pow! to the moon, alice.

[meg]

this board has been so dead lately. so i'm going to vent a bit, because i sort of need to.

i'm considering dropping gamestop, and switching to the mighty intarwebs for all my gaming needs. the downside would be, no more used stuff.

the upside--no more douches. see, half the time i go to a gamestop store, i get these incredibly helpful, sweet guys, who check the company systems for nearby locations of games i'm trying to find, or who break out the stepstools so i can reach the high shelves.

and the other half, i get these pricks who can't seem to understand that i KNOW what i want. they think i'm the clueless female relation buying a gift, and if they bother to answer my question at all, it's with whatever is easiest for them to do. i went hunting for FF6 on the GBA, and i had a boy trying to sell me FF6 for the playstation (which i have already, and hate, because the cutscenes they tout so highly are few and crappy, and the actual play itself feels off), using a tone i reserve for clueless grandparents.

today i went in looking for memory cards (we misplaced ours when we last moved a few weeks back), and the one guy behind the counter was busy, so he called out for a second guy to help me (and i needed help, because the cards are up where i can't reach). and this guy? took one look at me and moved on to who he perceived as the next customer, DESPITE the first guy trying to correct him, and the "next customer" being my fiance, who was also going "no, no, i'm with her. for the memory card." this douche continued to ignore me, speaking only to my fiance, even though i was the one answering his questions. he then handed the card to my fiance, who handed it to me.

and i handled this as gracefully as i could. my fiance and i were making it clear that *I* was the one who wanted it. i'm the bigger gamer. i bought us a DS, and all associated peripherals. my brother and i buy each other games for birthdays and christmas. the fiance's big thing is comics, not games, and he typically only gets into the mario and zelda stuff.

i'm going to make a complaint to the company. i'm tired of walking into gamestores with my fingers crossed. i did complain, in the store. i came back after later shopping, because time wasn't helping me mellow out about it (and it usually does. i try to be understanding about things, and give people the benefit of the doubt).

and you know. it feels so good to stand up for yourself. does anyone know of any online retailers that sell used games and such? something more reliable than ebay.

[Alunissage]

I've no shopping recommendations for you, but I sure hear you on the female = invisible game store experience. It hasn't happened to me in recent years, but I well remember having every staff member on the floor ignore me in favor of the man with three boys who were laboriously trading in used games and examining every single used GBA cartridge and arguing over what they'd get, while I waited to make my purchase. Fine, have it your way... you don't think I'm a customer and won't allow me to be a customer, well, then, I won't BE one. Ever.

[Parn]

Amazon sells used copies sometimes. Amazon directly doesn't sell them, but third parties can put them up, and there are many of them that maintain their business selling through Amazon.

Might I make the recommendation to buy new, though? I say this mostly because when you buy used, none of the money spent goes back to the publishers/developers. I understand that some people are on a budget and want to save that $5 per used title versus buying new, but if you can afford it, that extra $5 spent per game leads to better products in the future. And consider: if you buy new directly through Amazon, you don't have to pay for shipping or tax, and thus you're paying about the same as you were when you were buying used in-store at Gamestop/EBGames since used titles are generally $5 less, which is then offset by taxes. The only drawback is waiting 2-5 days for a title to arrive in the mail. The positive is that you get pristine copies of games and don't have to deal with driving to the mall, putting up with bad customer service.

[Imperial Knight]

Might I make the recommendation to buy new, though? I say this mostly because when you buy used, none of the money spent goes back to the publishers/developers.

While I would tend to agree on principle, the ability to buy used games is still nice for getting games that aren't available new any more. There are several games that I've only been able to experience because I was able to get my hands on a used copy (Grandia comes to mind as a specific example).

[Werefrog]

Well... there's always eBay. The selection there is a thousand times larger than any used game store. If you're worried about quality of service, you can buy from Amazon's used store. It's a bit more expensive, but it's backed by Amazon (which I trust a lot more than eBay).

Also, there's probably some sort of used game store in your area, so you could switch to online for all your new games and purchase used games locally. It may be out of your way a bit, but it's always good to have an alternative to the franchise ones

edit: D'oh! I just read the bit about more reliable than eBay. Sorry. Really though, some of the sellers on eBay are good. They specialize in selling used games and have sold thousands of games, so their feedback is a good indicator of their service.

[Benevolent_Ghaleon]

Would you rather be invisible in the store or have all of those greasy gamers staring at you with their hands in their pockets trying to hide their erections (if they're that polite)?

I definitely have seen it go on. It certainly isn't fair, but you'll be miserable forever if you think you can change the opinions of others. we're in a progressive world, but we aren't quite there yet.

perhaps it's just the upbringing and the stereotypes being perpetuated around them? maybe they should just be made to watch a few videos on the subject? then if it doesn't clear up in a bit...termination.

[ilovemyguitar]

perhaps it's just the upbringing and the stereotypes being perpetuated around them? maybe they should just be made to watch a few videos on the subject? then if it doesn't clear up in a bit...termination.

I like the sound of that.

[Dark_Fairy]

Luckly, the guys at my gamestop haven't given me a single problem. This might be because I'm one of the few female gamers in "Boring Town" Indiana, but they're all really nice to me and know me pretty well since I'm in there to pre-order games all the time. I always get the same 2 guys and they're both pretty cool. Heck, I even recommended a game to one guy and talked about DMC4 to the other guy. I've heard awful stories about Gamestop and luckly niether my sister (who is an employee at a Gamestop a few towns away) or myself have had any bad experiences there.

If anything, try someplace like Best Buy for offline shopping. I use a locally owned video store for used games along with Gamestop and I get some pretty sweet stuff (a old SNES FF game + Castlevania IV for 10 dollars) and no trouble. Online shopping you can find just about anything, anywhere.

[meg]

Would you rather be invisible in the store or have all of those greasy gamers staring at you with their hands in their pockets trying to hide their erections (if they're that polite)?

you know. having been subject to rough equivalents of both--it really depends on the day. if i'm feeling brave, the second one. because it's scary to be treated that way, but it's less maddening, and it's something i'm really allowed to respond to. how do you respond to being invisible?

and dark fairy--i completely forgot best buy existed. i live in an old city, and the big name stores don't have room to invade. there's gamestops and starbucks everywhere because they're small, but for chain restaurants, walmarts, and the like, you have to hit the suburbs. it's been ages since i looked in a best buy, i'll have to check that out.

[Kizyr]

Meanwhile, I've been looking for alternatives to Best Buy. Every time I go into there, I get such poor service that I swear I'll never return.

And then I end up needing something small like a surge protector or new mouse. KF

[Sonic#]

I've never been treated as a sexual object that I know of. And I'm always noticed when I enter game stores. They ask if I need any help, and almost every time I turn them down. But still, the option is there, and I can almost guarantee you they'll talk to me first when I'm with my fiancee. Ah, the trappings of powers (powers because exclusive) that I don't want. I can't really empathize. I just wish I could do more.

Yeah, Best Buy is not the best option if you want any reasonable service. But as I say, I normally don't want to deal with the salespeople. There or Circuit City or Wal-mart or Toys R Us. They're all going to have some irksome disadvantage (such as the lack of helpful salespeople or overly assertive salespeople or being a store that is geared toward kids, which is cool until you're looking for this one game...).

[Jenner]

I've never been treated as a sexual object that I know of.

Hey pretty boy, what're you doin' out of the kitchen and posting on this message board?

I guess it might be because you don't have the "Gamer Girl" look? That can't be true, now that I thinking of it, I've never gone into a game store with a boy and been subject to that. Mostly, because I've never gone into a game store with a male companion. The opportunity has never arisen, seeing as my life is usually devoid of persistent male companionship. I know what I want, and I can transport myself, thus, I take myself to a game store and I speak, assertively to an employee and I am treated, quite easily, as a customer with no loss of respect. So perhaps the reason you're getting this reception is because of those two factors sis. (Those factors being, not looking the part, and having a boy with you.) I don't know about you not looking like a gamer though, my visual image of you is with that Nintendo stuff all over you, so it has to be the other one. So forget those guys. Try a Suncoast.