Musings/questions about gamestop and supply & demand

[purbeast0]

I was waiting for this comment.

Pray tell, what should they do in order to have security so good they can keep live product on the walls? Keep it all behind glass so customers can't read the cases?

do what they do for preorders - have printed out cases on the shelf.

 

[Beev]

do what they do for preorders - have printed out cases on the shelf.

And then do what when they sell out of a product? Pull the fake case and set it aside until they get restocked? They'd have to have a case for every single game ever made. That isn't time efficient, and would cost them money.

Again, I'm completely with you guys in that it's a silly practice. I refuse to buy opened games as well and will just go somewhere else, but there aren't really any profitable reasons for Gamestop to change for a vocal minority.

 

[xboxist]

Well you asked for our stories and that was mine. My reason may not be legitimate, but the end result is that I haven't been back. So that's their problem, not mine. I don't care what they do from this point on. I'm gone until I get a "50% off any game" coupon in the mail from them or something like that.

 

[purbeast0]

And then do what when they sell out of a product? Pull the fake case and set it aside until they get restocked? They'd have to have a case for every single game ever made. That isn't time efficient, and would cost them money.

Again, I'm completely with you guys in that it's a silly practice. I refuse to buy opened games as well and will just go somewhere else, but there aren't really any profitable reasons for Gamestop to change for a vocal minority.

yes, do just that.

who cares if it would cost them money, they are a business.

and a game case would run them like 25 cents.

or they could put one on the shelf sealed with some kind of case that will trip an alarm if someone runs out the store with it like other media stores do.

there are plenty of other options.

 

[Terzo]

With that said, I have absolutely no problem with their practice of buying and selling in the used game market. Many people complain that they purchase low and sell high. I see nothing wrong with this, it's just smart business. They aren't forcing anybody to sell their games, they are simply giving an option. If you don't like it, then don't partake and certainly don't complain.

Of course they are free to do what they want. I don't partake in their trade in, but I don't see why I can't complain a little too.
For me the biggest problem is the convenience gained by trading in at gamestop does not balance the loss in money. As an example, I use Modern Warfare 2 for the ps3. Gamestop trade in value is taken from cheapassgamer, the craigslist value is for the dc region.

Three choices; I can trade the game in at gamestop, at amazon, or sell it on craigslist.
If I trade it in at gamestop, I get $22 for it. While this is the least amount, it also is the easiest (maybe) and quickest (almost certainly) option.
However, if I take a little more effort I can ship it in to Amazon for $33. That's 50% more money for a little extra effort. The gift card is also for amazon; while I haven't done this I assume it is valid with all amazon products, and not just video games (a restriction that I believe applies to their pre-order credits).
If you're willing to deal with craiglist you can fetch around $40 for it. This is assuming that the asking prices are generally agreed upon.

I see almost no reason to pick gamestop over amazon. While gamestop may be slightly more convenient overall, the amazon gift card is superior to gamestop credit. Given that amazon matches gamestop trade in values, price should never be a factor. For some people, shipping to amazon may be easier than driving to the local gamestop.

In the end it's just frustrating; while gamestop is free to do as they will I just cant justify trading games there when I can get a better deal elsewhere. I would reconsider if they sold their used games at more reasonable prices. It is especially annoying to see a game priced new at $20 and used at $18. I suppose any savings is nice, but I still did a doubletake the first time I saw this in a store.

 

[micaturbo]

I venture over to EB Games once in a while if they have a really good deal going on. I don't like the idea of buying gutted games so I always ask for a sealed copy.

Last month I traded in my launch day 360 (kept the hard drive) for credit towards a brand new 360 arcade. They asked me why I was trading it in so I told them straight up, it's a launch console that's bound to RROD eventually and it's out of warranty so I want a new one...plus my old one doesn't have HDMI.

Ended up costing me $22.59 🙂