Hey Gamestop! Stop Opening My New Games!

By James Munn | January 31, 2007

I waltz up the the counter, gift card in hand, “Pirates PSP, please.”

“New or Used?” The clerk asks, timidly. I pause for just a moment and happily reply,

“For twenty bucks? New!” I also had an unclaimed $5 pre-order credit from Lost Planet to apply, but he didn’t know that yet. 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!?”

*blank stare*

This has happened to me prior to yesterday and each time, I walked out without my game. Previous arguments started very similar to this one, with the rep trying to sneak the game into a bag and leave it out of sight until I walked away with it. As soon as I walk out that door, my game is now devalued 80%.

It’s a pretty underhanded practice and even though I did end up buying Pirates yesterday, it was only because the game cost me $15 of a gift card. At that price, the game has more value as a coaster than as a trade-in or listing on Ebay. Nevertheless, It’s pretty scummy for them to repeatedly pull this crap on unsuspecting buyers. I was waiting for it and called them on it, but I’m sick and tired of having to do it every time.

If you’re wondering what happened after the blank stare I mentioned earlier, well his manager instantly took over.

*Mr. Roboto voice* “You have seven days to exchange it for an identical item.” I laughed at the response because again, I had heard it before. Then, like clockwork, the manager offered to seal it in shrink wrap with his trusty heat gun, effectively discrediting the value of any sealed game in the entire store. It was meaningless for this particular sale and I couldn’t stay and play, so I let it go. I know it’s not their individual policy but more of a corporate decision. I thought I’d be better off venting my anger here instead.

Have any of you experience something like this or possibly got home with your “new” game only to find that it was already opened?

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197 Comments »

Comment by extrarice — January 31, 2007 @ 3:39 pm

One reason why I don’t shop at those stores anymore. I just hit Target, or Amazon (free shipping ftw) and be done with it. I’m sick of the pushing for securing reservations on upcoming games.

Comment by Niels — January 31, 2007 @ 5:00 pm

Heh. Here in Holland it’s common practice in almost all game and mediastores. Actually, almost nobody thinks it’s a bad thing. Usually the discs are behind the counter. You grab the game, which has nothing in it except for a booklet or so and then bring it to the counter and then the shopclerk get’s the disc from the back.
You know the Starcatalogue thing? Nintendo points? It’s only in Europe and Japan. They should be inside the case. They’re usually gone in these kind of stores. Other people, or the shop clerks, nick them out.
Since a few years I try to get all my games, cd’s and dvd’s in the original seal at (mostly) online retailers. Or if there is a new AAA game out like Gears Of War they usually have extra sealed copies in the back. So I just ask one of those.

Comment by Kat — January 31, 2007 @ 7:08 pm

Speaking as someone who worked for EB Games for 3 weeks once (before Gamestop bought them), you can always just ask for a shrink-wrapped one. The ones behind the counter haven’t been opened.

Wanna know why I got fired? I switched shifts with a girl (the manager okayed it) and when it came time for her to cover my shift, at the last minute she called and said she couldn’t make it. My *** manager told the regional manager that *I* was the one who did it, not her. I called him and complained but apparently he was buddy-buddy with the store manager, and didn’t believe me.

Comment by Paul — January 31, 2007 @ 8:22 pm

Opening new games? That’s just scummy beyond belief. And there’s a whole generation of new gamers who won’t know any better and get nailed by it.

They must really not want to be in business anymore. These days I always find better pricing from a big box retailer and have absolutely no reason to buy from them except for the occasional very rare, collectible used game, and even then when it’s very cheap.

Do I feel guilty at shopping at an online or big box retailer? Not when the pull crap like that.

Comment by Andrew Herron — January 31, 2007 @ 8:32 pm

This is common practice in Australia too, the difference being that here they will still let you return the game for full price as long as you keep the receipt. No shrinkwrap required

Particularly at EB Games, who have a 7-day return policy… I had time to finish Red Steel before I exchanged it for a copy of Marvel:Ultimate Alliance

Comment by Cruds — January 31, 2007 @ 8:59 pm

I’m also from Holland and but here the cases are completely empty, no booklet nothing. I really don’t care just give them the case and they fill it with everything, the game, the booklet even the Nintendo points and by the receipt they can tell or you bought the game new or used. It never been a problem.

Comment by Chris Pereira — January 31, 2007 @ 9:31 pm

I’ve had it happen to me a variety of times, and I’ve just given up on caring for the most part. The only thing I hate is when they say how they *MUST* seal the thing with ultra-sticky tape, causing my nice game case to end up sticky or ruined.

Comment by Subnet6 — January 31, 2007 @ 10:22 pm

This happened to me once too. I understand they can’t keep the media in the show floor cases, but to try to squeeze you by selling you an opened copy? Thats pure horseshit. Pardon my french.

I was pissed at first. Then the next time they tried this stunt, I very politely asked if I could get a sealed copy and surprisingly, they very politely agreed. They got me a sealed copy from behind the register. No sweat. Ever since then, when I buy a new game at GS or EB (which is rare) I don’t bring up the empty case, or they try to fill it with and opened copy. One time they gave me some guff when I asked for a sealed copy and I said it was for a gift and that shut them up pretty quick.

To get the best out of gamestop you really have to know how to handle yourself. Their practices take advantage of uninformed consumers. If you know what you’re doing, they are great resource. If you are a typical customer not looking over your shoulder you can get burned. It used to piss me off but now that I’m so used to it, it doesn’t bother me so much.

Comment by Brandon — January 31, 2007 @ 10:28 pm

I have experienced this many a times as well. I want a new copy but apparently they are out except for the couple copies that they took out of the display cases and just pop the game in thinking it’s all good.

I don’t like the practice either and only pre-order games from Gamestop now because I come back with my receipt asking for a new copy and they ask you what is wrong with the disc? WTF? this is a brand new game I’m pretty sure the policy on the back of the receipt reads that an exchange will be offered for 14 days after the purchase for the exchange of the same game but you get grilled for a good 10 minutes before anything even happens.

But what can you do except buy games from Best Buy and Target instead which is what I’ve started doing.

Comment by sifer2400 — February 1, 2007 @ 12:52 am

idk this i think is very strange if those assholes at my game stop pull that shit on me there is gona be a fight and i would want to see the manger and all that shit but its never happened to me maby its cuz i usually buy games on the first day that they come out
P.S is it just me or is every GS/EB employee’s just asshole’s the guy at my GS takes advatage of every suker that dont really know much about what they want to get there kids

Comment by Nate — February 1, 2007 @ 11:12 am

This is why it’s sad that Rhino was bought out by EB (or whoever bought it). They would let you exchange any game for 7 days after you bought it, for full price, even open. Something about a happyness guarantee.

The reason why America won’t let you exchange open games is the DMCA. Blame the Sony’s and RIAA for crap like this.

Comment by bob — February 1, 2007 @ 1:50 pm

I worked at these stores, eb before they were bought out by the evil corp of gamestop was not allowed to open items…..
They can “check out” games and then re-wrap them and sell as new. company policy.
I think we should invest in a shrink-wrap machine…all my games are new according to eb/gs! Returns FTW

Comment by Infi — February 1, 2007 @ 8:19 pm

I’ve been reading over this again and again but I just can’t figure out what the fuss is about. Surely if you buy a game retail you ARE going to open it anyway, right? I mean if there was something missing or damaged inside, then sure, but otherwise what difference does the plastic seal make - it’s not like you’d ever want to buy a game retail and then resell it on ebay without playing it, would you?

Comment by fillerbunny9 — February 1, 2007 @ 8:33 pm

as Bob said, EbGames and Gamestop allow employees to check out, and play games, and then turnaround and sell them as a “new” game. I can understand your frustration and it’s why I avoid shopping there whenever possible. silly me, if I am paying money for a game that is assured to me to be unplayed to ensure no damage and/or loss of battery life (for battery backed cartridges) and contain everything it was shipped with, I don’t want a previously opened copy. there are plenty of other shady business practices that encourage me to not shop there as well.

Comment by Roy — February 1, 2007 @ 9:45 pm

What do you suggest them to do? It’s new as in, it’s never been sold to or played by anyone else before. When they run out of stock of a game, they are free to sell the display copy as new because, well, it is new. The way I see it, you can easily walk out and buy it somewhere else, or wait for the game to be restocked.

Comment by Inochimizu — February 2, 2007 @ 1:44 am

I worked at EB Games and we did the same.

However, when we put the new games in their cases we apply a seal on the case so that we can know if it was opened or not. If the seal is still in place and not broken then the game is considered new. Also, we only emptied cases when we needed to have them on the floor, otherwise the cases were kept unopened.

Comment by Chris — February 2, 2007 @ 1:31 pm

FINALLY someone is bringing this issue to the foreground. I am really sick of the game store (singular because there is only one big company left doing only game stores) opening copies of games and selling them as new.

I argue that if I bought a BRAND NEW SEALED copy of a game they have a lot of, like Madden 2007, and then proceeded to open it right in front of them in the store, they would NOT give me full credit if I tried to return it. But they feel that it is OK to sell us an opened copy for full price. The SOLUTION is to take 10% off, at LEAST. Please acknowledge that it is a reduced quality, we are not dumb.

I believe that this is hurting certain niche title sales as well. An example would be Every Extend Extra. Sure, it’s a niche title, so they only bring in 1 copy at a time, and that’s fine , I understand. Now, I love music games, and I buy games new and sealed ONLY, as well as a lot of other game collectors I know. I can imagine that Gamesop CAN’T figure out why that one copy of EEE can’t sell, so they order less and less of niche titles.

I went to many different Gamestops and EB Games (same company) and all only had that one open copy on the shelf. I figured, no wonder they think they can’t afford to bring in more copies, they think they can’t even sell ONE copy. So I try Toys ‘R Us, and they have 6 copies, all sealed and ready to go. I bet they get more sales of niche titles because Gamestop does it so stupidly.

And that leads me into how FEW games they actually ORDER! If they don’t get preorders for a game, they won’t bring it in AT ALL sometimes, usually getting it LATE. Their store name is GAMEstop. If I can’t get a new game on release day at GAMEstop, THEY ARE DOING SOMETHING WRONG. They will give you a story about how the game maker doesn’t make enough copies, but THIS IS A LIE. Walk to any other store and they will have a shelf full of the game.

It is ridiculous that I would have to preorder a game from them. They need to order what they want to sell. IT’S THE ONLY THING THEY CARRY - GAMES! I am going to game-only stores less and less. Best Buy will have a hundred or more copies of Halo 3, why deal with preordering it from a game store that will only get enough for the suckers, IF that many at all!

There is no reason to have to pre-order every game you want to buy. It’s ridiculous and bad management on their part. People need to start boycotting these policies. STOP PRE-ORDERING! Make them do their own buying and ordering, it should be THEIR JOB - not ours. No other store is run this way. Imagine having to pre-order a DVD movie you want, or a call phone or camera. It is the company being lazy.

Comment by Tim — February 2, 2007 @ 4:20 pm

Wow, I don’t shop at EB and gamestop because of other reasons but this just makes me even more glad I don’t. I can’t believe this. What if you want to buy the game as a gift for a friend? I’ve bought plenty of games that I don’t open right away. Who’s to say I don’t have the right to return it whenever I feel like if its still in it’s “new” condition. Such bullshit. I’ll stick with Target, ToysRUS and Best Buy thank you.

Comment by Andy Moore — February 3, 2007 @ 7:19 pm

A lot of people don’t realize that EB Games employees can borrow new games to try them out without paying. They just open up a new one and take it home. Then they return it and still sell it as new. So your “new” game has potentially been played before.

Comment by phil — February 3, 2007 @ 7:34 pm

I agree about the issue. This happened to me at EB Games before, and it felt like I was buying a used copy. I like to open my boxes, smell the fresh ink, etc. Ever since then, I went to Best Buy to get my games. They have the games upfront sealed in boxes. I just hand them a slip showing what game I want, and they grab a fresh new box from the cage. That’s how it should be done - not by ripping the box and telling me that it’s still the same game experience.

Comment by FrameShift — February 3, 2007 @ 7:39 pm

Hey there. I appreciate your position here, and you’re duly even-handed about individual employees. But as an employee of a retailer with similar policies, I will say that our branch’s profitability would be significantly damaged if it wasn’t for the trusty old heat gun.

That said, Viva la Palahniuk!

Comment by Erdrick — February 3, 2007 @ 7:50 pm

I worked at Gamestop for about three years, but that was almost four years ago now. I can honestly say that I am an avid video game collector and pretty anal about certain things when it comes to games. The thing is that I never had a problem re-shrink wrapping returned video games (or borrowed through the employee check-out policy) because we were the only ones that offered any sort of a return policy on opened, used games which was great I thought, because it eliminated the need to go rent a game and find out that you could complete it in the given time period, so it saved me and my customers a few bucks any time we bought a game like that (such as Wario for the GameCube, I remember buying that, beating it that day, then returning it the next because there just wasn’t enough content to warrant a 50$ purchase). That return policy was great and I didn’t have a problem getting pre-opened, new games because I knew everyone in the store cared about it, and if you brought back a disk and tried to return it as new, we scrutinized it and if there were smudges, or any marrings of the disk/manual/case whatsoever, we would offer to take it as a trade in and would refuse to return it. So, I saw it as a trade off, you risk the chance of getting a pre-opened game (in brand new condition still, not sealed) for the chance that you would want to return the game over the course of that week. So that’s my take on the situation. If it’s a game that you know you want to keep and you want it sealed, sure, go somewhere else to get it. But if it’s a game you’re not sure of, head to GameStop/EB/Funcoland/etc. for their return policy which is pretty much exclusive to them. And if you want to trade in, well that’s a whole different can of worms, I refuse to trade in my games to these places because they completely rip you off. I know it’s a business, but the markup on these items is friggin ridiculous. I’ve seen games with a trade-in value of somewhere around 3$ go for over 30$ the moment they’re put up on the shelf as used. Also, buying a game (that just came out) for 50$, finding out I can beat it, then trying to trade it in for 20$ seems ridiculous to me too when they’ll turn around and sell it for 45$. I can’t bring myself to support that kind of practice…

Comment by James — February 3, 2007 @ 7:52 pm

You do realize that its the Game..IE the Cd, Cardridge or whatever is still NEW..it has never been inside a system or anything like that..they just need to make a display case so that they can show they actually have the game in stock. So stop pissing a moaning…. the game is new, it hasnt ever been in a system, ergo NEW!

Comment by Volk — February 3, 2007 @ 7:53 pm

This is not a “shady practice”, as this occurs in every one of their 4,000 stores. Companies do not send display boxes, so therefore, if the game store has ONE copy of the game, they open it, take the game out in order to have something to put on the wall for you to look at. It usually goes into a baggie or envelope and sits behind the counter until you buy it. It is STILL “new”, as it’s never played, only opened. It’s not like they’re selling you an opened jar of baby food or something. The stores are supposed to place a sticker on the opened new game, so that you CAN return it for full value within the 7 days. The alternative is, they can stop taking games out of the box, place them on the wall where they can be stolen, and you can pay even HIGHER prices for games.

Comment by Tinkergirl — February 3, 2007 @ 7:53 pm

Sorry - can’t work out why that would be a problem to anyone here. Could be that its an American thing, as the Europeans don’t seem to bother. You buy a game for the contents of the disk - not generally for the state of the shrinkwrap on the outside (or the quantity of ink smell).

I used to work in UK-EB (before it became Game, and it wasn’t the same as US-EB) and we simply never had enough ‘dummy/fake’ boxes to put on the shelves - so unless you didn’t want to see any boxes on the shelves, at least some of the disks would have to be gutted and put out. Also, it was against your training to fill a gutted box if there was a shrinkwrapped box behind the counter - simply because you’d then have to spend time to gut another one to make up the numbers on the shelf display. I really can’t work out why that would be such a big problem to anyone. (We did have the 7-day returns policy, mind you.)

Comment by Jim — February 3, 2007 @ 7:59 pm

They did this to me once as well. The clerk was rude as I guess is expected based on reading every one elses responses. I think the employees are just agro because they are treated like shit by management, and management is treated like shit by corporate and so on. They all just pass the buck. The consumer is the ultimate loser when they shop at GameStop.

Comment by Anthony — February 3, 2007 @ 8:00 pm

Hey bro keep up the fight here in Minnesota I had the exact same experience. I had the same roboto disclaimer from the manager but I did you one better I got them to call up corporate and they had a talk. On top of that the Gamestop in my area has not only been doing that with new games but they’ve been labeling used games as new which got them a write up from Better Business. I’ve been cheated on buying stuff from the ones in my area a total of 3 times I am sick of this stuff as well. Thats why I havnt bought anything from them in over 4 months.

Comment by Liebe — February 3, 2007 @ 8:03 pm

I worked at Gabestop for a year, and with the hours (and 2-3 staff at hand) given to each store, it is unreasonable to to think that we could fabricate dummy cases for each new game. Stores like Target and Wal Mart keep their games behind glass, which doesn’t allow customers to see and read the backs of the cases at will. Yes, they can try to contact an assistant, but those are much bigger stores, with probably less knowledge of the product. I really don’t see the problem, I’ve bought new games from my old store and had that happen. This is all a Gamestop employee does when they open a new copy.
1. take a razor to the shrinking and side binding.
2. Remove the disk and place it directly in a sleeve
3. Put it alphabetically in the drawer with the other UNOPENED copies we will sell first, leaving the display for the last possible sell. If we see fit, we can even substitute the dvd case, if the customer wants. Trust me, the games fly from the shelves fast enough that it is VERY rare when a new case gets beaten up.

Comment by hd3rd — February 3, 2007 @ 8:04 pm

yea gamestop/funcoland/ebgames are shady indeed. i got a psp for xmas used the back hinge was busted so i went to return it they said we have stuff in the back i wait for a bit and the kid come out shoves the psp in a box and tells me have a good day
he didnt expect me to open the box in front of him and what i found was a cracked psp a scratched,burned and gouged screen. The kid promptly heads to the back and leaves the other kid to deal with me.
after talking to the kid he tells me i have to drive 30 mins after allready driving there for 30 mins…… we to to the eb games 30 mins away to get a psp that worked for 1 day and died. SO we made another 30 min trip to another funcoland to get a working psp this works but for how long

Comment by Anthony — February 3, 2007 @ 8:05 pm

James Munn (and Andy Moore above me) is exactly right - Gamestop and EB (even before being bought out) would do the same crap - allow employees to take home videogames that were brand new and return them to the store within two days and resell them as unused. I know this cause I worked at Gamestop for about 6 months. Do yourself a favor, buy from a retailer like Target or online entity like Amazon and then sell it on Ebay for more money then getting scammed at the scam retailers like EB/GS. Like the author said - the minute you walk out of the store with a new game the resale value (for you) drops about 60 - 80 percent.

Comment by BinaryDemon — February 3, 2007 @ 8:06 pm

In the local gamestop, they even remove the CD’s from the boxes. When you bring the box up they get the CD’s from a storage location behind the counter- a great way to curb shoplifting. Except that occassionally they will but the wrong CD’s back in. For example: the game Sonic Riders is 3 CD’s and what the idiots working there have done is accidently put in disk 1 of 3, disk 3 of 3, and disk 3 of 3. The first time, I didnt check or realize their blunder until many hours later. Then I had to go back to the store and exchange them.

Comment by Xcat — February 3, 2007 @ 8:08 pm

Chill out guys. I work p/t at a Gamestop ONLY so that I can take home games and play them and pocket $30 bucks a week, if even that much. Who needs Gamefly when you’ve got that going on? It’s not something every store can do but Gamestop encourages us to do this.

It allows us to give customers a knowledgeable and honest opinion of the games without having to pay for every title that hits the shelves. I understand why smart consumers get outraged over this, because you’re paying for something that’s suppose to be factory sealed but it’s also Gamestop’s policy that if we don’t bring back the game in factory new condition it comes out of our paychecks and we just bought it whether we want to or not. We sign each game out on a log and have 3 days to bring it back and most responsible managers check the disks for scratches before returning it to the case.

Now when people buy one of these games we have round plastic security seals that are suppose to be placed on the covers. If that seal is still there and you’ve got a receipt you can get your money back just the same as if it were factory sealed. If this is the last copy of the game they have and don’t throw a sticker on there, ask them to if you may need to return it. Or better yet check the disk quality, which is something you should be doing on used games too as some retards take back unplayable games and they slip through the cracks. If it’s scratched even the slightest ask for a discount which we CAN give out. But we’re not going to offer that shit away if we don’t have to.

Now also know that all of those covers sitting on the shelves are the real covers for the games. We have to gut these titles and lock the disks behind the counter. That means if you’re buying an “open” game, it doesn’t mean it’s been played. There are generally 2-4 gutted boxes sitting out there for every new game, which means there are 4 open disks available for employees to borrow for a few days. There’s a whole shitload of game cases on those shelves right? That means there’s a shitload of games that will eventually be sold out of packaging.

As for pre-orders, yeah it is a good thing. Not because some company brainwashed me into believing that either. My store is brand new in a still developing area and we do shit for business. If we were getting in the same quantities as our hella busy mall based store we’d have a stock pile of shit we can’t sell while they’d lose sales because they couldn’t keep it in stock. Our supply is based on the demand (not just the projected demand) which the customers create at each individual store. It doesn’t rip you off or inconvenience you in any way to pre-sell a game, other than having to listen to some pimple faced kid try to sell you a Game Informer subscription each time you shop there.

Also, for titles like the collectors edition Burning Crusade, Wario Ware, Twilight Princess, Gears of War, and many others if you take the 2 minutes to plan ahead and reserve one you can get one the day it comes out. Every shift I work I end up sending desperate people to Best Buy and Wal-Mart for games and accessories that fly off the shelves, but if they pre-sold one they’d have it in their hands right then. You don’t have to pre-sell shit but it’s often the best way to get your hands on hot items without having to drive around town hunting one down.

So here’s some solid advice. If you buy a game that’s new, but open and the clerk gives you shit when you ask about it… rip him a new one for being a lying asshole, then ask for a discount. Or if you absolutely refuse to buy something like that then get your own head out of your ass. It doesn’t fucking matter who removed the plastic wrapper if the game is in perfectly new condition and is returnable.

Comment by eric — February 3, 2007 @ 8:15 pm

Would you all like some cry with your whine?

Comment by FizixMan — February 3, 2007 @ 8:16 pm

I bought Soul Calibur 3 from … crap, can’t remember the name. Anyways, sealed and all. Get home, unwrap, open up… EMPTY. Instruction manual, yes. Game disc? Negatory. Thankfully they exchanged it, but what kind of BS is that?

Comment by Dorian — February 3, 2007 @ 8:18 pm

With places like Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Wal-Mart, and Amazon where you can buy games and not have to worry about opened games being sold as new or being hassled to preorder, Gamestop suddenly seems irrelevant. It’s a shame, too. I used to buy all my games at Gamestop, but it’s gone to shit since the merger.

Comment by The T to the K — February 3, 2007 @ 8:19 pm

I purchased Big Brain Academy at a Gamestop last year. The game was displayed in one of those cardboard countertop holders, and all of the cases were opened. I assumed they were all new, and the clerk got the game out of a drawer and popped it in the case. When I got home, I discovered that the gamecard already had two saved game files on it! Unfortunately, a 40-mile drive kept me from raising heck, so I’ve protested with my wallet and haven’t been back since.

Comment by JE SPE — February 3, 2007 @ 8:20 pm

They do this at Gamestop in Greenville, MS. They also do this at EBGames in Cleveland, MS. Its sickening, and it’s a good thing I don’t buy from them.

Comment by D-FENS — February 3, 2007 @ 8:21 pm

I don’t get the problem. Really - you bought it new, the only difference being that the package had been opened. The disc itself had never been played. that is the only difference in used or new. So, the only difference is the air within the package being slightly more fresh and the plastic wrap being the same as the other sealed games.

So….ummm..why are you complaining?

To this day i’ve never understood why buying a game new is so important to you people. I worked at EB for a few months, and i can’t count the number of times people paid 5 to 25 bucks just so they could have a ’sealed’ copy. It’s a stupid fetish. Get over it.

The joke of this article is that you’re one of those asshole customers. Take a second to think about how stupid you’re being. Say you and I walk into the store together. You buy a new and unopened copy of Pirates, while i buy the used one. We both come back 4 days later, to return the game for store credit. At this point, your game has been opened and is in identical condition as mine. We could even swap the games and gues what - YOU STILL GET THE FULL AMOUNT in store credit. How do i know this? It’s called a receipt. You paid X dollars, I paid Y Dollars. I paid less, I get less money.

At NO point will you return a game that was new, but happened to be from the ‘opened’ new, and have the person returning it going ‘your receipt says 20$, but i’m only giving you 15$.’

Whatever condition the game is in - you get refunded WHATEVER the receipt says. It could be sold to you in a Gamecube case that’s beat to hell, but as long as you paid full price, that’s the money you get back.

So, you’re not mad voer that - you don’t mention whether or not you’ve been screwed on a return - which chances are you haven’t. You’re just mad because you wan to be Marco Polo - be the first person to touch something. It’s stupid, it’s childish, and it really is about as irrational as it gets. Read the comments - people willing to start fights - simply because their case has been opened prior to them getting it.

Do you really need that chinese air?

you’re an ass.

Comment by Paul — February 3, 2007 @ 8:24 pm

I worked at a Software Etc game unit 14 years ago. As employee’s we were allowed to ‘borrow’ brand new games. I just had to bring it back in a couple of days and shrink wrap it.
If someone brought back a “defective” Sega game they had purchased new, we allowed them to trade it for another copy. I would try it in the store’s Genesis. If it worked fine, I put the game back in its box and reshrink wrapped it.
If I remember correctly Software Etc and Gamestop merged when I was working there in 1993 or 94? Later? You have been buying resealed games for years, you just didnt know it.

Comment by linoth — February 3, 2007 @ 8:31 pm

…wow, somebody’s just now noticing this in retail?

I’ll admit that I’m a fairly common customer at one of the local EBs, and most of the employees recognize me coming through the door. And a few times I have bought one of these “new” games. Doesn’t really bother me, since I was just going to, what’s that term… open it and play it ANYWAY. If it’s that important to you, I’m sure the employees will be willing to let you give the disc and manual a once-over just to be sure it’s in perfect condition.

By the way, EB and Gamestop were not the company that started this practice. It seemed pretty much expected in an office supply store that I worked at as well. It was a “high shrink” store, which means we had a theft problem for those not in retail, so we rarely put a boxed copy of anything pricy on the shelf. In the case of software that would be staying on the shelf, such as Windows, we could order an empty box for the shelf.

Hard drives? Routers? We never ordered any empty boxes for those. We’d take it out of the box, put the box out on the shelf and store the contents in our lock-up area. When we were down to the last one, we’d put it back into the box, take the whole thing over to the shipping center, and put shrink wrap on it. Just like new.

Again, this practice is NOT as unusual as you think. The only major stores I’ve never seen do something like this was… hmm, Walmart and KMart?

Comment by PhonZ — February 3, 2007 @ 8:32 pm

That happened to me once too. And I mean once because that was the last time I shopped at GS or EB for that matter. I was picking up some old GBA games for a friend, which I had to buy used cuz they were old games. I also decided to buy myself Ghost Recon 2. Anyway he tried to sell me a membership for the used games to save like 10% and I told him I don’t buy used games. He tried to get me a used copy of GR2. I told him no. So finally after 10 min of this shit, I get my games and go. I get home and find the bastard gave me a shrinkwrapped copy of GR2. I’m pissed. I go back to get a new copy. I tell the lady I want a new copy not this shrinkwrapped crap. She respondes it is new. I respond I want an unopened copy, so I got it and now I never shop at GS or EB.

Comment by Me — February 3, 2007 @ 8:38 pm

You make an excellent point. Calling an opened package “new” is fraud. Some items (for instance Star Wars crap) appreciated markedly in value for being in mint and unopened condition. Will the store honor this 30 years from now if you intend to collect this piece? Stick to your guns on this one. They should call it something else (”security opened”) and mark it as such in case you wish to return it.

Comment by Ian Garatt — February 3, 2007 @ 8:45 pm

There’s a very simple solution guys…. If you want to buy a NEW game, go to Target or ANY other retailer. They stock it for the same price, or slightly cheaper. EB/GS is only good for used games. Period.

Plus, as previously mentioned, if you’re buying a new game, you’re probably going to keep it. Buying it as a gift? Hello Target!

Comment by Kristin — February 3, 2007 @ 9:00 pm

Once my fiance went to Gamestop and bought Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for his DS. He bought a “new” copy and paid the “new” price, but when he started the game up, there was already saved game data on it.

Comment by Gaia Theory — February 3, 2007 @ 9:05 pm

Honestly, the practice should stop. It is completely hypocritical.

Gamestop/EB open factory sealed games and sell them as new, yet if a customer opens a factory sealed game and tries to return it, it is not considered new by the store.

Here’s the deal - THEY say it is because you have likely played it… SURPRISE!! The open games in the store have likely been played too and they have no way to prove they haven’t.

Certainly, many of these opened games are used in the demo machines, and many are borrowed on lunch hours, or for the night (despite a corporate policy that doesn’t allow ‘borrowing’).

Not only is the practice of opening factory sealed games a piss off to customers, it is also a massive waste of time for employees.

Until Gamestop/EB stops opening up factory sealed games and selling them as new - I will NEVER shop at their stores. Period.

Comment by Phil — February 3, 2007 @ 9:06 pm

Stores that care about quality do not have the name EB/GS. I don’t think Best Buy / Target etc will ever be dumb enough to have ripped-open boxes that have a sticker on there saying “Buy me. I’m new.”

Comment by Gaia Theory — February 3, 2007 @ 9:08 pm

One more point:

Gamestop/EB need to take a stroll into Best Buy and realize that ‘open’ product is sold at a discount compared to factory sealed items, and all ‘open’ items are clearly marked as such.

The practice should end… if only there was some way to force them to do stop…

Comment by Anonymous — February 3, 2007 @ 9:16 pm

I ‘might’ be an employee of Gamestop, INC. Here is what you NEED to know about the whole concept.

1) New vs Used… as far as the store’s definition… New = NEVER BEEN PLAYED, while Used = Pre-played, traded in.
Each new item is shipped to us in the plastic, we cut the stickered area and plop the unused disc into a sleeve (hence the un-used quality).

2) I’m not sure if you have noticed or not… but Gamestop has MUCH smaller stores (even mall stores) that do not have the floor space of a massive Best Buy or Fry’s. Therefore, ‘gutting’ as it is called is required to avoid theft.

3) NEW as of months ago… all ‘new’ but opened games are supposed to be rewrapped in our special bags upon purchase, so that we know whether or not an item has been played and therefore has lost its new quality.

I don’t think it’s a perfect policy, and you have a right to be irritated… but get over yourselves and realize that theft caused it.

Comment by Kat — February 3, 2007 @ 9:39 pm

Anonymous, your point #2 does not hold up. Having smaller floor space should not make it easier to steal, when employees can basically see you no matter where you are. If you’re saying that since EBGamestop has smaller stores, they have to put more of their inventory on the floor - that should not make a difference either. Do wrapped games get stolen from Best Buy more often than at EBGamestop? (That question would only be answerable if EBGamestop put their shrinkwrapped games on the floor, instead of behind the counter.)

I appreciate that you are defending the company you work for, but there must be some better system for security than opening the products. None of us would buy, say, an opened computer at Best Buy, unless we got the Floor Model discount. EBGamestop could put a security person in the stores whose sole purpose is to do front-door bag checks (which opens another kettle of fish) or pay attention to customers’ locations, but boo-hoo, that would hurt their bottom line and perhaps mean they would have fewer stores.

Comment by Steve — February 3, 2007 @ 9:43 pm

I can do you one better. My wife and I bought a copy of The Bard’s Tale for the Xbox from what was our local EBGames at the time, and we’d actually pre-ordered it. The kid goes to take the game off the shelf, and I ask why the hell he’s doing that, but he assures me that it’s brand new and that they just didn’t get enough copies, so this was the display copy. The game had just come out a couple of days before, so I begrudgingly accepted the game. I get home to find out that he gave me the PS2 version in the Xbox case! So instead of being able to enjoy our game THAT WE PRE-ORDERED, we ended up having to go back to the store the following day and exchange it for the game we were supposed to have been given…

Comment by Josh — February 3, 2007 @ 10:01 pm

I can understand your annoyence, but let me ask you a simple question. When you got your game, did it not work? were there scratches? Honestly im GLADE they allow Gamestop employees to do this. Know why? When i go into a store, i want a valued honest opinion. I want the people im asking to know what they are talking about. Its impossable to buy every game, but this policy allows the workers to have more knowledge about games i want to know about. Jeez, you guys are whinning over shrink wrap. If it doesnt work take it back and get something else. Or if this policy is way to much for you(heaven forbid) then just dont shop there. I do not work for EB/GS but this policy in my opinion is A OK. Working at gamestores is a lot of work. I worked at gamecrazy before my store was shut down. and it wasnt all playing games(infact if you did you were firied) theres a lot of hard work that goes into working at these stores to make them nice and presentable. SO having this perk is good for YOU and me. get over it.

Comment by Xeracy — February 3, 2007 @ 10:09 pm

I worked at a gamestop for the holidays once. They’re policy for employees to check out games for a few days at a time makes me wonder how many copies of pc games have been taken home, burned and copied down the key, and returned to the store to be reshelved.

Comment by Lauren — February 3, 2007 @ 10:37 pm

When EB sells a new game that isn’t in the shrinkwrap, the disks are placed in a white CD holder and sealed witha small, white sticker. Although the game packaging has been removed, if you were to try and return the game, the “newness” of the disk is not determined by the plastic wrap. In that case, it is determined by the integrity of the sticker.

I used to work there. That’s how it works, folks.

Comment by Kevin — February 3, 2007 @ 10:42 pm

I personally just bought an older copy of Mega Man Anniversary collection to play on my Nintendo Wii. (the irony, I know) But the whole EB experience was just spewing with a puree of bullshit from entrance to exit. I had reserved the game upon my arrival, so when I got there I had told them my name and what I had pre-ordered and they were quick to oblige me. They brought my copy of Mega Man up to the front UNSEALED with TWO *New* labeled stickers on the front of the game for some reason. Was it not new enough the first time? Surely there is a logical reason for this sort of debacle, so it didn’t set me off too much as long as my game worked fine (and it does), but then things got quirky.

I had been making idle chat with the store manager because I love videogames, and then he says, “why don’t you check out our binder full of game release dates (that I’m already aware of) and see if there’s anything you want to put on reserve. And I’m already thinking I just want to take my game and bolt. So I humor him, let him open the binder, flip through the pages showing me Crackdown, Mario Party 8, blah blah. And then he says, “You really might want to reserve a game for the Wii because they’re tough to find when they first come out.” That’s when bullshit meter to the max went off. First of all, it is exponentially easier to manufacture software, and as a result has NEVER been an issue to find a copy of certain software within 48 hours of its release. Secondly, there are significantly more wii games than wii consoles right now, and to say there’d be a line of people waiting at the door for a copy is total crap. Wii titles are absolutely cake to find, hands down, new or 5 months old. But try finding Wiimotes lol. Anyway, I am always harassed in EB games more than I want to be. I want to write in to their company to stop putting the dollar bill pressure on everyone, but, I’m sure someone in coorporate had a study done and they found out they make more money this way despite the customer disatisfaction. blah. anyway fellow gamers. have a great night and thanks for letting me bitch a bit.

Kevin

Comment by Aaron — February 3, 2007 @ 10:49 pm

So why exactly does it matter to you?

I like having the boxes out on the floor so you can look at them and read the backs without asking some sales guy to get it from the cage where they are kept.

What’s the difference? Is it still a new game? Yes. Are you being shortchanged in any way? No.

So why bitch?

Comment by Firefly — February 3, 2007 @ 10:57 pm

Not to be rude or anything but its not that big a deal to get pissed over it. Typically, when you get the last copy of a game at EB games or Gamestop, you get the disc put in separately because the case is put out on display…all those cases you see on the shelves unless they say “for display only” are for the actual game. If they didn’t do that, you’d be complaining right now about why none of the cases were there for you to see the game. Yes, EB allows employees to check out a game for a limited time but only if its one of these “gutted” copies and you can get in big trouble if you show back up with a scratched game. Besides, if the store follows proper procedure, they’ll put a clear sticker on the case, sealing it shut…if you break that seal then oh well, no full refund for you. Really people, its not the end of the world…

Comment by Jose — February 3, 2007 @ 11:05 pm

At the GameStop by my house they keep an empty box on the shelf and keep unopened boxes in drawers behind the counter. I’ve never seen them stick a game in the case unless it was used.

Comment by Lars — February 3, 2007 @ 11:12 pm

Opened box = NOT NEW.

Get it through your fucking skulls you pathetic whiners. Yes, you are being shortchanged. Yes, it is worth less than new.

USED GOODS ARE WORTH LESS THAN NON USED GOODS. IF YOU DON’T KNOW THIS THEN GO BACK TO WHATEVER PLANET YOU ARE FROM AND STFU. WE DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY HERE ON EARTH.

Comment by Some1 — February 3, 2007 @ 11:24 pm

CompuCentre in Canada does the same crap, i.e. they reseal stuff that has been returned or used by employees “to test it out.”

Comment by Jennifer — February 3, 2007 @ 11:29 pm

I’m assuming most of this has to do with console/handheld games. Does anyone know if Gamestop/EB ever does this with PC games, which often have a installation/online play keycode?

Comment by ExK — February 3, 2007 @ 11:31 pm

I’m always buying factory sealed game on the release date of the game. No hassle and since the employees of my local ebgames are all good old friends, they don’t try to sneak used copy in my bag. They know I’m a serious collector and that I keep everything sealed ^^.

Comment by Juan — February 3, 2007 @ 11:42 pm

Actually, I used this very practice to kinds beat the system. I bought Guilty Gear DS on a whim only to play it an absolutely hate it. Luckily, since they had sold the game to me already opened (they claimed it was their last display copy), I went back the next day and told the guy that I had bought the game for a friend, but my friend already had it. Since the game had already been opened when I bought it, they couldn’t really hold that against me. I got full credit for the game and traded it in to buy a new unopened copy of Phoenix Wright. Guy just said that the second I open this one, there’s no returning it. Needless to say, that wasn’t an issue. It’s all about thinking outside the box. If you’re underhanded and persistent, you can screw them for their greed.

Comment by unimportant — February 3, 2007 @ 11:47 pm

all of you people that are bitching about this are completely stupid one copy of the game is “gutted” and put on the shelf to represent that that the store has the game they give you a sealed copy unless you buy the last copy that they have and they give you the “gutted” copy that was never played. And yes if you have a receipt you can return it. Get the fuck over it

Comment by WCS — February 3, 2007 @ 11:54 pm

i work for eb, and sometimes we will only have one copy of the game and we have to gut it and put it to put it out on the floor. it’s not that big of a deal. we put seals over the cases so that if you do decide to bring it back, we can tell whether or not it was opened. that’s all there is to it. jesus christ, some people are so fucking retarded.

Comment by GamestopManager — February 3, 2007 @ 11:55 pm

I never realized that Gamestops everywhere else are full of asshats. There is literally a discount option for “open/shopworn.” I can take off as much as I like but I typically offer 10% off. That way the game is labeled as opened which means you get the same return policy as a used one… I think, at least that’s how I do it.

It may suck to not get a sealed copy, but let’s face it, the point is not to keep the game in it’s plastic for the rest of your life. The disc should still be brand new and the box should be in good condition.

Plus, it makes it a lot easier for customers to look at the game without us having to unlock glass doors and monitor them. People can just browse without having to bug us just so they can look at the back.

The only thing that bugs me is when we gut multiple copies just so we can have stuff in the “New Release” section.

All I can say is, don’t be a bitch to employees when this type of shit comes up. We CAN’T control it and you’re never going to change it.

Comment by kc0eks — February 4, 2007 @ 12:01 am

I too had this happen with a Wii game I recently bought. Case was a display case, game was in the back somewhere…but it is “new” hah

Comment by Anonymous 2 — February 4, 2007 @ 12:03 am

I work at a Gamestop/EB (and have for many, many years), and the writer of this little hissy fit is the kind of person that makes me wonder why I thought working in retail was a good idea. The policy of opening a game to put out on display is not to separate you from your money in some sort of elaborate Ponsi Scheme. We do it because we do not have a better, or more cost-effective, way of displaying a game. If you want to know the availability of a title in one of our stores, simply ask an employee. They can tell you if they have more than one on hand. If they do not, then thank them and leave, if you desire a copy of a game that is unmarred by our ‘filthy, corrupt, money-hungry’ hands. Stop being such an asshole about it.

The reason lots of retailers do sell opened box products is because of thieves, as pointed out earlier. Not everything can be secured, dummied, or simply displayed. People, in the real world, are not always looking out for the interests of others.

As for Kat’s response:
“Anonymous, your point #2 does not hold up. Having smaller floor space should not make it easier to steal, when employees can basically see you no matter where you are. If you’re saying that since EBGamestop has smaller stores, they have to put more of their inventory on the floor - that should not make a difference either. Do wrapped games get stolen from Best Buy more often than at EBGamestop? (That question would only be answerable if EBGamestop put their shrinkwrapped games on the floor, instead of behind the counter.)

I appreciate that you are defending the company you work for, but there must be some better system for security than opening the products. None of us would buy, say, an opened computer at Best Buy, unless we got the Floor Model discount. EBGamestop could put a security person in the stores whose sole purpose is to do front-door bag checks (which opens another kettle of fish) or pay attention to customers’ locations, but boo-hoo, that would hurt their bottom line and perhaps mean they would have fewer stores.”

Your attempt to discredit Anonymous makes you look like a fool. Have you ever worked a retail job? Do you realize that many times it can become so busy, that no matter the size of the store, the person(s) working cannot see everything that is going on? Do understand that many crooks will bait employees with ridiculous questions, bad manners, or just plain assinine behavior, while another individual takes what he/she wants, and then leave? By your statement, I would guess your answer to be, “No”.

In short, stop being such dicks. You want it unopened, go to another retailer. If you can not wait and have to have it then and there, but are given the last available OPENED copy, politely ask for a shopworn discount (the clerk might surprise you). Might that opened copy have been played by an employee via our checkout policy? Possibly. But if it comes back looking nothing like a new game, I assure you , most managers will make the employee but it.

Oh, and on a side note, if you don’t want to pre-order a game/accessory/console, then don’t. But do NOT get pissed off, and raise shit about unavailability of a product to a clerk when it is released and you cannot find it anywhere short of online. We do not make the goddamned things, nor do we control their allotments. I personally think that the ability to pre-order can be VERY convienient for those of us who want product that will be high demand, or so under-marketed that only a few thousand get loose. I much prefer that than to trying to hunt down what I want online for double or more what it is retailed at.

And yes, our trade credit is abysmal…

Comment by Shane — February 4, 2007 @ 12:50 am

As an ex-EB assistant manager, I think this borders on having a temper tantrum over nothing.

It’s already been covered to death, that the store guts one copy of each item in stock. Those items are NEW, and even if they have been checked out by an employee, a very rare thing if you think about how many games are in the store and gutted, the employees are required to return them in new condition.

Unless you have some shady plan to take the game from EB/Gamestop, and return it to one of their competitors to make a profit, you have ZERO to complain about.

The whole reason you can get information about the games from EB/Gamestop employees, versus say Walmart, is because they are allowed to try some of the products to be informed.

If you don’t want the one copy that is in the store, then do yourself a favor and go buy it somewhere else. That’s all you have to do.

There isn’t a system where the company tries to hide the fact from you, that you will be getting a gutted, 90 percent of the time unplayed by anybody ever, copy of the game.

So again, if you walk in, and all they have is that one gutted copy, don’t buy it if it hurts your fragile little ego that you weren’t the first to break the plastic seal.

Also, they put a sticker on that box, so there is no arguement that you can’t return it just the same as any other game that is sealed. That’s why they sticker it up, so you can’t lie.

Get over yourselves.

Comment by former sga — February 4, 2007 @ 1:26 am

As a former employee of GS, I can tell you that the resealed copies are often not safe. Sometimes, people would trade in Games that came out not a week prior. If this was a game that my former manager wanted, he would shrink wrap it as new and switch it with a factory sealed copy that he brought home (much less came of used game shrink than new game shrink). So check the shrink wrap before you purchase ( if they won’t let you, leave). The wrap on factory sealed games is usually folded like gift wrap on the top and bottom edge. If there is a seam running along three edges of the case, it was wrapped in store. If you leave the store and find that you got one of these store wrapped games with a scratch/scuff, your basically s.o.l. Keep in mind though, that scumbag is the exception. Most employees are honest schmucks just trying to make a paycheck. Abusing these people will not put more Wiis on the shelf or stop release dates for games from being postponed. I never once saw a game adviser or manager go out of their way for a dick customer so if you try it, it will do you no good. In the end its just buyer beware and if you find yourself without your launch console or AAA title it’s entirely your fault for not reserving. The only people in the store who get any comps for getting people to reserve are the Store manager and their Asm. Most of the time, that clerk really was just trying to help you.

Comment by PilotwingsFan — February 4, 2007 @ 1:28 am

the last time this happened to me, I told the guy I wanted it at the used price if he was selling me an open game. He game me his 10% employee discount instead. That’s why I now try to go to Best Buy

Comment by FireResurrected — February 4, 2007 @ 1:56 am

As an EBGames Canada employee I will describe in brief, here are the policies of EBGames Canada written in the Employee Manual as it pertains to this situation (Paraphrased, of course):

1. All games to be displayed on the sales floor are to be gutted. (That is, to have the case taken out of the box, placed in a game sleeve, (Mandatory) and sealed with a blank price sticker (Optional).) Then, these “Guts” are to be filed away in proper alphabetical order, kept in a safe location out of the reach of customers.

2. Employees ARE NOT to, in any case, be taking these “guts” home for personal use. (This is mainly to prevent loss of these “guts”, as well as to maintain the quality of these guts.)

3. Before a game is sold, an employee is to check the quantity of the game, and if there are any factory sealed copies, then these are to be given to the customer. (This is so that “gutted” cases can be kept on the floor for as long as possible and to minimize customer dissatisfaction due to the improper handling of “gutted” product.)

4. If a gutted product must be given to a customer, an employee is to seal the game case with an sticker. If the customer specifically requests the game to be not sealed with such a sticker, then the employee is to make clear to this customer that in this case, it will be noted on their receipt as not sealed and they WILL NOT be able to return the product as new, they will only be able to receive trade-in credit for this game UNLESS the product is defective, in which case the product will be exchanged for another copy of the same product. A receipt is required for all returns and exchanges.

5. If the only copy of the product you wish to purchase is in an interactive unit (The consoles customers can play in-store), IT IS MANDATORY for the employee to make this clear before the purchase is made.

6. Should the customer request this, employees are to show the gutted product to the customer making the purchase, and if there is anything wrong with the product, a manager will handle the situation and work something out with the customer. (Usually, it’s a 10% discount on the product. This applies to NEW product only.)

And their you have it. If you have found that a EBGames Canada employee has used your new product, it is a reflection of that employee and his store, not a reflection of the entire company. At which point, you can, and are encouraged to, file a complaint towards the store and the employee if you know his or her identity. As well, it is your right to see the condition of the product you are purchasing, and you should exercise this right as you see fit. (Of course, we can’t actually test the product in store, but as previously stated, defective product and be exchanged. And we also can’t open factory sealed product to show you what’s inside.)

As for why we gut product, the main reason is simply that we don’t have manpower or technology to monitor everything that goes on in store, and having such small stores, it is highly uneconomical for us to put games under lock and key in the store like Wal-Mart when there is such a simple solution we can use.

And if you don’t like having a sticker on your game case, and you think their’s a possibility you may want to return the product (Unopened), then wait for a sealed copy to arrive or buy it somewhere else. We employees, like anybody else, prefer our new games to be sealed too, but sometimes that’s not possible and we accept that, so why can’t everyone else? As to why we have to put the ugly-ass sticker on gutted games, thank the Berne Convention, and the Copyright Act of Canada and the RIAA ad DMCA in the USA. No retailer can take back new product for resell when there is the possibility the game may have been copied to protect both the publisher and the retailer’s profits. And, as mentioned in the article, if the store has the equipment, you can request the game to be shrink -wrapped instead, and there is no reason why a store won’t returned a game sealed this way for the full price. (Yes, you can shrink wrap the game at home, but at least this way the retailer has an explanation for the publisher as to why it was returnable.)

So quite honestly, you are welcome to shop elsewhere if you NEED a sealed copy of a game to fulfill your ink and plastic seal fetish, there really is no need to be a prick and make a fuss on the Internet about it. It’s not the employees’ fault, we simply follow the company policies and we really can’t do anything to change these policies.

Comment by RetailIsHell — February 4, 2007 @ 2:05 am

former sga has just mentioned something extremely important.

No one, and I repeat no one, will try to go extra lengths to help you if you are being a total jerk about it. More often than not, a nice employee or manager will take back any game that’s in perfect condition as if it was sealed. Just be nice to the clerk, and treat him as how you would want to be treated as customers. Customers aren’t any better than the employee that’s genuinely trying to help them, and we won’t treat you as such if you are a total dick. CUSTOMERS ARE NOT ALWAYS RIGHT.

Comment by Abel — February 4, 2007 @ 2:16 am

Okay, numbnuts. How are they supposed to put out those games on the floor, sealed. If they did that, do you know how many douches would walk out with a free game? It makes perfect sense for gamestop to be doing this. They are keeping their losses to a minimum. In which other mass retailer can you walk in, open up the case and check out what you are getting? It’s not like the game they are selling is damaged. All they do is put it in a sleeve where it can rest joyfully among its comrades, waiting to be purchased.schmuck.

Comment by Anonymous — February 4, 2007 @ 2:37 am

Not that it’s an issue right now, but you can’t represent the GameStop company on forms… you could be terminated. Not that I am into that or anything, just watching out for you guys.

To answer Kat’s criticism of my point… Best BUy’s answer is to put large plastic boxes over their games… which requires A LOT of space, which GameStop (who has a much wider selection) cannot accomodate.

The fact is… it’s the company’s policy.

Comment by Tom — February 4, 2007 @ 2:52 am

That’s why you just hope your friend is the one working at gamestop and gives you a 20% discount.

(Or you just buy used since EB/Gamestop have a pretty good policy on returning damaged used games)

Comment by Jamon — February 4, 2007 @ 3:11 am

@Shane [As an ex-EB assistant manager, I think this borders on having a temper tantrum over nothing.

It's already been covered to death, that the store guts one copy of each item in stock. Those items are NEW, and even if they have been checked out by an employee, a very rare thing if you think about how many games are in the store and gutted, the employees are required to return them in new condition.]

So by that very logic, let’s say I “check out” a game from your store, give it a spin on my console, and decide I don’t care for it… I can surely bring it back in for a full refund, right? You know, if I return it in “new condition” as you put it. How exactly do you define “new condition” anyway… does that mean you stick the little sticky seal on the case of the games your employees check out? of course not, they PLAY them then return them to be sold as new.

Regarding your [I think this borders on having a temper tantrum over nothing.] I think that applies nicely here. I buy the game, toss it in my console, decide it’s crap within a couple of days, drop it back by at your store and you refuse to refund me the money for it because I broke the seal? I did exactly what your employee did, and you still considered the game new. And if you want to see a “temper tantrum” try doing this at your local EB/GS
The problem here is that you’re misrepresenting your merchandise as “New.” Further you’re defining “New” to include games that could have been played, so long as they appear to be in “new condition” in cases when it benefits you (selling employee opened games). However, you hold a completely separate definition of “New” when it is to your advantage to do so (returns). In those cases you define “New” to be “Case has been opened.”

My real problem isn’t your practice of gutting and placing them on shelves, and the fact that you are loaning the discs to employees so that they can better serve me as a customer is only slightly more bothersome. My only complaint is that you’re going about this the wrong way. You are intentionally deceiving your customers by re-shrink-wrapping them or referring to them simply as “New.” You’re absolutely right that in 99.999% of the cases they are just as good as new, and there’s absolutely no reason for you to discount the item on the basis that you gutted it for display (and maybe even not for store “training”). What you should do is be open an honest about your practice. On disks that have been opened for display place a seal on them that says, “In order to provide you with a better customer experience at Gamestop/EB Games, this item has been opened. It is guaranteed to be free from defect and to contain all originally packaged contents. Please see an associate for full details.” Do not try to hide that you have opened the game, or even played it for training purposes. Play this up as a plus of visiting a gamestop, but tell your customers the truth. Offer them the opportunity to inspect the contents prior to purchase, and seal the package with a “Open-Box New Game” sticker after they’ve inspected it.

The practice itself is not at all shady or underhanded, it’s innovative and it allows gamestop/ebgames to offer a higher level of service than competitors. There’s no reason to try to defraud your customers by concealing your business practice. Doing it isn’t wrong, trying to hide it, is wrong.

As of this point forward I plan to refuse any purchase of a re-sealed game at gamestop/EB unless it is directly disclosed to me by the employee selling it to me that it has been opened and possibly played, prior to ringing up the purchase. If they fail to do this, I’ll simply explain the reasons I’ll be making my purchase elsewhere. I suggest others follow this same boycott of the behavior without boycotting the store.

Jamon

Comment by FireResurrected — February 4, 2007 @ 3:13 am

Well then perhaps I should clarify and say that:

I am in no way a representative of GameStop, EBGames, or any of their affiliates. What I say may not be necessarily true in all stores and is in no way a reflection of Company Policy. My personal opinions do not reflect that of GameStop, EBGames, or any of their affiliates.

Comment by Jake — February 4, 2007 @ 3:17 am

I worked for Gamestop for a year, and sure their practices aren’t always the best (the push for preorders and subscriptions come to mind), but as far as the open games being sold as new, there is a reason. Best Buy has security cases on every game as well as electronic alarms. Because of that, the chance of games getting stolen lowers dramatically. Target keeps their games locked behind a glass case, again, also cutting down theft. Now, in stores where these aren’t available, there are only so many options. Instead of wasting money on things like that, Gamestop opens 1 copy of a new game as a display copy. It’s kept in perfect condition, is generally re-shrink wrapped so we can tell whether or not you play it in case of a return, and is, for all intents and purposes, new. If you don’t like it, don’t shop there, but try to understand their system and reasoning. Also, taking it out on a clerk simply following store policy is very uncool, regardless of conditions. Vent all you want, but your reasoning, and your anger, is unjustified. Try to understand the reasoning behind it next time rather than just getting reflexively angry.

Comment by Jace — February 4, 2007 @ 3:37 am

You know, I understand that you are upset at the policy and that is cool, its a pretty shitty one. That doesn’t excuse the fact that you were a complete dick in your story.

That is if I believed it transpired that way.

Dollars to donuts says there was no timid, shakey-voiced clerk. What is more likely is that you have fabricated these parts of the store to make your e-penis that much larger so you can stroke it to impress all the other internet males.

Comment by Anonymous 2 — February 4, 2007 @ 4:18 am

Jamon… You have no clue, do you? Why are you such a dick about the whole thing? You say we should put a sticker on there that warns potential customers that the particular game has been opened to help us help you.

Do you have any IDEA how much shit employees took prior to the GS buyout? EB had us put no fewer than three stickers on every gutted box (good luck reselling that on Ebay). Now you have one. If having a game case opened up pisses you off I have no idea how your frail little ego handled those days. The fact of the matter is, we have never FORCED anyone to purchase an opened new game. You have the capability to say no thank you, and go about your day. Truth is, as I stated before, should someone check out a sealed game and check it back in in any condition other than new, they will buy it. Period. As a matter of fact, we are not even allowed to resell opened games that a customer claims is damaged, or appears to be damaged.

You have no basis for an argument, man. We DO allow customers to see the disc for the game they are buying. If you are not shown the disc right away, JUST-ASK. You want to buy factory sealed, then fucking buy factory sealed! Stop being such a whiny little prima-donna. You are the kind of customer that makes retailers want to fucking hunt people down like in ‘Surviving the Game’… Jesus, man.

Comment by TheGamer — February 4, 2007 @ 4:28 am

I completelly believe you. I used to work for Gamestop, we opened the games use them for us to play and seal them again, sell them as new to the customers. I thought it was naughty. I would never recommend anyone to shop at that store, they rip people off big time.

Comment by Kat — February 4, 2007 @ 5:05 am

Wow, no matter how strongly you feel about the topic at hand, there’s no need for name calling. Sheesh, can’t we act like adults?

Comment by EB Associate — February 4, 2007 @ 5:14 am

Mr. Munn, you’re retarded.

Comment by Eric — February 4, 2007 @ 7:00 am

Anonymous 2, that was a weak reply to Jamon. He was hardly being a “dick” as you put it. He stated how he felt about the whole situation quite calmly and respectively…even giving EB/GS some credit and understanding. If anything you’re the dick. He has a vvalid point you (and others)fail to see…or would rather not see.

Comment by ODB — February 4, 2007 @ 7:05 am

The amount of retardation in this thread is astounding. I think that instead of playing video games that you guys should just quit life.

It’s all about LP, people. There’s alot of sheisty ass people who would walk off with their products if they left the ungutted cases on the floor. Of course, some of you shady kids wouldn’t mind walking off the sales floor with the cases.

Also if their manager is a douchebag and abuses the employee rental program, then I think the blame goes on the shady ass manager, not the company who’s trying to give their consumer the best possible service.

Comment by Kian — February 4, 2007 @ 7:37 am

i also experienced this. And when i was buying my wii, i provokingly asked them whether they already opened it to “check whether the console was working”…

Comment by Cold — February 4, 2007 @ 11:34 am

Im a EB employee. Id like you to know what we also do for the customer.
We give up our own personal pre-ordered copy of a game if we are under shipped quantities (had 22 warioware preorders, got 20 in. Took me and a coworker 4 days to get it because we gave up our copies that were the first two preorderd copies).

If a customer HAS to have a sealed copy, ive given my preorder one. Because honestly a game is a GAME.

If a customer HAS to have a factory sealed copy, and we dont have it i will personally call the gamestops across town.

And when i say we are almost out of preorders for a certain game, im being serious. The wario ware story above, and with many popular big name titles. We would like your business, so we want to offer you a chance to KNOW we will have the game with their name on it. I get squat for offering them except that i was trying to help them.

And checking out games, I only checkout USED games, as does my coworkers. I still have not played Rainbow Six Vegas because of this.
i dont speak for any other employees or the company or its affiliates, but myself.But say every-single-one-of-us are geeky teens who rip you off. Were not

Comment by Mr_Gulible — February 4, 2007 @ 11:38 am

Okay, you are REALLY over-reacting to this. I work at a GameStop. We open the new games so we can put the cases out on the floor. That way, people know what we’re selling. We can’t make a case just magically appear on the floor. Trust me, we’ve tried.

And, yes… We can check out the new, still-rapped games and play them. We bring them back, put them in a sleeve and throw them back in the drawer. BUT we really hate to do that. In fact, we’re encouraged to take the ones we’ve already unrapped.

All I’m saying is that you are trying to see this necessary thing as a horrible injustice. It’s something we HAVE to do. If you don’t like it, don’t shop there. Sorry to be so rude about it, but it’s the truth.

Comment by Raz — February 4, 2007 @ 12:18 pm

I don’t like this kind of practice mainly because NOTHING can guarantee me that the game has NEVER used before. In my case, I always take extreme care of my games and most of them, when I trade them, look just like a new one and even the clerks have told me so. I just can imagine one of my games being used to fool someone into thinking they are brand-new.

Get better security instead of opening cases for display. Just like Best Buy or Target, etc. If they plan to rob you, believe me, they are going to no matter what.

Comment by Frew — February 4, 2007 @ 12:25 pm

You do know where most of gamestop’s Profit comes from correct?
why would they take a used game and sell it as new?
im sure it messes up their inventory. And i know from observation that their used games make them more money than new games. If they sold only new games they would have paper thin profit margins.

dont try and say they sell you a used product as new where the used one makes them more cash…

Comment by alex — February 4, 2007 @ 1:06 pm

*** Former Gamestop Assisant Manager.

You can argue the morality of open display copies, and copies that have been sampled by employees being sold as new, but the truth is that in my entire career there I’m not sure if I’ve ever had a customer refuse to by an open display copy more than once or twice- which I always announced that I was going to shrink wrap it and that I would be right back - not hiding anything.

The point is - no body cares, except collecters, who have very different standards.

Comment by Jonathan — February 4, 2007 @ 1:20 pm

I had the same problem a few months ago. I went to the local GameStop and purchased WWE SVR 07 Collectors Edition for the 360. Well the worker at the counter basically did the same thing to me. He gave me a unsealed copy of the game. I didn’t complain because the game worked when I came home and contained everything that was supposed to come with it (it did however have some scratches on the tine case), but I thought NEW meant sealed? Well I guess GameStop’s policy means otherwise. So now I refuse to purchase anything from their store.

Comment by Jim — February 4, 2007 @ 2:22 pm

New means “factory sealed and in mint condition”. I would never accept an opened game box (or any other product).

I live in Austria/Europe and it’s fairly common practice at stores that they remove the discs and you get them at the counter. Virtually all DVDs and CDs have at least removed the plastic seal in all shops.

Most of the people don’t care but I simply refuse to buy at these store - thanks to online retailers I have a decent and often cheaper alternative.

This is lame and I try to avoid all shops/retailers that have opened goods.

Comment by Anonymous — February 4, 2007 @ 3:08 pm

EBGames?

Seriously, why would anyone buy a game there?

They’ve been shrink-wrapping used games and selling them as new for years now.

Comment by Jamon — February 4, 2007 @ 4:19 pm

@Anonymous 2,

Learn to read, buddy. I said you should be more open about your practice and your reasons for doing it. We’ve seen many reports that the stores are re-shrinkwrapping which is undeniably deceitful. It was also nice of you to completely ignore my point about the double-defining of the word “New.” Very convenient of you to simply call me a dick. You’re right though, I’m the kind of person that unfair retailers hate… I demand they be fair or I don’t buy from them…. and I encourage others to do the same. I’m not asking too much here. There’s nothing wrong with the practice, it offers a greater value to the customer, arguably. So just tell the customer the truth… that their game that is being passed off as “New” may have been opened and possibly played by an employee. Honestly, very few will care, and a even fewer will ask for pre-wrapped copies. Just don’t be deceitful about your practice, is it really that hard to just tell the customer. I might even be willing to accept a notice on your window, or on the counters stating your practice. My big complaint is that you as a company are not doing ANYTHING to notify the customer that the copies they are buying presumably as “New” may have been opened or played. Moreover, you’re actively doing things to hide this fact in many cases. You’re trying to deceive your customer, that’s the evil here…

@Eric, thanks
Again, I suggest everyone do the following if this kind of deceit upsets them:

1.) Buy your games wherever you like to now… whether that be EB/Gamestop/Target/wherever.
2.) If whatever retailer it is, tries to hide, or doesn’t disclose that a game has been previously opened and possibly previously played, when it clearly has by the time they have ringed you up and are asking for payment, just say, “I’m sorry, I won’t be purchasing this game after all, I asked for a new copy of the game, and while I would have been ok with receiving a pre-opened box in ‘new condition,’ you failed to disclose to me that this is what you were selling me. Have a nice day.”

The benefit of this is that it makes their deceitful policy punish them by having to ring it up and then return it back to the shelf. If a single store has this happen 5-10 times, with the same answer each time, I guarantee the manager will take notice and try to remedy the situation. The problem is that they don’t understand that being deceitful about their product/policy is hurting their sales, they think it’s helping their sales… let’s just help them to understand the truth.

Jamon

Comment by GunForHire — February 4, 2007 @ 5:11 pm

What’s the big deal exactly?

I work for a games retailer in the UK, and maybe 40% of the games we sell are like that. Some have to be ‘gutted’ as we say, because the boxes are needed for display. The disc and manual are kept in a sealed plastic wrap in the cabinets and are put in the box, which is sealed with a special sticker thing, when needed (ie, when we’re out of factory sealed copies).

The game may be opened, but it’s still new, and still comes with the same guarantee and exchange policy as factory sealed games.

What are shops expected to do? Fill every single display case with a dummy sleeve? That’d take a ridiculous amount of time and paper.

Comment by Cyber Akuma — February 4, 2007 @ 6:59 pm

Even worse was when I was attempting to buy Phoenix Wright once. (This was before the re-release and just as it was starting to get hard to find).

Me: “Do you have Phoenix Wright? New?”

Clerk: “Yep! *holds up a PW ds cart* its $30″

Me: “*sigh*, you don’t have one that hasent been opened?”

Clerk: “No, sorry”

Me: “Fine, ill take it (After all, PH IS getting hard to find, especially for $30)”

Clerk: “Ok, here you go”

Me: “…… wheres the manual and cover?”

Clerk: “Oh, they were stolen off the shelf”

Me: “This is just the cartridge, why is it being sold for new?”

Clerk: “Its never been played, it IS new”

Needless to say, I didn’t buy it.

When I am buying a new game nowadays from GameStop, unless its something thats rare and lucky to be in stock, I ask for a slealed copy, they DO still have sealed unopened copies in the shelves behind the counter, they don’t open them all.

Comment by stan — February 4, 2007 @ 7:35 pm

WOW not only do they think they can sell you opened/unsealed goods as new the same employees that do this for the corporation then come online and call us a bunch of whining pricks for having the front to complain publicly.

shame on the employee’s of said companys that come here and call you pricks for exposing their tactics and for having the cheek to complain about their ripoff activities.

Comment by phil — February 4, 2007 @ 7:50 pm

I want to open a candy shop. I’ll open the candy wrappers. When customers ask with confusion guaranteed, I’ll tell them it is new. They will still buy it… right?

Comment by dark420bishop — February 4, 2007 @ 8:10 pm

That’s completely rediculous what they did. I don’t care why they did it or what their reasoning is. If I buy something new, I expect to be the first person to open if. If they want to use a copy as a display copy, that is fine, but if they expect to sell it to me, they better be giving me a discount on it as an “opened” product like any other respectable store would do. The offer to reshrink wrap it is a slap in the face. I would expain to the manager that he is giving me an unopened new copy, in original packaging, right now, or he is losing my business from now on.

Comment by Terry — February 4, 2007 @ 8:48 pm

“I said NEW.” I replied angrily, having seen this before + I know it’s not their individual policy but more of a corporate decision. = You’re a dick.

Comment by cyx — February 4, 2007 @ 9:49 pm

The issue being ignored is the return policy. 7 days? Come on. EB/GS are ok with open games, because it allows them to legally establish the return window. It’s 30 days if still sealed by the manufacturer.
Also, yes, people do buy sealed games and then turn them over on ebay. It’s a little thing called scalping. For Baud’s sake, open a window and look outside once in a while.

Comment by Qorzm — February 5, 2007 @ 12:36 am

At the GameStop I work at we only have one new game case out on the floor, opened and labeled. We sell the sealed copies until we run out, and then once we are down to last copy, we close the opened side with a plastic dot, so we know if it was opened or not.

So, yeah, we aren’t that bad.

Comment by Nel — February 5, 2007 @ 1:13 am

Thats why i shop fye, 2 reasons. they get new game. and 2 you get 10% off if you have there card, just like today bought 2 games at 105 dollors, then dropped to 95 plus xmen 3 had a 20 mir, never heard of that before on a game but whos complaining lol

Comment by reg0later — February 5, 2007 @ 1:45 am

If it’s opened it should be sold as open or as used period.The argument that it’s to expensive to make a display case is bullshit.So gs/eb can buy repacking supplies and make case for games that have yet to come out [url=http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=200240] for display purposes only[/url]but not sell 1 game at used price to keep an army of customers of customers.Yep, that makes sense

Comment by Fye Employee — February 5, 2007 @ 1:56 am

I work at an FYE and we will open a cd or dvd play it in the store then sell it as new. I think its a little fucked up but that is exactly what we are told to do.

Comment by Thorfrog — February 5, 2007 @ 11:01 am

I use to work at a Babbages and EB Games as a manager. This has been standard practice for over 15 years. This has been going on since the NES days. I see nothing wrong with this.

Comment by pete — February 5, 2007 @ 1:03 pm

I played WoW when it first came out and then subsequently lost the case with my cd code. After playing for 3 months or so, money got tight and I completely canceled my account.

Now

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Hey Gamestop! Stop Opening My New Games!

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