Adventures at GameStop

Double Z

As some of you might know, I live in Mexico, but since I live only 2 hours away from the US border I take trips to the US every other month for all my geeky needs: Videogames, books, electronics, etc. Yesterday I took one of those trips to the border town of Laredo TX, which like in any other town in the US there is a shopping mall, and in this mall there is a GameStop.
For a while now I’ve been trying to get the Metroid Prime game for the DS, not actively looking for it, but I’ve always thought that the moment I see it at any store I would buy it.
So I walked in the store, which of course was full of kids running around, parents asking for games and all the usual stuff. I walked up to the counter and in my very best English I asked the guy for the game, he tells me he only has a used copy and points at the little shelf where all of the used, case-less DS games are. I told him that I didn’t care, but I would much rather get the new one, he looks around for a while but ends up going for the used one, very kindly he offers to give me a case, so I don’t lose the damn game and happily charges me 25 dlls. I paid and walked out of the store as I walked out I took the card out of the case and before I tried putting it in the DS I noticed the label, it read Metroid Prime: Hunters FIRST HUNT. And I notice the ESRB rating said RP: rating pending. WHAT THE HELL! this isn’t the game, this is the demo, the one that came with the original DS, they sold me a demo?  Impossible.
I walked back to the store, straight for the guy, ignoring the costumers in line, and with my loudest, fastest Spanish I asked him, what the hell was going on. He looked at the game, then made a sort of angry face (who knows if that was for my benefit) and tells me that I am right this is the demo. So I end up paying the difference and getting Phantom Hourglass.
I wanted to share this little story with you guys because one of two things happened here, either they are actively trying to screw someone, because obviously some parent or some dumb kid is not going to realize the difference. Or they are the ones that got screwed, some “smart” kid got around $5 for his demo, which isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing.

...

Ooooooooh! That shop owner wants to kick himself now for taking that demo back XDDD

Kilarney

$25 for one of the oldest games for the DS?

That's the real tragedy.

Kiey

It seems that my EB (which is owned by GameStop now) always has at least one cool clerk there. Then they leave and some new cool guy replaces them. Granted there is only 1 cool clerk, out of the few that work there, but that's really all you need.

I'll give you an example, I went a few days before God of War 2 came out for PS2 and wanted to pre-order it. Cool clerk guy was there, and he knows me, so he tells me they've stopped taking pre-orders, but there are getting a few copies more then there are pre-orders. So he says when it comes in he'll slip one behind the counter for me, so that I can come in and get it and not have to worry about pre-ordering.

AtheriShadow

I've never actually had a bad experience at my local GameStop. The guys that work there are usually talking about something awesome with various customers, and when they even bother to make their usual sales pitches, they don't push it after the first "no". It's surprising, compared to others I've been to.

Usagimaru

I walked back to the store, straight for the guy, ignoring the costumers in line, and with my loudest, fastest Spanish I asked him, what the hell was going on.




Dude that's awesome! Did the guy understand Spanish, or was he just completely dumb-struck when you went off on him?
It seems that my EB (which is owned by GameStop now) always has at least one cool clerk there.

I think they might put a limit on how many awesome people they can have at one store.  I have a mall with a Gamestop and an EBX (right above/below one another too).  The upstairs Gamestop is full of jackasses who close early (my friend went to it 15 minutes before it closes and they were locked down)  and don't care about you.  While the EBX downstairs is full of cool employees who will lock the door behind you if you come in a minute before they close and are just pure awesome.  I got to shoot one of them with a Nerf gun when I got Halo 3 too!

Viga

Dudes. Back when I worked at GS it was nothing but awesome people. Unless you weren't respectful or you got on our nerves we did go hard ass on someone.

Our initiation for the n00b people was us spraying them with the console dust cleaner. Cold when it hits your arm. Plus we would sing dumb shit like banana phone and the Final fantasy song back then.

Then the manager transferred and we got a bunch of uptight asses and some who didn't know videogames at all. I left soon after that for a better job.

This one time on my friends shift they altered the top of the receipt that usually says "Reserve so and so game today" They changed it too "Reserve Swing Penis the game today". That was based on a inside joke that still haven't died years later. ^_^

Double Z

Dude that's awesome! Did the guy understand Spanish, or was he just completely dumb-struck when you went off on him?
Nah, he understood pretty much everything, the Spanish was more for the benefit of everyone else there, a lot of Mexicans in that town. It was easier for me to go at him in Spanish since I don't have to pause for a second to figure out how I'm going to say things.

Apreche

First, I don't know why you want Metroid Prime: Hunters. It sucks. Second, the vast majority of employees in physical stores know nothing about the product they are selling. Don't you have Amazon in Mexico?

Neito

First, I don't know why you want Metroid Prime: Hunters. It sucks. Second, the vast majority of employees in physical stores know nothing about the product they are selling. Don't you have Amazon in Mexico?

My experiance has been just the opposite. Maybe we have better GameStops up here, but I've always had good discussions with the GameStop employees.

And MP:H isn't too bad. But I'm an FPS noob, so...

Viga

First, I don't know why you want Metroid Prime: Hunters. It sucks. Second, the vast majority of employees in physical stores know nothing about the product they are selling. Don't you have Amazon in Mexico?

My experiance has been just the opposite. Maybe we have better GameStops up here, but I've always had good discussions with the GameStop employees.

And MP:H isn't too bad. But I'm an FPS noob, so...

It's about half and half in MD. Some people who work there do know games but then you have the usual preppy teen.

Double Z

Don't you have Amazon in Mexico?


For some reason Amazon doesn't ship videogames to Mexico. DVD, books and pretty much anything else is fine but no videogames, and I have no idea why.

Erwin

Buying video games on store is only worth it if the store give extras along with a a games they sell and if the stores is less than 1 mile or in walking distance. Otherwise I would recomend a online store.

Cremlian

That's funny, The Gamestop near me is filled with nice moderately knowledgeable gamers, saddled with what I think is the corporate command to try and sell you dumb stuff. Luckily I go in there and talk to them enough that they realize I'm an educated consumer and generally leave me alone or do not try and sell me the insurance plan on video games.

bunnikun

First, I don't know why you want Metroid Prime: Hunters. It sucks. Second, the vast majority of employees in physical stores know nothing about the product they are selling. Don't you have Amazon in Mexico?

My experiance has been just the opposite. Maybe we have better GameStops up here, but I've always had good discussions with the GameStop employees.

And MP:H isn't too bad. But I'm an FPS noob, so...

It's about half and half in MD. Some people who work there do know games but then you have the usual preppy teen.

Pretty much sums it up. The GS at the Annapolis mall has some pwnful geeks, and then there are some bitchy teens just trying to earn some money. For example:

Me: I need to buy a copy of SuperSmashBros. melee. Do you have it?
Pwnful employee: Sure! We have it new, but I'd recommend getting the used one, we just got a used copy that looks perfect and comes with the case. So... which character do you like playing with? XD (cue half an hour discussion about the suckiness of Zelda)

-Other worker-

Me: I need to buy a copy of SuperSmashBros. Melee. Do you have it?
Preppy teen: Umm... what game was that?
Me: SuperSmashBros. Melee.
Preppy teen: What console system thing is that for?

Sail

Pwnful

Nice word, there.

mattytehhax0r

the local gamestop totally sucks, the eb (before gamestop bought it, and they expanded the fye into it) was awesome. They'd give me extra on turn-ins and discounts on used games. I'd go after school and talk games and stuff for like 3 hours, all the while playing the demos and talking to the other customers. I actually convinced a lady to buy her son a DS instead of an N-Gage. Yeah, saved that kid.

MitchyD

Me: Hey, can I get a copy of Lumines for the PSP?
 
Retard Employee: Uhh... It's "Loo-Mines". Also, that game is terrible, you don't want it"
 
 
...This conversation took 5 straight minutes of me trying to buy it before the manager came out and scored me a copy, finally. Fucking idiot.