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

[CRTGAMER]

I went in to my local GS and bought ultimate shooting collection for the WII new and was opened sold as new and to "validate" the "new" tag they placed a circle sticker on the case.

The round sticker policy to seal up a "new" game really makes no sense.

1. The sticker leaves glue residue worse then the multiple bar code price tag stickers. Just trying to remove it stretches the clear plastic of the game case.

2. The idea that if the seal is broken, the "new" game cannot be refunded is untrue. A defective game can be exchanged or if the last copy, a refund is granted. That round seal has to be broke to verify if a game is defective.

I rarely would buy an unsealed game from Gamestop. Usually I'll do a pre-search online to see which stores do not have low stock showing. This ensures that there is a good chance of sealed copies behind the counter. This worked in getting a new sealed Wii Kore Gang which I bought as used since Gamestop marked them all as such. When I do buy an opened game as new due to rarity, I emphasize to the employee not to slap on that messy round seal. The Sales Associate will state that I cannot refund it at which I reply that I plan on keeping it unless it is defective.

Speaking of stickers, I really do not get why Gamestop slaps bar code stickers on both new and used products. I think the idea is to differentiate the new from the used. At least the new products should not be stickered. My earlier mention of that factory sealed Wii game, the manufacturer bar code was scanned and the game rang up as used!

[FerretGamer]

Yea, I refuse to buy a used game being sold as new with their silly seal that ruins the packaging.

[BurningDoom]

I don't see why everyone gets in such an uproar about getting used games as new games at Gamestop. If you don't like it, then buy it somewhere else. New games are the same price at all stores. And I'm sure if you tell Gamestop that you're gonna do that, then they'll find a brand-new copy for you because they don't want to lose that sale.

[AppleQueso]

I don't see why everyone gets in such an uproar about getting used games as new games at Gamestop. If you don't like it, then buy it somewhere else. New games are the same price at all stores. And I'm sure if you tell Gamestop that you're gonna do that, then they'll find a brand-new copy for you because they don't want to lose that sale.

They really shouldn't be doing it at all, it's a dumb practice and frankly I don't see the benefit of it.

'course that's just one of the reasons why I don't buy my games there.

[brunoafh]

I don't see why everyone gets in such an uproar about getting used games as new games at Gamestop.

This hurts my head.

[flojocabron]

welcome back angry, complaining thread that I love!

[SNKnicotine]

I don't see why everyone gets in such an uproar about getting used games as new games at Gamestop. If you don't like it, then buy it somewhere else. New games are the same price at all stores. And I'm sure if you tell Gamestop that you're gonna do that, then they'll find a brand-new copy for you because they don't want to lose that sale.

In my case the only reason I buy "new" used games is because of their rarity. For example "the Data East Collection", where I live is getting increasingly hard to find, so when I saw it at my local GS I had to buy it.

[Luke]

Gamestop's "Sticker Policy" is like putting a sticker on a car door and then claiming it as "new". But as soon as you open the door and the seal is broken, that's a used car.

[CRTGAMER]

Gamestop's "Sticker Policy" is like putting a sticker on a car door and then claiming it as "new". But as soon as you open the door and the seal is broken, that's a used car.

I wonder if I would get a refund if the paint chips from removing that sticker.
There is already a form of Windows touchscreen in some cars, maybe DRM is next.

The Bad
EBgames used that round clear sticker what it was initially designed for, to prevent theft. This was back in the day when the cheaper used games were kept with the cases. I hated pulling those stupid stickers, would actually prefer Gamestop's used games instead. When EB was bought out I thought that was the last I would see of those case seal stickers. Now a battle with the employee not to use the sticker on the off chance when I buy a new rare opened game.

The Ugly
The worse is the generic covers with DVD cases sold as new. Gamestop won the injunction for breaking the seal to prevent theft of new games on display, but this is ridiculous. No I did not buy these like this, bought Skycrawlers used CIB and the UDraw purchased later as sealed new when it went on clearance. Since the display cases were being tossed, the employee let me have them.

Gamestop Generic Covers New Price Tags.jpg (204.91 KiB) Viewed 1458 times

Why did the yellow used game price tags go away? It was a quick way to identify used from new piled on the shelves without having to read the fine print. Now without reading the price tag, one could mistakenly buy a new or used game. I know Gamestop prefers selling the used copy, maybe a way to make all the new and used games appear as equal value?



The Good
I mentioned a few times how Gamestop sometimes retags new games as used. So far I have found three Wii games that fall in this category. Here is proof of the Sky Crawlers game where I got that generic cover display unit above and purchased FACTORY SEALED NEW as used. There is no longer a SKU to buy this particular game as new, so any sealed copy buried behind the counter is sold as used!

Gamestop Skycrawlers: http://www.gamestop.com/wii/games/sky-c ... aces/75583

Now this is funny, in my search of a Google Images I found this. Click the link if you want the full size to complete your collection!

http://vgboxart.com/view/27126/gamestop-insert-cover/

[Hobie-wan]

Gamestop's "Sticker Policy" is like putting a sticker on a car door and then claiming it as "new". But as soon as you open the door and the seal is broken, that's a used car.

Hey. Another car analogy that works great. Like buying a new car but it has 50 some odd miles on it from test drives and the popular sporty cars will have had employees hooning it on the back streets.