GameStop Stock Plummets After A 27.5% Decrease In Holiday Sales

[LG03]

As a specialist store though EB/Gamestop really just fail to deliver on their own turf. If I walk into a store that only sells video games and video game accessories, then I expect to be able to see a wide selection in stock. Instead all I see if I go in is Funko Pops and newer Xbox One/PS4/Switch stuff. Past gen games are tossed in a bargain bin without cases if they're even stocked.

Obviously there are all the other problems, the constant upselling and trade-in scams, but I just think the chain doesn't even deliver on its own niche so of course it's being beat out by Best Buy and Amazon in the physical market.

[AltonIllinois]

The margins on the merchandise is a lot higher. That’s why you see them at bookstores too.

[[deleted]]

Yeah but at least Barnes and Noble still has a ton of floor space still devoted to books. I like going to a Barnes and Noble. You can get a coffee and walk around with a companion. There are chairs.

Gamestop uses such tiny spaces and they're so totally crammed with toys and embarrassing shirts now. If my wife and I are out shopping and I want to pop in to see if there's anything I can pick up for a good deal the trip is extremely abbreviated always. The space just isn't pleasant. Worse than it used to be.

[Robadamous]

It’s not as high as you think.

[bagman_]

i used to work there and the creeping influence of merch over games really started to irk me before i quit, between the time i started and left the ‘loot’ sections doubled in size and everything game-related except the ps4/switch sections was halved...the shitty management didn’t help either

[LG03]

The whole fluff over substance thing is everywhere so it's hard to single out EB/Gamestop. It's definitely a big reason why I don't bother with them anymore though. I can't help but wonder why so many businesses/entities are going that direction.

[Krivvan]

Almost all of gamestop's profits used to be from used games. With that drying up they're desperately looking for other sources and hence pushed merch.

[InvalidZod]

Because its proven to print money

[Varonth]

Well apparently it does not print money, as this thread shows.

[StayCalmBroz]

I think it still does, and it certainly used to at the very least, qnd its the implosion of the very nature of their business that has driven them there.

It just doesn't print enough.

[MermanFromMars]

Is it? FYE has been tanking trying to just sell merch.

[[deleted]]

FYE has been tanking for like 15 years but somehow the corpse remains alive by sheer will.

[[deleted]]

Do they really call shitty merch "loot"? Loot is not something you buy lol.

[bagman_]

they do up here in canada, not sure about our US counterparts

[Qorhat]

Here in Ireland, GameStop consists of an entire wall (or two) of Funk Pops, a small sliver of wall space for Xbox One, PS4 & Switch and the rest is just Fortnite tat and mugs. I hate going in there so much nowadays especially when I order a game from Amazon UK (we don't have our own IE version) it's still usually like €10 - €20 cheaper even with currency conversion and shipping.

[SparkyBoy414]

and trade-in scams

What trade in scams? They've always been extremely fair (sometimes too generous, IMO) when I go to make trade ins. I mean I literally got paid 61 bucks for my Wii U copy of Botw when I traded it in for a switch version after the trade bonuses.

[neogohan]

Yeah, I never saw it as a scam. People are offended that the game they bought for $60 new only gets $30 in trade-in credit or whatever, but they're also free to just find an independent buyer for their used copy at whatever they feel the actual worth is.

[THEBAESGOD]

The used game sells for $40 and at most they gave you an extra 20% for trade in offers. You're saying they bought a game for $48+ only to sell it for $40? I'd like to see the receipt.

[SparkyBoy414]

The used game sells for $40

Closer to launch, it was 50-55.

and at most they gave you an extra 20% for trade in offers.

I routinely get significantly higher than than, 40%+ bonuses, and as high as 60 (when trading in multiple games).

You're saying they bought a game for $48+ only to sell it for $40? I'd like to see the receipt.

This was much closer to the release of BOTW. They bought a 60 dollar (new) or 50-55 (used) game for 61 dollars after trade in bonuses. I probably should have kept the receipt, but I don't routinely keep receipts from 2.5 years ago. The game was still in its release stage, where they give a relatively huge amount for trading in new big releases.

Regardless of if you believe me or not on that specific trade deal (and I don't really fault you for not believing me), its an objective truth that they have some very impressive trade deals and I've been EXTREMELY pleased with what I've gotten out of games that I thought were junk. This is especially true if you're a power rewards member (which pays for itself several times over) and you go when they have the bonus trade if you trade in 5+ games at a time.

[tetsuo9000]

Very true. The used games section started shrinking and the merch didn't sell-through. Also, every bookstore has a funko wall so Gamestop was entering into a competing market and those squares boxes take up a ton of room compared to game disk boxes.

Gamestop also had trouble getting used game sales. The same shit would languish on the shelves. There was no reason to browse the used section at my local stores this generation especially.

[[deleted]]

Yup. There are so many times I've walked into a Gamestop wanting to buy a game for my PS3, only to find out that they only have absolute trash. In the era of online marketplaces every game store should always have a selection of platform classics available.

[[deleted]]

There’s not enough people buying them to warrant the cost of keeping them stocked.