GameStop defends used prices

The only place that compares to Gamestop in prices is Bestbuy, but i chose Gamestop because games are their only source of revenue. Bestbuy's majority of income is found elsewhere and can live without my business. My opinion is that, to you guys, Gamestop is "the man", and you just want something to fight against.

Polishing a disc doesn't magically increase the value by $20... Or at least it shouldn't. But why are people too lazy to sell their own used games on Ebay... If they don't get the games, they can't push up the prices.

Call it what you want, GameStop is straight pimpin' gamers.  Some of us don't know any better, and some of us just don't care, but no matter how you slice it, GameStop is gettin' paid majorly off that trade-in market.  If they relied on new game sales alone, they probably would not survive.

I took a game in to get it refurbished once and they told me they didn't do that. I wonder when they started or if it's just a lie.

Wow. This truly is a load of #$%. They likely have rows of robotic massive resurfacing machines that pump out games every few seconds. Probably pay minimum wage and are very efficient at keeping costs down. I'll bet it costs less than $1 to take a game they paid $4 for (on a good day) and then sell it for $10-$20. The fact is used games should be half of the price of new at most. They have a near monopoly. If the consumer doesn't like it they should go buy at a mom and pop store who will likely pay more,know more and provide the level of customer service a consumer deserves. I hope that there comes a day when the independent little guys can take back that which was stolen from them and exploited beyond all imagination. I don't shop there. The few times I did I just felt ripped off. I saw little kids being offered $1 for a game that they sell on the shelf for $10. :(

GAME & GameStation in the UK have this annoying habit of never actually selling a 'new' game. All 'new' games are removed from their original packaging and kept in draws behind the cash desk.

The trade price is usually a third of what they then sell it for as a pre-owbed game and there is no 'refurb' involved in the process.

GAME went into administration a few months ago.

and if you have to publicly defend your companies practices...perhaps you already made a mistake...

ok, i can see this affecting hardware...care to explain your game prices?

My only complaint about Gamestop is thier used prices on the newer games. Save me at least $10 and I'll be happy. Especially now that so many games have DLC extras that only the original purchaser can use.  I'm tired of hearing all the whining about the trade in value. Good for you, you can list it on craigslist. You don't have a retail lease to pay. You don't have multiple insurances to pay, you don't have employees, electric and water bill. Don't forget the OSHA saftey stuff. Oh and buisness licsense fees. Oh and don't forget those really STEEP buisness taxes.  Then you have to account for the product that walks out the door. If you don't like it, take a risk like all small buisness owners do and go start your own store and compete.

That's just a hollow excuse to keep high prices on used games.  I used to go there to buy games, but its not about the hazzard to go to infinite numbers of stores to find the best deal, its about that when I want to trade a game they just offer me less than scraps and leftovers compared for what the game cost and the demand and popularity of the game.  But, go the next day and the selling price is like four times the money they gave me.  That same day I can sell the game by myself on ebay and get the money the game deserve to be sold and the money I deserve and buy like 2 or 3 games and still a little game to spare.

I've deleted steam from my other pc's a while ago. I've been hanging on to steam on my current pc for nba 2k9 and audiosurf which I didn't want to lose but haven't used since last year. So i'm finally ready to get rid of steam for good but does anyone know how I close my account and delete all information? I just want to do it and get it over with. It's been a long time coming. Now seems perfect.

This is pretty funny seeing as Paul Raines was saying how much GameStop is for "hardcore gamers" a couple days ago and now they are defending themselves against prices.

Gamestop is a Ripoff plain and simple. I avoid going to that store like the plague. I have been burned so many times by them that i speak with my " wallet " now and go to their competitors instead like Bestbuy or Amazon. When I buy a game at Bestbuy at FULL PRICE i know im paying for a BRAND NEW GAME. While when you walk into Gamestop asking to buy a new game your infact getting a game in which the employees  have played to completion in the backroom, leaving a few scratches on the disc. But the employees don't tell you that. They simply smile  and say " yah yah bro. no worries. the game is mint condition, brand new ! " .... as he searches for the guts of the game in some beat up bin.  I am so averse to Gamestop that when i want to sell used games i go straight to craigslist. Sure it takes a bit longer but your getting ALOT ALOT more money than you would have from that rip-off store. More money in your pocket to wait out a few weeks on craigslist ??? Sure, I'll do that. it worked out for me just fine.

Gamestop's financials say it all.  Whatever they are doing 'behind the scenes' they are still making a sea of money on used games.  That profit comes from buying cheap used games off of players and selling them at pennies below new game prices.  That is their capitalistic right.  But it is also the right of publishers and developers to try to come up with schemes to keep them from making heaping profits off of intellectual property they don't own the right to and for which they are not compensating the creator.  We the consumers are just caught in the middle.

And as many have said, if you don't like it then stop buying them.  I haven't bought a used game in many years.  Obviously I'm in the minority though, sadly.

If you don't like the price of used or new games at Gamestop, don't buy games from Gamestop. That's why I love America. It's called Choice. As for me, I'll keep buying games from Gamestop. I'm just being honest.

yea...to pay employee's and to make a profit....what else is new?

GameStop's used game trade to sell price ratio is horrible, no doubt about that. Speaking about that place, I have a problem with them opening at least one copy of a new release game just so they can a display of it and sell that copy at full new game price. Open =/= New. That's the law to consumers. Retailers need to be held to the same standard.

The prices on used games are horrible, especially since they did away with their "guarantee" (or at least my local store claims they did.) The main reason they are still in business is because most gamers have little to no patience. (is waiting on amazon really that hard?)

If you don't like it, make a statement with your wallet. I haven't bought a used game from Gamestop in 2 years I believe because of better deals online from eBay or what not. And it saves money and time for me on gas. 

I've worked a GameStop there is no "behind the scene" no additional cost just a bunch of greedy motherfuckers

My advice to GS would be, open this 'behind-the-scenes' scenario to the public if it will truly get them to understand as they say. Enough reality TV shows are made, why not just make an another one out of it if your not willing to be a little more forthcoming? A little positive PR wouldn't hurt you guys on this issue.Just a thought

GS, it's a good idea to give a more detailed story to differentiate between refurbished consoles and refurbishished games. I have a hunch that one is a more involved process than the other.

I would have no problem if gamestop stopped selling incomplete games (games that do not have either the box or manual or both) for the same price as a complete game.  I'm sorry but AN INCOMPLETE PRODUCT IS NOT WORTH THE SAME AS A COMPLETE ONE!!!!

Wow, that's a very oblong image. These articles usually have square images. With that said, it doesn't matter what the costs are, it doesn't change anything. If a customer doesn't want to pay the price for your product, they might not buy it. Or they might buy and then complain about the high cost. Just like we won't buy a game if we don't think it's good enough. Doesn't matter if the developers worked hard for years and really put their heart and soul into it. If it's not good enough, we won't buy it.

All i got out of this is a question.  What happen behind the scenes? a pic with a few ppl sitting doing who know what doesn't tell much but I find this amusing

I buy a game from you for 60$ today, sell it back to you next week and I get 30$ for it, then you sell it used for 55$....yeah

Personally, I like having the option to purchase used games, especially on games that I would never buy in the first place, either because I'm not interested in the genre or they have lackluster reviews.  As far as not receiving very much money on trade-ins, the promotions they have tend to be decent (the only time I sold back a large amount of old games, I received an extra 50%) as well as having the rewards card.  To me, the reward card pays for itself very quickly and you get the cheesy magazine subscription.  On the bright side, at least you can trade in games and get something (may not be much) but it's more than just having the game collect dust on a shelf.  With digital sales only, you will lose that altogether. 

For the people that say sell them on Ebay or Craigslist, that is fine, but due to convenience, it's easier just to go to Gamestop.  As far as the people complaining about buying a new game, beating it and returning it in a week and expecting a full refund, seriously?  The game should be considered used, seeing as how you played it.  No other retail store allows you to return an opened game, unless it's actually defective, so why would GS be any different?  Especially with the online codes and passes, if you activated the code, why should you get a full refund? 

Lastly, the whole complaining about the developers receiving no money from used sales, how did the game become used in the first place?  Hint--someone purchased it new and they received their cut.  Besides, selling a game on ebay doesn't give the developers anything either and what we as consumers do with our games is none of the developer's business.   

Gamestop been ripping people off for YEARS. There is no justification. Half time the dics are corrupted and scratched too.

I had games were they wanted the game for $3.00 then I see other employee take another game someone returned yesterday and had it marked for $15.00 bucks.

Rip Off always Rip Off.

Here in Brazil we can only count on auction sites to buy used and rare games.

It won't be long before these guys end up like GAME. 

In my view the only reason you will ever buy a used game is because its so old you don't see them in stores anymore, in which case gamestop will never offer.  I traded games in at a gamestop once, short story: never doing it again.

if a used game is 55$ and new 60$ i'd rather pay 5 bucks more and support the devs, unless i feel betrayed by the dev for some reason but still want to experience that mess of a game.

.

anyway, power to the gamer, you should sell your games on the market not in a pawnshopGS if you want to really get your share, put a fair price on and see it sell quickly for way more than you'd get in GS

.

Please don't try to justify your greed. Come on, we are not that blind. If Gamestop wasn't a greedy corp. they probably wouldn't have something like 4,000 stores in America(or is it world wide, can't remember which, either way, that's a ton). Can't fault someone for trying to make money, but a major corporation will not get to that point without being greedy at some point.

Why does it matter? Consumers are still the ones buying and getting screwed. You offer no real value to buyers which are your costumers. Yet you still force subscriptions and pre-orders down our throats. I understand you are paying workers, but don't ask sympathy and understanding when we aren't getting anything out of it. I only liked Gamestop when it was Funcoland. At least then it was about the games. Gamestop has become so un-consumer friendly is not even worth it anymore.

I would prefer a video feature over a photo feature, thank you very much.

Would it not make sense for them to maybe make a leaflet explaining this then? One of the basic rules of keeping customers happy is keeping it transparent, not having a supposedly complex system behind the scenes and a load of angry customers as a result.

Yeah,no kidding.  Gamestop sells used "scratched" games under the guise of "new".  Total thieves.  Not to mention letting employees take the new games home...scratch them up.. and then re-sell as new.

Then why do I always get scratched games from Gamestop?? Gamestop sucks balls and is full of lies. 

Anything worth selling retail needs to be sold at double the wholesale cost. Sucks, but that's how it is.  If you don't like it, don't trade.  If you want more money, go find the new user yourself to sell it to directly. Otherwise, Gamestop keeps the doors open because of used games, and if you like the store, keep trading your games.

It always baffles me why people use Gamestop to trade in/buy used games.

I mean not only do they give peanuts compared to what a game is usually worth but they turn and sell it for like <5-10 bucks off what it cost new usually.

I learned this lesson back when I was in elementary school/early high school in the late 90's, there's a wonderful website out there called ebay.

Sell most newer games once you beat them for around <5-10 bucks retail.

On the other hand if you want to buy a used game you can wait  a month or so post release and get it for about 15-20 bucks cheaper then what GS is selling it for.

Just thinking over hte years of doing that (for console games) since like 99 until now I've probably saved over 1k.