274: Confessions of a GameStop Employee - Part Two
- Thread starter Scott Jones
- Start date
I hate to admit it, but my manuals, i usually take out and read, and then they wind up in the trash by mistake, but I take better care of my games now than I did when I was 12.
I've got a collection of 20 games worth $100 or more. I plan to have at least 100 at the end of my journey.
My gf wonders why I drop so much on Saturn, PS1, and Dreamcast games. I let her know that new games cost $60 now but will go down in price, while these games cost $100-$200 and won't go down any time soon. Better to get them before someone else.
My gf wonders why I drop so much on Saturn, PS1, and Dreamcast games. I let her know that new games cost $60 now but will go down in price, while these games cost $100-$200 and won't go down any time soon. Better to get them before someone else.
I can't blame him for sounding so frustrated and angry, honestly. I imagine he (and most other Gamestop employees) have to tell people about why their old and destroyed games are worth so little MANY times a day. Trust me, when you're asked to explain something that should already be common sense for the thousandth time (in a week), it's hard to sound cheerful, especially when the person you're talking to is acting hostile or confrontational. Yeah, I know, if you're working in customer service you're SUPPOSED to be friendly and helpful to customers at all times (I've worked retail AND manager positions, though obviously not at Gamestop), but it's incredibly hard to keep smiling when the person you're talking to is treating you like dirt or appears to be thinking you're trying to screw them over.
My personal opinion regarding trade-ins is that I'm not using the game. Like, at all. Sure I could maybe sell them on eBay or whatever for a bit more, but that's work, and takes a while, and I'm lazy and demand instant gratification. Ergo, whatever value I can get for it for the work I'm willing to put into it is what it's worth. Better a buck than gathering dust and taking up space on my DVD shelf.
My personal opinion regarding trade-ins is that I'm not using the game. Like, at all. Sure I could maybe sell them on eBay or whatever for a bit more, but that's work, and takes a while, and I'm lazy and demand instant gratification. Ergo, whatever value I can get for it for the work I'm willing to put into it is what it's worth. Better a buck than gathering dust and taking up space on my DVD shelf.
Oh dear, I almost broke out into tears when my Left 4 Dead 2 disc cracked. I keep all my games organized, put away, and my brother decides to take them off the shelf and (presumably) roll over all the boxes with a tank.
Yeah, we have one of those where I work. As a result, we can trade in way many more games than if we didn't have one. Ours is a pretty powerful beast, but put a game in more than three times on a heavy setting (8 minutes), and you start erasing the layers with game data on them.darthcendiarygrenade said:
We get our fair share of pre-owned crap, perhaps not as dramatically described by Ben, but on the whole, customers are generally quite good about this sort of thing in my neck of the woods. We never, ever accept something that won't repair in the disc machine, and rarely accept laser-burnt discs 'cause they take so many cycles to resurface, and sometimes it's a wasted effort.
It's really not difficult to look after games, though. Easy enough to put it back in the box if it's not being played.
I absolutely LOVE when people think FIFA 2005 on PS2 has a high value, and are amazed when I explain it trades in at one pence. A lot of people make the mis-assumption that the better-kept a game, the more value it carries (this may be true in independant companies, but not where I work). Whilst I wish this were true, the tills have a set price for each individual game regardless of condition, so imagine the surprise of customers getting £1 for their sealed copy of High School Musical.
Who trades games in? If I was going to get rid of my games I wouldn't go to a store like Gamestop, I'd either sell them online (ebay for example) or at a garage sale, you'll get more for the bloody things!
All my games are in perfect or near perfect condition (notable exception, my copy of Fable 2 got mulched by a idiot child shoving my xbox while it was turned on, thankfully my local video store fixed it with one of those polishing machines), I have NES games I purchased in the freaking 1980s that still have their manuals and original boxes, and all my friends take care of their games to the same degree, we're just smart enough to realise that gamestop and other trade in places are a rip off.
All my games are in perfect or near perfect condition (notable exception, my copy of Fable 2 got mulched by a idiot child shoving my xbox while it was turned on, thankfully my local video store fixed it with one of those polishing machines), I have NES games I purchased in the freaking 1980s that still have their manuals and original boxes, and all my friends take care of their games to the same degree, we're just smart enough to realise that gamestop and other trade in places are a rip off.
This is very true. On our midnight release for Dead Rising 2, I chatted up a customer for about an hour straight, just talking about all things gaming related. It was fantastic. We, unfortunately, don't have that kind of time when there's 10 people waiting in line, each huffing impatiently.Chamale said:
I could definitely see that getting annoying; we ask maybe twice at most.feeback06 said:
We would LOVE to be able to verify that each disc is in working order, but the fact is, we simply don't have that kind of time. Between working the register, dealing with trade-ins, grabbing the phone, putting away backstock and, above all, fixing the walls (because apparently people are incapable of putting things BACK WHERE THEY CAME FROM), there's simply no time to test the games.blakfayt said:
One thing people never add into the equation on used games and their condition is that a lot of them are stolen goods. Look at how many games come in on day 1 or 2 of release date with scratches all over them and no box. It's because they usually come from someone who has a friend working at a retail store that empties the case, then throws them out in the garbage and either they or someone they know comes and gets them out of the garbage bin.
I know it sounds crazy, but this kind of thing happened all the time at the TRU here. They actually lost $15-20 THOUSAND dollars worth of product this way and the entire store got fired, except for the managers. It kept happening and it turned out it was the managers doing it.
They'd take the boxless games to Gamestop, trade them for new games and then take those to the used stores that pay cash and sell them there. All told, they made around $12,000 and the only thing is they lost their job. No criminal charges, just lost a job.
Of the folks who work at GS here, how many of you have seen the same type of game I just described (brand new game, no case, looked like it had been in the trash or pockets)? Then look at the people that bring them in. There's a good chance they are stolen. DS games are really bad about this, too. That's why I think all games should have the case to be accepted as trade in, it discourages theft and other things that the publishers blame on pirates and paying customers.
I know it sounds crazy, but this kind of thing happened all the time at the TRU here. They actually lost $15-20 THOUSAND dollars worth of product this way and the entire store got fired, except for the managers. It kept happening and it turned out it was the managers doing it.
They'd take the boxless games to Gamestop, trade them for new games and then take those to the used stores that pay cash and sell them there. All told, they made around $12,000 and the only thing is they lost their job. No criminal charges, just lost a job.
Of the folks who work at GS here, how many of you have seen the same type of game I just described (brand new game, no case, looked like it had been in the trash or pockets)? Then look at the people that bring them in. There's a good chance they are stolen. DS games are really bad about this, too. That's why I think all games should have the case to be accepted as trade in, it discourages theft and other things that the publishers blame on pirates and paying customers.
I have a feeling that the decent copies, the games with next to no scratches, mint condition manuals and boxes are all safely tucked away in actual enthusiastic gamers collection cabnets and the like.
I personally never trade in my games. I like to have a record of all the games i bought ever, regardless of quality. What if (and these can often be big what ifs) I feel like diving into a classic PS1 game or Sega/Snes game? I still have the option. Its nice to have.
I dont understand people who buy a game and then trade it in (often with a couple others) to pay for a new one. Sure its cheaper, but you end up like a friend of mine who only has 3 games to choose from on his 360.
Meanwhile i have... 12 games (only had a 360 for 5 months) to pick from.
I personally never trade in my games. I like to have a record of all the games i bought ever, regardless of quality. What if (and these can often be big what ifs) I feel like diving into a classic PS1 game or Sega/Snes game? I still have the option. Its nice to have.
I dont understand people who buy a game and then trade it in (often with a couple others) to pay for a new one. Sure its cheaper, but you end up like a friend of mine who only has 3 games to choose from on his 360.
Meanwhile i have... 12 games (only had a 360 for 5 months) to pick from.
I'm sorry but merely tacking "I work in retail" doesnt justify being a prick to someone from behind a counter. I work in a prison and deal with people every day who do a lot worse things than trade in a game without a manual - what do you expect them to do? Incinerate them incase "Ben" looks down his nose at them?
Grow the hell up.
Grow the hell up.
jeez... who'd let their discs get scratched?
i keep them in the cases and carry them to trade to gamestop in a bag. those discs are NEVER scratched, warped or ruined. and i always include the manual. i'm surprised people treat their games like shit.
i keep them in the cases and carry them to trade to gamestop in a bag. those discs are NEVER scratched, warped or ruined. and i always include the manual. i'm surprised people treat their games like shit.
I don't see how he's being a prick in any way, shape or manner. He's being completely direct with the customers, offering an explanation as to why the game isn't worth much, and telling them, honestly, that they're better off not trading it in.Gunstar Hero said:
Also, look at it from the other perspective; Gamestop isn't here to take in garbage, we're here to take in games that we can actually give to someone else without feeling ashamed of ourselves. So, when we get people coming up to us with broken cases, discs that look like they saw the mean end of a grinder, and a manual that clearly has been chewed up by a dog, I'd say it's perfectly fair to judge them for it. Would YOU sell something like that to someone? Fuck no. And, as a gamer, I honestly find it insulting to be handed games that were clearly treated with no respect.
Don't get me wrong, it's not the end of the world, but the anger directed at customers who quite clearly don't give a shit (or are pricks to begin with) is fully justified. I'll be nice to people in the store, certainly, but I'll certainly get mad when I look over the game sections to find cases tossed haphazardly around the store with no regard to the employees.
You want me to be nice to you, as a customer? Treat me with respect, and I'll do the same. The inability to put game cases back where you found them and yelling at me for simply doing my job is not going to win anyone points in their favor.
I've worked in retail and thankfully i don't work in it anymore. It is crap, but as much as the customer takes their day out on you, you don't have to take your bad day out on them. If you get an arsehole just deflect them to the manager, thats what managers are paid for, and be grateful you don't have a job like policing/nursing/social worker/entertainer/barman where you REALLY get to deal with the ugly side of the public.
I've worked with people like Ben who get little power trips out of tormenting people and i've been served by people like Ben who treat you contemptously for no reason. Bad manners is just plain bad manners regardless of the excuse, and attitudes like that poison the workplace and the work atmosphere and put places out of business.
You hate your job? Quit, and spare the rest of us your tempertantrums.
I've worked with people like Ben who get little power trips out of tormenting people and i've been served by people like Ben who treat you contemptously for no reason. Bad manners is just plain bad manners regardless of the excuse, and attitudes like that poison the workplace and the work atmosphere and put places out of business.
You hate your job? Quit, and spare the rest of us your tempertantrums.
Customers are venomous arrogant cunts, ALL of them, and I shall continue to believe that until a customer gives me a reason not to think that, I'm always udnerstanding and unless the employee is actually being a bit of an arse then I try to be as good a customer as possible, retail and working with customers is mind destroying.
Being direct with a customer and advising them it isnt worth trading it in is perfectly fine, its actually a nice thing to do. Its the childish attitude and "OMG!" over the top responses and judgements of people who might not keep all their game cases in a platinum lined containter inside a bank vault that made me think he was acting like a bit of a prick.
It might be hard to understand as gamers, but stretching that whole point to make an entire feature? Please.
Furthermore, I cant get my head around the sheer volume of responses saying that by working in retail you all "understand" how he feels because customers are all morons. Take the post above in point, "customers are all venemous arrogant cunts?" Be sure to tell your mum thats what she is when she does your christmas shopping.
It might be hard to understand as gamers, but stretching that whole point to make an entire feature? Please.
Furthermore, I cant get my head around the sheer volume of responses saying that by working in retail you all "understand" how he feels because customers are all morons. Take the post above in point, "customers are all venemous arrogant cunts?" Be sure to tell your mum thats what she is when she does your christmas shopping.