273: Confessions of a GameStop Employee - Part One

[Glic2003]

I'm glad I'm not the only one pissed off by the whole "gutting" trend.

I understand that the box contents are probably still "new" even if it's not wrapped. But what bugs me the most is that unwrapped games contribute to that nagging feeling that, when it comes to game packaging, nobody gives a shit anymore.

Forgive me if I'm being a sentimental old geezer here, but I remember when buying a game was a whole experience, and an integral part of that experience was when you walked out of the store with the shiny new box, took it home and then anxiously wrestled the shrink wrap off it so you could gaze in admiration at the care and attention to detail that went into the whole process. The game discs, the game manual(s), the catalogs from the publisher and probably at least one or two other goodies besides. I don't want to think about how much of that stuff would be missing if I bought the game in this modern "gutted" age.

I know that console gamers probably did not experience this particular golden age I'm referring to, but I've almost always been a PC gamer.

 

[Matt_LRR]

This whole argument is moot.

If you are concerned about getting a factory sealed copy of a game, politely ask the sales associate if they have a sealed copy they could sellyou instead.

If they do not, buy it somewhere else.

The author of this article is right. 95% of people buying at GS just don't care and so the guttting process is a suitable solution to serve the overwhelming majority of customers.

If you happen to fall into the minority that doesn't want your game opened, then pre-order (they don't gut pre order copies), ask for a sealed one, or go somewhere else.

Don't hang GS out to dry over it. They aren't doing it as a personal insult to you. Take some responsibility for your own shopping habits. They aren't holding a gun to your head forcing you to buy an opened game, you have the ability to refuse the sale.


-m

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

I accept the gutting issue as to me it has a sense to it. But is this just a Gamestop phenomena or common retail practice?

Gamestop's the only store I've ever seen do this, which is why it's so unacceptable to me.

 

[Smokescreen]

Sorry but this series better turn up the interesting pretty quick.

Because finding out that a crappy retail job is staffed by people who have to do work that suck and explain policies they have no control over to customers who insist that you bend over and do it there way and that almost everyone in a position of power doesn't give a fuck about the hobby we care about is...you know, every fucking job.

 

[Kyogissun]

Never really objected to gutting to be honest, if you're the last person to pick up the copy of the game, you're either A: some unlucky shmuck who was late to the punch finding out about the game or B: some douchebag who forgot to pre-order a game you wanted,

And that whole 'low gaming experience' thing is relative from gamestop to gamestop, sometimes you get a manager that's clueless about video games, other times you get one who's quite up to date and is capable of carrying a conversation, it's really (again) a matter of luck. =/

Still, very good read, I'm looking forward to the remaining parts.

 

[thublihnk]

It's pretty common knowledge that the 'gamestop dream job' isn't such a trip, that the corporate overlords are very demanding. It just gets lots of press because as they said, people are signing up for a low-stress job in the games industry when they're still in high school. Ha. Ha. No really. Heh.

No one ever interviewed me when it turned out working for Home Depot sucked.

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

you're either A: some unlucky shmuck who was late to the punch finding out about the game or B: some douchebag who forgot to pre-order a game you wanted,

Translation: Everyone who doesn't buy games on release day is either a schmuck or a douchebag.

That pretty much wins this topic, yes?

 

[Landslide]

Does anyone else feel apathetic to this plight? I embrace digital delivery. Movies, music, television, books and games. I use Amazon, Steam, Direct2Drive, Hulu, my Kindle, Netflix and iTunes extensively. The only time I buy the physical version of anything anymore is when I simply cannot find it available to purchase online, or if I want a full Blu-Ray of something. I actually get really irritated when I need the physical copy too. I don't want discs laying around, crumpled DVD sleeves, broken XBOX 360 cases, ads sheets, fliers, guest pass cards and old books lying around - or piled in neat stacks in shelves, boxes or bins.

I find the idea of having to go out to buy any kind of information-based media completely anachronistic and a waste of gasoline, plastic, paper, retail space and time.

 

[RvLeshrac]

The problem with TFA is that, contrary to "Ben's" opinion, Gamestop doesn't need to open games. They only need to have enough empty cases to cover the shelves, and can then swap out box art as is necessary. Imagine that, a way to have only a tiny number of "spare" game cases in the back of the store (5-10, to replace damaged display cases), and never open a new game.

I don't know what kind of thinking leads to "They'd need to keep one display box for every single game ever produced," but that's just idiotic.

Gutting USED games is fine, gutting NEW games is not.

And who produces said box art? It's not a small cost, especially when you factor in all games across all stores (the DS in particular has a large number of small releases); merely replacing one section and shipping it across the country is going to cost.

Publishers don't want to do it because they have bigger fish to fry (namely, the game itself), and it favors the bigger ones that are already cranking out the things for marketing to the smaller publishers (who need a higher bottom line like I need flooding in my basement). Gamestop can't or won't do it because they need to have the art given to them before the game ships, and assuming that's possible then they need to foot the bill to print it, and all of the above might not even be viable to them given the margins of new games, again especially for the smaller releases (who perhaps ironically stand the most to gain from said system). Such a system also favors fewer, larger stores as opposed to many, smaller stores (of which Gamestop is the latter).

A lot of this cost is maintaining such a system, as well - the cost of implementing a system is much higher (in both dollars and manpower).

Moreover, the fact remains that the current system works, and not enough people care for the companies to initiate sweeping changes. Plus, as someone mentioned earlier, Toys R Us had such a system in place and they *still* gutted games every now and again when it failed them.

A 1c photocopy for each new release is hardly going to break the bank.

 

[Kyogissun]

you're either A: some unlucky shmuck who was late to the punch finding out about the game or B: some douchebag who forgot to pre-order a game you wanted,

Translation: Everyone who doesn't buy games on release day is either a schmuck or a douchebag.

That pretty much wins this topic, yes?

Um, no? Plenty of games have copies available after day one. I mean, I'm guilty of having such a thing befall me. It happened when I picked up a copy of Okami way back in like... 2006 IIRC. I got the last copy a local gamestop had and again, since I was late to the punch, I got a gutted copy.

I mean come on, as long as the disc isn't scratched, the booklet isn't missing or the game case isn't damage, I don't see anything problem with getting a gutted game. And since my gutted copy was in tact completely, I didn't feel cheated.

Sounds like you're just trying to make me seem like an asshole. And since when did shmuck become an insulting word? I was always kinda under the impression it wasn't that offensive of a word, like idiot or dork or whatever...

I add the word douchebag because I'm thinking of people who again, are like me and went 'hurr durr, I'm betting they'll still have a copy of this sleeper hit of a game that had a limited first printing!' like again, with Okami. And I also add it because if you forgot about pre-ordering a game you really wanted to play and get mad at the store for giving you the gutted copy well... Yeah, you're kind of a douchebag.

You/I/We only have yourself/myself/ourselves to blame, you/I/we had your/my/our opportunities to make a pre-order but you/I/we didn't. Unless you're/I'm/we're COMPLETELY BROKE and couldn't drop 5 bucks down on it (which usually isn't THAT difficult to come upon) then you/I/we didn't want it that badly and risk getting a gutted copy.

So it's more like... Anyone who forget about a game they really wanted to the point of not pre-ordering or picking up within the first 3-4 days of its releases (5-7 if it came out prior to/right after say, pay day) then yes, you kind of a douchebag if you complain about getting a gutted copy.

Again, unless the case/booklet are terribly damaged, the disc is scratched and unplayable or you got the wrong game, people's complaints are idiotic... And the cases in which you hear about people receiving games that are in this state are usually victims of either douchebag gamestop employees or a horrible accident wherein the game itself was already poorly packaged.

Also, I'd like to point out there have been situations in the past where this didn't happen to 'just' gamestop (I.E. receiving horribly gutted copies), IIRC there was a case where some kid picked up a copy of madden from walmart and got a case with a disc full of porn on it...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.85447-Walmart-Sells-Boy-Madden-09-With-Disc-Labeled-Redneck-S-t

See? Even Escapist reported it.

tl;dr if you pick up a game wayyyyyy too late (talking like, 2-3 weeks), you shouldn't get mad if you get a near mint condition 'gutted' copy, you should just accept it and move on and if you complain, then you should have bought it elsewhere. Otherwise, you're just complaining for the sake of complaining, I.E. you're kind of a douchebag.

 

[Kyogissun]

Does anyone else feel apathetic to this plight? I embrace digital delivery. Movies, music, television, books and games. I use Amazon, Steam, Direct2Drive, Hulu, my Kindle, Netflix and iTunes extensively. The only time I buy the physical version of anything anymore is when I simply cannot find it available to purchase online, or if I want a full Blu-Ray of something. I actually get really irritated when I need the physical copy too. I don't want discs laying around, crumpled DVD sleeves, broken XBOX 360 cases, ads sheets, fliers, guest pass cards and old books lying around - or piled in neat stacks in shelves, boxes or bins.

I find the idea of having to go out to buy any kind of information-based media completely anachronistic and a waste of gasoline, plastic, paper, retail space and time.

I feel the same man, if I could buy a copy of Dead Rising 2 right now, I'd do that in a heartbeat. Moreover, I'd LOVE a digital game rental service for my Xbox/Wii/PS3 as well. Maybe Gamefly could land some kind of deal with Xbox at some point and help pioneer such a service.

I can dream, can't I?

But I think retailers are doing everything in their power to prevent such things from happening, as places like gamestop would be reduced to nothingness.

However, physical copies of guides I would never want to go the way of digital downloads and often, I'm only purchasing physical copies of games when I know I really want it, I have shelf space AND it's a special edition version of the game.

 

[DrDarkStryfe]

Gutting is fine with me. The consumer has the right to not purchase the opened title if they do not want to.

 

[gphjr14]

Thinking back to the few PS3 games I bought new (prototype,SFIV,GODIII,Uncharted2) All of them were in the case in the wrap. The gamestops in my area have like 5 boxes of each new game then behind the counter are the games unopened in drawers.

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

tl;dr if you pick up a game wayyyyyy too late (talking like, 2-3 weeks), you shouldn't get mad if you get a near mint condition 'gutted' copy, you should just accept it and move on and if you complain, then you should have bought it elsewhere. Otherwise, you're just complaining for the sake of complaining, I.E. you're kind of a douchebag.

Look, you said it, not me. I even quoted you. But you insist on changing context, so let me quote a little bit more and try again.

Never really objected to gutting to be honest, if you're the last person to pick up the copy of the game, you're either A: some unlucky shmuck who was late to the punch finding out about the game or B: some douchebag who forgot to pre-order a game you wanted,

"If You're the last person to pick up a copy of the game". Let's stop there a moment. Because since Gamestop rarely, if ever, gets more shipments of games that aren't brand-spanking new, then most of the time, all they're going to have is the gutted copy. Now, this is interesting because they'll have "new" games on their shelves that are quite old, which tells me that the gutted copy has been there for a damn long time. So maybe 99% of people AREN'T fine with gutted copies, because they don't seem to be sold that often.

So yeah, unless it's a brand new release, you're usually going to be "the last person to pick up a copy".

Second of all, Gamestop has also adopted a rather disturbing practice of gutting MULTIPLE copies of high-profile new releases (Madden, Halo, etc.), so they can put more display cases on the shelves. So you can excuse the practice of gutting one copy as "necessary", but gutting multiple copies is inexcusable. So you may not even have 2-3 weeks. You might only get 2-3 days.

So moving on from there, you're still suggesting that if you don't buy a game IMMEDIATELY (I'll back off my "release day" thing, but we're still talking within the first week at best), you're a "schmuck" (who didn't know he wanted it right away) or a "douchebag" (who "forgot to pre-order"). Do you make up your mind about every game you want before it comes out? I sure don't. There are plenty of games I'm lukewarm about on release day, only to become much more interested weeks or months later. This, by your words, makes me a schmuck. And "schmuck" is not a term of endearment, and neither is "idiot". To rephrase your comment, you're calling these people stupid.

Now, as for "buying it elsewhere", we have to address the fact that video games are just not stuffing the shelves of ANY store. So "buying it elsewhere" might be sound advice, (though from a business standpoint, it's counterproductive, more on that in a sec), but it doesn't help get me the game. I usually have to resort to buying it online, a practice I hate, not only for the wait, which is admittedly insignificant concern, but because I've had too many bad experiences with online retailers either lying about the condition or packing it badly. Then returning/exchanging becomes a nightmare.

But a place like Gamestop shouldn't be telling me to "buy it elsewhere", they should be trying harder to make sure I buy it THERE. I accept that they're not really concerned about a handful of customers who want higher quality service, but they can't be so blatantly cavalier about it. It basically sends the messages to other less-demanding customers that they know they can slack off a bit in the area of customer service simply because they can get away with it.

To be fair, I do pre-order games if I don't think I'll find them anywhere or if I know for a fact I want it on release day. And Gamestop's my first choice only for those brand new releases. If it's a game that's been out longer than 24 hours, I go elsewhere first and save GS as a last resort. But Gamestop's the most geographically convenient place for me, being walking distance from where I work, so it'd be nice if I could just hop over during lunch or right after work and not have to go a bit out of my way to a Best Buy or Wal-Mart. And what makes it worse is that in many cases, they HAVE had a game that I haven't been able to find anywhere else, but it's gutted. And of course the older the game, the more certain it is that the gutted copy is completely wrecked.

 

[Kyogissun]

"Second of all, Gamestop has also adopted a rather disturbing practice of gutting MULTIPLE copies of high-profile new releases (Madden, Halo, etc.), so they can put more display cases on the shelves. So you can excuse the practice of gutting one copy as "necessary", but gutting multiple copies is inexcusable. So you may not even have 2-3 weeks. You might only get 2-3 days"

Hmmm, weird, I've never had this happen to me but I'll take your word for it happening, I've just never seen it happen at a store I've been to. =/

Also, I never said shmuck was a term of endearment, I was just saying I didn't think it was anything to be offended by.

That all aside, I'll admit the words probably weren't the best to go by, so I'll apologize for that. I wasn't looking to describe specifically you or anyone with coherency on the internet, I'm mostly looking to direct such an attack-like post at those who can type on the internet with a format that's legible only to them and select others and the REST of us, AFTER being translated.

As per example in the article "HOW CAN THEY SELL AN OPEN COPY OF A GAME AS NEW WTFFFFFFF GAMESTOP SUX BALLZ" yeah, these kind of people, just imagine it more horribly spelled, I'm sure you get what I'm talking about.

Again, I can't say I share in your experiences though, MOST gamestops I've been to I've had pretty good service... The ones I've had the worst experiences with? Usually were ones inside shopping malls... I don't really know why either. It just seems like maybe better service is equivalent to whether the gamestop is inside of a mall or part of a set of side by side 'outside' stores.

I'm figuring you know what I mean. Those are the gamestops I've usually gone to and had good experiences with. There are policies though I wish they'd work on... Like, extending their pre-order holding policy. I wish they'd give a full week or two weeks instead of just 2-3 days.

No hard feeling after all is said and done I assume?

 

[BehattedWanderer]

I have no issue with Gamestop. None whatsoever. Not when they once sold me a $39.99 game for the high, high price of $1.43, after trading in 5 games that weren't much, and happening to come in on a random deal day. The only way they could beat that was if the game came with a sandwich. It was a sealed copy, too. Do I care about gutting? Not really, no. Though, I will admit to caring about stickers on the case. Especially if they try to remove a previous sticker, and it just leaves a mess. At least make it look decent, without covering up any text.

 

[pneuma08]

A 1c photocopy for each new release is hardly going to break the bank.

Perhaps, but it's still a non-trivial investment, and to accomplish what? Why would anyone spend a significant amount of extra time and money when 99% of people just don't care?

 

[BloodSquirrel]

A 1c photocopy for each new release is hardly going to break the bank.

Perhaps, but it's still a non-trivial investment, and to accomplish what? Why would anyone spend a significant amount of extra time and money when 99% of people just don't care?

99% of people who apparently still shop at Gamestop. Many of those people that did care just shop somewhere else.

Also, math is your friend- 1% of the profit made off of a game sale with more than a $1 markup is more than 1 cent.

It's really more accurate to just say that Gamestop doesn't care all that much about new game sales that aren't pre-orders. If you're upset about gutting, then you probably don't want to buy a used copy, meaning they don't even really want you in there.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Being someone who works in an EBgame (Australia's evuivelant. Funnily enough owned by gamestop)

There are actually some EB games here in the US. OR at least there were. An EB games near my house changed it's name to Gamestop so maybe all EBs in the US are just being called Gamestop now?

 

[p3t3r]

i don't mind gutting i mean if they give you the game the disk is fine and it has all the shit in it, then whats it matter the little sitcker is easier to get of anyways. how much of a discount do you get?