Why does everybody hate Gamestop? (OLD)

I have a question, and perhaps it belongs in its own thread but here it is: In today's economy, how long do you think Gamestop will be in business?  My best guess:  2-3 years at best.  Gamefly will go the way of Blockbuster as more new games' pricepoints come down (Best Buy buy 1 game, get 1 1/2 off as one example)

Gamestop is all about choices. It's a matter of perspective. 
 
- Gamestop offers you a reserve. It doesn't cost you anything extra and a majority of the time reserving the game is beneficial to you. It garauntees you a copy of the game and often you'll get exclusive in game content. (In fact, if you reserve L4D2, you get 10% off the game.) 
 
- Gamestop buys back your unwanted games. People pissing and moaning about the amount they are getting makes no sense to me. If you can find some place else that will pay you more than what Gamestop offers, then go there. If not, at least you're getting money for your games rather than them just sitting on your shelf. That credit adds up over time and you are getting your games for a cheaper price as a result. 
 
- Gamestop offers you a discount service, including a year of a magazine subscription, for next to nothing. The more you buy/trade in, the cheaper your subscription will be. 
 
Now, I can speak for other employees of the chain. Every company has assholes working for it. (I had a wal-mart employee tell me he 'didn't care' when I asked him to open a case to buy a game.) The fact of the matter is, Gamestop is a corporation. They do a lot of good for the customer, and some not-so-good things for the industry. 
 
Use your brains folks, don't do something stupid like buy a new game that's unwrapped and then blame it on the company when you are the one who bought the game in the first place.

How about . . .
 
The employees 9 times out of 10 are uniformed about the product they sell. 
 
Horribly understocked all the time (This is out of 3 of them in a rather large area)
 
Yes the trade in prices suck but whatever don't sell them your games sell them to a friend.
 
New and Used are the same word to these people, Oh lets see I had my Xbox and my games stolen so I had to get another copy of Halo 3 I go in buy it, then... take it home and it scratched like the devils cat got ahold of the damn thing.
NEW COPY MY ASS.
 
The Owners get their employees to annoy the SHIT out of you about pre-orders and make snide comments when you come in and ask if a game is in stock and they say YOU Didn'T PREODER it?? OMG You should do that. NO NO I didn't pre-order ANYTHING and NEver AGAIn I Preordered Gears of War I Bought my damn Xbox JUST For THAT Game And I skipped work to come by pick it up and play the living Hell out of it and when I get there SAY What? What do you mean you mean you Sold OUT? I pre-ordered. . . With Cash 3 months ago. . . and WALMART has 27 COPIES . . . . BASTARDS AHHHHH!!!!
 
Sorry about that, Bad....bad memories.

" @FlamingHobo: there are a few in the major cities i believe but yeah, i have never bought anything from them. I guess they are pretty similar to game I suppose "

Because people trying to capitalize and make games seem more mainstream than they are come off as the most corporate and fake people around. That is GameStop.

Agreed, the employees are what makes me sneer at the establishment. When I first got my DS, I went to the one down the street to get a few games for it, and the fucking clerk kept laughing at me, and making stupid comments, just because, oh golly, I'm a girl, so I'll probably want to pick up the latest Nintendogs, or Imagine: Babysitter or what the fuck ever. And THEN when I went to check out (With FFIII) he asked me (just to gague my reaction im sure) "So, DS? What games are coming out for the DS soon? Do you even know?? " Then handed me that list they have of upcoming games.
 
Oh my GOD i was fucking livid. Just because I'm a girl, don't assume I don't know shit about games. God Damn.

" Agreed, the employees are what makes me sneer at the establishment. When I first got my DS, I went to the one down the street to get a few games for it, and the fucking clerk kept laughing at me, and making stupid comments, just because, oh golly, I'm a girl, so I'll probably want to pick up the latest Nintendogs, or Imagine: Babysitter or what the fuck ever. And THEN when I went to check out (With FFIII) he asked me (just to gague my reaction im sure) "So, DS? What games are coming out for the DS soon? Do you even know?? " Then handed me that list they have of upcoming games.  Oh my GOD i was fucking livid. Just because I'm a girl, don't assume I don't know shit about games. God Damn. "

Their trade-in system is horrible. You actually have to go TO the store to find out just the price they'll buy it for, because "it varies by location." Why? What, is Halo ODST worth more in California than in New York City? Just trying to squeeze the money outta you, I guess.
 
And yes, I usually hate their employees too. I've seen some decent employees, but the rest are just smart ass teenagers that think they are "in the industry," but they really aren't. For some reason, Best Buy seems better with that. Maybe it's because they don't harass me and will just give me my game straight up.

aaa, another thread on gamestop. i always enjoy reading these threads. 
 
i kind of found otu that u should go to gamestop around when they are closing as they dont' really care. usually when i go they try and sell me their edge card.  their  trade-ins are horrible, the employees are stupid. when i bought my ps3 i wanted component cables for it. i went to gamestop to buy one the employee told me ps3 doesn't have component only AV and HDMI. i ended up buying them from ebay  and saved me $10.
 
i've actually stopped going to gamestop and been going to gamecrazy. they have a lot better prices on games. some of the newer games cost $45 compared to $60. i found really good.

I hate gamestop since they drive out independent videogame stores. Many indie stores sell music and other electronic equipment making them much more interesting than gamestop, so it sucks when indie stores have to fold due to competition with corporate chains.

" @Bucketdeth said:

" Who sent you? "

WHO SENT YOU ????????????  Edit: im yelling at the guy With you, bucket, not at you :P "

Gamestop has bought out most of their competitors and driven others out of business.  They are mostly exploitative in their used games practices and how they treat their employees.  I also don't like them for how they're unwilling to break street dates like most other retailers.

" Well, I don't hate Gamespot, I just don't trust them to take and hold a pre-order, but that's an entirely different story.  Second, I don't think they set prices.  In fact, I'd wager that Wal-Mart has more influence in that matter since Wal-Mart is a much, much bigger retailer of games.  One of the reasons that people have some negative feelings for Gamespot is their tactics.  The constant pitches to join their service, to reserve a pre-order, to sell back the new game you are buying, etc...  Hell, they were calling people at home to remind them that they can trade in their games.  It's just too intrusive.  Finally, even though your figures maybe right, the sense that a game I paid $60 will sell back for less than $10 is disheartening.  Especially, when Gamespot sells it used for about $5 off the cost of new.   Consumers feel like they are being "nickle and dimed" by them and so resentment builds. "

I don't hate them; the only things that really make me upset about them is the employees "checking out" new games and selling them as new (I can understand checking out used games). I take all my business elsewhere for that reason.

I don't like going into Gamestop stores so much, but their website is totally great. I certainly don't hate them at all.

Why not just order your games online?  I rented Uncharted 2 from Gamefly, and it showed up in my mailbox Tuesday afternoon.  Along with 3 Netflix movies. 

I already have had a pretty strong hatred for the company, for many of the regular reasons, but something a few weeks ago happened that really pissed me off. Quick story sesh:
 
A couple weeks ago I went to a Gamestop to go and buy Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. It was on the way while I was going to get pizza so I decided to bite the bullet and go in. So I go up to the counter and ask the lady there, "Hey do you have the new Kingdom Hearts game?" She's like, "yeah... " I'm like, "where is it I don't see it?" She's like, "it's on the wall over there." So I go and humor her to only reaffirm that it wasn't on the wall. She's like, "Oh.... I'll grab it out from under the counter." Kind of annoying, but w/e.
 
So she rings it up and asks me if I want to buy the strategy guide and get 10% off the game. I told her no thank you. From behind her another employee turns around and says in the most condescending voice as possible, "Do you think you're that good?" I stopped for a second and thought, "Wow that is a great way to sell a product; insult your customer straight to his face." And it was in the most Snarky voice ever. Like I know he was just trying to make a sale, but I'm not a moron, I know there is something called the internet, with all types of helpful FREE Faqs if I need them. So I just laughed at him, took my game and walked out, but seriously it kind of pissed me off. Honestly it made me not want to buy the guide even more just to prove him wrong. 
 
Anyway yeah, the people that work there are uneducated assholes, who think they are the shit. More or less.

" I hate gamestop since they drive out independent videogame stores. Many indie stores sell music and other electronic equipment making them much more interesting than gamestop, so it sucks when indie stores have to fold due to competition with corporate chains. "

" Gamestop has bought out most of their competitors and driven others out of business.  They are mostly exploitative in their used games practices and how they treat their employees.  I also don't like them for how they're unwilling to break street dates like most other retailers. "

Dupe thread

I live in the UK, and even I hate Gamestop.
 
I have no specific reason to back that statement up though.

" I was just going to make thread about this. No I think Gamestop is a good company not con artist. hears a few tips before selling to Gamestop.      1. Check what a new copy of the game is selling for before you sell yours. do not selling game to Gamestop that you can buy for 20 bones it is not worth it! You will only get like 3$ for it.     2. Take advantage of there discount have an Edge card subscribe to Gameinformer buy used game if you can (depending on the game I'll most likely buy new)     3. DO NOT sell any past generation consoles or games keep them hook them up to TV that doesn't have a console on it. It's worth more that way.     4. Only pre-order from Gapestop they will make sure they don't sell your game and you get all your pre-order token. "

My only issue with them is that they are badly understocked with every big release. 
  
And also the manager was kind of a dick.

I won't go to any GameStop near me. (I go to the one in the next city) One time I thought they were actual gamers and we exchanged PSN ID's only to be bombarded with pre-order reminders and trade in reminders on PSN. I deleted them quick. I'm telling you they are going to some pretty new lows.

I wasn't badgered by the gamestop in my city but in my old town, there is a worst game store that charged 55 dollars for an xbox 360 launch title that was two years old at the time.

I thought you wrote this...  
 
EDIT: You probably did write it, based on your avatar and the top of the website.... never mind.

Use the quote button next time.

Here's why I hate Gamestop. I try to buy a console online and use my Powerups Rewards Card to get the points. I try to log in, it says "user does not exist". I assume I typed the email incorrectly, so I re-type it. Same message. Again. Same thing. Every time I type it, I see that it's the right e-mail, because it's right there on the screen. Finally I begin to think that I'm just using the wrong address, so I start to look through all my email addresses for Powerup related emails, and I find that I was using the wrong one. Relieved, I go to the log-in screen, and try again. Nope. I go to the "reset password" screen and try every possible email, including the one that Gamestop has already sent e-mails to, and they all say "user does not exist". As a last resort, I try to call. I was happy to see that the help line is available 24/7. I call, to find that I have to hold, which was no big deal. 1 1/2 hours later (not even kidding) I'm still hearing the same excruciating message: "Your call is very important to us. A representative will be speaking with you shortly". Every 2-3 minutes, that same message repeats, followed by horrible "music" (if you could even call it that). In the end, this is just a great example of atrocious customer service. Dissatisfied, I stopped altogether. Gamestop, you suck.

4 year old thread about gamestop lol

...and the topic is still relevant because Gamestop is still awful four years later.

Discuss.

@mb: Exactly. Still ripping people off today.

Shouldnt this go under the tell me about dumb shit thread? Anyways gamestop, i love the video's of people flipping out in the store's.

It's just a game.

I like them, they were having a deal for 50% extra for trade ins, I got $94 for a bunch of 3DS games that didn't even belong to me. Can't argue with those results.

Blink twice if you are being forced to post this.

They sell everything for 10 dollars more than amazon and have a pretty bad selection.

This is the Best thread I have ever seen here, ever. Please don't close this, mods. He's doing God's work here. Its like Christmas.

Will GameStop still be alive in the the next 12 months? We'll see! "Power to the players", bro.

Anywho, the last time I ever shopped at GameStop was for Red Dead. And I haven't bought anything from there since. It feels great! Game Informer is pretty good, though.

Much like going to a Walmart, I hate going to pawn shops too. Especially pawn shops full of annoying children.

...that and I'd rather just order from Amazon and have my crap waiting for me when I get home from work.

I hate Gamestop as a company because they are a glorified pawn shop. They buy a game at 10% of its MSRP but then sell it for only $5-$8 cheaper? They make an incredible amount of money because the majority of their shopping base considers their convenience to trump the amount of money they essentially lose in the end. Taking a Kinect for $5-10 but selling it for $80 or $90? Come on, that's insane. Taking $5 for a Wii?

I have no problem buying a new game from Gamestop but I NEVER buy a used game from Gamestop. I'd rather take my chances buying a used game on Ebay or Craigslist first. In terms of pre-ordering a game I always go where I get the better deal: Amazon, Best Buy, or Gamestop.

Here are a few reasons:

1. The used game trade as a corporate model for profit ends up hurting a lot of developers in the end, as many people will wait until a hard price drop on the used copy of the game about two or three months after release to play it. In turn, this can prove bad for new IPs.
2. The employees at GameStop are minimally trained. Having known four previous GameStop employees (all of whom are intelligent people that realized how shitty that place was), they all had horror stories of how much they hated it there and how inept many employees are.
3. GameStop will hire females so long as (according to two of my previous buddies) "they are pretty enough to make horndogs buy games and keep stalking the store."
4. Corporate for GameStop drive their employees to be the most annoying pests on the planet the minute you reach the front counter. They drive employees to the point that most of them could be replaced with an LCD screen of a human face that continually asks you if you'd like to pre-order a game, buy a disc warranty, if you would like to pre-order a game, buy a disc warranty, get a subscription to Game Informer, pre-order a game, and then finally sell you some shit. That annoyance is not necessarily something the employee WANTS to do. It's something they are FORCED to do.
5. Most employees don't know jack shit about a game beyond what a press release will tell you.
6. They will sell you a used copy of a game at a new copy price because "it's a display copy of the game, so it's perfectly fine." If you argue with them about it, they will never budge on the matter.
7. There will be a line of nine fucking people and only one employee behind the counter...while the manager is sitting in the back, jerking off into a bottle or whatever the fuck they are doing.
8. If you REALLY want to get used games, you could easily get them as cheap if not cheaper at other places, like Half.com.
9. They still don't have a copy of Battletoads.

There's a LOAD of other reasons why I hate GameStop. Regardless of that, their Black Friday deals are always ace, so I end up walking into one at least once a year.

One thing about gamestop is they always somehow redeem themselves. I remember them once shortchanging me on a couple of games and gave me 5 dollars for all 3 C&C games on xbox 360. A few months later I bought a used copy of Luigi's Mansion and there was also a used copy of Animal Crossing in it. Think the gaming gods took pity on me and leveled things out, eventually.

I dislike the Gamestop practices, not the employees because they are just doing their jobs.

The things I dislike about going there is getting a new game that is opened, and being asked to preorder everything. I also find better deals on new games from other stores.

Game stop is running a business, but I don't much like their business, so I avoid it and I tell other to avoid it.

People can save the equity of the games they own by selling their games in other ways. Instead of buying for $60.00 + tax, and getting $15 in store GS credit when they trade it in, they can sell it in other ways where they make more money and even their buyer get it for less than they woudl pay at GS.

GameStops are like check cashing stores, rent-to-own services, and pawnshops; because they are parasitic on their consumers. They prey on the poor, under educated and uninformed to make their money. They sell a view of teh world that says, "Selling your own games is hard, we make ist easy and you get a good deal." But of course it a bad deal and their view of the world is skewed like a As Seen On TV frying pan...."Making pancakes is HARD! Unless you use our frying pan worth $2 what we sell for $9.95 plus S&H...that is also twice as much as real shipping costs."

They've treated me like crap so many times I would rather give up gaming than support that store. Thankfully I don't have to.

I'm fighting the urge to tell my stories/rant, they demonstrate comical levels of stupidity and attitude from bratty kids old enough to know better.

Because they sell you "new" games that aren't actually new.

Because they ask you a million questions before you can actually complete your purchase. Don't care if that's their job. No one wants to hear all that shit.

Because used games have had a shitty effect on the industry and that's Gamestops primary source of revenue.

Because their workers don't know what the fuck they're talking about.

Because they don't have the best prices.

etc.