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

[noiseredux]

At the counter, the clerk asked if I had a PowerUpRewards card. I said no, I would like the free version. He told me about the paid version and said that it was usually a one-time fee. That is, when the card is about to expire, they can just extend it for you without charge (in most cases). Is this true?

This I've never heard of. I had the paid version for 2 or 3 years. My wife bought it for me for Christmas the first year. Then while Christmas shopping the next year, they'd tell her it was about to expire and she'd renew it. I've never heard of it being a free renewal?

Anyway, I got the paid version with the GameInformer subscription. He also gave me 4 copies of the magazine. I started reading the first one last night and I'm impressed with the writing. There's a lot of interviews with the producers/developers. The magazine reminds me a bit of the Edge magazine.
I know there are people who think it's a crappy magazine but why? It seems decent to me.

I'll have to fill out the District Manager survey this weekend to give kudos to the clerk who helped me. I'll see if I can find it in this thread somewhere.

It's not a great magazine -- I find the reviews pretty meh and single-minded. But that being said, when I got it for free, I was more than happy to read the entire thing each month. You should take reviews with a grain of salt anyway, and always consider the source... Usually there was good preview screens, and at least something of interest to me (dev interviews, etc as you pointed out). The only thing that sucks is that it used to have more retro content which they decided to do away with a couple of years ago.

[gtmtnbiker]

At the counter, the clerk asked if I had a PowerUpRewards card. I said no, I would like the free version. He told me about the paid version and said that it was usually a one-time fee. That is, when the card is about to expire, they can just extend it for you without charge (in most cases). Is this true?

This I've never heard of. I had the paid version for 2 or 3 years. My wife bought it for me for Christmas the first year. Then while Christmas shopping the next year, they'd tell her it was about to expire and she'd renew it. I've never heard of it being a free renewal?

When I was chatting with him, I said that it was a recurring subscription, right? He said no, the clerk have the option of renewing it for you without charge and that most do.

I won't be able to confirm it for another year but hope what he says was true and not just some ploy for me to pay $15 and meet his quota.

[noiseredux]

When I was chatting with him, I said that it was a recurring subscription, right? He said no, the clerk have the option of renewing it for you without charge and that most do.

weird. I'd like to hear some clarification on that. Mine ran out in December, and when I went to a GS they asked me if I wanted to renew or just keep the free version (which is no more mag, no more 10% off, etc -- just the points accumulation). I kept the free one for now.

[pakopako]

Gamestop is converting all new PS2s into used systems now. Meaning, it's possible to get a new system at the used price.

Dammit. This still going on? US$30 for a new PS2? These slim things still get 100% on old PSX games? (I've got a ton of PS titles I'd like to not emulate via ePSXe.)

[BoringSupreez]

Gamestop is converting all new PS2s into used systems now. Meaning, it's possible to get a new system at the used price.

Dammit. This still going on? US$30 for a new PS2? These slim things still get 100% on old PSX games? (I've got a ton of PS titles I'd like to not emulate via ePSXe.)

It's a one-time thing. Any new systems converted to used stay used. They won't order any more new systems.

[sabrage]

Gamestop is converting all new PS2s into used systems now. Meaning, it's possible to get a new system at the used price.

Dammit. This still going on? US$30 for a new PS2? These slim things still get 100% on old PSX games? (I've got a ton of PS titles I'd like to not emulate via ePSXe.)

It's a one-time thing. Any new systems converted to used stay used. They won't order any more new systems.

I hit up a few Gamestops the other day; they told me that word spread about this deal pretty fast. I didn't find any. All the used PS2s they had were pretty beat up, too.

[hashiriya1]

I called the two Gamestops in my area just to see if they had any new PS2s. The asshead laughed at me in such a condescending way. I simply asked "Do you still have any new PS2s in stock?" and this prick laughed forcibly and said "What? haha, did you just ask for a NEW PS2? Haha, no man, we have a bunch of used ones though!"

I just hung up. What an ass.

[Pichu]

I called the two Gamestops in my area just to see if they had any new PS2s. The asshead laughed at me in such a condescending way. I simply asked "Do you still have any new PS2s in stock?" and this prick laughed forcibly and said "What? haha, did you just ask for a NEW PS2? Haha, no man, we have a bunch of used ones though!"

I just hung up. What an ass.

And here I was thinking that customer friendliness was required for a job. Silly me.

[sabrage]

Not that I'd encourage you giving them your business after that bullshit, but no Gamestop is going to tell you they have new PS2s at this point, as they have all been repackaged as used. You might want to get specific on the phone or check for yourself, but after that I can see why you wouldn't be too keen on doing that.

[Aaendi]

How about the fact that they throw away games whenever a system becomes old, and use the "we don't have enough room" excuse.