Is Gamestop Evil? The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[Croooow!]

I don't really mind. With a lot of the shelving I've seen it's already tough to see where new games end and used begin.

[gtmtnbiker]

What if every business did this? Its one thing to put them all together, its another to make them less distinguishable and put them together. What if you want to buy a car and all the used are mixed with the new and the only thing distinguishing them is the words used and new on the paper on the window. How about going to Guitar Center and the same thing.

Isn't this what Amazon does? For every time, you see new/used product and prices. It's just an option for the consumer.

I mean, if you're not able to discern the difference between the two and the pros/cons of each, well that's too bad.

[MrPopo]

What if every business did this? Its one thing to put them all together, its another to make them less distinguishable and put them together. What if you want to buy a car and all the used are mixed with the new and the only thing distinguishing them is the words used and new on the paper on the window. How about going to Guitar Center and the same thing.

Isn't this what Amazon does? For every time, you see new/used product and prices. It's just an option for the consumer.

I mean, if you're not able to discern the difference between the two and the pros/cons of each, well that's too bad.

Amazon does it in a more transparent way. New copies always will win the buy box over the used copies, and there is a very clear divide between new and used (completely separate tabs).

[ZenErik]

I hardly ever shop at GameStop anyway, but this policy would not affect me. If there's a game I want NEW I just go to the counter and ask for it.

In some ways it'd be hard to say they are hiding the new copies just with this method because new SEALED games (and I only buy them if they are sealed) are always behind the counter anyway.

[k.vlaros]

Went to my local Gamestop (only one in 20 mile radius) for Skyward Sword. This was my first Midnight Release in many years of gaming, in fact.

I placed the preorder online a few weeks in advance to be picked up at my local store. The day or two before, a robot texted me to confirm my preorder. The day of, the robot texted me to arrive at 11 PM to pre-pay. I was busy that evening and didn't make it there until 11:45 PM. In fact I was the second-to-last to prepay. At about 11:55 they emptied the store and had everyone line up outside in the order that they paid. The receipts had the sequence number on it. Everyone was orderly and in good humor to wait a few minutes in the cold together. At 12:00, they started letting in groups of ten at a time. The exchange of pre-pay receipt for game just took 20 seconds or so per person. It was all pretty efficient and I can't think of how it could be much easier for customer or employee. I was impressed! All I might have hoped for - and this is really just 'brownie points' - would have been for them to dress up the store a little more in a Zelda theme, maybe be playing some Zelda music and have some retro Zeldas running in the kiosks for the people that really did arrive at 11 to kill some time with.

[Zing]

notice that the actual picture doesn't say anything about hiding new copies behind used ones

No, but the employees at the stores have incentives to do so. It takes no imagination to think that many managers will explicitly ask their employees to do this, and many employees will do it on their own.

[noiseredux]

notice that the actual picture doesn't say anything about hiding new copies behind used ones

No, but the employees at the stores have incentives to do so. It takes no imagination to think that many managers will explicitly ask their employees to do this, and many employees will do it on their own.

I'm not sure I follow. What's the incentive?

[MrPopo]

notice that the actual picture doesn't say anything about hiding new copies behind used ones

No, but the employees at the stores have incentives to do so. It takes no imagination to think that many managers will explicitly ask their employees to do this, and many employees will do it on their own.

I'm not sure I follow. What's the incentive?

iirc employees are encouraged to sell used copies, and if they don't sell enough bad stuff happens, or something.

[pepharytheworm]

notice that the actual picture doesn't say anything about hiding new copies behind used ones

No, but the employees at the stores have incentives to do so. It takes no imagination to think that many managers will explicitly ask their employees to do this, and many employees will do it on their own.

I'm not sure I follow. What's the incentive?

Profit.

[noiseredux]

iirc employees are encouraged to sell used copies, and if they don't sell enough bad stuff happens, or something.

that's pretty vague.

I worked in retail for a lot of years. My guess is that unless the employees get paid an extra buck to their poor paycheck for every used game they sell, the "incentive" isn't enough to make them care.