Did have to stop my mother the other day from buying from GAME when she was desperate to just buy a gift in time for Christmas the other day. This was the branch in Hamley's so it suffers from both Game + Hamley's price premium. Couldn't let her pay almost £40 for a Wii U game that could easily be bought for sub £30 elsewhere. My concious wouldn't allow it.
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GAME (UK) Share price 'plunges' after disappointing holiday sales
- Thread starter Corleth the Fey
- Start date
Tbf, they could probably lower prices of used games considering that they are usually just a few quid cheaper than 'new' games.
Might even be able to sell more used games like that to offset lowering the prices of said used games.
I got a gift card for GAME a few christmasses ago. A few days later they entered the process of administration and said all gift cards were null and void, so I threw mine out. They then came out of administration and started accepting gift cards again.
They can barely manage a decent FIFA stand (PS4 controllers are always broken) so how are they going to handle a VR demo?
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Now see I hate them almost just as much. Customer service is absolutely non-existent, and they'll charge you £44 for a used copy of Just Cause 3 that smells like pickled farts.
Daffy Duck
Member
But that is where the profit lies for them, they are now trying to imitate CEX by having mobile/tablet trade ins, there's a reason (which I'm sure you know) they push those traded in games at £1 less than retail, because they gave someone a silly low rade in price and can resell the game at a £20+ profit.
Evolution of Metal
Member
I wonder where do they keep stacks of pre-owed Fifa games.
Daffy Duck
Member
Probably have their own landfill for those annual sports titles.
They sent me a £10 gift card for the Mario Maker mishap. I made sure to use it ASAP just in case history repeats itself lol
Bucket-o-roadkill
Member
At least the smell leaves you with the same feeling as the frame rate does
When was your day, was VAT 20% at the time and who was your wholesale company that you ordered the games from?
All of that comes into it I think not to mention I imagine bigger companies have to pay bigger prices than smaller stores? Again, just a guess, if anyone has more info on stuff like this, feel free to chime in but I imagine some places are flexible with prices depending on size of the store/company they are selling to.
Baleoce
Member
I'm willing to bet there's an ET-esque landfill somewhere.
E_Darkness
Member
When I can buy a game else where for at least £10 cheaper, why would I buy it from GAME? When I was looking at the preowned section, I could find new copies cheaper online.
I can very much understand this, but if they go then the brick and mortar game sellers also go. The only other places who sell (new) games are HMV, supermarkets but their selections are very limited and also very expensive.
I can very much understand this, but if they go then the brick and mortar game sellers also go. The only other places who sell (new) games are HMV, supermarkets but their selections are very limited and also very expensive.
I mean, in general, Game will not survive by trying to cut prices to compete with online retailers, they simply cannot do it.
People moan that their prices are high (and they are) but that is the cost of having high street stores. Game will only survive if they can provide something that online cannot. Otherwise they will go out of business.
You can now order games from Amazon and have them delivered in the hour and this will become more common...
People moan that their prices are high (and they are) but that is the cost of having high street stores. Game will only survive if they can provide something that online cannot. Otherwise they will go out of business.
You can now order games from Amazon and have them delivered in the hour and this will become more common...
Except noone's digging that up.
I work for them. The £8 is on the lower end I admit (depending on the game, margins do differ, but not by much), but when your main income is from such tiny profit margins (consoles are even worse for this), and you are a national company with overheads, and then you have other companies undercut you, it's not a great recipe.
Yes I understand that, but it is a short-term fix. They cannot survive as a premium high street retailer on used games.
As digital games purchases increase and other models such as 'free to play' become more common, used games will become less relevant
Perhaps they could sell games at RRP and then offer 'exclusive limited editions' to their most loyal customers 'club nintendo' style at sensible prices (or free)
Because I have Morrisons round the corner from me?
I think bigger stores would get a better price, I recall the cheapest we could buy games was if we hit 50 which we only ever did for the first F1 game because I was one fo the first stores to run a pre-order system and got 45 pre-orders
I don't recall the supplier (we had 3 in total) VAT shouldn't really matter - if you take it out of the equation all together so assume a £50 is £40 in the till...so a £28 = £40. So 'only £12 profit' but margin wise is pretty good - the hardware was margin was minimal - probably around £10-15 a unit.
They've just opened another GAME 30 seconds from the other one in Southampton. No idea why, they seemed to be trying hard to sell "gaming" keyboards and mice. There was also a guy whose job it seemed was only to play the FIFA demo on xbox one, I wouldn't have thought he worked there if not for his uniform
Opus Angelorum
Member
lol
Garrett Hawke
Member
Oh, okay. I wish you the best of luck.
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
They may charge you six times, but that also means you get extra exposure to the quality customer service.
So really, it kinda balances out!
I'm Spartacus
Member
Didn't Einstein say "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."?
Seems they learned nothing from the last time when they were hanging by a thread and old habits die hard.
Seems they learned nothing from the last time when they were hanging by a thread and old habits die hard.
I'm confused, you said 'a £8 on a £50 game' then you said 'it varies and this is lower end' lol
Look at my break-down, whilst my quote is £12 that's the top end and its ~30%...if we sold a £28 at £45 that would give a similar £8 profit which is still ~25% profit margin
SlipperyFishes
Banned
Haha I'll have to check this bullshit out when I'm home after the hols. Game really aren't so good at the whole retail store thing.
I really wish there was a better alternative to them in the UK, maybe some competition with real visibility would make them actually put an effort in.
You know, instead of hoping that Game Exclusives will get people in the door to buy more than one product (it won't). Or from selling peripherals for newly launched consoles at £3 more than RRP.
This GAME vent thread was seriously needed.
I believe they have the limited Uncharted 4 collectors edition.
I died a little inside when I saw that.
Give that shit to Amazon yo.
I believe they have the limited Uncharted 4 collectors edition.
I died a little inside when I saw that.
Give that shit to Amazon yo.
The Incarnation
Member
That's why I don't shop in there. I just want to buy a game and get the fuck out and not get ask if I want this or that.
kavanf1
Member
Here's my usual routine with Game:
Walk into the shop, wondering if I might score a bargain. Move from area to area, smiling wryly inside, shaking my head in disbelief at their prices. Laugh at the lack of content in the PC section. Walk out of the store empty-handed and wonder how they're still in business.
That process repeats roughly once every three months or so. The only reason they're still in business is because they primarily cater to uninformed parents and such, who have no idea about how much things should be.
Walk into the shop, wondering if I might score a bargain. Move from area to area, smiling wryly inside, shaking my head in disbelief at their prices. Laugh at the lack of content in the PC section. Walk out of the store empty-handed and wonder how they're still in business.
That process repeats roughly once every three months or so. The only reason they're still in business is because they primarily cater to uninformed parents and such, who have no idea about how much things should be.
SlipperyFishes
Banned
Tesco are selling the 20th Anniversary DS4 for £39. Game have finally started selling the same one at the same price perhaps out of desperation.
So this says between £8 and £12;
http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2015/09/30/why-you-pay-what-you-pay-for-video-games
The retailer make roughly as much as the people who make the games.
http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2015/09/30/why-you-pay-what-you-pay-for-video-games
The retailer make roughly as much as the people who make the games.
In all seriousness how do they get the exclusive collectors edition all the time? Why would publishers choose them over places like amazon which surely sell more?
Game just chuck a load of cash at it??
You would have thought publishers would learn when Game keep messing up the orders.
Game just chuck a load of cash at it??
You would have thought publishers would learn when Game keep messing up the orders.
Doctor_Thomas
Member
I feel bad for most of the employees, but GAME has to go. They went through similar things before and didn't learn from it.
People are too savvy now to pay their prices.
CEX really aren't much better. A handy place to unload a few bits and pieces quickly (I used them to get rid of all my DVDs to clear space) but they're not exactly setting the world on fire with trade in or sale prices.
Honestly? I've been done with brick and mortar retail for a long time.
People are too savvy now to pay their prices.
CEX really aren't much better. A handy place to unload a few bits and pieces quickly (I used them to get rid of all my DVDs to clear space) but they're not exactly setting the world on fire with trade in or sale prices.
Honestly? I've been done with brick and mortar retail for a long time.
GAME's problem is that they've been struggling for years to stay relevant while online retailers and supermarkets have been honing in on their core business area. Rather than rethinking that area, they keep coming up with temporary solutions like securing exclusives in the hopes that the serious game collector will be forced to pay their prices, or half-hearted attempts to dip their toes into the used mobile and tablet market. What they need to do is rethink the purpose of a dedicated videogame chain in the highstreet in this day and convince the public they're still a worthwhile presence, because more and more they seem completely unnecessary.
Robin64
Member
They have a high street presence. Can stick a CE front and center on the counter for all to see. That's becoming far less important these days, but people running the show think it matters.
Kind of? I imagine it's because they promise to buy X loads of CEs which is a 'sale' for the company that supplies them with the CE.
GAME will then sell the CE onto people and usually they sell out of the CE so as far as GAME and the Company that gives them the CE are concerned, it's a win for everyone that 'matters'.
So in a way, they do just chuck cash/bid on them which is how they become exclusive.
(someone correct me if I'm wrong on any of this)
brokenbeans
Banned
My Mrs loves it when I buy games from Sainsburys must be the nectar points.
I think people calling Game out as being 'stupid' for their high prices is a little daft. Their costs are just enormous and therefore have to maintain such margins. They could cut the costs of there games to compete with online, but then in turn online retailers will probably shave more off their prices anyway.
The cost of games has gone down significantly while Game has been in business and this has affected their margins too.
Digital and online will wipe them out if they don't use their enormous high street presence to offer something new and unique to gamers that they cannot get online
The cost of games has gone down significantly while Game has been in business and this has affected their margins too.
Digital and online will wipe them out if they don't use their enormous high street presence to offer something new and unique to gamers that they cannot get online
Are you sure? Their whole business revolves around price naivety and impulse buying.
AHA-Lambda
Member
On the other hand I'm actually standing in a GAME right now and the queue is nearly out the door :/
Returns?
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