EB and pre-orders

mooshoepork

This is a real quickie, thought I'd get more help in G&T than H/A. This is relevant to Australia, so I'm not sure if it's the same everywhere else.

RIGHT.

Pre-ordered Farcry 2, and Dead space. The reason I did this was because FC2 has a neat bag and bottle, and Dead space has an art book. All of which, are actually free, so I thought "why the hell not?"

I can't pick them up when they come out (23rd) but I can on the 24th. I know they will hold my game, but will they hold my pre-order bonus?

They are strictly a "until stocks last". I'm pretty sure if I went in early on the 23rd, it wouldn't be a problem, but will they hold that stuff?

They mentioned they hadn't got any of the pre-order bonuses in yet.

Thanks guys.

edit: Well, I might be able to swing the 23rd, but on the 24th, a rival store (JB Hi fi) has both games for 80 bucks, rather than 100. So, I can save 40 bucks by waiting a day. I doubt they'll price match when JB doesn't have stock yet.

TheStig

Call and ask them?

Nimble Cat

You should just call them. I'm sure if you tell them you'll be coming the next day they'll be able to just set aside your stuff with a note.

mooshoepork

Yeah, I'll call them, I just thought someone here might have had some experience with it before

For instance, whether they price match when other retailers haven't got it yet.

Thanks for the quick replies.

Zarcath

pre-order bonuses are usually given to you the day you pre-order it. Unless it was an exclusive for when you actually buy the game. EB will not hold anything for you, and depending how big a douche the employees are, they might just keep it for themselves.

<--- used to work at ebstop

Zombiemambo

Pre-order bonuses are held for 1 or 3 days, I can't recall which.

<-- Worked at Gamestop a few months ago

slash000

Most of the eb/gs stores I go to, they'll just take the preorder bonuses for themselves. Else they'll just give them away to friends.

And if you're a person that preordered some game and ought to get the bonus as such? Maybe, maybe you'll be lucky and they'll have one for you. Possibly. If you're lucky.

Forever Zefiro

Usually we get the pre-order bonuses in early, and give them to the customer when they pre-order. If pre-orders were already taken before the bonuses came in, we set them aside for those that already pre-ordered and give them a call to let them know it came in. If we run out and then get more in, we'll put it aside for those that pre-ordered when we were out. The earlier you pre-ordered, the higher priority you are. If you pre-ordered the day before it came out, you're probably out of luck.

Really I just take them all for myself though because customers are assholes, lol

Seriously though, I would call them to see.

The Lovely Bastard

that's why I pre-order on gamestop or eb.com when there is a preorder bonus.

they ship it to you

redfield85

The Lovely Bastard wrote: »

that's why I pre-order on gamestop or eb.com when there is a preorder bonus.

they ship it to you

I just did that for MK vs DC for the bonus Print and Mirror's Edge for the sweet bag. :winky:

Damn you, shwag, for being so awesome.

Forever Zefiro

The Mirror's Edge messenger bag is awesome

Sir Platypus

Just make sure they no you want it. Some employees just don't bother.

Or get a friend that works at EB.

mooshoepork

wtf seriously? Here in Australia it doesn't work like that at all.

I have never pre-ordered something and NOT gotten my bonus swag. Maybe it's more strict here. I'm just not sure if they'd hold it.

They told me they hadn't actually got any of the swag in yet. Still a week away from release.

redfield85

Forever Zefiro wrote: »

The Mirror's Edge messenger bag is awesome

I just started using messenger bags not that long ago and am loving them for carrying stuff easily from my place to my friend's apartment. I am pretty sure the ME messenger bag will be big enough to store my Gears of War Lancer. Right?

On topic, I would say never pre-order something at a store. It seems that Best Buy always has a crap ton of copies of newly released big name titles. And no, I do not work for Best Buy. Haha.

mooshoepork

The only reason I pre-ordered was because of the swag, not because I couldn't get the game from somewhere else.

I just hope they hold my swag for a day. I'll call them back on the morning of the day and see. If they can't hold it, I'll go in, and take the brunt of it. 40 bucks isn't that big of a deal.

Bursar

If a game doesn't come with awesome pre-order bonus dealies, I'm comfortable waiting a week or so for it to go on sale. Fry's usually has bargains like that.

TetraNitroCubane

slash000 wrote: »

Most of the eb/gs stores I go to, they'll just take the preorder bonuses for themselves. Else they'll just give them away to friends.

And if you're a person that preordered some game and ought to get the bonus as such? Maybe, maybe you'll be lucky and they'll have one for you. Possibly. If you're lucky.

This is pretty much my experience, too. I've never gotten a single pre-order bonus from EB or a Gamestop. Even if I show up at noon on release day, the bonuses are either all 'gone' or 'they never got any'.

Add to that the fact that I can always find a game on release day in a Best Buy or similiar store, and preordering from those infuriating stores becomes pretty pointless to me.

maximumzero

Ordering online also more or less guarantees you swag.

Evander

Gamestop USA doesn't pricematch ANYTHING.

And no store I've heard of is ever willing to pricematch another store that doesn't have the item in stock.

mooshoepork

If they don't have the swag, can I cancel my pre-order and get my down payments back? If they don't have swag, I'ma throw a big "fuck you" to them.

They haven't let me down yet though.

see317

mooshoepork wrote: »

If they don't have the swag, can I cancel my pre-order and get my down payments back? If they don't have swag, I'ma throw a big "fuck you" to them.

They haven't let me down yet though.

You should be able to get your money back. At the very least you should be able to transfer it to a different pre-order (maybe one that they have swag for).

Catalase

Well my EB is giving a free copy of the prequel DVD with Dead Space preorders, not the art book.

mooshoepork

My catalogue has the artbook in it, and he said they were getting the art book in...

Also, I just realised, I can match a deal another store is doing, where I trade in 3 games and get a game for free.

I recently bought 6 games (120 bucks), that aren't on the exclusion list.

So basically I get farcry 2 and dead space for 60 bucks each

Catalase

Aww nice. I was trying to swing that to get Dead Space from JB Hi-Fi, but I can't find any non-excluded games for cheap enough to make it worthwhile. I was banking on that 50% off Dick Smith sale but the ones in my area are all horribly understocked.

mooshoepork

Yeah, well, if my eyes serve me correctly, I got all the games that aren't on that list.

I got, rayman raving rabbids, oblivion, turning point something (x2), and rise of the silver surfer.

Should be good hopefully. I'll give them buzz tomorrow.

Catalase

I've heard bad things about Turning Point.

You on 360 or PS3?

mooshoepork

360. It doesn't matter if it's good though, I'm trading it in. If that's what you're referring to.

I just got the cheapest ones I could.

Speaking of which, will EB accept two of the same game as a trade in?

FyreWulff

I think that's up to their discretion.

I traded in both Timesplitters 3 GC and Timesplitters 3 OXbox at the same time once.

Chenjesu

On the subject of EBStop and preorders, when did they start giving out in-game unlockables as bonuses? This weekend I saw an ad for Call of Duty: World at War that lets you get the M1 "64 levels early" if you preorder, and one for Guitar Hero World Tour which unlocks all the songs at the start. I guess it's better than micropayments for the same features, but I'm curious as to the general opinion of those. For Call of Duty, I guess it depends on how good the weapon is.

DarkPrimus

Or you could buy the game from somewhere else and get the "exclusive" code off GameFAQS a couple hours later.

Content locked in-game that you are "supposed" to only be able to access by purchasing from a certain store is almost on the same level as having you pay extra for content on-disc.

AlienCowThatMoos

TetraNitroCubane wrote: »

slash000 wrote: »

Most of the eb/gs stores I go to, they'll just take the preorder bonuses for themselves. Else they'll just give them away to friends.

And if you're a person that preordered some game and ought to get the bonus as such? Maybe, maybe you'll be lucky and they'll have one for you. Possibly. If you're lucky.

This is pretty much my experience, too. I've never gotten a single pre-order bonus from EB or a Gamestop. Even if I show up at noon on release day, the bonuses are either all 'gone' or 'they never got any'.

Add to that the fact that I can always find a game on release day in a Best Buy or similiar store, and preordering from those infuriating stores becomes pretty pointless to me.

But if you don't pre-order Halo 3, GTA4 or Madden '09, however will you find a copy? :P

acidlacedpenguin

AlienCowThatMoos wrote: »

TetraNitroCubane wrote: »

slash000 wrote: »

Most of the eb/gs stores I go to, they'll just take the preorder bonuses for themselves. Else they'll just give them away to friends.

And if you're a person that preordered some game and ought to get the bonus as such? Maybe, maybe you'll be lucky and they'll have one for you. Possibly. If you're lucky.

This is pretty much my experience, too. I've never gotten a single pre-order bonus from EB or a Gamestop. Even if I show up at noon on release day, the bonuses are either all 'gone' or 'they never got any'.

Add to that the fact that I can always find a game on release day in a Best Buy or similiar store, and preordering from those infuriating stores becomes pretty pointless to me.

But if you don't pre-order Halo 3, GTA4 or Madden '09, however will you find a copy? :P

Oh I love those "zomg we're not going to get enough, you better pre-order quick!" scare tactics. It's especially prime for me since the one time my brother pre-ordered Gears of War from EB and they didn't have a copy for him for a week after launch. When he went to pick it up on release date they holding him they didn't have it yet, so he went to TRU and bought one of the few hundred copies that were lining the shelves.

Spoit

The Lovely Bastard wrote: »

that's why I pre-order on gamestop or eb.com when there is a preorder bonus.

they ship it to you

Anyone have any experience preordering from bn.com? It's supposedly run by the same people

Forever Zefiro

acidlacedpenguin wrote: »

AlienCowThatMoos wrote: »

TetraNitroCubane wrote: »

slash000 wrote: »

Most of the eb/gs stores I go to, they'll just take the preorder bonuses for themselves. Else they'll just give them away to friends.

And if you're a person that preordered some game and ought to get the bonus as such? Maybe, maybe you'll be lucky and they'll have one for you. Possibly. If you're lucky.

This is pretty much my experience, too. I've never gotten a single pre-order bonus from EB or a Gamestop. Even if I show up at noon on release day, the bonuses are either all 'gone' or 'they never got any'.

Add to that the fact that I can always find a game on release day in a Best Buy or similiar store, and preordering from those infuriating stores becomes pretty pointless to me.

But if you don't pre-order Halo 3, GTA4 or Madden '09, however will you find a copy? :P

Oh I love those "zomg we're not going to get enough, you better pre-order quick!" scare tactics. It's especially prime for me since the one time my brother pre-ordered Gears of War from EB and they didn't have a copy for him for a week after launch. When he went to pick it up on release date they holding him they didn't have it yet, so he went to TRU and bought one of the few hundred copies that were lining the shelves.

Well with Gears, GS had some huge shipping problem, so that's a bad example. Hopefully whoever fucked that up got sacked

Anyway, I've said it before, if you really want to get the game the day it comes out, why not pre-order it? It doesn't cost you anything extra, many times there is cool free stuff, and if for some reason you can't get it there or they stole your swag or whatever, cancel the pre-order, get your money back.

You think you'll be able to pick up the Collector's Edition of Fallout 3 easily? As soon as I saw what it came with, I threw some money down, now I don't have to worry.

I don't understand why people get so worked up about it, there is no disadvantage.

liquidlogan

Also, it may seem ridiculous pre-ordering some titles but, and I shit you not, but my EB sold out of copies of Fifa Soccer 08 on all home systems (PS2 included), Fifa Soccer 09 on PS2, NBA 2K8 on 360, NBA 2K9 on 360, Lost Odyssey, and Mass Effect. All within, maybe, 2 days of release. Probably out of Dead Space (PS3) when it closes today (had only 3 or so yesterday).

As for pre-order bonuses, they are pretty hit and miss but it all does depend on what the bonus is. SOCOM bonus? We couldn't keep it in stock fast enough for pre-orders. Fable II pub games? Same. But, like, Mercenaries 2 touques? Yeah, there's plenty.

mooshoepork

EB seems to be a lot worse in the US.

I have never been pressured to pre-order anything. Or buy subscriptions, hell, I don't even know if they sell subscriptions. I rarely pre-order and have no problem.

They also price match anyone, and have a 7-day no questions asked money-back policy.

They even say "Here, you go! If you finish it before 7-days, remember you can bring it back and get another game"

Morninglord

mooshoepork wrote: »

wtf seriously? Here in Australia it doesn't work like that at all.

I have never pre-ordered something and NOT gotten my bonus swag. Maybe it's more strict here. I'm just not sure if they'd hold it.

They told me they hadn't actually got any of the swag in yet. Still a week away from release.

Hey, American guys, stop scaring him with your shitty service and terrible EB people.

Seriously just ring them most EB guys are really nice (in Australia, I'm very sorry to hear that all you Yankees have to deal with so much shit), explain whats going on and be reasonable about your request and I'm sure they'll hold onto it for you.

If you have time, go into the store sometime this week and talk to a guy in person (the same day as it's coming out would be good), they'll generally be nice about it.

mooshoepork

Morninglord wrote: »

mooshoepork wrote: »

wtf seriously? Here in Australia it doesn't work like that at all.

I have never pre-ordered something and NOT gotten my bonus swag. Maybe it's more strict here. I'm just not sure if they'd hold it.

They told me they hadn't actually got any of the swag in yet. Still a week away from release.

Hey, American guys, stop scaring him with your shitty service and terrible EB people.

Seriously just ring them most EB guys are really nice (in Australia, I'm very sorry to hear that all you Yankees have to deal with so much shit), explain whats going on and be reasonable about your request and I'm sure they'll hold onto it for you.

If you have time, go into the store sometime this week and talk to a guy in person (the same day as it's coming out would be good), they'll generally be nice about it.

Thanks mate. It's not so much of an issue now, because I can "deal match" JB's 3-for-1 deal, and get a cheaper price anyway. Both games for 60 bucks. So, I'm thinking I'll just show up around when they open, and hopefully it all turns out

Morninglord

JB's who for what?

I need to look into that.

LoveIsUnity

I noticed someone on the first page mention that EB usually gets the preorder bonuses early. If I were to come in on the release date, but the game weren't out yet (I've had it happen a few times), would I be able to take my preorder gift with me? I'm a little worried about not getting the Mirror's Edge bag.

mooshoepork

Morninglord wrote: »

JB's who for what?

I need to look into that.

trade 3 in, get one free for selected games. Dead space, far cry 2, fable are on the list. And a few others. It might be on the site.