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EB games/Gamestop = Worst video game store ever?

Somnia said:
Ok this argument is mute because obviously the vast majority goto walmart, bestbuy, target,etc. because they you know...sell other stuff besides games?!?!?! I mean come on...of course they are going to goto those stores more than GameStop...when GameStop starts selling washer/dryers, tvs, grociers then I bet our user base shoots through the roof also...

Points are moot. It's during the preorder/etc. spiel that we wish Gamestop employees were mute.
 
GS has that lovely new practice of only ordering what is preordered, so that when people go to ask for a copy, they tell them they should have preordered, with the ultimate intention of getting them to commit and put money down for future releases. I had to go there today to reserve condemned 2, and rs6 vegas just cause i know that im not getting them if i dont have a preorder. The old EBGAMES never used to be like this.
 
TwinsDad said:
What is funny is that is exactly what they do for pre-orders. In my local GS/EB they have a coming soon wall. They put mock-up boxes with art int ehm to advertise what you should be looking forward too. I don't see other then ink/printing expenses, why they would not do it.

Plus all the fake covers for the used games that they have without offical boxes.
Um because stores don't print there own crap. Its done at a high volume printer who can print thousands for a lower cost then a store doing 1 copy of misc crud titles they got traded in like Barbies Princess Fairies or some crap.

All that coming soon art is the same way.. printed high volume at a high volume professional printer..

It is TONS cheaper then printing individual artworks at over 4000 stores nationwide on a HP or Lexmark or some other bs.

I'm sure you will debate this point by saying "Why doesnt that high volume printer print the cover arts and send it to them"..

Yea.. thousands of games out there and you want them to stock 25+ of each game in cover art in the back rooms? Yea.. not going to happen.
 
~Kinggi~ said:
GS has that lovely new practice of only ordering what is preordered, so that when people go to ask for a copy, they tell them they should have preordered, with the ultimate intention of getting them to commit and put money down for future releases. I had to go there today to reserve condemned 2, and rs6 vegas just cause i know that im not getting them if i dont have a preorder. The old EBGAMES never used to be like this.

Are they the only stores in your town? It's not like either of those games will be hard to find. I grew to hate everything about Ebgames and Gamestop. I've dealt with it by not setting a foot in their stores for damn near 5 years. It's already been mentioned by others in this thread but Amazon is the way to go, especially if you're a prime member. Brick and Mortar stores like Best Buy/Target/Circuit City also have tons of copies of games upon release.
 
~Kinggi~ said:
GS has that lovely new practice of only ordering what is preordered, so that when people go to ask for a copy, they tell them they should have preordered, with the ultimate intention of getting them to commit and put money down for future releases. I had to go there today to reserve condemned 2, and rs6 vegas just cause i know that im not getting them if i dont have a preorder. The old EBGAMES never used to be like this.

and yet you did anyway - there are PLENTY of other alternate options.
 
TurtleSnatcher said:
Um because stores don't print there own crap. Its done at a high volume printer who can print thousands for a lower cost then a store doing 1 copy of misc crud titles they got traded in like Barbies Princess Fairies or some crap.

All that coming soon art is the same way.. printed high volume at a high volume professional printer..

It is TONS cheaper then printing individual artworks at over 4000 stores nationwide on a HP or Lexmark or some other bs.

I'm sure you will debate this point by saying "Why doesnt that high volume printer print the cover arts and send it to them"..

Yea.. thousands of games out there and you want them to stock 25+ of each game in cover art in the back rooms? Yea.. not going to happen.

like its so damn expensive to print stuff.

They could print 5 game covers and put them in empty boxes on the shelf to represent 50 copies behind the counter, and put the empty cases back on the shelf as long as they have the game behind the counter.

is that so hard? is that so expensive? is that so impractical?

no, its easier to gut new games, and put stickers all over them.
 
EBs around here (vancouver) are generally awesome. My store opened up half an hour early to give us Brawl since we'd been waiting.
 
It's really a YMMV basis with these things. I shared my experience about the GS by my work, which is full of robots who may as well be reading a script. I have a buddy who manages his own GS and the guy I've met who works there is generally great. No hassle, he actually knows his games, and he acts like a human being.

As with most chains, each store tends to reflect what the manager is like. If the person is a douche and could give a shit about games, the employees will reflect it (even if that's not their view). Managers who started their because of their love for games will tend to hire people who they know share it. From what I've heard, the higher in the company chain, the less it is about games anyway (which would explain alot of the lame sales tactics company wide).
 
TurtleSnatcher said:
Um because stores don't print there own crap. Its done at a high volume printer who can print thousands for a lower cost then a store doing 1 copy of misc crud titles they got traded in like Barbies Princess Fairies or some crap.

All that coming soon art is the same way.. printed high volume at a high volume professional printer..

It is TONS cheaper then printing individual artworks at over 4000 stores nationwide on a HP or Lexmark or some other bs.

I'm sure you will debate this point by saying "Why doesnt that high volume printer print the cover arts and send it to them"..

Yea.. thousands of games out there and you want them to stock 25+ of each game in cover art in the back rooms? Yea.. not going to happen.

Thanks for the insight. I haven't been to one lately, and I only spent a few minutes. I didn't take it out, but it looked like an ink jet. Yes, costs would not be conducive to printing on a small printer in low volume. It would cost a small fortune to order 1-2 copies of covers, so I do now get the point of why they don't do it. It's doesn't bother me getting the open box. Only part of their stores that bother me is the lack of used having manual or box art. But I rarely buy used so for the 1 used game a year I buy it doesn't much matter.
 
the ONLY reason I still deal with GS from time to time is they live literally like 10 minutes from my house....so it's hella convient

But I don't typically buy from them...just preorder something a little more on the obscure side....like recently P3:Fes
 
Are you retarded? Seriously, going to a midnight opening and not having a reserved copy? A lot of the time, unless it's Halo, a huge title like this will get just enough to cover pre-orders and that's it. These stores have to sell their inventory as that's the only product they make money off of. This isn't Best Buy where they can just sell a Washer/Dryer combo and make up for the 4 PS3's that aren't sold in the back.
 
I pretty much preorder everything when I shop at Gamestop. I know they use the money up front, but it doesnt matter to me because Im just paying for the game. Its not my concern how they use my money, only that I get the damned game on launch day.
 
This is why I love my Gamecrazy. The people are really knowledgeable and friendly. And if I have to buy a gutted copy, I get the used price.

One time I was about four dollars short after doing all my trades, and the manager gave me an extra 10% trade in so I wouldn't have to leave to get my wallet. And they carry all the games that GS does as well. They've done nothing but ensure I had a positive experience.

It also helps that it's like 150 yards from my house.
 
sublime085 said:
This is why I love my Gamecrazy. The people are really knowledgeable and friendly. And if I have to buy a gutted copy, I get the used price.

One time I was about four dollars short after doing all my trades, and the manager gave me an extra 10% trade in so I wouldn't have to leave to get my wallet. And they carry all the games that GS does as well. They've done nothing but ensure I had a positive experience.

It also helps that it's like 150 yards from my house.

yeah, when I lived in Idaho, they had a GameCrazy in Boise....pretty rad place and do miss it
 
sublime085 said:
This is why I love my Gamecrazy. The people are really knowledgeable and friendly. And if I have to buy a gutted copy, I get the used price.

One time I was about four dollars short after doing all my trades, and the manager gave me an extra 10% trade in so I wouldn't have to leave to get my wallet. And they carry all the games that GS does as well. They've done nothing but ensure I had a positive experience.

It also helps that it's like 150 yards from my house.


I'd be constantly broke if I lived that close to a gaming store.

As for Gamecrazy, I haven't really bothered to buy anything from them. I don't doubt the experience at your stores are cool but the 2 that I've been to in the MD/DC/VA area are full of people that don't really know all that much about gaming. Also, most of their stores in this area are apart of Hollywood video stores. They appear as if they are a small junky corner of the store that's just carved out of the HV store and given the appearance of a store front. Is that the same everywhere else?
 
So I just showed up at my local gamestop to see if they still have any copies of SSBB in. I get there and saw that they had at least a dozen copies in the display case. I asked for a copies, they then said"Did you reserved a copy?" I said "No", then they said that those are only for those who preorders and start giving me a lectures about how I should have made a preorder there.... Last time I go there.
 
tenchir said:
So I just showed up at my local gamestop to see if they still have any copies of SSBB in. I get there and saw that they had at least a dozen copies in the display case. I asked for a copies, they then said"Did you reserved a copy?" I said "No", then they said that those are only for those who preorders and start giving me a lectures about how I should have made a preorder there.... Last time I go there.
Thats when you complain and see if you can get something free out of it to the DM.

48 hour holds i believe are all they can do on reserves.
 
tenchir said:
So I just showed up at my local gamestop to see if they still have any copies of SSBB in. I get there and saw that they had at least a dozen copies in the display case. I asked for a copies, they then said"Did you reserved a copy?" I said "No", then they said that those are only for those who preorders and start giving me a lectures about how I should have made a preorder there.... Last time I go there.

Ok, that is one thing that drives me fucking crazy at Gamestop, when some employee lectures me on how I should have pre ordered something because they don't have it. Tell me "No, we don't have it" and let me go... I don't wanna hear the bullshit.
 
SIP YEK NOD said:
like its so damn expensive to print stuff.

They could print 5 game covers and put them in empty boxes on the shelf to represent 50 copies behind the counter, and put the empty cases back on the shelf as long as they have the game behind the counter.

is that so hard? is that so expensive? is that so impractical?

no, its easier to gut new games, and put stickers all over them.
Ehr...
A full color print can go from $0.10 to $0.25..and that's usually from the same places that will require a minimum of a few thousand copies.... (i.e. they won't charge 10 cents for 5 full color copies)

There's also the whole copyrights issues, on which they'll have to get the necessary permits from each company, to make copies form each game... (in other words they can't go to any Kinko's or Officemax and demand 50 copies of the Super Smash Bros. Brawl coverart..it is not allowed and the store -not only the one that made the copies but the ones that display them- could be involved in many legal issues) [not to mention that places like Officemax charge usually $1.00 for 1 full color copy]

That's why some developers send empty boxes..the problem is that. SOME developers, only a small group and they usually send those display boxes if the store: A. Made a good amount of preorders or B. Is displaying their game properly.
 
Aladuf23 said:
Ok, that is one thing that drives me fucking crazy at Gamestop, when some employee lectures me on how I should have pre ordered something because they don't have it. Tell me "No, we don't have it" and let me go... I don't wanna hear the bullshit.

then just fucking leave. u arent 10 yrs old
 
Ashhong said:
then just fucking leave. u arent 10 yrs old

That's the thing, if I've made the trip to Gamestop then I'm leaving with something... so usually I'll just cut them off and tell them what else I want. I can't fucking stand the employees at one of the Gamestops in the area but they have the better choice of games :( It's a pick your poison, more games/bigger douches, less games/nicer people.
 
f3niks said:
I'd be constantly broke if I lived that close to a gaming store.

As for Gamecrazy, I haven't really bothered to buy anything from them. I don't doubt the experience at your stores are cool but the 2 that I've been to in the MD/DC/VA area are full of people that don't really know all that much about gaming. Also, most of their stores in this area are apart of Hollywood video stores. They appear as if they are a small junky corner of the store that's just carved out of the HV store and given the appearance of a store front. Is that the same everywhere else?

Hm. I actually live in MD and from the ones I've been to, the people seem to know gaming pretty well. But yes one of them is a hole in a wall in a Hollywood Video.
 
Some of you complainers need to start shopping online.

Get a better price & have it at your doorstep on release day.

What more could you want.. Cake?
 
In all honesty it's times like this where I'm not sure what to say. I work(whee...) at one of the aforementioned place of scrutiny. At times I really agree with the point of the OP and I also agree with the counter arguments as well. When it comes down to it what's fair here? Yes, I could simply say well said person preordered it and I'd like to sell a walkin said game. Now I don't do this in some holier than thou tone of voice mind you.

Also I don't let working there blind me to thinking that this service and other services are great
(I really think it blows)
. Then again I could just sell, sell but would it be fair to the person(s) that chose to preorder? Either way am I not letting the gaming community in some way? I don't know... yes & no. As consumers its ultimately our choice to shop where we like. This being said we also have to keep certain store policies in mind.
No offense to the OP though it just sounds like you were angry and wanted attention here. It's ok, a lot of people do it. Hopefully the next game pickup will be more to your liking.
 
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