Giant Bomb Community Thoughts On Gamefly

I have been using Gamefly for a few months now and I have a few problems. My biggest problem is the huge waiting period I'm going through right now. They received my last game on August 28th, and they have yet to ship my next game. I understand they may be running low on copies of the games on my Q, but I'm paying for a week+ of nothing. Another problem I have is all the availability issues. This problem may be the consumers holding on to games for a prolonged period of time, but it is still a large wrench thrown in the cogs. I digress. Regardless of my many many problems with Gamefly, I don't really have a choice. I don't have the cash to be buying a game every few weeks, so this is my only real option. I'm pulling for Gamefly, trust me, I think it is a great concept, but they aren't quite there yet. How about the Giantbomb-ers? Do you use Gamefly? If so what kind of experiences have you had? Good or bad?  

I tried a free trial last year, and I wasn't impressed with the service. You tend to only be able to get older games and the turnaround time from the day you drop your old game in the mail to the time you receive a new one can be a pretty long time.
 
Having said that, this is probably about as good as any game rental service of this kind can get. Unlike the movies Netfix deals in, it's difficult to keep a large quantity of games in stock due to the cost involved. Also, people probably tend to keep games longer than they would a movie which further compounds availability issues. They also don't have nearly the number of shipping centers that Netflix has so that makes shipping times significant for most people. Again though, you can sort of understand why it would be difficult for them to have a large number of shipping centers though. It would be an increase in their expenses, and it would only spread out their relatively small stock of games.

I love it, I have been using it for a year now. I get all of the new games shipped out either on their release date, or a day before they're released. They come to me within two to three days. Can't complain, pretty great service. When they screwed up my purchase of Devil May Cry 4, they even reissued me my refund, and sent me a $5 coupon. That is the only complaint I have from them, and that was earlier this year. Then again, they ship from Pittsburgh to my home in South Jersey, so that is a pretty large advantage.
 
If you have a shipping center nearby, I recommend anyone in the States trying it out.

I have never tried Gamefly though I would like to give it a try.

I used to have it, but it took games so long to get to me and so long for them to ship back that it became inconvenient. Also, a lot of the times the game would be stolen through the mail when sending it back.

Seems interesting, but not being in the USA seems like a disadvantage. I don't know if you can even get them shipped up to Canada anyways. 

I used to have it, but it took games so long to get to me and so long for them to ship back that it became inconvenient. Also, a lot of the times the game would be stolen through the mail when sending it back.

" Seems interesting, but not being in the USA seems like a disadvantage. I don't know if you can even get them shipped up to Canada anyways.  "

I use it.  I've actually stopped and started the service twice now.  Just usally when a few games I missed have stacked up that I want to play but not buy.  I've found the trick with the long wait times is to go multi disk on the subscription and be smart about when you send them back.  No joke the turn-around time can be a week from St Louis.  But if you have some games you own that you're really playing or have one game that you have rented out that you still have a weeks worth or more to play you won't notice.   
 
Bottomline, waiting is long and it sucks.  It's no netflix on the turnaround time.  But it's great for renting  if you play to finish games and have a backlog you want to get through.

I've been using it for about a year.  There's about a week wait from when i drop one game in the mailbox until i get the next (Pittsburgh shipping center to Connecticut).  It's not the best service to use if you want the newest games but it's fine if you're just looking for -something- to play.  I mostly like it because of the "keep it" option they have.  Got a bunch of games cheap this way.

I've had GameFly for over two years and haven't ever had any issues receiving games the day of their release, the formula for that kind of success is simple, remove everything from your "GameQ" except the game that your desire. I can say that any issue I have had, they've taken care of pretty promptly for me (refunding credit for unused weeks etc..) I really do recommend the service, especially if you are someone who loves to play games as soon as they are out, it's an easy way to save tons of money. Compard to most places, renting from GameFly is a steal considering it costs about 8 bucks for a 5 day rental from the brick and mortar stores (Blockbuster, Hollwood Video)

I've had gamefly since late 2007 and I love it.  I usually get my games within three days.  I'd say the service is great for anyone who doesn't mind waiting a few weeks for new games.  Availability  is usually low right after a game's release. 
 
There are currently 4 distribution centers. They're in Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, and California so if you live near any of those places then shipping time shoud be short.

I fucking hate gamefly, such shitty business. they fucked me over so many times. 

I did use Gamefly and it was fantastic at first.  After a couple of months however, the waiting times became longer and longer.  The first few weeks I was waiting about two days for a game, which was really good.  Things got worse though.  I would think your experience with Gamefly probably depends on what part of the US you live in.

I'm pretty selective about the games I play so I prefer to buy them new at release if I believe the game has a lot of reply value (ex. persona 4) or wait until a price cut (force unleashed) before purchasing.  I like instant gratification from the games I play and hate waiting even if its a day to play a new one. Gamefly really isn't for me due to delays and I will avoid it.  I do like netflix, but I only watch movies on the weekends which means I have plenty of time to wait for new movies to reach me.

I use it, the only complaint I have against them is I refered my friend half a year ago and I never got my reward. 
 
as far as getting games when you want them and all that, well you can't always expect to get the latest game thats just the fact. Overall i think its great since it still beats buying all these games.

I almost gave it a shot, but then I heard that sometimes they can take a while to give you the exact game you want, and you can't always buy the game you want.

I like Gamefly except for the slow as shit part of it. I recently stopped using it though because I couldn't afford it.

 I like gamefly though they have been pissing me off lately, like recently i rented Atelier Annie for the DS, waited a week, it didn't show, reported a shipping error and asked for them to ship a new copy of the game, instead they ship MW2. really pisses me off, If i wanted MW2, i would have had it higher in the Q, and asked them to ship the next game. but now i'll have to wait till i can Atelier Annie, thanks gamefly. 
 
still i enjoy the services even if it doesn't make sense

I'd like to try it but, as stated earlier, they only ship within the states. Which makes me sad.

I have a shipping center in my town so I wait 2 days tops, so I have a good expierance  with them

Gamefly is over expensive and under serviced.  What is worse, though, is that video games do not lend themselves to being rented in the same way books and DVDs do.  Like music, it's intended to be owned.

If I want a game enough, I'm going to buy it. I guess I just don't want to play every game that comes out. 
 
Also Gamefly has awful service.

I have never tried it but from everything I hear, I never want to. The simple version of what I've heard is basically that it tries to be a Netflix without the service. And even Netflix has some issues.
 
What i've heard about the week turnaround on games just really puts me off. I guess its more that I'll buy the games I want to play and just wait till later to play others.

I use Gamefly and live in Dallas, so it only takes 2-3 business days at the most to get my games. Having said that, the only complaint I have is that I'm waiting a long time for newer games to become available. I know there really isn't much to be done there, but by the time I do get Borderlands, I doubt any of my friends will still be playing it.

I have Netflix and Gamefly and as @PantyshotMQN said:

" Anyone with Netflix are absolutely spoiled... "

I directly support the industry, so I buy all the games I play. Then again, I can afford it, so I don't look down on people exercising other options--hell, I used to rent games while growing up... but to this question, no I don't use Gamefly (or a Canadian equivalent), nor would I.

I have been an avid member since 2005. I switch between having the 3 and 4 game plan at any given time. Once or twice I have dropped down to 2 games. That being said, besides having two or three games getting lost/stolen in the mail. My service has been great. There has never been a new game that I didn't get shipped to me on launch day or the day before. Being that I live in New York my shipping time is two days. Once or twice they have been delayed or two. 

I've used Gamefly since '04. I only wish that the rental fee for the one game plan wasn't the price it was (still tolerable, but I just wish it was like, 5 bucks cheaper or something). Plus, waiting for new releases to be available is annoying so you pretty much have to get it on your Q before the release date (and return your last game well before it comes out).  
 
It's definetely not perfect, but I'd take it over going to Blockbuster or a rental store anyday.

Just signed up and had Splinter Cell Conviction ship out from the Tampa center on the 28th. I live on the same street as the distro center and it's been 3 days and still nothing. : \

I think I wrote a pretty solid blog on whether or not to get GameFly.
 
 http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/cancerdancer/questioning-whether-or-not-to-get-gamefly-look-no-further/30-44325/

I used them for a while and they were fine, but I got tired of never getting the game I wanted, even after rigging the system with an empty queue. I switched to Goozex instead and have been happier so far, although it's a bit less "professional" since you're dealing with other gamers instead of a company.

I use and like Gamefly for the most part. As long as you don't plan on playing a new release anytime soon, it's a pretty good deal.

I've used their service for a few years, and overall it's been a positive experience.  i can't really complain, games get to my place in about two days from shipping, which is fine because i don't have a chance to really dig into before the weekend anyway.  you can get the latest games, but you have to be savvy about managing your queue.  Let's say you want to be sure to get Halo Warfare Zone: Thieves Asylum shipped the day its available, you just have to be sure to have an available slot in your queue in order for the game to ship.  if you don't then a big title like Halo Warfare Zone: Thieve Asylum will likely be unavailable for a few weeks or so.  their prices are really good, and disturbing at the same time.  i picked up Modern Warfare 2, as a new used copy (it's sent to you as new...unless they have people there playing the exact copy they sent you) for $44 the day it arrived at my house, two days after release.  didn't even have to leave the house.  crazy how much prices drop.  they have some nice sales, they offer you discounts for being a member for so long (netflix does not do that), etc.  i have saved money on renting games that i would have purchased, but after renting, either soured on or realized i just wouldn't play the game again, etc.

I have been using GameFly since January of this year and I wish I had started it way earlier.  Great service, thankfully in part that I live relative close to one of it's main shipping centers.

I've been doing the game fly thing for about 3 years now.
I swear by the service since all my local rental places have shut down (save for one blockbuster with a horrible selection). 
 
I've gotten some of the best deals ever through their used game sales, and they've all been in tip top shape.

Wow, I'm surprised so many GBers use Gamefly. I tried it for a couple months, but I found it's really not my cup of tea.

I can play a ton of games I normally wouldn't play.
I can buy new games for 45 bucks (so what if they are opened, GameStop does the same stuff)
They are usually pretty fast.
 
Why wouldn't you? 
Hell, even if you buy everything. I think it'd be worth it to just get a 1 game subscription so you could try weird games you normally wouldn't spend cash on

No I use Blockbuster.

.