Game Stop/EB Games

[Monde Luna]

It seems a few of you are anti eb games/ game stop. What's the deal? I've personally never had any problems so I would like to be educated.

[Kizyr]

My main issue stems from them having sold me two empty boxes for $70, then when I came back to return them told me that the games must've been out of stock. (I got a refund without any problem. But, I'm rather pissed that they lied to me about the games being out of stock.)

They also require down payment for any pre-orders. That's not so much of my issue, but, if I'm going to pay in advance then I'd rather do it from some place I have more trust in. KF

[Benevolent_Ghaleon]

Take a few games up there to sell to them, listen to how much they offer and then see how you feel.

[phyco126]

My main issue stems from them having sold me two empty boxes for $70, then when I came back to return them told me that the games must've been out of stock. (I got a refund without any problem. But, I'm rather pissed that they lied to me about the games being out of stock.)

I've had the opposite problem. Bought a $40 game with a different game inside, but yet the manual had the keycode on it. So screw it. I ended up getting two $40 game packages for like, $40, lol. I suppose my ethics ain't what it should be.

Though, I have heard that they steal your pre-order bonuses.

[Ardent Fox]

Gamestop/EB and I have this...history. We've been through a very love/hate relationship. At one point they hire people who know what they're talking about, they're very adamant about playing games, they're enthusiastic and it's easy to get lost in conversation with these people. Unfortunately, these people come around about as often as Haley's Comet and last about as long.

In the mean time, the people they have that work behind the counter are usually your normal everyday man who plays his Madden or his Gears of War and goes on about his day, not being able to share in the pain of a boss you can't beat or doing speed runs on Super Mario Brothers. This man is not the hardcore gamer you'd expect. This man, is instead a body they threw behind a counter that has at least one working finger to make the register work and about as much brainpower to be able to tell you that the new UFC game is "the absolute shizzle, yo" and any argument with him on the latest Indie game will leave him frightened of you and you empty of both mind and wallet because he just sucked both dry with how dense he is.

I've looked at their application process and filled out several of them. There's at one point a series of questions that asks about your experience with consoles and what you own, what you know blah blah. Well I don't like to toot my own horn but I still own consoles from way back when Mario was a sparkle in the eye of Mr. Miyamoto, back when black and white monochrome was the dog's bollocks. I've also programmed games and have found myself in the midst of working tech support to correct problems with computers and can navigate my way through troubleshooting a console. Even with all these great perks and being an avid gamer they chose some twit who's only experience with a game was a few motocross titles and a gaping hole in the area of experience with computers you could fit Russia into.

I've run into a few instances where you get the person who knows what he's doing, and I can understand business practices where you need to just hire people for a Christmas rush or something but seriously, can't you at least make sure the guy you hired knows at least a little bit of what's going on? I didn't mean to turn this into a rant but the soap box was there and no one was using it. I think I'll stop now before this turns ugly and the next thing you know there will be a jihad put out upon every Gamestop from here to Washington where our voices will be heard!

Done now, like, for real this time.

[Nobiyuki77]

What I dislike is the constant badgering. I still preorder stuff there if I think it's going to be in short supply or if I need it Day 1. However, if it's something BIG like Wii Sports Resort (I just picked it up yesterday), I won't preorder. I'll just pick it up. I hate how they're constantly asking me to subscribe to their stupid magazines or their card etc.

[Shin Otaku III]

Let me bring in another perspective here. Speaking as a former employee of Gamestop, I can answer most of your questions. When I worked there the average price for game adviser (peon button pusher) was 5.60/hr. This is in the state of Georgia mind you. So in addressing one of Ardent Fox's issues: quality of employee, it would only make sense that for that kind of pay you're going to get someone who is not exactly of great caliber. If you did happen to get someone decent, I would assume it's there first job (kinda like me ).
As far as the mistakes made with selling the wrong product or and empty box, mistakes definitely happen when the majority of your work force is a bunch of lazy 16-19 year old kids.
The constant badgering is going to be there when your manager tells you that if at least 30% of your sales don't have game reserves/subscriptions then you get written up. Two write ups = fired.
So there it is. A whole lot of corporate BS mixed with 16 year old kid employees don't make for a pleasurable experience. I'm gonna have to agree with Kizyr on this one, if you wanna get a game, order it online through another retailer.

[Werefrog]

Oh yeah, I have no doubt that the majority of this is not the fault of the employees, rather the blame lies with the corporate structure.

Still, these are the reasons that we don't like Gamestop. Frankly, I buy the majority of games online (or at a store like Wal-Mart or Target) because I don't like the hassle at checkout. The only time that I'll buy a game at Gamestop is if I can't find it online or if I want it right away.

I did buy a Wii from them a couple of years ago. That wasn't bad. But we did have to spread out all over Cincinnati to get them (it when they were in super high demand though, so that was expected).

[Alunissage]

It's been a few years -- nearly nine, yikes -- but I think it was EB that screwed up the Ghaleon puppet pre-order deal for EBC. That's not the only preorder bonus problem, but that may have influenced some Lunar fans against them.

[Dark_Fairy]

I actually like my Gamestop. I've heard all of the horror stories about Gamestops before, but the only problem I ever had was them losing my pre-order bonus for Castlevania: Order of Eccelsia. I actually felt really bad for asking about it because they searched their entire store for it (backroom and counter). They did apologize and said they would give me a call if they found it. They never did, but I appreciate the trouble they went through to try to find it.

I always pre-order from them all the time and always get my bonus and the games in an orderly manner, so one mess up that was handled in a proper way like that wouldn't make me angry at them at all. ^_^

[Kizyr]

Pre-order bonuses tend to disappear since you have occasional people skimming off the top, or not giving pre-order bonuses unless you specifically ask for them.

Basically, it's not uncommon for folks who pre-order from Gamestop never to get a pre-order bonus, hence why I strongly recommend never pre-ordering from them. KF

[Ardent Fox]

Much of it is all about corporate policy from what I've discovered. I don't blame the pour acne ridden teenager behind the counter for all my troubles and woes. But honestly...how hard is it to be competent when your bosses aren't?

...Okay after reviewing that statement I'd like it slashed from the record.

[Monde Luna]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. It seems like I am a lucky one among the Lunar population.

Unfortunately Gamestop is the only game store in my area. Other then that it's EB Games at the malls, but its same entity so it doesn't make much of a difference. Back in the day when Lunar was still young I got most of my games from Diehard Gamers Club courtesy of my step-dad. But other than my OG Lunars I think the majority of my games have come from Gamestop, EB games and Gamecrazy. Where do you all buy your games online? If there is a preorder special I want to make sure I get it.

[Werefrog]

There's always Amazon for buying games. In the US, Amazon has really competitive prices for games and free shipping. Only problem is that you got to have a credit card. They might take Pay Pal.

[Monde Luna]

When you order from amazon do you still get preorder extra's though?

[Werefrog]

When you order from amazon do you still get preorder extra's though?

Not generally. You can still get those games from Ebgames if that's important to you. I usually don't pre-order games anyway, so that's not a problem for me.

[Dark_Fairy]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. It seems like I am a lucky one among the Lunar population.

Unfortunately Gamestop is the only game store in my area. Other then that it's EB Games at the malls, but its same entity so it doesn't make much of a difference. Back in the day when Lunar was still young I got most of my games from Diehard Gamers Club courtesy of my step-dad. But other than my OG Lunars I think the majority of my games have come from Gamestop, EB games and Gamecrazy. Where do you all buy your games online? If there is a preorder special I want to make sure I get it.

I'm actually the same way as you. Gamestop is the only game store in my town, next closest being Best Buy about 30 minutes drive in the next closest town from where I live. It's too inconvenient for me to go that far just to pre-order a game. I would buy things online, but I hate doing that unless I have to. So, I'm still sticking with Gamestop unless they get bad for me.

[Monde Luna]

D_F I have a best buy about 20 minutes away from me too, but I don't really count it as a place to get my RPG's. I'm not sure why but I always feel like I have to get my RPG's from actual game stores.

[Ardent Fox]

Yeah, unfortunately here in jolly old Lawton, the only way I can get most of the things I want is through the internet. There are two Gamestops, the good one and the bad one. The bad one being the tiny abomination they've stuffed into a mall. The good one being one that has it's own free standing building and sense enough to hire the people who know what they're doing. I wont even talk about the one on post at the PX. That one does not exist to me.

Even with these options, I still either have to go to the PX or Wal-Mart if I don't want to wait but even then the choices that are given to me are fairly painstaking. Everything mainstream hits those shelves, in the mean time I'm left having to wade through a Gamestop to get what I really want. It's days like those that I often wonder if XBLA had any new releases and I could just stay home...

[Werefrog]

Honestly, EBGameStop is the only option in most areas. Since the merger of EB and Gamestop, there's practically no competition in most areas. Even when there's an indie store, I don't think they get the pre-order bonuses.