About Amazon

[christopher85]

Hey guys, I need some help. What's your take on buying from Amazon? Do you think Amazon is really all that cheaper than buying at a store like Gamestop? For example I found Silent Hill: Shattered Memories on the Wii going for 14.99 used but shipping is 4.62 now at Gamestop its going for 17.99 used but without a s/h price. They both come out to a similar price range. I know that in this case it is better to buy retail than it is online but is this always the case? I want a few games that I saw while browsing through Gamestop the other day but figured that I would wait it out and save more shopping online now I am having trouble weighing out the pricing options. I'm in dire need of suggestions. What do you guys think?

[sabrage]

I don't buy used games, but I'll tell you now that Amazon Prime is an amazing and beautiful thing.

I would probably never use Amazon if I paid $4 shipping on every game I bought.

[bmoc]

I use Amazon a lot because I live in the middle of nowhere. An Amazon Prime account (free 2 day shipping) is very much worth it for me. The closest Gamestop is 30 minutes away for me.

When buying used on Amazon, I look for sellers that ship via Amazon and have detailed item descriptions. In the case of disc based games, I am almost always looking for case, disc, and manual. I particularly like Amazon Warehouse Deals because they have always sent me stuff that was in good shape (just have some goo-gone handy to remove sticker residue). I will buy from sellers that don't qualify for free shipping if their prices are low enough and the shipping costs are reasonable.

I don't buy pre-owned online from Gamestop because I don't know what if I will get the original case and manual. Buying used in one of their brick and mortar stores is another thing altogether which I have done on occasion if the price is right.

[Valkyrie-Favor]

I use both Amazon and eBay - always look at both sites before you buy. Some games, like Mega Man X collection and Valkyrie Profile 2, are $8 WITH SHIPPING, brand new. That's what I paid for them.

Sometimes it's a great deal so check both.

[Hazerd]

I have a Amazon Prime membership, so all games are free shipping from Amazon or fulfilled by Amazon if the seller chooses Amazon to handle it.

Also i buy alot of used games from Amazon Warehouse deals, which is normally cheaper than GameStop, and if you have Prime and buy enough stuff the it pays for itself.

[isiolia]

I usually default to looking on Amazon, but I also have Prime.

Years ago, I'd check local stores first, but what I tended to find is that they either don't have a game, or the only copies are used/gutted with stickers all over 'em. Eventually I just stopped checking, short of something I'm 99% sure they'll have (recent major release/etc), and even then I hardly ever bother with Gamestop. Most of my retail buys are impulse (Target's clearance section, for example).

In my experience, Amazon also tends to be cheaper, but you also have to keep in mind that their prices can get adjusted fairly frequently. Sometimes it's based on demand, sometimes on various sales/deals (like, if there's a buy 2 get 1 deal going, a lot of the games in the list will be at a higher price than they'd usually be).

The main "problem" I usually have with Amazon is that I'll talk myself into buying yet more stuff "as long as I'm ordering things".

I tend to only go with used games if buying them new is especially expensive, but nearly every used purchase I've made on Amazon has resulted in something exactly as described. I think I've had one game that has one of those awful Blockbuster full disc stickers (copy of Gunvalkyrie I paid like $3 for) that wasn't noted, and once someone sent me the wrong cables (ordered component kit for XBox, got regular AV kit), but basically overnighted the right cable to me when I mentioned that (and had me keep the wrong one to boot).

The impression I get is that Amazon is fairly strict regarding their Sellers program, so I don't tend to think twice about ordering through it.

[chupon]

@ Hazred

Is your icon/avatar for real?

[MrPopo]

@ Hazred

Is your icon/avatar for real?

It's a mock-up based on a rumor.

[mobiusclimber]

Amazon is mostly good for new games. You get free shipping from certain sellers if you spend $25 or more. Used can be hit or miss regarding pricing, tho I've found that with newer releases, Amazon is ALWAYS cheaper than Gamestop. When you get several years removed than it becomes a matter of checking prices + shipping versus no shipping, like what you ran into.

[GameMasterGuy]

I mostly use Amazon, but sometimes use eBay for lots.