GAME rentals - they arnt happy

Soldato
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MCV is today reporting that GAME the UK's largest specialist retailer is in the process of phasing out its 10 day no quibble returns program which is seen by many as a free rental service. The retailer has said it is currently testing a more traditional 28 day returns policy in several stores where the game must be returned in as sold condition (e.g. sealed).

All products being sold in these stores carry a special GAME security seal which when broken will mean no return of that product unless its faulty. According to MCV this move is a result of pressure from publishers.

nicked from some random site

http://www.clubskill.com/Game_News/3665/
 
Soldato
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This may really hurt them. Most net savvy gamers buy online except for when they need the reassurance of the game returns policy. This move might even see gamestation becoming a more dominant force on the high street unless they follow suit.
 
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Thesnipergecko said:
Why dont GAME just do rentals?

£3 for 2 nights if you like the game and wish to buy it new you get a X% discount because you rented it first.

Paul ...

that's a good idea. With some games I don't want to buy them because they're so short. Blockbusters discs are always scratched bad as well :(
 
Associate
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TBH the only reason I ever buy from GAME is because of the 10 day return.

If I dont like the game after a few hours & I'm not going to want to keep it, it goes back.

If I know for a fact it's a game I'll enjoy & want to play all the time...Pro Evo, Football Manager, Madden etc. then I just buy it online straight away.

GAME is more for random purchases for me.

Looks like I'll have to shop elsewhere in future then.

Neil
 
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I find it incredible that GAME sell 360 titles for £49.99 where Tesco (about 100 yards away from GAME) sell them for £39.99.

They are going to lose out BIG time by changing the 10 day returns policy, and with a general downturn on the High Street expected later this year, could regret it.

I know some people do use it as a rental service, but in the past the fact you could return a title has encouraged me to buy a game I wasn't sure of buying - and most I have kept and not returned.
 
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yep, as of now i will never buy another game from game again (lol rhymes)

id rather have it cheaper, as said before theres been times when ive been unsure over a game and so purchased it from game incase i didnt like it

now they have to lower their prices or they are going to get hit hard

i wonder what gamestations return policy is, as they are owned by the same company
 
Soldato
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Another nail in Games coffin, they are not exactly doing booming business anyway.

Why anyone buys anthing from their shops i'll never know.

You can go down Tescos or Asdas and get the game cheaper normally if you want the game here and now.

Or theres 100 sites on the net with much cheaper prices than them.
 
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Also GAME's trade-in policy is a joke.

Went in there with a mint copy of Oblivion, and they offered me £21 for it

I thought FFS their "pre-owned" copies are up for £44.99 :eek: so they are making £23 just to take my game and put it on display.

Never trade-in there again, in fact I won't shop there again :mad: (shame as one of the staff there is pretty fit - lol - but thats another story).

I am convinced this is going to really hurt them - the only people who shop there will be kids and parents too naive to see they are paying inflated prices.
 
Soldato
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gamestation and game are owned by the same ppl ? I know gameplay and game are linked but I dont think gamestation is anything to do with game. I know they were kinda up for sale a while back but I didnt know bockbuster had sold gamestation ?
 
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I know that this thread really refers to console games, however I can almost guarantee the decision is being made based on PC Games where it is still relatively easy to buy, copy & return.
It's a lot easier for Game to make a blanket rule rather than attempting to explain to people the difference between rules for PC games and rules for Console games.

This is no nail in Game's coffin at all.
There seems to be this consensus that Game's customers are all technically savvy and know about online buying, shopping around etc.
They aren't.
Much of Game's customer base is from the ill-informed.
They are a High Street store and have to pay for store rental.
They will never be able to compete in store with online only stores.
As for competing with the likes of Tesco - I think you may see them doing so, however not neccessarily in the direction you would like.
There are various rules & regulations coming in to block "Grey market" selling and it really wouldn't surprise me if a lot of Tesco stock wasn't exactly originally sold for UK consumption.

And at the end of the day can you really blame Game for this at all?
In the days of EB I used to buy a lot of games from them because of their 30 day no questions asked policy.
Many a time I bought a game and did actually return it - usually because the game was terrible however also because I'd completed it and saw no replay value in it.
I never simply bought a game, copied it and then returned it - yet I know plenty of people who did.

EB becomes Game and the policy drops to 10 days.
10 days which is certainly long enough to decide if you like the game or not and so again I would use them for the odd purchase, usually when I wasn't sure what I was buying and wanted those 10 days to try things out.
Yet again there were plenty of people out there who would buy, copy and return because they are more important, they must attempt to ruin a system for everyone else.

Fast forward to now and the inevitable happens - all those pirates and thieves (who seem to have loads of support from a lot of people) have ruined things for everyone else.
As usual you give people something (the ability to in effect try before you buy (an argument I might add that many pirates & thieves use to justify their thefts)) and they will want more.

Game will now lose me as a customer, not that I threw much trade in their direction anyway.
Not because Game suck or I'm upset with this decision because I can see exactly where Game are coming from.
They lose my trade because there is no advantage to buying from them any more, no more 10 days of trying to make sure I'm happy so if I'm going to buy something without trying it first then I may as well pay as little as possible for it (buy it online).

Game will lose a little income but nothing major yet they will no longer have people buying, copying and returning games so should make life a lot easier for them.
For those who think Game suck for this - ask yourself if you've ever pirated software etc because indirectly what you are involved in will have influenced their decision on all this.
To any software thieves out there reading - Thanks. Once again you prove your selfishness is above anything and everything else and as long as you're happy that is the main thing.
Thanks again for being so cool & leet.
 
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Soldato
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stoofa said:
I know that this thread really refers to console games, however I can almost guarantee the decision is being made based on PC Games where it is still relatively easy to buy, copy & return.

Game stopped the 10 Day returns on PC Games a LONG time ago.

To be honest I think they've gone too far, I do think a no quibble returns policy is a bit silly, when it comes to people 'renting' the games. But I think a Returns Policy like Gamestations is good where you can change the game for something else (dont think they do full returns).
 
Soldato
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I wont be buying because, as mentioned above, there is no point.

Local places like tesco sell games for 40... and online for about the same (sometimes a little cheaper). Why should I go to game, if I dont even have peace of mind.
 
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I've been thinking about this for a bit & many moons ago (SNES & Megadrive games) I used to buy ALL my games from a stall on Pitsea Market which was owned by an absolute diamond Irish lady & she used to do a deal where if you bought a new game one week & didnt like it, you could return it the following week pay an additional £5 & swap for a new game upto the same value of the one you are returning.

Used to really be a bonus for me as being young I didnt have loads of money to waste on rubbish & many a time did I use this service to return utter trite...Barts Nightmare for the SNES springs to mind instantly.

I think GAME should really offer a smilair service.

Neil
 
Soldato
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Basically, GAME were being nice, people abused it, and they are having to stop it. And now people are moaning about thow they charge more than supermarkets and online shops. *NO KIDDING*

Of course they charge more than online shops etc, but what is so great about GameStation? They have the same prices as game. High street shops have to! If you have a supermarket near you that sells cheap X360 games or whatever, good for you! Not everybody does.

As for people being surprised that shops like GAME make ~50% profit on a sale, well done, about time you realised how things work.

What I can't believe is how so few people are blaming the people who abuse it. That makes me angry.
 
Soldato
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What bugs me, is I know of an independant shop in my area, that sells games for 5 pounds cheaper than game.

Gamestation pay more for preowned, which is why some people prefer them. Personally, I go to game cause I know a lot of the staff, and they are cool people. But, come on, 20 or so pounds for a new 360 game is taking it just a little...

*EDIT*

To be fair though, with the NEW games, they buy them for about 37.99 or so (so I was told by one of the staff)... in some cases EA charge 40 or so though :/
 
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Surely the people who do it will now go elsewehre for there games. If they keep it they will still be making interest from all the original £40 they took. So won't this move make them lose money as well as customers?
 
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