Topic: What is your opinion on GameStop?

I love shopping at GameStop. I buy almost everything gaming-related there. The thing is that we don't really have gaming-specific stores - aside from GameStop obviously - around here. So if you're looking for a game at some other store that sells games, may it be electronic or toy stores, most shop assistants are rather clueless about things like games to the point that you have to spell the title of the game you're looking for. Like 'You're looking for Hyrule Warriors? How do you spell that? Highrul?'. Now, I do realize that if you're selling as many different things as you do, you can't just know everything you're selling but it's just really bothersome and annoying.

With GameStop, all I gotta say is 'I preordered Mario Kart and Puyo Puyo' and he gets it right away. Same with preorders and the like. It's just really refreshing having a shop assistant that is not bothered by your very existence, knows what you're talking about and sometimes even has the time for a nice conversation. That's the kinda stuff you just don't get elsewhere and I am thankful for that.

Gamestop run EBGames here and from what I can tell the experience is fairly similar. But in terms of stores that sell games? Well there are three I tend to go two and each of them have their own advantages:

EBGames: overpriced and not very helpful but they usually price match and are only 2km away
JBHiFi: 11km away but they have fantastic service and a huge range of consumer electronics & media
Target: 11km away and a pretty small range of games but they're pretty much always the cheapest

My main hate of GameStop is that their trade in deals suck. So I never ever trade in any games with them.

ill never forget going in to buy a "new" version of Odin Sphere for PS2.
I asked at the counter for it, they said "yeah, we have one new copy left"
"Cool!" i say. The employee proceeds to go to the display center and remove the disc
from the PS2 that the other employee is currently playing - its Odin Sphere! ;//
Me: "wait, is this a new or a used copy?" Them: "oh, its new, we've just played it here"
smh it was the stupidest thing, i walked out.
but i'll preorder an exclusive amiibo or get a free Pokemon download card from them any chance i get.
Gamestop. pshaw!

"Would you like to purchase insurance for just an extra dollar?"

• Actual question asked of me by a Gamestop employee while purchasing a used Inkling Girl amiibo.

Fail.

I think EB games (GameStop) is pretty decent. The people there are really friendly and there's one female employee whom I always talk to about Zelda. Their prices aren't the best and their trade in options are horrible but I generally found the people there to be quite nice and they have pretty good service.

@briwipdx Oh geeze that open game policy "It's new if we put a yellow sticker on it that says "NEW" no matter if it's open or used"....that's what changed me from a loyal weekly customer at any of 4 different locations to someone who didn't set foot for 4 years, and now sets foot a few times a year at best.

For amiibos and Nintendo hardware, because of Nintendo's close ties to them, particularly online, I'll order from them. I'll order in my local store special things like that every once in a while. I like that they're getting into limited runs of indie games on physical print like Has Been, so I'll order that, mostly online. The staff in my local store is very pleasant.

But the company itself just had too many "we hate our customers' policies when the big box across the parking lot does not... But they're the last gaming dedicated store around, so I always hope they'll turn it around.

EBGames is what we have here and they're... okay. Most times that I visited, I didn't have any trouble and I don't trade in my games to them so I never had to deal with that. Although from my experience, some of the staff can be clueless at times or try to suggest that you buy something totally different.

I just stopped going there because I found better deals elsewhere.

I prefer Best Buy, but so far i've had almost no problems at Gamestop, except perhaps a few overpriced used games, especially DS ones

@briwipdx That's why I don't go to them anymore. Look it up anywhere once the original seal is broken it is no longer new. It doest matter if it's played or not.

Only If I Have To

It is a fine store. You go and they selection is the best out of any store plus people are cool.

Is it just me, or is anyone else noticing that all they care about these days are bundles? Every...single...time...I call them to ask if they have any Switches. "You can order bundles."
I don't want bundles, just tell me if you have a Switch or not! "Well when you order bundles they come in a day or so."
hangs up phone

Me: "I'll give you $10 for that leftover LEGO polybag."
EB Employee: "You spend enough with us, have it."

They're good people in the couple of stores near me, so I've no issue shopping with them. It's this sort of attitude that builds customer loyalty. I don't bother with trading, when I buy a game, I intend to keep it.

Yeah, Best Buy's Gamers Club Unlocked membership is pretty great. I started my membership 3 months ago. I've been buying/pre-ordering my Switch/PS4 games from them since. My only regret is that I didn't join sooner! Before that I was mainly getting my games/game accessories from Walmart or Amazon.

I agree with you about Gamestop's incentives and bundles. My experience with Gamestop over the years has been generally positive.....up until last month. I ordered Mario Superstar Baseball (I lost my original disc) and MP4 & MP5 online, the package arrived within a week later with all 3 cases, but the MP4 disc was missing and the MP5 disc didn't work, it would get to the title screen and after pressing start I would get a disc error message. I called and asked for a replacement copy of both games, I got MP4 a dew days later and it ends up giving me the same disc error issue. I know it can't be my Wii because Mario Superstar Baseball played just fine the two times I've played it along with the other dozen GC games I still own. So I've come to the conclusion that the discs are defective and Gamestop probably didn't even bother to re-test them to make sure they worked properly. I got a refund for MP4 and still waiting for my MP5 replacement, but in the meantime I'm stuck with two out of three games that are useless to me. This will be my first and last time ever buying used retro games from Gamestop.

i don't buy there anymore. i will try to get my games from small independent stores.

Same. Also, I'm glad none of the ones near me closed down. While I like my smaller stores, the only other place I could go to for new releases is Best Buy, and the only one in my city isn't really convenient or well-stocked, and the lines are terrible because they have 4 people at most manning the registers for a store that handles every electronic under the sun...

We have EBGames here in Canada, which is pretty close, if not identical. For all intents and purposes, they're fine. I personally have not had a huge issue with them, and the people there have always been decently nice. Yes I can see why people would have problems with them, especially with their abysmal trade deals and overcharging with prices on select games (they're preselling Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade 2 for 100 CAD each...), but I generally just live with it. There aren't too many other stores here where I can buy games. I rarely ever trade my games unless they're ones I know I won't ever play again or really disliked. And if I do trade them in, it's to get rid of them, not to make a buck back.

I would look into Best Buy more, if not for the fact that I have to take a bus and a train down six stops, then walk several blocks just to get to the closest one. Granted I also have to take a bus and a train to get anywhere, but at least with EBGames it is only one train stop away.

In terms of buying new games and systems, I don't mind them. They don't run as many deals as online retailers, but sometimes I prefer brick and mortar. I've never had a bad experience with the staff at my local shop (barring an obnoxious manager at one point).

I've heard horror stories about used games, but other than some pricing controversies, the few used games I've purchased from there work fine (I buy new if possible).

In terms of used/refurbished systems, though, I'm steering clear from now on. I probably went through most of the stock at my local store a few years ago when looking for a decent used DS Lite. So many fiddly/nonworking buttons, bad touch screens, non-reading and/or dirty cartridge slots, etc....