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GameStop selling used games as new, may be illegal
SkyEye
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I have to admit, Gamestop's practice of allowing its employees to check out game disks overnight and still advertising its products as new has always seemed ridiculous and idiotic to me, but illegal never jumped to mind.
It is Kotaku, and it doesn't look like any investigation is actually confirmed, but if there is one things could get interesting. Don't count on the video game supergiant falling apart completely. I actually believe they'll use this as an excuse to get rid of new product altogether.
Kotaku contacted the FTC earlier today to determine if the practice, which sells games already played by employees at the new price, not the used price—used titles are typically priced about $5 cheaper than brand new versions—would be considered deceptive advertising or marketing. The FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection is mandated to protect consumers against unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce. Violations of FTC restrictions are a violation of federal law, according to the commission.
It is Kotaku, and it doesn't look like any investigation is actually confirmed, but if there is one things could get interesting. Don't count on the video game supergiant falling apart completely. I actually believe they'll use this as an excuse to get rid of new product altogether.
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Pretty much sums up my opinion on kotaku.
Regardless I agree that concept is utterly retarded (And I work at gamestop. I refuse to check out a new game, cause frankly it's simply fucked up to do so while trying to have some semblance of honesty and integrity with a customer.) Though I think you're a bit crazy for thinking that they would stop selling new products. For what reason in the world would they do that? I'd hazard a guess that 90% of the trade-ins received are ones that were bought at our store.
The Pipe Vault|Twitter|Steam|Backloggery|3DS:1332-7703-1083
I don't think it's happening though. Not enough people care.
edit: and they're only supposed to allow rental when the store has more than 2 copies of said game.
Pokemon Safari - Sneasel, Pawniard, ????
I agree it's completely retarded. And I work there. You'll find very few people who will disagree that it's a pretty fucked up double standard. But what's going to honestly happen? The fact gamestop pulls this kind of BS is common knowledge and is why a lot of gamers simply refuse to shop there. (Not to mention our prices and trade in values are complete bullshit. Gamestop is one greedy company that can and does try to wring every cent it can out of customers.)
The Pipe Vault|Twitter|Steam|Backloggery|3DS:1332-7703-1083
Isn't it passover or some shit? Give him a bit of time. He'll show up.
Its Gamestop's right as a business to try to make as much money as possible. It just needs to do a better job of hiding that fact from its prospective customers
Honestly I'd rather hit the bargain bins at Best Buy than shop there, I only go there if I want something obscure.
No, the handbook allows for new copies of games that have been released more than two weeks ago (excluding cartridge games, which save directly to themselves)
and the time limit is four days, including the day it is checked out on.
I don't stand up for them so much as shoot down the obviously wrong attacks ("used games are hurting the industry", etc.)
I agree that the practice of checking out brand new copies of games to employees is a bit sketchy. However, because these copies never leave store inventory, they are also technically still new.
Anyone who is bothered by this ought to insist on a sealed copy of a game (and if none are available, just consider the store to be sold out, and go shop elsewhere.)
edit: to clarify, the "true" definition of new and used in gamestop's terms is who the supplier is. If the game is bought from a distributor, it is new. If it is bought back from a customer, it is used. Precedent in other markets would tend to side with this as well (a test-driven car is still new, and a book that some one thumbed through in the coffee-shop of a book store is also still new)
Personally, I wouldn't be opposed to discounting "rented" games. I do want to state, for the record, that there is a benefit to the policy. Customers expect gamestop employees to be able to tell them anything about any game. Gamestop employees make near-minimum wage, and clearly can't afford to buy every game that comes out. If you want to be able to get answers about how games are from these guys, they need to be able to play the games. This may not be such a big benefit to guys on this forum, who keep informed in other ways, but it definitely helps out other people.
D&D
And yes, spun once = not new.
I'm not so sure about the implications of Federal law though.
Even so, it's still a case of, who really cares enough?
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
Wrong. Never spun = new. Factory conditions = new. "Not leaving the store inventory" has absolutely zero (yes, absolutely zero) to do with "new" by any stretch of the word's definition.
And it's not about "being bothered" or "not being bothered" about this, it is about the outright illegal practice of falsely advertising and selling not-new objects as new.
Let me ask you this: If a shipment comes in and a salesperson/stock person accidentally crack a brand new game in half, or the CD somehow gets scratched, would you still call that "new," Evander? It never left store inventory.
Just so you know, the rest of the world doesn't consider such things "new," either.
Yeah, but the thing is, they can take it home and play it, whereas if I were to BUY the game, and then trade it in RIGHT THERE, it would diminish in value simply by my purchasing it. That is where the bullshit comes in.
At least Best Buy gives me points. :x
Oh, and P.S. Kotaku sucks.
And the thing about the game rentals is that since Gamestop does open all their games, there is almost no way to tell if a new game has been used before or not. Because even the act of moving a game out of its plastic case into their paper sleeves has the potential to get finger smudges or scratches on the disk.
The whole thing is shady, which is why I only buy used games and preorders at Gamestop.
Uh, that's not true either. They do that for one copy but they don't do that for 95% of their copies.
I mean it might be true if your local Gamestop is so small they only stock one or two copies of each game, but that they gut EVERY copy of a game is not true at all.
What?
They only gut floor copies to put the empty boxes on the walls. Two guts for new-new games, one for titles that have been out longer than about a month. All of copies that they get in should remain sealed and get tossed into the drawers. If some store is doing what you're saying then they're the ones not following protocol and should be looked at for it.
For years I begged my boss to do this for the used games, we recently did it and the stealing stopped. I'll be damned.
Yes, Drez, it WOULD still be new. It would ALSO be defective. New is not a mutually exclusive term.
And let me just direct you to cars and books again, which are NEVER sold in factory conditions (unless you pay extra)....
You guys had the used CD's in the cases on the store floor?
...
o_O
The Pipe Vault|Twitter|Steam|Backloggery|3DS:1332-7703-1083
You put live used games out on the floor instead of guts? Your RM must not be the sharpest tool in the shed.
Last time I test drove a car I took it back to my house (I happen to live down the street from the dealership in question, and wanted to pick up a family member, to get their opinion.)
That didn't change the fact that it was a new car.
Is that new? When I worked there, we could check out any game, any time, for 5 days, as long as it was not the last copy in the store.
As I said on the last page, the current policy is any used game, and news games that have been out for more than two weeks, for four days (including the day it is checked out on), new cartridge games excluded.
There's "official policy" and then there's "store policy." I don't remember "official policy," but I my store is was anygame, used or new, last copy or not, for four days and you had to be checked out by either an ASM or the store manager and checked back in by one as well. We did, however, heavily encourage our employees not to rent out the last copy of a game unless they had at least some intent to buy the title.
Actually, no, that wouldn't happen, because gamestop gives you 7 days to try out any used game, and bring it back free of charge.
You can bring a used game back 6 days later, and say, "I beat it" and they give you back your monies.
edit: I'm getting my information from my wife's handbook, and she started working there last November.
Pokemon Safari - Sneasel, Pawniard, ????
No. It is not technically still new. It has been removed from the store, opened, and played.
That does not constitute new.
Just because it's an employee doesn't change anything. A fucking McDonald's burger jocky can't take your Big Mac home, take a bite out of it, bring it back and give it to you.
If you were buying a car sold as new and noticed an unreasonable amount of miles on the car then the dealership would be liable to cut down on the price of the car because it's seen use.
I got books in factory condition while I was in college. I paid out of the ass for them. The store clerk didn't use them for a semester and bring it back to sell as new either.
he's talking about a new game
creating an entirely crazy scenario (who would buy a game and then immedietly trade it in?) just to try to prove a point.
He's referring to new, not used. You can't return a new game unless its defective and even then you can only exchange it for the same title on the same system unless you want to trade it in for 40% of what you payed for it.
But what I'm saying is that you do that with a NEW game, not used, and the trade in is changed, whereas my friend checked out street fighter four, and it was back on the shelf for full price days later.
EDIT: Yeah, it is a crazy situation, but it still shows that it is kinda crooked.
Also not true. Though, I'll admit a lot of gamestops don't practice this in an appropriate way. The way I've seen her Gamestop do it, is they simply put a little clear sticker over the side of a "new" copy. They inform the customer that if that seal is tampered with in any way, they can't bring it back as new.
However, note that my wife works at what is basically the district store. As in, her Store manager is responsible for other stores in Albuquerque as well. Because of this, they follow the rules from corporate very closely.
Now, someone mentioned Company Policy and Store Policy. There should be no Store Policy, those are the douchebag managers that need to be fired.
edit: I'm just trying to make it clear that the company isn't entirely evil, its probably that nerd manager who's trying to abuse the system that screwing you guys over.
Pokemon Safari - Sneasel, Pawniard, ????