No I did not pre-order

[localflick]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/2009/10/2/n ... -order-it/

This happened to me today and it went down exactly as described in Penny Arcade. I went to Gamestop, asked for Bioshock 2 was told that they had none and I should have pre-ordered it so a copy would be waiting in the back room with my name on it.

So I explained that it's a pretty major release and it seemed reasonable to assume they'd have at least 1 copy in stock. After switching into rant mode I also told the clerk about how last year I pre-ordered the last Castlevania game only to be told that they didn't have my pre-order bonus which is why I stopped pre-ordering altogether. He asked if I wanted to look it up and see if it was available at another Gamestop and I said no thanks. Honestly, the only reason I stopped in there in the first place was that it's on the way to Best Buy which not only had several copies, but they also had about 5 copies of the special edition (which is totally worth the money if you like art books and are geeked out about the lp that it comes with).

This is such a ridiculous business practice, and it drives me crazy that unlike any other form of media there are actually stores that seem to go out of their way to not stock games and prevent you from purchasing them unless you pre-order. On top of that having employees that make little pay and practically beg you to pre-order things for commision makes for a pretty crappy shopping experience.

Has anyone else had this happen?

[ShindoW]

I was reading about bad Gamestop stories (your incident was one of the ones mentioned). I heard Chicago inparticular had bad GameStops-- dont ask me why.

I know that employees are required to get a certain # of preorders a week or something like that or they get chewed out by higher ups.

I've never had a problem with mine. When my Gamestop didn't have a preorder bonus, they called 3 others in the area to see if they still had one. (In the end I got it cheap online, but they cared.)

My favorite story is a woman who asked the Gamestop employee (when buying GTA for her 8 year old or whatever) "How do I turn the hookers off?"

[Old_School]

Right now, my biggest qualm with gamespot -- or at least the ones in my area -- is how they gut most of their boxes and I very rarely get a factory sealed game from them. I understand that they have to keep a display case for the shelf, but I often see 5 or 6 display cases of the same game.

Then they apply that annoying sticker over the side to prove if a game has been opened or not. I removed one that was so sticky that it left glue on the other games beside it in my shelf. As a collector, that sort of thing really annoys me. I recently bought a second copy of Valkyria Chronicles to sell at some point down the road. Of course, it was not factory sealed, which will reduce its future value.

[Ardent Fox]

*Hugs his special edition Bioshock 2.*

This is one of the many perks of living in a place where few people game. The abundance of overstocked games.

[Vyse of Arcadia]

Right now, my biggest qualm with gamespot -- or at least the ones in my area -- is how they gut most of their boxes and I very rarely get a factory sealed game from them. I understand that they have to keep a display case for the shelf, but I often see 5 or 6 display cases of the same game.

This.

Other than that, I hate shopping anywhere with commissioned salespeople. It makes the whole experience so much more annoying, having to fend off employees shoving extra stuff and extended warranties down my throat. I doubt it actually increases sales, and I've heard from some of my friends that the competitive environment makes the workplace hell. Thanks heavens I've never had to work for commission. Working in regular sales is bad enough.

No, no, I'd much rather buy stuff with as little human interaction as possible.

[Kizyr]

Right now, my biggest qualm with gamespot -- or at least the ones in my area -- is how they gut most of their boxes and I very rarely get a factory sealed game from them. I understand that they have to keep a display case for the shelf, but I often see 5 or 6 display cases of the same game.

And then they forget to give you the actual game when you purchase, leaving you with two empty boxes you paid $60 for. ...or at least that's the reason I refuse to shop at Gamestop anymore (I got my money back, but I was still irritated at not having any new games to play while on a trip). KF

[localflick]

*Hugs his special edition Bioshock 2.*

I hugged my copy too

The used boxes on new items always annoyed me too, though I've never received an empty one before. Once I bought a "new" copy of Warioware Touched and they took the floor model box, put the game in, added the sticker etc... and when I started playing it for the first time everything was already unlocked and it had been played through completion. I don't mind that it was used, but I was upset that they sold me a used game for a new price. I couldn't do anything about it because I had no way to prove that I didn't make the save that was on it.

Gamecrazy stores are like Gamestop without the evil. We used to have a few Gamecrazy stores around here but they've been closing recently. It was wonderful... you could buy and sell games or preorder if you wanted to but the salespeople only ring you up or help you find something if you ask them for help. They were owned by Hollywood Video and had a nice model where HV would buy several copies of a new game, they would rent it out for weeks (probably until it paid for itself) then once the game was no longer a hot title, those used copies would end up in the Gamecrazy to be sold used for cheap so you can get nearly new games for around $20-$30 less than what Gamestop would sell them for.

They also sold older games, and about 2 years ago I found a bunch of Sega Saturn games which I picked up for very cheap prices. What was really cool was that they had a policy where they cleaned the discs before they gave them to me to make sure they worked. I miss that store...

[Sonic#]

Vyse,

I didn't know the stores worked on commission. It didn't seem like that from (many of) the stores I've been to. Then again, maybe they just resolved to work together and share the commission, which works if it had the amount of customers that the store had. (They probably preferred the store for the lack of hassle. Win win.)

localflick, for the Warioware Touched, could you have just taken it back as soon as you realized? Or had it been a couple of days? I would've tried, if only because it's impossible to unlock things that fast.

[Vyse of Arcadia]

Hm. Maybe they aren't commissioned. It could be that they're just exceptionally evil salespeople. I just assumed they were working for commission by the way they act.

Regardless of the reason, I hate having "deals" shoved down my throat.

[ShindoW]

I've never had the problem with getting a used game for a new one -- they always pull a sealed one out of a drawer. Most stuff I buy is day 1 purchases-- If I see a deal on used I snag it (the hard part is finding one WITH a manual.. God. If I didn't already own Fatal Frame 1, 2, and 3, they had all of them for 19.99 each, no manual-- not bad if you want to play a good scary series.)

At my Gamestop, the people barely interact with us-- they say Hello, ask if we need help sometimes, but its easy to brush off.

Now, GameCrazy. Argh. Don't get me started. I only went there once when they still carried vintage games. Once they were gone I said screw it. The employees didn't know anything and gave my friend a totally messed up game. After the hurricane, there is a reason they didn't recover and it's now an AT&T store.

Also, anyone who was at LunarEB remembers my post about my "best friend" who robbed my house (I should say my Mom's house-- they took her wedding ring among other jewelry, busted our door in [ruining the frame], my entire game collection [only about 20 opposed to the 300 I have now, both Lunars and Star Ocean were in there], and our computer which is now permenantly [bleep]ed.) GameCrazy was selling my stuff, which our friend in the police informed us about, and they knew it was stolen, too. I mostly got 1 disc of most of my 2 disc games back and I got their PS2 instead of mine (they didn't take care of it) which Im now trying to sell years down the road because it destroyed one of my games. I got a modded one in its place and now the chip doesn't work. I wanted to play some official PS1/PS2 imports I got, but that might take awhile now.

Anyways, just had to rant ><

[Shin Otaku III]

Let me settle a question brought up in this thread: gamestop employees are NOT selling things on commission. It is actually a negative type of reinforcement. I worked at gamestop for a few years in recent past, and we had to have a certain percent of our sales have reservations or subscriptions to the magazine/card. If our sales didn't have the percent we needed (30 percent a couple of years ago), then we got written up. Two write-ups = fired. These employees hound people because they wanna keep their job, not because they're greedy trolls. As for the penny arcade guys question about female employees, I would have thought this would be common sense, but look at the video game market's key demographic: males. Wouldn't it make sense that females have an easier time up-selling to a majority male market? Anyways, just thought I'd clear a couple of things up. Please don't feel like I'm sticking up for gamestop, I am very against it. I prefer Amazon as you can see in other gamestop threads I had to throw my 2 cents into

[Shin Otaku III]

ohhh! something else I forgot to add. Their crap about "well maybe you should have pre-ordered it" is BS. I happen to know for a fact that the number of pre-orders determines how many copies of that particular game the store gets. So in this case with popular game like bioshock 2 I would have thought that there would be tons of copies sent because I wouldn't doubt they got a decent number of pre-orders.
Also, gutting the games and sometimes forgetting to actually put the game in the case before selling was a mistake even I made when I was new. The reason they gut the games is to avoid the games being stolen which happens all the time at walmart and other retail stores (I know because right after people stole those games they brought them into our store to trade them in for cash). As far as new games go, they should only gut 1 copy that is their display copy. If you buy a brand new game from there and it's not factory sealed, chances are it's the last copy they have in the store.
Oookay sorry for the double post, forgot to add that stuff. <3

[localflick]

Sonic#,
When I bought it they said it was the last one which is why I had the shelf case. I didn't play it until later in the day and I called them about it, but they said that I could take it back for a refund, but instead I just erased the save game and played it since it wasn't worth going back there, then to another store to get something I already had. The price difference between a new and used copy was only a few dollars, but I'm mostly concerned that I don't know if I'm buying used or not.

ShindoW,
Wow. You had a bad Gamecrazy. I don't think there's any chain that only has good stores with good employees, but it does seem like Gamestop's policies have caused more bad experiences. As far as knowledgeable employees go, there was another website where someone theorized that Gamestop employs gamers not because they are knowledgeable, but because they are likely to buy games and Gamestop gets a bit of their own payroll back. It's a little conspiracy theory-ish but it does make sense in an evil corporate way. I'll post the link if I can find it.

Also if anyone does want all 3 Fatal Frame games you can still get them new, but it's not cheap: http://www.gamequestdirect.com/473018946473.html

[phyco126]

I still hate the fact that they also steal pre-order bonuses for themselves or to sell separately. However, at my local Gamestop, I'd feel a lot more comfortable buying my games there if they would actually hire gamers. I hate walking in and instantly getting that "OMG another freaking loser with no life" stare for the guys working behind the counter, who then resume talking about losers from their school.

As for employee enforcement of sales, this is funny, because every time I walk into my local Gamestop is a whole new set of employees, but still the same type as above.

As for adding more female employees to their store, I haven't really noticed if more girls have been working their than in the past, two of my friends seem to think it is though. The girls are much friendlier and more nerdy than the guys, aside from the one or two queens that couldn't get a job anywhere else and just happened to be hired there, then you get the typical "Ew, don't talk to me" look on their faces when you ask for help. Stupid high schoolers.

[Old_School]

As far as new games go, they should only gut 1 copy that is their display copy. If you buy a brand new game from there and it's not factory sealed, chances are it's the last copy they have in the store.

That certainly is the way a normal store would do it, but the ones around here are gutting maniacs. There used to be a Kay Bee Toys in the local mall, and I almost always got sealed games with a gutted one being the rare exception. At the 2 local gamestops, it's the other way around.

[ShindoW]

I usually go to 3 Gamestops including the closest one. The other 2 are nowhere near as nice as my local one. I hate when you get those employees who aren't interested in games, because they just don't wanna be there, just chattin' on their cellphones and stuff. =/ I also like the other customers in my local one, too, as they usually keep their kids under control or aren't high schoolers reeking of pot. God, that is the worst smell.

I have a feeling that some employees at mine aren't aware they can sell preorder bonuses. XD They know I get mad if mine isn't there (and Im always there within 48 hours of the arrival to be sure) but then I get a ton of other stuff because no one else takes it. XD I mean, the other day, we got 2 $4 Wendy's gift cards. WTF lol

Edit: This may sound insane to any normal person, but because of location and circumstance I've never had a real job (it's something I'm looking forward to, actually) and Gamestop is my first choice mainly because I know everyone there so well.

[Vyse of Arcadia]

Let me settle a question brought up in this thread: gamestop employees are NOT selling things on commission. It is actually a negative type of reinforcement. I worked at gamestop for a few years in recent past, and we had to have a certain percent of our sales have reservations or subscriptions to the magazine/card. If our sales didn't have the percent we needed (30 percent a couple of years ago), then we got written up. Two write-ups = fired. These employees hound people because they wanna keep their job, not because they're greedy trolls.

Geez, that's even worse than commission. I know a big chain bookstore around here does the same thing. It's the corporate overlords that are the greedy trolls.

[Silver Phoenix]

Take note, working in retail is working in retail. I started a job at a Microplay Video Game Store when I was 15, and already had keys to the store and managerial duties at 16. It's not as bad because it's privately owned through franchise, but it's still work. Gamestop is a job, so you may not enjoy the situation once you're in it. If you work with people who are hardcore gamers then it may be a better fit, but more often than not it's just another warm body behind the counter. It may be a good fit for you since it will be your first job though.

I actually started my job at Microplay one week after Lunar:Eternal Blue for Sega CD came out, and it was a game I pre-ordered there.

[Shin Otaku III]

That certainly is the way a normal store would do it, but the ones around here are gutting maniacs. There used to be a Kay Bee Toys in the local mall, and I almost always got sealed games with a gutted one being the rare exception. At the 2 local gamestops, it's the other way around.

Right. Like I said this is the way it SHOULD be. However, in the few situations I ran into where a store gutted all or most of their cases because they were former EB Games stores. This was a policy that was carried over from when Gamestop bought out EB a few years ago. Some managers never bothered going through and changing the system over. It is surprising; however, to hear that there are still stores out there that have that.

Geez, that's even worse than commission. I know a big chain bookstore around here does the same thing. It's the corporate overlords that are the greedy trolls.

Exactly, I hated it then; I hate it now, and it was bad enough that I don't even give them my business now.

[ShindoW]

I just wanted to note I went by my Gamestop today to pick up Indigo Prophecy (I have an unedited one I have yet to find a way to play) and I was worried at first because it had no manual, but then when I got it they had the manuals in back.

It makes me wonder if the Fatal Frames I saw had manuals. All 3 for $60 is a good deal. I also saw Atelier Iris 2 in the Used/Bargain PS2 bin. You guys should totally snag some good games. XD (I once got a Digital Devil Saga Deluxe Box for $35... even though I already had it. My friend needed it, so it worked out.) Anyway, what's your experience with boxes/manuals? I'm thinking of just asking from now on...