274: Confessions of a GameStop Employee - Part Two

[Dorkmaster Flek]

Wow.. Is it just me or does 'Ben' kinda come of like a dick in this article?

Yeah, and I would be too if I had to deal with the morons that frequent Gamestop. Reading about the state that most games are in when people bring them in is depressing. Who the hell takes that terrible care of their shit? Apparently lots of people. I pride myself on taking care of my shit. My games go back in the case when I'm finished playing, even just for the night. I have ancient PS1 games that are still in good condition. If I bothered to get a working PS1, they would still play. No case or manual at all, and the disc is scratched to all hell? There is no fucking excuse for that shit. Ever.

Take care of the shit you own. That's just a general rule; it's not unique to games. How you treat the shit you own says a lot about you, and people (like me) will judge you all to hell for it.

 

[2xDouble]

Worst case scenario: Sure, you might only get $1 for your mint-condition copy of FIFA: Street, but that's more than anyone else in their right mind would ever give you for it.

Yep, there is no other way for anybody anywhere to sell their games. If only somebody would invent some magical place where they could communicate with everyone they could ever want to, all over the world. Maybe with a series of tubes.

Right, but even the mighty internets can't sell a two or three year old game when there's last year's version for $20 or less, this year's version is already out, and next year's version is coming out in 3-4 months. Especially if its in the shitty condition he's described.

What? Think you're getting examples confused.

The key words there are especially (even more so under conditions) and if (in the case of). The worthless title is worth even less (negative credit or far more difficult to unload) in poor condition, as mentioned in the previous example (aka. the entire first page). Does that help/make more sense now?

 

[GonzoGamer]

Wow.. Is it just me or does 'Ben' kinda come of like a dick in this article?

Trust me, its justified. You'd be amazed at how many people rent a game/movie in brand new condition, and when they return it it looks like it just aged 5 years.

I'd have long conversations with co-workers speculating at what people do with these games. Is it so fucking hard to just keep them on a shelf with the manual inside the case?

Working in retail does this to you. It chips away at your psyche, gradually turning you more into a bitter husk of what you once were.

Is it just me or do all gamestop employees seem like dicks?

Dealing with the average customer will turn you into a dick. Every single thing he described is what he has to put up with every day.

If customers want people in retail to stop being dicks, then perhaps they should stop acting like self-absorbed, know it all assholes.

Yea, normally but they only have to deal with the suckers who shop at gamestop. More stupid, probably, but they're also easier to pull one over on...obviously.
I'll admit, the few times I shopped there, I turned into a dick but at least I turned into a dick that was trying to move things along. For example every time the clerk tried selling me some magazine subscription or a preorder for a game that was supposed to be coming out in 14 months, I try to make the line behind me a shorter wait by putting my headphones on and turning the volume up until it's clear I'm not listening to the sales pitch. At that point, they usually stop and just ring up my purchase.

Maybe just being inside a gamestop can turn an ordinary person into a dick. Maybe the whole corporation is powered by an Infinite Imprickability Drive. It would explain things.

 

[tman_au]

Ben needs to do some growing up. Language mate, language tsk tsk tsk! I work in the IT industry and I see some pretty dreadful things myself, but I laugh about it, no need to get upset. Yes, customers/clients can be annoying, but I wouldn't take it so personal, because GameStop still make a killing off the rubbish people sell.
As an Aussie gamer I find these franchises lacking quite a bit of ethics. They buy junk for a dollar, then sell it off in one of their "pre-owned specials" for $25. Then new releases can cost anywhere between $89-130 for PC, although AUD is close to parity with USD. Blatant rip off's! If I were an employee of these major game franchises, I'd be complaining about that.

I personally have found other outlets that give better value, service and pricing for new and second hand games. These outlets are nowhere near as big and yet they can give me close to US pricing on new releases and Collectors Editions, so what does that say about the big players?

 

[Orekoya]

Worst case scenario: Sure, you might only get $1 for your mint-condition copy of FIFA: Street, but that's more than anyone else in their right mind would ever give you for it.

Yep, there is no other way for anybody anywhere to sell their games. If only somebody would invent some magical place where they could communicate with everyone they could ever want to, all over the world. Maybe with a series of tubes.

Right, but even the mighty internets can't sell a two or three year old game when there's last year's version for $20 or less, this year's version is already out, and next year's version is coming out in 3-4 months. Especially if its in the shitty condition he's described.

What? Think you're getting examples confused.

The key words there are especially (even more so under conditions) and if (in the case of). The worthless title is worth even less (negative credit or far more difficult to unload) in poor condition, as mentioned in the previous example (aka. the entire first page). Does that help/make more sense now?

Okay okay okay, back up. Let's recap: Ben said at the end that games in low demand, even in excellent quality, won't sell to anybody better than what Gamestop would give you, I replied that you should try the internet for selling your mint quality games instead of going to Gamestop in a sarcastic manner, you replied if the games are as poor quality as Ben described they won't sell even on the internet. I asked if you were getting examples confused, and you reply in a manner than implies that you are getting examples confused.

I guess it made sense to me?

 

[FURY_007]

Ugh, Ben I feel you. I feel like different retail stores have varying levels of customer stupidity, like I work at a UPS Store, and most of the people are regulars/businessmen who know what to do, but still like 30% don't understand that shit costs money, i.e. "you cant ship this 60 pound thing for like 20 bucks?" and packing, "Oh you cant wrap these 15 things of (insert fragile stuff here)in bubble wrap and peanuts and put it in a brand new box for 10 bucks?" Most of the time After I explain they're like oh ok, but when customers start arguing/getting uppity its like why the fuck did you come here then?

Also I had someone question how long I've been working here because he came like a half hour before we close and our UPS ground pickup comes like an hour to an hour and a half before we close, and he's like oh its always been this time I've been coming here for a while, How long have you been working here, I'm like I've been here for 3 years, way to insult me, and by extension my boss for hiring an idiot lol, (thats what was in my mind)but he started arguing with me I was like its always been the same time! lol

TL, DR: Retail Sucks, unless you own the business, I kind of enjoy it for the human interaction, but If it was my career then I'd die because there'd be too many idiots for me too handle, but it does give you supreme patience/understanding when you're at a business, and employees do appreciate you for it, (as well as I do when I'm working).

 

[Cosplay Horatio]

I used to work at a video store so I dealt with movies and video games. Basically before the store got it's own disc resurfacing machine we'd get Game CD's and DVD's with smudges, scratches, spots, stains, marker lines, and streaks from the home version resurfacing machines which are a lie and should never be purchased or used cuz they destroy your discs even if they're opaque. When games are rented out we wonder why some customers never return the game manuals and end up charging them if they don't return it. Sometimes customers break the disc because they just grab hold of the edge and rip it out without pressing or holding the center button first.

I've learned to keep my discs clean and free of scratches as well as learning how to properly remove them from the cases and keep them stored to have them last for a lifetime. I bet if I go to my storage box right now and pull a game box it will be in top condition.

I do have one question. How well is a Game Stop employees knowledge of what Xbox, PSOne and PS2 games are compatable with the 360 and PS3 systems?

 

[Matt_LRR]

I do have one question. How well is a Game Stop employees knowledge of what Xbox, PSOne and PS2 games are compatable with the 360 and PS3 systems?

Almost non-existent, unless they've tried to do it with that particular game themselves.

-m

 

[2xDouble]

Okay okay okay, back up. Let's recap: Ben said at the end that games in low demand, even in excellent quality, won't sell to anybody better than what Gamestop would give you, I replied that you should try the internet for selling your mint quality games instead of going to Gamestop in a sarcastic manner, you replied if the games are as poor quality as Ben described they won't sell even on the internet. I asked if you were getting examples confused, and you reply in a manner than implies that you are getting examples confused.

I guess it made sense to me?

OK, shorter answer:
Confused? No. Combined.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury:
Poor condition games will not sell.
Excellent condition, but outdated games will not sell.
A=C & B=C, therefore A*B=C[sup]2[/sup].
Outdated games in poor condition will sell less than either.
The internet is a great tool for worldwide sales, but is not all-powerful.

Spoiler: This is Chewbacca.

Thank you.

 

[justjrandomuser]

While I do understand his contempt for the condition of the games people trade in, I must admit that I am confused by the fact that he does not seem to understand why. Is he assuming that the average game is some single male in their 20's living alone? Games get scratched for various reasons not the least of which is children and room mates. You can be as meticulous as you like but more often than not someone will take the disc out of a machine and set it somewhere other than its case. From there its a downhill slide.

The same thing goes for the instructions. They get taken out and thumbed through or torn. Unless are a very fastidious obsessive person or you live in situation where you are the only person with access to the media, then life will happen. I understand the feeling of, "How can people pay $60.00 for something and let it get torn up?" Just understand most people aren't using the discs as Frisbees and the manuals as toilet paper... most of them anyway.

 

[Cosplay Horatio]

I do have one question. How well is a Game Stop employees knowledge of what Xbox, PSOne and PS2 games are compatable with the 360 and PS3 systems?

Almost non-existent, unless they've tried to do it with that particular game themselves.

-m

That's a shame. I've got a copy of The Warriors for Xbox and can't play it. My fault for being it's fan and not researching it's compatability and my PS2 cinderblock is now just a plastic cinderblock.

 

[Ridrith]

I don't ever trade my used games in anymore, I think the value on used games is far too low. It's a waste, really. Actually it might just be the fact that I was ripped off. Basically a few months ago I turned over fourteen Xbox 360 titles, all with cases, with manuals (except for two of them), and all in very good condition. Games are too expensive to throw around and muck up plus I actually care about the stuff that I purchase. Anyways, some of the titles I handed in were Halo: ODST, Halo 3 collectors edition (with all the tidbits and manuals still in the steel-case), and multiple others. Most of which were pretty new and decent games. I wasn't turning in bargin-bin stuff.

How much store credit did I get? 165 dollars worth.

Worse yet, weeks later I went in with my friend who turned in five-six ps2 games, and ended up getting 116 dollars in store credit. I kind of just looked at the guy for a moment before coming to the conclusion that I'd never be coming to the store again.

 

[IckleMissMayhem]

At least Gamestop do the refurb on used games BEFORE they sell them on. And don't appear to have the cheek to try and charge customers for a repair to a faulty game they've been sold, unlike a certain well-known store in the UK.

As for me, I take care of my games, and I'm not daft enough to lend them to other people. Hell, I have a minor s**t-fit if the boyfriend leaves discs out of their cases, or, heaven forbid!!!! puts the wrong disc in the wrong box...

[sub][sub]What?! I don't have OCD, I just take good care of my stuff![/sub][/sub]

 

[BehattedWanderer]

I've never had bad used copies from my Gamestop...

And nice tip with the disc. Does that work for Bluray, I wonder?

And I've always understood why the trade in value is dirt low for old games...because Gamestop wants to make a profit, and no one is going to buy your damn copy of Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad.

They gave me $13 for the sister to that game, the Bikini Zombie Slayers. I stared at the guy as if he had misplaced his brain, offering me $13 for a game that I picked out of a bin. Though, I can proudly say that every game I've ever traded in had manual and a good condition disc. One or two cracks in cases, here or there, but that was how I picked them up, and that's how they traded over.

 

[Eri]

this article makes it absolutely clear that the guy writing it is one of those insufferable douchebags.

This part shows you have zero clue what you are babbling about. Try working in retail. It IS this miserable. And people who claim that the retail salesmen(Who have worked there for years) are the jerks, is just hilarious.

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

this article makes it absolutely clear that the guy writing it is one of those insufferable douchebags.

This part shows you have zero clue what you are babbling about. Try working in retail. It IS this miserable. And people who claim that the retail salesmen(Who have worked there for years) are the jerks, is just hilarious.

Try reading more posts. I worked at a supermarket for years. This guy's still a douchebag.

 

[DMonkey]

"Funny how games have matured as a medium, yet most of the people who play them have not."

I LOVE this line.

And agree on his position on people not taking care of games. Take the game out, let the manual fall where ever it wants to, to migrate, and join its manual brothers under the sofa. They take the game they were playing, and set it label side down on whatever flat(ish) surface nearby. Sometimes right on top of a case.

 

[L3D]

Good article again, not as interesting as the first one was, but that's just because the issue here is a no brainer. However, the comments here calling Ben names, makes me see that people just don't get it.

A scratched game with missing manuals is like delicious cupcake, that has been dropped to the ground. It might still be edible, but only if you are starving or get it dirt cheap.

 

[VampiresDontSparkle]

And is there anyone who doesn't know how "resurfacing" works? They literally sand down the surface of the disc. Obviously it's not something you can do probably more than once to any disc. And yet they still grin as if a resurfaced disc is "good as new". It's not. Its lifespan has been cut off at the knees. The next scratch your disc gets will probably make it inoperable.

I'm sure the customer can be satisfied with that, seeing as they're buying a used game.

 

[VampiresDontSparkle]

Double post. Damn.