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GameStop "Testing" $10 Pre-Orders on Metroid Prime 3
Qorzm
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I am an employee at GameStop.
And while I know how much the internet hates GameStop, I have some more bad news for you.A few days ago we got an email saying that we would be "testing" $10 pre-orders for a few games that just got added to our system, such as Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Strikers Charged, 2 Sing Star games, and PaRappa for PSP. This doubles the normal amount that we require you to pay to pre-order a game. It's supposedly an effort to increase reservation pick-ups. Since customers are forced to invest so much money into a game now, it might make them pick it up. But there are always those customers who forget to pick up their games, and GameStop understands that.
Everyone that knows GameStop knows that this isn't just a testing period. This is the beta for their next money-hungry scheme. This will likely stick around.
It doesn't even make sense to start this off with 2 Wii games which run at 50 bucks, and another that is a PSP game that runs at 40 bucks. That's having to pay off 1/5th of the price and 1/4th of the price, just to guarantee you are able to buy the game from us. They should have at least started it with a 360 or PS3 game, where the increased price isn't so significant.
It also will sort of be hurting us as employees, trying to spread the word about great upcoming games, and then asking for double digits just to pre-order a copy. "Just $5 down" was the perfect pitch to get customers to buy good games. "Oh yeah, GameStop is actually testing this new pre-order system, and the reservation down payment double to a minimum of $10" isn't going to get people to pre-order Metroid Prime 3.
I'm not posting this to bitch about being an employee and not getting reservations, I'm posting this to let you know what your next visit to GameStop might be like.
Is this going to stop you from pre-ordering games, or do you think this is a valid idea?
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I only clicked on this thread because I thought there was something going on with Corruption's release date.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
I will order something online, and happily pay in full, because it will be shipped to me to arrive the day it comes out. I dunno, it just seems to me like part of the reason people pay more in B&M stores over online retailers is because you should be able to walk in, hand over cash, take game.
*PLease note that preorders cease to be lame when cool shit is given away for free. I did get the OOT/Master Quest disk.
It still sucks, but it doesn't affect me.
Actually, the PSP game (Parapper the Rapper i think) is only $30, so you're paying off 1/3
How often do games that get preordered and not purchased sit on the shelf and never sell? I guess if it's at least one out of ten times, then that ends up being lost money for the company, and if they increase the preorder price to $10, it would have to happen more than (about) one out of five times to end up being lost money for the company.
I'd be curious to hear some real numbers, if anyone has access.
At least, I could swear that's what I paid for two Wii preorder titles each for launch at TRU.
It's not a problem. They love that shit. It's a cleverly worded explanation that hides the fact that they LIKE being able to keep the money that people neglect to pick up from us.
We get the money down for the game, AND we get to sell the copy they had on hold after 48 hours.
@Bryceforvice on Twitter Facebook
TRU =/ Gamestop
i would imagine this cutting down the number of impulse preorders by a very large percentage. sucks for the employees who are going to get bitched out constantly for not pushing preorders hard enough, i guess.
Okay, that's what I had always assumed--that unpurchased preorders mean hella free money for the company.
That's not quite how it works afaik.
They know that X amount of people won't pick up preorders, so, they keep back enough to satisfy the total number of preorders minus X, with some margin of error. None collected preorders are just free money for them
Edit: Beat'd
Yep, and since this is going to be widely in effect, they are going to double their profits.
@Bryceforvice on Twitter Facebook
Yeah, I'm with you. I think the fact that preordering is suddenly costs double-digit dollars will definitely make it harder to convince Joe Average to make an impulse preorder. $10 is only $5 more than $5, but it's two digits. It's much more imposing, psychologically. :P
And I definitely agree--this sucks for the register monkeys more than anyone. They'll be expected to bring in just as many preorders as before.
360 Gamertag: Baronskatenbass Steam: BaronVonSnakPak HgL: AnsonLuap
That's unreasonable. You get a solid two days to pick up your game (and it could be an extremely popular game, like Zelda or Halo), and we cannot sell that product. To encourage you to pick up what you reserved and not waste our time, you pay a fee (that goes toward the game you reserved).
Try to understand it from a money standpoint. You reserving it means we can't sell it to anybody but you for about two days (possibly even three). Considering the high demand for many of the games people reserve, it's only fair that you pay us a small part in advance.
Consider the months upon months GameStop has to invest my 10 dollars and turn it into many more dollars before they ever have to pony up. And for what? So I get a "guaranteed" copy of a game that I could probably waltz into any competitor's store and pick up?
Blowing wads of cash on the latest video games is pretty silly to begin with if you think about it, but I'm not about to be that stupid with my money.
EDIT: To be fair, I was typing this while Cap'n posted his decree above.
Sorry for the pitch. It's actually a good service, except not for $10.
@Bryceforvice on Twitter Facebook
Should we really debate? doing so has both pro's and cons...
Mainly pre-order policies as of a few days ago, and used game returns.
Everything else is pure bullshit.
EDIT: Yeah, I'm fine with it. I know both sides pretty well and would love to discuss this.
@Bryceforvice on Twitter Facebook
No one shops at TRU for video games. I could easily take a copy of Guitar Hero II 360 off the shelf and buy it at the end of the day because no one knows we sell games, so no one bothered to check to see if we had it. That's what my coworker did, and he did the same for God of War II. I hope to do the same for the Legendary Edition of Halo 3, but just in case, I did drop the hefty preorder price at GameStop to guarantee my copy of the game when it comes out.
I hate corporate greed. I have friends who work at GameStop, but unless they have some particularly rare games (the one by my house has a copy of Disgaea first print just sitting there for $39.99 and no one has picked it up yet), I rarely buy from them. I only buy from my store because I get a discount, otherwise I think all of my game shopping would happen online.
In the past, I've done it until blue in the face. I think it's stupid, but there's no convincing Shadowfire and other loyal employees that it's not awesome. I don't really see the point in doing it again, but hey. It's not my thread.
shit dudes, I'm just here to make sure nobody posts goatse or something
now its not games with high demand that people need to worry about reserving, as the big name titles like zeldas and halo's etc. are generally so well stocked at bigger stores like bestbuy you never have to worry about them being sold out, its the games with very little demand like Odin Sphere, steambot chronicles or metal saga that people need to preorder, simply because gamestops tend to be the only ones that stock them in retail.
edit: and generally up here in canada we get fucked on preorder bonuses too, so no incentive there =(
EDIT: Oooh, Steambot Chronicles... I want to make a thread about that game.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
;-) I was making a vaguely amusing play on words. Debating about whether or not to debate.