Gamestop.....................

[Liquid Snake]

I got a call saying my pre-order of 3DS Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney will be ready by this coming Friday. I don't remember I have placed this pre-order except Theatrhythm Final Fantasy - Curtain call. So I went online and found out there's no record in Order History.

I called Gamestop and rep told me over the phone saying that's the only pre-order I placed and I'll need to visit the store to make any changes.

I went to Gamestop and one rep checked the system and it showed up Theatrhythem Final Fantasy. Rep told me to download Gamestop app as information on their website is always wrong (what?!)

Has anyone experienced similar situation with Gamestop before?

 

[ReplicaX]

I simply do not use Gamestop anymore. The inconsistency of Corporate, each store, and their poor communication completely turns me off. I just usually do everything online (including pre-orders now) and shop for the cheapest price. I could also care less about store specific pre-order exclusives as well.

 

[Dr Shroom]

Why the fuck would you use gamestop?

 

[Taiso]

They've traditionally kept my preorders straight, but I don't really use them anymore. I either prereserve through Amazon or, if I like the collector's edition enough, I just buy directly from the publisher. I do pretty much all my S-E and NIS America purchases through their online stores.

Online prereserves are just so much easier. I don't have to go to the store to buy the game and it almost always arrives on launch day.

If it's a Gamestop exclusive and I really like it, or they're offering some content I have to have, I will still use them. The one in my area has, for the most part, treated me well.

 

[GohanX]

There was one time that I put $5 down to preorder the Dreamcast, but I never picked it up since I got a Japanese unit. When the PS2 was released, I got a call from them asking if I was going to pick up my PS2 preorder, which I had never done, as I had stood in line at another store to grab mine. I guess somehow my DC preorder transferred to the PS2 or something. My coworker ended up getting it, as his kid really wanted one and he couldn't find one anywhere.

 

[Phyeir]

Gamestop can go suck a big one. I care less about their crappy retail policies and more about how willing they are to strip materials from game titles to be tossed in the trash to save space. Fron a game collector perspective, that's blasphamy.

Managed to save a complete copy of Metal Slug GBA fron the heap just by being in the right store at the right time.

 

[Pope Sazae]

Most of the stores I don't go to but the one right by my house has been pretty good and the folks that work up there are always really cool with me. I also had a ton of credit up there so I was able to pre-order and completely pay off Bayonetta 2, Hyrule Warriors, and the Smah Bros. set w/ controller extras so I'll be up there a few more times.

 

[K-2]

Gamestop has devolved into a place to fence stolen cell phones/tablets. I stopped shopping there after it became clear they won't get a shipment of games unless you preorder. And I'm sorry, but I refuse to give gamestop $5 to float for months while me and an army of other doofuses wait for the next AAA title to be released.

 

[Cylotron]

It's bad enough that you go to Gamestop... but what I really don't understand is this whole "pre-ordering" bit. Why bother when they always get in a million copies of each game?(and they never sell out)

 

[ArmoredGecko]

People keep questioning why you're going to Gamestop. Obviously they have some preorder exclusives that are pretty cool (Wind Waker HD comes to mind). But the real reason to go to Gamestop has always been the sales. Not all the sales but they had a 40% off used games one earlier in the year, that's assuredly a reason to go there.

 

[BLEAGH]

Gamestop's practices will make the games we bought new and complete elsewhere extremely r@r3 and valuable in 20 years!

They're actually doing collectors a favor!

 

[NeoSneth]

Could have been human error. The guy just read stuff wrong.

Doesnt matter, Gamestop will be gone in a few years. There wont be any physical copies to pre order.

 

[Liquid Snake]

Why the fuck would you use gamestop?

Store credits

Plus few exclusive titles

 

[Shivan128]

I got a call saying my pre-order of 3DS Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney will be ready by this coming Friday. I don't remember I have placed this pre-order except Theatrhythm Final Fantasy - Curtain call. So I went online and found out there's no record in Order History.

I called Gamestop and rep told me over the phone saying that's the only pre-order I placed and I'll need to visit the store to make any changes.

I went to Gamestop and one rep checked the system and it showed up Theatrhythem Final Fantasy. Rep told me to download Gamestop app as information on their website is always wrong (what?!)

Has anyone experienced similar situation with Gamestop before?

I had a similar situation with a pre-order at Gamestop. I think that PUR website is very hokey. You can't trust it. Best off going to gamestop and checking like you did. That's what I ended up doing also... it really freaked me out.

 

[Taiso]

It's bad enough that you go to Gamestop... but what I really don't understand is this whole "pre-ordering" bit. Why bother when they always get in a million copies of each game?(and they never sell out)

This is only true of the major releases. If you want something obscure and you decide that you'll be buying from Gamestop, you need to pre-reserve or they won't get a copy.

In some instances, they'll get a single copy, and that ends up being the display copy, so it's automatically opened and the game contents are held behind the counter while the shell sits on a shelf. I've bought a few of these over the years, but not that many.

 

[ReplicaX]

Doesnt matter, Gamestop will be gone in a few years. There wont be any physical copies to pre order.

"Our next items up for auction are 250 pallets of Xbox 360 games!!!"

Games included are:
- Assassin's Creed
- Madden 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- NHL 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- Call of Duty XX

 

[3rdStrikeMike]

I worked there for 10 years as an assistant manager for the majority of those years. I've never known a company to be so ungrateful of not only its customers, but its employees as well. Depressing as hell to work there. Used to be fun to work as a part-timer milking the discount only working a few hours, but they even killed that (discount lowered significantly and many items don't apply). I refuse to shop there or even go there any more. They can take their preorders and shove it.

 

[Liquid Snake]

This is only true of the major releases. If you want something obscure and you decide that you'll be buying from Gamestop, you need to pre-reserve or they won't get a copy.

In some instances, they'll get a single copy, and that ends up being the display copy, so it's automatically opened and the game contents are held behind the counter while the shell sits on a shelf. I've bought a few of these over the years, but not that many.

I argued with Gamestop manager about display copy to be sale as new. He said it's "brand new, straight out-of-the-box. We do this to prevent shoplifting".....................

 

[ReplicaX]

I argued with Gamestop manager about display copy to be sale as new. He said it's "brand new, straight out-of-the-box. We do this to prevent shoplifting".....................

Corporate is too lazy and greedy to provide stores with proper storage and lock systems of games that most retail stores have. Most stores are just slot wall and typically the original shit from the previous Company they bought out. Unless it is a new store, even then they have the same setup.

They are also too greedy to provide "Display boxes" as well. So a brand new game is opened and its display copy is sold as new. All Corporate bullshit.

 

[Phyeir]

Gamestop's practices will make the games we bought new and complete elsewhere extremely r@r3 and valuable in 20 years!

They're actually doing collectors a favor!

No, they are doing flippers a favor.

A real collector IMO wants their to be a reasonable supply of titles so they can discuss titles with others that get them. They get excited by talking shop with their fellow collectors.

Just life being what it is, accidents happening with games, kids not taking care of games, low print runs, etc titles will become rarer over time. Having a corporate force trashing the assets of the hobby for greedy purposes only helps those that are greedy.

 

[potetoboy]

i dunno if Gamestop does this, but I used to work at a Software Etc. In the late 90's and the let us "borrow" new games and then simply bring them back and re-seal them with the shrink wrap machine in the back. They would then sell the games off as "new"!

 

[Hikaru Ichijyo]

i dunno if Gamestop does this, but I used to work at a Software Etc. In the late 90's and the let us "borrow" new games and then simply bring them back and re-seal them with the shrink wrap machine in the back. They would then sell the games off as "new"!

Gamestop does/did this, at least when I worked there. I personally never checked out new games as I never agreed with the whole gutting of new games in the first place and if there was a guy I was just dying to play but didn't want to buy (which was stupid rare to begin with) I would wait for a used copy to eventually show up. The area my store was in was slowly going to shit and the chances of me seeing any new release come in for trade was pretty high with all of the five finger discounters.

Taiso's already covered the pros and cons of the pre-order. Things like Tales of Symphonia Chronicles CE, Tales of Xillia 2 CE, Bravely Default CE, The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles first prints...those are the things where you'll want to pre-order them if that's the versions you want otherwise be prepared to pay scalper/flipper prices for them.

For games like Madden and CoD there is absolutely NO need whatsoever to pre-order those. Those games sometimes get ridiculous CE packaging as well but I've seen way more unsold copies of those than I have the games I listed above.

It always amazed me that even though people knew that copies would be readily available, they were so easy to convince on pre-ordering a copy of Madden or Call of Duty. My favorite was when I could convince someone to drop a reserve on a Madden strategy guide as well.

 

[ReplicaX]

Those games sometimes get ridiculous CE packaging as well but I've seen way more unsold copies of those than I have the games I listed above.

I had a former Gamestop Manager give me 5 Halo 3 CE Helmets. We took them to the range and used my Saiga 12 on them for stress relief.

 

[Jon]

I've noticed that when certain Atlus games come in (basically the only games you need to preorder) they're just thrown in a random box with other crap and partially crushed. I'm usually forced to pick between 2 copies and, I usually take the "less damaged" one....and, that's only if I happen to be there when the UPS guy shows up! I usually get there late and have to take the "open, BUT NEW" copy.

Ridiculous that Atlus hasn't done a damn thing about terrible practices like that.

Jon

 

[Phyeir]

I've noticed that when certain Atlus games come in (basically the only games you need to preorder) they're just thrown in a random box with other crap and partially crushed. I'm usually forced to pick between 2 copies and, I usually take the "less damaged" one....and, that's only if I happen to be there when the UPS guy shows up! I usually get there late and have to take the "open, BUT NEW" copy.

Ridiculous that Atlus hasn't done a damn thing about terrible practices like that.

Jon

More surprised Atlus, NIS, and Xseed havent just gone to all online retail selling. Maybe its my ignorance of the retail industry and contracts, but given how niche they are and generally aware their audience is that would benefit them more than dealing with any storefront sales.