Colleen’s mom bought her a thoughtful and frugal gift: a Zumba game disc for her Xbox that came from Gamefly’s selection of used games. She never got to play it, though, because it arrived not working. That’s not a problem, though, because you can always send defective items back. Right? [More]
gamefly
Court: GameFly Is Right — Netflix Shouldn’t Be Getting Special Treatment From The USPS
GameFly has once again scored a win in its years-long crusade to prove that the U.S. Postal Service is treating Netflix like the popular girl while it had to pay out the nose for similar treatment. A federal appeals court ruled today that Netflix had an unfair advantage because it didn’t have to pay a penny to have its envelopes sorted by hand instead of machine, while GameFly was subject to hefty surcharges for the same treatment. [More]
Direct2Drive Charges $149.85 For Stuff You Didn't Buy
Reader Andrew noticed a funny Paypal charge from Direct2Drive, a site that lets you buy computer games online and download them to your computer. Direct2Drive had helped themselves to $149.85 from his account, even though he didn’t order anything from them. [More]
Why Won't Gamefly Answer Their Stupid Phones?
John tells Consumerist that he is having a baffling problem with Gamefly. He can’t cancel his son’s account online, but customer service is unreachable. The company keeps sending games that he doesn’t want and charging his card. What’s wrong here? Update: the account has now been closed. [More]
Blockbuster Chases GameFly, Offers Game Rentals By Mail
Yesterday we noted that Blockbuster was launching a new DVD-by-mail rental service (which Netflix promptly one-upped by announcing a new streaming agreement), and today we’re getting tips from people that the beleaguered brick and mortar movie rental company is throwing games into the offer as well. FastCompany notes that GameFly offers around 7,000 game titles compared to Blockbuster’s library of 3,000 titles. On the other hand, Blockbuster’s rental plans start at $9/mo compared to GameFly’s $16/mo (both for one disc at a time). [More]
The Post Office Keeps Losing My GameFly Video Games
Josh tries to keep up with the hamster wheel of video game releases through GameFly, the Netflix of gaming, but the USPS can’t seem to get the game envelopes to him. His story brings to mind the troubles GameFly has long had with the Postal Service. [More]
GameFly Accuses US Postal Service Of Breaking, Losing, And Stealing Its Game Discs
Late last year we pointed out that GameFly, a Netflix-style program for video games, was beginning to develop a reputation for rotten service and slow turnaround. It looks like the United States Postal Service may be partly to blame, at least as far as GameFly is concerned. They’ve filed a complaint against the USPS over lost, stolen, and damaged discs, as well as discriminatory treatment when compared to Netflix and Blockbuster.
Blockbuster To Add Video Games to TotalAccess Service, Netflix Yawns
HackingNetflix has sent word that Blockbuster will be testing video game rentals through their Netflix-variant “TotalAccess”.
What's The Matter With GameFly?
Considering the price of buying or renting video games, GameFly, a Netflix-style program for video games, seems like a useful service. According to our inbox, not so much.
Secret Phone Numbers And Email Addresses To Reach Executives At 101+ Companies
Inside, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses for over 100 different companies to inject your customer service complaints into their corporate executive offices, and get it well on the way to success.
Reach Gamefly Executive Customer Service
Here’s the info to escalate your complaint up to the top of the Gamefly corproate heap. Says the reader who sent this in, “I left a message and sent an email and 20 minutes later a manager called and fixed my problem in 5 minutes. It was like magic, delicious fairy sparkly consumery magic.”
Budget Gaming 101: Tips For The Broke Gamer
Reader Ozzie points us to video game developer Ashley Cheng’s blog post about budget gaming. The tips are basic, but it’s good advice nonetheless.
Gamefly’s Post-Sale Coupon Cruft
Reader Greg B. writes:
Wanted to point out a bad experience I had yesterday with the Gamefly deal; [A sale we had linked to – Ed.] not the deal itself but a link they post after it which harvests all of your personal info from Gamefly (including credit card details I think) by simply submitting any e-mail address. You do get a 10 buck coupon but ugh man, I promise you my mailbox is going to be friggen’ overflowing with junk next month – this site was all sorts of sketch.
Morning Deals Round-Up: Christmas Clearances
The Consumerist is technically off today, but we’re doing a bit of Boxing Day online browsing ourselves and thought we’d let you know what’s shaking, deal-wise.