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

[TheGrimAngel]

I personally don't agree with how they will allow employees check out a NEW game play it and bring it back, then the game is still sold as New. The only time I ever check out a game is when it is used.

Details please.

You know, the one copy of each new game that they open to put the case on the shelf, and then still charge full "new" price for if it's the last copy left for sale? Employees can take that disc home overnight. My brother used to do that all the time when he worked at a gamestop. That was years ago, and from what I understand it's "discouraged" now, but I'm sure it still happens.

Actually its not the one they already have on display that we're allowed to take home. They will allow us to actually take a sealed copy home, open it, and then its sold as a "gutted" game. Still new price tag but it is definitely used. It is supposed to be returned in like new/ re sellable condition, and it is up to the management to enforce this, but occasionally employees will bring back one that's got a scratch or something. It is at this point they are supposed to pay for the game, but not always.

This is the main reason I dont check out new games. I dont like it when I go to buy a new game and all they have is a gutted open one. So I dont want to contribute to make more.

[Retronomy]

Actually its not the one they already have on display that we're allowed to take home. They will allow us to actually take a sealed copy home, open it, and then its sold as a "gutted" game. Still new price tag but it is definitely used. It is supposed to be returned in like new/ re sellable condition, and it is up to the management to enforce this, but occasionally employees will bring back one that's got a scratch or something. It is at this point they are supposed to pay for the game, but not always.

This is the main reason I dont check out new games. I dont like it when I go to buy a new game and all they have is a gutted open one. So I dont want to contribute to make more.

This is more in line of what happened in the store I worked at. Obviously the copy on the floor has to remain on the floor to be sold. It's a shame they don't spend the extra pennies to have display cases. This means that with each game they're potentially selling two used games as new. As far as I'm concerned, the second it isn't factory sealed, it ain't new.

Still, the selling of new product as used is straight up dishonest. At first I could handle it but I felt my integrity dying with each passing month. I enjoyed working there because A) I was young and B) I shared time with people that had similar interests.

But as far as advancement goes (someone brought up managerial), there is none until you get into district; which you don't. Managerial gets cents more than floor grunts. I remember talking with one of my bosses (turnover was high) and he said that you don't stay with gamestop unless you actually enjoy the job.

I was eventually offered a job at a local game store which I gladly took, but was too young and dumb to truly grasp the importance of responsibility of local businesses like these. In short, support your small guys, always. They'll be gone soon, cherish them.
And death to gamestop.

[CRTGAMER]

Actually its not the one they already have on display that we're allowed to take home. They will allow us to actually take a sealed copy home, open it, and then its sold as a "gutted" game. Still new price tag but it is definitely used.

This is more in line of what happened in the store I worked at. Obviously the copy on the floor has to remain on the floor to be sold. It's a shame they don't spend the extra pennies to have display cases. This means that with each game they're potentially selling two used games as new. As far as I'm concerned, the second it isn't factory sealed, it ain't new.

Still, the selling of new product as used is straight up dishonest.

I was eventually offered a job at a local game store which I gladly took, but was too young and dumb to truly grasp the importance of responsibility of local businesses like these. In short, support your small guys, always. They'll be gone soon, cherish them.
And death to gamestop.

Sometimes Gamestop has multiple copies of newly released games opened and on display, five or more across! I asked the employee who stated the larger facing is required by Corporate when there is no huge display box. I hate those huge wing stack displays showing just a few new games that could easily have held an older console's CIB game cases. I think this is the main reason why older games are gutted, to make room for the space robbing advertising.

[Luke]

This is probably old news but:

> Forecast store closings: 500 to 600
> Number of U.S. stores: 4,471
> One-year stock performance: -2.2%

In November, just as the holiday season was in full swing, GameStop Corp. (GME) announced it would close 200 stores in 2013. The video game retailer, hurt by growth in mobile gaming at the expense of console gaming platforms, had a 4.6% year-over-year decrease in revenue, as well as a 4.4% decline in comparable-store sales over the nine-week holiday period. For the third quarter of 2012, the most recent quarterly release, gross profits fell at GameStop’s three core product segments: new hardware, new software and used products.

[Hobie-wan]

> Forecast store closings: 500 to 600

Good, in the areas I run around in, there is one spot where there are two of them less than a quarter of a mile apart, and closer to me I can make a 5 or 6 mile trip and hit 3 of them. That's ridiculous.

[Fragems]

Haven't been in a game stop in about 6 months so i decided to pop in one today while my parents were picking up some hardware at Lowes .

Was hoping to spend my time browsing through the sale bins of older games like I always have in the past. Instead there were about 15 large displays showing sample copies of games that aren't even out yet. Finally found the older games in the back on a broken wire rack. Their poor little discs stripped of their cases and forced in those miserable yellow sleeves. All that was left were around 40 ceaseless PS2 games and about 5 cased semi-rare titles. Worst part was they for whatever reason jacked their prices up instead of putting them on clearance they have jacked their prices up so that their buy one get one 50% off deal isn't even a good deal .

Seriously a caseless ps2 sports game is not worth $5-8 dollars and all non sports titles were over $10 wth is going on with my local game stop? Ill have to check out the 3 others in the area to see if they are as bad as the one I visited today :X. About the only reason i go in them anymore is to renew my game informer sub.

[Jmustang1968]

Haven't been in a game stop in about 6 months so i decided to pop in one today while my parents were picking up some hardware at Lowes .

Was hoping to spend my time browsing through the sale bins of older games like I always have in the past. Instead there were about 15 large displays showing sample copies of games that aren't even out yet. Finally found the older games in the back on a broken wire rack. Their poor little discs stripped of their cases and forced in those miserable yellow sleeves. All that was left were around 40 ceaseless PS2 games and about 5 cased semi-rare titles. Worst part was they for whatever reason jacked their prices up instead of putting them on clearance they have jacked their prices up so that their buy one get one 50% off deal isn't even a good deal .

Seriously a caseless ps2 sports game is not worth $5-8 dollars and all non sports titles were over $10 wth is going on with my local game stop? Ill have to check out the 3 others in the area to see if they are as bad as the one I visited today :X. About the only reason i go in them anymore is to renew my game informer sub.

They have set prices on their games. They didnt jack anything up for the sake of the sale...

[CRTGAMER]

There were about 15 large displays showing sample copies of games that aren't even out yet. Finally found the older games in the back on a broken wire rack. Their poor little discs stripped of their cases and forced in those miserable yellow sleeves. All that was left were around 40 ceaseless PS2 games and about 5 cased semi-rare titles. Worst part was they for whatever reason jacked their prices up instead of putting them on clearance they have jacked their prices up so that their buy one get one 50% off deal isn't even a good deal.

Seriously a caseless ps2 sports game is not worth $5-8 dollars and all non sports titles were over $10 wth is going on with my local game stop? Ill have to check out the 3 others in the area to see if they are as bad as the one I visited today. About the only reason i go in them anymore is to renew my game informer sub.

They have set prices on their games. They didnt jack anything up for the sake of the sale...

The prices can be changed at anytime normally done on a Wednesday, just not locally set but determined by Corporate. I think a lot of the labels Fragems mentioned might not be the current price which usually tends to be lower. However, a few games have gone up since first sold used.

That is my biggest heartburn, the huge empty displays pushing older games to disc only.

[Zing]

I don't get it, either. I went in the other day and saw several shelves of "heart of the swarm". Oh cool, the new Starcraft expansion is out? NOPE! Empty boxes. I guess signs and posters are not sufficient. I'm not sure why they have so much space reserved anyway. When you actually buy the game, you don't take the one off the shelf. They give you one from behind the counter.

As others have mentioned, the stickered prices on old games are probably not current. Most time, when I bought an old game, it was unexpectedly lower.

[Fragems]

They have set prices on their games. They didnt jack anything up for the sake of the sale...

Worded it a little funny what i meant is compared to the prices I was seeing 6 months ago ps2 prices on a lot of games have gone up. Or i might just be imagining it since I was shocked to see yellow sleeved games with $10+ price tags used to never see anything over $5 getting its case stripped at least around here.

What CRTGAMER was saying is probably correct to0. I remember a couple of games which they had multiple copies of had different prices .