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

[wclem]

At one time I hated Gamestop. Though I do disagree with some things they do, they also do many things right. If you can not save a ton of money shopping there then you are just being lazy.

Like any game store you have to pick over it. check every damn price and be diligent. Look at Rule of Rose. While it hovered near 100 bucks on Ebay I grabbed my copy from them for 17 bucks. They do occasionally price to match but more often than not they are under priced on rarer games. I have seen new games drop as low as 4.99. If you play current games and do not shop there then you must not care if you get a bargain or a deal.

[pepharytheworm]

If you play current games and do not shop there then you must not care if you get a bargain or a deal.

I find plenty of great deals equal to or better than Gamestop. As far as current new game deals toys r us and amazon have gamestop beat.

[wclem]

If you play current games and do not shop there then you must not care if you get a bargain or a deal.

I find plenty of great deals equal to or better than Gamestop. As far as current new game deals toys r us and amazon have gamestop beat.

Let me clarify, used games. They do some sales on new, but it is in the used games that their price can sometimes destroy every other price. Not always the case but just look at the deals some of us have gotten in the past. I mean, how many people got GCN component cables for 4 bucks?

[Fragems]

If you hit them when they are down to their last copies of a collector's edition you can get downright awesome deals.

[oxymoron]

Anyone got any suggestions?

You could sell the giftcard for a little under it's face value. I'm sure someone one here'll buy it.

[CD AGES]

If you play current games and do not shop there then you must not care if you get a bargain or a deal.

I find plenty of great deals equal to or better than Gamestop. As far as current new game deals toys r us and amazon have gamestop beat.

Right here! Been on a major shopping spree at TRU recently. Real good deals.

[darsparx]

Speaking of deals, and gamestop, is there any sort of pattern to that b2g1 that just happened last month? Kinda wondering so maybe I can plan to raid a few next time...

[CRTGAMER]

Quotes from a PM and from the Video Game Finds Thread, figure best to continue discussion here.

Subject: Video Game "Look what I found"

Is there a way to search all stores online or can it only be done by employees in store? I was trying to find a disc-only copy of Gauntlet Dark Legacy for GameCube for my brother-in-law but I gave up because the 100 mile search radius was too frustrating.

Punch in random zip codes on your home PC. Once you find hopefully more then one store, copy paste the info and print it out. This saves the employee from looking up. Gamecube games are going to be difficult to find at Gamestop. The store really can look nation wide since they have a larger search radius; also can key in the random zip codes.

Went to Gamestop today:

Dokapon Kingdom Wii 22 bucks. Looked like they literally stuck a used label on a new game.

With the insane prices of this over at Ebay I may flip this one. (maybe, might consider trading)

Very very lucky, that game shows only one across the country available but disc only. The other state that does have CIB is already on hold. Mine hopefully is on the way shipped from another Gamestop along with another uncommon racing game that supports the Wii feedback steering wheel I have been teasing about.

Gaaah, I hate that four letter flip word. I hope you at least play it before just turning a profit.

Sorry CRT, I should say re-invest it in my collection by utilizing it to realize more games!!

By the way, what state was the reserve in?

All the way across country, Gamestop near "Beantown" Boston.

As an FYI...im pretty sure this game is being reprinted...It is currently available on GS.com and is starting to appear in many stores again...

GAMESTOP CANNOT REPRINT GAMES!
They can add a new condition case from their existing stock of used games and even print up a cover. Unfortunately the manual once gone cannot be reproduced by Gamestop. They can also request the publisher to CREATE more copies, but only will happen on a very rare circumstance. Definitely not for an older console and highly unlikely from Atlus known for low one time production runs.

I do not trust that online reserve ordering, a chance if the game will be complete or not. I rather have the store telephone for a visual to ensure a CIB copy.

The Bad
Two days ago no stores showed any available and now this evening I see ten LOCAL stores all now having low stock! I telephoned my shipping connection store and the employee confirmed it came from the Warehouse and unfortunately the disc is in a generic case with no manual. She verified it had the dreaded R sticker on the back indicating a refurbished game from the refurbish center.

The Ugly
After calling five more stores, all stated the same, generic case only. All appear to have come from the Gamestop warehouse! At least this go around they did not rob other games of their cases. Usually when that happens they toss the manuals out on the other games.

The Good
I just happened to go back to that first Gamestop this morning, BEFORE any local stores showed in stock. The reason why is I spotted a store up north that just popped up as in stock the night before. I think now the game that was on the way already was one of the refurbish units that was shipped in all the local stores. At the time no visual was ever done, the employee saw one automatically on the way and told me they would hold the game for me. A chance at the time if CIB or not. It was a real stroke of luck discovering that city up north. The employee knew I had a game on the way and I explained how it was never confirmed as complete or not. The morning telephone call confirmed CIB and that the game was bought used from a customer just the other day! I had asked to have that second copy just in case the game on the way was incomplete; which turns out to be that refurbish game.

Boy, I am really glad I had the visual done on the second copy for CIB and pushed to have it shipped. Hopefully will have this in my paws in a couple of days! I really hope the employee at the other end really did that visual and is sending a CIB and not a refurbish disc only game. I'll post an update once I get the game.

[pepharytheworm]

As an FYI...im pretty sure this game is being reprinted...It is currently available on GS.com and is starting to appear in many stores again...

GAMESTOP CANNOT REPRINT GAMES!
They can add a new condition case from their existing stock of used games and even print up a cover. Unfortunately the manual once gone cannot be reproduced by Gamestop. They can also request the publisher to CREATE more copies, but only will happen on a very rare circumstance. Defintely not for an older console and highly unlikely from Atlus known for low one time production runs.

I do not trust that online reserve ordering, a chance if the game will be complete or not. I rather have the store telephone for a visual to ensure a CIB copy.

I have already mentioned this to you before. Gamestop personally does not http://www.gamequestdirect.com/ does a lot of it for them.
Here is some they reprinted:
Atelier Iris
Atelier Iris 2
Atelier Iris 3
Chaos Wars
Cubivore
Dual Hearts
Gitaroo Man
Makai Kingdom
Persona 2
Resident Evil 2 and 3
Rhapshody
Rez
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Suikoden 3

I was a Store Manager for Gamestop and had first hand knowledge on some of these reprints. On our weekly conference calls we discussed reprint games bought in bulk coming in. The sources weren't mentioned in these calls, a lot of that I found out from DMs and other Store Managers. Every single one we marked as used.

[wclem]

Those assholes had Dokapon Kingdom reprinted?? Damn, this is one of the most screwed up things ever. Why dont they just have rare games reprinted and screw all of us over who have worked hard to get a rare game!!!!