Rumor: Canadian EB Games stores merging used and new game shelves

@The Cole Train

I don't believe that a company that pushes pre-orders like it's the new crack will hide new games behind the used ones. It's ass backwards.

@BlazeKing
Clearly pre-orders are not games on shelves. So yes they would continue to push pre-orders just as much at the same time as robbing their customers blind with over priced pre-owned games ahead of new ones off the shelf.

Make no mistake, Gamestop (who own EB Games) have no interest in selling you a new copy of a game if they can make 100% profit on a pre-owned one and they will blatantly lie to their customers to do so. And yes that if from first hand experience on more than one occasion in a Gamestop/EBGames store.

@Shadowbender

Yet another reason why I just use amazon.

@Shadowbender

Except this doesn't make ANY SENSE, used games have a massive profit margin while new games have a tiny one. This hurts themselves way more than it hurts the consume.

@Doppel A Draconius mka Aguiluz

yeah me too. i don't shop there anymore, nope i'm too cool for that. Stupid employees always asking me questions, what the hell! am i in a retail shop or something. No i don't want to sign up for a rewards system i'm already part of at least a dozen other stores, i don't need this from gamestop, i expect better then that, i demand respect, i'm a gamer after all. I'm prestige 69 in CEOHDE and rank 5Y in the battlefields. Last time i was there they were trying to help a middle age woman pick out a Wii game for her kid, WHO THE EFF DO THEY THEY THINK THEY ARE!!... They should know kidz only play tehpawrz games like Zelda (which is OMG), and if that kid has fun playing Just Dance 7 then he deserves to die in a fire. Play real games like real men. Also, they raped my father and impregnated my sister, true story. Ughhh i HATE gamestop

@Hoops

I assume you're being sarcastic, it just didn't come across very well.

Gamestop/EB are the CAUSE of the $10 passes, not the solution to them.

@Hoops
What? I hope you are being sarcastic because this does not help customers in any way whatsoever.

@Hoops

well if they only included those ten buck passes in their used games then putting them on the same shelf would be almost legit..

@copa

Technically the first sale doctrine and the fact that game developers are pissed that its the consumers legal right to transfer the ownership of a used their used product(s) ...... are the reason for the $10 passes

They would be cramming extra fees down our throats with or without GS. Just like we would be staring down the barrel of DRM even if there was no piracy.

Don't get me wrong burying new games behind used games that are marked in such a way to cause confusion in customers who would otherwise opt to buy new is quite shady. If true and I have no real reason to doubt it because corporations are gregreegreeedy and GS is just as much a corporation as the dev/pubs shafting us with online passes.

@Scuffles

i'd give you a hug if i could.

+1 will do

@white fir
Its Alright, We already did a month ago during ours

@pbennett83

Making customers aware that used games are an option is one thing.

Actively trying to conceal the existence of new games is deceptive and counterproductive.

If it pains you so much to sell new retail product, why not just stop stocking it, and honestly rebrand yourself as EB Pawn Shop?

@copa I don't work for Gamestop/EB, and it definitely doesn't pain me to sell new product over used. A sale is a sale. However, retail stores of all kinds--games, clothes, whatever--all highlight the merchandise that makes them the most money. EB is no different. And I don't think it's deceptive to put the used in front of the new. If you want a new copy, all you need to do is ask, or astutely notice that directly behind the used copy you just picked up, there is a higher priced new copy.

I will agree with other commentators on here though, that if the copy isn't still shrink-wrapped, it shouldn't be sold as new. At my store we put out a few opened copies for display (discs behind the counter of course) and sell them at a discount once the shrink-wrapped copies are gone.

@pbennett83

so you think it is a fair and justifiable business practice to sell two completely different products (one new; one used), but mix them together on a shelf (one intentionally placed behind the other "preferred" item)? you don't see this as deceit? You don't see this as a ploy by the business to artificially increase it's used sales numbers by banking that a fair margin of consumers will simply be grabbing what they see without realizing it isn't a new item?

that a "sale is a sale" mentality is exactly what's wrong in the world today. what about earning an honest wage without taking advantage of your consumer base to make more profit? highlighting a particular product is one thing; specifically sticking the new version of a product behind the used version in the hopes the buyer won't notice is outright deceit. the fact that the price label would be identical between the two only furthers proves the deception of such a scenario.

@XperimntNterror I get what you're trying to say, but in your scenario the consumers are sheep that give money hand over fist for anything without reading. It's also a consumer's responsibility to know what they're getting, as much as it's a business' duty to inform.

There are no deceitful or dishonest practices here in my mind. That said, "a sale is a sale" is a pretty generic mantra, and should place quality and service before anything else.

@XperimntNterror Okay, perhaps "a sale is a sale" was not the correct way to express what I meant. I'm not trying to devalue the consumer, what I'm saying is that it makes no difference to me whether they buy a new copy or a used copy; if they prefer a new copy for their peace of mind, I'm happy to supply that, but if they would rather save the money on a pre-owned, I'm happy to help with that too. At the risk of sounding like a salesman, what's most important to me is that my store can cater to as many customers as possible and they can leave satisfied.

I think it's unfair to label EB as "shady" or "deceitful" for highlighting what is likely their more requested product. Customers frequently come in asking if the store has a used copy yet (even when the game came out that same day) and EB and Gamestop both have VERY limited floor space (as many commenters have already pointed out). If I had such limited shelving, I would make sure it displayed the things my customers most wanted, as I think they are trying to do. They will still continue to carry New, and you still have the option to buy it.
Believe me, they want very badly to sell every New copy they have; that stuff has a high cost for the store and they have quotas to meet. They're just trying to cater to the consumer.

@hami83

I already barely shop at EB for the opening case policy but this alone will make stay clear completely and voice my opinions to my friends to stay away as well.

@Uberdave

trading on goozex has almost come to a halt. It's moving so slow ever since they added those early access tokens.

@IcehawkDown - Kotaku was forwarded the internal documentation and from the looks of it, they have an image of it on their site.

Why on earth would they not run the story?

@IcehawkDown
Internet hits = money? Kotaku is probably not the best place to look for decency.

I do think this policy might be true. I occasionally walk into Gamestop to see what crazy things are in the store and the new game shelves seem to get smaller as time goes by. Seems like Gamestop/EB might as well go ahead and mix in some new games with those used ones.

Doing this would allow the stores to increase shelf space and make it more difficult for the unknowning customers to realize when they are buying used vs new.

Last time I went to Gamestop and asked for a game the clerk told me, "we don't have that used" and my response was, "I didn't ask for it used." This practice might vary between stores, but I assume this is the general trend.

@Ospov No, that's what happens at ALL retail stores no matter what is sold. Managers constantly change things, basically, to make their bosses happy. It's corporate stupidity that comics like Dilbert feed on. lol

@Ospov - That could also explain why some employees are reporting it but others are saying it's not true.

@hami83

Oh I know. I totally agree. I'm just giving my 2 cents since I actually used to work at a GameStop and know exactly how dumb the managers can be.

@Ospov

Yeah, this sounds most likely.

Because, I am trying to make sense of it, other than, "We want to trick customers." I don't know the regs on deceptive marketing in Canada, but it does sound fishy. A small district manager doing it (and another employee blogging that they aren't doing it), seems most likely.

There are always dumb managers, even higher up.

@(Unverified) - In my experience, Futureshop has their used games and the used section clearly labeled.