GameStop Sued Over "Deceptive" Used Game Sales

[mechanixis]

How stupid. That guy is just greedy. So is Gamestop. They should offer him a job, as he'd fit right in.

Maybe at your local Gamestop, but mine knows not to bother with trying to sell me that which I never buy. I'll buy the disk warranty, as I'm paranoid about the disk, but I treat all disks nicely, so I don't need. I will not buy GI, or the card, so they don't try to sell me either. They know that I'm probably there to pre-order, and they make small talk. Whenever I'm there I normally have a gaming discussion at check-out. I enjoy it.

Well that's all well and good, apparently you live near a rare exception of a Gamestop that employs human beings. For the rest of us, the only staff seem to be spiteful troglodytes who only understand the phrases 'pre-order' and 'trade-in'. It's a place associated with getting $4 store credit for a trade in that then goes on the shelf for $50, and buying used games that turn out to be covered in scratches. Everything about the place reeks of ruthless marketing and disregard for consumer satisfaction.

I rarely trade in, but I did one time with a large batch of games, most of which were gifts, and they had a pretty good deal going on. That is, for every 4 PS3, Wii or 360 (I only have 360) games you trade in, you got a extra $20. For every 3, you get a extra $10. I used the $160 I got out of that to get L4D 2, Borderland and Mass Effect 2 (CE). Most of the games were bad, like Far Cry 2, Far Cry: Predator Instincts, Sonic 06 (which, while I like, had no replayabilty), Sonic Unleashed (which I hated), and some other bile.

And guess what? When I was done with it, I sold my copy of Fallout 3 on eBay for $50. And got reimbursed with good old fashioned use-it-anywhere cash. But if you're content with getting four bucks for it because GameStop says that's what it's worth, then power to you.

Fallout 3 is an awesome game. Those were not. Those wouldn't sell for $5 on ebay. Also, this was in September of last year, and those games are old. Besides, even if I could get that much cash, I would have spent it on the same things I did. I feel that I got a good trade, after all, 2 of those games were Sonic 06 and Unleashed. Those games suck. They helped get me one of my sets of extra $20. I basically just traded in all of my bad games that would have never sold on ebay. Plus, Borderlands was coming out soon, and I like doing auctions for as long as I can. I also like pre-ordering. So, in the end, I made a profit. Not to mention the fact that 99% of those games were gifts and the gifters didn't see a dime of that cash.

Actually a few quick eBay searches tell me that all of those games go for around $15-$25 on eBay, with the exception of Sonic 2006, which I admit is an otherwise unsellable bit of garbage. Even subtracting a hefty shipping charge, GameStop is not giving you what the game is worth.

Either way, considering that GameStop expects people to buy used games at 90% the original price, buying them from you at 5% the original price is just low.

Well, you must remember, Ebay takes some of the money, and plus, I wanted the money then. Also, those weren't all the games. I had some other crap that makes Superman 64 look like Batman: Arkham Asylum, including old wrestling games, older PS2 wrestling games, and some other things. I'm sure that the older Smackdown Vs. Raws are selling at a lower price, since it's one of those yearly things.

Ebay takes something like one or two dollars, at the very most, from a sale this size. Gamestop effectively is taking forty dollars. There's just an underlying disrespect for the customer in that sort of ratio.

 

[Pendragon9]

So if he shelled out 5 extra dollars and cared to read a little more, he would've been spared the fifteen dollar DLC charge.

Thus, he would've saved ten dollars, instead of wasting a million on a lawsuit he's just going to lose.

-_-

 

[ma55ter_fett]

It wasn't unforseen. That is why they put in the *.

But I don't think anyone at EA or GameStop expected that GameStop would be sued over what is essentially an EA initiative. An uproar was almost certain, but a lawsuit against retailers? That seems kinda left-fieldish to me.

Kinda? This is more unexpected than Batman falling on your computer!

He's in the wrong but...

I hope he wins.

Why? Why would you hope he wins in a ridiculous case such as this if you already willing to admit he's in the wrong? I can't see any reason why he should win or how his victory in this frivolous lawsuit could possibly be good for anyone.

Well, other than Collins, but what's good for him here isn't good for anyone else.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and I wish him well.

That normally ends up in a bad place. See: Soviet Union. Yeah, maybe we should have allowed Nazi Germany to kill them before dealing with the Nazis. See also: Saddam Hussein (The US gave him his weapons to help us out).

Dude I'm a red blooded American, we're all about the short term goals without considering the bigger picture.

Even so, it's just the one dude sueing gamestop (I will shed no tears is gamestop has to pay up) whats the worst that can happen?

above statement tempts fate^

 

[Lemon Of Life]

How stupid. That guy is just greedy. So is Gamestop. They should offer him a job, as he'd fit right in.

Maybe at your local Gamestop, but mine knows not to bother with trying to sell me that which I never buy. I'll buy the disk warranty, as I'm paranoid about the disk, but I treat all disks nicely, so I don't need. I will not buy GI, or the card, so they don't try to sell me either. They know that I'm probably there to pre-order, and they make small talk. Whenever I'm there I normally have a gaming discussion at check-out. I enjoy it.

Yeah, but I was talking more about the company as a whole, I didn't mean to offend or insult anyone working there.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Why doesn't he just sue them for being irritating, price gouging, pricks: He's got a case there.

How? $60 is the norm. So, where is the price gouging? In fact $60 is fair. Would I like it cheap? Yes, just as I would like restoring a 50s Jeep to be cheap. Will either one ever be? No.

It may be the norm now but before gamestop started being more predatory retailers, used games used to be sold for reasonable prices all over the place.
Now a lot of the other sellers have hiked their prices up to their ludicrous prices. However, you can still sometimes find good prices on amazon or ebay.

The fact is that they made the used game market so that it's not only bad for publishers but its also bad for consumers.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

As a guy studying law I can tell you guys that he has no case. Wrong company being sued because they don't control the box art. The asterisk clearly stating that the DLC is a one time code for full retail purchases. Going past the stores 7 day return period which is on every receipt.

This guy is about to screw himself out of a lot more than $5.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Why doesn't he just sue them for being irritating, price gouging, pricks: He's got a case there.

How? $60 is the norm. So, where is the price gouging? In fact $60 is fair. Would I like it cheap? Yes, just as I would like restoring a 50s Jeep to be cheap. Will either one ever be? No.

It may be the norm now but before gamestop started being more predatory retailers, used games used to be sold for reasonable prices all over the place.
Now a lot of the other sellers have hiked their prices up to their ludicrous prices. However, you can still sometimes find good prices on amazon or ebay.

The fact is that they made the used game market so that it's not only bad for publishers but its also bad for consumers.

The pricing is only high because publishers keep rising the prices of games. Activision raising the prices of MW:2 in the U.K. up 5 quid to see if it would sell just as well is a prime example of this. And as good as ebay prices are they still get you with shipping and handling on top of taxes. And it's only first party titles and games that sell really well that have a high "used price". A lot of the publishers still have control over "used prices" as well. This is why Heavenly Sword has been $40 used since it's launch. Lair is still $60 used (I live in Canada so all games come here $10 more than the US.) You'd be a fool to believe that publishers don't have at least some "used prices".

 

[B4D 9R4MM3R]

On one hand I hate Gamestop, on the other I hate stupidity...

I can't be bothered to follow this any further. If he, be some astronomical chance, manages to win this I will probably laugh.

 

[NinjaKirby1322]

Even so, it's just the one dude sueing gamestop (I will shed no tears is gamestop has to pay up) whats the worst that can happen?

above statement tempts fate^

Under normal circumstances, this could be a PR nightmare for a company. However, the two companies involved already have masses lining up at their offices with torches and pitch forks for reasons I can't quite comprehend, so it seems as though nothing will change.

 

[Pendragon9]

So if he shelled out 5 extra dollars and cared to read a little more, he would've been spared the fifteen dollar DLC charge.

Thus, he would've saved ten dollars, instead of wasting a million on a lawsuit he's just going to lose.

-_-

Yup. He's a moron. I am no fan of big business, but I'm even less a fan of morons.

Yeah. It makes me feel like a moron though for trading in all my used games to Gamestop. So I guess it would make me a hypocrite for calling this guy out. (ten dollars for 20 used games. Ugh. >.<)

Next time I'm doing the research to see who will give me the best deal. Which is something this guy should've done as well.

 

[TPiddy]

Well, you are one of few gamers. Most of us are nerds who actually enjoy getting a game at midnight.

I wouldn't say most.... And I don't think it's a nerd thing, I think that the working world has just sucked most of the enthusiasm out of me .

 

[SurfKansas]

No case.

This'll get thrown out. Asterisk power!

*************

Asterisk protects EA. There is possibility it could fail to protect Gamestop in this case. It comes down to the "reasonable person" standard in law.

For the "reasonable person" standard to apply here, it could be argued that:

* Gamestop sells both versions of the game and is aware of the differences
* Gamestop list comparison prices of new to used games, showing a $5 difference in price, knowing that the used game does not contain $10 of content included in the used game
* Gamestop sells opened games as new, so it can be confirmed to be aware of the coupon in the game
* Gamestop refused to refund the said game when the disparity of content was discovered.

It could be argued that a reasonable person buying a used game from Gamestop could make a reasonable assumption that the used game was identical to the new game in terms of content. By knowingly comparing the $54.99 version with the $59.99 version, it can be argued that Gamestop knowingly deceived its customers.

The kicker here (I'm making assumptions based on my local Gamestop) is the sticker on the used game that lists its comparison new game price. I have never seen any Gamestop indication on the box that a coupon is not provided.

Is this idiotic? Absolutley. Does this guy have a chance in court? Quite possibly.

 

[TPiddy]

That seems to be a case of (at least) one bad/stupid/harebrained employee. It is perfectly acceptable store policy to hold the item when you called, but the person you spoke to should have attached a note to on your copy and put it separate from the others so it wouldn't be accidentally sold. If they did that and another employee sold it, then that employee is an ass (or that manager is an ass if they made an employee sell it).

I just chalk it up as another example of how their policies are decidedly anti-customer service. 48 hours? I mean... I can understand if maybe I had gone a week without picking it up... but two days? It's clearly a 'big business' policy that screws the little guy.