Gamestop sales hit $5.3 billion in 2006

Err, Factory shrink-wrap is FOLDED and heat gun shrink-wrap is BURNED, very easy to tell them apart ( I'm talking about games only) You just have to look carefully, John.

Scumdog said: "If the box or disk are damaged at all, or we can't get the easy-to-peel-off stickers off the box for you we will gladly give you a 10% shop worn disount for the game."

I have never, EVER been offered this and believe me, I've asked about such a thing. I have however been offered the still warm, recently "borrowed" Lego SW2 by a GS employee at full price. He admitted it right in front of me and I had reserved the effin' game. They supposedly had "sold out" but they still had enough copies to let employees open one up and lend it out?! I asked can you give it to me at a used price since I just saw/heard you bring it back? No?!Nah, you can keep it holmes. Give me my money back and I'll shop elsewhere...end scene...

$5.3 billion. Think of all that money that DIDN'T go to the developers and publishers of those games.

I much rather get gouged by GS/EB than pay Bungie/Square Enix/Capcom/etc. for awesome games! /sarcasm

BOYCOTT USED GAMES!!! Wooohoooo!!!!

Of that, i contributed, oh, hmmm

$218

that number would be much higher, had they not been such bitches about Wii preorders, and not "forced" me to go to GameCrazy...

"If we put out mock-up boxes it'll will mean every time a game sells out we will have to pull the mock box and store it until more come in. Belive when I say this would be very difficult to keep track of. Most customers don't bring up the box but ask for the game at the counter. This can cause problems when we sell the last copy to the guy at the front of the line while the guy at the back of the line stands there holding a fake box."

How is that any different than current policy where one customer goes straight to the counter to ask for new game x, and then another customer behind him grabs the last copy's box off the wall? Who gets the game and who gets the shaft? Somebody's going to be unhappy.

Besides, with placeholders, you can solve that issue by having a ticket system (like Toys R Us used to have), or out of stock labels for the placeholders, or teaching customers to just come up to the counter to ask for the game (which it sounds like is the norm anyways), etc. I don't really care to try an come up with an acceptable solution for Gamestop and how they do business, since they obviously don't see a problem and they're apparently doing ok financially. I really don't care, as I don't shop there. But obviously a lot of people don't like the policy. And you definitely shouldn't have to debate with the employee on a 10% open box discount anyways. It's all about customer service man.

It's all about customer service man.
Posted at 4:40PM on Mar 27th 2007 by polly

You're speaking a foreign language to them, polly. lol!

People bitch so much about Gamestop here. I like the store. You go in, and it is pretty much just games. Other than Gamestop, there isn't anywhere nearby I can go to get a game except Walmart and Target. There is online, but I like the feeling of paying for a game, being handed it, then going home and playing it immediately. Sure their used prices and buy back prices are pretty bad, but for new stuff it is pretty nice.

Hmm, having a hard time verifying this, but it doesn't look like they adjusted the financials to factor in the purchase of EBGames. This means that sales are higher because they doubled the stores overnight.

"How is that any different than current policy where one customer goes straight to the counter to ask for new game x, and then another customer behind him grabs the last copy's box off the wall? Who gets the game and who gets the shaft? Somebody's going to be unhappy."

I can say in the 5 years I've been in retail for the company, that has NEVER happened.

This whole issue is just hilarious at this point. This has been how Funcoland, and now Gamestop, have operated for something like 10-15 years now.

People on the internet complain about inane things ?

Pshaw!

Honestly, when we switched to just open cases with price stickers, all the managers raise concerns about open boxes without anything over them. The company responded saying that in test markets, it was a minor concern to most people, and it would save time in opening UPS boxes.

Here we are now, years later, and still there are maybe a handful of people each week that refuse to buy the game, and it's usually some soccer mom, not the gamer regulars that come into our store.

-shrug-

People will bitch about anything. If it bothers you so much, don't shop there, we obviously make enough money as is.

I really wish GS/EB weren't the only pre-played games option in town, if they weren't i would never shop there ever again.

"They can easily re-shrink wrap anything they want. I know employees who have taken games home to play and brought them back and re-wrapped them to be sold. Just because something is shrink wrapped doesn't mean it hasn't been fondled."

John, It's called SECURITY STICKERS. all the games have them, it's quite obvious when they are gone, and if the employees are dumb enough to take back games without them, thats what they get for gutting games.

"Here's how it works:

If we put up security gates and order games with security tags in them for all 5000 stores it will cost alot. That will get passed down to you, the consumer."

Really Scumbag, REALLY?
5.3 BILLION in profits, not sales or income, but PROFIT.
If you know what profit means, you would also know a security gate per store would be nothing.
Not to meantion the amount of time taken to gut games cost them money, the saving from that would add up over time.

It's not the fact that it's used. I could really care less. It's the fact that I should be paying $35 (or whatever according to gamestop) for a used game, but they lie and charge me the $50 for a new game. If I'm buying an xxx that normally costs $35, I don't want them to tell me it's really a yyy and make me pay the full $50.

People will bitch about anything. If it bothers you so much, don't shop there, we obviously make enough money as is.

Posted at 12:58PM on Mar 28th 2007 by aylera

That's right, stay cocky. See where it gets your ass next year after your margins are not counting the instant absorbtion of 2000+ as profit.
I think you have it quite backwards. It's the soccer moms who will buy you're used (but labeled "new")
sh!t and not care. Your hardcore folks are the ones who give a sh!t and take care of their belongings.
And since it does bother me, believe me, I won't be shopping at ANY GS/EB.

The easiest way to display all boxes unopened and have a pretty good theft security it to put each box into a transparent case with an anti-theft tag and remove the box at the counter. Many european stores do this because they don't have storage space so they have to display their whole stock. This is good, since you can get the box you want and take it to the counter and you can also see the amount they stock from each title. The protective case is actually used instead of stickers because this is a cheap way to get back the pricy rfid chip when the product is sold and it's impossible to open such a box without a special key or a chainsaw. (and the built-in rfid circuit has a much stronger signal than the sticker version and you don't have to pay for it, since you leave it at the counter)

ps: Used and discount stuff is usually just piled up in containers, but even then each one is boxed this way. Cd-s and dvd-s are also boxed along with other smaller things, like memory cards.

This acrimony against a relatively innocuous chain (and, on the big map of corporate America, a relatively small and inoffensive one) baffles me. It is also amusing to see people in the same post decry it as a "monopoly" and then piously announce that they intend to get games from one of a variety of alternate methods (and anyone who esteems Walmart over EB Games as either a positive customer experience or as a socially responsible business has been rummaging through their Grampa's medicine cabinet again.)

Boycotting used games? Funny, the RIAA has been calling for the end of the used CD industry for the same reason - that used CD's don't benefit the original musicians. Likewise with used books. I think it's a ridiculous argument.

My big complaint against EB/Gamestop is that they sell used games without original packaging, for the same price. I'm not a collector by habit, but to me, that's just weird. My favorite places to buy games are, it is true, still the mom-and-pop specialty import shops (hi, Hyper Games of Santa Monica!) But all this hate for EB - it does seem out of place.

No fucking shit your profits are going to go up! There were 2 new console launches in 2k6! What the fuck do you expect to happen? You gaming news sites really are fucking desperate to come up with bullshit articles, aren't you?

1) sometimes, used is good... because you really shouldnt have gotten it in the first place OR the game is too old to find new anymore (both at once, Xenosaga).

2) I agree about the open boxes SHOULDNT be sold as new... but... I havent seen that with the computer titles they carry. I still get those there for that reason.

The store policy regarding new is pretty strict. Technically once we sell new that's it. This is because the warranty on the game is offered not through the retail store, but the developer.

#1 Greedy people make the stupid policies and run the company. You usually have to be greedy to get into business. I don't like greedy people

#2 It often breaks down to the front line people in anything rarely share the save goals as their masters, I rarely see fault in Cashiers for policies, I see fault in them when they try to sound more informed then they are or fanatically defend obviously bad policies

#3 http://www.forumspile.com/Retard-Arguing.jpg

63. The easiest way to display all boxes unopened and have a pretty good theft security it to put each box into a transparent case with an anti-theft tag and remove the box at the counter

Posted at 5:31AM on Mar 30th 2007 by kvp

The problem with that is once again you have to be able to afford all the security measures that go along with the security tag like the gate. GS and EB stores simply don't make that much money.

With all the money they are making I would like to see a raise from them as well. I work at a Gamestop, and I hate it. I have been with them for 4 years, and the only time I get a raise is when minimun wage gets a little higher. They have alot of stuff that really gets on my nerves as well. Thank god I get a small discount on games, or I would have quit along time ago. That, and the free stuff the Nintendo Rep gives us is great. I wish EB was still around. They at least treated their employees better.

Gamestop is just a public service provider..they provide the service of being a scalping middle-man between game owners. They pay out pennies for 'used' games but then sell them back at a price that's only five dollars cheaper than 'new.' Capitalism..gotta love it...

Personally, I think Gamestop is a profit-oriented, consumer-distant, money harvesting corporation who really cares far more about selling ANY game (used, of course) and ANY add-ons than selling products that their customers will actually enjoy.

HOWEVER, I also think the Gamestop employee bashing should stop, since I can speak from experience (a few friends of mine are employees at various stores, and one was a manager), that regardless of what you might think, many really don't enjoy the company that much more than you do. If you apply to a Gamestop for an entry level position, it's minimum wage with tons of criteria you must meet on sales, or else they cut you. Seriously, it sucks. And BECAUSE they pay so little, it also doesn't provide really honest, kind, personable retail employees to apply, since their skills can usually be better paid for elsewhere. So you get a number of teenage workers who are just looking for a job, and don't really have the people skills to make the customer really feel like they are being helped.

=) It's not easy nowadays. So cut them (the actual, nice employees) some slack.

Oh yea, and in regards to a previous post about security tags or whatnot and opening the boxes and all that:

Here's the rundown: Places with security tags are big box places who pay to custom order their shipment of games with certain tags already built in, such as Walmart or Best Buy. They do so because they have the leverage and the size of the retail outlet doesn't allow as close a watch, because, as you can imagine, it is expensive to order with these tags built in.

As for theft prevention, work in any retail outlet for a week and you'll learn that you CANNOT touch any customer expected of stealing. Simple as that. Largely, this is for safety reasons on the part of the employees (if someone is stealing and an employee grabs them, they might be armed and become hostile to everyone in the store). Makes sense when you think of it that way. =)

This problem of reselling played games in 'good enough' condition as 'new' has other, much more major ramifications for consumers beyond 'Has someone touched mah game?!?'. Developers and producers only make money on the copies that are sold to the resellers. Every time John, Dick or Jessie buys/borrows a game and returns it only to be resold as 'new', that's one opportunity for a Developer or Producer to make money that Gamestop denied them. When the development and production stages do not recieve that kickback they have less money to work with, misleading information on how well a title or idea really sold and they are encouraged to stick with high-demand titles like NFL (insert number) instead of taking chances and creating more innovative titles. Why take such a chance when Gamestop's 'Good as New' policy ensures that you'll make less overall for making the effort? It's a policy that's good for only Gamestop. It doesn't put better products in the player's hands. It doesn't lower the prices (as evidenced by other, smaller chains who are matching them in prices without that strategy) and it doesn't help developers or producers.

PS: (Jumping back) Remind me again how merging is 'good for consumers overall'? If allowing a major portion of the market to fall under one corporation was good for people, the laws against Monopoly wouldn't exist.

Scumdog says:

"If we put out mock-up boxes it'll will mean every time a game sells out we will have to pull the mock box and store it until more come in. Believe me when I say this would be very difficult to keep track of. Most customers don't bring up the box but ask for the game at the counter. This can cause problems when we sell the last copy to the guy at the front of the line while the guy at the back of the line stands there holding a fake box."


I understand that you're just an employee. I get the "everyone needs a job" and "we're good people" message, but the excerpt above sends a single word bubbling up to the front of my brain.

Lazy.

Boo hoo, you have to deploy a new system within the store. "But the boxes are too hard to keep track of.." Once customers learn the new system, it's back to business as usual. Do some actual work for a change. What happens when you apply for that huge paying dream job you wanted? Are you going to tell them that coming in at 8 am is too hard because of all the traffic?

Look, I really don't care all that much about Gamestop and their practices. It's their business and they can do what they want. It's very simple people...

Just don't go there. Look at what happened to Tower Records just from the presence of online music? Buy from someone else and your Gamestop issues will cease to exist.

Happy shopping.

I work at a Game Crazy so I can sympathize with the people who work at Gamestop/eb games. Something that pretty mcuh all of you need to know is that no one gives a shit. The managers don't care, the district manangers dont care, and the regional managers and so on and so forth. If they can get you to try out a game and you buy it, then thats great. If they can get you to buy a game at full price that has been opened and used (by either a customer or an employee) then thats great. But the second you bitch about it, then you can go screw yourself. They will probably sell the game to someone else. So bitching about this in an online forum is useless. Just don't buy the shit and you will see results eventually. But people keeping buying them without caring.

The thing that you have to remember is that GameStop an extremely bottom-line orientated company, not unlike most other corporations out there. They will do everything they can to squeeze every last penny out of anything they do. Sure, they could install sliding glass lock cases on the walls or install security scanners at the doors, etc. But do you really think that some upper manager in that company, given the choice between a possible raise or a possible construction nightmare, would choose to push away money? Of course not!

Couple this with the fact that most employees are threatened with their job if they don't make sales quotas, and you start to get a picture of why the normal clerk at GS doesn't care. Like someone else in this post mentioned, don't be afraid to ask for the shopworn discount. They won't advertise it, for obvious reasons, but it's within the management's authority to give you 10% off an opened copy.

"GameStop & EB Games - Better Together!" (yeah, right)

Can we all talk about what's really important here? The fact that Bill said the words "more productiver" and no one has called him out on it. Hilarious.

The EB here in Saint Cloud, Florida was ruined by the buyout. They need to stop trying to run a pawn-shop and start selling NEW games, in the shrink-wrap. And if they don't want to keep on the shrink-wrap, then they need to lower the price. I don't trust the EB and Gamestop employees any farther than I can throw them. I went to High School with most of them.

Hi,

I work at Gamestop. I hate the majority of the policies there. I hate the pay, it sucks and for the hours that I work I could be getting paid better elsewhere.

Yet, the only reason I stay there, the only reason I haven't quit is because I love the employee's I work with. We are all gamers. There's nothing better then coming into work and talking games from start to close. Now I'm not going to speak for other stores but I'd have to also say that we are pretty cool with people who have problems with opened new games. We ALWAYS sell the closed sealed games first and only then sell the opened boxes. Even then we point out that the box is opened but never played.

On the point of Employees borrowing games, it does happen and yes it does get abused. However at my store there are restrictions. For example, I can't take out a new game that has just been released. Case in point, God of War 2. I had to wait over two weeks to get it and I only was able to take it out after we had so many copies in stock. After I played it I brought it back for my Manager to inspect the disc profusely to make sure there wasn't a single scratch on it. Had there been any it would have been refurbished and sent to the warehouse for resurfacing. WE TELL the buyers that it is new and was tried out by the store, they decide if they want it.


Bottom line, I'm a gamer and the majority of guys I have met or worked for at Gamestop are gamers too. They feel for you the consumer and most of us go out of the way to help you. Used games while hated by the majority of you here give people without the cash needed to purchase the new one a chance to enjoy the game. We even have a policy stating if you buy a used game and theres a problem or you don't like it you can bring it back in seven days and get it refunded. Thats pretty sweet since the majority of new games I buy occasionally suck ass and I wish I could return them.

Anyway thats just my two cents.

To all the Gamestop guys; give it up you don't get paid enough to rally 'round the flag and fire back (unless you got grandfathered in at EB wages).

To all the other haters; Maybe you should do something with your time. Posting hate blogs is getting you nothing. Sneering at guys trying to earn small change and a discount is just stupid. Write your congressmen about how a $600 cash preorder for a ps3 gets deposited in the bank one day but doesn't get counted as a sale and doesn't get TAXED until 5 months later.

To EVERYONE; can we raise the maturity level up a few points here. The idea is we swap opinions not "your mama" and "I'm rubber, you're glue" comments

So why is Blockbuster/Gamerush struggling so much? Clearly used games are highly profitable. And eb/gamestop does about as poor a job as possible at presenting their used games. Games are difficult to find, the condition is suspect or worse and staff is often nonhelpful or downright unfriendly.
Someone should be able to take a substantial portion of their business by putting in a little effort.
I would love if Gamefly started opening stores.

For all of you complaining about used games being such a rip off, you probably don't know the policy behind them.

Were you aware you get 7 days on used games to TEST IT? As in, you buy def jam icon for 55 dollars, the game blows, YOU GET TO RETURN IT FOR A REFUND!!

Can you do that with new games? No! You're basically getting to rent a game for free. I'd much rather take a risk on a used game then shell out 60 bucks on a game and find out it blows and I can't return it.

You also get 30 days if it's defective.

And for people whining about not being able to return "new" opened games, just ask them to put the sticker on it. We have clear circular stickers that we put over the box opening, so we can tell if you've opened one of our new copies.

And for everyone hating about the trade in prices, you only target gamestop/eb because you KNOW the trade-in and resell.

When you go to best buy and buy a 2000 TV, do you know that they only pay like 1500 for it? Do you whine to them about how much they jack shit up? NO! But since we tell you how much we resell it, people get pissed as hell. Try becoming friends with a best buy employee, their employee discount is 5% over company cost, so it's quite easy to find out what the company is paying. When I worked there, accessories and TV's were jacked up the wazoo. 29.99 accessories, as an employee I paid a little over a dollar. Huge big screen tvs, average savings was over 500 dollars.

Go bitch somewhere else!

To #49

We can't take open new items back because we already put seals on them when we sell it. Most stores have resealing bags (not shrinkwrap) or some kind of sticker to seal it.

Yes I work for GS, and trust me, they pay us crap for every little thing we do in the stores. It's not that we are trying to be mean or ruin your day, it's the common fact that a small group of people ruin it for everyone else. Namely thieves who pretend to be consumers. We can't put empty cases on the floor because people take them. Heck we usually keep 19.99 and under PC titles on the floor due to lack of space, and guess what, they were the most stolen product in our store till they were placed right in front of the registers.

The box idea is a good one, if the company would give more hours for more staff so it could be implemented, but the corporate model seems to be this, pay the lowest amount of money per store and run it with the lowest amount of staff possible to make the most money. They even get through legal loop-holes by paying salary to SM's who have no real administrative powers to qualify for salary pay.

Unfortunately most people come in who hate GS just to treat the employees like garbage and make our lives worse because you didn't like that game you purchased without researching it yet, buying it new despite there being a used copy you could try for a week first, and then losing the receipt despite us telling you that you needed to hold on to it.

WE CANNOT TELL IF YOU BOUGHT IT THERE AND WE CANNOT REMEMBER EVERY CUSTOMER THAT WALKS INTO OUR STORE! THE PRICE TAG CANNOT EVEN TELL US IF IT IS STOLEN OR NOT!

Listen, if you had a bad customer experience, let me tell you a secret I've learned as both a consumer and a retailer. Usually it's not the stores fault, it's usually the customer who made a mistake and it's the psychological feeling of never wanting to be wrong that drives you into that rage. Read the receipts for return policies, if they don't put a seal on that store's open copy, then ask for it, and if you just want to complain about it for the sake of being cool, don't shop their, use amazon, I would if I didn't get a discount.