GameStop - WTF?!

[ChoiceStriker]

Unbelievable.

 

I just got back from GameStop, where I tried to buy a copy of Gitaroo Man (my girlfriend really likes 326, the artist who designed the characters). Anyway, GameStop had a "NEW" copy for $19.99 on the shelf, so I brought it to the counter to purchase it.

 

The clerk swipes my credit card and prints the receipt before I can even see the game, but I don't sign it yet. She turns around and starts digging through the games in the little sleeves, so I immediately know it's already been opened. This happened to me the other day when I wanted to buy Bombastic, but I was okay with that because I was having a really hard time finding a copy, and everything (cover insert, instructions, game disc) was present and in perfectly new condition).

 

Well, when she finally finds the game and sticks it in the case that I took straight off the shelf, the first thing I do is open it and look at the disc itself. Fingerprints and specks of stuff all over it. Definitely NOT new. Then I ask if there are instructions for it. Nope. There's not even a full cover insert, for Christ's sake, and the half of it that is there looks like it's been printed off a crappy inkjet printer. And she was going to sell this to me as NEW!

 

Needless to say, I didn't buy the thing. But my card was still charged and I have to wait for the transaction to be voided out. This really pisses me off! How the hell can they sell me something that's obviously been used, at a new price, without all the parts even being there! This has to be illegal! I realize they just settled a class action lawsuit for this practice, but they're obviously still doing this.

 

Sorry, I just had to vent. Also, they pissed me off recently by trying to tell me they wouldn't take back a used SNES I bought but never even took out of the shrink wrap. I got my money back, but Jesus, what kind of fucking store refuses to take back an UNOPENED item?!

[merlot]

Wasn't there a recent lawsuit (which they lost) against them for doing extactly that?

[Sam P]

Don't want to comment on the supposedly used copy of Gitaroo Man, but you conveniently left out how long you kept the SNES for - a month, a year, a decade?

 

If you kept it longer than 14 days at the EB games where I work, we most likely won't take it back - unopened or not. It says it on the receipt.

[Sam P]

Actually, I do want to comment on the "USED" issue. There's a fine line between games being "USED" and them being opened.

 

At EB games, there is always a display copy for every game.

 

Say we get a shipment of game X, totalling 10 items.

 

We will put nine away into the back, and leave one out for people to look at on the floor. However, the Disc is removed (obviously for theft reasons).

 

Now, after we sell the 9 copies we had in the back and only 1 is left, that one gets sold when someone brings it to the register. The Disc is taken from the sleeve and sold to the customer.

 

Has the game been played? Nope.

 

Has the game been sold to someone else? Nope.

 

Is the game USED? Depends on how you define used.

 

When you go to a clothing store, how do you know the pair of jeans you're buying hasn't been tried on?

 

When you take delivery of a supposedly "NEW" car, why don't you reject it because it has 50 delivery miles on it?

 

I really don't see any reason to be so pissed. If you don't like buying opened boxes, tell the clerk next time.

 

"If it's an opened box, I don't want it. Thanks"

 

How hard was that?

[Chatakinns]

Or another alternative is not to shop there anymore. Shop where you can buy your game in a sealed box. Like Toys R Us, Walmart or Target.

 

I understand why you are upset. But unless you shop somewhere else, this is going to keep happening. :?

[ChoiceStriker]

I can understand the question of whether something is "used." And as I mentioned in my first post, I am perfectly okay with getting a display copy provided everything is all there and in good condition. But when you try to sell me a game as "new" when it is obviously NOT new, you had better fucking well have the entire package and it had better be in new condition. THAT is what pissed me off more than anything.

 

Re: The SNES I bought... I had it for less than a week. Probably around three to four days. I was just pissed at the way I was being treated like I was trying to scam them. Can you imagine going somewhere like Wal-Mart and being treated that way when you tried to return an unopened item?

[JTello]

-Also, the clerk could have headed off his issues with the game if she had mentioned the circumstances of his puchasing and open/new game BEFORE running his card. I've bought a couple of games under the same circumstances at gamestop, but the clerk was always kind enough to explain that it was a new/opened game, and then asked if I'd like to check it out before the purchase. This small gesture averted a potential hassle for both I and the clerk.

[Camp]

Your case is a bit different than a new game disc that's been used in a store demo. The fact that the package looked bad and the disc wasn't in new condition are inexcusable. At my store we'll open any new game you want prior to buying. We'll let you test it out and see what you think. We do our best to keep the disc and packaging looking new but unless we accidentally damage something you can bet I'm selling that "new" opened game as new. That said, we're very fair about offering discounts if the disc or package suffered some sort of accidental damage.

 

Needless to say, I didn't buy the thing. But my card was still charged and I have to wait for the transaction to be voided out.

 

Yikes. Never, ever leave the store until the void is complete. If they tell you they can't perform a void make them do a refund. The last thing you want is to trust your credit card to some clerk.

 

what kind of fucking store refuses to take back an UNOPENED item?!

 

Did you have a receipt for the SNES? If not, you shouldn't be surprised.

[ChoiceStriker]

Camp:

They did the void while I was there; I just meant that it's frustrating to have to wait for the refund to show up on my bank account again.

 

And yes, I did have the receipt for the SNES. I wouldn't have been the least bit surprised at the way they treated me if I didn't have it.

 

At my store

So do you work for a GameStop or is it a different store?

[Graeme]

We'll let you test it out and see what you think.

 

And as was discussed in the last topic on this, many of the people here would then consider that game used, and not expect to pay the new price.

 

Then I ask if there are instructions for it. Nope. There's not even a full cover insert, for Christ's sake, and the half of it that is there looks like it's been printed off a crappy inkjet printer.

 

This sounds like you took up some sort of display/coming soon box, and perhaps the clerk was too dumb to realise it.

[heavy liquid]

I've gotten the "This game was gutted for display" story as well.

I think if a game has been opened for display purchases, it should be sold at some kind of discount. Even if it's in perfect shape. Just like items that were display models at Best Buy or wherever.

[adamsappel]

Considering a game that's genuinely "used" is only $5 off $50/$40 or $2 off $20, even if it looks like it was dragged behind a truck, it would be nice if EB Games took an extra $1 off their new display copies.

[Graeme]

Do you guys ask for a discount off your pants at the Gap because they've been "used"?

[Robot Monkey]

I think a distinction here is that the game Eickhorst looked at lacked instructions, an insert and appeared dirty.

 

For that, specifically, yes, I would expect a discount or clear notice that the game is being sold in that state.

 

-j

[Camp]

I think if a game has been opened for display purchases, it should be sold at some kind of discount. Even if it's in perfect shape. Just like items that were display models at Best Buy or wherever.

 

&

 

And as was discussed in the last topic on this, many of the people here would then consider that game used, and not expect to pay the new price.

 

Pardon me but that's simply ridiculous. If both disc and package are in perfect shape you still expect a discount? Follow that logic to conclusion for me because I don't get it.

 

When you buy a car do you get it at the used price because someone else test drove it?

When you buy clothes do you get it at a discounted rate because someone else tried it on?

 

We provide a cool service where we'll open any game and let you try it out. The cost of that service is that you pay the prices we set (as with any store). You can expect a perfectly undamaged product in return. If the disc is accidentally scuffed up or the manual bent we certainly will adjust the price but 99% of the time the only thing missing is the security sticker from the DVD case.

 

This is totally different than display items at Best Buy because the only people allowed to touch the games are the people responsible for making sure they are in good shape (i.e. the employees). If I put a display disc on the counter and let any Joe pop it in the Xbox then, sure, I could see discounting the price.

[Graeme]

I agree with you Camp, but I know many won't.

[adamsappel]

I don't personally care about getting the "used" new game, but the examples being given aren't comparable. A game is sealed in its packaging, cars and clothes aren't. If gamestores would just take $1 off the price, there would be no reason for complaints. Gamestop's legal difficulty came not from selling display copies that were opened to prevent theft, but selling games that had been purchased and returned as "new".

[Sam P]

Originally posted by adamsappel@Sep 4 2003, 01:00 AM

I don't personally care about getting the "used" new game, but the examples being given aren't comparable. A game is sealed in its packaging, cars and clothes aren't. If gamestores would just take $1 off the price, there would be no reason for complaints. Gamestop's legal difficulty came not from selling display copies that were opened to prevent theft, but selling games that had been purchased and returned as "new".

I think that's the key there.

 

While I do agree largely with the argument that clothes and cars are sold as is, it is generally understood that with games you are paying for a sealed item.

 

That's the general expectation from the customer, because 99% of electronic retail outlets provide games/ DVDs in sealed boxes.

 

Believe it or not, there are people out there who don't want to pay full price for a game which comes in a dusty, dirty box that's been on display for who knows how long, nevermind how good a condition the Disc and Manual are in.

 

It would probably take a psychologist to articulate thorougly why this matters to some people, but I think I have a reasonable grasp of it. For the following discussion, assume that both the game disc and the documentation are present and in "new" condition.

 

There is a certain pleasure associated with opening a sealed good to reveal a fresh, unmolested item. I might be crazy, but I take significant satisfaction in removing the shrink / plastic wrap, unlatching the stiff plastic case, and popping out the untouched disc. It's not unlike breaking-in a new car (cars take anywhere from 1000 kms to 5000 kms to break-in, so the 50 or so original kms from the dealer doesn't count), or cracking open a new hardcover book to loosen the spine. You've just spent 80 dollars of your hard earned cash on a game, so why not savour the entire experience?

 

Of course, this does not mean I have a problem with buying games that have had their cases on display (provided they meet the conditions we've stated). I'll gladly purchase it.

 

I'm just trying to shed light on why I think the plastic wrap does matter, for some anyway, because others here appear really perplexed.

 

Have a nice day.