273: Confessions of a GameStop Employee - Part One
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I worked at a EB Games (Canadian Gamestop) for about 2 years, and the memories are flooding back. I actually enjoyed gutting, because it got away form the morons asking about games, or who think that I want to stand around and talk about their World of Warcraft characters.
Seriously: Guys would walk in, read your name-tag, and think you want to hear about their epic killstreak on Call of Duty last night, or every detail of your 4 hour raid. Guys, they just want to sell games. Get out of here.
I'm glad I'm done with it.
Seriously: Guys would walk in, read your name-tag, and think you want to hear about their epic killstreak on Call of Duty last night, or every detail of your 4 hour raid. Guys, they just want to sell games. Get out of here.
I'm glad I'm done with it.
I don't get it.Scott Jones said:
Why would anyone care? The disc has never been used, there's almost no potential for damage to the disc. Is this job supposed to sound bad? I worked for a mechanic shop and I don't know jack-shit about cars, and I did my job just fine. It's not their job to sell what is "good", they sell what people want and make money. Of course a lot of them don't give a crap about video games personally, they're a business. Almost no one does what they really love to do as work. This is like every single other company ever.
Personally, I've no problem with gutting. Then again, the folk at the Gamestops in my area actually do it properly and give you the rest of the stuff that comes in the case along with the disc. They also tend to actually be gamers that I can get into actual discussions with regarding the stuff I'm buying.
Gutting is just one of the myriad reasons I don't shop at Gamestop - not the most important reason mind you, as that would be "they don't carry any damn games for my platform (PC)", but paying for new software that's already been handled and is therefore "used" is rather onerous. So let's review - if I (try to) buy games at Gamestop, I'm going to be badgered about memberships/subscriptions that are completely useless to me, probably waste my damn time because there won't even be any copies of what I want in stock, or if there are I'll be sold an opened copy where they've placed the install media in a bloody cardboard sleeve.
Alternately I could just go to the Best Buy across the street where they will have brand new unopened copies of whatever it is that I want, which I can take to the counter and purchase. Funny how that works.
Alternately I could just go to the Best Buy across the street where they will have brand new unopened copies of whatever it is that I want, which I can take to the counter and purchase. Funny how that works.
I can't speak for others, but I make it a point to put the DLC code in the sleeve with the gutted disc.Doughboy0 said:
And as others said, a new hire would get that kind of bitchwork.
Sealed =/= new. Buy the time you get the disc was probably burned in Mexico weeks if not months ahead of the release date. Several people have already handled the game/case before you get it. The game itself doesn't do anything less because its been opened.
Really don't matter either way to me I hardly buy games brand new as there's hardly any that warrant paying full price for. Its funny seeing fools on ebay bidding more for a game just because its "sealed". Unless you're gonna take the game and not play it and just keep it with the hope it'll become so rare its value will increase; you're just wasting your money.
Really don't matter either way to me I hardly buy games brand new as there's hardly any that warrant paying full price for. Its funny seeing fools on ebay bidding more for a game just because its "sealed". Unless you're gonna take the game and not play it and just keep it with the hope it'll become so rare its value will increase; you're just wasting your money.
Wow. I knew that people in general were stupid, but I never knew that so many were dumb enough to just happily pay full price for a used, gutted game which is clearly not new once you remove the shrink wrap. Why the hell anyone would accept that when you can go to any of the other stores that carry games and are franchised like GameStop (Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc) is beyond me... Man people are dumb.
And if you actually get a clean disc with no damage to the box or manual AND all of the DLC codes in the box and haven't been used yet, congratulations, you seem to have found the one GameStop on the planet that doesn't suck as much as the others.
Okay, go buy any new game from any other store, take off the shrink wrap, and try to return it and see if they think it's still new. HINT: They don't, because it's not. Even if you get a shrink wrapped copy at GameStop, they won't take it back under a return policy if you remove said shrink wrap. Hypocrisy much? You'd sell an opened game as new, you should return an opened game as well. Hell, unless they do something special to say you bought the gutted copy, you might not even be able to return that because it's got no shrink wrap.Infernoshadow211 said:
And if you actually get a clean disc with no damage to the box or manual AND all of the DLC codes in the box and haven't been used yet, congratulations, you seem to have found the one GameStop on the planet that doesn't suck as much as the others.
I hope the later installments are more revealing.
I figured all this already.
I can tell the hiring practice isn?t very stringent just going by how many times I?ve had to wait 15 mins for a 3 person deep line, when the case has been handed back to me with the wrong (or no) game in it, or because the clerk keeps trying to sell me magazine subscriptions and pre-orders for games coming out next year even though I?ve already put my headphones back on.
And the whole gutting thing doesn?t work. I might stop theft but once the cases are out there they seem pretty useless. If I bring the case to the counter, I get the game in some generic case anyway. That is, if they have any copies left. Given the formula here, if a case is on the shelf the game should be in stock.
What?s next week?s big story going to be: they only sell new games to pre-orderers so people will give them money months ahead of time and so that when they start getting traded in a week later, customers will have to buy a used copy for $2 less than the new price? That scheme is pretty obvious too.
I understand how Gamestop operates and makes it's massive income. I just don't understand why gamers fall for it. Not just fall for it but become loyal fanboys of sorts begging for the opportunity to pay in full a game they wont see for 6 months or get $20 credit for a game they bought for $60 2 weeks ago.
How about Confessions of a Gamestop Fanboy. That I'm much more curious about.
I figured all this already.
I can tell the hiring practice isn?t very stringent just going by how many times I?ve had to wait 15 mins for a 3 person deep line, when the case has been handed back to me with the wrong (or no) game in it, or because the clerk keeps trying to sell me magazine subscriptions and pre-orders for games coming out next year even though I?ve already put my headphones back on.
And the whole gutting thing doesn?t work. I might stop theft but once the cases are out there they seem pretty useless. If I bring the case to the counter, I get the game in some generic case anyway. That is, if they have any copies left. Given the formula here, if a case is on the shelf the game should be in stock.
What?s next week?s big story going to be: they only sell new games to pre-orderers so people will give them money months ahead of time and so that when they start getting traded in a week later, customers will have to buy a used copy for $2 less than the new price? That scheme is pretty obvious too.
I understand how Gamestop operates and makes it's massive income. I just don't understand why gamers fall for it. Not just fall for it but become loyal fanboys of sorts begging for the opportunity to pay in full a game they wont see for 6 months or get $20 credit for a game they bought for $60 2 weeks ago.
How about Confessions of a Gamestop Fanboy. That I'm much more curious about.
Game stop employees don't need to be video game fans, they just need to know how to process the customers purchases. Display boxes being empty is a good policy to have. I honestly expect any display boxes to be empty as common sense. In any case most people I know wont want to buy the last copy of a game put on display even if it is unopened. Something about having it out there up front makes it seem less fresh.
I really dont have a problem with Gamestop. Ive bought from them in the past, though these days I usually just grab a game off of Amazon and wait a day or so for it to arrive at my door step.
I really dont have a problem with Gamestop. Ive bought from them in the past, though these days I usually just grab a game off of Amazon and wait a day or so for it to arrive at my door step.
As someone who hates hates HATES HATES Gamestop's policy of gutting new games, it was nice to see it from an employee's perspective, but I read nothing but flimsy excuses and gross exaggerations meant to make the solutions far more difficult and "convoluted" than it really would be.
There's no excuse for gutting new games. NONE. I don't want to hear about costs or time or space, because anyone with half a brain can figure out solutions to all of those. Gamestop isn't even trying. New game sales are clearly an afterthought for them anyway, as they spend most of their efforts pushing used game sales on us. No Gamestop employee has ever pushed a new game on me, aside from harassing me about whether I want to pre-order something (I don't); in fact, quite the opposite: when I ask for a game, they automatically start digging around in the used drawer, and when I point out that I want it new, they give me a wicked attitude, either like I'm inconveniencing them, or that I'm a moron for paying $5 extra for a game that hasn't been mauled by a 12 year old.
I also flat out refuse gutted copies, which all told severely limits what I can buy at Gamestop, since the only games they ever seem to have new (ie "sealed") copies of are brand new releases. Everything else, all they have laying around are the gutted display copies. Even if they do have sealed copies, more than once they've STILL tried to sell me the gutted copy. I have to say "I want a sealed one, I know you have one, I saw it in the drawer." And again, more attitude. I don't care that you think I'm an obsessive wack job. I am absolutely an obsessive wack job. But your job is to sell me video games, so GET OVER IT, smile, and do your goddamn job.
Now, since the only games I can buy there are brand new releases, I'd say that more than 90% of my games are bought elsewhere. Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, even K-Mart. They've all got this figured out, but a store DEDICATED TO GAMING can't figure out how to sell new video games honestly.
EDIT: I should point out that the reason I'm opposed to gutted copies is because most Gamestop employees are exceedingly careless when handling discs. I watch them when they "examine" my trade-ins (something which must be for show...they don't actually look at the disc long enough to notice anything beyond a disc-length gash or crack). I've examined display copies of games I simply can't find anywhere else, and they're dirty, dusty, almost always covered in fine scratches and/or fingerprints, and occasionally have a few more serious scratches as well. This is as often because of the cheap paper sleeves as from the employee's own carelessness.
Not to mention that we all know about how some less scrupulous employees "borrow" games from the store's stock. I know this practice has been outlawed, but I'm also certain it still happens. When display copies of games look as used as some of the ones I've seen, it's hard to believe otherwise.
So sure, some display copies will be in perfect shape, but many MANY of them won't be, and I'm not interested in closely examining every game before I buy it. Just sell it to me sealed and that problem's taken care of.
There's no excuse for gutting new games. NONE. I don't want to hear about costs or time or space, because anyone with half a brain can figure out solutions to all of those. Gamestop isn't even trying. New game sales are clearly an afterthought for them anyway, as they spend most of their efforts pushing used game sales on us. No Gamestop employee has ever pushed a new game on me, aside from harassing me about whether I want to pre-order something (I don't); in fact, quite the opposite: when I ask for a game, they automatically start digging around in the used drawer, and when I point out that I want it new, they give me a wicked attitude, either like I'm inconveniencing them, or that I'm a moron for paying $5 extra for a game that hasn't been mauled by a 12 year old.
I also flat out refuse gutted copies, which all told severely limits what I can buy at Gamestop, since the only games they ever seem to have new (ie "sealed") copies of are brand new releases. Everything else, all they have laying around are the gutted display copies. Even if they do have sealed copies, more than once they've STILL tried to sell me the gutted copy. I have to say "I want a sealed one, I know you have one, I saw it in the drawer." And again, more attitude. I don't care that you think I'm an obsessive wack job. I am absolutely an obsessive wack job. But your job is to sell me video games, so GET OVER IT, smile, and do your goddamn job.
Now, since the only games I can buy there are brand new releases, I'd say that more than 90% of my games are bought elsewhere. Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, even K-Mart. They've all got this figured out, but a store DEDICATED TO GAMING can't figure out how to sell new video games honestly.
EDIT: I should point out that the reason I'm opposed to gutted copies is because most Gamestop employees are exceedingly careless when handling discs. I watch them when they "examine" my trade-ins (something which must be for show...they don't actually look at the disc long enough to notice anything beyond a disc-length gash or crack). I've examined display copies of games I simply can't find anywhere else, and they're dirty, dusty, almost always covered in fine scratches and/or fingerprints, and occasionally have a few more serious scratches as well. This is as often because of the cheap paper sleeves as from the employee's own carelessness.
Not to mention that we all know about how some less scrupulous employees "borrow" games from the store's stock. I know this practice has been outlawed, but I'm also certain it still happens. When display copies of games look as used as some of the ones I've seen, it's hard to believe otherwise.
So sure, some display copies will be in perfect shape, but many MANY of them won't be, and I'm not interested in closely examining every game before I buy it. Just sell it to me sealed and that problem's taken care of.
I can't wait to hear about trade in's and what the deal is with used dvd's. My one Gamestop moment is when I purchased a copy of The Warriors for Xbox because my PS2 had broken down and I was foolish enough to not ask if it was 360 compatible but I thought some time later that if I asked the employee who helped me and the manager based on Scott's article would most likely tell me they don't know. That Gamestop is closed btw.
Thanks for sharing. It's interesting for me, I simply don't care about shrink wrap, and never really noticed it before?although I've bought new boxes from GameStop with the wrap still on. Maybe only for pre-orders though?
Here in Rhode Island, it's very hard to get GameStop jobs, especially post-EB.I know several experienced retailers who have been rejected, gamers, college students, etc.
On the other hand, it's nice to see and talk to people who know what they're doing.
Here in Rhode Island, it's very hard to get GameStop jobs, especially post-EB.I know several experienced retailers who have been rejected, gamers, college students, etc.
On the other hand, it's nice to see and talk to people who know what they're doing.
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.
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.
