Dented Metroid Prime Trilogy From Lamestop

[dre-w]

For anyone who went to Gamestop and bought the Metroid Prime Trilogy game (Wii) that came in a tin box, I'm just ever so curious..  I tried to post this question in the Gamestop review forum 4 times when the game came out but it seems that it has to pass through some sort of "inspection" and get approved for post.. and just the other day I remembered how mad I was at Gamestop and went back to the same forum only to see they never posted my question/review... the one I posted 4 times within that same week before giving up.

Did anyone get a tin box that was dented in on the backside??  Especially in the upper right corner near the spine..?

Check this out,
the only reason I bought it from Gamestop was because I wanted the pre-order bonus shirt.  Which by the way, I ended up getting without even having to pre-order the game..  Anyways I went to the one by my house and bought the game, went home, opened it, played the game for hours and later that night when I was putting the disc back in the box, I noticed the inside tray that sits behind the cd had a small crack in it.  I looked at the back of the tin to find the upper corner smashed in!  It was too late to go back because they were closed so no sweat I thought, just exchange it tomorrow at the Gamestop by my work during my lunch break.  Went in there with receipt, told them what happened, they exchanged it for another one no problem.  But this time I opened the new one right there in front of the guy and what do you know..  smashed in the same exact spot!!  The guy that worked there was also very intrigued by this so he grabbed his manager.  They began inspecting all the Metroid tins but unfortunately they couldn't tell if they were all dented because of the plastic sleeve that is slipped on the tin..  So I said just give me another one and the manager refused, stated that he can't just go and open up all the Metroids until he finds a non-dented one because they'll lose money that way.  I then said what am I supposed to do.. he then insisted that I just keep going to different Gamestops and keep exchanging them until I get a good one.  WTF!?  So I did.. good thing there's a flippin Gamestop on every corner around here.  The next one I went to had 2 teens working there, well they weren't even working they were too busy dickin' around with each other that I had to interrupt their sesh, which caused them to give me this look saying how dare I bother them.  When I stated my problem with the tin they opened up a new one and it was also dented on the backside!!  Not in the same spot as the other 2 but still it was on the back..   and when I said I wanted another one, one of the clowns just grabbed the tin from my hand, grabbed the display tin that had been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long, then just shoved the booklet and game in it and said here ya go problem solved and they continued on circle jerking each other.  They also took my receipt!  I was so furious I needed to get out of there before hitting one of those clown punchers.  I ended up going to another Gamestop down the street and told them I wanted to exchange the game because it had a defect and froze in the middle of playing, I can't believe they actually gave me another one factory sealed with no receipt!  At this point I was just going to accept whatever the tin looked like, I was sick of dealing with the issue and I just wanted to play the game.  Got in my car opened it up and FINALLY!!  I got a non-dented one!!  But as soon as I opened it up I saw the booklet inside had a small tear on the corner!!  Probably from bouncing around in there but whatever.

I wonder if it was the way they were shipped.. or maybe manufactured... or if I just had really bad luck that week..  whatever the reason is, one things for sure, I came out hating Gamestop.  They never know anything about the games I ask for, their trade-in prices suck,  and I'm so sick of going in there and seeing all the Gamestop boxes/cases filling the shelves.. why would they even allow people to trade in games with no case.. no booklet.. just the disc only

[SavannahLion]

I wrote this long ass story about something like that and an Xbox. Can't find it on the other forums anymore. Oh well.

Point is, Places like Gamestop have never struck me as anything more than a place to find possibly hard to find or out of print titles. I went to some game store (can't remember which one now) and got into a mind bending argument about the "TeaSip" protocol on the Xbox. I was all ready to buy the beast until that ---fudgesicle--- and his ---fudgesicle--- manager opened their fat mouths.

It was essentially similar to this experience.

[DillonFoulds]

I'm intrigued.... TeaSip?

[hypernova]

I wrote this long ass story about something like that and an Xbox. Can't find it on the other forums anymore. Oh well.

Point is, Places like Gamestop have never struck me as anything more than a place to find possibly hard to find or out of print titles.
It was essentially similar to this experience.

With ebay, isn't this reason all but obsolete?

[SavannahLion]

I wrote this long ass story about something like that and an Xbox. Can't find it on the other forums anymore. Oh well.

Point is, Places like Gamestop have never struck me as anything more than a place to find possibly hard to find or out of print titles.
It was essentially similar to this experience.

With ebay, isn't this reason all but obsolete?

With all the new changes and the growing number of ---Deutsche Frankfurters--- selling Blockbuster throwaways on eBay it's becoming more difficult to find the deals one would have found a mere ten years ago. I'd say I get burned on roughly one out of every five games because the seller failed to mention some crucial information about a particular game.

Through eBay, I've been gouged with games that:

• sport that painful to remove rental store sticker
• have some kids name in permanent marker
• have a scanned and crappily printed manual. At least it was in color
• where I paid for premium S&H and get a brown paper wrap with a <$1 shipping. (this is on nearly every auction)
• what should be in a box, is in bubble wrap. What should be in bubble wrap is in a manila envelope. What should be in a manila env... you get the idea.
• the wrong games on lot buys (Dude, you were supposed to send me a Jap FFI and seven Warrior games. WTF is this Billy Bunny Spelling Cart and ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---?)

Do I need to go on? Fair condition stuff sold as Mint. Auctions marked as ULTRA RARE! despite the fact there are at least 30 other auctions with the same damn thing.

I'm intrigued.... TeaSip?

I had a lot more details on the Classicgaming forums, but their search algorithm still sucks monkey balls. Here's what I can recall.

I had a fat wad of cash burning a hole in my pocket and I kind of wanted an Xbox. So I made a trip down to the local mall and hit up the game store (I don't recall which it was, might have been Gamestop or EB Games or something). I wasn't really into buying stuff from Wal*Mart at the time.

In any case, I walk in and strike up a conversation with the dumb ---fudgesicle--- behind the counter. I tell him I want an Xbox and he makes a comment about, "Teasip," and how I need all these extra cables. For about ten seconds my mind raced through every computing term I knew. My brain almost spins out in a panic with a terminology I had no knowledge of.

"Uh... Teasip?" I reply.  

"Yeah, Teasip. It's what you use to connect to the internet."  

My mind calmed down. "Oh, you mean Tee See Pee Eye Pee."

"Uh... no Teasip."  

"Uh... let me speak with your manager."  

Manager walks up, "what's the problem?"  

"Yeah, this guy here is telling me the Xbox uses the 'Teasip' protocol?"  

"Yeah, it's Teasip. It's what the Xbox uses to connect to the internet."  

The conversation got pretty heated at this point. With a little bit of   some a whole lot of  and  and finally I walked out of the store calling everyone there a      and

I never did get my Xbox.

[Bender]

teasip 

[DillonFoulds]

Ah! That's kind of what i figured spelling it out... but i was like... T-Cip.. missing something...

But if that's the case, then my (launch) 360 came bundled with the TeaSip cable

[saleem]

very interesting read.
 

[DJ_Izumi]

I'm actually kinda supprised a retailer would say TCP/IP (Reguadless of pronounciation) in reguards to the Xbox getting online.  I think they'd just say 'You need the wireless network adaptor, because ethernet cables are too hard' or something instead.

[Mauzy]

I must say that was the best use of smileys that I've seen on this forum. Kudos.

[SavannahLion]

I'm actually kinda supprised a retailer would say TCP/IP (Reguadless of pronounciation) in reguards to the Xbox getting online.  I think they'd just say 'You need the wireless network adaptor, because ethernet cables are too hard' or something instead.

IIRC, Xbox kind of came out at a time when wireless was finally just kicking in. I guess it was designed before wireless became ubiquitous.  I specifically remember reconfiguring my LAN and modifying the Barricade router table to accommodate the Xbox and PS2.  The wireless Barricade hit the market not long after that and I remember being pissed that it only had four ports (my Barricade had eight) and  :censored:tastic firmware.

[SavannahLion]

I must say that was the best use of smileys that I've seen on this forum. Kudos.

Thanks, but I wasn't the first. I got the idea from someone in the projects section.

Plus I always wanted to find an excuse to use the King.

[shmokes]

Let me see if I'm following this:

dre-w: You really wanted a dent-free tin to hold your game.  You had already had multiple dented tins.  Some employees took a known perfectly good tin off the shelf and gave it to you, so now you have everything you wanted after trucking your ass around to three different Gamestops, and your next move is to go trade that one for another at a fourth Gamestop?  

Savannah: You went into a store because you wanted a specific product and then you stormed furiously out of the store without the product because some minimum wage videogame store clerk didn't believe you that he was pronouncing a network protocol incorrectly?

Are you people mad?  Have you gone completely insane?    Stop being deliberately unhappy!  All it does is make you unhappy.

[DJ_Izumi]

Hey, I just smile and nod or politely decline upsale attempts when I'm at the store.  I know what I want and I'm gonna get it.

[SavannahLion]

Savannah: You went into a store because you wanted a specific product and then you stormed furiously out of the store without the product because some minimum wage videogame store clerk didn't believe you that he was pronouncing a network protocol incorrectly?

Are you people mad?  Have you gone completely insane?    Stop being deliberately unhappy!  All it does is make you unhappy.

One of the things that irritates the hell out of me is going to a store and having to deal with people who don't know they're incompetent. It's one thing to deal with someone who is incompetent and knows it (Toys R Us is a good example). At least those people try to compensate and give you good service. It was painfully obvious to me that the ---fudgesicle--- nuts working that store give equally ---smurfy--- follow up service.

It was just as well I didn't get the Xbox. The ---smurfette--- I was living with at the time probably would've taken it. As it was, I had just under half my PS2 library, my GCN, all but one GCN game and 2/3 of my Gameboy collection taken (and one of a matching pair of Pokemon CGB's I shipped from Japan). If I didn't have the rest of the PS2 games and all of my PSX and N64 games in storage at the time, she would've taken "her share" of those as well.
 

[DJ_Izumi]

Once at EB Games, I sorta got in a tiff with an emplyee.  Customer wanted a simple SDTV composite cable replacement for his PS2.  The EB Games guy tried to sell him some $39.99 multisystem component/s-video/component cable that worked on like PS3, 360 and Wii.  He wouldn't believe me when I said the $14.99 composite cable for the PS3 made by Sony on the wall would work for PS2 and even PS1.  :/

[DillonFoulds]

Once in EBGames, I started flirting with a chick working behind the counter. I picked her up when she was done her shift. We grabbed slurpees, played some games, and i brought her home at 7am the next morning. Turns out she had just started dating her manager. I'm assuming he knows about the ordeal, he gave me dirty looks every time i came in the store, till they moved away. I heard through the grapevine they're planning on getting (or already are?) married.

TL;DR: EB Games employees can be sketchy both at work and not at work.

[Ed_McCarron]

Once at EB Games, I sorta got in a tiff with an emplyee.  Customer wanted a simple SDTV composite cable replacement for his PS2.  The EB Games guy tried to sell him some $39.99 multisystem component/s-video/component cable that worked on like PS3, 360 and Wii.  He wouldn't believe me when I said the $14.99 composite cable for the PS3 made by Sony on the wall would work for PS2 and even PS1.  :/

Yeah.  They don't like that.  In the long distant past, I was once kicked out of a RadioShack for helping another customer while I was waiting for a salesguy...

"Well, you can buy the $49 gold plated cable, but, honest, for your 19" TV to VCR connection a plain old $6 cable will work like a charm..."

[dre-w]

Let me see if I'm following this:

dre-w: You really wanted a dent-free tin to hold your game.  You had already had multiple dented tins.  Some employees took a known perfectly good tin off the shelf and gave it to you, so now you have everything you wanted after trucking your ass around to three different Gamestops, and your next move is to go trade that one for another at a fourth Gamestop?

Sorry I should've elaborated a little more on the display box he gave me.  It looked faded from sitting in the sunglight next to the window and when examining it, it was dirty and had fingerprints all over it.  Also when I said he shoved the instruction booklet in the box, I meant it, he actually shoved it in there and the front page bent backwards when he closed it.  And just the fact that he was so flippin rude literally drove me to the next nearest Gamestop just to screw them.

Plus I know it's kind of weird.. but I hardly ever buy used games unless they have become a rarity/oop..  OR unless, it is a total steal.
I have this thing about getting stuff factory sealed.  I have to be the one to open it!

[dre-w]

Oh yeh, DillonFoulds & DJ_Izumi posts about EB Games reminds me,

One time when I was in EB games at the mall, I was making a purchase and the guy at the register showed me an EB Games Card, said it was $5.00 and it would give me 20% off any future purchases made at EB Games, so I bought it.  A couple weeks later I went to another EB Games and tried to use the card when I was making a purchase, the lady swiped the card then just looked at me and said.. "ummm, there's nothing on this gift card"

[WhereEaglesDare]

Once at EB Games, I sorta got in a tiff with an emplyee.  Customer wanted a simple SDTV composite cable replacement for his PS2.  The EB Games guy tried to sell him some $39.99 multisystem component/s-video/component cable that worked on like PS3, 360 and Wii.  He wouldn't believe me when I said the $14.99 composite cable for the PS3 made by Sony on the wall would work for PS2 and even PS1.  :/

How dare you question the Knowledge the Gurus we post on pedistals in these store, who the  do you think you are?!  I got in the same thing at a Radioshack about resistors of all things!  Trying to buy a pack of 1 watt resistors and he's telling me that 1/4 watt will work fine, and I tried to explain to him there is a reason Im not working at a radiosdhack and he is, and I know what a damn resistor is and I dont want to burn my house down!  I was repairing some UHF radio equipment and needed one in a pinch.  I hate RadioShack, what happened...  Where did all the Radio stuff go???  All they have are Cellphones and overpriced netbooks.... 

[SavannahLion]

Once at EB Games, I sorta got in a tiff with an emplyee.  Customer wanted a simple SDTV composite cable replacement for his PS2.  The EB Games guy tried to sell him some $39.99 multisystem component/s-video/component cable that worked on like PS3, 360 and Wii.  He wouldn't believe me when I said the $14.99 composite cable for the PS3 made by Sony on the wall would work for PS2 and even PS1.  :/

How dare you question the Knowledge the Gurus we post on pedistals in these store, who the  do you think you are?!  I got in the same thing at a Radioshack about resistors of all things!  Trying to buy a pack of 1 watt resistors and he's telling me that 1/4 watt will work fine, and I tried to explain to him there is a reason Im not working at a radiosdhack and he is, and I know what a damn resistor is and I dont want to burn my house down!  I was repairing some UHF radio equipment and needed one in a pinch.  I hate RadioShack, what happened...  Where did all the Radio stuff go???  All they have are Cellphones and overpriced netbooks.... 

Believe me. I used to work at Rat Shack and it sucked ass. Without going into too much detail, this is what the general scope of my training was.

• Get hired for the Christmas holidays.
• Get sent to work at the highest grossing store in the area for training.
• Spend my first two days watching videos.
• Spend the next three days watching all sales persons do their "routine".
• Spend the next five days trying to convince desperate parents to buy the remote control cars there (while actually playing with them).
• Spend the next two days before Xmas behind a register from desperate parents doing last minute shopping.
• Spend the next ten days dealing with nothing but returns.
• Spend the next fourteen days twiddling my thumbs and watching satellite TV (keep this one in mind) while waiting for customers.
• Get a memo that because I was, "doing so well with my sales," that I would be transfered from one of the top grossing stores to one of the worst grossing stores to increase sales there.
• Spend the next two years never earning any commission ever again, getting robbed (not kidding), and ---smurfing--- with the stupid antennae on the roof (remember the satellite?)

Tip: Watch for those spiff items, commissioned based up sales, and the worthless booster crap.

[dre-w]

Well, if it makes you feel any better, back when my family was rocking a 386 back in the 80s, I used to scour the shelves for any PC game that was less than $10 at EB.  I did it so often they made me some kind of VIP customer club kid and I got a newsletter in the mail every so often.

One time, I got a $30 off anything over $150 coupon.. and cashed it in on a SEGA Genesis.  As I'm searching for the cheapest game on the shelf, the manager runs in with an armload of games and tells the clerk to get his ass out to the car, because it's stuffed full of more games. 

Right around then, Highland Superstores went out of business.  And ALL video games were $5 each.  Period. 

He gives us directions to the inventory warehouse. 

My dad rocks his 300 ZX as fast as possible and we buy 5 of the 6 Genesis games they had.  $25.

Point of this story?  20 years ago, someone got the edge on EB.   

   That's what I'm talkin about right there.  Heck yeh

[DJ_Izumi]

I almost always avoid upsale attempts at stores, the one time I did was for the Xbox 360 wireless racing wheel.  Paid $20 for 2 years replacement warrenty on it.  ...However I intend to use that at events and such.  I'll be suprised if it DID survive two years.