Honestly, I doubt it would make a difference. The rise of digital would likely have killed them off either way. I can't remember the last time I've bought a game from either Best Buy or Target.
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Would Gamestop be in a better state if they respected customers?
- Thread starter fireflame
- Start date
Honestly, I doubt it would make a difference. The rise of digital would likely have killed them off either way. I can't remember the last time I've bought a game from either Best Buy or Target.
Yes, Gamestop would be in a better place if they didn't have horrible leadership up top for a long time.
Yes, digital is a bigger deal and hurts them more. That doesn't mean that their absolutely notoriously bad customer service doesn't hurt them as well. Lots of folks want to handwave away these issues because they've had a good time at Gamestop before. That's fine, but there are plenty who care, plenty who shop elsewhere because of it, and it's certainly had an impact over the years.
Yes, digital is a bigger deal and hurts them more. That doesn't mean that their absolutely notoriously bad customer service doesn't hurt them as well. Lots of folks want to handwave away these issues because they've had a good time at Gamestop before. That's fine, but there are plenty who care, plenty who shop elsewhere because of it, and it's certainly had an impact over the years.
The problems with GS are corporate, and as someone who worked retail for over a decade forced up selling with punitive measures for failing to do so is not exclusive to GS or even that type of retail so I have never blamed the employees.
My big issue when I bought physical is I don't pay new for unsealed games, sorry if the case has been opened it's used. And now I just buy digital which is what's going to kill them.
This isn't GS policy's coming back to bite them, it's more Blockbuster vs Netflix and that's just the reality of it.
My big issue when I bought physical is I don't pay new for unsealed games, sorry if the case has been opened it's used. And now I just buy digital which is what's going to kill them.
This isn't GS policy's coming back to bite them, it's more Blockbuster vs Netflix and that's just the reality of it.
And stop trying to sell us stuff we'd never use. I think I can protect my disc without paying extra money thanks.
It being wrapped has no barring on it. They have to open it and sell it as used. For a game like Destiny 2 sure. It's a GaaS, they will most likely get an over stock of copies traded in. They'd need to sell a massive overstock before the games price reduced to make sure they earned profit from the trade in. Of course Destiny 2 nosedived in price within a month.
Idk why you would try and trade in a brand new game in release day as opposed to selling it on Craigslist.
Yes and they adapted to the times where buying digital shouldn't be a problem it has for stores like Amazon, Target and Walmart who sell cards for games. Also if they fix their trade in system and actually offer something worth wild. It's one of the reasons why people use EBay or selling apps to sell their games and systems and yes treat their customers right.
That's every job. No job is perfect I learned that the hard way. One thing they should fix is their wages and maybe pay them a bit better.
I can't even think of another store that is as aggresive with their level of harrasment of upselling. when you go into a gamestop with someone that hasn't been in one before they leave asking you "WTF" because of all the questions they ask you when you walk in to buy a plastic action figure.
what a weird coincidence...
Just a weird coincidence, this was honestly the first time I've talked about GameStop in months, and just today someone/something tried to access my account... so odd. I honestly didn't even know that GameStop had an online account system or that I had one.
I'm pleased and surprised that their web services are sophisticated enough to do that.
Well, that's something I'm gonna have to go in and delete :)
Just a weird coincidence, this was honestly the first time I've talked about GameStop in months, and just today someone/something tried to access my account... so odd. I honestly didn't even know that GameStop had an online account system or that I had one.
I'm pleased and surprised that their web services are sophisticated enough to do that.
Well, that's something I'm gonna have to go in and delete :)
They're struggling due to the shifting topography of physical media versus digital along with a consumer marketplace that has largely shifted to online shopping.
I'm not saying some of their poor practices haven't adversely affected them but they were very successful and profitable for years despite such practices but now, clearly, things are changing and that decline isn't predominately rooted in gutted copies or bad customer service.
And yes, the hate they get is overblown because much of the complaints levied at GS can just as easily be levied at any number of other retailers. I can't get out of most brick and mortar stores without being bombarded by credit card offers, club/card memberships, etc. and shit customer service has practically become the default.
Good luck with that my friend, glad you shared though put a smile on my face this morning (I actually have an account with them, took advantage of BF type PS+ deals before, should probably look into deactivating it myself).what a weird coincidence...
Just a weird coincidence, this was honestly the first time I've talked about GameStop in months, and just today someone/something tried to access my account... so odd. I honestly didn't even know that GameStop had an online account system or that I had one.
I'm pleased and surprised that their web services are sophisticated enough to do that.
Well, that's something I'm gonna have to go in and delete :)
Making par for a little space and respect would help them a bit. But you're probably right that it wouldn't help enough.
What could really help them, is to take advantage of the fact that they have such a specific audience and and giving them a reason to get into the store. how hard would it be to make a video game store fun for video gamers? Or at least more fun than GameStop is right now.
Funco used to set up hella systems so customers could try before they buy, or simply enjoy themselves. That's like, the simplest idea in the universe. When they had that, a kid could not walk by that store without dragging their parents in. It gave the place A major advantage over a department store because it was fun to go to if you like video games, which you probably do...
They make no effort to make a nice shopping experience. They have a cringey promo tape on Loop 4 months at a time, and they have crappy kiosks. If they can come up with one loyalty program after another, they can come up with something to attract people to the store.
I was told I didn't want to buy the versions of the game I was buying too many times. Scoffed at for buying wii games and pushed magazines every time I bought something. I stopped going to gamestop I don't have a ton of good memories and fondness of the store... there were a few midnight launches that were ...ok I guess but it was because I was with friends.
Yeah I think if gamestop employees cared about their customers more that perhaps they wouldnt be closing so many stores. I haven't been to one in years
Yeah I think if gamestop employees cared about their customers more that perhaps they wouldnt be closing so many stores. I haven't been to one in years
I stopped buying games at GameStop due to the badgering of pre-orders, insurance, etc. and just went to a Wal Mart or Best Buy. Eventually that shifted to Amazon, and whenever I go into a GameStop its more out of curiosity or being with someone else. Can't see why they should get my business over the alternatives when they make simple transactions tedious.
They'd be in a better state if the console manufacturers hadn't made it so easy and enticing to purchase games digitally. Sorry, but I find very little value in purchasing physical anymore. I have no desire to step foot in a store that sells media I have no use for. I hate clutter and I just have no interest in hoarding game boxes anymore.
Personally I never thought GameStop was a terrible company, I like having somewhere I can trade my games in and basically get a new game for free. With that said they have done some sketchy things in the past, like offering very low trade in value for consoles and also giving me a used copy of a game when I asked for a new one. I live in Colorado and I think they're the only place that accepts trade ins so that's nice but for some reason it's always pretty dead in there when I walk in. I just think ppl don't see a reason to go there for their games anymore. I'll miss having someplace for trade ins but to be honest I won't miss it that much as I only buy a new game every other month.
This too, I think digital sales has made GameStop and probably game sales in a lot of other stores take a major hit. Why go out and pay full price when u can do it from the comfort of your own home.
Trying to convince a smart audience of people to buy a warranty is ridiculous, easy to sway parents or grandparents but most teens-to-adults are aware of the scam. Also I worked there when we had commission for our attachment rate. they then removed commission and had the same goal expectations. They would tell you how you are letting the team down, limit your hours and sound so fake to customers. I hated it. emotionally draining working there.
On the other side of the fence I ended up working for a place called MicroPlay. and I loved it there. so laid back and just games, games, games!
The last two times I went to Game Stop they put the "warranty" on my games without asking me. As a customer I get they have sales to meet and there's a consequence of them not doing so. But trying to manipulate me or cheat me out of my money leaves a bad taste in my mouth and makes me less likely to visit your store again.
The only reason I'd visit Game Stop again is for used games for older platforms, like the PS3 or 360
The only reason I'd visit Game Stop again is for used games for older platforms, like the PS3 or 360
They sold me a Switch with a ton of dust stuck behind the screen. Looked really bad, almost like glitter when the back light was on. They refused to refund me and would not even exchange it. Needless to say, I'll never purchase anything from there again
Last time I went into a GameStop it was to pick up a just released game but they apparently didn't have any to sell, only preorders. So I went a couple minutes away to Circuit City and picked it up off the shelf. The game was Wind Waker.
tons of cash? no, no one is expecting 100% returns on games they are selling back. but returning a copy of a new game that's 1 week old and get less than 50% is scummy. so fuck your train of thought.
That's not scummy at all. They present you with what they'll take it for. They aren't tricking you.
I'm not sure why less then 50 percent for a used copy is what you'd consider scummy. They have to account for price drops, the amount of copies on hand, the probability of them selling before price drops, etc. It's not as simple as this is X now so I'll give you Y. That's like saying WM is scummy for baking loss prevention into their prices lol.
Why is it scummy? What is the likelihood that they are able to sell said game before a new copy hits $40 or less?
There are real complaints to make out there about GameStop, like their shitty corporate structure and unacceptable treatment of employees, that it frankly blows my mind to see people still complain about getting sold a gut five years ago.
Secondly, the insurance isn't designed for you. I would pitch it to every customer and quite often would receive the reply "no thanks, I'm an adult and take care of my games." I'd say cool or good on them and finish out the transaction. The customers who benefit from the insurance are people with kids (I've had chewed on Switch cartridges and ones that have gone through the wash) or pets that they don't control. There was also a frightening number of grody ass adults who simply didn't take care of their expensive stuff who could really use the $3 protection. I had people who were moving soon who decided to protect their $60 game just in case a box got fucked in the process. There are real use cases for GPGs; if you're not someone who finds them useful, just say no thanks.
As an employee, it was real tough being a woman for many of the same reasons: customers gatekeeping or hitting on me. I know my shit about headsets and PCs and console troubleshooting, so my co-workers would usually bump those questions my way. I'd constantly get them looking to my male coworkers even after, or saying shit like "you probably can't help me, I'll ask this guy." If a customer was clearly trying to get too familiar, I'd make a real effort to mention that I have a boyfriend. It was gross, but worth it for when we had young girls (or any women) come in and get to talk to someone they felt comfortable with and, in the case of the young girls, see that it was OK to play and like games.
A few things to keep in mind here, coming from a former GameStop employee: first, the employee is not responsible for the insurance existing. They're expected to offer them to every customer. These employees are people scraping by for minimum wage, and it's incredibly rude to laugh at them when you can just say no thanks.
Secondly, the insurance isn't designed for you. I would pitch it to every customer and quite often would receive the reply "no thanks, I'm an adult and take care of my games." I'd say cool or good on them and finish out the transaction. The customers who benefit from the insurance are people with kids (I've had chewed on Switch cartridges and ones that have gone through the wash) or pets that they don't control. There was also a frightening number of grody ass adults who simply didn't take care of their expensive stuff who could really use the $3 protection. I had people who were moving soon who decided to protect their $60 game just in case a box got fucked in the process. There are real use cases for GPGs; if you're not someone who finds them useful, just say no thanks.
As a customer, going into a GameStop as a woman was a crapshoot. Some were super cool and normal. Others, I'd get typical gatekeeping bullshit. Other times I'd get hit on. It's deeply uncomfortable and I'd immediately feel more comfortable if I see a woman behind the register or even just knew a woman worked there. My former store manager made a real effort to hire women and to hire people from different races/religions/background, even in a predominantly white area. That really affected the climate of the store in a positive way.
As an employee, it was real tough being a woman for many of the same reasons: customers gatekeeping or hitting on me. I know my shit about headsets and PCs and console troubleshooting, so my co-workers would usually bump those questions my way. I'd constantly get them looking to my male coworkers even after, or saying shit like "you probably can't help me, I'll ask this guy." If a customer was clearly trying to get too familiar, I'd make a real effort to mention that I have a boyfriend. It was gross, but worth it for when we had young girls (or any women) come in and get to talk to someone they felt comfortable with and, in the case of the young girls, see that it was OK to play and like games.
i've said this for years: gamestop adds ZERO value to buying games and is predatory as f.
they also have too much real estate to survive the decline in used games due to digital.
they also have too much real estate to survive the decline in used games due to digital.
The constant upsells are what drove me away as well for the most part. That and my personal experience with the stores not price matching or price guaranteeing within 14-30 days if the price lowered at their store. Once they tried to deny me a price match because the game went half off a week after I bought it so I had to return the game and rebuy it (AKA how price guaranteeing works). I get not all stores can/want to price match amazon, but at least match yourself. And now the stores are filled with Rick and Morty pickles and other junk so I just pass.
I've had mixed experiences with Gamestop. What really keeps me from wanting to go there are the pushy salespeople. The worst time to be a customer was when I let my Powerup Pro membership expire as I was sitting on 35k of unused Powerup points. Good Lord. The guilt tripping on how I'm wasting money by not being a Pro member. The over selling. Others telling me I could get the membership for free (when I'd really just be trading in the points for the membership). This went on for months with each visit. The worst was when I had to pick up my pre-order Shadow of the Colossus on PS4 and sales guy was acting cool until he scanned my Powerup card and saw the butt load of points. He spent 5 min stalling and doing mental gymnastics of figuring out ways to get me to renew my membership with those points. All I wanted was the damn game. When nothing worked, out of desperation he eventually says I should use them as soon as possible because the points will expire, or worse, one day they could just disappear. I remember staring at him like he was crazy and repeated back to him that he just told me as fact that the company he worked for would willingly delete hard earned points from customers "just because" and asked if he honestly believed that. His response: "maybe" with a shrug.
That experience totally put me off from going to Gamestop for a few months until they had a 30% off statues sale. I visited one way out of my neighborhood because they were only store that had an item I was looking for. The salesperson rang up the figure, scanned my Powerup card and didn't sell me on anything. No preorder. No Pro membership. Nothing. I said screw it, and asked her to renew my membership simply because she didn't bug me like every single person did. That, and I missed getting GameInformer in the mail.
I'm not trying to buy a car. I just want a physical game that I can just as easily get at any Walmart, Target, or Best Buy and without the hassle.
That experience totally put me off from going to Gamestop for a few months until they had a 30% off statues sale. I visited one way out of my neighborhood because they were only store that had an item I was looking for. The salesperson rang up the figure, scanned my Powerup card and didn't sell me on anything. No preorder. No Pro membership. Nothing. I said screw it, and asked her to renew my membership simply because she didn't bug me like every single person did. That, and I missed getting GameInformer in the mail.
I'm not trying to buy a car. I just want a physical game that I can just as easily get at any Walmart, Target, or Best Buy and without the hassle.
That really sucks, but I guess I shouldn't be shocked. I love this hobby, but I'm often surprised how weird gamers can be. I'm still not sure why some people *wouldn't* want it be be bigger and more inclusive. I wish my wife was more into it, personally, but at least she doesn't dislike it.
Like I said, it's one person's experience, but all of the women working in GS that I've dealt with were very helpful and knowledgeable, and honestly, more personable (not that there haven't been pleasant male employees as well, but more hit and miss).
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No.
Retail is in danger because of e-commerce and people being more careful in their purchasing habits. Gamestop is no different.
In fact, aggressive marketing is more a consequence rather than a cause of Gamestop abysmal performance.
Retail is in danger because of e-commerce and people being more careful in their purchasing habits. Gamestop is no different.
In fact, aggressive marketing is more a consequence rather than a cause of Gamestop abysmal performance.
The last time I went into gamestop I was hit with preordering funkos...games...and the magazine subscription all when I just buying a media remote for my Xbox.
Just let me give you money for an item I want and let me please leave.
Just let me give you money for an item I want and let me please leave.
One store in LA sold me an open DS game at full price they claimed was new, but it had save data on it.
Another one in Phoenix 'threatened' to sell my preorder copy of MGS4 when I arrived at the store 'late' (5PM) to pick it up.
In a different store in the mall, they sarcastically told me there was no such thing as a backlit GBA when I said I was excited about buying the SP+/AGS--101. He just rolled his eyes when I showed him the front of the box that said "backlit screen".
The only time I went back was for Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii, and that's because I didn't have any other choice. I was surprised that I got my art book and no other upsell was attempted. Maybe at that point they were turning around a bit, but by then it was pretty much too late for me.
Another one in Phoenix 'threatened' to sell my preorder copy of MGS4 when I arrived at the store 'late' (5PM) to pick it up.
In a different store in the mall, they sarcastically told me there was no such thing as a backlit GBA when I said I was excited about buying the SP+/AGS--101. He just rolled his eyes when I showed him the front of the box that said "backlit screen".
The only time I went back was for Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii, and that's because I didn't have any other choice. I was surprised that I got my art book and no other upsell was attempted. Maybe at that point they were turning around a bit, but by then it was pretty much too late for me.
I'm sorry your wife has had bad experiences and felt alienated from the hobby. It's really hard to keep with it sometimes when I see how large gaming communities treat women. If she uses Reddit at all, I highly recommend /r/GirlGamers. It might help you find games that would appeal to her, too.
I think one of the issues GameStop has on an employee level is that they often source their hires from store regulars who are all about gaming. An employee at my former store was hired because he was constantly there as a customer for years. That's great, and it's cool that folks theoretically can find work that pertains to their hobbies in some way. But people who regularly hang out at GameStop for hours don't tend to be the most socially capable folks, and it results in bad customer service and bad salesmanship. The sales numbers I was asked to hit as an employee frankly were not difficult. Yeah I'd have some bad weeks, but as long as you offer to customers and aren't gross or weird, it was a breeze. I was not a pushy salesperson either. But these folks who are hardcore gamers and lack social skills struggle with sales numbers because they don't understand how to navigate customer interactions or tailor their approach to the customer in front of them. They then get pressure from their DL to improve numbers and become increasingly desperate. I think that's where you see a lot of bad interactions with employees occur.
I think gamestop is also able to get away with poor labor practices because, even if someone could make more money elsewhere, employees feel beholden to a place where they get to talk about games or that has been a social hub for them. There's a real koolaid drinking among employees.
Digital distribution was likely inevitable, but it may have been hastened by GameStop doing everything in their power to avoid selling new games unless absolutely necessary to make a sale. It's not lack of customer respect but lack of publisher and developer respect that painted a bullseye on their business.
I feel the same way about their prices at times, but then I remember that they have to make up all the 1 dollar copies of shit like 4 year old Madden or destiny 1 that they have to take and will never sell.
Gamestop gives the same amount of respect to gamers that gamers give to literally everyone and everything in their lives.
Why is complaining about a gutted copy wrong?If I can't open something in the store and then right there return it as unused you shouldn't be able to sell it opened.
Especially knowing for a fact sometimes those copies do get used by employees.
Yes, but that isn't my problem as a consumer. If they pay guests dirt for their used games, then those people are going to sell their games elsewhere. The whole point of them buying used games is to increase foot traffic and get people into the store who can be upsold. You're not getting those sales is you push them away by being stingy.
Well that's a loaded thread title.
I've never had a disrespectful experience inside a GameStop. Granted, I'm a white dude in his late 20's, so I'm probably the least likely to be disrespected there. In my experience, it's always been good reps with a decent knowledge on games, or at least as much knowledge you can expect someone to have for a lower wage job.
I've never had a disrespectful experience inside a GameStop. Granted, I'm a white dude in his late 20's, so I'm probably the least likely to be disrespected there. In my experience, it's always been good reps with a decent knowledge on games, or at least as much knowledge you can expect someone to have for a lower wage job.
Not sure if this makes it worse, but at my location they usually "didn't know" about the preorder bonuses.
There were a couple of occasions where I preordered an item and an additional preorder bonus was tacked onto the purchase at a later time, e.g. the demon's souls preorder came with an art book that was later announced, and when I picked up my order I asked about the bonus item and was told "everything is in the package". I would go to my car, open up the package, and of course no additional preorder items. So I would go back in and say, the additional item wasn't included in the package, and the employee would fumble through the drawer under the register before finding a couple dozen of them and say, "oh! here it is".
I'm sure a handful of people walked away without the artbook/knowing of its existence.
I'm fairly certain that the people at mine just kept them for themselves.
