, rather than complain that there wasn't a story posted about something the day after the story was posted?!

      http://tech.slashdot.org/story/15/06/01/1241231/sourceforge-and-gimp-updated

    3. Re:Might make Gamestop a bit more relevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...Peppridge Farms remembers...

    4. Re:Might make Gamestop a bit more relevant by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 4, Funny

      Announcer: Do you remember a time when chocolate chips came fresh from the oven? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
      Fry: Ah, those were the days.
      Announcer: Do you remember a time when women couldn't vote and certain people weren't allowed on golf courses? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

      ---Futurama S01E06: A Fishful of Dollars.

      --
      ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
  2. RIP Think Geek by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Game Stop sucks. How are they even still in business?

    1. Re:RIP Think Geek by OhPlz · · Score: 4, Informative

      That's what happens when you buy all your competitors.

    2. Re:RIP Think Geek by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well that's obvious, she sucks a little better than your mom.

    3. Re:RIP Think Geek by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Still better than Hot Topic. At least in this way there's actual overlap in product alignment. Hot Topic... not a chance.

    4. Re:RIP Think Geek by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Still better than Hot Topic. At least in this way there's actual overlap in product alignment. Hot Topic... not a chance.

      Are you sure? The Wikipedia article claims that they sell:-

      Tripp, Disney, Sanrio, DC Comics, WWE, Heartcore Clothing, Iron Fist, Nintendo, Nickelodeon, Invader Zim, Harry Potter, as well as web celebrities and music acts such as hip-hop artists, Psychopathic Records and Hopeless Records, and more recently, Doctor Who, Adventure Time, Regular Show, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Sons of Anarchy, Resident Evil, and Domo merchandise

      Looks like there's quite a lot of overlap with the geek demographic there.

      We don't have Hot Topic where I live (sob!) but from what I've heard their business model essentially consists of appropriating "alternative" cultures and trends, commercialising them into a very consumerist form.

      ThinkGeek's business model seems hardly any different- essentially using flattery and identity marketing ("smart geeks buy this stuff!") to push a very consumerist "lifestyle" view of what it is to be a geek. (I've commented on this previously in more depth).

      Anyway, my point is that Hot Topic and ThinkGeek- far from being opposites- seem to be quite complementary. And that observation isn't intended to be flattering to either company...

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    5. Re:RIP Think Geek by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They pre-ordered.

    6. Re:RIP Think Geek by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      For Gamestop with pressure from download game distributors the pressure is on to diversify, so merchandising is the obvious choice for them, along with say comic distribution. They can not switch to a download distribution model because that puts their own stores out of business. So for them offering a second hand market, merchandising, stuff the down loaders can never really offer. Eventually you will see them merger with the computer hardware sellers, as they are struggling as well. All this very much like the original computer sales outlets, so what was, will be again.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  3. Eh ... by ninjagin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think it's a better buyer, personally. Hot Topic just seemed like an organization that would not appreciate all of the little, goofy, technical-fun bits of TG that I like. GameStop is closer, I think, to knowing the TG target customer.

    --
    .. pa-ra-bo-la, pa-ra-bo-la, 2 pi R, 2 pi R, where's your latus rectum, where's your latus rectum, 2 pi R
    1. Re:Eh ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Think geek lost it's appeal with me a long time ago.

      Thing is, I can't even pinpoint exactly when or why, they just have a real corporate vibe to them now and they moved from niche geeky stuff to more mainstream geeky stuff. Neither of these things should really matter, but for whatever reason they do to me.

    2. Re:Eh ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Think Geek -IS- Hot Topic.

      If you've not been in a Hot Topic any time in the last 8 years let me summarize it for you: Bazinga shirts and Nickelodeon merch.

      Now just add in some token "nerd toys", and remove the black paint from the walls and you've got a place that's hard to differentiate from Think Geek.

    3. Re:Eh ... by bhcompy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Have you been on ThinkGeek lately? It's basically the modern Hot Topic in internet form. The front page of both websites contains Doctor Who, Marvel, Minecraft, Star Wars, and a number of other primary properties. The days of USB rocket launchers are in the past. Hot Topic was a great buyer for ThinkGeek(and awful for all of the other properties). Much better than GameStop from that perspective

    4. Re: Eh ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hardcore geeks are a very small niche market, and one that you don't really want to be associated with. Unsurprisingly they went mainstream and made better business.

    5. Re:Eh ... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      This is the first day that I've heard of Hot Topic.

    6. Re:Eh ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean this USB rocket launcher?

      http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/8a0f/?srp=1

    7. Re:Eh ... by cuncator · · Score: 2

      I can pinpoint it- when the Caffeine category started fitting on a single page. In fact, just went back for the first time in years and it's now "Food & Caffeine" but still fits on a single page. Sad really. Man, XTZ Tea was great.

    8. Re:Eh ... by bhcompy · · Score: 1

      Yes, it's still there, just like you can find goth shit at Hot Topic still, but it's no longer the focus of the store and generally buried behind mounds of licensed merch.

      Front page and focus of the store to back page and afterthought.

    9. Re:Eh ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was going to say the same thing, I remember a time when you could brew caffeine infused coffee with caffeinated water and flavor it with caffeinated flavor syrups. You could get something like 300mg+ per 8 oz cup. Now, I don't think they sell even a single one of those products anymore.

      Just looked, they have bawls and one type of caffeinated candy. That's it. I'm sorry, but tea and cold brew coffee kits don't count as caffeine. Seriously, rename it to food and peppers, because caffeine ain't there.

    10. Re:Eh ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I take it that you don't watch South Park.

    11. Re:Eh ... by toddestan · · Score: 1

      I was on Thinkgeek's mailing list for a while. I signed up when I made an order, and I was like "oh cool I can get an email every once and a while telling me about all the latest cool stuff and the occasional sale". And that's what it was, at least at first. Then the emails started coming in every few days instead of every few weeks, then every couple of days, then everyday, and even more than once a day.

      The emails were mostly about some promo code, many of which were a pretty significant discount. Free shipping, $30 off an order of $100 or more, 20% off your entire order, buy one item get another half price, etc. After a while it really started to smack of desperation, as if they weren't doing well and deep discounts was the only tool in their chest. Annoying too, as it turned purchases into a game of "Should I take the 20% off or wait a few days and see what comes up with next?". In any case, it was obvious that paying full price was for suckers.

      Finally, it started to get ridiculous. I'd get a series of emails "Free Shipping!" "Free shipping limited time!" "Free shipping ends today!" "Free shipping only a few hours left!!!". Then that promo would expire, and a couple of days later "Free Shipping!" and the whole cycle would start again. I got tired of it, unsubscribed, and haven't been back. I mean, seriously you sell novelty geek toys and I might order from you a few times a year. You don't need to be sending me emails every single day.

    12. Re:Eh ... by Xest · · Score: 1

      I'm interested to know how this affects international - ThinkGeek has some cool stuff you can only buy from it and can't get in the UK.

      I've ordered stuff from ThinkGeek before but on two occasions they sent the wrong thing that weighed far less and cost far less, told me the right thing was out of stock even though they were still selling it because they didn't want to pay international shipping for their mistake again, took over a month to process the refund after I had to chase it 5 times, and when they did still didn't refund the extra I was charged because of the fact they overcharged me on shipping weight due to wrong item, and and I got overcharged on taxes because they made an incorrect customs declaration.

      As such internationally they always came across as almost a bunch of fraudsters, effectively trying to hold onto money for something they hadn't sent, and lying to try and avoid rectifying their mistakes. The second time it happened I just cut through their bullshit and did a credit card refund straight from my card issuer.

      I've ordered from GameStop before to buy US versions of games (usually MMOs) preferring to play with US friends than European versions that were often months behind in terms of updates too and have never had a problem with them. If GameStop sort ThinkGeek out I might buy from them - even better, GameStop now even have a .co.uk site so maybe we'll get ThinkGeek stuff direct from the UK and avoid import duty altogether.

  4. Ooooh synergies by bulled · · Score: 2

    I'll take two.

    1. Re:Ooooh synergies by NotDrWho · · Score: 1

      It is good to know that I'll be able to pick up my t-shirt from that guy at Gamestop with the ponytail who keeps wanting to tell me about his character in WoW rather than have to go through the hassle of having it mailed directly to my house.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    2. Re:Ooooh synergies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you pre-order it?

  5. Thank you Gamestop by freeze128 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think this is a good move. Gamestop can certainly use the power that thinkgeek has. Last year I redeemed some points that I earned from Gamestop to purchase something from their rewards store. Most of the things there are stupid Nintendo lanyards or bracelets - completely useless and hardly noteworthy. I opted for a Skyrim Daedric sword letter opener. It was cool, but badly made. If they offered a coupon for something in thinkgeek's catalog, I would have been much happier.

  6. You're doing it wrong by geekmux · · Score: 2, Funny

    "The video game retailer has promised synergies, such as in-store pickup..."

    Uh, in-store pickup?

    You already paid for that massive chain of brick and mortar locations you run already.

    Please tell me you're not going to forget that store is an actual store and offer a bit more than just pick-up service for what is now your own product.

    1. Re:You're doing it wrong by NotDrWho · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The average Gamestop barely has room for their requisite 3 neckbeards and 40 copies of Gears of War 2 as it is.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    2. Re:You're doing it wrong by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      They had to remove relevant PC games to make room for all their consoles games.

    3. Re:You're doing it wrong by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately that seems to be an increasingly common business practice nowadays. It saves on inventory taxes, and probably keeps insurance costs down too.
      Remember the Gateway Country Stores? They were nothing more than showrooms, you couldn't walk in and then walk out with a computer, you had to have it ordered. OTOH... they're all gone now, so that sales model wasn't exactly a resounding success.

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    4. Re:You're doing it wrong by HuntingHades · · Score: 1

      I think most ThinkGeek users will continue to shop the website; the inventory there is too big to somehow fit it into really any GameStop store. This system actually makes sense, and provides a service for customers who can't do home delivery for some reason; for example, no secure package drop-off; or they are ordering a gift and want to keep it secret. Plus it bring a customer into the store where they might make an additional purchase.

    5. Re:You're doing it wrong by tepples · · Score: 1

      GameStop removed PC games once widespread Internet activation requirements destroyed the used market.

  7. S word by puddingebola · · Score: 2

    Any time companies justify mergers and acquisitions with "synergies" the bullshit detector goes off. Yes, Hot Topic and GameStop are both retail outlets sometimes found in malls. I suppose that they are planning a buy out of the ice rinks, Orange Julius, and those shitty fast-food Chinese places.

    1. Re:S word by John+Napkintosh · · Score: 1

      Stole my post. "Synergies"? Hopefully slashdot is not fucked.

      --

      Long signatures suck.
    2. Re:S word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What do you mean hopefully? Slashdot has been fucked for a couple of years now. Didn't you notice all the clueless, paranoid, reactionary comments under almost any article?

    3. Re:S word by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      I was at a company that one time started a new marketing gimmick with the word "Synergy" standing by itself. The next day Gartner Group upgraded our ranking from the bad quadrant to the good quadrant by saying "they finally get it". Never underestimate the ability of clueless analysts to believe your bullshit.

    4. Re:S word by jfengel · · Score: 1

      It's not Hot Topic and GameStop that are merging; it's GameStop and ThinkGeek. There is the opportunity for "synergy" (yeah, I hate the word, too) in that they're both retailers to a similar demographic, but one is online and the other is brick-and-mortar. They can do all kinds of cross-selling and get a combined company that sells more than either of the two separately. As well as eliminating a few minor redundancies in the staffing (such as maintaining two completely independent web sites), though that kind of thing never produces really huge gains.

      That's an *opportunity*, of course, not a guarantee. They can still fuck it up royally. In fact, that's where I'd lay my money.

    5. Re:S word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've been noticing them since about 1999.

    6. Re:S word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slashdot was sold as a separate unit to Dice. It isn't impacted by any of this. If you got LNUX shares back in the day, they became the shares that are being acquired. As usual, such holders are forced to realize the capital loss against their will. Yes, the shares are probably never coming back to 1999 levels; but it's annoying that private equity dictates our accounting actions when they acquire public companies.

    7. Re:S word by Phaedrus420 · · Score: 1

      We shall call it... ThinkStop

      --
      And what is good, Phaedrus, And what is not good... Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?
    8. Re:S word by jfengel · · Score: 1

      I think I'm already shopping there!

  8. Haven't been to a GameStop since they Stopped by waspleg · · Score: 1

    buying/selling used PC games more than 10 years ago. This might be good for them but will definitely be bad for Thinkgeek which has been coming up with some of their own products some of which are quite good (I'm not affiliated with them in any way but g/f has told me that the LeVar Burton Star Trek TNG/Reading Rainbow joke t-shirt I got her has gotten her more compliments than anything else and that was/is an exclusive).

    Their prices are high but they do have some cool stuff. I wonder how badly GameStop will ruin them. Sad to see.

    1. Re:Haven't been to a GameStop since they Stopped by RavenLrD20k · · Score: 2

      Funny...my local one still has used PC games on its rack, and gets additional ones. Unfortunately the local market for PC games seems rather small as GameStop has the largest selection of used PC games taking about a shelf and a half (estimated) on their PC rack. The local Goodwill stores will come in second by having maybe a few PC titles in their glass cage. Even for new PC game titles, GameStop here out-does Wal-Mart, BestBuy, AND Staples on what they carry in-store. Sadly, there just doesn't seem to be much of a PC market in brick & Mortar anymore. I think Steam might have had something to do with that.

    2. Re:Haven't been to a GameStop since they Stopped by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I stopped getting my PC games from Best Buy around the time their selection had shrunk to a single aisle, I think Fallout: New Vegas was the last game I purchased from them (that'd be back in, what 2010?) Almost everything since then has been from Steam.

    3. Re:Haven't been to a GameStop since they Stopped by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      Steam has utterly destroyed the used game market. That's what game DRM is all about, not anti-piracy but anti-resale. Of course Game Stop wasn't a good player in the used game market, with bad trade in values and miniscule discounts, but it was the most significant player still supporting used games. I only got Steam because of Fallout: New Vegas, naively thinking it was like FO3 with minimal copy protection.

    4. Re:Haven't been to a GameStop since they Stopped by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Who needs used games when you can buy a "new" copy on Steam a year later for $10?

    5. Re:Haven't been to a GameStop since they Stopped by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Who needs used games when you can buy a "new" copy on Steam a year later for $10?

      Point. It's been quite a while since I last spent more than $20 on a game thanks to Steam.

    6. Re:Haven't been to a GameStop since they Stopped by Yosho · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately, the market for products that you can buy, make a perfect copy of in 15 minutes, and then return is not super profitable.

      --
      Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
  9. This could be good... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    May mean we can buy from physical locations now... and possibly cheaper shipping costs in Canada.

  10. At this point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd be happy if Dice made money on slashdot selling it to someone who won't feel they have to make all kinds of community-hated changes.

  11. Making ThinkGeek even less relevant, hmm? by JohnFen · · Score: 2

    At least Hot Topic owning ThinkGeek was amusing. GameStop owning them is disgusting, and ensures that I won't be purchasing anything from ThinkGeek anymore.

    1. Re:Making ThinkGeek even less relevant, hmm? by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 4, Interesting

      At least Hot Topic owning ThinkGeek was amusing

      I think, of the two, Hot Topic could have significantly grown the brand - and ultimately that would have been good for geekdom, writ large.

      Not sure how the deal is being structured, but if it's a stock deal, this is bad for shareholders. Gamers aren't going to spend their cash on a bunch of crap that they can't play and non-gamer geeks aren't going to go hang around in Gamestop shopping for stuff with all the smelly gamers in there. Whatever the difference per diluted share Gamestop is bringing, that'll all get pissed away within the first year.

      One presumes, though, that it's a partial cash deal and the extra dozen-million bucks or so will be split up among the managers. So ... good news for the competition. Around here we have a chain called Newbury Comics that competes in this space. Right now is the time for them to get a huge funding round...

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    2. Re:Making ThinkGeek even less relevant, hmm? by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

      i hope they change the branding away from games so they won't feel so pressured into selling me preorders for games I don't give a shit about when I walk in for replacement cables or whatever it is i need.

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    3. Re:Making ThinkGeek even less relevant, hmm? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you weren't too fucking lazy to read the article, you might know that it's a combination of $37 million and $20/share. You don't deserve your low ID.

    4. Re:Making ThinkGeek even less relevant, hmm? by gmhowell · · Score: 4, Funny

      If you weren't too fucking lazy to read the article, you might know that it's a combination of $37 million and $20/share. You don't deserve your low ID.

      While you were busy 'reading articles', he was busy getting a low ID. BTW, UID 1 never read an article.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
  12. Online competition by phorm · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They're probably looking at competing against other eTailers and minimizing floorspace (similar to BestBuy) by allowing such items to be ordered in-store. Hopefully they keep some of the new/popular stuff in stock though and don't underestimate the power of a shiny toy at eye-height.

  13. Not to be the different guy, but... by hawkbug · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Everybody seems to think this is a bad idea. However, I think it's awesome. There are gamestops everywhere around my house. Probably 5 within 10 miles in any direction. Imagine if those places carried more than used games and consoles. Imagine for a moment that they also carry the same cool stuff that you would normally want to buy, but the shipping costs might have turned you away.

    Personally, I think this is great news. My T-shirt collection will probably double in size over the next year.

    1. Re:Not to be the different guy, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem is that you have to do business with the scumbags that are Gamestop.

    2. Re:Not to be the different guy, but... by LaurenCates · · Score: 1

      No, I'm in agreement with you here. As much as I don't buy from ThinkGeek anymore (unless they have a really, really wantable T-shirt on sale*...because I'm cheap as hell), having something akin to an Amazon Locker is a boon and a win for them.

      It's a heck of a smart business strategy and it's going to be interesting (to me at least) to see how successful it is.

      *I have a "Fhloston Paradise" t-shirt, and alas, no one ever recognizes the reference. That causes me to be bummed in almost unreasonable amounts.

      --
      Some people don't believe in fairies. I don't believe in The Patriarchy.
    3. Re:Not to be the different guy, but... by hawkbug · · Score: 1

      I haven't had a bad experience there personally. They don't give you much for used games and consoles, but then again, when I've tried to sell the stuff on ebay or craigslist, I haven't made enough of a difference where I think they could have offered me any more and still made money. It's cheaper to buy a game from them than grab it brand new somewhere, if you don't mind waiting a month or two after one comes out.

    4. Re: Not to be the different guy, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are gamestops everywhere around my house. Probbaly 5 within 10 miles in any direction.

      Yeah, that density worked out really well for RadioShack, too...

    5. Re: Not to be the different guy, but... by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      If I saw you in your T-shirt, I'd ask you if you recognized the music.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    6. Re:Not to be the different guy, but... by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      AIUI secondhand shops (whether specialist like gamestop or more general) work on large gross profit margins, they won't buy something unless they think they can sell it for at least half as much again what they bought it for and preferablly more. Afaict this is nessacery to make up for slow turnover, losses due to mispurchases, losses due to market changes (especially with something like recently released video games that depreciates quickly) etc but it means that people end up thinking of them as a ripoff.

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    7. Re:Not to be the different guy, but... by blazer1024 · · Score: 1

      Do you live in the deep south? (If you're outside the US I don't know)

      Seems like the kind of shirt 1/50 people here would recognize... at least I would hope so.

    8. Re:Not to be the different guy, but... by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      The problem is those stores tend to be quite small (at least, the ones in my area are), there's not much room for new stuff, unless they intend maybe on backing off of game and accessories a little. Conversely, the Hot Topic in my neck of the woods is at least twice the size of any of the Game Stops.

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    9. Re:Not to be the different guy, but... by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      No, I'm in agreement with you here. As much as I don't buy from ThinkGeek anymore (unless they have a really, really wantable T-shirt on sale*...because I'm cheap as hell), having something akin to an Amazon Locker is a boon and a win for them.

      It's a heck of a smart business strategy and it's going to be interesting (to me at least) to see how successful it is.

      *I have a "Fhloston Paradise" t-shirt, and alas, no one ever recognizes the reference. That causes me to be bummed in almost unreasonable amounts.

      Supergreen.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    10. Re:Not to be the different guy, but... by LaurenCates · · Score: 1

      No, northeast US.

      --
      Some people don't believe in fairies. I don't believe in The Patriarchy.
    11. Re: Not to be the different guy, but... by LaurenCates · · Score: 1

      As in what the actual song the Diva sang was?

      --
      Some people don't believe in fairies. I don't believe in The Patriarchy.
    12. Re:Not to be the different guy, but... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Personally, I think this is great news. My T-shirt collection will probably double in size over the next year.

      Nobody with such a low Slashdot UID should still be wearing t-shirts with clever sayings or Star Wars characters on them.

      It might be time to grow up and switch to Hawaiian shirts.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    13. Re:Not to be the different guy, but... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      Well, that sounds nice, but GameStops are tiny stores packed with, um, games. There's no way they could carry more than a very tiny amount of ThinkGeek merchandise. I like your idea too, because I've bought lots of stuff from ThinkGeek for myself and my kids, but I just can't imagine there being much more than in-store pickup for ThinkGeek orders.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    14. Re:Not to be the different guy, but... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      I'm currently wearing a Crow T. Robot T-shirt ("You know you want me, baby!").

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    15. Re: Not to be the different guy, but... by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      Wrong music. You may not recognize it, but some did.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    16. Re: Not to be the different guy, but... by LaurenCates · · Score: 1

      Okay, that's probably a bit of trivia that's passed me by.

      However, another aficionado of the same movie I know claimed that Dallas and Zorg didn't even know each other existed. While it's true they never met, there's no way Dallas didn't know Zorg owned the company he worked for, and Zorg had to know all about the winner of the Gemini Croquettes sweepstakes.

      --
      Some people don't believe in fairies. I don't believe in The Patriarchy.
    17. Re: Not to be the different guy, but... by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      Zorg knew the music.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  14. There goes the neighborhood by grasshoppa · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Can't wait to see how these "synergies" torpedo thinkgeek.

    Of course we'll act shocked that it ruins thinkgeek.

    --
    Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
  15. I hope Gamestop gets BAWLS by hackaxle · · Score: 1

    I love that stuff. Blue reminds me of a shirley temple. Been a shame since all my local gas stations and stores stopped carrying it. Just too expensive to order it from ThinkGeek and can never get myself to throw down on a case of it off of Amazon. I liked the mints with carbonation too, was pretty cool to drop a few into the bottle.

  16. Preorder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Did Gamestop pre-order geeknet?

    Will I now need to pre-order things on ThinkGeek, or not get them at all?

    Inquiring minds want to know!

    1. Re:Preorder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can knock it, but they DID deliver on those Duke Nukem Forever preorders.... eventually.

  17. Jim Gaffigan by sjbe · · Score: 1

    Every time I hear the name of the store Hot Topic, Jim Gaffigan comedy routines start running through my head.

    1. Re:Jim Gaffigan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      that's hot pockets, you insensitive clod!

    2. Re:Jim Gaffigan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Every time I hear the name of the store Hot Topic, Jim Gaffigan comedy routines start running through my head.

      that's hot pockets, you insensitive clod!

      The feeling you get about 20 minutes after you eat a Hot Pocket is similar to the feeling you get after shopping at a Hot Topic, right down to the gut-wrenching heaves from the pit of your stomach as you contemplate the emptiness of your existence.

  18. I, for one, Welcome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Our Coast-to-Coast Mall-Resident $10-Used-Game-Bin-Hosting Near-Overlords.

  19. Fire, water, earth, air, boron by tepples · · Score: 1

    *I have a "Fhloston Paradise" t-shirt, and alas, no one ever recognizes the reference.

    Something to do with boron...

    [Your session is about to time out. Swipe your MULTIPASS to read the rest of this comment.]

    1. Re:Fire, water, earth, air, boron by danbert8 · · Score: 1

      Every time I pass through customs I really want to say "moolteee pass" when I hand the border agent my passport...

      --
      Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
  20. DarinBob = "Run, Forrest: RUN!!!" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject "Forrest" & this -> http://tech.slashdot.org/comme...

  21. DarinBob = "Run, Forrest: RUN!!!" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject "Forrest" & this -> http://tech.slashdot.org/comme...

  22. DarinBob = "Run, Forrest: RUN!!!" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject "Forrest" & this -> http://tech.slashdot.org/comme...

  23. DarinBob = "Run, Forrest: RUN!!!" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject "Forrest" & this -> http://tech.slashdot.org/comme...