I really wanted a PS5 and was super disappointed when I missed the pre-order window because I am on the East Coast and was asleep. I'd set aside money for it from my tax refund earlier in the year and game consoles are one of the few things that I'm willing to spend a little irresponsibly on because I use them quite a bit at least weekly if not daily. I understand some people like to wait and that's fine, but I enjoy experiencing a new console during launch window and going alone with the hype. After I didn't get a PS5 I set two rules for myself about trying to get one. I wasn't going to use a scalper and I wasn't going to buy anything that I wouldn't use as part of a bundle (Antonline, for example, sells a bundle with a PS4 copy of Last of Us Part II, which I've already bought digitally and beaten, and I never tried for those.) I've spent the last couple months monitoring Wario64's feed off and on and getting in the PS Direct queues and all that "fun" stuff and had the same experiences as everyone else in terms of getting consoles into a cart only to not be able to checkout etc... Finally on January 7th I saw a link to a Gamestop bundle that included a PS5 with disc drive, an extra controller, Demon's Souls, Miles Morales Ultimate, and a $20 Gamestop gift card, and even though it was almost $800 I took a shot and I managed to snag one. I told myself this was okay because I always like to have a second controller, Miles Morales Ultimate Edition and Demon's Souls were two games I planned to buy anyway (though I probably would have gotten them digitally) and the $20 gift certificate is...whatever. I can just use that the next time Gamestop has a sale on Xbox controllers or something else I'd use.

The order did not go smoothly. First my credit card got declined, not because I didn't have enough credit but because it somehow flagged as potentially fraudulent in the system, probably because it was my first order from Gamestop in many years and it was for a lot of money. Then Gamestop's website wouldn't let me put in a new credit card number because it's a terrible website. So I called and got a nice lady from the Indian subcontinent with limited English to run the card again, which was an ordeal, and after waiting nervously for a couple days hoping that they wouldn't just cancel the order they did charge me. The order said it was preparing for shipment and would ship on January 29, which was the date the website told me when I pre-ordered. Then Gamestop charged me for the whole order again, though it was only "pending" on my credit card. Then I got confirmation from Gamestop for my gift card for $792, which was, of course, not at all what I ordered. I figured that was just a typo so I ignored it hoping that they would sort their system out. Then I got a text from FedEx telling me I should expect a package last Sunday (the 17th) but when I checked my Gamestop order online it said it was still preparing for shipment so I ignored it thinking it might be a scam. I actually passed the FedEx guy as he was going into my building that day, but I was in a hurry and figured I didn't have a package anyway. It turns out I did because he left a door tag that said they'd come back Tuesday, but they actually came back on Monday instead and delivered my PS5, Demons' Souls, and the extra controller but no Miles Morales.

At this point I was very confused and decided to email Gamestop customer support to find out what was going on, why there was a duplicate charge on my credit card, why they hadn't sent me a shipment confirmation email and the order still said preparing for shipment when I already had it, where Miles Morales was (it wasn't on the packing list so they didn't just forget to include it) even though I'd been charged for it (in a separate charge from the charge for the package I received) and just what the hecking heck was going on with the order. I received back an email that told me that my gift certificate was actually for $20 and the $792 was just a typo in the email, but did not address any of the other questions. Great.

Eventually the duplicative charge was reversed off my credit card and even though the whole order except the gift certificate still says preparing for shipment I did get the Miles Morales Ultimate edition on the 23rd, so I have the entire order and I was charged the correct amount. All's well that ends well. Except that there's one additional charge for a penny separate from the charge for the gift certificate and the charges for the console package and Miles Morales (which were all charged separately for whatever reason; maybe because they shipped separately.) This was most likely a charge they sent after I asked them to run the card again to see whether it would be declined, and forgot to reverse. It's a penny so I don't really care, but I'm pretty irritated at how the whole thing was handled. Everything from how terrible their website is (tracking is wrong and wouldn't let me change my credit card online even though the email they sent me told me to do that) to the fact that they had duplicative charges on my card for a week, which stressed me out, to the customer service I received when I tried to figure out what was going on.

It's not worth my time to try to reverse the charge (typing all this up took some time but I needed to vent) and I don't want to antagonize them because I now have $20 store credit I have to spend at some point, but I'm very tempted to try to get the penny reversed on principle. Which I might actually do if it wasn't for the terrible customer service that would make that a nightmare. Which makes it feel like they're winning by providing bad customer service.

I know I'm lucky to have a PS5 considering how hard they are to get, and I guess I deserve what happened for buying something from Gamestop in 2021, but it baffles me how bad they are at online retail considering what a huge company they are and how much their stores are struggling right now. How is there a major retail website in 2021 that can neither take a replacement credit number nor provide accurate order tracking? How do you ship something like a PS5 without any shipping confirmation on the website or via email? How can you have a customer service contact form where the person answering it doesn't even attempt to answer the majority of the questions asked?

It's no secret that Gamestop is not the best company to deal with but I wasn't expecting the order to be this messy. In the end I got what I ordered and the penny doesn't matter, but it's probably the worst online retail experience I've had in a decade that wasn't an outright scam or package theft.

Even now, a week after getting my PS5 and having platinumed two games on it, my Gamestop order tracking says it's preparing to ship in 21 days. At this point I kind of hope it keeps that status forever.

My experience ordering a Series S bundle on their website was similarly hectic. I received no information from them when my order shipped. No info on how to track the package. The purchase was not shown on my accounts purchase history and when ever I tried to track the order through their website it came back with errors. So I had no way to check my order. They sent me an e-mail for my gift card with the wrong amount listed in the e-mail. Then they never sent me the three months of Game Pass that was supposed to come with it, which was a hassle to get a hold of when I had to give them my order information, and had no way to check that, as I mentioned previously.

I eventually got everything, but holy hell, do I never want to order anything from them online again.

Bad service from gamestop?

This sounds like a troll. Mods, plz shut this down.

Online orders are shipped from different hubs sometimes, so things ship in different boxes. If a store near you had a product or products you have ordered, it’s likely they will ship from that store.

@virtuacat: Shipping the items separately is fine and expected. Amazon and other e-commerce stores do that all the time.

The problem was that the order tracking was broken and they never told me when items shipped or gave me a tracking number. Among other things.

If you want to ship my items in separate packages that's fine by me, but at least give me some way of knowing what has shipped when and the ability to track delivery!

Agreed. I tell every customer at my store to never use the website or the support line; just come to me and let me figure it out for them lol

You bought a borderline scalper bundle from one of the shittiest retailers out there, yeah you did deserve that.

I can understand the itch over wanting to get one ASAP though. I managed to not avoid the more horrible bundles and only got suckered by a small one at Kohl's that bundled a second controller and Spiderman.

Also, fuck Gamestop.

@colourful_hippie: There's nothing borderline scalper about the bundle. It's almost the same as your bundle except it adds Demon's Souls (widely considered among the best launch games) maybe ultimate Miles Morales vs. standard (I don't know about the Kohl's bundle) but I wanted Ultimate anyway because I wanted Spider-Man Remastered so I could finish the DLC on that, and the $20 gift card, which is can be spent on anything. This is a real glass houses throwing stones situation.

Bundles also serve a purpose during this launch because they discourage scalpers, who can't turn a profit on the extra items. Are bundles the best retail practice in an ideal world? No. But they've been around for a very long time at launches.

As for Gamestop being one of the shittiest retailers out there, in terms of morality they're middle of the pack. A lot of people in the gaming community hate Gamestop because they know people who've been treated badly by them and because of various shenanigans around used games and pre-orders and such, but Wal*Mart has done a lot more damage and treats workers worse in many cases than Gamestop, and Amazon is also very bad.

Costco is better and there are some other chains that are mixed, but most major retailers are bad places to work that do a lot of damage to the community.

In terms of customer service Gamestop is uniquely terrible, though. I'll give you that.

It’s a shitty retailer because of their horrid customer service, forget just the other shit you mentioned. They can’t go under soon enough.

And I consider any bundle that forces you to buy their store gift card as borderline scalping. It’s not 100% profit like the real scalpers are doing but it still locks my money with an establishment hence why I always avoided the GS bundles.

But at least you own a PS5 now 🤷‍♂️

@colourful_hippie: As one Abby Russell would like to remind this community, a lot of people depend on trade-ins to keep up with gaming, and often GameStops are the only place nearby to do so. Sure, private sales are an option, but if you’re a woman or someone who feels vulnerable making anonymous transactions on Craigslist, it’s not exactly a substitute.

@navster15: Best Buy and Amazon provide trade-in services but sure Gamestop does offer a somewhat convenient way to get ripped off.

@colourful_hippie: Best But I suppose is fair, although I just now found out that they do trade-ins. But for Amazon, if we’re talking about supporting less shitty corporations, I’d happily take GameStop over Bezos’s human rights violating monster.

@colourful_hippie: This is a very bad take. Gift certificates are in fact the least scummy bundle items (assuming they're not for a massive amount) because they can be spent on anything. Gamestop isn't "holding onto my money." I actually cashed it in for $20 in PSN credit, because I know I'll spend that quickly (Helloooo Ys IX, I see you are releashing soon...), which also means that Gamestop made $0 off the certificate. But I could have bought anything. Something like an extra controller that someone might not want and that the store makes profit off of is worse than a gift certificate,

The actually scummy bundle items are things that are valued for more than their fair retail price. Like a game that is usually discounted but is valued at full MSRP, or some cheapo overpriced housebrand accessory. That's still not quite the same as scalping, but those are problematic. Gift certificates, in contrast, offer maximum value. Bundles are bad in general but gift certificates are the least problematic inclusions.

@navster15: Well, Gamestop have done their employees REAL dirty for years and were straight up forcing people to violate state/county covid policies during a pandemic so they are definitely up there. Also, for what it is worth, Amazon tends to screw over their employees to benefit consumers. Gamestop screws over everyone

You do you but if you are considering which companies to ethically support... read up on Gamestop.

@gundato: I’m well read on GameStop’s failings, but it simply does not compare to the metric tonne of misery Amazon injects into the world:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Amazon

I've heard similar stories through gamestop. I'll be avoiding them if I can for now. Just want to add that I haven't had any issues with Best Buy during the pandemic. In fact, I get next-day deliveries sometimes via. free shipping and it completely blows my mind what they're up to. Meanwhile, my prime orders won't arrive for 1-2 weeks.

@navster15: And a lot of those are merely a matter of scale.

Again, you do you, but Gamestop have managed to pack a lot of evil into a comparatively small company and arguing they are the ethical choice is both a bit shakey and a huge ass condemnation of how fucked up everything is.

Personally? I don't like any of the pawn shop models, but Best Buy tend to mostly be "normal" evil company rather than "actively trying to fuck over consumers and employees"

NOO not a penny!

@colourful_hippie: yeah man it'd be hilarious for thousands more of low-to-middle income people to lose their jobs in a pandemic that really can't happen soon enough

I'm more shocked to hear Gamestop still exist!?!

I realize I am in the minority and am incredibly fortunate with what I'm about to say, but when Gamestop preorders went live this past Tuesday with the early access for pro members thing, I managed to get the PS5/2nd controller/Miles Morales/Sackboy/Ratchet and Clank bundle with absolutely no problem. I almost instantly was able to check out and actually buy the thing, there was no shady Gamestop fuckery, and the bundle was delivered yesterday and it's all accounted for. Again, I know how lucky I got every step of the way and I actually couldn't believe I pulled it off.

I ordered an Xbox Series S in April and had no problems ordering the system. Got a tracking number and was able to get the system the next day which surprised me. Actually surprised my order went through as I never order from GameStop alot.