Well
excuse me if I tend to prefer being able to verify something is new/good/working before putting my dollars down to get it instead of buying sight unseen.
Also, growing up I certainly didn't have access to a credit card, or even a computer with internet access until I was already in high school. So for several years of my playing history, Gamestop really was the only choice to find games that I either couldn't afford new or were out of print. The only time my selection ever varied was when I could afford to buy something new. And usually in those cases I definitely went to other stores with more generous return policies because gamestop was so notoriously obnoxious. But, if I couldn't afford a game outright, it was back to those *expletive*s because I couldn't find anyone else willing to buy what I wanted or needed to sell. It's just bloody ironic that when they were still separate chains, gamestop did have better rates and return policies than EB games.... but as soon as the buggers merged, they each adopted the worst practices of both and left us all screwed over. And yes, there are indeed communities with local laws that actually
prevent a standard pawn shop from being able to accept or hawk video game merchandise of any sort... yet for some bloody legal loophole, you could find not one, but no less than
FOUR gamestops in the same community.
Then when eBay existed, all the stories in print, on TV and online were the same. Someone getting scammed here. someone selling a PSP
box and then getting an empty box. some other person selling a 360 at launch and stuffing the box with a cement brick to fool shippers and the recipient until it was too late. So, no, i will never, ever trust ebay on principle. Especially when it comes down to when there is something I do want that can
only be had on ebay anymore, they deliberately mark up the price to beyond ridiculousness. The fact that they have the audacity to sell a broadband adapter that MSRP'd for $30 for no less than $200 ever for the Dreamcast is *expletive* ridiculous, and I will never forgive the site or its sellers for it.
It was distressing... and I certainly didn't know what else to do, until I took a vacation on the west coast, and discovered a smaller chain, with larger stores, called
Bookman's... And it opened up my eyes to the shit that gamestop really was. How?
- They actually will accept strategy guides
- They will accept PC games - provided they don't have some kind of crazy DRM that prevents another who buys it second-hand from being able to use it, mind. Still, with that policy is why I was able to ever find a fresh copy of System Shock 2
- They accept older and retro games
- For most things, they are actually priced very reasonably, and they've a very reasonable return policy on top of it
- You get a far better overall return for cash than Gamestop would give in store credit
And that's just on the video games alone.
More recently another
independent place opened up not too far from where I live now, that is also very competitive with the place. Yes, rare stuff commands a higher rate. Yet thanks to them, I was able to get a limited edition copy of
Project X Zone for less expensive than gamestop would ask for a regular used copy. And
both places have a general attitude and service that makes me
want to come back, instead of dealing with the entitled pricks at every single gamestop I've had the misfortune of setting foot in.