What You Primary Concern When Buying Game Stuff Online?

[racketboy]

It seems like out of all the major products being sold online, video games are the most challenging things to buy from a dependable place.

What is your main concern when buying gaming stuff online?
Reputation?
Security?
Quality?

[durkada]

It seems like out of all the major products being sold online, video games are the most challenging things to buy from a dependable place.

How so? Most of the stuff I've bought are all retro in nature, and my experiences have been overwhemingly positive. Perhaps this is just luck, but you can generally tell wether or not a site/vendor is serious about what they are selling by the site design. I don't want to feel bedazzled by surface gloss, but, generally the more time invested in the site suggests a more professional demeanor.

What is your main concern when buying gaming stuff online?
Reputation?
Security?
Quality?

Selection, Price, Reputation, Security, Quality -- all critical, but in that order. If any one of those factors raises a flag, regardless of whether I am buying game related stuff or other, I won't buy.

Perhaps, considering the scope of this very website, it would be beneficial to create a list of vendors with ratings and comments. I still like Lik-Sang and Play-Asia, both of which are surprising affordable on shipping costs, but I would also guess that there are vendors of equal or higher caliber out there.

Cheers

[lordofduct]

It seems like out of all the major products being sold online, video games are the most challenging things to buy from a dependable place.

How so? Most of the stuff I've bought are all retro in nature, and my experiences have been overwhemingly positive. Perhaps this is just luck, but you can generally tell wether or not a site/vendor is serious about what they are selling by the site design. I don't want to feel bedazzled by surface gloss, but, generally the more time invested in the site suggests a more professional demeanor.

What is your main concern when buying gaming stuff online?
Reputation?
Security?
Quality?

Selection, Price, Reputation, Security, Quality -- all critical, but in that order. If any one of those factors raises a flag, regardless of whether I am buying game related stuff or other, I won't buy.

Perhaps, considering the scope of this very website, it would be beneficial to create a list of vendors with ratings and comments. I still like Lik-Sang and Play-Asia, both of which are surprising affordable on shipping costs, but I would also guess that there are vendors of equal or higher caliber out there.

Cheers

I agree on both counts. The look of the site has a lot to do with it; not flash, glam or flash (macromedia tm), but a professional feel to it. A website who takes care of the place, marks unstocked products when they go out of stock, no dead links, great search tool, simple and intuitive design.

It is like if I walked into a store. A well kept store that is clean and the products are organized so I can browse easily is a sign of good management. Would you shop from a deshevelled looking store with broken shelves and unnorganized products? Like say Tiger Directs store!? (God are their stores unnorganized... I won't buy from them for that reason). The same goes online... signs of good management is a sign of curtious and secure websites.

Not that this works all the time, but it is the first thing I look for. Especially if there customer support phone number is easy to find. If I have to hunt for the number.... that is a BAD sign. If you only except emails, that is a bad sign in my book. If you don't have your address posted, links to the certified web transaction system you use (ie, paypal, visa, you know that stuff).

for instance, lik-sang has an about section that is simple to find on their left search bar. They have a great system for contacting via email, fax and even a mailing address for contact (no direct phone, but the other three make up for that... especially as they are out of country which makes calling a bit tedious). There search and browse tools are very simple to use and the website is up to date to a good state. I definately trusted them the first time I saw the site and still do.

But then I found this website; http://store.gameasylum.us/sesapcusbcof.html , This controller they had marked as stock for like 3 or 4 months after it went out of stock. That really turned me off from their website and I probably won't buy from them ever. (it is marked out of stock now... probably because I emailed them back and bitched at them).