Gamestop UGH

[Mhurron]

Re: Gamestop UGH

When was the last time you saw a GAP store you could hardly get into? When was the last time you saw a GAP store pile their stuff on the floor because they needed a store at least three times as big? When was the last time you saw a GAP that had enough room for one person, and only one person, to look at the merchandise?

There isn't some cabal that is forcing every damn GS into small stores because they're not trendy enough. Everybody gets a chance to rent. GS isn't paying for larger stores.

And if there really is 2-3 people working at any given time, most of the time 1-2 of them are nowhere to be seen.

GS is not hurting for money, they could move or pay to get a decently sized store for the amount they are trying to shove in there, they are just too cheap to do so. GS seems to rent a place just large enough so that they can close the door at night and not have games spilling out. I've seen gamestops in Canada and in the US, I know of *one* that has an appropriately sized store.

About the only thing GS doesn't have is a pile of trash where they just can't be bothered to take it to the dumpster. There is nothing good to be said about gamestop.

You act like just because a business is successful that they can get big places and cut you special discounts.

That is pretty much the definition of successful. GS can afford big places, GS can afford to give discounts, they just don't. Yes, I do expect it.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Gamestop UGH

So if Mhurron had run a successful CD and Vinyl store about twelve years ago, he would go out and buy larger space and give people discounts merely because he was successful and wanted people to like his store.

You know where that store would be right now?

Closed or replaced by a retail chain that has products that can't be downloaded, like a mattress or furniture store.

You think GS hasn't seen what Steam did to their PC game sales? You think they stock anything outside of WoW expansions, if that? You think Nintendo, MS and Sony won't eventually go this way? They could adopt a Steam model or even a Cloud structure for all we know this point.

Seems like GS is dealing with what they have and trying to anticipate the future. I think it could go the way MS runs some of their retail stores. They can actually burn software on-site legitimately and sell it. Imagine a store where software is just running on display everywhere and there's no clutter. Just empty cases waiting to be filled with discs and print-out instructions. Kinda bland, but I can't say its not effective.

[Raydeus]

Re: Gamestop UGH

How does Gamestop work by the way? Are they all owned by different regional branches of the same company or are they on a franchise system?

---------- Post added at 08:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:55 PM ----------

Never mind, already checked, they are corporate owned with no franchising options.

They can definitely afford better installations and discounts. The amount of volume discounts these businesses negotiate with publishers are ridiculous compared to what a mom and pop store would ever get.

And if they were really affected by the competition (Steam, etc.) that would be even more reason to give more to the costumers (in the form of better installations and discounts) to keep them happy.

So it's probably that they will just milk the company as much as they can and then just restructure it once it isn't sustainable, instead of trying to maintain it and take the effort to make it a better bussiness (since it's more profitable that way.)

/em hugs Steam.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Gamestop UGH

Finally, someone on the other side with a reasonably functional argument.

They can definitely afford better installations and discounts. The amount of volume discounts these businesses negotiate with publishers are ridiculous compared to what a mom and pop store would ever get.

Its all varying degrees, I say GS sit in the middle of it all, really. They're not treated terribly by publishers, but its becoming apparent that major publishers favor megastores more, Gamestop slightly less to the point of trying to devise ways to undercut used sales (see EA, Codemasters) and that mom'n'pop stores hardly at all.

And if they were really affected by the competition (Steam, etc.) that would be even more reason to give more to the costumers (in the form of better installations and discounts) to keep them happy.

Steam is one platform, though (PC), there are five other Gamestop still deals in and console gamers reamain the majority.

And let's put it this way - PS3 isn't gonna budge from that $299 price point right now, even though they very well could. It took a lot for them to come down from $599 - primarily not even better hardware improvments and savings from that, but an absolute shit economy forced it.

Sony could lower the price, they could even make PSN a better service worth paying for, but they have 50 million users, so why take less money and invest more when you don't have to? There are 50 million people putting up with it. They can let Nintendo and MS beat them on price point and customer service.

Its certainly a rather cold way of doing things. I don't see a PS3 as being worth $299 when I look over at the 360 section and the world of used games I could buy for that.

So it's probably that they will just milk the company as much as they can and then just restructure it once it isn't sustainable, instead of trying to maintain it and take the effort to make it a better bussiness (since it's more profitable that way.)

For some people, profitability is all that matters. I tend to believe team morale and building consumer trust is just as important, but that means little to those who are just looking at my store's numbers. Corporations are weird in that way. They establish a standardized way of doing things so performance can be judged with ease across the board. If the performance and numbers meet the standard, everything is OK until they start to decline. They see the world in terms of quotas and sales instead of their stores being something that changes an environment.

And the thing is, they're not going to doubt their policies, just the results when they decline. It takes a lot to convince a company some policies might be flawed (Oh, god, believe me I tried this with Jostens and their lean manufacturing bullshit).

I can only do so much to mitigate that sort of mentality, but at the same time, if I don't somewhat adhere to policy I can kiss another job goodbye. The numbers never totally become irrelevant. Its not like I'm here wanting to sell the display copy as new, but I'm not going to be trampled on about it, either. Its not my choice, its what I have to do. If you're nice to me and the manger about it, maybe he can do something. You're going to catch more flies with honey than outright vitriol, that's for sure.

[Karinya]

Re: Gamestop UGH

Well for starters you're assuming that I shop at gamestop and enjoy spiting on all the employees there.

No, clearly you prefer to spit on them here.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Gamestop UGH

No, clearly you prefer to spit on them here.

<Edited for unnecessary flaming. - TGM>

[Kailea]

Re: Gamestop UGH

hay now, lets aim the hate where hate is due......

at little kids who mess up my damn walls right after I organize them ;p

[cidbahamut]

Re: Gamestop UGH

hay now, lets aim the hate where hate is due......

at little kids who mess up my damn walls right after I organize them ;p

I'll drink to that.

[Mhurron]

Re: Gamestop UGH

So if Mhurron had run a successful CD and Vinyl store about twelve years ago, he would go out and buy larger space and give people discounts merely because he was successful and wanted people to like his store.

You know where that store would be right now?

You mean like this one?

Music Store

or this one?

Music Store

or this one?

Music Store

You try to even load your argument with a store that most people would agree would have died anyway and still fail at making a point.

You know what you notice about those stores? They're appropriately sized for the amount of merchandise they have in stock. If you went in, they're clean and well staffed. There is space between the aisle for people to get through. New products are sealed.

And yes, HMV still sells vinyl albums. They sell many entertainment related things. Apparently BBQ believes that when you start a store by selling X you are married to X for the rest of your days. Sorry BBQ, but since you have the business sense of a pile of dog shit (or a MBA), there is really no point to anyone wasting their time talking to you about this. You continue giving your local GS employees blow jobs, I'm going somewhere better.

[Kailea]

Re: Gamestop UGH

wow so much unneeded hate towards GameStop, for the stupidest of reasons on top of that. Sorry if your offended by someone doing their job. You want all your games sealed, then how about sending the suggestion to GS about sending all the stores display copies of boxes so we don't have to gut games for them. Instead of lashing out at employees.

I don't know what stores you are going to, but by the sound of it, they are in the crap part of town. all the stores in my area (5 stores) are clean, neat (when we can keep it that way) and have helpful employees.

[Icemage]

Re: Gamestop UGH

I don't understand the hate on GameStop either. Yeah, their used games business is a little shady, but you don't have to use them for that if you don't want to. If you're in the practice of selling off games you no longer play and aren't wild about GameStop's horrendous trade-in pricing, you always have other options like Glyde.

GameStop remains THE most consistent way to get new games. Faster than Amazon. More reliable than the big-box retailers. More knowledgeable (on the whole) than all of the above. I've been shopping for new games at GS for years, and the store closest to me has an excellent staff. I don't trade in games, ever - I collect them, so their used games policies affect me not at all. Heck, for used games you're probably better off with Gamefly or Netflix anyway.

Digital downloads may kill GameStop one of these days, but until then I'll enjoy the service and reliability they offer.


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Gamestop UGH

Jobs like Gamestop leave me so obsessive-compulsive about organization that I more or less end up trying to fix the shelves at other Gamestops when I'm not working or or at push games/movies to stand-up straight when I'm walking through Best Buy. And if there's something out of order alphabetically, I do want to fix it.

I actually picked that up back when I worked at a record store, but Gamestop has made it more obvious again.

When we were understaffed the other week my manager just told me to approximate rather than alphabetize the used games. I saw his point, really, alphabetizing was futile that day, but a part of me still went "noooooooo."

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Gamestop UGH

Let's understand that we all live in different parts of the country and there is different staff at each one. I have 4 GS's within a half hour drive of my house. Each and every one is stuffed in some small narrow left over space, so I think they actually look for stores with those specs for whatever reason. The staff varies wildly. We used to have one GS that actually had a clean neat store with staff that looked clean and were reasonably helpful. It kind of renewed my faith in the franchise. Then over a period of 3 months, it went down the shitter.

I've had my reserves given to others and I'm there the day of release to get them. The most notable one was when FFXI was released and that really pissed me off. If I would take 3 days to get to the store and pick my shit up and it wasn't there, then thats my fault and I'm more than willing to admit that. But when I am there the same day its released and I'm told they don't have anymore, that pisses me off. It's happened to me several times and at every dame GS near me.

I stepped in vomit in one store. I nearly threw up and was a bit irritated because I saw the kid kind of watching me. I thought he was keeping an eye on me because he thought I was suspicious and was going to steal something/hold up the store...like most grandmas do. >< After I stepped in it, I realized he was watching where I was going and probably praying I wouldn't see it....or step in it. When I confronted the employee, I was told that they were not touching it with bare hands so the other guy was at the store getting gloves, cat litter, etc. So I waited for the other guy and warned anyone coming near to stay away from the vomit, most just turned around and left the store.

They often have the "where is that" issue because the counter is so disorganized and messy. Often the games are not alphabetized correctly (L, M, N, O, P, U, S, T, ...) or out of place. One GS reeks. I think its the carpeting and it needs a REALLY good cleaning.

I love when they are playing kiosks or finger football when you come into the store and its a mess. I know the job is repetitive and boring but please make an attempt to make the place, and yourself, presentable. Being able to see your Calvin Klein underwear because your pants are hanging halfway down your ass does not impress me. I don't consider you having so much metal in your face that the metallic clasp on my purse unsnaps appropriate for work. Or when you raise your arms to take my purchases and I nearly pass out from the smell of BO and alcohol good hygiene for a job.

And after reporting that one GS manager for telling employees to put used games out as new display games, ya I don't have a lot of trust that the display copy is indeed new. Oh and they didn't fire him, he's just at a different store now. Then you hear about games being taken home and played and then sold as display copies....ya....fuck you selling me used shit for full price.

But most of all, for me, is that I collect games and I want SEALED NEW games. If I pay sealed prices, I want sealed merchandise...and not some shrink wrap bullshit either. I might open it and play it.....and I might not but I want that to be MY decision. And I do not want some lazy ass person half my age with greasy hair, a dirty shirt, a nasty attitude, and bad BO trying to convince me to buy it for full price....when I say I want a sealed copy I mean it.

Oh yes, I should feel sorry for GS and not ask them to sell me a display copy for a measley $5 less. I mean if they have to do that 60 games a year, they would be out a whole $300 dollars!!! My god instead of $10 billion in profit they would only be making $9,999,999,700!! I think if every GS bigwig passed on a Extra Value Meal once a year that would be covered.

[Kailea]

Re: Gamestop UGH

if you have all those problems at those stores....they need to be reported, because that is not the norm, at all

still say that your making to much out of the non-sealed thing though.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Gamestop UGH

And after reporting that one GS manager for telling employees to put used games out as new display games, ya I don't have a lot of trust that the display copy is indeed new. Oh and they didn't fire him, he's just at a different store now. Then you hear about games being taken home and played and then sold as display copies....ya....fuck you selling me used shit for full price.

But most of all, for me, is that I collect games and I want SEALED NEW games. If I pay sealed prices, I want sealed merchandise...and not some shrink wrap bullshit either. I might open it and play it.....and I might not but I want that to be MY decision.

still say that your making to much out of the non-sealed thing though.

No, she's making perfectly valid points that support her position and poke holes in the opposing argument that opened games are just as good as factory sealed.