Why TF would anybody anywhere ever buy a used game from Gamestop?

[shmokes]

My god . . . I had no idea.  Last week I was leaving the mall and when I got to the door I realized it was pouring rain like the last call of god.  Being that I live in Miami there's a pretty good chance that in 10 minutes it would be blazing sunshine with no cloud in sight as far as the eye could see, so I went in to check out a nearby Gamestop.  I'm not in the market (too busy and too poor right now) but I've been really wanting to get Heavy Rain for PS3, and it's been out for a while so I went over to the used game section.  Fifty-five Dollars!!!  I was like, "WTF?  That can't be right . . ."  So I stepped to the new game rack.  Sixty-dollars.  Wait . . . $5 off for a used game?  Gotta be a mistake.  So I start looking at some more.  Without fail, whether the used game was $55 or $25, it's new counterpart was $5 more.

So . . . yeah . . . seriously?  We're talking about shelf-space.  Gamestop isn't going to dedicate that much prime shelf space to games that can't possibly sell.  So, then, what kind of moron is buying used games just $5 below the MSRP of the same game, brand spanking new?  WTF?

[AtomSmasher]

I agree, I've always found that baffling.

[DJ_Izumi]

I've seen the ranges between new and used copies vary from $5-$20.  Mind you the used copy ALSO comes with 10% off if you have the Edgecard.  Ontop of that, games do go out of print so eventually used stock is all you'll find.  Finally the popular games will remain at higher used prices because they are still very much in demand.  Even some older games havn't come down much in the 2-3 years since their release.  Halo 3 is a good example of this but Halo 3 is also the second most played game on Xbox Live, so why would you bring down the price a lot when it's still in demand?  Meanwhile titles that arn't in huge demand come down much faster.  So I got Ghostbusters for $19.99 used.

[SlayerAlex]

Well from their point of view they like to say that the used games come with the same warranty as the new ones, and that youre basically paying 5 dollars for the wrapping. They will even shrink wrap it for you if the wrapping means that much to you.

I just have a problem since i know they ripped off some poor kid giving him like 20 bucks for his game. lol Unless im desperate for the game NOW, I just buy from ebay.

[Ginsu Victim]

A lot of people buy them there at the used price because you can return the game if you don't like it, something you can't do with a new game. That's the privilege you're paying for.

Still, though, I agree on the WTF about the price, I'm just telling you their perspective.

[Malenko]

I just hate that they always try to get me to pre-order something everytime I go in. As for the price, meh you actually get $10 off with an edge card (as stated earlier) and you can return it. The trade in is what sucks. I for some reason, bought TNA Total iMPACT! for $60 and took it back TEH NEXT DAY and they gave me $14 credit, some kid was about to buy it in line next to me until he saw me trading it in. Horrible game, but if I bought it used I could took it back.

[Ginsu Victim]

Yesterday, we went in and bought two games, and I decided to let the manager tell me about the free PowerUp (formerly Edge) card. When he was done telling me about it, I said I changed my mind and didn't want one. He then tells me it's MANDATORY that he give me one and then asks for my personal info. Rather than argue, I gave him made up info and got out of there.

"Mandatory".....ha!

I sent a complaint about him not letting me just leave with my purchase. NOTHING is mandatory.

[Frigo]

Yesterday, we went in and bought two games, and I decided to let the manager tell me about the free PowerUp (formerly Edge) card. When he was done telling me about it, I said I changed my mind and didn't want one. He then tells me it's MANDATORY that he give me one and then asks for my personal info. Rather than argue, I gave him made up info and got out of there.

"Mandatory".....ha!

I sent a complaint about him not letting me just leave with my purchase. NOTHING is mandatory.

Why do I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that all you're going to get is a rather curt e-mail back saying it IS mandatory? 

[Ginsu Victim]

I was asked if I was interested. Normally I say no and just make my purchase. This time I said to tell me about it, and then when I said I wasn't interested, he said he wouldn't ring me up if I didn't give him my info and I HAD to take the card.

That's BS.

This was the STORE MANAGER, BTW.

[Ginsu Victim]

Also, I'm mad that my two local stores (probably a company-wide move) have both put their used DS games in a display case without the boxes, so now you can't look at the covers to read about a game and look at screenshots, and it's impossible to see what most of the games are because of the tiny labels.

[Samstag]

I always assumed that the reason people are willing to pay $55 for a used game is because they're able to take a $300 stack of their old games and get that $55 game for free.

I don't really get why people keep paying $60 for the new games, either, when most of them are heavily discounted soon after release.  But I appreciate that they do that because the games I buy for $10-15 still end up being profitable and the publishers keep making more.

[massive88]

Cheaper is cheaper, even if its $10.  Many people will see that as worthwhile to get a game that they will probably play through in a month and hardly ever touch again.

For me, the only used games Ive bought have been in the 5-10$ range (KOToR two years ago, and Lego Star Wars).

[Cakemeister]

I've heard that Best Buy and Toys R Us are considering getting into the used game market. I hope this happens.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

The obvious solution:

[Ginsu Victim]

That's what I usually do. I tend to stay a generation behind, except now I'm really wanting an Xbox 360. We have a Wii, but it doesn't exactly feel like a current gen system.

[Hoopz]

I had to Google "the cake is a lie" so that tells you what I've been playing.   

[WhereEaglesDare]

I but used from Gamestop because s0metime you get a great deal, the other week i bought Fallout3 for 7.50.  And you can take them back, I bought Legendary the other day, it looks awesome, but that game sucks hard... no big deal, going back this afternoon for a refund, i did teh same thing for burn out paradise.  they do over charge though, if it is a game that I know I want like Call of Duty 4 I went pawn shop hunting and got it for 15 bucks, while at gamestop it is still 30-40 bucks used.

And the Edge Card is awesome, if you buy a couple of games a year, you get the magazine, and its pretty good, a lot better than it has been, it use to be just a big gamestop catalog, now it is a legit publication in my opinion.

You can also use teh edge card on used accessories too, I got a PS3 charging station for 4 bucks there before.

I want to buy Split Second, but as it is 55 bucks STILL I will not, but I'll wait,  christmas 2011 it'll be 30 then and I will have it.

[shmokes]

By the time it's $30 used it is $35 new.  A $5 savings either way.  The returning games you don't like thing is legit, though.  I didn't know that.  Still . . . enormous rip off.  How often do you get a game you don't like . . . really?  I mean, just skim metacritic.  If a game is 90 or above there is probably at least a 90% chance that I'll like it.  If it's below below 80 there's probably about a 10% chance I'll like it.

[AtomSmasher]

I used to buy used games when they had sales like buy 2 get 1 free, and far too often the used games didn't have the manual or original case (had GameStop's generic disc cover), which I know don't really matter for the game, but I still found annoying.

[shmokes]

People wanting to save $5?

I didn't ask "who".  I asked "why" and "what kind of moron".  Don't be retarded.  

[Stobe]

You are exactly right about the price difference between new and used.  Its always bothered me.  But for myself, I try to be disciplined about any console games I buy, and wait for them to be old enough to be cheaper, AND wait for the Buy2-Get1 Free deal.  Combine that with the 10% off, and the fact that I have seven days to test the game out, and it works out to be a decent enough deal.

[Hoagie_one]

I've been using Glyde lately.  In the least as another option to get games for cheaper.

http://glyde.com/

If you use this link and several of you guys use the service, I get a free $20.  Dont feel obligated though.
http://glyde.com/?rid=cwleq2

[Malenko]

If they cant afford the 60 and waiting for it used, how are they killing the industry? They aren't going to buy it new at all anyway. I buy new and used games, usually I buy old games I either had and miss or just missed out on at the time. I typically dont trade in my games, I hand them down to my nephews or my friends. Having to pre-order ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- just to get items you cant get in game any other way is whats killin the industry for me. Its not a bonus for pre-ordering, its a penalty for not pre-ordering.

[Ginsu Victim]

I remember when Left 4 Dead 2 came out, people being mad about not getting the baseball bat unless you pre-ordered, but I find the samurai sword to be way better anyway. Very Michonne (props to those who get the reference).

[Malenko]

she rocked the sword in the living dead =)


I mean like, Juggernaught in MAU2 (later released as a buyable download) red Hulk, Fable II pub games (which you could win gold and use in fable II) , extra guns in Splinter Cell:Conviction, stuff like that just...meh. Really grinds my gears

[Ginsu Victim]

she rocked the sword in the living dead =)

Walking Dead, but I know what you meant.

[Malenko]

There's a lot of dudes out there that want it right away, and there's a lot of dudes that want to save a couple bucks and get it a few weeks later.  If you can afford $55 on a video game, you can afford $60.

For me if a game just came out and there's used copies on the shelf I wont get it; in my eyes it must be real bad to be on the used shelf so fast.  As for "if you can afford 55 you can afford 60", I'll just have to politely disagree, $5 is a lot of money to some people, including me.

[SNAAKE]

why would anyone ever go to gamestop I mean its not JUST buying a game. they will try to sell you bunch of crap that you dont need/want like VG magazine subscription and random other stuff. when you refuse buy those things, they like to insult you with "here is your receipt and fill out this survey online for a chance to win random $ and if you do win then you wont deny me all the crap I am trying to sell". then I said something like "I will always deny you everything because you are an annoying bish"



I buy my games from ebay(when I am not "obtaining" lol). less than retail+ usually free shipping + no tax.

[shmokes]

$5 is a lot of money to some people, including me.

No it's not.  People for whom $5 is a lot of money do not spend $60 (or $55) on a videogame.  If they buy videogames they buy them for a previous-generation system or they wait for the game to be substantially marked down.  Anybody who can afford to spend $55 on a videogame can afford to spend $60.  Nobody is forced to buy used at Gamestop for lack of means.

[Ginsu Victim]

why would anyone ever go to gamestop

I live in a small town where my only choices are Wal-mart, Hastings, Gamestop, and online. I mostly buy online, but sometimes I just want to go browse a store like the good ol' days.

[ark_ader]

GS is pretty good to locate hard to find titles.

I got a complete Xbox package there for $60 and turned it over (abused) for over $100 in a couple of weeks.

Cables, joysticks, and whatever you want for an old dead console is pretty much fair game at GS.

New titles I do not buy at retail, as other have pointed it out, its cheaper on the net, but that doesn't mean you can not make money by selling games to those GS "college kids" for a nice return.  Most hardware have a good warranty too. 

They also cut discount on multiple purchases.  Well they do in Nevada.

$5 bucks off for a new title?  I think they see you coming and get out the price gun...

[Malenko]

$5 is a lot of money to some people, including me.

No it's not.  People for whom $5 is a lot of money do not spend $60 (or $55) on a videogame.  If they buy videogames they buy them for a previous-generation system or they wait for the game to be substantially marked down.  Anybody who can afford to spend $55 on a videogame can afford to spend $60.  Nobody is forced to buy used at Gamestop for lack of means.

I prove what you are saying wrong. $5 is a lot of money to me, so is $55 and so is $60 I buy new video games for current gen systems and for the games I *REALLY* want I buy them when they are released. I adjust my budget to spend the $60 over the $55/$50/$etc because I want it new and I dont want to wait. If I were more patient I probably would buy games used exclusively, and while is it by no means EASY for me to drop $60 at a time on a game it is slightly harder then if I only had to drop $55/$50. For the titles I'd like to have but can wait for, I do in fact buy them used, for a lot less. The ones I buy used, I'd never buy new, which takes me back to the replay I had for PBJ.

 Just because IN YOUR OPINION if someone can swing $55 on a game that should be able to swing $60, that doesnt make it a fact.  If what your saying is true, we'd all be ok if games went up to $65 (like they did from $50 to $60) and since $65 is doable, everyone could also afford $70 right? Why stop there, $75 is only $5 more right, and $5 is like pennies to everyone, so now everyone who bought games at $60 can now magically afford $75. Just $5 more at a time, right?

I'm very sure that people are in fact forced to only buy used games (from gamestop, ebay, amazon,craigslist,etc). I remember when $5 would get you 5 gallons of gas.

[shmokes]

You know what I remember?  I remember when $5 would get you a gallon and a half of gas.  I remember it from about an hour and a half ago while I was driving down the street.  Guess what . . . it's not 1995 anymore.

The idea that anybody is forced, for lack of means, to buy a used videogame at $55 instead of a new one at $60 is ---smurfing--- absurd.  Nobody said that $5 is not a lot of money to anybody.  But it's not a lot of money to the market of people who spend that much on videogames.  Also, nobody said that you want to pay an extra $5.  And nobody even said that you are willing to pay an extra $5.  But to suggest that you can afford to drop $55 of your money on a videogame, but not $60 is ---smurfing--- comical.  

There are lots of people in this world, and even in this country, for whom $5 is a lot of money.  Those people don't buy videogames for $50+.

[ark_ader]

I remember when it was a buck a gallon, and the new HP PC computers had this new shiny round plastic disc that looked like a compact disc, and they said, nah it wouldn't sell....   

$5 is a lot of money especially when you do not have it in the first place.

[hypernova]

GS is pretty good to locate hard to find titles.

Ebay is multiple times better.  And you only get the rapejob on the shipping generally.

[shmokes]

$5 is a lot of money especially when you do not have it in the first place.

$5 is neither a lot nor a little bit of money.  it's relative to who you are. Steve Jobs presumably does not think $5 is a lot of money.  The average 13-year-old probably does.  We're talking about relative differences in classes of people and the relevant class is the group of people who own a current-gen game console and pay $50+ for video games.

[versapak]

I didn't ask "who".  I asked "why" and "what kind of moron".  Don't be retarded.  

I wasn't aware that discs wore out.   

Back in the cartridge days, I wasn't particularly thrilled about used games but now I couldn't care less.  Manuals are worthless because everything has a tutorial level nowadays.

The people saving the $5 are killing the industry, though.  Game companies make nothing on that sale and all it does is dilute demand.

BS


Those used games are often first owned by someone who bought them new, and only traded them in so that they could buy another new game.

If that person was not able to trade his game in to buy another new game, then it is likely that he wouldn't buy it.


Used car sales don't kill car companies, and used game sales don't kill game companies.


I have bought plenty of games used for only $5 less. Why not? It is $5 less. Yeah, $5 less isn't really all that much in savings, and if I can afford $55, then I can afford $60, but so what? It is still a savings. So I don't get the new game smell. Oh well.


That being said...

Used games can certainly be got cheaper than only $5 less. Doesn't always matter to me though if I am in the store browsing. Convenience often wins.

[shateredsoul]

i bought lost oddyssey, burnout paradise, and another game for about 45 or 50 when they had the buy 2 get one free.  you can probably get them all now for like 30 bucks, but back then it was a deal.. lost odyssey was way too long though.  I stopped on the 3rd disc =(

[drventure]

Generally, if I'm looking at used stuff, it has to be pretty dang close to 50% of original price or less for me to touch it.

Otherwise, well, I probably don't need it (or don't need it right now) anyway.

[Malenko]

Versapak, thanks. You said what I was trying to say, only better.

Trying to get my point across using Smokes convoluted contradictory example was impossible, and "forced" is such a strong word. I cant seem to explain to him that I am in the "relevant class is the group of people who own a current-gen game console and pay $50+ for video games" and think $5 is a nice chunka change. I mean its not going to KILL ME to spend $5 more but $5 is $5. He sees it as if you can afford $55 you can afford $60, I see it as if you can afford $60 you can afford $55


Shattered, 2 games at $45 and 1 free is the same as 3 games at $30  I actually finished Lost Odyssey despite the fact I started to hate it around Disc 2; if you do all the side BS you are literally invincible against the final boss, everything and I mean EVERYTHING he does to attack heals you. And the final Cut Scene is like 22 minutes long *yawn*