pretty interesting actually--made for good listening while working. I'm sure a lot of companies are like this, but I found some of the payment, numbers, and other stuff to be pretty interesting. Depressing, though
justin - it gets a bit better as it goes on--or at least, less mimicy of yahtzee
Oh god oh god oh god... I work there right now (Well, EB Games, Game Stop's Canadian version) and now I feel dirty. Very dirty. o.o;
EB Games really is a whore who steals from the poor and gives to the rich (themselves). They make pretty much ALL their money on trade-ins cause they give basically no money and sell the game for a heck of a lot more. Consoles are ridiculous. You get almost no money back, but they RESELL them for $20 less in some cases. It's like... you mean, for 20 dollars more, I can get the console totally new and untocuhed by 12 year old spoiled brats who got this and 1000 other things on x-mas and then got rid of it? Yeah kthx I'll take it new.
And then their warranties!! $75 for some consoles for a 1 year warranty. For the SAME year as the manufacturers warranty. And their 'gameplay guarantees' where you put $2 for used and $3 for new to ensure the disc will work for one year. And unless you're a retard and play frisbee with the games, I think there's a good chance your game will make it through the year.
Wow ok I need to stop now before the rant takes over too much... lol but you get the idea. Pretty much the same as in the video, but here you can read it and get past mr. mumbles and his too-fast speech.
Gawd I need a real job.
But hey... I figure "EB Games Whore" looks better on a resume to a video game company than "Burger-flipper selling cheap food to fat-asses." Though I hear McDonald's actually treat their workers better.
Guy is pissed at Gamestop, so he copies Zero Punctuality to make his point in the most roundabout, fast-paced, mumbling way possible.
I honestly don't get why people are bitching about gamestop. Yes, they buy your games back from you for a very small amount then resell them at a high amount, no shit. What do you people expect? Them to give you a large amount o cash and then make only a few bucks on the resale? Yes, a lot of people fall for it, kind of like a lot of idiots think you get great quality meat in a dollar menu burger from McDonalds. Damn them corporations acting all corporationy!! If you can make money off people who don't know better who give you the money willingly, why not do it? Do you guys really feel that bad if joe shmoe decides to buy a used games for $5 off the retail price?
Guy is pissed at Gamestop, so he copies Zero Punctuality to make his point in the most roundabout, fast-paced, mumbling way possible.
I honestly don't get why people are bitching about gamestop. Yes, they buy your games back from you for a very small amount then resell them at a high amount, no shit. What do you people expect? Them to give you a large amount o cash and then make only a few bucks on the resale? Yes, a lot of people fall for it, kind of like a lot of idiots think you get great quality meat in a dollar menu burger from McDonalds. Damn them corporations acting all corporationy!! If you can make money off people who don't know better who give you the money willingly, why not do it? Do you guys really feel that bad if joe shmoe decides to buy a used games for $5 off the retail price?
Well that is sort of his whole point, and had you watched the video, you'd understand that (if only because he explicitly states it). And if you don't have the tolerance to watch the entire 90 minutes, just watch episode 3 part 2 conclusion. The point of the video is not to complain about GameStop itself, but to inform buyers about it, to create an informed consumer. If you want to shop at gamestop, there are reasons to, for sure- but the point is to be informed about what you are doing. GameStop makes lots of money out of misinformation and lack of game education (he is pretty clear that the number 1 gamestop customer are pseudo-parents who buy whatever their child or tween wants without paying any attention to what they are doing or the implications of it, NOT the hardcore gamer or even the games geek).
He also explains that the more successful Gamestop is with their sales model, the more other companies will attempt to emulate it, and that his goal is to educate the public about these business practices so they can make a more informed decision about where their money goes.
Honestly though, its a coin toss. I've found Gamestop employees in my area to be more knowledgeable and caring about their customers than I have when going to Best Buy, they both sell games for about the same amount, and both view me as walking dispensable cash, so it really just comes down to convenience...
I'm not sure I want to watch 90 min of some guy mumbling about stuff I already know. Like Illusions pointed out its a business. First rule of business is, make money. If after you've done that and you feel like being charitable feel free to do so.
You're a giant walking wallet to the corporation and just one more bother to the people manning the counter. I'm fine with that, and kind of hate it when people attempt to be fake.
Personally I like BestBuy only because they constantly hound you. I know you're being forced to ask me a bunch of questions but really it gets annoying and I'm going to start fuckin with you if you're too fake or annoying.
Q: "can I help you (buy something you don't need like maybe a warranty for your socks)?" A: "Some guy rammed his car into a (Ford Focus, XB, Neon or other cheap ghetto racer) out in your parking lot, hope it wasn't your car..." Most of the time they go and check because the chances of them or someone they know at BestBuy driving a crappy car are pretty high. At the very least they get the hint.
Q: "Is someone already helping you (I'm not getting the commission off this am I...)?" A: Point at nothing without looking up and say "Yeah that guy over there, it's cool you guys hire the disabled, you'd think a hook for a hand would get in the way. (make a hook with your finger and attempt to use any device around. Then look around) "Weird... he was just there?" Then point right behind the person and scream like a little girl with her pig tail caught in a meat grinder.
Q: "Is there something I can help you find (you've been standing here for 2min buy something or move on)?" A: "I was looking for model number (add an X to the end of whatever you're looking at) and was wondering if you had any in the back. It says its in stock, at this store, on line"
I saw the first gamestop opened here in ottawa... and it's in the same mall as an EB... odd because they're the same company now so I wonder what the deal is with that.
I'm not a huge fan of EB anyways, I'll try to buy games new, but used is usually an option if the game has been out for a while or no longer in print, but I'll almost never trade games in... that's like taking money out of my own pocket some day... the more games you buy used means the more money the publisher or developer doesn't get to make new games.
I used to be a SGA (low manager) at gamestop after working there for about a year, and I have to say that everything he mentioned was something I experienced at least once. Man the stories I have XD. Since working there I myself will never, never, shop there again, unless it is for something I simply cannot get anywhere else, which is unlikely. I understand they are a company trying to make money, but the way they treat their employees is just wrong.
I worked at a game crazy for about a year and it was policy handed down from corporate to schedule only one person in the store at a time during slower periods to keep employee expenses at a minimum. This made it impossible to take breaks, which of course was illegal. You could of course draw this fact to corporate's attention, because officially officially this was in violation of policy and so they'd fire your store manager for employee abuse (or whatever you want to call it) and then put pressure on the next manager to get rid of you so that they could go back to their standard practice of having only one person on shift at a time.
About a year and a half after I quit they got class-action'd for this.
I went to gamestation here in the uk the other day with 5 old PC games(lord of the rings return of the king, just cause etc etc), they offered me about $5 for all 5 the guy at the counter actually looked sad about the situation himself and apologised for how thier shops system work. I was expecting at least the equivalent of $25 in cash for all 5 games, after all I know they would sell each of the 5 games for about $10-20.
I suppose if I found enough friends that play PC games we could have a bit of a game share going on and that would probably be the best use of the games rather than trading them in for nothing. Do some people do that kind of thing?
Well that is sort of his whole point, and had you watched the video, you'd understand that (if only because he explicitly states it). And if you don't have the tolerance to watch the entire 90 minutes, just watch episode 3 part 2 conclusion. The point of the video is not to complain about GameStop itself, but to inform buyers about it, to create an informed consumer. If you want to shop at gamestop, there are reasons to, for sure- but the point is to be informed about what you are doing. GameStop makes lots of money out of misinformation and lack of game education (he is pretty clear that the number 1 gamestop customer are pseudo-parents who buy whatever their child or tween wants without paying any attention to what they are doing or the implications of it, NOT the hardcore gamer or even the games geek).
Well then I take issue with how he does it. Rather than knocking off zero punctuation and beating about the bush (90 minutes? seriously?! to make a simple point?), he could have done it much more simply and reached a wider audience with a quickly made, to-the-point website. But instead he rambles forever, is often times barely understandable, and expects us to spend an hour and a half on this? Dumb way to get your tout your cause from a guy with way too much time on his hands.
Well then I take issue with how he does it. Rather than knocking off zero punctuation and beating about the bush (90 minutes? seriously?! to make a simple point?), he could have done it much more simply and reached a wider audience with a quickly made, to-the-point website. But instead he rambles forever, is often times barely understandable, and expects us to spend an hour and a half on this? Dumb way to get your tout your cause from a guy with way too much time on his hands.
I disagree. Had he made such a website, I probably would have glanced it over and ignored it. While this route obviously turned some people off (such as yourself and others in this thread), others obviously enjoyed it (the views on the later episodes have increased about 30% since just last night). For those that did watch through the whole thing, it was much more informative and interesting than a simple to the point website. So, does someone trying to make a point do quality over quantity? I'd argue that he's done exactly the right thing by trying to connect with as many people as possible in a pretty strong way, by making a semi-unique and semi-enjoyable work of entertainment. It'll ensure it reaches the maximal amount of people who will actually give a shit about what he has to say. Those people will tell others, etc., hopefully. This sort of effect just doesn't happen with a simple 'to-the-point website'. Would he have reached more people? Possibly (the format certainly attracted attention). Would he have made any impact at all? Unlikely.
This is neither a dumb way to 'tout his cause' nor does he have too much time on his hands. He's trying to inform thousands of people about the truth and underbelly of what they are doing and spending their money on. And to do it in a way people find entertaining. What a waste of time! I suppose this college student should spend his semester getting drunk and his summer sleeping at the beach, and going to a Democratic rally at his school or something if he wants to make a difference, right?
Replies
...?
all i can say is damn,
the poor people who have every worked there,
video 5 is the best so far on how they get paied,lol
thats what the shlagy blagy blahdy thing about cmmmter games
attis i shl lithe flatey gla an the wee ones
WHAT?
justin - it gets a bit better as it goes on--or at least, less mimicy of yahtzee
Agreed.
EB Games really is a whore who steals from the poor and gives to the rich (themselves). They make pretty much ALL their money on trade-ins cause they give basically no money and sell the game for a heck of a lot more. Consoles are ridiculous. You get almost no money back, but they RESELL them for $20 less in some cases. It's like... you mean, for 20 dollars more, I can get the console totally new and untocuhed by 12 year old spoiled brats who got this and 1000 other things on x-mas and then got rid of it? Yeah kthx I'll take it new.
And then their warranties!! $75 for some consoles for a 1 year warranty. For the SAME year as the manufacturers warranty. And their 'gameplay guarantees' where you put $2 for used and $3 for new to ensure the disc will work for one year. And unless you're a retard and play frisbee with the games, I think there's a good chance your game will make it through the year.
Wow ok I need to stop now before the rant takes over too much... lol but you get the idea. Pretty much the same as in the video, but here you can read it and get past mr. mumbles and his too-fast speech.
Gawd I need a real job.
But hey... I figure "EB Games Whore" looks better on a resume to a video game company than "Burger-flipper selling cheap food to fat-asses." Though I hear McDonald's actually treat their workers better.
(Breathe, Mezz... breathe...)
I honestly don't get why people are bitching about gamestop. Yes, they buy your games back from you for a very small amount then resell them at a high amount, no shit. What do you people expect? Them to give you a large amount o cash and then make only a few bucks on the resale? Yes, a lot of people fall for it, kind of like a lot of idiots think you get great quality meat in a dollar menu burger from McDonalds. Damn them corporations acting all corporationy!! If you can make money off people who don't know better who give you the money willingly, why not do it? Do you guys really feel that bad if joe shmoe decides to buy a used games for $5 off the retail price?
Well that is sort of his whole point, and had you watched the video, you'd understand that (if only because he explicitly states it). And if you don't have the tolerance to watch the entire 90 minutes, just watch episode 3 part 2 conclusion. The point of the video is not to complain about GameStop itself, but to inform buyers about it, to create an informed consumer. If you want to shop at gamestop, there are reasons to, for sure- but the point is to be informed about what you are doing. GameStop makes lots of money out of misinformation and lack of game education (he is pretty clear that the number 1 gamestop customer are pseudo-parents who buy whatever their child or tween wants without paying any attention to what they are doing or the implications of it, NOT the hardcore gamer or even the games geek).
Honestly though, its a coin toss. I've found Gamestop employees in my area to be more knowledgeable and caring about their customers than I have when going to Best Buy, they both sell games for about the same amount, and both view me as walking dispensable cash, so it really just comes down to convenience...
"dsdfffissddfdfdsiisdfdsdfdsiisdsdfsiisdsidsidfdfffffss"
I'm not sure I want to watch 90 min of some guy mumbling about stuff I already know. Like Illusions pointed out its a business. First rule of business is, make money. If after you've done that and you feel like being charitable feel free to do so.
You're a giant walking wallet to the corporation and just one more bother to the people manning the counter. I'm fine with that, and kind of hate it when people attempt to be fake.
Personally I like BestBuy only because they constantly hound you. I know you're being forced to ask me a bunch of questions but really it gets annoying and I'm going to start fuckin with you if you're too fake or annoying.
Q: "can I help you (buy something you don't need like maybe a warranty for your socks)?"
A: "Some guy rammed his car into a (Ford Focus, XB, Neon or other cheap ghetto racer) out in your parking lot, hope it wasn't your car..." Most of the time they go and check because the chances of them or someone they know at BestBuy driving a crappy car are pretty high. At the very least they get the hint.
Q: "Is someone already helping you (I'm not getting the commission off this am I...)?"
A: Point at nothing without looking up and say "Yeah that guy over there, it's cool you guys hire the disabled, you'd think a hook for a hand would get in the way. (make a hook with your finger and attempt to use any device around. Then look around) "Weird... he was just there?" Then point right behind the person and scream like a little girl with her pig tail caught in a meat grinder.
Q: "Is there something I can help you find (you've been standing here for 2min buy something or move on)?"
A: "I was looking for model number (add an X to the end of whatever you're looking at) and was wondering if you had any in the back. It says its in stock, at this store, on line"
I saw the first gamestop opened here in ottawa... and it's in the same mall as an EB... odd because they're the same company now so I wonder what the deal is with that.
I'm not a huge fan of EB anyways, I'll try to buy games new, but used is usually an option if the game has been out for a while or no longer in print, but I'll almost never trade games in... that's like taking money out of my own pocket some day... the more games you buy used means the more money the publisher or developer doesn't get to make new games.
About a year and a half after I quit they got class-action'd for this.
I suppose if I found enough friends that play PC games we could have a bit of a game share going on and that would probably be the best use of the games rather than trading them in for nothing. Do some people do that kind of thing?
Well then I take issue with how he does it. Rather than knocking off zero punctuation and beating about the bush (90 minutes? seriously?! to make a simple point?), he could have done it much more simply and reached a wider audience with a quickly made, to-the-point website. But instead he rambles forever, is often times barely understandable, and expects us to spend an hour and a half on this? Dumb way to get your tout your cause from a guy with way too much time on his hands.
I disagree. Had he made such a website, I probably would have glanced it over and ignored it. While this route obviously turned some people off (such as yourself and others in this thread), others obviously enjoyed it (the views on the later episodes have increased about 30% since just last night). For those that did watch through the whole thing, it was much more informative and interesting than a simple to the point website. So, does someone trying to make a point do quality over quantity? I'd argue that he's done exactly the right thing by trying to connect with as many people as possible in a pretty strong way, by making a semi-unique and semi-enjoyable work of entertainment. It'll ensure it reaches the maximal amount of people who will actually give a shit about what he has to say. Those people will tell others, etc., hopefully. This sort of effect just doesn't happen with a simple 'to-the-point website'. Would he have reached more people? Possibly (the format certainly attracted attention). Would he have made any impact at all? Unlikely.
This is neither a dumb way to 'tout his cause' nor does he have too much time on his hands. He's trying to inform thousands of people about the truth and underbelly of what they are doing and spending their money on. And to do it in a way people find entertaining. What a waste of time! I suppose this college student should spend his semester getting drunk and his summer sleeping at the beach, and going to a Democratic rally at his school or something if he wants to make a difference, right?
-caseyjones