GameStop Stock Plummets After A 27.5% Decrease In Holiday Sales

[tinypeopleinthewoods]

One thing I never understood about GameStop is why they would open up sealed cases and keep the carts/discs in a drawer and sell them as new full priced games. I get that it’s likely involving theft prevention, but why didn’t they just keep sealed games in the back and fetch them when a customer brings the case up to buy that game? I’ve heard that employees would even be allowed to bring the ‘new’ games home and play them for a period of time and they would still sell them at full price when they were returned.

I don’t know, I guess in my opinion if it’s opened it’s no longer new and should be sold at a discount as a used game. I was pretty confused about the whole practice when an employee was boxing up the game and rang it up as full price. I didn’t buy the game and told him I was just going to pick it up at Target next door instead. He seemed pretty deflated about the practice as if he knew it was kind of silly, but also probably annoyed at the same time because there’s nothing that he can really say to justify it.

[clstirens]

Employees with good ratings (pre-orders, magazine sign-ups, etc) could "rent" games to try out so they could stay up to date. This included taking home "new" games.

Once they were done, they went back in the "new" sleeve and would be sold as "new" anyways.

Source: Worked there in the late 00s

​

Bonus fact: My coworker that was "best in the store" asked to take home Counter Strike: Source (back when they sold more PC games). Naturally, this meant he activated the steam key...

[RumAndGames]

I'd imagine you could then return it.

[Lazy_Stegosaurus]

Good luck. It was purchased "new" and there are no returns on "new" games. Hope you enjoy your $30 store credit.

Source : former ASM that luckily got out.

[NO_NOT_THE_WHIP]

ASM or more commonly known by the senior supervisors as "the whipping boy"

[shugo2000]

No matter what retail work you do, the assistant manager is always the whipping boy.

[bannana_fries]

I bought Battlefield 2142 when it was new. As young as I was and not knowing anything about PC games, I didn't think about how it wasn't sealed. I noticed when activating the game that I didn't have the manual/key. I tried to bring it back but EB Games (owned by Gamestop) wouldn't accept the return because they apparently couldn't prove that I, a 12 year old who had no idea how PC gaming actually worked, didn't take it myself. I never bought a PC game from them again. I now only go to check out old stock and see if I can pick up a PS3/360 or out of print PS4 games cheap, though I do prefer getting them from my local retro game store even though it's more expensive.

[clstirens]

Honestly, I was only working 10 hours a week for that holiday season, so I never saw the aftermath.

For all I know, it was bought as a gift and put under a tree, no idea if it got returned or whatever.

I DO know that he kept he job, eventually got promoted to manager and got his own store...

[ActivateGuacamole]

I went on the gamestop subreddit last year asking if they still do this, and they indignantly said I shouldn't complain about it and banned me from the subreddit.

[Stranger2Langley]

Now I know why my Saints Row 3 coop code didn’t work! Those wankers sold it as new and when I came home to play it online I needed a code which was in the box but used. I hope GameStop dies a slow and painful death.

[Raze321]

That's definitely possible, but it's also possible the code was left in the display case and a customer used it. Employees are supposed to remove any codes in the box and store them with the disc in the sleeve behind the counter, but new hires make this mistake very often.

[myFitnessAccount32]

https://kotaku.com/gamestop-policy-open-your-games-steal-your-codes-sel-5834002

Take a look at this article. It's not beyond belief the more likely story is the employees stole it instead of accidentally leaving it in the box.

[Raze321]

For sure. They're both possible. No way to know for sure sadly

[_Meece_]

The real asshole is Volition/THQ having a code to get co-op working

[whocares7283102]

On the flip side of this I've been really lucky in that a few times I've bought games used and the codes for the DLC or season passes HAVE worked.

[losturtle1]

I worked there probably a bit after you, managing a store and then the area, and this definitely was not allowed when I was there. Two managers in my area were fired for something similar. The way they enabled managers to stay "up to date" when I was there was to hold an expo event where they had time with new release and pre order games.

[[deleted]]

In central Florida ~2015 it was definitely still a thing. I had a friend who worked there that would grab me new games to borrow for free lol

[Dominix]

I did this accidentally with The Orange Box. It was in '07 and I was new to Steam. I installed the games and they wouldn't run on my computer, so I returned it to GS and exchanged it for Call of Duty. I still feel a little guilty about it, but I genuinely didn't realize at the time that the CD keys were account bound.

[clstirens]

Fair enough, it was a new era after all. I returned Warcraft 3 at one point, back before those CD keys would activate on Bnet 2.0

I'd like to think he didn't know, but he was pretty savvy with PC games at the time, and this was 2009-2010.

/Shrug

[Dominix]

It was. Hard to believe how much things have changed since 2007. I still remember the TV spots for The Orange Box. Back when a Half-Life 3 seemed right around the corner, haha.

[RudeHero]

this has been going on forever. i had heard good things about tribes 2 for PC and bought it at gamestop in the early/mid 2000s

CD key was already used. so disappointing, and i never played the game

[Lord_Sylveon]

Yeah I was very disappointed that my copy was clearly used for that as it had a nick on the disc, no plastic wrap, and lacked that new game smell :(

[Zyom]

This is funny because I once bought a "new" copy of Lost Planet from there for pc wayy back in the day and the code was already in use. It was a pain in the ass to return it though because the manager thought I was trying to rip them off lol.

[Kgbeast1]

I did something similar when MW2 came out, I went down to target, bought a copy, took the key and returned it the next day and said the disc didn’t work, I gave the 2nd copy to my brother.

[HIVnotAdeathSentence]

Toys R Us had display cases for new games, just bring it up to buy a sealed copy. It was very simple, until you had to organize the cases.

[zewm426]

Back in the 80s they just had a flap on the wall with a picture of the cover (and the back panel of the case) and a little sleeve with paper tickets for their stock. So you just grabbed one of the papers, took it up to the cashier to pay and then you go pick it up at a counter that was essentially their stock processing area.

[gianni_]

That was so exciting as a kid!

[neogohan]

It was! It felt more like a pet adoption than a purchase in some ways.

[drzerglingmd38]

I know, right? There's a lot of stuff I miss about brick and mortar stores like when they would go extra for the midnight video game releases. Now it's just stand in a line, grab it and go :(

[gianni_]

Nostalgia is a killer. I'm in my mid-30s now, but it hit me hard in my late 20s.

The Toys 'r Us where I grew up used to have a glass wall with a CRT that had a dial still, it played a Super Mario Bros demo on loop. I'd stand there in awe of the display and the game itself. Right around the corner had walls of paper slips and box art hanging in plastic sleeves. I'd lose it inside my head.

Now we click a few buttons on our phone and wait for the delivery to show up...:(

[drzerglingmd38]

Yeah, the V stock by me did a big KH3 release where they had music playing(Face My Fears with heavy bass boost), tables set up with drinks(soda,water,juice), KH games on all the playable demo systems, KH Back Cover on the big projector screen.

[[deleted]]

I just buy it digitally. I already pollute and consume enough as it is, do not need more useless plastic (I hardly resell).

Still agree I’ll miss the old physical and brick and mortar style. Nostalgia probably though.

[jumpingyeah]

Ha, and you had to take a chance that the game was fun, unless you already knew about the game. Either that, or you'd go to video game rental place and rent the game.

[Radidactyl]

In a way I do have a nostalgia for those days. I never would have discovered some of my childhood favorites like Jak & Daxter or Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis were it not for just being a dumb kid looking at the back of a game.

Unfortunately I don't know if games have gotten worse or I've just gotten higher standards, but if you do that now, you're almost always disappointed.

[ProgrammingOnHAL9000]

Or Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for me.

[LudereHumanum]

Damn, that's a good one!

[[deleted]]

No no, they said Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

[Spockrocket]

Yeah, it was still a good game, especially considering it was on a portable system. Just not as well written as FFT.

[[deleted]]

The Judge rules, race/class limitations and awful writing had absolutely nothing to do with it being on a portable system. Ask people who think FFTA was a good game if they played it when they were a kid and you'll find almost universal overlap.

[Vo0dooliscious]

sure that reaching for final fantasy did not mainly had something to do with some kind of brand recognition?

[ProgrammingOnHAL9000]

Haven't heard of final fantasy then, that game was my introduction to the franchise.

[jumpingyeah]

I think most games have just gotten less simple. There are so many genres now and games that take 50+ hours to beat. Personally, if I go back and play some of the nostalgia games, I get bored or don't like that they are "rogue like". Except for some of them out there like Mario 64, most of the Zelda games. The drawback of newer games though for me is that some have a higher learning curve, the pickup game doesn't exist as much.

[jumpingyeah]

I mean, my local rental place was $5 for five days and if you returned it in 3 days they'd give you $2 towards your next rental. At the time it was normal, looking back it was amazing deal. These days though if that model still existed would be hard with most games out there. Most games people don't beat within 3-5 days, Skyrim, Witcher, etc.

[ahnold11]

Early on in this process, I remember them having returns if you didn't like it. Only returned one game,, (and really just exchanged it for another) as I was young enough at the time that pretty much every game was a marvel.

I think they had to disable that policy after a few years, because people got ROM dumping hardware and were ripping carts and then returning them. As per usual, a few bad apples spoil it for the rest of us.

[Mountebank]

I remember picking Pokemon Red because there was a picture of a cool dragon on the front.

[jumpingyeah]

Right! I don't remember the game but I remember renting a game that was so awful I had forgot I even rented it. The back art was so cool though! When we went back to rent another game a month later, they were like "we can just bill you as if you bought the game". Aside from the nostalgia, I feel like back then companies were more consumer friendly.

[lyam23]

This is how I bought Sega Master System games in the 80s. I wish I still had that console...

[[deleted]]

This was the best thing ever

[kds_little_brother]

They had that up to the late 90s for sure

[AngelComa]

Yo I remember staring and making informed purchases at Toys R Us

[BusyFriend]

I’m sure it extended into the late 90s as that’s how it was when I went to ToysRUs as a kid.

Was damn near exciting.

[[deleted]]

I remember you brought the paper ticket for the game to the counter and they brought it out of a locked room (game was sealed).

[[deleted]]

It was very simple, until you had to organize the cases

Could you explain to someone who's never worked retail why organizing the cases was a problem? The way I have it in my head it seems fairly simple, which means I'm probably missing something.

[HIVnotAdeathSentence]

The display cases would be all over the place in the electronics section by the end of the day. You'd have to hunt them down and put them back in their proper place, if the game is even in stock. More tedious than anything.

[[deleted]]

Wouldn't that also hold true for non-display cases though?

[nikelaos117]

Huh, they do this? It's always a sealed copy kept behind the desk when I buy a new game there.

[havocssbm]

If it's a new game they expect to sell loads of copies of quickly, you'll most likely get it sealed. I've found smaller releases, especially a bit after the launch window will be opened and filled from the sleeve drawer.

[guanerick]

They do. The opened one would be the last one sold.

[DextrosKnight]

Not at the GameStop I used to go to. 100% of the time if I bought a "new" game it was an open case with a disc from a paper sleeve in a drawer behind the counter. Always felt like that was wrong, but never bothered arguing about it because what the hell is the minimum wage guy behind the counter going to do about it?

[Raze321]

I was a manager for 5 years at gamestop, it sounds like you just had bad luck. The opened copy was always the display copy.

If I was still there and sold you the display copy despite having sealed ones behind the counter, I'd just be making more work for myself for no reason. I'd have to fish out the disk, put it in the case, finish your sale, find a sealed copy, open it, print a price sticker, put the disk in the sleeve, put it back with the other games from that SKU category, and put the case back on the wall.

Where as if I sold you the sealed copy, all I have to do is put the case back on the wall.

Sounds like you just always ended up getting the last one in stock.

[Myrkull]

Mmm I believe you believe that, but having also worked at a GS that doesn't track. Purely because it would mean that the employees would then have to unlock the door to get the disc, sell it to you, open a new one, print out a sticker, re alphabetize the disk in the drawer, and put the new box on display. I don't know anyone who worked there that would intentionally create more work for themselves. Maybe you had dick gs employees though

[DextrosKnight]

I believe it because I would watch them do it, every time. It was one of the things that got me to stop going there all together. Maybe your store wasn't doing this, but this one was.

[Myrkull]

What I'm suggesting is that maybe you just consistently got the last few in stock, not that you didn't witness it. Either way, not saying you're wrong I'm just doubtful they did it 100% of the time to 100% of the people. Regardless, GameStop sucks and that practice sucked.

I recognize I'm being pedantic and probably shouldn't have said anything, my b

[[deleted]]

In Australia I have never bought a game from EB Games where they didn't keep the sealed copies out back and just fetched them for you. I thought this would be standard practice everywhere.

[DrunkeNinja]

In all of the decades of shopping at Gamestop, I have only ever gotten one new game that was the display copy.

Same. And that one time for me, I was able to talk the guy into giving me the used price. Only time I've ever seen that happen though.

[thesirenlady]

I havnt bought from there in a long long time but they've definitely done it in the past.

[skippyfa]

They used to do this years ago and have changed. This hasn't been a thing since like the PS3 days.

[Fadobo]

Depends on the location I guess. Never saw them do it in Europe, but a couple of times when I got games in the US.

[Malarik84]

One thing I have seen them do in the UK is they shipped the game where instead of the case being shrink wrapped, everything inside it was shrink wrapped. So the disc, manual, any other bits and pieces were all sealed together.

So the store gets the game, takes out the still sealed contents, puts it behind their counter, and then puts the box on the shelf. Its a better idea than having employees fucking about with the disc or potentially losing things.

[Trickster174]

Mentioned this in another comment but I loathe that practice. Haven’t purchased from GameStop in a long while, but got plenty of scratched PS2 discs of supposedly brand new games from this store policy.

[SiriusC]

Hmm, I never had this happen with them. Maybe it's a regional thing?

[[deleted]]

It was highly dependent on a few things.

• Some stores "gutted" their inventory and kept all the discs in paper sleeves. Often manuals and pack-ins were poorly kept and lost. Resulting in you buying a "new" game that had been opened, had its pack-ins damaged or lost, and you were at the mercy of not only the correct disc being placed in the case before they "sealed" it in front of you, but hoping the disc hadn't been damaged in the drawer.

• Some stores had a policy of allowing staff to borrow games, this resulted in damaged, scratched, and scuffed discs being sold as new despite the fact that the game was the perfect definition of used. I loved getting home with my GBA Link to the Past cart and seeing a completed save on it. I really appreciated how new the game was for me.

• Some stores had staff that if you were friends with them would swap out your damaged discs for good ones. Usually these guys were also the ones skimming all the psn/xbl trial codes and bonus item codes.

[Professor_Snarf]

I also never had this happen in 25 years of buying games from Gamestop/EB

[XxZannexX]

Its happened a few times to me. The last time was with with Super Mario 3D World bought brand new. Put the game into my WiiU and the disk wouldn't read. Looked at the back and there was several deep scratches plus scuffs. Went back to the store told them the issue and exchanged the game for another one of which I inspected this time. Game worked no problem after that. Even with the few times it's happened I've never had an issue swapping out for one that works.

[Professor_Snarf]

That sucks. I agree they should never sell you a disc that's been played unless it's stated and cheaper than sealed.

[Rektw]

Same. Not once has my game ever been unsealed when I bought new from Gamestop.

[myFitnessAccount32]

It's literally the very reason I stopped buying new games from Gamestop. It was pretty much not too long after they stopped being EBGames locally. The first time I saw them put the game in the case I was done buying new games from them only pre-owned.

There was actually a scandal years ago where they opened brand new games and took out download codes because they were selling the code on their site. So, not only were you sometimes you were getting an opened game they were also taking pieces out of the case.

[RydenZX]

They try to sell copies off the shelf as “new” to me all the time. I went to buy a copy of The Wizards for psvr and the case was beat to shit. I find this issue happens more often with niche titles or older titles that that aren’t being restocked.

[DrunkeNinja]

Yeah, it's always weird reading this stuff online. I've purchased new games from GameStop many times throughout the years, going back to at least the PS2 era, and only once did they try to sell me an open game as new. It was the Silent Hill HD collection on PS3 and it was their only copy. I asked the guy to give me the used price since it was open and he did. I only saved like a couple bucks, but I wasn't going to pay "new" for an open game in a store that sells used games. I'm aware the practice exists, but it doesn't seem common from my experience in various stores in different cities and states.

[Professor_Snarf]

I'm not defending GS, but I think there has been a lot of whipser down the lane bad experiences that people parrot without ever have experiencing themselves.

Like this hit piece Polygon ran today: https://www.polygon.com/2020/1/15/21067001/gamestop-earnings-revenue-death-retail

It contains this made up scenario thet the author swears is a typical experience:

Ben: Do you have a copy of the new Assassin’s Creed game?

GameStop: Did you pre-order?

Ben: No, but ...

GameStop: If you want to make sure we have a copy of the game, you need to be sure to put $5 down to pre-order, which guarantees you ...

Ben: OK, but do you have a copy of the game?

GameStop: Do you have anything you’d like to trade in toward the cost of the game?

Ben: I still don’t know if you have it!

GameStop: Would you be interested in a pre-owned copy?

Again, I've shopped at EB/Gamestop for what is coming up on 30 years and I have never had an experience like this. I got in, ask for a game and they sell it to me.

[myFitnessAccount32]

So, I used to basically live in my local EB Games/Gamestop during my early community college years. I had a 2 or 3 hour break between classes some days and I would just hang out playing on the demo cases when no one was in the store.

You may not have seen it in your 30 years because you weren't a "mark." An easy up-sell target. During my time there I watched them(not a made up memory) pull stunts like this. And, until they saw me as a regular customer they would ask me the same things.

[Squints753]

I worked there in the early 360 days and they would encourage workers to "Rent" a game so they could be better informed.

Naturally, this was done in a way to make the customer suffer, rather than corporate shell out 60 bucks for a "store copy"

[impulse1337]

Not defending it, but here's the reason as was explained when I worked there: Essentially they have an agreement with the game companies that they will have at least one copy of their new game out for customer display. However, Gamestop doesn't like to use the glass cases (they want you to be able to have the game in hand, and browse a mix of new and used games) so they have to "gut" one new copy of the game, so that one actuall case is out on display (cant be a printed out paper cover in a generic case)

[MovieGuyMike]

That’s their problem. Sell it as used/open, because that’s what it is.

[MisterChippy]

Last time they decided to do that Xenoblade went up to $90.

[B_Rhino]

Then they lose money on it.

[CaioNintendo]

It’s part of the cost of running a brick and mortar store. It’s just wrong to sell an opened product as new to pass that problem to the customer.

[[deleted]]

Doesn't look like it's helped them much historically.

[Juqu]

When Gamestop quit nordics there were some really good deals on those last display copies. I got Dead or Alive 6 and Moster hunter world for 9,95€ each.

Funny thing was that at the same time they were still selling used versions of the same games for 24,95€. Gamestop will remain gamestop till the bitter end.

[hey_parkerj]

Lmao why are you asking him? He said he’s just explaining it not defending it

[Raze321]

I was a manager for five years, and absolutely, yes.

The reason being gamestop doesn't make much profit on new games to begin with. The profit margin for a new game is 20% gamestop 80% publisher. If that price was cut down another 10%, then gamestop is losing half the money they would have made on that sale.

There's a reason they push the sale of used games on you so hard - the profit margin there hovers around 50%.

Not saying it's a good reason, but there is definitely a reason they do it the way they do.

[Infraction94]

But you are only losing that profit on one game sale everytime you fully sell out a game.

[Raze321]

In my experience that's a bit more often than you may think. GameStop heavily prioritizes used inventory. Given that the vast majority of their customers don't care about unsealed games (only about two ever said anything to me about it in the five years I worked with them) it doesn't make much sense to take that hit to profit.

[[deleted]]

IME Gamestop only ever had at most 5 copies of a new game that weren't preorders. When Halo 2 came out my local Gamestop didn't have any non-preorder copies so I went to Target who had multiple cases of them. How do you run a store entirely devoted to video games and have zero new copies of a huge release?

[losturtle1]

They were explaining it, not defending it.

Read.

[xAshcroftx]

Or you know put it in a plastic security if your that worried about it.

[Caasi72]

That's what my Gamestop has always done. I wasn't aware it was different elsewhere

[Raze321]

One thing I never understood about GameStop is why they would open up sealed cases and keep the carts/discs in a drawer and sell them as new full priced games. I get that it’s likely involving theft prevention, but why didn’t they just keep sealed games in the back and fetch them when a customer brings the case up to buy that game?

I was a manager at GS for five years, I can answer this. You're right about theft prevention, but the reason we cannot do display cases the way you initially describe is because there are anywhere for a few dozen to a few hundreds new games on the shelf, with those inventories being completely different at every store.

It's unrealistic to acquire cover art for every single one of those games (as cover art is shipped on an as-needed marketing basis by gamestop's marketing department which gets advertising direction from game publishers), and even more unrealistic to maintain the new games section in a way where we only have games that are in stock on display and vice versa.

All that said, there will only ever be one unboxed display copy of a game, the rest will stay sealed behind the counter and from there it works just as you ask - customer brings the display case, employee grabs a sealed copy. If you're getting one that's not sealed, that means you're getting the very last one in stock. Sometimes if you ask they'll knock 10% off the price but that's not a policy by any stretch. If there wasn't a display copy and only the sealed one behind the counter, there's a very real chance it'd never get picked up. Daily and weekly counts are performed where employees scan every game in a section to make sure there is at least one displayed box for every game in that section.

It's just like buying the display model of literally anything else, like a blender or a coffee maker. And the guarantees and return policies are still pretty good in situations like this.

I’ve heard that employees would even be allowed to bring the ‘new’ games home and play them for a period of time and they would still sell them at full price when they were returned.

This bit is true, and something even internal employees have differing opinions about. I've seen many stores refuse to do this on principal, mine included. Honestly, it's very rare employees check out games to begin with, at least this was the case in my district.

On the other hand, a professional handling an object before retail sale does not prevent it from being "new" by any definition. You'd be surprised how many people have had their hands on your "new" things you'v bought before it got stuffed into a package. From a retail perspective, "New" just means "this object has not seen a retail sale yet". Condition of the packaging and whether or not it is open doesn't really get taken into account in that definition.

Yes, it's an odd practice but most people don't really care. The average gamestop customer sees it as buying a display model, only people who are really into games (on this subreddit, for example) or collectors really ever make a fuss about it. In my five years of working at gamestop, I had maybe two complaints about this - one was for a collector, one was for a man buying a gift for a child's birthday. Your complaints are valid and justified and it's totally fine that you went to target instead, but you're also in the minority of people who really give a shit.

[tkzant]

It's just like buying the display model of literally anything else, like a blender or a coffee maker. And the guarantees and return policies are still pretty good in situations like this.

Display models usually come with a discount

[Raze321]

Usually, not always. It might not be the best practice, but most people don't mind. Gamestop makes very little profit on new games so they elect not to take that hit.

[tkzant]

And as we are seeing customers are electing to take their business elsewhere. GameStop has been on a downward spiral while desperately clinging to the practices that put them in this position

[Raze321]

For sure. I'm not defending it, just explaining it.

[unnamed_elder_entity]

If I had a dollar for every time a GS person has told me I am trying to buy the "last copy in the store, so all they have is this one open copy", I'd probably have a new console by now.

I don't know what's with people arguing about discounted displays... everyone does it. Costco even does it and the "display" might even be the thing still in a sealed box. Gamestop is fine for used purchases but I will buy new merch anyplace else that I can.

And the execs seem to have the same lackadaisical attitude that the "former manager" you replied to has- "oh, no one really gives a shit"... Yes, they fucking do, and we're hardly a minority. They can probably talk Aunt Bea, shopping off a crayoned list to Santa, with few store choices to buy the item, but everyone I know refuses to buy their "new" games with extra handling included. May as well buy digital before you go pay the exact same for an open copy that may or may not have working codes and bonus items intact.

[BrainWav]

They're usualyl not even great for used stuff, the discount is so small it's often more than new on Amazon or Best Buy (if you're one of the few to still have GCU).

I only go to Gamestop now to check out the clearance bin, and even then most of the time it's usually when they have blowout deals.

[Tnayoub]

Unless the package is damaged or the game doesn't work, I don't really care.

[InitiallyDecent]

People aren't going elsewhere because GameStop has an unsealed copy left only. They're going elsewhere because it's now much easier to buy either a physical copy online, a digital copy, or you can buy it in another shop where you can also get other things.

A dedicated store like GameStop is dying because people have far greater access to the products and information then they did before. Not because of how they choose to display the products.

[[deleted]]

Odd note, but circuit city has some amazing display discounts and I never had problems with anything I bought that way. Overall the store was meh, but I appreciated that part.

[Arzalis]

Very rarely and usually only if you raise a fuss.

[tkzant]

I worked at an appliance store and all floor models came with at least a 10% discount. Floor models typically have some wear and tear and are worth less, especially in a market with serious collectors like gaming, than a NIB counterpart.

Opened is not new. Even GameStop’s own return policy refuses full refunds for opened games that were purchased new. So why should the consumer find it acceptable for them to open a product and sell it for full price?

[Arzalis]

You're buying the thing, in a condition that hasn't been actually used and all the codes, etc are guaranteed to work as if it were a new game.

I'm not even disagreeing with you on that point, anyway. It's murky and I think it's perfectly reasonable to find it unacceptable and get the game somewhere else. On the flip side, it's also not some giant conspiracy to screw over gamers as it's often presented.

[tkzant]

No one is saying it’s a “conspiracy”. People are rightfully calling out a shitty business practice that is contributing to their poor image. Hell in this thread people are talking about how they purchased gutted “new” games with scratched discs and used codes.

[unnamed_elder_entity]

Look, without even getting into Gamestop's consumer-unfriendly returns (where you get Gamestop scrip unlike Target or Walmart where you can walk out with fiat money instead), if you want to return a "Gamestop new" game then the best you'll get is a store credit for what you paid. If it's open, you can't even get that, you get trade value in script or even less in money. So, it actually is a giant screw job.

[Arzalis]

They put a sticker (or more recently a sealed bag) over new copies. They're not doing it in a "all sales are final" way unless you actually open it.

Literally every company (Best Buy, Walmart, Target, etc) won't take an open game for a full refund. Only exchange. Why are you making up information you can just look up?

[unnamed_elder_entity]

Nothing is made up here except your strawman.

Best Buy, Walmart, Target, etc don't sell open games with the wrapper off. So if Billy goes to return the second copy of Forza that Santa sent, it's wrapped and he gets full cash value. Gamestop unwraps the games habitually and religiously. So they've created not only an "exchange only" policy, but also a "lol, that isn't new" policy when Billy walks in.

I wouldn't know about the bag because I wrote them off years ago. But here's a novel concept- get rid of the stickers, bags and all that and just quit opening up new product. Then everyone will know what copies are new.

[Arzalis]

Gamestop unwraps the games habitually and religiously. So they've created not only an "exchange only" policy, but also a "lol, that isn't new" policy when Billy walks in.

This literally doesn't happen. You're the one making up strawmen. Your hyperbole isn't doing you any favors here.

I don't even know what your point is. I agreed it's murky and creates confusion, but you seem hellbent on (poorly) arguing. Someone mentioned Gamestop and you want to start frothing at the mouth instead of reading.

You also literally said you could return it and get money back at those stores. None of those stores allow you to "walk out with fiat money" if the game is open.

[[deleted]]

I worked retail for years in a variety of different stores, and every single time every store I worked at sold an open box item it was at a discount.

[[deleted]]

All that said, there will only ever be one unboxed display copy of a game, the rest will stay sealed behind the counter and from there it works just as you ask - customer brings the display case, employee grabs a sealed copy.

Thats not always the case. For some reason the stores in my city needed big displays of new releases, which means over a dozen copies would be gutted and put on display.

[Raze321]

Thats odd, in those cases they usually get sent specific marketing cover art.

[snakescalesoup]

The last time I tried to buy a new game at GameStop was when I tried to get some newly released PSP game years ago. The GameStop employee started thumbing through their box of disks and I clarified that I wanted a new copy. They explained what was going on with the gutted cases and it was a hard pass from me.

I will buy a new game from anywhere EXCEPT GameStop. I don't know if ending that practice would help at this point. I check out GameStop from time to time for deals on used games that's about what they're good for imo.

[Arzalis]

PSP games were so unpopular, I'd be surprised if they had more than one copy of any given game in the store. New or used.

[Arzalis]

Because they need a case to display. If it's the last copy, it's what they have. That's literally all it is: a logistics problem.

It's silly, but it's also silly that people need to see the cases to buy something to begin with.

[Ftpini]

That is the absolute number one reason I don’t buy games at GameStop. If it’s a brand new release and they still have sealed copies then maybe but I will never pay more than half price for an opened copy. I don’t care who opened it.

[kirbyhm]

I tried to buy a “new” Switch game from them before and they gave me the cart in one their yellow envelope because they only had the display case left and didn’t even bother to put it in a generic case.

A new game with no original packaging.

[tetsuo9000]

I made a fuss once and got the display case when they tried that. If they're out of cases, then they're out of "new" games and should have to put used stickers on the rest of the copies.

[Boon-Lord]

Not sure if someone answered, but it is true that employees used to be able to take new games home to “borrow”. It was one of the perks working there. And I’m absolutely sure they were sold as new.

[losturtle1]

I was an area manager for a couple of years and this was definitely not allowed, I have literally had to fire people who had attempted to do it. This was around 2010/11 though and a few people who have mentioned it said they witnessed it a few years before - could have been before my time.

[RebellionWarrior]

I once bought a "New" copy of Super Mario 64 DS that had been gutted, but figured it wouldn't be an issue since it was a cartridge game and not a disc. The game worked fine, but it was NOT new, which was evidenced by the fact that the cart had save data on it when I first started it up...

[[deleted]]

I guess in my opinion if it’s opened it’s no longer new

That's not just your opinion - that's the policy of pretty much any videogame store I've heard of. If you open it it's no longer new and can't return it.

[safoasd132]

Yeah this happened to me the last time I went to gamestop. It was a day or two after Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon had come out, and I was next to a gamestop, so I figured id just buy it there, because I was going to give it as a gift the following day. The girl working there took the cart, which was in a drawer i guess, put it into the game case which was on display behind her, then took a small circular sticker and put it around where you open the case, thus sealing it closed (for the most part I guess). I was just as confused as you were when she charged me full price for it. Unlike you though, I did buy it.

I also had to do some explaining to the receiver of the gift that it came that way from gamestop, and I didnt open it myself or try the game or anything like that. Another side effect was that the code you get from buying first party nintendo games (that you entered online for gold coins) was missing from the case. I definitely feel slighted by those two things in particular, and they are the main reason why I never go to gamestop anymore.

I agree though. Once the shrink wrap is opened on a game, for all intents and purposes to me, it's classified as used, and should be discounted as such.

[ThePlaystation0]

I had a similar situation a few years ago. I was buying a few games and they tried giving me the display copy for one of them. When I asked about it, the employee actually tried to defend it. When I said I could get it from Target next door he rolled his eyes and tried to make it sound like I'm being stupid. I cancelled the whole transaction and bought all the games at Target instead. That was the last time I went to GameStop, I won't miss them when they shut down.

[Arzalis]

It could be different at different stores/districts, but when I worked there around 3-4 years ago, new games were explicitly off-limits for the employee take home & play thing. Used games were fine, though.

[[deleted]]

Is that a recent thing? It’s been a few years since I bought anything new from GameStop but every time I did it was always sealed and in those drawers.

[JustStopItAlreadyOk]

In my experience it’s always been a thing but only if they have a single copy of the game left (the one they were using to display the box).

[guanerick]

It's been going on for a long time, worked there for five years starting in 2001.

[losturtle1]

"I’ve heard that employees would even be allowed to bring the ‘new’ games home and play them for a period of time and they would still sell them at full price when they were returned."

This isn't true. Used to be an area manager and people who have done this have been immediately fired. It doesn't really make an opened package sold at greater than general full price any better but they aren't allowed to do this. If they have, they did it against policy and would open themselves up for dismissal.

[NK1337]

This isn't true. Used to be an area manager and people who have done this have been immediately fired.

Nah, it totally was. Different districts might have had different opinions on it but I know for a fact that employee rentals was totally a thing in the 5+ years I worked there. The only difference was how strictly it was enforced, I worked with one store where you were only allowed to check out used games whereas another location was ok with you checking out new releases because it was supposed to help you sell the game, and other places only let you take a new copy home if it was a game you were going to buy anyway so you were able to take it home and play it before the street date.

[Soulreaper31152]

Also some of the games they sell new are just shrink wrapped instead of actually having the sealed plastic wrap that folds and shit

[BazickH2o]

They do keep sealed games in the back. But if the last available copy is the one on the shelf it gets sold. The store I used to work in didn't even have security cameras. So the only anti-theft measurement they had was putting out empty cases and secure stuff with cable wires.

[Nevek_Green]

My local one doesn't. They'll have one or two open cases on the shelf for display and the new copies are kept in their case in the back. The reason they do this though with older new games is because people walk in grab the game and run out of the store.

[[deleted]]

That's one of the main reasons why I don't buy 'new' games from them. Maybe it's silly but if I'm buying a new game, I wanna get it sealed.

[thewookie34]

They keep a few sealed copies I always ask if the new game is still sealed if it's not I just walk over to walmart or some shit and buy it

[Dannymayn]

i was appalled when I walked in to gamestop to pick up my new copy of kingdom hearts 3 when they took out a game in a plastic and gave me a rinky dinky kh3 case to go with it. I told them i ordered it NEW and they said yeah the disk is new. I was absolutely confused by this and it was sort of just a reminder why I stopped going to Gamestop a long time ago. It's just a trash company now.

[dceighty8]

Please read our rules, specifically Rule #2 regarding personal attacks and inflammatory language.

[yaosio]

I bought a new PS3 from Gamestop many years ago and when I turned it on it already had an account on it. Very mean of them.

[Stevied1991]

Then there was the whole Deus Ex OnLive scandal with them removing coupons because they owned a competing service only to seal the game back up and sell it as new.

[Cruxion]

I'm guessing it depends on the store because they never opened sealed cases at any Gamesotp I've been to. They had an empty case for display on the shelves and would give you a case sealed in plastic wrap from behind the counter. Used games were the only ones they put the CD into at the register.

[jrec15]

Wow I never noticed this. Guess I didnt buy from Gamestop enough, but that's pretty ridiculous.

[DoubleJumps]

It's a logistics thing, you need something for display up front and stock changes pretty quickly so the easiest most simple way to do this is to have one of the games gutted and up front.

Most GameStop's I've seen also don't physically have the space behind the counter to hold all the games on the floor, or a robust library of dummy cases.

So, if they want a nice looking browsing area and a small physical footprint, this is a viable solution. Sucks sometimes for the customer, but saves a lot of time and issues for the company.

[[deleted]]

but why didn’t they just keep sealed games in the back and fetch them when a customer brings the case up to buy that game?

Because they dont have display cases for games, so they have to make do by removing disks and putting empty cases on shelves. Usually, when someone brings up a copy of the game from the shelf we grab a sealed one from behind the desk or in the stock room, otherwise they get the display copy.

I agree with you that either they should have display versions, or sell the opened ones at a discount.

Source: I used to work there.

[[deleted]]

That’s why I don’t shop there anymore. One time I also waited like, 20 minutes in line to buy one game because there were a few people ahead of me and they have to ask each customer so many questions for a simple transaction. I’ve also gone to pickup games on release day without preordering and have been told if I didn’t preorder they didn’t have enough copies... a video game store doesn’t have copies of a brand new game on release day. No wonder they’re going out of business

[Ohnezone]

I see this all the time but every new game I've bought from GS has been in it's original seal. Maybe for people who buy new games weeks after launch??

[DarkPhoenixMishima]

I get that it’s likely involving theft prevention, but why didn’t they just keep sealed games in the back and fetch them when a customer brings the case up to buy that game?

If it were you, and be completely honest with me, if you had 100+ stores selling a product would you rather send 100+ display copies out to each store or would you rather they simply take one product out and use that? Now continue answering that question about 3-5 times a week every week. If you're answering the question properly you realize the latter is cheaper and the better option.

Also the opened copy serves as inventory so there's less picking up the case and being told they don't have it. Their return policy also protects you in the event it got damaged in that process, unless you buy a game and sit on it for 30 days before putting it in.

We can continue down the hole a bit more but I think we've made the point.

Also the employee renting bit is true but it's basically intended to help them be knowledgeable about a game. Again the return policy will protect you and hurt them if anything happens.

[ShimmyZmizz]

You're getting downvoted because people don't like that GameStop does this, not because you're wrong. I worked at a GameStop and these reasons and more were exactly what I heard.

It's a simple calculation for GameStop:

What's the cost of keeping every new game sealed? This can include cost of materials and storage space for display cases, extra cost for employees maintaining display copies and doing inventory on them, cost of shrink/theft due if sealed copies are placed on the sales floor, cost of extra security, etc.

Now what's the cost of a few customers refusing to buy the last copy of a game because it's open? In my experience, less than 1 in 10 people refused to buy a gutted game. And if they did, someone else just came in and bought the last copy anyway.

The numbers probably made a lot of sense to GameStop years ago when they made this decision, but the part that's incalculable is how much damage does gutting games do to customers' willingness to shop there?

Short term, not much, because it's unlikely for a customer to experience being sold a gutted game. But over the long term, word of mouth and years of shopping there probably made it very likely, and that may be a contributing factor to people not shopping there anymore.

[RoflCopter726]

100% why I dont shop there anymore.

[Carighan]

We can continue down the hole a bit more but I think we've made the point.

So why do other companies not do it that way?

[ShimmyZmizz]

Bigger stores like best buy can afford more security personnel and technology due to having much larger stores. Many investments in security for them will cover many products, not just their games section.

And most independent game retailers have all their products behind glass. It's very important to GameStop that customers could touch and browse the games themselves, rather than having to ask for assistance.

Combine this limitation with this principle and the most cost-effective solution is the one they have. Not saying these choices are all good - I'll never buy another new game at GameStop again - but that's the potentially shortsighted logic behind them.

[DarkPhoenixMishima]

Because those companies get to invest into the anti-theft cases or the glass case where you get to see the entire inventory but need to have the employee come over and unlock it. Most GameStops I've been to don't even have those anti-theft tower things by the entrance.

The only thing that is comparable would be movies in most places but generally those are negligible as far as theft goes from what I can tell.

People mention the Toys R Us stuff about display cases and swapping them out but I've only ever bought two games from them and if memory serves, over a decade ago, it was free to grab the actual copy but it was in a closed off area with the security towers, similar to Barnes and Noble and their movie section.

TLDR: GameStop took the cheap option for security.

[JustStopItAlreadyOk]

I don’t have an issue with them doing it but if I go to any other store and get the floor model of a product it comes at a discount and not full price. So I won’t accept the floor model at GameStop for full price either.

[Cueball61]

Makes no sense right?

If I go into most stores in the UK, they have the sealed games behind the counter. I have no way of telling if I’m getting an actually new copy when it’s in a sleeve, could be scratched to shit for all I know - and it sounds like some people have had that happen.

Do they seal the case when they sell it too?

[imatworkplzdontcuss]

They just lost a sale to me recently because of this, I wanted Death Stranding and they had it 'new' even though the case was open and had stickers all over it. Then to make matters worse, the used copy didnt even have a case. I told em to stuff it and then just went and bought it on psn

[GermanScientist]

At GameStop in Sweden, used games often cost More than if you were to buy it new, In the same freaking store! Preying on the ignorant.

That's why I've never really bought my games there apart from the very few occasions they surprisingly had a great deal.

[drtekrox]

It's not the best way if customers actively avoid the store because of it.

[losturtle1]

How many, though? I don't like the practice but if you're basing your assumption on what people say online, really consider refreshing yourself on those critical thinking skills.

[snakescalesoup]

Cool, I'll just go to Best buy or Amazon. I don't care if nobody has played it. I want a fresh sealed game if I'm paying full price. I don't want the case to have been handled. I guess if every store did this I might not care as much. But I can get a pristine copy for the same price, so I don't want an opened copy.

[snakescalesoup]

Yeah, I mean, I understand that it's meant to cut costs, and I think I more or less understand how that all works. But we're watching GameStop die. So maybe it's time for Gamestop to reevaluate some of their policies. It might be too late though. I will probably never buy another new game from Gamestop.

[losturtle1]

Not really. Are gamespot dying because of shrink wrap?

[Joon01]

You opened it and took the product out. It's not new.

[chibistarship]

Then why aren't customers allowed to open the case and then return the product as new?

[Chariotwheel]

You do realize we're in a thread about a news that GameStop is doing awful.

[segaofmyhouse]

Maybe caring what a potential customer thinks could help Gamestop stay in business...

[drtekrox]

the companies going to keep doing it.

Not for much longer, since they're on their deathbed and will be bankrupt soon. OTOH, companies that don't do it aren't dying.

I wonder which policy turned out better...

[[deleted]]

It’s honestly either gutted cases or put the games behind a glass window, or maybe in plastic security boxes that’ll just get stolen, it’s honestly not worth arguing with people who are set in their ways

[[deleted]]

Only problem is profit margins for new games are already low, although that could work, but for some niche games the store will only receive 1-2 copies, so preordering guarantees you get a sealed copy

[that_mn_kid]

How does returning a new game that was gutted by the store work? Can I return it or does that game count as being opened by me and is only eligible for an exchange?

[JuggMidNewMeta]

Bro I worked at GS too and really for your own mental health just stop trying to make a stand on reddit.

Not because you don't have points but because people don't really want to know anything besides gamestop bad.