Gamestop is Making Money

[Purge]

Neither BB or FS take used games in Winnipeg due to a certain bylaw.

The long and short of it is this: 1 game can be traded for 1 game. If you want to trade in 2 games, you need to buy two games. If you want to trade in hardware, it needs to go back into hardware. No store credit for you, unless you're paying cash for it.

Some small shops have a bin of $.01 games and so if you want to trade in 10 games for 1 new game, they give you 9 crap games which you can keep, or donate back to the store.

[Misguided]

Uhm, no. First off those are in the defective, not regular inventory, and any mass movement of those back and forth would raise red flags. Secondly, charging that fee reduces the credit you get on your trades and leaves you less to spend, neither of which are in the store's best interest. They have machines in Texas at the corporate office that resurface dozens of discs at a time.

they refinish their preowned DVD's. I can't tell you how many times I've declined a preowned game at EB because the quality of the DVD was utter crap.

I've been charged a refinishing fee on some of the games I've traded in at GS.  I seriously doubt they ever get refinished.  I see it as a way to reduce your trade-in value.

[Greggy_D]

Uhm, no. First off those are in the defective, not regular inventory, and any mass movement of those back and forth would raise red flags. Secondly, charging that fee reduces the credit you get on your trades and leaves you less to spend, neither of which are in the store's best interest. They have machines in Texas at the corporate office that resurface dozens of discs at a time.

they refinish their preowned DVD's. I can't tell you how many times I've declined a preowned game at EB because the quality of the DVD was utter crap.

I've been charged a refinishing fee on some of the games I've traded in at GS.  I seriously doubt they ever get refinished.  I see it as a way to reduce your trade-in value.

Of course it is in their best interest.  Lower my trade-in value via "refinishing fees" means I now have to pony up extra cash for whatever I'm buying.

[kronovan]

Uhm, no. First off those are in the defective, not regular inventory, and any mass movement of those back and forth would raise red flags. Secondly, charging that fee reduces the credit you get on your trades and leaves you less to spend, neither of which are in the store's best interest. They have machines in Texas at the corporate office that resurface dozens of discs at a time.

they refinish their preowned DVD's. I can't tell you how many times I've declined a preowned game at EB because the quality of the DVD was utter crap.

I've been charged a refinishing fee on some of the games I've traded in at GS.  I seriously doubt they ever get refinished.  I see it as a way to reduce your trade-in value.

Of course it is in their best interest.  Lower my trade-in value via "refinishing fees" means I now have to pony up extra cash for whatever I'm buying.

Hate to say it, but charging a refinishing fee seems like complete BS to me. Futureshop in my Canadian city doesn't charge any fee and refinishing is just part of their standard  policy. Whereas EB doesn't do any refinishing whatsoever - they'll gladly sell you a disc scratched beyond the ability to play. Of course you do get 15 days to take it back, but I'm betting customers who don't pay attention to the disc condition when they purchase probably forget to take it back too. Like I've said a number of times before; I don't have any problems with the quality or customer service I get from my local EB stores, but in the area of refinishing preowned disks they've fallen far behind the competition.

Sorry to hear about the situation in Winnipeg Purge - your City Hall is seriously depriving you and your fellow gamers!

[Gratch]

I only shop at GS when I can't get release day shipping  from Amazon.  I did recently trade some games into them for cash instead of store credit, but I still took a hit for taking the cash.   Btw, since when did GS start requiring two forms of ID for game trade in?

I think it depends on your local or state laws.  I took in a bunch of stuff on Sunday and only had to show one.

I think in some states/provinces they are considered a form of "pawn shop" because of all the re-selling they do, which requires ID at trade-in.

Here in Utah, state law requires them to get an ID and a fingerprint when you trade in used games.  Needless to say, I don't do much trading in a GS anymore...

[Roguetad]

I only shop at GS when I can't get release day shipping  from Amazon.  I did recently trade some games into them for cash instead of store credit, but I still took a hit for taking the cash.   Btw, since when did GS start requiring two forms of ID for game trade in?

I think it depends on your local or state laws.  I took in a bunch of stuff on Sunday and only had to show one.

I think in some states/provinces they are considered a form of "pawn shop" because of all the re-selling they do, which requires ID at trade-in.

Here in Utah, state law requires them to get an ID and a fingerprint when you trade in used games.  Needless to say, I don't do much trading in a GS anymore...

Where I live they require an ID, a biometric scan, and you must have the game manual in good condition.  If any page in the manual is torn, covered in food debris, or stained by human or animal biological matter, the deal is off (cheetos debris excluded since it can be consumed by the new owner).  No more manuals with pages stuck together.   

[pr0ner]

I only shop at GS when I can't get release day shipping  from Amazon.  I did recently trade some games into them for cash instead of store credit, but I still took a hit for taking the cash.   Btw, since when did GS start requiring two forms of ID for game trade in?

I think it depends on your local or state laws.  I took in a bunch of stuff on Sunday and only had to show one.

I think in some states/provinces they are considered a form of "pawn shop" because of all the re-selling they do, which requires ID at trade-in.

Here in Utah, state law requires them to get an ID and a fingerprint when you trade in used games.  Needless to say, I don't do much trading in a GS anymore...

Where I live they require an ID, a biometric scan, and you must have the game manual in good condition.  If any page in the manual is torn, covered in food debris, or stained by human or animal biological matter, the deal is off (cheetos debris excluded since it can be consumed by the new owner).  No more manuals with pages stuck together.   

I guess Daehawk can't trade in games where you live.    

[Misguided]

Of course it is in their best interest.  Lower my trade-in value via "refinishing fees" means I now have to pony up extra cash for whatever I'm buying.

People with less trade credit tend to buy less. What matters to the store is the amount of goods sold. I stand by my original statement that charging that fee hurts the store. I didn't even touch on the fact that since the disc is now in defective inventory, it can't be sold, hurting potential sales. The store would MUCH rather have a disc in good condition, give you maximum trade credit and be able to sell the game you are trading in. If you choose not to believe that then I'm not sure we can find much common ground to discuss the topic.

[Bullwinkle]

And as a sign of the impending all-digital world, Gamestop is buying Impulse.

Spawn Labs, part of the GameStop network, brings patented technology and a talented team of technologists with unique game streaming and virtualization expertise. The Spawn Labs team will work closely with GameStop’s existing R&D group to develop GameStop’s growing suite of digital game products and services.

Once the Spawn Labs integration and testing on a new consumer interface is complete, users will have immediate access to a wide selection of high-definition video games on demand on any Internet-enabled device.

“Our customers are gaming in many locations and on many devices, and we need to deliver the same great immersive experience that they have come to expect,” said GameStop President Tony Bartel. “Spawn Labs and Impulse provide a customer-friendly and publisher-friendly way for us to accomplish this.”

Impulse, Inc. provides a proven digital distribution platform that allows users to quickly and easily find their favorite games and download them to their Internet-connected devices.

J. Paul Raines, chief executive officer of GameStop, said, “With these important acquisitions, we will continue to make appropriate investments related to our multichannel strategy. GameStop is uniquely positioned to be the leader in both the physical and digital gaming space.”

For users, developers and publishers, Impulse will offer three specific components:
•Impulse Client - allows gamers to have instant access to a library of more than 1,100 games on day one as well as the ability to manage their game-related downloads and purchases.
•Impulse Reactor – provides content publishers customer friendly DRM and copy protection tools. It also allows developers to enable achievements, account management, friend lists, chat, multiplayer lobbies, and cloud storage within their games.
•Impulse Publisher – allows publishers to manage all aspects of their game with powerful real-time reporting and management tools.

Impulse, Inc. will remain an actively running business with full integration on GameStop.com anticipated within the next few months. The Impulse acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in May 2011.

[CeeKay]

wow... and the forums over at Impulse haven't exploded yet.  Kinda anticlimactic.

this might be better suited for the PC forums though.

[Greggy_D]

this might be better suited for the PC forums though.

You never know where this might be headed.  Retailers hold an extreme amount of influence over publishers and hardware manufacturers.  There might be a day where there is an Impulse portal via Xbox Live or PS3 whatevertheyhave.

[Bullwinkle]

this might be better suited for the PC forums though.

You never know where this might be headed.  Retailers hold an extreme amount of influence over publishers and hardware manufacturers.  There might be a day where there is an Impulse portal via Xbox Live or PS3 whatevertheyhave.

And, as I said earlier in this thread, I think that day is coming soon.

[EngineNo9]

this might be better suited for the PC forums though.

You never know where this might be headed.  Retailers hold an extreme amount of influence over publishers and hardware manufacturers.  There might be a day where there is an Impulse portal via Xbox Live or PS3 whatevertheyhave.

And, as I said earlier in this thread, I think that day is coming soon.

I would be extremely surprised if Microsoft or Nintendo ever allowed a 3rd party download/game portal on their consoles.  Standardization and control are critical elements to the success of something like Xbox Live, not to mention the extra profit potential.