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

[Fragems]

Toys 'R' Us is also pretty much the only retailer that uses the card system that I know of. I'm not entirely sure why more don't, because it does address quite a few concerns. Might be from a floor space perspective, given that a lot of GS stores are quite small, so having a wall of paper slips with printouts in addition to finding somewhere to store all those cases might be tricky. Dunno.

The one in our area doesn't bother with them anything above $20 is in locked glass cases that line the wall similar to how Walmart does it. Everything else is in those square DVD display cases on the floor or pilled in a metal wire clearance bin.

[Jmustang1968]

It's the principle new games should absolutely come factory sealed for numerous reasons. Primary problem here this is being done so people don't buy new and go for the used bottom line. Look how f**kd the industry is because of it, you have developers and publishers scrounging for ways to make back money they put into delivering a product at the expense of a consumer only. We have more DLC, add ons, online passes etc and more shitty rushed games with day one patches like never before all because of shifty business practices like these.

Honestly if it was ok then why are we on the verge of a digital format only push vs GS. Sorry to say GameStop does not give two craps about their employees, you or your hobby.

You Re my bud, but I disagree with you. The reason they do that is for theft, and for marketing. You can pick up the actual game case and see the art and ads etc. They have found that many people actually dont care about owning all that later and having it nice shiny and sealed.

They definitely want to sell used games, as they get more markup, but opening the new games isnt to push people towards used.

It also didnt cause DLC and season passes. That stuff is there because they are now able to do it. Digital distribution has enabled quick and easy DLC. Rushed games and patches are a different animal all together.

[Tanooki]

I'm not sure "nefarious" comes to mind. They just use a similar model to other open-box items sold in other stores. I get that some of you care deeply about it, but there aren't enough people that do care enough about it for it to bother them. It certainly doesn't bother me, especially if I'm going to be taking the cellophane off as soon as I get home anyway. Now, if there's stuff missing, I'm not going to be happy, and if I want a sealed copy to put on my shelf, I won't be buying their last copy, but otherwise? I don't see it as a big deal. It's not like they're selling all their new games opened..

Open box items when I've seen them at various stores because it was an employee check out or a store that takes a returned as it was new from customers like best buy. In both cases the price is marked down because even if it wasn't really used or barely used, it's still not factory new and to sell something like that as new could in some places if someone pushed it could be actionable legally speaking. As you said if something was missing you'd be annoyed, I've had it happen two or three times which is why I never bought last 'open box' new items from them after that as I was pissed. Usually jerks will make off with club codes(nintendo etc) or additional papers.

Now that glass case thing people are mentioning is nice, but it fails on two respects -- One eats up a lot of space, and two you can't see the back of the box for the information there too. The only retailer that seems to have a decent grasp is Target. Theirs eats the same general space, but the front game is slabbed in a VGA like plastic coffin on a steel/carbon fiber cable and you can read the back and front. Vidpro plastic cards like TRU had would be ideal too, but you'd still run into where to store all the copies you have. Gamestop's do have an ok sized back area to shelve stuff, but nothing big, so they tend to use those disc/box holding pull out cabinets that lock the best they can.

[Exhuminator]

All I can say is once somebody takes a sealed game, breaks the seal, puts their greasy fingers on the disc and liberates it from its case... said game is no longer "brand new". At least not in my opinion. Yeah it might still be in mint condition, but it's not brand new anymore.

[Sarge]

That may be true, I just don't know that it warrants a discount when folks are still clearly willing to drop the cash on it, or that charging that price when folks are willing to pay it constitutes the evil side of this equation. Most folks really don't care, for better or for worse. They also don't care much about actual ownership, which is why the digital age is upon us. (Not that I hate Steam and its ilk, but it's not true ownership.)

As far as DLC codes go, that's grounds for a return if employees have redeemed them, and it's clearly not "new" by any definition then. A decent manager would let you have it at the pre-owned price should that happen, or outright return it. My guess is that an employee's head might roll, too... provided you could figure out who did it. Or not be accused of redeeming the code yourself.

[Tanooki]

I have to wonder if you polled every person for a week who walked through the doors of a few Gamestops in someones area and asked them if they knew they were paying the 'new' price on the opened game when it has in fact been likely used by an employee already, the inserts/manuals fingered by the public along with the case, if they would still consider it new. If they said no, follow up with, should that item then be sold as a used/open boxed product at a discount.

I think you'd find more people probably if they understood what Gamestop did to the product, and the potential nasty stuff customers have on their hands fingering up that unsealed box and paperwork(they may or may not have damaged or stolen from it) would not be happy and dismissive of it. A good many probably still wouldn't care in the college age and under group since they've been manipulated for years now by product makers to not want an actual item, just something they can use that's disposable, which is the way games will go once broadband speeds are comfortably in the gigabit range all around.

Gamestop isn't evil for it, people are just stupid and complacent not questioning it. In the past I've asked for another copy, if they didn't have one, I'd ask for an open box/used price since it has been open, possibly used by their employees, and the rest have had dirty customer fingers all over the manual and the rest. Every time I got shot down and was asked if I still wanted it and I said no, they'd look annoyed or confused. Once some dude got a little attitude over it, and they had lunch out, and I was like, before you eat that would you mind if i opened it up, touched your hamburger, fingered your fries, and then let you eat it? No response. I guess they didn't want to pay full price for an open box used meal?

[Exhuminator]

the inserts/manuals fingered by the public along with the case

That's another good point. Greasy cootie coochie fingers all over my "brand new" manual and inserts? No sir, I don't like it.

[MrPopo]

the inserts/manuals fingered by the public along with the case

That's another good point. Greasy cootie coochie fingers all over my "brand new" manual and inserts? No sir, I don't like it.

Very loaded question. If you ask "do you care that the game doesn't come in the shrinkwrap" you're going to get a different response than "do you care that the employees were getting their fingers all over everything".

[Tanooki]

Well yes it's loaded, but it's a fair load. You don't know where that finger has been. The amount of people I've seen picking sores, scratching stuff, ear wax mining, nose picking, teeth(food) picking, and so on who you can easily figure didn't wash their hands right after or use the antibacterial lotion who then touch that stuff -- it's NOT new.

Perhaps write: Do you care if the game no longer has shrinkwrap knowing the contents have likely been already previewed by others which would include the general public and store employees who potentially have checked out the game to try it out before being sold?

There's nothing loaded there, it just clearly asks if you don't mind an open boxed product that probably has been touched by many people and potentially used by employees. And would you care to pay the new price for that product. That's fair.

[Sarge]

You don't eat your games, though, do you? I sure hope not.

I don't think sanitary reasons are the first thing that comes to mind. I buy a lot of used stuff because it's the only way I can get it. Heck, you'll get more germs on you just from touching the door handle to the store.