Re: Good Old... Gamestop?

Werner P. <werpu@gmx.at> wrote:

Gamestop was always a ripoff, I visited 2-3 times bevore I noticed that
I can get second hand games for consoles chaper by using the internet
and the usual second hand whatever portals.

Their used game prices seemed reasonable to me.  You're paying for
convenience and the fact that you'll actually get a playable game in
return for your money.

You could save a lot of money buying used games off Craigslist or
something like that but you'd be taking the risk that you might have
ended up getting a horribly scratched copy of the game that doesn't work,
a pirated copy of the game that only works if you have a hacked console,
or a punch in the face from a couple of thugs that steal your wallet
and phone while laughing at how stupid you are.

Too bad, with less customer gouging the chain really could have gone
somewhere, it is failing on its own greed!

Well, it did get them somewhere.  It was where a large chunk of their
profits came from.  Customers were more than happy to pay the prices
they offered on used games, so they would have been incredibly stupid
to charge less.

Their current problems are almost entirely due to factors outside their
control. mainly the simple fact that there's little need for a store that
sells physical copies of games anymore.  Even on the consoles most people
buy their games as digital downloads these days, especially in the US
where Gamestop is based.  For most people, the convenience of not having
to leave your house or wait a day or two for a package to arrive beats
having physical copies of games you can sell when you're done with them.

--
 l/  //   Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
[oo][oo]  rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
-()-/()/  http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/
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