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GameStop Tries To Explain Used Prices

For many years now, GameStop has been selling pre-owned games for only $5 less than the new price. Used consoles aren't much less, either.

But as GameStop divisional vice president of refurbishment John Daugherty told GameSpot , if consumers saw what goes on behind the scenes, they'd understand why the retailer charges what it does for used titles. Said Daugherty:

"[The refurbishment process] does have a cost to us, which is kind of the behind-the-scenes thing that the consumer never gets to see. They see what we offer in trade and they see what we sell it for. They don't see the process behind the scenes. If they were more aware of that, they would [say], 'It makes more sense to me now. It makes more sense to me why the prices are what they are.'"

GameStop CEO Paul Raines has said that the refurbishment center is a "major part" of how the company finds success in the pre-owened market, which isn't surprising. But could someone enlighten me? When I worked for EB back in the late 90s, the only things that got shipped to the refurbishment center were traded-in consoles. …games certainly didn't. We just looked at the disc and if it seemed okay, we'd take it in. Don't they just do that now? Or do games go to the refurb center, too?

Because if they don't, I don't get Daugherty's quote at all. The center has no bearing whatsoever on games traded in, if they never leave the store and employees just turn around and put a used sticker on a traded-in game, and then put it on the shelf. How does that cost them more money? They must only be talking about products besides games, yes? But when compared to used software, isn't used hardware and accessories a small part of their pre-owned business…?

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LimitedVertigo
LimitedVertigo
11 years ago

As much as I hate the store and refuse to give them my money I don't fault them for taking advantage of stupid people. If more people boycotted the store or at least their used games section the prices would dip but instead people flock to the store.

I do find it funny that in his explanation he fails to explain or justify the reason for the inflated cost. What a terrible company…

Deathb4Dishonor
Deathb4Dishonor
11 years ago

Yea i don't understand why ppl don't get a brand new copy of a game if it's a $5 diffrence… Either your incredibly stupid or extremely cheap to buy used copy of a game for $5 less

kay Oss
kay Oss
11 years ago

I dont think its stupidity of the consumers. I think Gamestop set it up that way on purpose. To me its a very smart move and a very devious move by gamestop (which i dont agree with). Let just say you have a brand new game that was release about a week or so. The brand new game goes for $60. Next to it is the same game but the price is $54 (just slightly used), which one would you choose? Thats why a lot of developer and company are adding incentives to lure consumers to buy brand new. I only use game i bought from gamestop was heavenly sword and that was a month ago.

Plus who knows what happend "behind the scene" they can easily open up new games and just stick a use sticker on there for all we know.


Last edited by kay Oss on 8/1/2012 10:59:07 AM

kraygen
kraygen
11 years ago

I would choose the new copy, especially now a days when you have to pay for online content if the game is used.

LimitedVertigo
LimitedVertigo
11 years ago

kay Oss,

If you're going to disagree with me then at least take a little time to give reasons. It most certainly is because of the stupidity of the customers that they get away with jacking up the price of used games.

What you described is simply the method GameStop uses to take advantage of their customers being stupid. When the same games can be found for much cheaper online and at other stores I see no other reason to justify GameStop's pricing and success rater than the stupidity of their customers.

kay Oss
kay Oss
11 years ago

@limitedVertigo,
Im not really disagreeing with you in a sense i some what agree with you that there are stupid people out there who will do what you describe. But for the majority of the people (when i say people i mean kids and teenagers) who dont have credit cards to purchase online they will go to retail store. When they do you have to think about the situation they put themself in when they see the same game at a cheaper price (with no incentives). Isnt that the same reason why some people buy games online because of the cheaper price?
In a perfect world Gamestop should not survive, but when people need the game and can find the same game that is cheaper they will go with that but we also have consider incentives such as online pass and DLC preorder exclusive for brand new games but let just take that out of the equation.

For most people it doesnt matter if the game is used as long as it is in working conditions and there are no differences between the two (such as online pass and DLC) people will grab the cheaper of the two. They dont care if it is use or brand new. All they care about it is cheaper and they are playing the same game as everyone else.


Last edited by kay Oss on 8/1/2012 1:19:40 PM

LimitedVertigo
LimitedVertigo
11 years ago

kay Oss,

I don't think you understand my point based on your second paragraph. I'm pointing out that the same used games GameStop is selling at an inflated price can be found online and at other local stores for a cheaper price. But people flood GameStop and thus they have no reason to reduce their prices. Call them stupid people or misinformed, it doesn't matter.

BTW when I was younger I didn't fall into GameStop's traps even though I lacked a credit card, drivers license, or internet connection. Common sense is something that's hard to come by nowadays.

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

We do turn games in good condition around to the floor right away. We also have a sliding scale of what is and is not acceptable for trade ins. Minor scratches and minor cracks to the center ring can be accepted, and they will never see the floor without going to a refurb center. We automatically put those titles in what we call the defective drawer. Doesn't matter if one of us employees just finished the game. even if we could vouch that the scratch didn't affect it, we'd refurb it. Cracks that reach the data layer or too close too it for comfort, scratches in the reflective foil layer of the disc, and warping will be full rejects. We simply won't take them, and if someone DID take one due to inattentiveness, and we spot it in the drawers, we remove it and take it as a loss.

We also guarantee those used games for 30 days standard. If one does fail, even one that got turned around because it looked good, we replace it. Used games also offer one benefit you'll NEVER see in new retail…

We offer a 7 day return policy. If you didn't like the game, if the kid was too young to get into it, if it was too violent for your tastes, or not violent enough… within 7 day, money back. What other place does that? You could rent, but then again, you could buy it, with the knowledge that it's got a guarantee and if you don't like it you can return it.

I guarantee that you can likely find better prices at thrift stores and garage sales… But you won't find the same DEAL there. Spending $25 on a game that sells used at Gamestop for $45 is only a good deal if it turns out that it is working, cause you can't return it if it's a stinker or it's broken.

We also tend to drop a few more dollars off games with Online passes.

Now… at face value, it's totally true that you tend to only save a few dollars, usually no more than $5 on new releases and highly popular titles.

Gamestop excels in 2 areas:

1: Out of production games

2: Power Up discounts.

First, games don't get made forever. Gamestop tends to carry a supply of older titles for much reduced prices. If you happen to be looking for one of these older games, Gamestop can often help you. That's the benefit of taking used games. Pawn shops do the same, so do thrift stores and garage sales, but they don't have inter-store searching, nor do they guarantee games and maintain the rough ones with refurbishment like we do. Online can get you good deals, but you know what, I usually only sell games online, cause I can get a better price than a trade in at Gamestop. Sometimes, we have trade promotions that actually make it worth trading. 10-30% bumps for multiple games traded is one of them. If you have the PowerUp card, it's up to 40%. Sometimes there are cash bumps as well. When buying games I buy online only when I can't find a title locally. Adding shipping and wait time usually kills the desire to go to ebay or amazon. Only hard to find items usually get me to go that route.

Second, Gamestop does tend to not offer enough for new release used sales. Between pre-order bonuses on many new titles, and the inclusion of online passes, many people choose to pay the extra few dollars for new, and that's fine. We make more off of used… But Gamestop sailed that ship, and now they gotta deal with the storm of people who don't like the prices. I think they could be lower myself, like at LEAST $10 below the cost to recover and online pass. They'd still make money. In that sense, I agree, and it all comes down to the price people are willing to pay.

Where used sales tend to shine, is for PowerUp card members. By subscribing to Game Informer Magazine for a year ($14.99) you get a 10% discount on all pre-owned games and accessories. You get a buy 2 get 1 free coupon code for signing up or renewing.

I GET that a lot of people don't like spending money to sign up for crap. I get that. Here is the numbers breakdown:

NOT INCLUDING the B2G1F coupon, if you trade or buy $150 combined transaction value worth of product in the span of a year, the 10% bonus will pay for the card. Anything passed that is money saved by the customer. Three $50 used games in one year pays for the card.

INCLUDING the B1G1F coupon… Say you cheap out. Grab three $15 games from the rack, one of them is free, you just paid for the card in one transaction, and from then on, you get the 10% discounted price on all your games and accessories bought used for the year.

Lets say you go big… Buy 3 new release games, $54.99, $54.99, $47.99… You get the $47.99 game free, and you've already saved $34-44 in a SINGLE transaction (depending on if the $7.99 game had an intact online pass or not)… All cause you put up $15 for a magazine and a discount card. Those number are counting the cost of the card out… That's ACTUALLY what you'd save on that one transaction.

Those $54.99 used games become $49.49 used games with the card, and when you consider that… You are now getting $10 off the new price vs only $5. Our used new release titles that have online passes tend to sell for $47.99. I know… Lame, right. It's only a $2 savings when you consider a $9.99 online pass. We like to ask customers if they used online passes or not. If they say they did not use it, we keep it in the locked drawer with the disc, and offer those to customers who mention that they plan to go online (we mention online passes in these circumstances). Sometimes if the online pass is intact, they can save that $10. Even if the pass is used (as it usually is), consider that with the discount, the price becomes 43.19, or $16.80 cheaper than retail new price., even minus the online pass, that's $6.81… Not as nice, but still money saved.

Mind you, that's still money saved, with the right to come back within 7 days and say… This 6 hour campaign was CRAP, and I don't like the online! I want my money back!

Ask Walmart, Target, or Best Buy to do that!
That was a joke. Ha Ha! Fat chance!

That's the benefit of Gamestop's preowned.


Last edited by richfiles on 8/2/2012 12:38:31 PM

ChadWSmith
ChadWSmith
11 years ago

Whenever I buy a used game from GameStop – and yes, I do that sometimes – it's much more than $5 off the new price – because I'm not buying a game that just came out – instead I'm buying a game that's been out for a while. Paying $60 for a game is really stupid – new or used. If you can stand to be a year or so "behind" the new releases, you can get substantially more games for your gaming dollar.

On top of that (why go to GameStop instead of Craigslist or ebay or Amazon) I earn free GameStop giftcards online. I'm not here to promote that company, and won't even mention its name so this isn't spam. But when I get a $25 gift card every 3 months, and I earn reward points on everything I buy – AND I buy games that are more than a year old – I spend a LOT less on games than the brand new $60 release price.

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

@ChadWSmith
LOL! I do that thing too! Free gift cards FTW!!! 😀

Simcoe
Simcoe
11 years ago

Thanks Richfiles, I didn't know about the 7 day return policy.

Killa Tequilla
Killa Tequilla
11 years ago

This is just a lie.

kay Oss
kay Oss
11 years ago

Is just his excuse on why Gamestop charges consumer a use game at the price similiar to a brand new game. He knows that the public will never know what "going on behind the scenes" so he can say whatever he like. If he want to support his so call excuse why dont he tell use what is really happening behind the scene. Does the used sticker really cost that much? is it because that sticking the used sticker on a cover is very labor intensive? Gamestop used games cost more than most brand new games that are on sale.

Deathb4Dishonor
Deathb4Dishonor
11 years ago

I use to work at EB and a friend of mines still does and the consoles would be sent to the reburbish center and the games would just have a quick see to see if it's good enough to take… So for consoles to sell at a high price for refurbisht makes a lil sense but the games $5 than the original price is just rediculous… Gamestop company are nothing more then thieves, plain and simple

Jawknee
Jawknee
11 years ago

BS. I been given used copies by them that we're covered with scratches and blemishes. Some didn't even work and had to go back. I never traded a game in in that condition. Didn't they profit in the billions last year or the year before? Like LV, I don't begrudge them making money and taking advantages of ignorant consumers. It's the consumers fault for shopping there but I just don't believe their "refurbishment" costs are so high that they simply must price gouge people to cover costs. Especially when they continually profit in the billions year after year.

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

Ask to see the disc before they sell it to you. I usually show the customer the disc just because I can.

Xombito
Xombito
11 years ago

Between Amazon and Steam I don't have much of a reason to go to Gamestop anyway.

Lemon_Saint
Lemon_Saint
11 years ago

I've had $280.00 of store credit and gift cards with GameStop for over a year now just waiting for a new console.

If I want games, Steam and Amazon for me too. (Steam for older games I don't mind paying 2-7 bucks for that I skipped over, and Amazon for new ones).

Amnesiac
Amnesiac
11 years ago

"They see what we offer in trade and they see what we sell it for. They don't see the process behind the scenes. If they were more aware of that, they would [say], 'It makes more sense to me now"–

Great why don't you explain the process then, so that way we "the uninformed" as you'd like to call us would know why a used game costs about the same as an unopened one?

Horrible company.


Last edited by Amnesiac on 8/1/2012 10:52:26 AM

Jawknee
Jawknee
11 years ago

No kidding. Not to mention many times when you opt for the "new version" it's usually opened. Haha

These people really do think we are idiots. In too many cases they would be right.

Lemon_Saint
Lemon_Saint
11 years ago

Jawknee, that is EXACTLY why I don't purchase games there anymore. The last three I received were opened demo copies. BS!

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

@Lemon_Saint
It's reffered to internally as a "gut" copy. Gamestop likes to dispaly it's cases on the floor so people can pick it up and look at the back or the manual without asking for assistance. At the same time, theft is a danger if product is live on the floor.

We will gut usually between 1-4 copies. The new discs go into a sleeve (different color than the used game sleeves), and remains there till the sale. THere MAY be Gamestops that do not follow the rules, but where I'm from, we ARE permitted to "check out" titles to try them, but we are not permitted to check out new discs at our store, only pre-owned, and only if we have enough copies that we can afford to let one out of the store. If it comes back damaged, we have to pay for it.

We could keep all new titles sealed, but we'd have to run things like Walmart or Target were everything is locked down. That's not part of the experience we want to run at our stores.

Stores that check out new games should be ashamed of them selves…

Not all Gamestops are like that. Some of us have decent stores. The simple fact is, that sometimes you get the last few copies, and they end up being the gut copy. They are NOT demos. They are NOT used. I'm so sorry that you wanted to break the shrink wrap on the games yourself. Gamestop's policy is to NOT allow live product on the floor, so it can all be represented in a way that customers can just pick up and examine.

kraygen
kraygen
11 years ago

Kraygen pulls back the curtain on the refurbishing process. . .
"Alright Bob, here's the new shipment of consoles we've received for our refurbishing process."
"What do I do with them Bill?"
"Well Bob, you plug them in, then unplug them and put them in the box to be shipped out."
"Ok, where do I put the ones that don't come on?"
"Bob, what difference does it make if they come on? We have to sell these quick, on or not, ship them out."

It takes a lot of work to refurbish those consoles, that's why they're only $40-$50 less than a new one.

BikerSaint
BikerSaint
11 years ago

As much as I've bought from gamestop, I call BS on John Daugherty!!!!!

If GS is taking in consoles, the refurb price is already factored in(between their immoral low trade-in price & then again on their high re-sales price.

And as for games, most discs traded in don't need re-surfacing cause the twitchers don't usually keep them for more than a week, but if if they do bring in scraped up discs, GS's employees are told to subtract $3 from their trade-in value on each disc that's scratched up & then the disc's sent out to be resurfaced.

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

You know, Gamestop's trade prices for new titles are on par with the generally accepted pawn practice of paying 1/3 the retail price for items. A new game trades for $22 when it's still just out. Add trade bonuses or a PowerUp bonus, and that can be bumped up even higher, between 10-40%, and sometimes we offer deals like $10 extra when you trade in 3 games. Depending on the deal, you might make over half the retail value of the game back, and that's a deal you will never find in a pawn shop. Thrift stores only get things on donation, online sales might net you more, but it may not be an instant sale and you have to package and ship the item. Garage sales make you do the work.

Your best bet is to sell online when the game is still relatively new. You'll get the best price that way. Sell it to a friend if you can. Then you save shipping. Gamestop does offer trade prices better than pawn shops, and that is technically the market we compete in. We just specialize in games and offer guarantees, including the 7 day return policy on used games… You won't find that at many places, period!

Norrin Radd
Norrin Radd
11 years ago

Pawnshop prices – that's a lofty goal.

My experience has been that Best Buy wallops you guys on trade values. I was offered $12 for both Black Ops & Battlefield 3 by GS. BB gave me $52. Where do you think I'm going net time?

Temjin001
Temjin001
11 years ago

Rolls eyes 100x (not really)

Man hope Obama doesn't create excuses like this for the upcoming campaign =p

Jawknee
Jawknee
11 years ago

He's still blaming the "rich" and Bush so your hopes (n' change?) are all but smashed.

BikerSaint
BikerSaint
11 years ago

I'll make bet that Obummer was making excuses way before the dictator-in-chief was falsely put in office.

pillz81
pillz81
11 years ago

Here we go with another "President falsely put into office" spiel. I seem to remember something called Bush v. Gore.
I hope none of you are birthers or I am gonna lose my shit.


Last edited by pillz81 on 8/2/2012 12:13:02 PM

Jawknee
Jawknee
11 years ago

The Supreme Court settled Bush v Gore. You lost…..nearly 14 years ago. Get over it….oh wait, i forgot. We're supposed to be talking about anything but 8.2% unemployment, 1.5 trillion deficit each year for 4 years, the 500 billion in tax increases on middle class people in Obama"Care", the 500 billion cut from medicare because of Obama"Care", 5 trillion added to the national debt in less than 4 years, half a billion of tax payers money blown on bankrupt "green energy" companies(Obama's campaign donors), a dead American boarder agent as well as 300+ mexicans gunned down by a drug cartels with guns provided Eric Holders DOJ and the ATF, measly 1.2% GDP growth, the 22 million added to the food stamp rolls….I can keep going but I think you get the point.

For the record, I am no birther. I believe he was fairly elected however the man is a disgrace and he's spent my childrens futures away so he can line the pockets of his union buddies and campaign bundlers while denigrating successful people who pay his salary for refusing to tow the classwarrior bulls**t.

See you in Nov.


Last edited by Jawknee on 8/2/2012 9:49:02 PM

slugga_status
slugga_status
11 years ago

Well..I know one thing about a few Gamestops in my area..That is they don't even send them to the refurb center. They open them and clean out the dust and put it in their used game boxes and it goes right back on the shelf..

Generally it's new releases that get the $5 off the original price and I don't fault Gamestop for that. If people approached buying used games the right way from Gamestop then they wouldn't complain..

Just BS answer from Gamestop if you ask me…

xenris
xenris
11 years ago

I had friends working at a gamestop where I live and there is most certainly no refurbishing process with games. In fact because I was friends with some of them, if I didn't like a new game and traded it back in like 2 days, they just gave me all my money back and resealed it. So this is a loooooad of crap if I have ever heard of one.

This is probably true for the consoles, and maybe games that are terribly scratched but most games I brought in were stickered and put on the shelf right away. Mind you I keep my discs in pristine condition, so I dont know what the cost is for a terribly scratched one.

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

What your friends did could get them fired.
They are not supposed to do that… PERIOD!!!

You answered your own question there in the second paragraph. You keep your discs pristine. Of course they go out. Try that with a family of small kids with a Wii, or a smoker's house, or with less… sophisticated customers… The store I work at averages 1-2 drawers of games sent for refurbishment each week.

Just cause your beautifully cared for games went out on the floor right away, doesn't mean they all do.

gumbi
gumbi
11 years ago

Back when I used to buy used games (mostly in my PS2 days) I did it because they were significantly cheaper than buying new. A used game would be, at the very most, 75% of the retail price. You typically saved 30% or more buying a used game, even if it was a relatively new release.

I call major BS on this refurbishment process crap. If the disc is good, there's no refurbishing necessary. And if the disc is bad, they wont take it. So he can take this explanation and shove it. The markup on used games is ridiculous, and it's all profit.

Regardless. I don't play as much as I used to, and I have more money than I used to. So I have no qualms with buying my games new, and supporting the people who made them and deserve the money.

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

We do turn most games around in store. That's because many people actually take care of their games. A cleaning cloth to remove fingerprints usually reveals a pristine disc. When we get discs with minor scratches or center ring damage, we DO send it out to be refurbished. Ina typical week, my store sends out 1-2 full drawers of games for refurbishment at the Texas facility. Games with deep scratches, cracks that come near to or pass into the data region, discs with warping, chips, or bite marks… Yes, I've seen bite marks… as well as discs with ANY damage to the reflective foil layer (if light passes through the disc in spots), we will refuse to take it.

As for the price… I've noticed the lack of discount myself, but I don't pay it. I actually have the PowerUp card, so I DO get further discounts on my games, and you know what… It is worth it!

Jawknee
Jawknee
11 years ago

It's soo worth it. Power card gets you $6 dollars off instead of $5!

What.A.Deal.

cLoudou
cLoudou
11 years ago

Businesses need to make money. If people are constantly paying only $5 less for a used copy over a new one who's really to blame? Again its the casuals and soccer moms that is dictating the gaming world.

telly
telly
11 years ago

I call shenanigans. I also worked at an Electronics Boutique in the late 90s and the only "refurbish" we ever did was to use the shrink wrap machine in the backroom to reseal used games so they would appear to be, well, refurbished in some way. Bunch of bull.

Gamespot's prices are outrageous and you never know what you're gonna get when you buy used. And on top of that, the developers/publishers see ZERO income from used sales, so you're effectively punishing the people who made the game you want to play. Come up with the extra cash for the new copies, always.

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

Devs see cash every time an online pass is sold, or a person adds DLC to the game. That argument is the biggest load of BS I've heard in ALL the gaming industry.

YOur argument is that we don't have the right to resell what we purchase, and we are punishing GM for trying to trade in our used car for a newer used car. I call shenanigans.

As for refurbs… If a game is in good shape, we put the case out on the floor. If the game needs repair, we send it to the refurb facility in Texas. If the game is not repairable, we refuse to take it. If a game got through, and we deem it unsalable… We will move it to defective category and take the loss.

I'd call bull with you comparing a 90s company to what we do today without the research.

wackazoa
wackazoa
11 years ago

Im still confused as to why the major developers dont get totgether to sell their own used games. The only reason Gamestop's prices are so high (regardless of what dickweed says) is that they have the market cornered. If there were lower prices elsewhere then Gamestop would have to lower prices. BestBuy does the used game thing but they might be a dollar difference (here in Florida) from Gamestop. So I just dont buy used games.


Last edited by wackazoa on 8/1/2012 2:38:39 PM

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

There are two pawn shops in the area near my Gamestop, and they have a massive selection too! They even cover older consoles that Gamestop has phased out… But you know what… I'll trust Gamestop's used games over the pawn shop. Gamestop guarantees them for 30 days, they have a 7 day return policy, they actually specialize in games, and despite how many people seem to hate them… I dare you to buy all your games and trade all your games at a pawn shop and get the same experience… or value.

Maybe it's a testament to Gamestop… That people don't even consider these other forms of retail as competition to them???

CaptRon
CaptRon
11 years ago

I despise gamestop but I think the reason they are so expensive is because they aren't going to sell every used copy… So to make their money back as fast as they can, they just keep the prices close to their newer counterparts. You can go in the store and see how many used games they are sitting on… So they make their money back with higher prices.

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

Oh dear God! You said it!!!

Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden, Madden… Multiply that by a few drawers, and you get the idea. I still say Gamestop needs to stop taking sports titles in trade after 2 years.

Jed
Jed
11 years ago

I worked at Gamestop until about a year ago.

They told us to look at the trade in games, and if it looked good enough that we would buy it, then we just put a used sticker on it and put it out on the shelf. I would estimate that in my two years with the company, at least 98% of the games that I accepted as trade ins were put right back out on the shelf. And I'm really picky about the condition of any used game I buy.

I would say most of the money spent in their refurb centers is for consoles, and many of those refurb consoles we sold were returned because they were never fixed.

So yea, this is BS.

SonyPuppy
SonyPuppy
11 years ago

I love that richfiles didn't decide to comment on this one. Has a comeback for everyone but you, coz you are telling the truth. What a friggin joke.

I was also working at an EB (aus Gamestop) earlier this year and they charged every trade the repair cost, just neglected to tell the customer that, stickered them up and sat them out the back for a week (in case the trader changed their mind) then put them straight back out on the shelf.

They said we send away defective discs (which I saw a few of) but none of them ever got sent away, just stuffed on the shelf with the rest. So refurbishing these consoles must cost a fortune to justify the inflated costs.

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

Sorry for having a life, but seeing as how you directed your comments at me… All I can say is that the actions of one store run by unsavory individuals should not corrupt the image of the store I work for or the company as a whole. Your interpretation may be skewed as well. Many shops are LEGALLY required to hold the games for a period of time to comply with city or state level pawn laws. Some stores are permitted to put product on the floor once it's taken in, but others must follow local ordinances that require holds for a week to 90 days, depending on the specific laws. This is so police can trace stolen goods more easily.

You should know that if something is discovered stolen, we take the loss for it. In addition, shipping, refurbishing, and dealing with product loss all factor into the costs. If we refurb a game, but it still fails, then the disk will often get field destroyed, which means whatever we paid for it, we also payed to fix it, it didn't work, and we still take the loss.

What that EB did with the refurb fee spam was unethical, and If I were in charge there, there would be some terminations. The back room thing MIGHT have to do with those pawn laws I mentioned.

Items that do get refurbed so actually get sent to the refurbishment facility. A company WILL factor it's costs in a manner that allows them to be both profitable, and minimize the impact of losses.

Do you have any idea how many of those consoles will ultimately be taken as a loss. Even if we only take a single console, with a refurb, we might have paid $25-$70 for a machine that needed to be refurbished. That machine will be sent for repair, and if it has some fault that shows up within the warrantee period, we will take it back. When we suspect a buggy game and a person simply expecting flawless operation We had this just the other day, where a person wanted to return a machine because Fallout kept crashing when he would fast travel or go into doors (but no other games), we may set the machine up and run it for an extended time if we are not busy. These machines DO sometimes get returned to stock. You can't fault Microsoft for Bethesda's buggy games (even if those games are awesome enough to warrant dealing with those bugs). Most of the time we simply take it as defective. It'll get shipped out. It's VERY rare for a machine to be returned to stock on a defective return. Like I said, at my store, it'll ONLY happen if we can determine that a customer is mistaking a bad game for a bad console, and we can get some run time on it.

Also… Let me guess, those numerous failed consoles were 360s, right… The design flaw that Microsoft had can be repaired… But the flaw still exists. Why do you think they had to come out with the later rev old models and the slim. Dumb hardware was fundamentally flawed. Every time one of those old machines got repaired, and then eventually red ringed again, if we couldn't actually repair the fault, then we took the loss on that console trade in.

Besides… We covered Microsoft's ass with their hardware failures with our guarantees. Some problems can be intermittent, meaning they come and go. They can be hard to spot without dedicating dozens or hundreds of hours to running a machine to see if it fails. That's where the 30 day guarantee comes into play.

It's better than most other used sales… Which are usually final.

Rogueagent01
Rogueagent01
11 years ago

I just love when a corporation like this tries to justify unethical treatment. They really think that the whole world is as dumb as the customers that pay for the $5 dollar difference. I just wish a company would come out against them, simply because they have no real competition. Sure you could say Best Buy but they are not on every corner like Gamestops are, and many people don't even know that they do trade-ins anyways.

I love the 3 mom & pop shops I have around me as I never have to step foot in a Gamestop. I will go to Gamestop on occasion to buy a PSN card but that is really about it, and even with those I usually buy them from Giant Eagle since I get fuel perks for them. The other game shops around me offer better trad-in value and sell for less, plus they'll import anything you want.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
11 years ago

A minor point perhaps, but BluRay discs do not need refurbishment, and in fact putting in them in one of those horrible radial polishers will destroy the surface of the disc by inflicting innumerable miniscule scratches that refract the laser baking it hard to focus. making it more difficult to read.

Rogueagent01
Rogueagent01
11 years ago

The one shop I go to refuses to buy your blurays if they have so much as a small tiny scratch on it for that exact reason. So yeah the comment he made cannot be made about the PS3 side of things.

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