I know a guy who works at EBStop. He takes a few new PC games as they come in, copies down the key, and then proceeds to black-marker it out. Sometimes, he just rips it out and doesn't even bother.
So yeah. My story is that someone at that store, past or present, probably opened it up and stole the key.
I know a guy who works at EBStop. He takes a few new PC games as they come in, copies down the key, and then proceeds to black-marker it out. Sometimes, he just rips it out and doesn't even bother.
So yeah. My story is that someone at that store, past or present, probably opened it up and stole the key.
Digital distribution is the wave of the future.
I Steam. And I would probably buy more stuff from Direct2Drive, but they seem to need different patches than the box retail version, and some mod stuff is a bit wonky. I think this meathod of distribution is going to get a lot bigger though.
Why bother with getting a game that may or may not be pre-played when you can just go to best buy or target and get a game that's not gutted and still in the shrink wrap?
Masochism
Best buy and target don't to pre-orders and often don't have some of the rarer games at lauch, if at all
I know a guy who works at EBStop. He takes a few new PC games as they come in, copies down the key, and then proceeds to black-marker it out. Sometimes, he just rips it out and doesn't even bother.
So yeah. My story is that someone at that store, past or present, probably opened it up and stole the key.
Digital distribution is the wave of the future.
I Steam. And I would probably buy more stuff from Direct2Drive, but they seem to need different patches than the box retail version, and some mod stuff is a bit wonky. I think this meathod of distribution is going to get a lot bigger though.
Are you allowed to at least burn copies of the games you download?
I am not going to get on-board with digital distribution until I can at least do that. I do not trust hard drives, and space is precious anyhow.
Most stores sell display items at a % discount, because it is no longer new.
Heh, not EB. I hate it so much when they give me an opened box with their stickers on it, or worse, their stickers on the cover insert beneath the plastic.
I get why they gut PC games, but I wish they'd at least do it correctly.
Valve games are mainly what I'm reffering to.
As many people know, with valve games, the CDs aren't nearly as important as the serial number, since if you have the number, you can just download all of the software you need. At the local EB here, until several people (myself being the fifth or sixth apparently) brought it to their attention, they were keeping the discs behind the counter and leaving the serial number with the box, which dipshits would just copy down and use.
One horror story I heard from a friend involving a gutted console game; Apparently he brought it up to the counter to buy, well aware of why it wasn't shrink wrapped (most new games at this location ARE shrink wrapped now, but this was before that). The other guy working there actually popped it out of the machine he was playing it on, put it in the case, and charged it as new. My friend didn't buy it there, and didn't go back for over a year.
So why don't they just put out a crappy grey generic case out on the shelves with the name of the game printed on it. Just take that up to the counter and they can grab the game (still sealed) from the back or whatever. The only issue with this method (which Best Buy is sorta using) is that it eats up a bit of extra space.
Dritz on
There I was, 3DS: 2621-2671-9899 (Ekera), Wii U: LostCrescendo
So why don't they just put out a crappy grey generic case out on the shelves with the name of the game printed on it. Just take that up to the counter and they can grab the game (still sealed) from the back or whatever. The only issue with this method (which Best Buy is sorta using) is that it eats up a bit of extra space.
Also people don't get to look at the box, believe it or not, the majority of customers come into gamestores and impulse buy.
So why don't they just put out a crappy grey generic case out on the shelves with the name of the game printed on it. Just take that up to the counter and they can grab the game (still sealed) from the back or whatever. The only issue with this method (which Best Buy is sorta using) is that it eats up a bit of extra space.
I also like to see how the game looks from the back as well as read the exposition on the box. Most of the games I picked up, where from lists I printed out, but I had no clue until I saw the game box.
Every single other retailer than EBstop manages to have game-boxes out on display without having to resort gutting. It's not complicated. The only defence I can think of is that the company is simply a small-player.
On the other side of the coin, I've had people get mad at me because Toys R Us doesn't sell "used games." I rarely buy used unless the price difference between a new and used game is so great that it justifies the purchase, which it rarely does.
I always buy my PC games at Best Buy or Circuit City. At least there I can be guaranteed that my CD key isn't already being used.
The lesson is to never buy new PC games from EBStop, ever.
A lot of other stores will have an equal if not better price, and they are guaranteed not to gut the copies, let alone sell you ones that the employees 'check out' for the weekend.
Every single other retailer than EBstop manages to have game-boxes out on display without having to resort gutting. It's not complicated. The only defence I can think of is that the company is simply a small-player.
they say it costs them money
they consider this a higher value than the lost customers who refuse to shop there, the stolen boxes/materials as well as subsequently marked down what-once-was-new games, and everything else.
Most stores sell display items at a % discount, because it is no longer new.
Heh, not EB. I hate it so much when they give me an opened box with their stickers on it, or worse, their stickers on the cover insert beneath the plastic.
OH GOD THEY JUST DID IT TO ME AGAIN, STICKER ON THE INSERT FOR PHEONIX WRIGHT 1
Every single other retailer than EBstop manages to have game-boxes out on display without having to resort gutting. It's not complicated. The only defence I can think of is that the company is simply a small-player.
they say it costs them money
they consider this a higher value than the lost customers who refuse to shop there, the stolen boxes/materials as well as subsequently marked down what-once-was-new games, and everything else.
Yes, it does cost them money. In fact we should be grateful they don't just have the boxes in the crates they came in; it costs them money to pay the employees to sort things out after all.
Having boxes in plastic security cases is a standard everywhere.
Hey, this just reminded me of when I bought Diablo 2 from EB. When I opened it at home, NO GAME. Returned it the next day, got a new one. NO INSTALLATION DISC. Finally got a full one next week.
core tactic on
0
Gear GirlMore class than a state universityRegistered Userregular
edited January 2007
I refuse to buy anything from EBstops anymore. I hate so many things they do.
My most hated is probably the fact that they put stickers on FUCKING EVERYTHING, and right on your gutted no shrink wrap case to. On top of that these stickers are the worst kind to try and remove so I pretty much gave up on that after my first purchase there.
That said I also despise gutting, I don't see why they can't just gut one copy of each game(or maybe 2 if its a popular game) that they don't plan to sell or can put into a "gutted savings" bin when they don't plan to carry that game anymore. Then people just bring up that display copy and they run to the back or grab one from directly behind them to sell you.
Then there is of course the issue that people have been discussing here where returned games appear to be sold new or apparently new games appear to have been played or scratched or are missing something. When I used to buy games from EB I would probably buy 3-4 at a time. Atleast one of these would have something wrong with it besides the problems mentioned above.
Also their used games always have markdown stickers all over the damn box, is it that bloody hard to put it in the same spot.
Im sure there is more I'm not thinking of but that should be enough of a rant for now. I buy all my games at wal-mart or future shop or best buy where they don't fuck with my games. I also buy online for rare games.
I know a guy who works at EBStop. He takes a few new PC games as they come in, copies down the key, and then proceeds to black-marker it out. Sometimes, he just rips it out and doesn't even bother.
So yeah. My story is that someone at that store, past or present, probably opened it up and stole the key.
Digital distribution is the wave of the future.
I Steam. And I would probably buy more stuff from Direct2Drive, but they seem to need different patches than the box retail version, and some mod stuff is a bit wonky. I think this meathod of distribution is going to get a lot bigger though.
Are you allowed to at least burn copies of the games you download?
I am not going to get on-board with digital distribution until I can at least do that. I do not trust hard drives, and space is precious anyhow.
D2D, in general, is *not* the way to do digital delivery. First, as was said, D2D games cannot take official patches and are difficult to mod. This is because they encrypt every fucking file as part of their copy protection. Yes, you can burn the installer files to disc, but IIRC you still have to connect to D2D to verify the game.
Also, regarding patches, D2D is lazy and often won't get to a patch until it's been officially out for a couple of weeks. Oh, and they don't like making separate patch downloads, so you can expect to re-download the entire game to get the patched version.
The lesson is to never buy new PC games from EBStop, ever.
A lot of other stores will have an equal if not better price, and they are guaranteed not to gut the copies, let alone sell you ones that the employees 'check out' for the weekend.
The lesson is to never buy new PC games from EBStop, ever.
A lot of other stores will have an equal if not better price, and they are guaranteed not to gut the copies, let alone sell you ones that the employees 'check out' for the weekend.
The lesson is to never buy new PC games from EBStop, ever.
A lot of other stores will have an equal if not better price, and they are guaranteed not to gut the copies, let alone sell you ones that the employees 'check out' for the weekend.
Employees can't check out PC games.
Employees are officially not permitted to
but some damn well CAN and DO
dont pretend otherwise dude
And don't pretend that every single fucking employee does it, dude.
Does anybody else remember the system that Walmart used to have back in the Snes/N64 eras for displaying games where they'd be in this rotating column, and you could turn the whole column to see the back of the game? No gutting, no theft, and you could see everything you wanted to see.
It was probably an expensive system, but it was nice.
Well, the EBs in my area don't gut anything. They put a few gutted display boxes out and the rest of the shrinkwrapped, ungutted games are behind the counter. Bring up the display box, get the new game. It's the same thing they do at rental stores.
This kind of thing happens all to often. When I buy a PC game there now, its only because I can't find it anywhere else and I want it right then. Generally I buy from Fry's or www.gogamer.com. Fry's is awesome about PC games. They have more space devoted to PC EB's have floor space, and you can find all the old games and all the edutainment games for the young ones there as well. They really need to build some out on the East Coast for the rest of you.
Cronus on
"Read twice, post once. It's almost like 'measure twice, cut once' only with reading." - MetaverseNomad
This kind of thing happens all to often. When I buy a PC game there now, its only because I can't find it anywhere else and I want it right then. Generally I buy from Fry's or www.gogamer.com. Fry's is awesome about PC games. They have more space devoted to PC EB's have floor space, and you can find all the old games and all the edutainment games for the young ones there as well. They really need to build some out on the East Coast for the rest of you.
I'd use Fry's more if there was a location in my area, but the closest one is like an hour's drive away on the freeway.
Well, the EBs in my area don't gut anything. They put a few gutted display boxes out and the rest of the shrinkwrapped, ungutted games are behind the counter. Bring up the display box, get the new game. It's the same thing they do at rental stores.
Yeah same here the EB here has some extra boxes with a cover in it on the shelves but they aren't gutted. Although the Gamestop does that other shit.
From my experience here the EBGames is an awesome store with cool people running it and the Gamestop is a horrible corporate shell of a store filled with grubby children. Hate that Gamestop...
I remember when places would carry games behind Plexiglass, with holes big enough to let your hand through to examine the case, but small enough to prevent you from simply sliding them out. Whatever happened to those?
I remember when places would carry games behind Plexiglass, with holes big enough to let your hand through to examine the case, but small enough to prevent you from simply sliding them out. Whatever happened to those?
People probably managed to somehow open the cases, and steal the game inside.
victor_c26 on
It's been so long since I've posted here, I've removed my signature since most of what I had here were broken links. Shows over, you can carry on to the next post.
The lesson is to never buy new PC games from EBStop, ever.
A lot of other stores will have an equal if not better price, and they are guaranteed not to gut the copies, let alone sell you ones that the employees 'check out' for the weekend.
Employees can't check out PC games.
Employees are officially not permitted to
but some damn well CAN and DO
dont pretend otherwise dude
And don't pretend that every single fucking employee does it, dude.
Did you just choose to read "some" as "every single fucking" or is that your temper flaring
The lesson is to never buy new PC games from EBStop, ever.
A lot of other stores will have an equal if not better price, and they are guaranteed not to gut the copies, let alone sell you ones that the employees 'check out' for the weekend.
Employees can't check out PC games.
Employees are officially not permitted to
but some damn well CAN and DO
dont pretend otherwise dude
And don't pretend that every single fucking employee does it, dude.
Did you just choose to read "some" as "every single fucking" or is that your temper flaring
It's just rather annoying that every single thread that revolves around discussing EBStop boils down to people bitching, and they're bitching about things they 'think' they know about, even though they've never worked in the store, or know how the processes work.
I'm not calling any individual out, mind you, but every single thread features it on some level or another.
i love how some people bitch about EB/gamestop gutting games and then every couple of months they keep bitching about it because they continue to shop there.
Just shut the hell up if youre going to keep supporting their business and then turn around and bitch about it.
Yeah, exactly. I got burned once and that was the last time I gave them money. That is, unless they were the only place to have some obscure/old title. And I mean only place. It takes something special to make me give them money when I'd much rather give it to Fry's, who not only stocks just about every game no matter how obscure it is, but also discounts the prices of a lot of games. I have many times bought a game there new for less than I'd pay Used at EBstop.
i love how some people bitch about EB/gamestop gutting games and then every couple of months they keep bitching about it because they continue to shop there.
Just shut the hell up if youre going to keep supporting their business and then turn around and bitch about it.
To be fair, a lot of people don't have many alternatives. I mean, sure, you can get Megahit_01 at Target, but they don't exactly have much of a selection, and Best Buy's about as sleazy as businesses get.
I run into that problem around here. We've got a Target, which I love, but doesn't have much selection. Failing that, it's Best Buy, which I refuse to shop at, or EB/Gamestop, which we have eight of within a 15 minute drive.
As much as I hate gut copies and those fucking stickers they plaster all over everything that comes in the store, or how they'll gut PC games and leave the manual with the CD key in the box for anyone to steal, it's still a bit better than giving my business to Best Buy.
I recently bought "farcry intincts: Evolution" from a Woolies, and it turned out the disc was actually "Farcry Instincts". Easy mistake to make, but they couldn't correct it for me, as they have no more stock of the game anywhere now. They offered me a refund (it was only £2.50 so I didn't bother). I'm a bit gutted, i know its still a good price for the game, and still enjoy it, but I feel like I am living a lie, with the wrong game in the case....
I also recently bought a load of games from gamestation, including Splinter Cell 1 on the Xbox, and as the guy on the till was bagging it up, he acidentally left Splinter Cell on the side. I left unknowingly without it, and he ran out of the shop, a bit down the highstreet, game in hand, to get it back to me.
Have any of you been to an EB lately? They're like pawn shops now. You need a map and a compass to find the new games.
Eventually, they won't sell new games, they'll just sell used games at the new game price. It's the plan. I can see it forming in their minds.
One thing I did see at EB, was this huge table at the very front of the store filled with games. At the very front was an empty cage with a "Free, please take 1" sticker above it, that was obviously for magazines. Some stupid gits, right in front of me, grabbed about ten ds games and put it in the cage then went and sat down about 5 meters away to watch.
I had to tell two customers they weren't free and were mistaken before I could even get to the back of the store to tell an employee. And then it didn't change for ten minutes. I finally gave up, sidled over to them, picked them up as if looking at them, walked a few steps away, had a good look at all the boxes and put them down. I was getting sick of telling poor mothers with two children that it was a cruel prank to get them in trouble.
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
Posts
EBStop employees steal stuff.
That is the end of my story.
I know a guy who works at EBStop. He takes a few new PC games as they come in, copies down the key, and then proceeds to black-marker it out. Sometimes, he just rips it out and doesn't even bother.
So yeah. My story is that someone at that store, past or present, probably opened it up and stole the key.
Digital distribution is the wave of the future.
I
I am a freaking nerd.
Are you allowed to at least burn copies of the games you download?
I am not going to get on-board with digital distribution until I can at least do that. I do not trust hard drives, and space is precious anyhow.
Most stores sell display items at a % discount, because it is no longer new.
Valve games are mainly what I'm reffering to.
As many people know, with valve games, the CDs aren't nearly as important as the serial number, since if you have the number, you can just download all of the software you need. At the local EB here, until several people (myself being the fifth or sixth apparently) brought it to their attention, they were keeping the discs behind the counter and leaving the serial number with the box, which dipshits would just copy down and use.
One horror story I heard from a friend involving a gutted console game; Apparently he brought it up to the counter to buy, well aware of why it wasn't shrink wrapped (most new games at this location ARE shrink wrapped now, but this was before that). The other guy working there actually popped it out of the machine he was playing it on, put it in the case, and charged it as new. My friend didn't buy it there, and didn't go back for over a year.
Also people don't get to look at the box, believe it or not, the majority of customers come into gamestores and impulse buy.
I also like to see how the game looks from the back as well as read the exposition on the box. Most of the games I picked up, where from lists I printed out, but I had no clue until I saw the game box.
I always buy my PC games at Best Buy or Circuit City. At least there I can be guaranteed that my CD key isn't already being used.
A lot of other stores will have an equal if not better price, and they are guaranteed not to gut the copies, let alone sell you ones that the employees 'check out' for the weekend.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
they say it costs them money
they consider this a higher value than the lost customers who refuse to shop there, the stolen boxes/materials as well as subsequently marked down what-once-was-new games, and everything else.
Having boxes in plastic security cases is a standard everywhere.
My most hated is probably the fact that they put stickers on FUCKING EVERYTHING, and right on your gutted no shrink wrap case to. On top of that these stickers are the worst kind to try and remove so I pretty much gave up on that after my first purchase there.
That said I also despise gutting, I don't see why they can't just gut one copy of each game(or maybe 2 if its a popular game) that they don't plan to sell or can put into a "gutted savings" bin when they don't plan to carry that game anymore. Then people just bring up that display copy and they run to the back or grab one from directly behind them to sell you.
Then there is of course the issue that people have been discussing here where returned games appear to be sold new or apparently new games appear to have been played or scratched or are missing something. When I used to buy games from EB I would probably buy 3-4 at a time. Atleast one of these would have something wrong with it besides the problems mentioned above.
Also their used games always have markdown stickers all over the damn box, is it that bloody hard to put it in the same spot.
Im sure there is more I'm not thinking of but that should be enough of a rant for now. I buy all my games at wal-mart or future shop or best buy where they don't fuck with my games. I also buy online for rare games.
D2D, in general, is *not* the way to do digital delivery. First, as was said, D2D games cannot take official patches and are difficult to mod. This is because they encrypt every fucking file as part of their copy protection. Yes, you can burn the installer files to disc, but IIRC you still have to connect to D2D to verify the game.
Also, regarding patches, D2D is lazy and often won't get to a patch until it's been officially out for a couple of weeks. Oh, and they don't like making separate patch downloads, so you can expect to re-download the entire game to get the patched version.
Employees can't check out PC games.
Employees are officially not permitted to
but some damn well CAN and DO
dont pretend otherwise dude
And don't pretend that every single fucking employee does it, dude.
It was probably an expensive system, but it was nice.
"Read twice, post once. It's almost like 'measure twice, cut once' only with reading." - MetaverseNomad
Yeah same here the EB here has some extra boxes with a cover in it on the shelves but they aren't gutted. Although the Gamestop does that other shit.
From my experience here the EBGames is an awesome store with cool people running it and the Gamestop is a horrible corporate shell of a store filled with grubby children. Hate that Gamestop...
I never asked for this!
People probably managed to somehow open the cases, and steal the game inside.
Did you just choose to read "some" as "every single fucking" or is that your temper flaring
It's just rather annoying that every single thread that revolves around discussing EBStop boils down to people bitching, and they're bitching about things they 'think' they know about, even though they've never worked in the store, or know how the processes work.
I'm not calling any individual out, mind you, but every single thread features it on some level or another.
Just shut the hell up if youre going to keep supporting their business and then turn around and bitch about it.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
I run into that problem around here. We've got a Target, which I love, but doesn't have much selection. Failing that, it's Best Buy, which I refuse to shop at, or EB/Gamestop, which we have eight of within a 15 minute drive.
As much as I hate gut copies and those fucking stickers they plaster all over everything that comes in the store, or how they'll gut PC games and leave the manual with the CD key in the box for anyone to steal, it's still a bit better than giving my business to Best Buy.
I also recently bought a load of games from gamestation, including Splinter Cell 1 on the Xbox, and as the guy on the till was bagging it up, he acidentally left Splinter Cell on the side. I left unknowingly without it, and he ran out of the shop, a bit down the highstreet, game in hand, to get it back to me.
Eventually, they won't sell new games, they'll just sell used games at the new game price. It's the plan. I can see it forming in their minds.
One thing I did see at EB, was this huge table at the very front of the store filled with games. At the very front was an empty cage with a "Free, please take 1" sticker above it, that was obviously for magazines. Some stupid gits, right in front of me, grabbed about ten ds games and put it in the cage then went and sat down about 5 meters away to watch.
I had to tell two customers they weren't free and were mistaken before I could even get to the back of the store to tell an employee. And then it didn't change for ten minutes. I finally gave up, sidled over to them, picked them up as if looking at them, walked a few steps away, had a good look at all the boxes and put them down. I was getting sick of telling poor mothers with two children that it was a cruel prank to get them in trouble.