I didn't read any of these comments. Mainly because I'm sure it's flooding with post after post of people bashing on Gamestop. Now let me first state that I do agree with most of what you said Hack. While I do disagree on some things they're so trivial there is no reason to even bother formulating a sentence of drivel to dispute with you.
 
Now I remember the first time I read an article and I finally started to pay attention to the hatred some people had for Gamestop. It was a article from some silly father who had traded some of his sons' PS2 games in and only got dirt for them. Now my first response was, Well fucko. The ps2 has only been obsolete for umpteen years so get with the god damn program.
 
Now onto the entire pre-ordering situation as it seems to be a main focus of this article and all of it's many haters. Have you ever noticed that Gamestop pushes for pre-orders, but then all of their perks are for purchasing pre-owned games? There is a method to this madness. The Pre-Orders get the Video Game Company most of the money, while the Pre-Owned Games bag the money for GS. You can not focus your efforts on just one because you'll either A.) Lose money for the Company, or B.) Lose revenue for Gamestop.
 
Now maybe it's because I've done sales for so long now that there is a very good reason as to why they ask you if you want to pre-order. It's to give the customer the opportunity to make a CHOICE. Sounds crazy right but it is true. Now I've been in stores where they will ask you twice. There is a reason for this as well. MOST SALES COME FROM A SECOND REQUEST. They are requesting you to buy something. You politely say no. They say no problem and continue to ring you out and chit chat about all the bullshit that you might bring up because they want you to think they're your friend, because god knows everyone in life now needs someone to hold their fucking hand and validate them in some way or another. Then they ask you again, after you've had the time to stew and they brought up some of the facts about the game they want you to pre-order. Now at that point you actually may say yes, because they say it's only five dollars yadda yadda yadda and you take the bait. That's your fault for saying yes you fuckers. They were just doing there job and being a good salesman by hooking the retard with some well crafted sales skills. Dont' get pissed off because you got out witted by a kid with the IQ of a fucking puffer fish.
 
At the end of the day. Stop bitching and moaning about Gamestop, it's a fucking business not your second home. It's there job to ask if you want to pre-order a game, it's their job to ask you if you want to get a strategy guide because you're too dumb to figure out a game on your own. IT'S THERE JOB. Do you get pissed off when you go to get food and they asked if you want a drink? No you don't because it's just something that happens so stop trying to flame Gamestop because you had one bad experience and you want the world to know how you feel by posting flagrant remarks about their business practices and ethics, it's a business. So get over it. If you can't then shop somewhere else, or rather then post something stupid about Gamestop, go into your bathroom and cut yourself with your father's razor.
 
Peace Fuckers.

"Mostly i don't question their business... i question their staff.  It's like they have a crazy farm that breeds special GameStop staff. "

the only problem  i had with gamestop is when i went in to buy brawl and they said i could  not because i did not pre-order it even though it was the day it came out.  
 
also i hate when they ask you f you want to pre-order a game and you say no, so they ask you for a different game

Increase the peace! I don't understand the vitriol on both ends of Gamestop-Gate. If your not satisfied by the service, then shop somewhere else. Also, bitching about people bitching always seemed to me like a decadent indulgence. 

" @hack745: How come when I went to a midnight launch they told me I had to pre-order but then when I went across the street to Best Buy they just let me buy it? How come when I asked if they had a copy of Halo 3 the employee (without looking behind her or at her computer) told me with a stupid look on her face: NO! ( It was behind her in the garbage pile they never clean up) "

"Yeah, it's just unheard of for two separate businesses to order different amounts of the same product. That, and Best Buy might be a slightly larger entity able to stock more games."  

" @Tiger_Buttercup said:

" @LordXavierBritish: Games are incredibly easy to pirate and many titles are available digitally. "

Oh really? I guess the PS3 wasn't just now cracked then.  I guess that was a made up story that never happened.  And even with digital titles you are still buying them at full retail price. "

the difference between new and used games is gamestop makes money on both, and the developers and publishers of the game only make money on one 
 
and since they, you know, made the game, I feel like they deserve the most profit, don't you

" @LordXavierBritish said:

" @Tiger_Buttercup said:

" @LordXavierBritish: Games are incredibly easy to pirate and many titles are available digitally. "

Oh really? I guess the PS3 wasn't just now cracked then.  I guess that was a made up story that never happened.  And even with digital titles you are still buying them at full retail price. "

LOL, yeah that's a huge market which pirates have missed out on.  HUGE!  What with the half dozen or so exclusive titles work worrying about.  Of course now, the PS3 can be pirated so what's your point?  For every person buying a gaming, there's at least one more pirating it.  Retail stores like Gamestop have to step up their game to keep sales a-flowin'.  No amount of DLC shite is going to make a difference if they don't hold enough stock and don't inform their staff properly. "

It's not that pushing preorders is bad, but they constantly hound me every time I go in there. If I said no the first time, what makes you think a 'come on!' is going to change my mind. Leave me the fuck alone. I came in with something on my mind and I want to walk out with that something. Annoying gamestop employees are annoying.

" It's not that pushing preorders is bad, but they constantly hound me every time I go in there. If I said no the first time, what makes you think a 'come on!' is going to change my mind. Leave me the fuck alone. I came in with something on my mind and I want to walk out with that something. Annoying gamestop employees are annoying. "

This is the exact kind of bullshit acceptance of common business practice I hate. What happened to the days of "the customer is always right"? When you used to buy stuff, people would try to serve your needs. Why should I be expected to accept the way they treat their customers? I think EVERYONE deserves special treatment, that's the principle businesses used to work on.

" This is the exact kind of bullshit acceptance of common business practice I hate. What happened to the days of "the customer is always right"? When you used to buy stuff, people would try to serve your needs. Why should I be expected to accept the way they treat their customers? I think EVERYONE deserves special treatment, that's the principle businesses used to work on. "

i have never ever ever had an issue with gamestop. I go to 6 different ones. "im a driver for a living." I actually have become kind of like friends with some employees just off of how nice they have been. And games are based on opinions. Dont let them determine what game youre gonna buy anyway. Thats like asking a store clerk what cd you will like. I also buy every game used. Gamestop will let you return any game for 7 days just for not liking it if you buy it used. Whats the downside?

I don't know if it's just a difference in management between the American and Canadian branches, but I seldom have any problems with GameStop/EB Games.

Here was my most recent experience with gamestop last Sunday. 
 
Me: "Hi, can I preorder the Halo Reach Limited Edition?" 
Employee: "Sorry, we stopped talking orders for those a week ago. Do you want the regular game?" 
Me: "No thanks." (Goes home and orders limited edition on amazon. Pays only $1 for tax and gets it in the mail on Tuesday) 
 
The fact that in order for me to get my game I had to have preordered it a week ago is bullshit. I mean I wasn't told that I had to.

I don't like the fact that they open all of their games and chop off the security stickers. If you opened it and it's sitting in a drawer, it is no longer new. I don't want your opened box that has a million price stickers on it. I am not stupid.
 
That was pretty much my last GameStop experience, and that was when KOFXII was released. I usually just head to Best Buy or Amazon.

I'm straight with the Gamestop employes at my Gamespot. They never even ask me to pre-order stuff (Unless, they know it is a game I've been waiting for).

Holy shit dude, go away! Stop bothering me, you creepy stalker.
 
@hack745: I think you need to report/flag this inKTOID dude, because he is sabotaging your thread, and it seems he has been for many pages.

The only thing I hate about Gamestop is how they shove there damn used games down your throat. Ask for a new game? No, they'll do w/e they can so you'll get a used copy. And even when you do manage to get a new copy, its not even actually new! Its been opened with the plastic wrap off. They then proceed to take the supposed new game from some cd slip and right in from of you take some ugly grungy game box from the shelves or something, put the disk in and ring it up as new.
 
I remember once where I was in a situation like that where I felt I was being ripped off because they where selling me a open game for new and I called out the employee on that. Told him I want the game actually new, factory sealed. The asshole then proceeds to get this plastic wrap box and wraps up my game right in front of me and tells me, "There. Its new."
Holy-S**t I wanted to kick his ugly Zimbabwe looking ass straight to the moon. All is good though, apparently he's been fired. KARMA BITCH! :D

All I know is they tried to sell my parents a opened copy as new so fuck'em.

" The only thing I hate about Gamestop is how they shove there damn used games down your throat. Ask for a new game? No, they'll do w/e they can so you'll get a used copy. And even when you do manage to get a new copy, its not even actually new! Its been opened with the plastic wrap off. They then proceed to take the supposed new game from some cd slip and right in from of you take some ugly grungy game box from the shelves or something, put the disk in and ring it up as new. "

" At a different Gamestop I went to pick up my copy of Tatsunoko VS Capcom. The clerk not only didn't know what I was talking about, but couldn't pronounce the title when he finally found it and resorted to calling it "Whatever Vs. Capcom."

So your reasons for why I shouldn't dislike going somewhere because of the way their employees behave is because 'that's their policy on how they're supposed to behave'? Uh, okay, Or I could go somewhere where they don't do that. 
 
You can talk about how I 'don't have the right to be treated special' (??), and my refute is that maybe not, but I have the right to dislike a business that doesn't, and go to one that will.  
 
Gamestop sucks. Next.

its pretty easy to just not shop at gamestop.

ever since i've stopped working there (4? years ago) i've gone back to shop less than 10 times. i'll only buy sealed new games, games i have to have now and cant find anywhere else, or used games so old the lost new sale isn't a big deal.

selling open games as new and putting stickers directly on the game inserts is what eventually drove me away. i've also gained sympathy for devs regarding no money on used sales.

And to clarify. Some of those games they open up are in fact used cause they put them in their display consoles for promotion....... then sell them new. How do you justify that? You're a gamestop hippy nut-hugger if you defend that. Other stores don't pull that so WTF are you guys doing opening games.

" And to clarify. Some of those games they open up are in fact used cause they put them in their display consoles for promotion....... then sell them new. How do you justify that? You're a gamestop hippy nut-hugger if you defend that. Other stores don't pull that so WTF are you guys doing opening games. "

You're a gamestop hippy nut-hugger

Do people really have a problem with pre-order bonuses? I like them. Especially for games I know I'm getting anyway like Red Dead Redemption and Mass Effect 2.

honestly the only thing i dislike about gamestop is the fact that they put a big ole sticker on your brand new game that when you pull it off leaves a giant adhesive stain on the case that gets lint and dirt all up on it. it probably doesnt happen when you pre-order, but ive never done that.