VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

[gf78]

Although, they could just sell on eBay or Craigslist if they feel that strongly about it.

^^This 1000%.  There have been times in the past when I bought a game I didn't end up liking or I needed money for something else.  eBay is my go-to.  The last game I believe I sold like that was Borderlands 2 for the Xbox 360.  I ended up needing some money for medical expenses and I just hadn't really "been feeling it" with the game and hadn't played it much.  It was only a week old and I sold it for $52 with free shipping.  After my eBay fees, shipping costs, etc. I think I made about $45.  That's a helluva sight better than the $25 or $30 GameStop was going to pay me.  I recouped a big chunk of my money.  Did even better with Forza Horizon.  It was the special edition with the steelbook case.  I got as much for it as I paid for it because people wanted the special edition and it was sold out.  GameStop on the other hand treats special editions the same as the vanilla version when you sell or trade-in.  I've seen people trade-in the Legendary edition of games like Halo 3 or Reach, get pissed because they paid $150+ and GameStop will only pay the trade-in value of the standard edition.

[desocietas]

Overall, I have had many bad GameStop experiences.  It usually boiled down to a bunch of hipsters or douchebags who didn't have a clue about gaming in general trying to sell me on something I already told them I wasn't interested in.  With that being said, I absolutely love my local Gamestop that opened in 2009.  Though the staff including managers has changed over the years, everyone that works there knows and loves games.  I love shopping there and sometimes just stop if I'm right around there (AT&T, Walmart and just about everything else is right next to or across from it!) I'll stop in and just say hi.

If I get a copy of Game Informer in the mail that gets FUBAR, they give me a new copy.  They always let me know if something interesting comes in if they think I might want it or if I had mentioned I was interested in it.  They called me one day to tell me someone traded in the steelbook edition of Mortal Kombat Armageddon so I could get first shot at it.  I've gotten various promo items, boxes, posters, etc. from them over the last six + years.  They are just an all-around bunch of good people.

I'm not going to debate the trade-in policies because I fully agree, they suck.  But I don't trade my games in and I've also found some rock-bottom prices on games.  For instance, right now is a great time if you are looking to fill out your PS3 or 360 collections because you can get games there for less than a buck.  I don't care if the game is a turd, the case is worth a buck!

^ totally agree with all of it!

My bf works at Gamestop, and we all know the jokes about the sad trade-in amounts, but from his stories it seems to boil down to two groups of customers who trade in:

- people who don't really care about what the amount is; they just want to get the games out of their house (because they don't play them anymore) and want the discount on whatever they're buying that day
- people who may have gotten the items they're trading in by ill-means and just want cash ASAP

Everyone else thinks the trade-in prices are BS and refuse to trade or are the sort who never trade in anything (I fall into this party).

Technically, Gamestop is considered a "pawn shop," which makes the most sense to me.

[kashell]

Game Stop just seemed to spiral downward as the years went on. When I went there (Funco Land, Babbages, etc.) as a kid, the employees were helpful, courteous, and eager to answer questions.

Then, they started getting pushy. It's like they don't realize that no means no. No, I don't want to pre-order this game that. No, I don't want to subscribe to that magazine. No, I don't want to buy a protection plan. No, I don't need extra controllers or the strategy guide. I said "no" more times than I care to count, and the worst thing is that they have the audacity to ask, "Are you sure?"

Every store is different and I'm sure that there are still some great ones around. However, I have had much more negative experiences at them then positive ones and I don't see that changing any time soon.

[Warmsignal]

Yeah, they can be pushy but their specifically trained to be that way. I've read the manager's log from there and it's always - push for this, push for that. Pre-orders are down this week! Push for more! Employees get like a tally of how many times they've each sold a magazine subscription for the week. They really, really, REALLY seem to want that stuff to get done. So when they hire a newbie on, it's no wonder they take everyone who comes in for a fool. But once they're familiar with you, usually, they'd dial back the lean, mean, pre-order machine and treat you like a friend. Most of the time. I've known a few who basically never seem to cut that crap out. Usually, the part-timers who get maybe 5 hours a week.

[desocietas]

Yeah, unfortunately that's the drawback of not getting commissions for sales. One of the ways for them to track employee "success" is things like customer surveys and numbers of things like Power Up memberships, preorders, etc. Some of these are tied to the specific employee, and some are for the store, and some are for the region.

With a company as big as Gamestop, numbers become more useful in tracking "performance"  :/

If anything, those surveys make a big difference. If you feel like the employees are rude or incompetent, fill out those surveys to let them know. Same goes for good employees - it goes a long way, and different tiers of staff and higher-ups see those comments and take them to heart (or they should).

[ignition365]

I know quite a few people who love Gamestops trade in policies.  They'll wait for their big trade deals of like 50% extra trade credit and bring in disc only Wii games (Mario, zelda, etc.) and trade them in for the price Gamestop charges.  I've seen the receipts, makes no damned sense to me.

I've traded in one game to gamestop in the past 10 years.  Sims 3 for the Wii, a few months ago.  They paid me $8.80 for that game.  More than what I would've got elsewhere I'm sure.

Yeah, unfortunately that's the drawback of not getting commissions for sales. One of the ways for them to track employee "success" is things like customer surveys and numbers of things like Power Up memberships, preorders, etc. Some of these are tied to the specific employee, and some are for the store, and some are for the region.

With a company as big as Gamestop, numbers become more useful in tracking "performance"  :/

If anything, those surveys make a big difference. If you feel like the employees are rude or incompetent, fill out those surveys to let them know. Same goes for good employees - it goes a long way, and different tiers of staff and higher-ups see those comments and take them to heart (or they should).

This is very true.  On the other hand, I worked at a GS that had the highest preorder numbers, customer surveys, and GPPs for the district.  I think we even had the highest number of Wii U preorders for the region.  Our store got shut down a month or so after the Wii U launched.  I never got an answer as to if our store shutdown because we weren't profitable or if we lost the lease on the building.  Our store sold tons of new titles, but we didn't sell pre-owned games as much.  The majority of our customers thought buying used games was disgusting or dirty, those may be too strong of words, but that was basically it.

[burningdoom]

Yeah, they can be pushy but their specifically trained to be that way. I've read the manager's log from there and it's always - push for this, push for that. Pre-orders are down this week! Push for more! Employees get like a tally of how many times they've each sold a magazine subscription for the week. They really, really, REALLY seem to want that stuff to get done. So when they hire a newbie on, it's no wonder they take everyone who comes in for a fool. But once they're familiar with you, usually, they'd dial back the lean, mean, pre-order machine and treat you like a friend. Most of the time. I've known a few who basically never seem to cut that crap out. Usually, the part-timers who get maybe 5 hours a week.

This is something pretty much all modern retail chains are guilty of, though. Not really fair to single-out GameStop for upselling. Not saying it's not annoying, it definitely is, but that's just the way of modern retail now.

[burningdoom]

I was just curious:

What system do you own the most games for? And does it match up with your favorite system?

I personally own the most games for the PS2. 108. But my favorite system is the SNES, which I only own 29 games for (plus some RPGs via Wii Virtual Console).

It's just that PS2 games are so freaking cheap and easy to find, while SNES games are getting more expensive and harder to find as each day goes on.

[maximo310]

The most for any system is for the Wii at 193, while my fav system Gamecube is at 181. The reason is pretty much the same as yours; mostly due to the dirt cheap prices for some of the Wii's hidden gems.

[redblaze57]

most
Wii-63

Favorite
Gamecube-61

however since the Wii is BC with gamecube games would that count as being part of the favorite console? or should I add GB,GBC,GBA to the Gamecube due to the GBA Player?

[soera]

My favorite system is PS4 of which I have 82 games (I think). The systems I have more for is the SMS and the NES cause I was going for complete sets for both of those. I completed the SMS set but got to 725 or so NES titles and just gave up.

[turf]

Most
NES -757

Favorite
Nes -757

 

[telly]

Most - PS2 - 36 (Followed by DS and then GBA/GC)

Favorite - PS2/SNES 

[ignition365]

Most - SNES (262)

Favorite - SNES, I suppose.

[tafk]

Most is PS2 at about 150 (still have a few new ones uncatalogued so not sure exacts).

Favorite to collect for has to be PS2 I would say just for the sheer number of quality games that I like playing, all 150 games are unique and its not a lot of filler junk at all.

Favorite system in general is hard to pick because they're all so unique, depends on the day I guess.