My Gamestop is like this, assholes never shut up and let me buy the game. However, the EB games is pretty decent. I do not buy games all that often, but it is good what I expect it to be. This huge guy with ugly red hair and glasses, yeah he just is like, yeah, whatever man.
"You wanted to preorder the new Need for speed. okay. Name? Okay.... okay. Paying it off in full or $5? Full? Okay.... okay-Come back tuesday after 10am, we should have it then."
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.
This is my reason. Show me a Walmart/Best Buy/Future Shop that carries over obsure JRPG titles that I want and I'll shop there.
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.
They already have permission from essentially every major publisher, as that's how preorder display cases work. In fact, that's just what they should do: use the preorder display case instead of gutting new stuff. I mean, shit.
But then, I don't buy gutted games. If a game is used (and any opened game is presumed used), I want to pay used price for it.
Why don't they use those used Gamestop game cases and print out game covers and put them in there?
My local independent does this.
Xagarath on
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DVGNo. 1 Honor StudentNether Institute, Evil AcademyRegistered Userregular
edited November 2007
I've bought two gutted games. The first was Disgaea 2, which I accepted because I wanted it enough and it was the, supposedly, last copy they had. It had only been out a few hours and they hadn't had time to really do anything piss poor to it.
The second was Valkyrie Profile for the PSP, which sort of pissed me off because the game case had been out on the shelf for god knows how long, and look utterly terrible. I'm anal about my game cases, and this upset me greatly. I should have been paying better attention to what they were giving me.
My question is, when they sell you a gutted game, what is the return policy like? If they sell me something that's already unsealed, and I play it for 10 minutes and decide it's awful, can I just return it for a full refund. Not that I would do it, per se, just out of curiosity.
DVG on
Diablo 3 - DVG#1857
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DVGNo. 1 Honor StudentNether Institute, Evil AcademyRegistered Userregular
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.
This is my reason. Show me a Walmart/Best Buy/Future Shop that carries over obsure JRPG titles that I want and I'll shop there.
The Wal-marts in my area have all had Grim Grimoire, Odin Sphere and Disgaea 2 on their shelves. Not so much with the realllly random jrpg titles like Altelier Iris or whatever, but I never could get into those games anyway.
I am thinking of returning Gears of war, and getting it traded for a better copy. I would if I thought they would understand what I wanted to do. Probably not worth it.
The Wal-marts in my area have all had Grim Grimoire, Odin Sphere and Disgaea 2 on their shelves. Not so much with the realllly random jrpg titles like Altelier Iris or whatever, but I never could get into those games anyway.
Yes but where am I to search for Used copies of say Stella Deus or even Dark Cloud 2? The main reason apart for the new releases is that you can find teasure in the used games department.
I've bought two gutted games. The first was Disgaea 2, which I accepted because I wanted it enough and it was the, supposedly, last copy they had. It had only been out a few hours and they hadn't had time to really do anything piss poor to it.
The second was Valkyrie Profile for the PSP, which sort of pissed me off because the game case had been out on the shelf for god knows how long, and look utterly terrible. I'm anal about my game cases, and this upset me greatly. I should have been paying better attention to what they were giving me.
My question is, when they sell you a gutted game, what is the return policy like? If they sell me something that's already unsealed, and I play it for 10 minutes and decide it's awful, can I just return it for a full refund. Not that I would do it, per se, just out of curiosity.
It's 7 days, apparently.
Hooraydiation on
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Waka LakaRiding the stuffed UnicornIf ya know what I mean.Registered Userregular
edited November 2007
The EBs in my area seem to have the same tactics, the same introduction, the same lack of knowledge of their games and the same annoying "Have you preordered...?". Some days I just want to yell "One day I'm going to come into this store and throw a rubber sex toy at your head for no god damn reason other than to annoy you like you annoy me", just to see what they say.
Our gamestop is actually better- import games, staff who actually understand the games not some dumb gum chewing bimbo who just stands there for aesthetics, games are sometimes in a week to a month earlier and the price is $15 less ($12US). I've heard in other places they aren't so good, but where I am they're the best.
Man all this Gamestop bullshit makes me so glad that business model has not (yet) come up here in Holland. From what I've read everywhere, their customer policies are simply based on anally violating their customers. I don't know why people put up with that shit. What happened to the customer is always right? Yeah I know you get shitty customers every now and then, but jesus, they basically treat people like shit. When someone wants to buy a product, you don't hassle them for something they never asked for, you certainly don't sell them something because they didn't pre-order 3 weeks in advance. Everyone should just stop going to those shitty places and buy games at Walmart or something.
Gutting is a despicable practice no matter how much money it saves. If I pay for a new stuff, I fucking want new stuff. It's a deceptive, shitty business practice and ought to be illegal.
I never shop at my local EB anyway. Everyone who works there is an asshole, and I mean everybody. I'd much rather go to the Gamestop 50 feet away where I can talk to the cashier about Final Fantasy III for an hour then walk out without buying anything. All this in clear view of the manager, I might add.
I don't really understand why you guys don't just stop shopping at Gamestop/EB games. Are they offering you something that makes it worth putting up with their dismal customer service?
I had Mass Effect preordered at the EB Games in Toronto's Eaton Centre, and on the 20th I headed to the mall to pick it up. I thought about the last few times I went there as I sat on the subway; Crappy service, long lines and the mega-barrage of up-selling. Why the hell do I go there?
So when I arrived at the mall, I decided instead to go to Best Buy to pick up Mass Effect. No ridiculous lines, no bullshit upselling and no need to preorder. It was just me purchasing the game like a regular fucking joe-consumer.
Same thing with Super Mario Galaxy. EB was giving some guy tons of crap for pre-ordering it "late" (This was the day I went to preorder Mass Effect) and told him he might not get it on day one because of this. They were nagging the guy like they were some sort of strange group of motherly figures. What the fuck is going on here? The guy just wants to buy a game from your store.
Best Buy had it on day one, and I got a free Nintendo/Wii/Galaxy branded blanket along with it.
Don't decent internet retailers exist in the USA or something? I understand wanting the shopping experiance of a B&M store, but if gutting bothers you so much, vote with your wallet and buy everything online.
My local EB suffers from the 2 people working the 20 person line thing, but I have never been asked to get a subscription, I think I got asked to Preorder Brawl when I bought MP:3.
My only other complaint is that the larger female worker there really should pull her pants up, or stop reaching for the high shelf.
TheCrumblyCracker on
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jackalFuck Yes. That is an orderly anal warehouse.Registered Userregular
edited November 2007
I buy really new releases at GS because they haven't had a chance to gut it yet, and the closest Wal Mart never has anyone in electronics. It literally takes over 15 minutes to get someone to open the case most of the time.
Don't decent internet retailers exist in the USA or something? I understand wanting the shopping experiance of a B&M store, but if gutting bothers you so much, vote with your wallet and buy everything online.
Wait times are a bitch.
Really, I don't like gamestop or EB, but they're too god damned convenient to pass up. Its like a 5 minute walk from my school to the mall where they both reside, I can go in, get the game, tell them I don't want to preorder anything, then leave. They push a bit, but they're usually good about leaving me alone(Seeing as I do preorder once in a while, and buy fairly regularly).
I've never gotten a gutted game, or one that I noticed was anyways. I do buy a number of used games though.
Don't decent internet retailers exist in the USA or something? I understand wanting the shopping experiance of a B&M store, but if gutting bothers you so much, vote with your wallet and buy everything online.
Wait times are a bitch.
The point is, gutted games are also a bitch. People just need to choose the bitch they prefer, and then live with their decision, it's not hard, nobody forces you to got to retailers that gut games, and by doing so you (you as in people who do so, not yourself) are encouraging them to continue to do so
Don't decent internet retailers exist in the USA or something? I understand wanting the shopping experiance of a B&M store, but if gutting bothers you so much, vote with your wallet and buy everything online.
And Pay online shipping making it more expensive. Oh and you might have to pay duty on it as well. Yeah, thats exactly why I want to buy an online game.
But serious, they are convienent but they have issues. No retailer is 100 correct all the time.
On gutting: If the game works, then you have gotten what you paid for. The box and manual represent a negligible fraction of the total value of the product, and people who care so much about their condition are just looking for reasons to be upset. If your game's packaging must be pristine then perhaps you should order online.
I've never had this issue with EB (had others just not this one)
But, if im paying for a NEW game, say a 360 game for example. I want to see that fucker shrink wrapped with that Microsoft band thing on it. I'm pretty sure that why the thing is there anyway. I just wouldn't accept it if they had to assemble it in front of me.
forget about how "negligible" the other stuff is...
On gutting: If the game works, then you have gotten what you paid for. The box and manual represent a negligible fraction of the total value of the product, and people who care so much about their condition are just looking for reasons to be upset. If your game's packaging must be pristine then perhaps you should order online.
Warning! Tenuous analogy approaching!
If the car runs, then you have gotten what you paid for. The paint and upholstery represent a negligible fraction of the total value of the product, and most people who care so much about their condition are just looking for reasons to be upset. If your car's condition must be pristine then perhaps you should order directly from the factory.
See the point? If I want something new, see something advertised as new, and pay for something new, it had better be new. If it's not, why shouldn't I be upset?
Reading through this thread makes me appreciative of the EBs I go to (totaling about 3, 2 in Calgary, one in my current town) I don't think I have ever had someone push a magazine/preorder/used copy on me, nor I do think I have ever seen a gutted game aside from display cases.
I don't really understand why you guys don't just stop shopping at Gamestop/EB games. Are they offering you something that makes it worth putting up with their dismal customer service?
They offer dirt-cheap used games that are out of print and thus not findable in actual real stores that aren't glorified pawn shops. That's really about it, and that's really about the only reason why I bother going there anymore, although it is certainly a compelling enough reason.
(cue retarded-ass "used games are killing the games industry" argument in 3... 2...)
Daedalus on
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Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
People still buy new games at EB? Why? You can get them on sale for $10 cheaper at a discount retailer.
I go to brick and mortar stores when I want the game now. If it's something I'm vaugely interested in (such as Crackdown) I'll order it from play-asia.com.
The comment about the pre-order boxes is true, those are printed out (and have fooled me more than once) you can just slide in an insert saying pre-oder now! and remove it when it comes to selling it.
I realise I'm not the target demographic when I go to EB but out of curiosity how many customers do you see a week that actually are actually savvy gamers 1, 5 or 20% what's the ratio here?
I don't really understand why you guys don't just stop shopping at Gamestop/EB games. Are they offering you something that makes it worth putting up with their dismal customer service?
I had Mass Effect preordered at the EB Games in Toronto's Eaton Centre, and on the 20th I headed to the mall to pick it up. I thought about the last few times I went there as I sat on the subway; Crappy service, long lines and the mega-barrage of up-selling. Why the hell do I go there?
So when I arrived at the mall, I decided instead to go to Best Buy to pick up Mass Effect. No ridiculous lines, no bullshit upselling and no need to preorder. It was just me purchasing the game like a regular fucking joe-consumer.
Same thing with Super Mario Galaxy. EB was giving some guy tons of crap for pre-ordering it "late" (This was the day I went to preorder Mass Effect) and told him he might not get it on day one because of this. They were nagging the guy like they were some sort of strange group of motherly figures. What the fuck is going on here? The guy just wants to buy a game from your store.
Best Buy had it on day one, and I got a free Nintendo/Wii/Galaxy branded blanket along with it.
I haven't had a problem with EB, but goddamn, do the Gamestops around here piss me off. Three times now, i've been nearly screwed over on preorders, with their system forgetting to give me a call, or not even stocking the game I preordered. Once, I lost sixty dollars on a 360 game (Ace Combat), because I preordered that fucker in full, and the guy at the counter insisted I didn't have it preordered, even with the receipt. He also insisted that the two other times were lies on my part, as well, when I brought up that up, saying that "he had worked there for three years, and never had a problem with the preorder system". Lying ass. I know the manager a little, and he said he was just hired a week ago.
It seems like the Gamestops around here are stocked with pretentious asshat employee's, really. I had to yell at the guy who was manning the register, back when I was buying a 360 when it came out, because he kept insisting that I should forget about getting the 360 and wait on/try and transfer credit over to a PS3. Meanwhile, there's a ten person line behind me, glaring holes in the back of my head, since this fat, greasy, abomination of humanity won't shut the hell up and let me get what's mine.
If it wasn't for the fact that the only other place to buy games around here is Wal-mart, i'd have said the hell with that shithole by now.
I think we're lucky up here in Canada. We have about 5 EBs in my city, and I've never had a bad experience at any of them. Never been asked to pre-order anything, buy a certain title. I once had a guy ask if I wanted to subscribe to their magazine, only to be followed by him saying "They make me ask people, don't subscribe, it's total shit."
So far so good.
No, we are not. We have our share of late comers, games disappearing and useless staff. Where exactly are you cause I'm talking about Toronto Canada.
Of the 3 EBs a visit regularly I've never had them push shit on me, hell most of the people there actually know what they're talking about and when I went to get CoD4 the register monkey was ecstatic when I asked about UT3 for the PC. Maybe Toronto just sucks compared to the GTA?
Wibod on
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Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
I don't really understand why you guys don't just stop shopping at Gamestop/EB games. Are they offering you something that makes it worth putting up with their dismal customer service?
I had Mass Effect preordered at the EB Games in Toronto's Eaton Centre, and on the 20th I headed to the mall to pick it up. I thought about the last few times I went there as I sat on the subway; Crappy service, long lines and the mega-barrage of up-selling. Why the hell do I go there?
So when I arrived at the mall, I decided instead to go to Best Buy to pick up Mass Effect. No ridiculous lines, no bullshit upselling and no need to preorder. It was just me purchasing the game like a regular fucking joe-consumer.
Same thing with Super Mario Galaxy. EB was giving some guy tons of crap for pre-ordering it "late" (This was the day I went to preorder Mass Effect) and told him he might not get it on day one because of this. They were nagging the guy like they were some sort of strange group of motherly figures. What the fuck is going on here? The guy just wants to buy a game from your store.
Best Buy had it on day one, and I got a free Nintendo/Wii/Galaxy branded blanket along with it.
I haven't had a problem with EB, but goddamn, do the Gamestops around here piss me off. Three times now, i've been nearly screwed over on preorders, with their system forgetting to give me a call, or not even stocking the game I preordered. Once, I lost sixty dollars on a 360 game (Ace Combat), because I preordered that fucker in full, and the guy at the counter insisted I didn't have it preordered, even with the receipt. He also insisted that the two other times were lies on my part, as well, when I brought up that up, saying that "he had worked there for three years, and never had a problem with the preorder system". Lying ass. I know the manager a little, and he said he was just hired a week ago.
This is why taking shit up with corporate is occasionally an excellent choice.
I haven't had a problem with EB, but goddamn, do the Gamestops around here piss me off.
Judging from the anecdotes in this thread, it seems like most of our problems don't have anything to do with EB/GameStop as a whole, but rather with asshat employees. People with no social skills need to stop being hired for customer service jobs, and I say that as someone who's been on both sides of the counter.
I love my EB. The staff are great, they never push preorders or subs, and they carry niche titles like Ontamarama that I can't find anywhere else. There's a future shop 30 seconds away from the EB, but I'll still go to EB first.
this has probably been covered already but just dont buy the stuff if you have a problem with it. everyone likes to bitch about going home with a messed up gutted game, but if they hand you some shit like that its not like you're obligated to buy it. go to a different store and stop bitching.
i guess im just tired of EB bitching in general. sure they're valid complaints, but its so easily avoidable.
I think we're lucky up here in Canada. We have about 5 EBs in my city, and I've never had a bad experience at any of them. Never been asked to pre-order anything, buy a certain title. I once had a guy ask if I wanted to subscribe to their magazine, only to be followed by him saying "They make me ask people, don't subscribe, it's total shit."
So far so good.
No, we are not. We have our share of late comers, games disappearing and useless staff. Where exactly are you cause I'm talking about Toronto Canada.
Of the 3 EBs a visit regularly I've never had them push shit on me, hell most of the people there actually know what they're talking about and when I went to get CoD4 the register monkey was ecstatic when I asked about UT3 for the PC. Maybe Toronto just sucks compared to the GTA?
Yeah, what the hell stores are you going to?
I've shopped at a ton of different EBs across the Toronto area, and none of them pull the kind of shit I hear about on this site.
Then again, if they did I'd just walk the fuck out. Also, I end up shopping at Best Buy half the time, because they always seem to be the same price or a bit cheaper.
Having worked for Gamestop for around 5+ years now, I can easily say...
90% of people dont care at ALL about gutted games.
Unless they are buying them as a gift during the holidays, which I can FULLY understand, they almost never have said anything about buying games that were gutted.
Heck, in 5 years I have only seen 1 person actively refuse to purchase a new title because it had been gutted. Which I have no problem with, it was his decision.
My guess is that their policies regarding pushing pre-orders and gutted games vary from area to area.
FCD on
Gridman! Baby DAN DAN! Baby DAN DAN!
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GreenStick around.I'm full of bad ideas.Registered Userregular
edited November 2007
I have heard some horror stories about game retail, but I have never actually been privy to one
I have seen staggeringly retarded cutomers, however
Green on
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JeanHeartbroken papa bearGatineau, QuébecRegistered Userregular
edited November 2007
I never experienced any of the asshattery described in this thread in my locals EBGames (Gatineau , Hull and Rideau Centre,Ottawa) . Employees never ever tried to push pre-orders on me and they seems pretty knowledgable in games.
Jean on
"You won't destroy us, You won't destroy our democracy. We are a small but proud nation. No one can bomb us to silence. No one can scare us from being Norway. This evening and tonight, we'll take care of each other. That's what we do best when attacked'' - Jens Stoltenberg
my defining EB moment: a number of years ago i grabbed a used copy of Zone Of Enders 2 for a friend's birthday. i take it over to guys house and we're going to boot it up and shoot some roobts or whatever, and the game won't start up. turns out someone had written "I YOU!" across the entire bottom of the disc in nail polish. apparently this didn't deter the dudes at EB from taking it on a trade in, or from selling it to me.
needless to say i've checked the disc before buying anything used from that day forward.
GreenStick around.I'm full of bad ideas.Registered Userregular
edited November 2007
Even if I do wind up helping dumb people in the store, I make it a point to never actually imply that they're dumb (I do laugh at them once they leave however)
Case in point!
"Do you have Okami?"
"Um, we may have a PS2 copy on the wall, but the Wii version hasn't been released yet."
"No, I want the DS version."
"Okami isn't on the DS."
"Yes it is!"
This goes back and forth between the customer, myself, and a few other employees for about ten minutes before they storm out of the store
Even if I do wind up helping dumb people in the store, I make it a point to never actually imply that they're dumb (I do laugh at them once they leave however)
Case in point!
"Do you have Okami?"
"Um, we may have a PS2 copy on the wall, but the Wii version hasn't been released yet."
"No, I want the DS version."
"Okami isn't on the DS."
"Yes it is!"
This goes back and forth between the customer, myself, and a few other employees for about ten minutes before they storm out of the store
Posts
"You wanted to preorder the new Need for speed. okay. Name? Okay.... okay. Paying it off in full or $5? Full? Okay.... okay-Come back tuesday after 10am, we should have it then."
This is my reason. Show me a Walmart/Best Buy/Future Shop that carries over obsure JRPG titles that I want and I'll shop there.
They already have permission from essentially every major publisher, as that's how preorder display cases work. In fact, that's just what they should do: use the preorder display case instead of gutting new stuff. I mean, shit.
But then, I don't buy gutted games. If a game is used (and any opened game is presumed used), I want to pay used price for it.
My local independent does this.
The second was Valkyrie Profile for the PSP, which sort of pissed me off because the game case had been out on the shelf for god knows how long, and look utterly terrible. I'm anal about my game cases, and this upset me greatly. I should have been paying better attention to what they were giving me.
My question is, when they sell you a gutted game, what is the return policy like? If they sell me something that's already unsealed, and I play it for 10 minutes and decide it's awful, can I just return it for a full refund. Not that I would do it, per se, just out of curiosity.
The Wal-marts in my area have all had Grim Grimoire, Odin Sphere and Disgaea 2 on their shelves. Not so much with the realllly random jrpg titles like Altelier Iris or whatever, but I never could get into those games anyway.
Yes but where am I to search for Used copies of say Stella Deus or even Dark Cloud 2? The main reason apart for the new releases is that you can find teasure in the used games department.
It's 7 days, apparently.
Our gamestop is actually better- import games, staff who actually understand the games not some dumb gum chewing bimbo who just stands there for aesthetics, games are sometimes in a week to a month earlier and the price is $15 less ($12US). I've heard in other places they aren't so good, but where I am they're the best.
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I never shop at my local EB anyway. Everyone who works there is an asshole, and I mean everybody. I'd much rather go to the Gamestop 50 feet away where I can talk to the cashier about Final Fantasy III for an hour then walk out without buying anything. All this in clear view of the manager, I might add.
Steam | Twitter
I had Mass Effect preordered at the EB Games in Toronto's Eaton Centre, and on the 20th I headed to the mall to pick it up. I thought about the last few times I went there as I sat on the subway; Crappy service, long lines and the mega-barrage of up-selling. Why the hell do I go there?
So when I arrived at the mall, I decided instead to go to Best Buy to pick up Mass Effect. No ridiculous lines, no bullshit upselling and no need to preorder. It was just me purchasing the game like a regular fucking joe-consumer.
Same thing with Super Mario Galaxy. EB was giving some guy tons of crap for pre-ordering it "late" (This was the day I went to preorder Mass Effect) and told him he might not get it on day one because of this. They were nagging the guy like they were some sort of strange group of motherly figures. What the fuck is going on here? The guy just wants to buy a game from your store.
Best Buy had it on day one, and I got a free Nintendo/Wii/Galaxy branded blanket along with it.
My only other complaint is that the larger female worker there really should pull her pants up, or stop reaching for the high shelf.
Wait times are a bitch.
Really, I don't like gamestop or EB, but they're too god damned convenient to pass up. Its like a 5 minute walk from my school to the mall where they both reside, I can go in, get the game, tell them I don't want to preorder anything, then leave. They push a bit, but they're usually good about leaving me alone(Seeing as I do preorder once in a while, and buy fairly regularly).
I've never gotten a gutted game, or one that I noticed was anyways. I do buy a number of used games though.
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
The point is, gutted games are also a bitch. People just need to choose the bitch they prefer, and then live with their decision, it's not hard, nobody forces you to got to retailers that gut games, and by doing so you (you as in people who do so, not yourself) are encouraging them to continue to do so
And Pay online shipping making it more expensive. Oh and you might have to pay duty on it as well. Yeah, thats exactly why I want to buy an online game.
But serious, they are convienent but they have issues. No retailer is 100 correct all the time.
But, if im paying for a NEW game, say a 360 game for example. I want to see that fucker shrink wrapped with that Microsoft band thing on it. I'm pretty sure that why the thing is there anyway. I just wouldn't accept it if they had to assemble it in front of me.
forget about how "negligible" the other stuff is...
Warning! Tenuous analogy approaching!
If the car runs, then you have gotten what you paid for. The paint and upholstery represent a negligible fraction of the total value of the product, and most people who care so much about their condition are just looking for reasons to be upset. If your car's condition must be pristine then perhaps you should order directly from the factory.
See the point? If I want something new, see something advertised as new, and pay for something new, it had better be new. If it's not, why shouldn't I be upset?
Steam | Twitter
They offer dirt-cheap used games that are out of print and thus not findable in actual real stores that aren't glorified pawn shops. That's really about it, and that's really about the only reason why I bother going there anymore, although it is certainly a compelling enough reason.
(cue retarded-ass "used games are killing the games industry" argument in 3... 2...)
I go to brick and mortar stores when I want the game now. If it's something I'm vaugely interested in (such as Crackdown) I'll order it from play-asia.com.
The comment about the pre-order boxes is true, those are printed out (and have fooled me more than once) you can just slide in an insert saying pre-oder now! and remove it when it comes to selling it.
I realise I'm not the target demographic when I go to EB but out of curiosity how many customers do you see a week that actually are actually savvy gamers 1, 5 or 20% what's the ratio here?
Satans..... hints.....
I haven't had a problem with EB, but goddamn, do the Gamestops around here piss me off. Three times now, i've been nearly screwed over on preorders, with their system forgetting to give me a call, or not even stocking the game I preordered. Once, I lost sixty dollars on a 360 game (Ace Combat), because I preordered that fucker in full, and the guy at the counter insisted I didn't have it preordered, even with the receipt. He also insisted that the two other times were lies on my part, as well, when I brought up that up, saying that "he had worked there for three years, and never had a problem with the preorder system". Lying ass. I know the manager a little, and he said he was just hired a week ago.
It seems like the Gamestops around here are stocked with pretentious asshat employee's, really. I had to yell at the guy who was manning the register, back when I was buying a 360 when it came out, because he kept insisting that I should forget about getting the 360 and wait on/try and transfer credit over to a PS3. Meanwhile, there's a ten person line behind me, glaring holes in the back of my head, since this fat, greasy, abomination of humanity won't shut the hell up and let me get what's mine.
If it wasn't for the fact that the only other place to buy games around here is Wal-mart, i'd have said the hell with that shithole by now.
Of the 3 EBs a visit regularly I've never had them push shit on me, hell most of the people there actually know what they're talking about and when I went to get CoD4 the register monkey was ecstatic when I asked about UT3 for the PC. Maybe Toronto just sucks compared to the GTA?
This is why taking shit up with corporate is occasionally an excellent choice.
Satans..... hints.....
Judging from the anecdotes in this thread, it seems like most of our problems don't have anything to do with EB/GameStop as a whole, but rather with asshat employees. People with no social skills need to stop being hired for customer service jobs, and I say that as someone who's been on both sides of the counter.
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i guess im just tired of EB bitching in general. sure they're valid complaints, but its so easily avoidable.
Yeah, what the hell stores are you going to?
I've shopped at a ton of different EBs across the Toronto area, and none of them pull the kind of shit I hear about on this site.
Then again, if they did I'd just walk the fuck out. Also, I end up shopping at Best Buy half the time, because they always seem to be the same price or a bit cheaper.
90% of people dont care at ALL about gutted games.
Unless they are buying them as a gift during the holidays, which I can FULLY understand, they almost never have said anything about buying games that were gutted.
Heck, in 5 years I have only seen 1 person actively refuse to purchase a new title because it had been gutted. Which I have no problem with, it was his decision.
I have seen staggeringly retarded cutomers, however
needless to say i've checked the disc before buying anything used from that day forward.
Case in point!
"Do you have Okami?"
"Um, we may have a PS2 copy on the wall, but the Wii version hasn't been released yet."
"No, I want the DS version."
"Okami isn't on the DS."
"Yes it is!"
This goes back and forth between the customer, myself, and a few other employees for about ten minutes before they storm out of the store
Okami's on the DS?
SINCE WHEN?!