Is It New If GameStop Already Opened It?

By February 7, 2007

GameStop has a policy of opening their new games before they sell them to you, and that has some customers understandably pissed off. From Aeropause:

I stood there and watched the clerk open the cabinet and lift out a Sid Meier’s Pirates designed users manual. I see him pop open an empty PSP case and slide it in.

“I said NEW.” I replied angrily, having seen this before and knew what he would say,

*voice shaking* “This is new,” I was furious at this point. It was cold and late and I didn’t have time for his crap.

“So if I walk out the door right now with that unsealed case then walk back in here next week with it in the same condition, you’ll give me full return credit as a new game? I mean, it IS new after all right!?”

We think this stinks. —MEGHANN MARCO

Hey Gamestop! Stop Opening My New Games! [Aeropause] (Thanks, Kat!)

Tagged With: , , , , ,
«
»

Comments

  1. HaVoC_Productions says:
    August 21, 2007 at 3:15 pm

    The GameStop’s in my local area (St. Louis) gut almost all of their new games (not just one copy), and leave only a few behind glass. Normally, because of the various legal issues I thought nothing of buying new games at their stores. Until I saw a copy of Madden being sold to the store for credits and the manager of the store placing a “new” sticker on the box and placing it on the shelf in the “new” section. When I asked her why she did that, she told me “The game is new. It has only been out for a week.” Later in the day I called their customer support to report the incident, and I was told that “it sometimes happens.” Because of this, I would support the idea that any product that was sealed and then opened by the store or missing it’s protective seals (not just wrapping) should be sold as used. Customers are most likely being overcharged for items because of error, laziness, or plain deceitfulness more than I think GameStop would be willing to admit. And, the best way to prevent shrinkage is to have more than one employee working so that they can help customers find things without having to wait for long periods of time and watch the store for shoplifters. That is a much better policy. Until things change for the chain, I am taking my business elsewhere.

  2. Xavier4252 says:
    April 15, 2008 at 9:53 am

    I work for Gamestop, and at my store at least, if you grab a new game off the shelf and bring it up to the counter, I’m checking behind the counter to see if I have an unopened one. If I do, then that’s the copy I sell you, for 2 reasons:

    1. As a consumer I prefer new items to be unopened myself.

    2. Taking 15 seconds to see if I have an unopened copy is less work for me, than selling you the opened copy and then having to gut a sealed copy and put it out on the shelves.

  3. Dr.Eggman789 says:
    June 8, 2008 at 1:19 am

    I work at Gamestop as well.

    One copy (Note: only one) of each game is opened simply so we can put a case out on the sales floor. If we were to leave the game in the case how long to you think it would take for the wannabe gangsters and poor kids to steal them all? When will people realize that “used” and “opened” are two different things?

    Also, as far as employees borrowing games, we can borrow USED games only. “New” implies never before played.

« Older Comments