I used to be a complete slave to Chips and Bits. They had tons of obscure games and everything they shipped was sealed. I just visited their site the other day and it appears they are retooling. My only beef is that they didn't have a store where I lived and I had to have everything shipped
See, ive been to good EB's before. The one in the mall in this town (Oshawa, ontario) is fucking exactly like the hellacious places ive read about on here. The staff are a bunch of morons, they never have games when they come out, if someones sold out or theyre too lazy to look for it, they just say "That game doesnt come out for another month, check back then". Dont even bother to call because the canned response is "We dont carry that title" or "We dont have any copies for you because you didnt preorder". Some asshole actually sold me an edge card (Which costs 5 bucks) without even asking me, i didnt even realise until i got out of the store and found it wrapped inside my receipt.
I tend not to shop there anymore, id rather go to best buy or futureshop, or hell, even walmart unless i really, really want to buy used games, because atleast i know theyll have the shit in stock on release day rather than having to periodically check in over an entire week to see if its arrived or if theyve bothered to unpack it.
Some asshole actually sold me an edge card (Which costs 5 bucks) without even asking me, i didnt even realise until i got out of the store and found it wrapped inside my receipt.
Did you save money? Just want to know. I've sold edge cards to people without telling them or after they said no because they were actually saving money on that transaction. I've had people turn down $15 dollars in savings! So I'd just ring it up, save them 15 bucks and throw that shit away.
YodaTuna on
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Some asshole actually sold me an edge card (Which costs 5 bucks) without even asking me, i didnt even realise until i got out of the store and found it wrapped inside my receipt.
Did you save money? Just want to know. I've sold edge cards to people without telling them or after they said no because they were actually saving money on that transaction. I've had people turn down $15 dollars in savings! So I'd just ring it up, save them 15 bucks and throw that shit away.
I know you are a good EBStop employee (I remember the poll/direct complaints thing from a year or two ago), but.. isn't selling things to people without their knowledge illegal?Even if it saves them money in the long run, it's a financial transaction in which one of the parties isn't aware.
Some asshole actually sold me an edge card (Which costs 5 bucks) without even asking me, i didnt even realise until i got out of the store and found it wrapped inside my receipt.
Did you save money? Just want to know. I've sold edge cards to people without telling them or after they said no because they were actually saving money on that transaction. I've had people turn down $15 dollars in savings! So I'd just ring it up, save them 15 bucks and throw that shit away.
Thats Highly illegal. Selling things to customers without thier knowledge and then throwing it away? How can you be a good employee?
Some asshole actually sold me an edge card (Which costs 5 bucks) without even asking me, i didnt even realise until i got out of the store and found it wrapped inside my receipt.
Did you save money? Just want to know. I've sold edge cards to people without telling them or after they said no because they were actually saving money on that transaction. I've had people turn down $15 dollars in savings! So I'd just ring it up, save them 15 bucks and throw that shit away.
No i was buying a new game. It showed up as +5 dollars on my bill. Theyve tried to sell me those before and as far as i know you only save money on used game purchases and get a bonus on trade ins. And it only counts for games from that point forward, not that transaction, as far as its ever been explained to me.
Some asshole actually sold me an edge card (Which costs 5 bucks) without even asking me, i didnt even realise until i got out of the store and found it wrapped inside my receipt.
Did you save money? Just want to know. I've sold edge cards to people without telling them or after they said no because they were actually saving money on that transaction. I've had people turn down $15 dollars in savings! So I'd just ring it up, save them 15 bucks and throw that shit away.
I know you are a good EBStop employee (I remember the poll/direct complaints thing from a year or two ago), but.. isn't selling things to people without their knowledge illegal?Even if it saves them money in the long run, it's a financial transaction in which one of the parties isn't aware.
Probably. No one ever came back to complain, and it only happened a few times. At any rate, we can't even do it anymore because we need an address for the game informer subscription. Not to mention you'd have to buy $150 dollars in used goods or trade ins to save money which doesn't happen very often.
Hence the complete worthlessness of the Edge card.
Every single time: No.
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.
Some asshole actually sold me an edge card (Which costs 5 bucks) without even asking me, i didnt even realise until i got out of the store and found it wrapped inside my receipt.
Did you save money? Just want to know. I've sold edge cards to people without telling them or after they said no because they were actually saving money on that transaction. I've had people turn down $15 dollars in savings! So I'd just ring it up, save them 15 bucks and throw that shit away.
No i was buying a new game. It showed up as +5 dollars on my bill. Theyve tried to sell me those before and as far as i know you only save money on used game purchases and get a bonus on trade ins. And it only counts for games from that point forward, not that transaction, as far as its ever been explained to me.
It counts on that transaction. But that's gay, you should have blown the place up.
Hence the complete worthlessness of the Edge card.
Every single time: No.
Now. Back when it was $5? A steal.
I found it essentally useless. $5 dollars on a $49.99 used game? Yeah a great steal. I rather have a better percentage of savings than that piddly amount. I still have mine, though the ink has rubbed out on the sticker due to it being in my wallet for most times and not being used. No a good savings tool.
Hence the complete worthlessness of the Edge card.
Every single time: No.
Now. Back when it was $5? A steal.
I found it essentally useless. $5 dollars on a $49.99 used game? Yeah a great steal. I rather have a better percentage of savings than that piddly amount. I still have mine, though the ink has rubbed out on the sticker due to it being in my wallet for most times and not being used. No a good savings tool.
If you buy lots of used games at EB then it does add up and you do save a good amount. Any savings added up over time is usually significant, and any time you could have used it and didn't, you were paying money that you didn't have to. All because you were too lazy to grab the card out of your wallet.
ScrabbleDude on
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Hence the complete worthlessness of the Edge card.
Every single time: No.
It's not useless for everyone.
Jesus fuck, these threads come up constantly, and people on this forum always assume that they are the barometer at which customers can be measured against each other. You are not the average customer, you are the <1%, the gaming nerds and geeks, who are no where near Gamestop's target crowd. (I'm not name-calling, as I'm part of that crowd) When you make stupid blanket statements like "edge card is stupid, it's good for no one," you prove my statement. I had customers who would come in and spend $100+ each month on used games, and if you think the card isn't a value for them, you are retarded.
Aside from all that, GI has over 2 million subscribers. The card must be good for people who are not you.
Please, please, please people, stop assuming that you are the average consumer. You are not. And I know it's been said several times in this thread, but if the gutted games, GIs, reserves, or whatever else piss you off, stop shopping there. You seriously are like the idiots who keep going back to the same cheating girlfriend... learn that you don't like the way things are done, and fucking go somewhere else.
Hey party-people! I'll stay out of the EB = Teh Devil argument.
However, I've read lots of venting about the stickers, and I thought I'd throw in some tips. Thanks to a lifetime of OCD I've gotten to where I can make all my used games at least look like I got them new.
1. Luckily, EB does have some stickers that come off rather easily. The huge round promotional one is pretty easy to remove, and lately I've seen where they'll just insert the sticker under the clear plastic (without removing the back of the sticker, so you can just slide it out) So check for the easy stuff first.
2. For the more stubborn stickers, find your wife / girlfriend / gay lover's hair dryer. Turn it on, crank the heat up, and then cook the damn sticker. It loosens up the adhesive, and you'll be able to peel off some of the more uncooperative stickers this way.
3. If that fails, your best friend in the whole world is lighter fluid. Lightly saturate the whole sticky area with it, and then pour some onto a washcloth, and scrub away! From my experience, don't bother with any of the stupid name-brand stuff (Goo-Gone, Gum-Off, etc). Lighter fluid works better, and it's clear, so if you manage to get the paper insert underneath wet, it'll just dry off and you'll be fine. If you don't have any left over from that felony you committed last weekend, then get some from your local grocery store.
4. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do regarding instruction manuals, etc. However, you can always take care of any ickyness inside the case with windex and a soft rag. I swear the people who trade in games have some seriously gross hygiene. Yuck!
5. I've never been too good at repairing damage to the disc, but it never hurts to take that same soft rag and some windex and gently give it a good cleaning.
In EB's defense, I'll say that they have gotten somewhat better in the past few years. The amount and size of stickers seems to have dropped (at least at where I shop).
EB does have some serious issues, but everyone seems to forget that their target demographic isn't us, it's the kids with rich, gaming-ignorant parents, and the casual gamer (the backwards-hat wearing frat homeys who buy every single thing related to Halo and Madden).
In fact, they probably hate our types because all their gimmicks and practices don't work on us. ;-)
So yeah, they suck. Either you shop there anyway (I do), or you go to the other big retailers, or you put on your beret and monocle and order from the online places. ;-)
Some asshole actually sold me an edge card (Which costs 5 bucks) without even asking me, i didnt even realise until i got out of the store and found it wrapped inside my receipt.
Did you save money? Just want to know. I've sold edge cards to people without telling them or after they said no because they were actually saving money on that transaction. I've had people turn down $15 dollars in savings! So I'd just ring it up, save them 15 bucks and throw that shit away.
I know you are a good EBStop employee (I remember the poll/direct complaints thing from a year or two ago), but.. isn't selling things to people without their knowledge illegal?Even if it saves them money in the long run, it's a financial transaction in which one of the parties isn't aware.
Probably. No one ever came back to complain, and it only happened a few times. At any rate, we can't even do it anymore because we need an address for the game informer subscription. Not to mention you'd have to buy $150 dollars in used goods or trade ins to save money which doesn't happen very often.
Man, that's like 3 used 360 games. No one is gonna buy 3 used 360 games in a year?
EDIT - and that's not even considering you get a year of the magazine which by itself isn't bad for $15, if nothing than to read while on the shitter
Forever Zefiro on
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
Maybe it's just the Winder EBStop, but I've never had trouble the few times I bought something there. I go in, buy the game, get a clean disk and manual, decline the offer, and am not hassled.
Some asshole actually sold me an edge card (Which costs 5 bucks) without even asking me, i didnt even realise until i got out of the store and found it wrapped inside my receipt.
Did you save money? Just want to know. I've sold edge cards to people without telling them or after they said no because they were actually saving money on that transaction. I've had people turn down $15 dollars in savings! So I'd just ring it up, save them 15 bucks and throw that shit away.
I know you are a good EBStop employee (I remember the poll/direct complaints thing from a year or two ago), but.. isn't selling things to people without their knowledge illegal?Even if it saves them money in the long run, it's a financial transaction in which one of the parties isn't aware.
Probably. No one ever came back to complain, and it only happened a few times. At any rate, we can't even do it anymore because we need an address for the game informer subscription. Not to mention you'd have to buy $150 dollars in used goods or trade ins to save money which doesn't happen very often.
Man, that's like 3 used 360 games. No one is gonna buy 3 used 360 games in a year?
Not at once, which means they won't save money on the first transaction, that's all I'm refering too.
The gamestop that I go to now does something nice and weird. If you buy a gutted game they put it back together and shrink wrap it in front of your own eyes. I guess if you are buying it as a gift then ok nice try but why don't not rip it out anyway?
Why don't they use those used Gamestop game cases and print out game covers and put them in there?
HyperAquaBlast on
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Forever Zefirocloaked in the midnight glory of an event horizonRegistered Userregular
The gamestop that I go to now does something nice and weird. If you buy a gutted game they put it back together and shrink wrap it in front of your own eyes. I guess if you are buying it as a gift then ok nice try but why don't not rip it out anyway?
Why don't they use those used Gamestop game cases and print out game covers and put them in there?
Because that would be a huge waste of resources compared to just gutting a copy
Forever Zefiro on
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
Hot damn, I must be lucky. I mean, I have very few problems at my local EB. I have yet to buy a new game and have any problems with it, while they try to sell me stuff I know, and they know, I don't want there is one important thing to remember.
It's a freaking business!
Every business wants you to buy more shit than you want, that's the point. And hell, once again, I must be one lucky bastard because I rarely have to put up with ridiculous sales pitches (like the fucking cake game! I mean... I know it must be true... but I just can't believe that it is true!). I tend to pre-order a few select games from time to time, and when I pick those up they always ask if there are any other titles I wanted to pre-order, but hell, I just say "no, that's alright. I really can't even afford the game I'm buying right now" and they don't give a fuck and sell me my game and let me leave.
And as for games in Australia. I say fuck that, those things are so damn expensive! I am so happy to live in the US, even if I had a shitty EB and had to put up with jack ass employees who try to sell me a cake game when I want to buy one of the most fantastic DS games made so far, jsut because prices are more reasonable here. Seriously... I saw 360 games with price tags close to 100 AU dollars. DS games weren't any better. Old titles were costing what new titles cost in the states. Seriously, I'll take shitty service for cheaper prices.
When I first moved here, I visited the local Gamestop just to see if they had any rarer titles in their used bin. Imagine my surprise when I found a copy of Digital Devil Saga among the new titles for something around $50. It wasn't the normal box, but rather one of those dummies with the title written in magic marker. I figured this was only because the real box, being part of a deluxe edition with extra cds and an art book, was hard to gut.
After making my way to the register, though, I learned the following things in this order.
1. The game had no box. Apparently, people steal empty boxes from Gamestop because they think the games are inside them.
2. There's no discount offered for buying a new game with a missing box or, much worse, a missing manual/soundtrack cd/artbook. This runs contrary to what I remember reading in that confessions of a Gamestop whatever article.
3. They keep gutted games filed away in cardboard sleeves, and during this time it's somehow possible for a game to become smothered in residue and suffer disfiguring blemishes guaranteed to prevent the game from running smoothly, if at all.
4. In spite of all of the marks against the game, it's still technically new and therefore a full price title.
To the store's credit, the cashier was honest with me about the quality of the game and encouraged me not to buy it, not that I needed the encouragement. Still, if I hadn't had the foresight to ask to examine the CDs themselves, I would have walked away with unplayable trash that, if left alone for the entire return period, would have permanently become my unplayable trash.
The gamestop that I go to now does something nice and weird. If you buy a gutted game they put it back together and shrink wrap it in front of your own eyes. I guess if you are buying it as a gift then ok nice try but why don't not rip it out anyway?
Why don't they use those used Gamestop game cases and print out game covers and put them in there?
Because that would be a huge waste of resources compared to just gutting a copy
Huge? How much money does it cost to print out game covers for every new title currently being sold? Is that amount not balanced out by the sales of games, such as the one I nearly purchased, which otherwise go unsold because gutting renders a title unsellable?
I would like to add that I hate the Gamestop generic cases with the magic marker titles. I have only bought one game with that case, and it was a used Gauntlet game. I swear, I care about how things look on my shelves, and those cases look like trash.
Huge? How much money does it cost to print out game covers for every new title currently being sold? Is that amount not balanced out by the sales of games, such as the one I nearly purchased, which otherwise go unsold because gutting renders a title unsellable?
Let's multiply on average, maybe 5 new releases a week. 10 during the holidays. 1 color cover for each. Times 5000 stores. That's a pretty huge cost, when gutting is free. Not to mention, you need to gain permission from the publisher to copy their boxart.
I don't agree with the practice, but there's a reason for it.
I would like to add that I hate the Gamestop generic cases with the magic marker titles. I have only bought one game with that case, and it was a used Gauntlet game. I swear, I care about how things look on my shelves, and those cases look like trash.
Awhile back there was a company wide intiative to replace all magic marker covers with covers that had the title printed on it. There's even a computer function for it. The generic case is still ugly, but at least it's not written. If your store still has magic marker cases, contact someone up the food chain.
Frankly, I just go there because I've been going there for years.
The only other place I go is Wal-Mart, where I hang around in the video games while my dad shops.
And I actually do read the magazine, mainly just looking at screenshots and taking the quiz.
Though, that'll stop once my subscription runs out.
Imma start reading Nintendo Power.
And I've never really had a problem with the place.
Walmart, though, has given me problems with their game return policy.
I swear, sometimes I go through 3 defective games before finding one that works.
And that's my thoughts on EB Games/Gamestop.
My mall actually used to have both.
I went to EB Games just for action figures.
Then they closed.
I work at Futureshop now, so I basically see no reason to continue going to EB. Why? We always have tons of any popular game on the release date (no preorder required). We also have cool free stuff with some games, like the assassins creed hat (awesome hat).
All games are also now US prices up here in Canada, it rocks. I almost didn't expect them to change that quickly.
I work at Futureshop now, so I basically see no reason to continue going to EB. Why? We always have tons of any popular game on the release date (no preorder required). We also have cool free stuff with some games, like the assassins creed hat (awesome hat).
All games are also now US prices up here in Canada, it rocks. I almost didn't expect them to change that quickly.
Sadly, the local one has no old games.
The faraway bad service one has them, though.
Weird.
HylianZora on
My Pokemon Diamond FC is 4253 0208 2286
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Der Waffle MousBlame this on the misfortune of your birth.New Yark, New Yark.Registered Userregular
edited November 2007
One week I went looking for the Orange Box at a bunch of different stores.
Toys R Us, of all people, had the lowest price.
I think I'm done with EB, less I want some more obscure PC titles.
I work at Futureshop now, so I basically see no reason to continue going to EB. Why? We always have tons of any popular game on the release date (no preorder required). We also have cool free stuff with some games, like the assassins creed hat (awesome hat).
All games are also now US prices up here in Canada, it rocks. I almost didn't expect them to change that quickly.
the main problem with that is futureshop still doesn't carry niche titles. Persona 3? Soul Nomad? Odin Sphere? Titles like that force me to descend into the dark depths of the local EB. Which is actually pretty good by EB standards..the only bad things they do being gutting copies and receiving next to no copies of games aside from preorders..which is still bad enough to make me stay away unless its absolutely vital
Huge? How much money does it cost to print out game covers for every new title currently being sold? Is that amount not balanced out by the sales of games, such as the one I nearly purchased, which otherwise go unsold because gutting renders a title unsellable?
Let's multiply on average, maybe 5 new releases a week. 10 during the holidays. 1 color cover for each. Times 5000 stores. That's a pretty huge cost, when gutting is free. Not to mention, you need to gain permission from the publisher to copy their boxart.
I don't agree with the practice, but there's a reason for it.
That's assuming that the costs aren't balanced out by the sale of gutted game that otherwise would not be sold, but to know whether or not that's the case we'd need to know how often gutted games are turned down.
Huge? How much money does it cost to print out game covers for every new title currently being sold? Is that amount not balanced out by the sales of games, such as the one I nearly purchased, which otherwise go unsold because gutting renders a title unsellable?
Let's multiply on average, maybe 5 new releases a week. 10 during the holidays. 1 color cover for each. Times 5000 stores. That's a pretty huge cost, when gutting is free. Not to mention, you need to gain permission from the publisher to copy their boxart.
I don't agree with the practice, but there's a reason for it.
That's assuming that the costs aren't balanced out by the sale of gutted game that otherwise would not be sold, but to know whether or not that's the case we'd need to know how often gutted games are turned down.
Purely as anecdotal evidence on my part, I'd say less than 5% of the time. It has been said time and time again, but the majority of customers for gamestop are not penny arcade forumers. Whenever I have to sell a gutted game, the most I ever get is "Why isn't there a game in the box?" My answer is "Because they would get stolen" and they say "That's a good idea"(YES people say this) and they go happily on their way. Every now and again people ask us to shrink wrap them. Which happens more often than outright refusal to buy a gutted a game. Sorry to burst your bubble.
People still buy new games at EB? Why? You can get them on sale for $10 cheaper at a discount retailer.
There are some ebstops I refuse to ever shop at again. The one right across the street from work is awesome though. The employees never push pre orders, I have never had them offer me a gutted game, and generally they just don't annoy me. Even then I would probably not shop there but it is the only thing close to work and there is just something so awesome about running over there at work and coming back with Rock Band and Mass Effect. Can't help myself.
the only time I make contact with gamestop is when I preorder a game over the phone, and then I go there and pick it up when it comes out. It's always sealed and they never try to push preorders or subscriptions or anything else on me. I guess mine is the lucky one!
on the other now more rare occasions where I do go in to buy a new game, it's pretty similar. Though more recently I have been buying more used games and trying to take advantage of buy 2 get one free deals. I think maybe once or twice they asked me about preorders while I was buying a game, to which I simply said "no thanks" and it was never brought up again.
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I'm hoping for the best.
Enlist in Star Citizen! Citizenship must be earned!
New Brunswick, east coast. Cities Pop around 90k, and we have 2 EBs with about 6 staff ive had good long chats with at some point or another.
I tend not to shop there anymore, id rather go to best buy or futureshop, or hell, even walmart unless i really, really want to buy used games, because atleast i know theyll have the shit in stock on release day rather than having to periodically check in over an entire week to see if its arrived or if theyve bothered to unpack it.
Check out my band, click the banner.
Did you save money? Just want to know. I've sold edge cards to people without telling them or after they said no because they were actually saving money on that transaction. I've had people turn down $15 dollars in savings! So I'd just ring it up, save them 15 bucks and throw that shit away.
I know you are a good EBStop employee (I remember the poll/direct complaints thing from a year or two ago), but.. isn't selling things to people without their knowledge illegal?Even if it saves them money in the long run, it's a financial transaction in which one of the parties isn't aware.
Thats Highly illegal. Selling things to customers without thier knowledge and then throwing it away? How can you be a good employee?
No i was buying a new game. It showed up as +5 dollars on my bill. Theyve tried to sell me those before and as far as i know you only save money on used game purchases and get a bonus on trade ins. And it only counts for games from that point forward, not that transaction, as far as its ever been explained to me.
Check out my band, click the banner.
Probably. No one ever came back to complain, and it only happened a few times. At any rate, we can't even do it anymore because we need an address for the game informer subscription. Not to mention you'd have to buy $150 dollars in used goods or trade ins to save money which doesn't happen very often.
Every single time: No.
Now. Back when it was $5? A steal.
It counts on that transaction. But that's gay, you should have blown the place up.
I found it essentally useless. $5 dollars on a $49.99 used game? Yeah a great steal. I rather have a better percentage of savings than that piddly amount. I still have mine, though the ink has rubbed out on the sticker due to it being in my wallet for most times and not being used. No a good savings tool.
It's not useless for everyone.
Jesus fuck, these threads come up constantly, and people on this forum always assume that they are the barometer at which customers can be measured against each other. You are not the average customer, you are the <1%, the gaming nerds and geeks, who are no where near Gamestop's target crowd. (I'm not name-calling, as I'm part of that crowd) When you make stupid blanket statements like "edge card is stupid, it's good for no one," you prove my statement. I had customers who would come in and spend $100+ each month on used games, and if you think the card isn't a value for them, you are retarded.
Aside from all that, GI has over 2 million subscribers. The card must be good for people who are not you.
Please, please, please people, stop assuming that you are the average consumer. You are not. And I know it's been said several times in this thread, but if the gutted games, GIs, reserves, or whatever else piss you off, stop shopping there. You seriously are like the idiots who keep going back to the same cheating girlfriend... learn that you don't like the way things are done, and fucking go somewhere else.
However, I've read lots of venting about the stickers, and I thought I'd throw in some tips. Thanks to a lifetime of OCD I've gotten to where I can make all my used games at least look like I got them new.
1. Luckily, EB does have some stickers that come off rather easily. The huge round promotional one is pretty easy to remove, and lately I've seen where they'll just insert the sticker under the clear plastic (without removing the back of the sticker, so you can just slide it out) So check for the easy stuff first.
2. For the more stubborn stickers, find your wife / girlfriend / gay lover's hair dryer. Turn it on, crank the heat up, and then cook the damn sticker. It loosens up the adhesive, and you'll be able to peel off some of the more uncooperative stickers this way.
3. If that fails, your best friend in the whole world is lighter fluid. Lightly saturate the whole sticky area with it, and then pour some onto a washcloth, and scrub away! From my experience, don't bother with any of the stupid name-brand stuff (Goo-Gone, Gum-Off, etc). Lighter fluid works better, and it's clear, so if you manage to get the paper insert underneath wet, it'll just dry off and you'll be fine. If you don't have any left over from that felony you committed last weekend, then get some from your local grocery store.
4. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do regarding instruction manuals, etc. However, you can always take care of any ickyness inside the case with windex and a soft rag. I swear the people who trade in games have some seriously gross hygiene. Yuck!
5. I've never been too good at repairing damage to the disc, but it never hurts to take that same soft rag and some windex and gently give it a good cleaning.
In EB's defense, I'll say that they have gotten somewhat better in the past few years. The amount and size of stickers seems to have dropped (at least at where I shop).
And for the disc, you can get a disc resurfaced for $5 and it comes out looking brand new.
:^:
EB does have some serious issues, but everyone seems to forget that their target demographic isn't us, it's the kids with rich, gaming-ignorant parents, and the casual gamer (the backwards-hat wearing frat homeys who buy every single thing related to Halo and Madden).
In fact, they probably hate our types because all their gimmicks and practices don't work on us. ;-)
So yeah, they suck. Either you shop there anyway (I do), or you go to the other big retailers, or you put on your beret and monocle and order from the online places. ;-)
Man, that's like 3 used 360 games. No one is gonna buy 3 used 360 games in a year?
EDIT - and that's not even considering you get a year of the magazine which by itself isn't bad for $15, if nothing than to read while on the shitter
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
Not at once, which means they won't save money on the first transaction, that's all I'm refering too.
Why don't they use those used Gamestop game cases and print out game covers and put them in there?
Because that would be a huge waste of resources compared to just gutting a copy
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
It's a freaking business!
Every business wants you to buy more shit than you want, that's the point. And hell, once again, I must be one lucky bastard because I rarely have to put up with ridiculous sales pitches (like the fucking cake game! I mean... I know it must be true... but I just can't believe that it is true!). I tend to pre-order a few select games from time to time, and when I pick those up they always ask if there are any other titles I wanted to pre-order, but hell, I just say "no, that's alright. I really can't even afford the game I'm buying right now" and they don't give a fuck and sell me my game and let me leave.
And as for games in Australia. I say fuck that, those things are so damn expensive! I am so happy to live in the US, even if I had a shitty EB and had to put up with jack ass employees who try to sell me a cake game when I want to buy one of the most fantastic DS games made so far, jsut because prices are more reasonable here. Seriously... I saw 360 games with price tags close to 100 AU dollars. DS games weren't any better. Old titles were costing what new titles cost in the states. Seriously, I'll take shitty service for cheaper prices.
After making my way to the register, though, I learned the following things in this order.
1. The game had no box. Apparently, people steal empty boxes from Gamestop because they think the games are inside them.
2. There's no discount offered for buying a new game with a missing box or, much worse, a missing manual/soundtrack cd/artbook. This runs contrary to what I remember reading in that confessions of a Gamestop whatever article.
3. They keep gutted games filed away in cardboard sleeves, and during this time it's somehow possible for a game to become smothered in residue and suffer disfiguring blemishes guaranteed to prevent the game from running smoothly, if at all.
4. In spite of all of the marks against the game, it's still technically new and therefore a full price title.
To the store's credit, the cashier was honest with me about the quality of the game and encouraged me not to buy it, not that I needed the encouragement. Still, if I hadn't had the foresight to ask to examine the CDs themselves, I would have walked away with unplayable trash that, if left alone for the entire return period, would have permanently become my unplayable trash.
Huge? How much money does it cost to print out game covers for every new title currently being sold? Is that amount not balanced out by the sales of games, such as the one I nearly purchased, which otherwise go unsold because gutting renders a title unsellable?
Let's multiply on average, maybe 5 new releases a week. 10 during the holidays. 1 color cover for each. Times 5000 stores. That's a pretty huge cost, when gutting is free. Not to mention, you need to gain permission from the publisher to copy their boxart.
I don't agree with the practice, but there's a reason for it.
Awhile back there was a company wide intiative to replace all magic marker covers with covers that had the title printed on it. There's even a computer function for it. The generic case is still ugly, but at least it's not written. If your store still has magic marker cases, contact someone up the food chain.
The only other place I go is Wal-Mart, where I hang around in the video games while my dad shops.
And I actually do read the magazine, mainly just looking at screenshots and taking the quiz.
Though, that'll stop once my subscription runs out.
Imma start reading Nintendo Power.
And I've never really had a problem with the place.
Walmart, though, has given me problems with their game return policy.
I swear, sometimes I go through 3 defective games before finding one that works.
And that's my thoughts on EB Games/Gamestop.
My mall actually used to have both.
I went to EB Games just for action figures.
Then they closed.
I work at Futureshop now, so I basically see no reason to continue going to EB. Why? We always have tons of any popular game on the release date (no preorder required). We also have cool free stuff with some games, like the assassins creed hat (awesome hat).
All games are also now US prices up here in Canada, it rocks. I almost didn't expect them to change that quickly.
Sadly, the local one has no old games.
The faraway bad service one has them, though.
Weird.
Toys R Us, of all people, had the lowest price.
I think I'm done with EB, less I want some more obscure PC titles.
the main problem with that is futureshop still doesn't carry niche titles. Persona 3? Soul Nomad? Odin Sphere? Titles like that force me to descend into the dark depths of the local EB. Which is actually pretty good by EB standards..the only bad things they do being gutting copies and receiving next to no copies of games aside from preorders..which is still bad enough to make me stay away unless its absolutely vital
That's assuming that the costs aren't balanced out by the sale of gutted game that otherwise would not be sold, but to know whether or not that's the case we'd need to know how often gutted games are turned down.
Purely as anecdotal evidence on my part, I'd say less than 5% of the time. It has been said time and time again, but the majority of customers for gamestop are not penny arcade forumers. Whenever I have to sell a gutted game, the most I ever get is "Why isn't there a game in the box?" My answer is "Because they would get stolen" and they say "That's a good idea"(YES people say this) and they go happily on their way. Every now and again people ask us to shrink wrap them. Which happens more often than outright refusal to buy a gutted a game. Sorry to burst your bubble.
There are some ebstops I refuse to ever shop at again. The one right across the street from work is awesome though. The employees never push pre orders, I have never had them offer me a gutted game, and generally they just don't annoy me. Even then I would probably not shop there but it is the only thing close to work and there is just something so awesome about running over there at work and coming back with Rock Band and Mass Effect. Can't help myself.
on the other now more rare occasions where I do go in to buy a new game, it's pretty similar. Though more recently I have been buying more used games and trying to take advantage of buy 2 get one free deals. I think maybe once or twice they asked me about preorders while I was buying a game, to which I simply said "no thanks" and it was never brought up again.