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[Squirrel Killer]

Had a woman come in the other day looking for Destroy all Humans. Told her it wasn't out yet, gave her exact day it releases and she mentions no wonder the 3 other stores shes been to didn't have it. So I asked her if she wanted to pre-order, and we give her a call the minute its in. Perfect person to pre-order right? She just says no, thats ok. To me thats just comical.

Sounds sensible to me. She was probably a casual, perhaps not familiar with the whole pre-order rigamorole. You told her the only thing she needed to know, the actual release date, so she'll just pick it up at a more convenient location, which, given the fact that your's was the fourth store she had been to, probably wasn't your's.

What's comical to me is that a good third of retail horror stories (from both sides) are completely sensible if you take a second to see it from the other side's viewpoint.

 

[FortNinety]

Once again, I shouldn't be forced to be any one's best buddy to get half-decent service in a game story, or any store in fact. And what really bothers me is that some of the stories in this topic of salespeople trying to "upstage" those who don't pre-order, and even those who actually do yet still get screwed, are far too common.

The game guarantee is bullshit. If you take the 5 seconds to put the disc back in its case (or in a sleeve), then scratching should be about as rare as a system actually breaking down.

My problem with this is that it only further encourages people to treat their media like f'n savages.

 

[brocke]

Yeah I hate the whole preorder push too. But then again thats retail these days.

I work at Best Buy and we are forced to push the service plans on our customers. Its not something I like to do but I do it anyway because its my job. Plus the discount rules!

So everytime an ebgames employee pushes a preorder on me I think to myself they are forced to do it, and it makes me feel better. Then I ready my complaint about the system itself to send to corporate. (not that they will ever read it).

 

[jgkspsx]

Sometimes employees are really obnoxious about it. I called the local EB to inquire whether they had WarioWare Twisted in and was treated to a (stunningly condescending) lecture. "Well, you know, we have one copy in, but it's hard to say, someone could pick it up any minute. You know, you've got to preorder or you just can't be sure you'll get a game. We only get a few games in and if you don't preorder we might not get any at all." etc.

You know what happens if you guys don't have it, friend? I go to Target and pick it up. Thanks.

 

[Geek]

I'll never pre-order unless there is a material incentive. If EB/Gamestop doesn't have the buying foresight to have something available (regardless of how "obscure" it is) on DAY ONE, someone else gets my business. It's a very small inconvenience for me, a lost sale for them.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

I preorder just to get the money out of my hands and put towards the game(s). It's better for me that way. I know I'm getting the game and I allot for the prepurchase at the time I get it.

 

[Scoobert]

Sounds sensible to me. She was probably a casual, perhaps not familiar with the whole pre-order rigamorole. You told her the only thing she needed to know, the actual release date, so she'll just pick it up at a more convenient location, which, given the fact that your's was the fourth store she had been to, probably wasn't your's.

What's comical to me is that a good third of retail horror stories (from both sides) are completely sensible if you take a second to see it from the other side's viewpoint.

I thought it was insane also no store told her a release date. My guess is she just went to Target or wherever and just looked, didn't ask. She's usually the type of person that pre-orders, so I gave it my go. I don't go on and on with it. I know it would annoy me, so why would I do it?

What we also get are secret shoppers. Usually they call, but on a rare occassion they do a walk-in. That's why you'll see employees do a whole sales pitch on the phone. If you don't do it, you will get in trouble. Get ready to speak to the DM. So if it comes down to maybe annoying a customer or getting a lecture, sorry but I choose to annoy you.

 

[Ranger X]

I thought it was insane also no store told her a release date. My guess is she just went to Target or wherever and just looked, didn't ask. She's usually the type of person that pre-orders, so I gave it my go. I don't go on and on with it. I know it would annoy me, so why would I do it?

What we also get are secret shoppers. Usually they call, but on a rare occassion they do a walk-in. That's why you'll see employees do a whole sales pitch on the phone. If you don't do it, you will get in trouble. Get ready to speak to the DM. So if it comes down to maybe annoying a customer or getting a lecture, sorry but I choose to annoy you.

LOL when there's that bizarre sounding customer asking you if you have Halo2 of Fable -- do your whole sales pitch!

It's always like that when secret shoppers call at the store here. Most are easily recognisable.

 

[aoi tsuki]

Yeah I hate the whole preorder push too. But then again thats retail these days.

I work at Best Buy and we are forced to push the service plans on our customers. Its not something I like to do but I do it anyway because its my job. Plus the discount rules!

So everytime an ebgames employee pushes a preorder on me I think to myself they are forced to do it, and it makes me feel better. Then I ready my complaint about the system itself to send to corporate. (not that they will ever read it).

i can understand having to do your job as most of us have been there, but it's when employees become whores for the company line and don't use active listening to determine that i'm not a customer who's going to be interested in what they're pushing. After a few months of casual visits, i've finally broken the EB staff in. No more conversations that include no-so-subtle inclusions of preordering games, tradeins, etc. It's nice to be able to engage in a conversation about games or whatever without having the conversational equivalent to a popup ad. Despite all the crap i put up with at Best Buy, i've got to say it was a great learning experience. If you could see through all the brainwashing sales training videos, you could attain some useful skills that would aid you in sales later on.

i do think that preordering is actually a pretty good idea for many of the people that frequent a game store though. They want a game, it's not out, but they can put some money down now to insure they'll have it when it comes out. They don't have to put all of it down at once, or even before the game is out, but the more they put down, the less they'll have to put down once it's out. And they're guaranteed a copy of it. If they decide they don't want the game, they can transfer it to another game, or get a refund. Even on game like Madden, which is usually well stocked on launch day, there've been times where we received less than expected, and only had a few extras beyond preorders. There's also been times when we didn't have enough to fill preorders, but our district manager would always take care of us in those cases by acquiring copies from other stores that had more than enough to fill preorders.

The argument breaks down when they've got other choices like Target or Walmart to buy games. Prices are usually cheaper at those places, and there's no pressure to preorder. You are more likely to find someone who's played a number of games and can offer an opinion with experience at Gamestop or EB than at Target or Walmart though.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

I usually only preorder games I think will be difficult to find when they're first released.

For instance, I pre-ordered Sega Classics Collection because I knew that it was a low-profile game and that the store I bought it from would only order 1 or 2 copies.

 

[Scoobert]

LOL when there's that bizarre sounding customer asking you if you have Halo2 of Fable -- do your whole sales pitch!

It's always like that when secret shoppers call at the store here. Most are easily recognisable.

Ha ha, yeah you can spot them pretty easily. One time I forgot though. The guy was like what's your name. I gave it to him but then I interrupted him when he was saying thank you, and gave him the whole trade-in pitch. He basically ended up saying, oh wow that's great to know thank you.

I had a nice chuckle afterwards. :lol

 

[opkal]

Ages ago, I told a clerk at EB to never ever ask me to pre-order or buy anything else when I come up with a game, and since then I have never been asked to purchase anything extra by anyone in the store.

Mabey my EB is just nice, but sometimes just saying stop works like a charm.

 

[Ranger X]

Ages ago, I told a clerk at EB to never ever ask me to pre-order or buy anything else when I come up with a game, and since then I have never been asked to purchase anything extra by anyone in the store.

Mabey my EB is just nice, but sometimes just saying stop works like a charm.

Anyway those clerks should remember guys like you. I do remember most of my long time customers. It's just that some employees are bad, like at every job there's a moron.
And well, i support what you say, nothing is better than some communication (polite of course)

 

[vitaflo]

I learned not to preorder games from day 1. My friend pre-orders the original Sonic the Hedgehog, and is bragging he'll get it days before I'' have a chance to get mine. I happen to roll into a local store the day it comes out and they have it on the shelf, so I pick it up, no pre-order, while the place he orders from won't have it in till the next day.

Months of rubbing this in my face and he's embarrased and pissed he didn't get his first. We play the game all day and into the next day, and beat it. He gets his the following day and never even plays the thing.

I've never preordered a game, but I've never needed to, I've always found a copy somewhere, and if for some reason I couldn't, I'd just go on Amazon and order it. Consoles though, that's another story, I've had a hell of a time both online and off finding some consoles without a preorder for launch.

 

[Mega Man's Electric Sheep]

Wasn't this bonus disk a PRE-ORDER bonus? Why should you get the pre-order bonus if you don't pre-order in the first place?

Nope, my WalMart had stacks of the Mario Kart with bonus disks.

I had an experience like that at eb when Halo 2 came out. I went in and asked for a copy of the limited edition, and the clerk looks at me and says in a condescending voice "Limited means limited. You should have preordered!" So I walked down the mall to Walmart, which had 100 copies of this "hard to find" limited edition which went on to sell 1.7 million copies. Thanks eb.

 

[xsarien]

Wasn't this bonus disk a PRE-ORDER bonus? Why should you get the pre-order bonus if you don't pre-order in the first place?

Why don't you ask the fine folks at ebgames.com, who sent me the Armed and Dangerous bonus disc along with the game months after it came out.

(Incidentally, I returned the game unopened, but kept the bonus disc.)

 

[Ranger X]

Nope, my WalMart had stacks of the Mario Kart with bonus disks.

I had an experience like that at eb when Halo 2 came out. I went in and asked for a copy of the limited edition, and the clerk looks at me and says in a condescending voice "Limited means limited. You should have preordered!" So I walked down the mall to Walmart, which had 100 copies of this "hard to find" limited edition which went on to sell 1.7 million copies. Thanks eb.

This guys is obviously crap. Since when you have to pre-order a limited edition of a game lol

You guys aren't lucky, you have some real shitty EBgames stores with crappy employees around your towns.

 

[vitaflo]

I've never seen anyone turned away because they didn't pre-order. Usually theres a stack for pre-orders, and a stack for walk-ins.

There have been lots of times I've been turned away because I didn't pre-order. Oh well, I just hit up Target and buy it there then, but it *does* happen.

You know how every store has boxes of games that are coming soon? There was this one time where a guy made this huge fit, I mean he actually whined about it. Basically saying how can we have the game on the shelf if the game isn't out yet. Talk about your morons, huh? :lol

This can be confusing actually. I don't know how many times I've gone into a store and a game has caught the corner of my eye and I think, wow, is this out already? Only to realize it's just the games coming soon. To the average Joe, I can see how they could be led to think the game is in stock, especially when some of the "coming soon" game boxes are the exact boxes that the game will have when it comes out.

 

[Minotauro]

Something no one has mentioned is the fact that these stores use pre-orders to gauge interest for a particular title. If no one pre-orders, like with Advent Rising as was mentioned earlier, the store won't order very many copies.

Personally, I don't get everyone's big hangup over pre-orders. I mean, if you know you're going to buy the game the day it comes out, what does it hurt to put down a couple bucks to ensure that it will be there when you go to pick it up? I'd much rather do that than face the possibility that I have to go to multiple stores looking for it. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, it helps the store know how many copies to order. It just seems like people are being needlessly obtuse about this issue.

 

[aoi tsuki]

Nope, my WalMart had stacks of the Mario Kart with bonus disks.

I had an experience like that at eb when Halo 2 came out. I went in and asked for a copy of the limited edition, and the clerk looks at me and says in a condescending voice "Limited means limited. You should have preordered!" So I walked down the mall to Walmart, which had 100 copies of this "hard to find" limited edition which went on to sell 1.7 million copies. Thanks eb.

Yeah, this happened most recently with my PSP. Walmart had theirs available for sale at midnight. EB (same shopping center) didn't open until 10a as usual, but only had three left after preorders. i had preordered mine, but it really sucked to hear people get turned down and wait a week for a second shipment when they could've (and hopefully did) go to Walmart and purchase one.

 

[DDayton]

Is there anyone defending EB/GS/etc.'s preorder policies other than employees of stores with preorder pressure policies?

I never preorder, unless I am suitably bribed. I really don't care about all the ways in which preordering helps the store gauge interest, etc. ... I'm not going to give my cash away early to a place trying to scare me into a purchase.

 

[Ristamar]

Personally, I don't get everyone's big hangup over pre-orders. I mean, if you know you're going to buy the game the day it comes out, what does it hurt to put down a couple bucks to ensure that it will be there when you go to pick it up? I'd much rather do that than face the possibility that I have to go to multiple stores looking for it. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, it helps the store know how many copies to order. It just seems like people are being needlessly obtuse about this issue.

Some games retail for less than MSRP at launch, but these sales aren't always advertised until a few days before release, so you eithe rmiss out on teh deal, or you have to cancel and place a pre-order at a different store. On top of that, I've had experiences where a store's shipment is delayed for one reason or another, meaning I have to wait while everyone else is getting there games elsewhere, pre-order or no pre-order.

In my experience, pre-orders aren't worth the hassle 99% of the time. Most games are readily available in my area at release, and I can't recall the last time I've been burned by not pre-ordering.

 

[Tedesco!]

I used to work at EB, and I had no problem with the pre-order spiel. I looked at it as a warning, especially when it came to systems. There would be people who would turn down a pre-order only to bitch about why they couldn't get it when the game/system launched.

I would tell them that they should have pre-ordered it if they really wanted to get it at launch, and them I would point them to Best Buy or Wal-Mart. Only then I would hear "But you're a game store, you should have the game! I shouldn't have to go to Wal-Mart!" Some fucking people..... I didn't know going across the street was such a fucking hassle.

 

[Ranger X]

Is there anyone defending EB/GS/etc.'s preorder policies other than employees of stores with preorder pressure policies?

This is an old bias my friend. I don't see any reason why my opinion on EB or Ubisoft can be less valid than anyone else -- because i work there? I'm sure i'm not the only one who's the kind of guy that is always having is own opinions. Some people say stupid shit but try to read carefully from a neutral stand point and check if what we are saying makes sense or not.

I notice in this thread and other threads like this that most of you have bad experiences not because the store suck but because the employee in there don't do their correctly.

 

[zackattack]

I used to only preorder systems, but now that I have a Gamecrazy nearby, I have been preordering games as well, since you get a rent 1 get one free coupon for hollywood video for every pre-order. Decent incentive, I guess

Edit: Although, I don't like how they toss all your credit into a big pile once you preorder something. It makes trading stuff in a bit deceiving if you don't know what's going on.

 

[bantha]

I don't work at either store, but I don't mind sales people at any retail establishment (except Wal- Mart)...they have a job to do. The only time I have ever become angry enough to walk out is at Best Buy when an employee insuinuated that if I didn't let their geek squad come over, then my wireless network was doomed.

If I go into EB and buy some games I think it's actually good customer service if the clerk asks me if I want to save money on a pre-owned game, or if there is anything I would like to pre-order, or if I want a strategy guide i get a discount. It doesn't mean that I will...but think about it, why would you go to buy anything and not want all of your options explained or mentioned to you.

I hate Wal-Mart for this very reason, the stores are so huge now that no one knows where anything is or what anything does. The last time I was in a Wal-Mart I bought a simple Canon point and click camera for my Grandma, and it took no less than four(4) clerks to get the case open and figure out what type of batteries it needed.

If an employee is telling you that he has "X" number of pre-orders on a crappy game just to get you to pre-order that's different, but just mentioning that you can...I see no harm here. It doesn't hurt you, it guarantees you get the game, ( and I have seen plenty of posts on here saying "X store" was sold out during my lunch break), and it is refundable.

 

[Blazyr]

In addition to trying to lock-in the sales on a title the preorder push is a tool these stores badly need for their buyers. Enthusiasts are no longer employed at them above the store level, so otherwise all they have to go on is the spin being fed them by the publisher's reps. That's how they wind up with those 100 copies stacked up behind the glass.

A buyer lives and dies by how well they manage their open to buy. In a specialty market, like videogames, not knowing the product puts them one foot in the grave.

 

[akascream]

We really made fun of people who wanted tales of symphonia for gamecube. SHOULDA PREORDERED YOU JACKASSES NOW YOURE DRIVING ALL OVER TOWN TO FIND A GAME THAT DOESNT EXIST!

Just preorder people, it wont kill you and youre not losing any money. Even if you dont buy the game you can come in and get your money back, put it on another game, you can do whatever you want with it. Stop being such douches and just preorder. (this applies to gamestop only)

Lol, now we get to deal with it on the forum too and not just in front of these pushy register biscuits. Jesus fuck, DID I ASK FOR A HOT APPLE PIE?

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

I get annoyed when after every non-trivial product I buy, the proprietor informs me of the contest at the end of the month. EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE.

 

[ChrisReid]

Dude, the game guarantee is a godsend - believe me. I work at EB as I've stated before, $3 on new, $2 on used, and for it to last a year, it's simply worth it.

if you're like me and don't trade your games, and just horde them, if you accidentally scratch it or damage it, the Game Guarantee is awesome for replacement; if there's anything I'm glad to sell, its the game guarantee.

Hehehe what? I've got literally hundreds of CD/DVD based games and not one of them has a scratch. I understand that for clumsy jerks, it might make sense to spend a thousand dollars insuring all this crap, but I'll just put my discs back in their cases when I'm done.

 

[akascream]

I get annoyed when after every non-trivial product I buy, the proprietor informs me of the contest at the end of the month. EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE.

I'm starting to hate those fucking little 'saver' cards everyone is handing out these days. And if I get offered Entertainment Weekly for free one more time...I swear to God, I'm going to lose it! :lol

 

[TheTurtleTitan]

Maybe it's just where I'm from, but if you don't preorder a certain game, it's incredibly hard to find since it sells out the first couple days or so. I have no idea why, maybe they don't order enough copies or something.

I remember when Mega Man Anniversery Collection came out, I didn't preorder it figuring nobody was interested in it, and I called to see if it was in, and there was only 2 copies left. By the time I got there, I got the last one. Same thing happened with Wario Ware Touched, EB Games didn't have it, neither did Best Buy, but Target had 2 copies left.

I didn't preorder Kirby: Canvas Curse, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was no more when I get it in a few days.

 

[MoxManiac]

I preorder stuff like Atlus games. And Huge games like Zelda. That's about it.

I don't mind the sales pitches that much. It's the fucking gutting game policy that pisses me off. EB especially. Every fucking game on their shelf is a gutted copy. Fuckers.

 

[Mega Man's Electric Sheep]

Another preorder related story: I hadn't preordered Doom 3 for Xbox, but decided to buy it on a whim. I called and asked if they had the collector's edition, and the same employee that gave me crap about Halo 2 said "I have one left". So he said he'd save it for me. I go to the store an hour later, and someone else is working at this point. They have 20 copies sitting there. I ask if they are preorders, and this other employee says "Nope, we have plenty. Do you want one?" Fucker lied to me to get me to come in to the store. Did he think I wouldn't notice all the extra copies sitting there?


The store itself and the other employees are fine. This guy is just slimy, however. And I think he's the assistant manager or something. I overheard the manager at another eb talking about how they would never lend out employees to his store ever again because he didn't tell them anything about the layout of the store and then screamed at them when they did something wrong.

 

[AniHawk]

I have 20 games currently preordered.

...yeah.

Usually when I ask people if they want to preorder something, I throw in a little bonus from another game if they're on the fence, or I try to find something they might really enjoy. Like this one kid bought Katamari Damacy about two weeks ago. He said he knew he'd love the game, so I told him that the sequel, We Love Katamari was coming out, and his eyes lit up. Basically, I recommend or inform them on the stuff we have going on. Some people that I've seen work here are like "AND THEY'LL ONLY SHIP OUT LIKE 2 COPIES OF GOLDENEYE DS SO IF YOU WANT IT YOU'LL HAVE TO PREORDER IT." I hate those types of guys who try to scare people into doing things at our store. It's just so sleazy.

 

[Uncle Dukey]

I usually only preorder if there's some sort of bonus that comes with it.. Most of the time I just hope somewhere like Fry's will have a sale.

 

[Hellraizah]

I pre-order everything new that I buy before it comes out.

Pre-order is a really good thing for everyone. For a customer, they know they can come to the store and/or be called only to find the game reserved for them on day one.

For a store, pre-order is really important. They give you an idea of how many games you will need. If you got 100 pre-orders for Psychonauts, you will receive at least 100, because head office knows that you need them for demand. If everyone just waits for the release day, you get only 2 and you got 98 people pissed that want it and may not be able to find it nearby.

You get your game, you don't lose anything, you get called the day it comes out, you sometimes get pre-order bonuses, you can get a refund if you decide not to buy the game or if you want to buy it somewhere else. Seriously, there's not a lot of bad stuff concerning pre-orders, I really don't understand why people don't do it more.

 

[AniHawk]

I pre-order everything new that I buy before it comes out.

Pre-order is a really good thing for everyone. For a customer, they know they can come to the store and/or be called only to find the game reserved for them on day one.

For a store, pre-order is really important. They give you an idea of how many games you will need. If you got 100 pre-orders for Psychonauts, you will receive at least 100, because head office knows that you need them for demand. If everyone just waits for the release day, you get only 2 and you got 98 people pissed that want it and may not be able to find it nearby.

You get your game, you don't lose anything, you get called the day it comes out, you sometimes get pre-order bonuses, you can get a refund if you decide not to buy the game or if you want to buy it somewhere else. Seriously, there's not a lot of bad stuff concerning pre-orders, I really don't understand why people don't do it more.

Well the downside is that the game might be bad. There's also a good chance that another store might be selling the game for a lot cheaper.

The main reason I have so many games preordered is because on average, out of the money that I actually earned, I'll be paying $10 per game.

 

[Hellraizah]

Well the downside is that the game might be bad. There's also a good chance that another store might be selling the game for a lot cheaper.

The main reason I have so many games preordered is because on average, out of the money that I actually earned, I'll be paying $10 per game.

Well, for the 2 reasons (bad game or store selling it cheaper), you got 48 hours to get your game, and that is enough time to check out other stores or check out reviews on the web to know what you're buying. You can still get a refund for any reasons.

I normally also have a shitload of games pre-ordered, but I just moved, and I can't buy as many games as I want now, because of increased cost of living + Neo Geo AES addiction.

 

[gstaff]

So the last two times I have bought games from EB, I have paid full price and then they go grab the game out of a drawer and put it in the display case...isn't this bullshit?

So on my boxes for these games, they have a new release sticker stuck on them.

 

[AniHawk]

So the last two times I have bought games from EB, I have paid full price and then they go grab the game out of a drawer and put it in the display case...isn't this bullshit?

So on my boxes for these games, they have a new release sticker stuck on them.

Oh no. Heaven forbid. And you can't take those stickers off because they're fused with glue from hell.

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

You guys must go to small EBs because new copies of new releases are in a glass case, without gutting. Even new copies of Paper Mario 2 and F-Zero GX I just bought last week were from the glass case.

I had a really shitty GameStop experience and will never go to one again. I even said that as much. I went to get HSG for PSP I believe and there was one copy left, the day of release. This guy was ranting and raving at me (being a condescending prick) that I shouldn't have pre-ordered. After saying "You'd be an idiot not to preorder" I demanded to see the manager. After repeating what he said, the manager offered to give me a free GameStop card which included the magazine. I told him to stick that offer up his ass because I wasn't coming back. That and I told him to tell his employees not to badger and treat his customers like shit and easy marks. I don't know if they ever did.

In hindsight, I shouldn't have told the manager to stick the card up his ass because he was being nice but I was extremely pissed. The employees there took that shit too far by calling people names for not preordering. The douche was yelling at me for not preordering and I wasn't having that shit.

EB is bad but I have yet to see them resort to name calling. If they do that, I'm gone. They're good for good deals because my parents get on my ass about every game purchase. So ordering online is out until I get back to college. Best Buy is my spot for new games and Target is the spot for near new releases as they have $50 games for $37.88 usually a couple weeks after a big game's release.

Don't put up with that bullshit if GameStop or EB starts name calling is the moral of this story.

 

[xsarien]

Oh no. Heaven forbid. And you can't take those stickers off because they're fused with glue from hell.

Actually, the residue from those stickers is a pain in the ass to get off.

 

[Gahiggidy]

I preorder all the time! Multiple copies too. But only with Xbox games.

 

[Wario64]

i only had 1 bad experience shopping at these game retailers, and that was when the guy said i didn't like good games when i went to return devil may cry 2. not only that, bu the guy tried to sell me a strategy guide when i picked DMC2 up because the game is on 2 discs, which means the game is twice as harder than DMC1. funny, i returned the game because the game was too damn easy


other than that, my ebgames and gamestop are pretty kick ass. i see people get pestered about strategy guides/warrenties/subscriptions/etc. whenever they buy a game, but they NEVER ask for that stuff. i don't care about the preorder bitchin either, these stores are too small compared to walmart and best buy. preorders are very important to ensure they order the right amount of games


these stores suck ass when it comes to deals though. my cheap ass is shopping somewhere else. if they had price matching at these game retailers, i might consider

I preorder all the time! Multiple copies too. But only with Xbox games.

I buy all my Nintendo games at Walmart. Ha ha

 

[DDayton]

This is an old bias my friend. I don't see any reason why my opinion on EB or Ubisoft can be less valid than anyone else -- because i work there? I'm sure i'm not the only one who's the kind of guy that is always having is own opinions. Some people say stupid s--- but try to read carefully from a neutral stand point and check if what we are saying makes sense or not.

I notice in this thread and other threads like this that most of you have bad experiences not because the store suck but because the employee in there don't do their correctly.

I never said your opinion wasn't valid, I was just curious as to whether anyone who didn't depend on preorders for a living was defending the preorder practices. Your points might be perfectly valid, but I'm asking for the opinions of those who have nothing to lose or gain by preorders. Again, I'm not passing judgement on the opinions of those who work at a gamestore, but I'd find it rather interesting if the majority of people defending such practices were the people who were engaging in the practices themselves.

Like many people here, I hate the badgering to preorder. I hate stores which only order enough copies of a game to cover preorders. I hate annoying clerks who snidely tell me that they are out of a game and that I should have preordered. As far as I'm concerned, these are all really lousy business practices. If the local EB/GS/GC doesn't have a copy of Kirby: Cursed Canvas on the release date, I'll just wander over to Wal-Mart or Fry's and buy it there. I really don't care if the local gamestore's business strategy involves reading tealeaves and counting preorders... I'll go where I can get my game without some stupid hassle.

If a store wants me to give them my money early, they'd better compensate me for it. I'll preorder for bribes. I won't preorder to do "business as usual" with them.

I preorder all the time! Multiple copies too

This just gave me a remarkably evil idea.

Find a game which is guaranteed to sell poorly. Preorder 20 copies. Wait until they are in the store, then cancel all the preorders and use the money on something else. Repeat ad naseum. Eventually, the store/chain will stop offering you preorders.

 

[atomsk]

i stick to reserving shit thats gonna be in short supply. many-a-time have i walked in and heard "yeah we got in one copy, yours"

i remember being called about my wind waker reserve and the dude trying to push the strat guide on me. i informed him i had completed the game already in japanese, so a strat guide is pretty pointless, plus i hate being told where to go as a big part of the fun of zelda is EXPLORING FOR YOURSELF. he was none too pleased with that answer

 

[NotMSRP]

Next time some EB/GS employee annoys the hell out of me I am going to say to him or her that I am a secret shopper.

 

[Ranger X]

I never said your opinion wasn't valid, I was just curious as to whether anyone who didn't depend on preorders for a living was defending the preorder practices.

Why is it that you may want to know what non-employees are thinking on that matter? Chances are that it's because it looks curious that the only ones that are on the defensive are employees. Why is it curious? Employees could not like their store policies just like some customers.
Again did you notice (as i did) that most of the complains here are at employees not doing their job? Those guys yelling, telling names, asking you again after 2 or 3 "no" of yours, they all are crappy employees (your example of an annoying clerk is also very good). All this stuff is in no way related to stores policies.
Also, pre-ordering games or not doesn't give us anything (well, at least at EB). It does not alter our personal stats in any way and it does not give us a penny.

 

[Brannon]

I used to not do pre-orders, then for some reason I just decided to try it on a couple of games I knew I was going to get anyway. It was pretty cool. So I still do it from time to time but it's usually at random. But if I don't pre-order I know I can just walk across to the other big stores and get the game there. Thankfully the clerks I do business with aren't of the slimy asshole variety with the whole "YOU MUST PREORDER NOW BITCH!!!" mentality.

I remember going to an EB once trying to get Wreckless (well after the negative reviews were out but I didn't care) and an extra controller and the clerk was going on and on about "DUDE you should've pre-ordered man, OH WELL maybe next week".

Right.

So I just went to the K-B Toys store in the same mall and bought it there, then came back with it in my hand and had him get me the extra controller for purchase while I held the game in my hand the whole time. The only reason I went to the EB first was because they had extra controllers and K-B Toys didn't. Maybe I was a dick, but when you insinuate that I can't get a sub-par game that you can hardly move two weeks after release because I didn't get a pre-order so that you can scare me into doing future pre-orders, then fuck you. Seriously.

I'm aware that the company does instruct its employees to push pre-orders, but I'm pretty sure the clerk's method of "DUDE you should've pre-ordered man, OH WELL maybe next week", wasn't it. I'm pretty sure that being a proper salesman requires a bit more tact than that.

Maybe that's just me.